In the mountains and forests, the low crescent moon sheds its last ray of light, trying its best to resist the invasion of darkness.

However, this is ultimately in vain, and the whole world will soon fall into the darkest hour before dawn.

"Madam, I did an inventory and found that there are more than thirty brothers missing."

"So many?" Nora frowned tightly, finding it hard to accept this number. "But we didn't encounter a fierce battle when we rushed out. How could there be so few people?"

"There should be many tribesmen who failed to follow the team and got stuck in the blue-skinned tribe's camp."

Nora nodded, then stood up resolutely and said:

"I'll go back now and bring them out!"

"Madam, you must not go back!"

"Yes, mother, if you go there, you probably won't be able to come out." Natalie also hugged her mother's arm tightly, as if she was afraid that she would never come back.

"No, I have to go back." Nora insisted, "I brought them into danger, and I should be the one to bring them out."

"Madam, then we will go back with you!"

"No, you stay here. If I don't come back, you take Natalie away."

"I won't leave!" Natalie was so frightened that she almost cried.

Nora patted her daughter's little hand gently, smiled and comforted:

"Don't worry, the situation may not be so bad. As far as I know, the Riverbend noble is not a murderous person. What's more, our Crow Crow Tribe has not participated in Linnia's conspiracy. He should not

Make things difficult for us.”

"Then you should bring more people, just in case."

"No need. If he really wants to harm me, I won't be able to stop him even if I take everyone from the Wandering Crow Tribe."

Everyone fell silent after hearing this.

The Wandering Crow Tribe is only a small tribe, with a total number of less than 500 people, and most of them are old, weak, women and children, so they really cannot fight against the powerful River Bend people.

"Okay, don't worry, I haven't received any warning from the gods, indicating that this trip will not be dangerous."

After appeasing the tribesmen, Nora found the direction and walked into the darkness alone.

——————————

"So, my subjects will increase by more than 9,300 people?"

"Yes, sir." Gavin said with a hint of dark circles under his eyes, "This is the preliminary statistics of the population of the thirteen tribes. The final results may be slightly different, but it should not be big."

Samwell rubbed his chin, but looked a little worried.

Of course it is a good thing for the territory's population to increase, but if it increases too fast, it will make people worry.

These 9,000 people, plus the original 2,000 people from the Huya tribe, totaled more than 10,000 people.

And this only happened in less than a month.

For a territory that has just begun to be developed, this is no longer a population explosion, but a population explosion.

The territory's food reserves were almost exhausted, and the sudden increase in population simply added fuel to the fire.

Originally there were more than 2,000 people, but Samwell could still go to Qingting Island to make a wave of investment and survive this period of time.

But now that the food rations have increased to more than 10,000 people, how can we still cheat?

Do you really think that Earl Paxter is a big enemy?

The money tree of brandy is still in its infancy and cannot bring a large amount of income to the territory immediately.

Thinking of this, Samwell finally sighed, and could only decide to let these newly joined citizens roam free for the time being.

"We can't supply so many people now, so all the more than 2,000 prisoners who surrendered last night were released and allowed to hunt and gather according to the previous methods."

"Yes, sir."

Gavin nodded in agreement, feeling a little pity in his heart.

Although he could understand the lord's difficulties, he also knew that if he released all these prisoners now, it would be difficult to gather them again in the future.

It's a pity that the food in the territory is not enough to feed so many people. Otherwise, it would be great to send so many people to build the castle.

There are also wineries that are in urgent need of manpower.

But these prisoners really cannot be moved. After all, they are the main force of hunting among the thirteen tribes. If they are sent to build the castle, the other savages in the tribe will encounter a food crisis.

Therefore, unless Yingzui Island can support all the more than 9,000 savages, these captives must be released.

Thinking of this, Gavin asked again:

"Sir, will the orphanage also not accept the elderly and young children from these thirteen tribes?"

Samwell thought for a while, then gritted his teeth and said:

"Take it! Otherwise, the people of these tribes will be scattered."

"yes."

Samwell sighed, knowing that he had to leave for Qingting Island as soon as possible, otherwise his subjects would really suffer from the northwest wind.

"In addition, all the thirteen newly added tribes have been converted into villages. You should draw up a list of village leaders as soon as possible. Remember to select all familiar savages."

The "familiar wildlings" in Samwell's words actually refer to wildlings or their relatives who intermarried with the Reach people.

For example, Gavin's new wife Oona, and brother-in-law Ucha.

Samwell insisted on getting rid of the tribal leaders this time, just to facilitate the placement of people he trusted, so that he could better control these savage villages.

He didn't want the savages to start rioting again after he left.

"Okay." Gavin quickly wrote it down, and then asked, "What about taxes? Also based on Huya Village, we are exempted for three months?"

Samwell hesitated for a moment, and finally nodded:

"right."

Although the territory's finances are in dire straits, he still plans to bring peace to the world.

After all, winning people's hearts is the most important thing now.

Moreover, those savages are so poor, how much can they collect even if they really collect taxes?

Hunting and gathering are extremely inefficient methods of production. The savages can barely feed themselves. If they really have to pay taxes, Samwell would feel guilty.

Of course, after three months, you still have to collect what you need.

Even if the tax collected is returned as welfare, it must still be collected.

This is the obligation of the citizens.

If we really want to continue to be tax-free, it won't be long before no one will remember that there is a lord above them.

What's more, Samwell has built a welfare home to help the residents support the orphans, the elderly and the young, greatly reducing their burden, and collecting some taxes will not affect their lives.

Later, the two discussed some details of resettling the savages.

After it was over, Samwell was about to catch up on his sleep, when his attendant Cato came to report:

"Sir, there is a leader who calls himself the Crow Crow Tribe and wants to see you."

"Wandering Crow Tribe? Please invite her over."

"yes."

After learning last night that most of the Crow Crow tribe had taken advantage of the chaos to escape, Samwell was still very disappointed.

Because this tribe has something like ghost grass that can enhance his spiritual attributes.

When the people from the Huya Tribe sent an invitation to the Wandering Crow Tribe on his behalf, they were rejected.

He was still worried about how to contact the other party, but he didn't expect that now, the Youcrow tribe would actually come to him.

Of course, Samwell knew that the other party should come here for the tribesmen who were captured by him.

While I was thinking, I saw a tall woman walking into the wooden house.

The dark veil covered most of her face, revealing a pair of eyes with purple pupils. Her long dark brown hair was draped over her shoulders. Her deerskin clothes were simple and rough, but they still could not hide her mysterious and noble aura.

She walked up to Samwell with elegant steps, bowed and said:
Chapter completed!