All the way west from Winterfell is a vast barren realm of trees, weeds, and beasts.

This was originally a trade route between Winterfell and the Duchy of Banner in the Western Continent, but since Duke Oliver succeeded him, it has not been used again due to the fortress's finances and various reasons. The original trade route can now only be faintly seen, and most of them are covered with trees and weeds, making it impassable at all.

And from the first day after the New Year, this deserted and populated place has a new group of people.

Matthew led the team, Knight Daeron followed, the logging team cut the road in front, and the construction team followed in the rear and started paving the road directly. And Roderick personally led more than two dozen defenders of the fortress to guard the whole process.

Restarting trade routes has always been on the Lord's agenda, but on the one hand, the workshop needs time to develop, and on the other hand, the construction team is not enough to fight on two fronts, and now that the road and railroad to Akibara City have been built, Colin can finally really restart the plan of the trade route, and Knight Daeron has also continued his road construction work as he wished.

The specifications of this road are roughly the same as the previous road to Akibara Castle, and the road where four carriages pass side by side is comparable to the Kingdom Road even in Thunder City.

There are three continents known to mankind, the west continent is located on the west side of the middle, the north and south directions are longer, and the two ends are close to the north and south continents respectively, and the three continents together look like a U-shaped horseshoe, with the opening facing the east side, so the encircled area is called the horseshoe sea.

The western continent and the northern continent are separated by a strait of tens of miles, while there are parts of the southern continent that directly border each other.

According to historical records, there are two more reliable speculations, one is that all the continents and islands are drifting at a negligible speed, but it is difficult for humans to detect, and the other is that because of the Great War of the Elder Dragons, the western continent and the southern continent have bordering areas.

Dragons are an interesting topic, and from various historical and biological archaeological finds, they are almost certain creatures, but all humans, even the older elves, have never seen a real dragon with their own eyes. The most accepted speculation is that this creature once ruled the world, but is now extinct.

Therefore, one of the things that humans often say is, "I'd rather believe that the dragon will appear before my eyes the next moment."

Of course, not everyone agrees, there will always be many ordinary people and magicians who are interested in history, claiming that the dragon is not extinct, but just living in an unknown place, and even forming some strange groups such as "Dragon Search Team" and "Dragon Protection Organization". This kind of thing is especially prevalent in the Western Continent.

……

Matthew looked at the team in full swing and calculated when the road would be completed.

Like Roderick, he doesn't stay here every day, but now that the project has just begun, he's only been in charge for a few days to avoid any unexpected problems.

The title of Secretary of State for Construction has kept Matthew under pressure.

As one of the fortress's first apprentice craftsmen, he was highly accomplished in both alchemical engineering and architecture.

But to be honest, if you study ancient architecture or interior decoration, etc., he is not in any way comparable to the old craftsmen in Thunder City, and it is said that Mr. Marz, the kingdom's minister of construction, has more than 60 years of experience in architecture, and is familiar with all architectural styles and crafts from classical times to the present.

At this point, Matthew is ashamed of himself.

However, he is not without his strengths.

If anyone could build a sturdy and functional house in the shortest possible time, Matthew would be the one.

Although he has only been in the industry for more than three years, the number of houses he has built by his hands is no less than that of the old craftsmen, thanks to the speed at which Winterfell and Akibara have been built all the way. In addition, Xiaya's building materials are also different from other places, compared to speed and sturdiness, which is completely bullying.

This kind of large-scale construction not only gives the city a new look, but most importantly, it can train a large number of experienced craftsmen.

The morning sun rose completely, dispelling some of the early morning chill a little.

As the day dawned, Matthew thought of his sister Ellie.

She should have gotten up by this time and started her daily morning exercises.

The lord's orders are interesting and practical.

Elle is too weak, she was malnourished when she was a child, but now that her days are better, she is busy at her desk every day, and her health has not been good. Matthew persuaded her countless times to exercise more, but Ellie was always perfunctory and had no real action.

In the end, it's the lord's words that work best.

It is said that soon after, the Leader will conduct an examination of all magic apprentices.

It is not clear what the content of the assessment is and what will happen after passing the assessment, but it is clear that physical fitness is also in the assessment. My sister is very strong, as a teacher, if she fails to pass the assessment, I'm afraid she won't have the face to teach students in school in the future.

Matthew was even a little glad that he didn't become an apprentice magician, but instead went down the path of an apprentice craftsman.

I was thinking about it.

Suddenly, I heard the roar of a beast in the distance.

Almost instantly, a gray-and-white striped beast sprang out of the woods on the south side and headed for one of the logging workers.

However, before the worker could react himself, an arrow came from the side and hit the beast in the stomach directly.

"Roar!"

A terrible roar.

The beast's assault was interrupted, and he fell to the ground halfway through, rolling over.

However, this damage was not enough to kill, and in anger, it rolled over and was about to continue its desperate efforts, only to find that its limbs were stiff, and it was no longer as agile as before.

A soldier and an arrow set off at the same time, arriving one step late, but the timing was just right.

The giant broad-bladed greatsword slashed in an arc from bottom to top, slicing right through the neck of the beast that had just raised its head, and blood flowed in an instant.

As the beast crashed to the ground, the others came to their senses.

When he subconsciously retreated a few steps backwards, he found that the battle had long since ended.

Roderick put away his bow and arrows, slowly stepped forward, and took a look.

"My lord, it's a dragon gray leopard." The soldier who had slain the beast stuck his sword in the ground, leaned down to examine it, and turned back to report it.

"Isn't this thing supposed to live in the depths of the mountains? How did it come out here. Roderick frowned.

"I can only say that this place is too desolate, and no one has come for too long." The soldier laughed.

"Mandy, how about the new weapon?" Roderick looked at the broadsword stuck in the ground.

"It's just amazing." The soldier named Mandy smiled from ear to ear when he said this.

(End of chapter)