Levi had several reasons for doing this, aside from the fact that the Kas Mountain Range was unsuitable for development.

From a military perspective, even if the iron mine were captured, the enemy couldn’t take the ore deposit with them. He would have plenty of time to fight a war of attrition with those vying for it.

He could even let them have the iron mine for a while, wait for the various groups to beat each other’s brains out over it, and then come back to clean up the mess.

But if High Cliff Castle were located here, they would be forced into a defensive war, putting them on the back foot the entire time.

No one rejected the proposal. Faced with Levi, who clearly possessed exceptional military insight, they felt no one else in the room could compare.

Although they didn’t understand the deeper reasoning behind it, they knew they couldn’t go wrong listening to their Lord.

...

With the war over, it was time to return.

Nearly half a month had passed since he left High Cliff Castle, and Levi was eager to go back.

The more than three thousand people would be relocated in five batches. High Cliff Castle didn’t have much housing; if all three thousand flooded in at once, they would probably have to spend half a month sleeping under the stars.

Unlike the hasty rush to get there, they were much better equipped for the journey back. Although the Feder Remnants lived in the mountains, they still had resources like horses.

After all, while the Wilderness was poor, its natural pastures meant the land was never short of horses.

The migration wasn’t just about moving people. The Evil Fang Tribe’s stored supplies and livestock also had to be transported to High Cliff Castle.

With the elderly and children mixed into the large procession, their pace could be described as a snail’s crawl.

Levi rode a tall black steed, galloping at the head of the column. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

It took the supply-laden procession the better part of a day just to emerge from the Kas Mountain Range. Combined with the time spent packing up in the morning, the sky was already glowing with the colors of sunset.

Before him lay a vast, boundless prairie. The ankle-high ryegrass rolled like waves of wheat.

After being cooped up in the mountains, where every glance was met with dense forests, he was suddenly faced with this vast, open world.

Levi felt an indescribable sense of liberation, as if he had just been freed from a cage. He couldn’t help but let out a wild cry.

"The vast sky is for birds to fly, the wide ocean for fish to leap! I, Hu Hansan, have returned!"

"Levi, who’s Hu Hansan?"

He turned to find Baisitina had ridden up behind him on a white horse at some point.

"Oh, a friend of mine," Levi said dismissively.

His skin had grown thicker these days. He no longer felt embarrassed when someone caught him in the middle of a chuunibyou outburst; it was like a Gentle Breeze on the Face.

Baisitina gathered her white hair, which had been tousled by the wind, and rode alongside Levi. "Will Mier be able to manage the rest of this on his own?"

Her tone was filled with worry and distrust.

That was right. As Levi was leaving, he had left Mier alone at the Feder Tribe to oversee the rest of the migration and the development of the iron mine.

Baisitina would have been the best person to leave behind, but Levi, who had grown accustomed to being a hands-off boss, definitely needed to bring his Chief Steward of the Imperial Palace back to High Cliff Castle to handle logistics.

’Before I transmigrated, I slaved away at work like an animal for chump change, and that was one thing. But to transmigrate and still have to work every damn day? Wouldn’t that defeat the whole purpose of transmigrating?’

Now that he was a Lord, he naturally wanted to experience what it felt like to be the boss.

"No one is born with knowledge. How can you see a rainbow without experiencing the storm?"

"You can’t keep coddling Mier and treating him like a child. You have to trust him and give him a chance to prove himself."

Facing into the breeze, his bangs, long and untrimmed for months, were blown into a messy tangle. Levi tilted his head slightly, and the setting sun cast a golden glow on the other half of his face. "Do you know what Mier came to me and said the day before yesterday?"

Baisitina was momentarily stunned by his handsome face and eyes as deep as a starry sky. She quickly recovered, suppressed the fluttering in her heart, and averted her gaze. "What did he say?"

"He asked to learn Swordsmanship from me. Haha, a boy who hates fighting, who’s even afraid of killing, actually asked me to teach him Swordsmanship for the first time ever."

Levi laughed for a moment, then his expression grew calm.

"Everyone grows up. The final outcome of that growth is uncertain, but one’s environment can determine its direction."

"After experiencing this war, Mier is gradually becoming a proper man."

"You all protected him too well before..."

With that, Levi spurred his horse and galloped ahead, enjoying the freedom and the vastness of the world alone.

’Honestly, some people would beg their grandfathers and grandmothers and still not get an opportunity like this.’

’And because of his connection to Baisitina, Levi was even willing to provide a safety net for Mier while he gained experience.’

’In his past life, how was this any different from a chairman promoting some greenhorn college student straight to general manager? Even a real father wouldn’t go this far.’

’But it was also because Levi valued Mier’s Talent. If he were truly a lost cause, Levi couldn’t be bothered with all this. At most, he’d just let High Cliff Castle support another freeloader.’

By the next morning, after a full day of travel, they were very close to High Cliff Castle. It would only take another half-day’s ride to arrive.

Levi habitually stood on his horse’s back, raising a Mirror Tube to survey the distance. His Level 11 Riding Skill, combined with his supreme body control, allowed him to stand on horseback as if on solid ground.

As for the Mirror Tube, he had swiped it from Mier.

One look was all it took. He quickly slid back down onto his horse’s back and shouted, "Zat, take the men and follow me! Everyone else, rest here for now!"

Through the Mirror Tube, Levi had actually spotted a group of Wilderness People attacking a merchant team.

The merchant team’s Mercenaries had circled their wagons to act as a simple defensive fortification. This was a simple and practical tactic used by all Debei Merchant Teams when facing raids from Wilderness Bandits.

The Mercenaries were struggling to hold them off, as the bandits had the advantage in numbers and included several tough, burly characters wearing tattered Leather Armor.

In fact, after a moment of observation, the Lord realized he was at least half responsible for this situation.

Based on details like their equipment and racial makeup, these Wilderness Bandits were clearly old acquaintances: the same group of Wilderness People his forces had thrashed back at the Feder Tribe.

After their defeat and rout, they had instinctively regrouped into countless small squads of varying sizes, banding together for survival.

Like ink dropped into the ocean, they had scattered in all directions across the Wilderness.

Unfortunately, a merchant team happened to be returning from the depths of the Wilderness and ran right into them.

Facing the obviously outnumbered mercenary Guard Corps, they didn’t believe this group could be as fierce as the people of the Feder Tribe. The wealthy merchant team ignited their inherent greed, and their courage turned vicious.

’We couldn’t beat those absurdly strong Beastmen, sure, but can’t we at least handle a few Little Karami?’

So, they decided to pull off a big score to make up for their losses in the last war.