Chapter 246: Family Matters

Chapter 246: Family Matters

Mary proved with facts that human potential is limitless. In a sense, she defeated evil and slapped the Great Wizard in the face. Now, she stood proudly before Bran and reported the exact number.

Bran’s jaw hung half-open for a long time before he managed to recover.

“How is that possible? How did you count them?”

“I memorized the features of each horse.”

Bran blinked. “Each one?”

Mary nodded firmly. “Of course.”

Bran turned his head toward the opposite bank of the river. Numerous wild horses wandered lazily there, their figures scattered across dozens of miles. He tried to distinguish the features of a few horses. It wasn’t too difficult. At least, it wasn’t difficult for Bran. As a Wizard, he could start from finer details. From this perspective, Mary must have been exceptionally gifted, because with her ordinary mortal eyes, she could only distinguish them by their appearance.

Then, Bran began trying to remember them this way, counting one by one following Mary’s method. As the number increased, his mind gradually became confused.

After some experimentation, Bran was convinced. He sighed sincerely, “Amazing!”

Although he could also come up with an accurate number, he truly couldn’t do it the way Mary did.

Faced with such talent, Bran gave up on the idea of getting a herd of cattle and decided to admit defeat. He showered Mary with praise, not sparing any compliments. Finally, he advised the hardworking and meritorious Mary, “You must be tired these past few days. Get some good rest.”

“Not tired!”

Mary wasn’t lying. After counting the horses, she was in a state of excitement. Besides, the herd was too monotonous; did he think a mere few horses could satisfy her? So she stood firmly in front of Bran, refusing to leave.

“Do you have something else?” Bran decided to play dumb.

“Mm, shouldn’t we get a few more cattle?”

“Good idea. You take those idle people and go get them.” Bran decided to support Mary in spirit, as long as she was happy and stopped bothering him.

Mary was disappointed, because this wasn’t the answer she had expected. Just as she decided to continue her great house-building endeavor, things took a turn. The Ancient Tree, who knew Huahua had no major issues, grew restless from the prolonged peace and offered to help. This was an unexpected delight. Overjoyed, Mary set off together with the Ancient Tree.

…

The Snow Falcons at home were somewhat insufficient. Relying solely on them, it was very difficult to deliver messages across the vast Northlands. There were too many places they had never been. Not a single one of the various-sized tribes scattered everywhere could be missed. Others might not come, but Bran had to notify them all, so he had no choice but to ask Adam for help with this matter.

Adam was very happy to receive the request. He finally asked me for help. Bran rarely opened his mouth to ask, so as the big brother, he must support him. He even felt a bit excited; it felt good to be needed.

Bran did not want Northland City to be marginalized. It had to be a city for the Northlanders, a bridge for the Northlanders to absorb and interact with the outside world. Even if it was a City of Wizards, it must be a City of Wizards of the Northlands.

Adam showed an attitude that the Wizards here could be useful to him, which greatly improved Bran’s opinion of him. As long as this open-mindedness could be maintained, he would certainly become an excellent Lord. Bran would also try to let his influence spread within this city.

Taking advantage of this wedding, Bran hoped to attract as many clansmen as possible to come here for fun. He wanted them to see what outsiders were like and to witness the rules and systems of the outside world.

Bran even hoped that the simple and honest Northlanders might suffer more deception and learn some profound lessons during these exchanges. But in this city, that was clearly impossible. As long as he remained seated here, no one would dare. So he would detain a portion of them and have them go see the Royal Capital and other places.

As the external environment improved, the Northlands, free from the threat of war, would inevitably enter a period of rapid population growth. However, due to the low population base, the effect wouldn’t be very obvious in the early stages. He hoped that during this time, the Northlands could complete the absorption of external knowledge and culture. Even the culture of the Demon Clan should be plundered as much as possible.

Many interesting things were happening right before his eyes. Northland City and Twinwing City were two distorted cities, their rule established entirely on the strength of powerful individuals.

In Bran’s eyes, this rule was not stable. If the individuals forming the foundation of this rule made the slightest mistake, everything here would collapse. Strength encompasses all aspects. The Northlands must cultivate various types of talents to form a truly solid foundation. Only when Northlanders replaced those indispensable individuals would this foundation be considered complete.

But faced with gradually forming privileges, where clothes and meals came without effort, would his own clansmen have a sense of crisis and study hard?

Take it slow. Fortunately, the Little Wizards under his Sister’s command had already developed a habit of learning, even though the purpose of their learning leaned more towards destruction than construction. But as long as knowledge is passed down, some exceptions would always appear.

While Bran, holding Huahua, was feeling bored and started worrying about the state and the people, Zack also emerged from Twofold Mountain and returned to Northland City. Without the trees blocking the view, the towering spire in the city made him stop in his tracks involuntarily.

What was that? How had the city changed so much?

Zack felt everything around him seemed unreal. Similarly dumbfounded were those friends from Anya. Having heard about the changes in Green, a simple send-off turned into accompanying him the entire journey.

While waiting at the border, these friends also learned of Zack’s impending marriage. How could friends not come to congratulate him? So the news was quickly sent back to Lava City. Well-wishers and corresponding gifts were also on their way.

As the situation stabilized, news confirming that Wizards had taken control of Green was also verified. Anya temporarily transferred an elite unit from the border garrison to join the escort team.

Now, this team could be described as huge. Their arrival injected new vitality into Northland City, and the city consequently became bustling.