Global Lord: Start with Divine Favor

Chapter 916 192: Return to the Golden Pansy Domain (Part 2)

Lin Rui realized that over the past few days, he hadn't had any intimate interactions, and indeed, his temper was running a bit high. He couldn't help but feel a warm sensation at the tip of his nose as he recalled those memories of her earnestly trying to please him.

This little Priestess was still a pure and chaste maiden, but as she once said, where the sunlight could not enter, he could. This sort of thing had happened several times already.

Not having seen her for three months, Lin Rui naturally missed their intimate interactions. After all, absence makes the heart grow fonder.

Lin Rui wished he could take her back to the palace right now and indulge for dozens of rounds, losing himself in her soft, fair, and delicate body.

But Lin Rui, with a willpower of over three hundred points, wouldn't lack the self-control to completely immerse himself in beauty.

Especially now, with hundreds of thousands of military and civilians watching him, eagerly awaiting his leadership to settle everyone and listening to his every word, every command.

So Lin Rui forcefully restrained the restlessness within his body and calmly said to Yuyu, the first Priestess of the domain: "Yes, finally back, and the followers of the Goddess of Fortune have greatly increased. So, how is everything in the domain?"

Yuyu's smile froze, awkwardly smiling, she said: "At this point, should I say smooth or not smooth? Or smooth... not smooth."

"Are you playing word games with me? Alright, I can imagine your performance; it surely wasn't smooth sailing." However, Lin Rui didn't reprimand her; this was a joyous moment of reunion after a long separation.

Being harsh at this moment would really ruin the mood.

Besides, the domain's situation seemed to be thriving; as long as everyone was still here and the domain remained, a few small troubles weren't a big problem.

So Lin Rui generously waved his hand and said, "Go bless your followers. Where's Caroline?"

"Here, my Lord, I'm here." Caroline, dressed in professional attire with a white shirt wrapping around her voluptuous figure, immediately stepped up from the stairs below.

"Seeing the troops continuously returning, we came at the first moment to welcome you."

Although Caroline still had a touch of girlish innocence, as a top student of the Imperial Academy, her planning in civil affairs was unparalleled.

Being Legendary-level already meant she was extraordinary, a genius among geniuses in civil affairs.

If it were ancient times, or even now, in the empire's core, she would be competent enough to serve as a Chancellor of iron, Chief of Cabinet, or Minister of Finance.

However, the empire was, after all, full of decay and darkness. For a commoner like her entering the empire's vast internal affairs system, starting as a clerk and climbing up, she might not even become a minor section chief in the Ministry of Internal Affairs by the time of her death.

This was fortunate for the Golden Pansy Domain. It could be said that the current appearance and grand scale of the Golden Pansy Domain owed much to this Chief Civil Servant.

Lin Rui checked her level and found that she had already risen to Tier Six!

Lin Rui was astonished. He remembered that when this girl joined the domain, she was seemingly only Tier Two?

Though the domain initially focused on nurturing her, giving her a Holy Light Messenger job change scroll to elevate her to Tier Four, in just three short months, she had risen from Tier Four to Tier Six?

So Lin Rui couldn't help but inquire: "Caroline, your level has advanced really fast. You've kept up with the military's progress in the Plane War. What happened?"

Caroline shrugged with innocence, saying: "I don't know either. Suddenly, the sky showered golden light, and then I advanced."

That luck was incredible!

The Radiant Hourglass had been activated three times. Soldiers who gained advancements were less than a thousandth, and Caroline was chosen twice out of three?

The Luck King's fortune sure was infuriating.

Others fought hard battles to advance to Super-Tier, while she did nothing, and from behind the lines, she could easily catch up with the majority!

Luckily she's only Tier Six; if she had advanced to Tier Seven, even Lin Rui would have felt a bit unbalanced.

Of course, Lin Rui soon got over it, realizing that without his efforts in the Plane War, how could such opportunities arise?

That's also his duty as Lord, to bring prosperity to the people.

So Lin Rui quickly dismissed this and instead asked: "Is the housing in the domain sufficient? The army's size has increased significantly this time, and there are many technical artisans and accompanying family members who need to be settled."

The army could be stationed in the camp, but definitely couldn't let their wives, daughters, parents, and numerous technical artisans stay there.

Especially since Lin Rui had also recruited many high-end production talents, like the Epic-level Master of Pharmacy promised by the Elf, which must be settled properly no matter what.

If they were dissatisfied and fled the domain, Lin Rui would suffer a great loss.

As Lin Rui knew, insufficient housing within the domain was one of the major reasons for people fleeing.

Fortunately, Caroline was trustworthy. If she, as a Legendary-level Civil Servant, lacked even this foresight, she might as well give up her position to someone more competent.

Moreover, the domain had long adhered to the policy of building civilian housing and developing the real estate industry.

Because even without Lin Rui returning with a large army, the domain would continuously accept refugees and Explorers.

Triggering a [Population Boom] trait would instantly increase the domain's population by dozens.

If not prepared in advance, these new populations couldn't be settled.

Building residential areas within the domain was one of the domain's firm, long-term execution policies.

However, some small problems arose, as Caroline replied: "The domain continuously expands outward, and there are over four thousand vacant rooms, but now it faces a rather tricky issue: the domain's area is not quite enough. Further construction would result in illegal residences and slums, which are not recognized, can't enjoy the domain's various traits and, crucially, are not protected by the Plane War's invincibility."

The domain's previous area was indeed small, only 280 miles.

Subtracting the palace complex, industrial zone, military zone, functional zone, commercial zone, storage zone, and agriculture zone, the area available for residential construction was perhaps only a few dozen miles. After all, the Golden Pansy Domain was previously at the small town level.

If only residential houses were built, it would surely be inadequate to accommodate a large population. Thus, many towering city buildings appeared within the domain, combining the Upper City District and Lower City District.

Yet Lin Rui couldn't understand; how could Caroline, a Legendary-level Civil Servant, be stumped by such a minor issue?

"You should deploy the Territorial Essence, right? Doesn't that increase the domain's area?"

One of the domain's traits is [Vast Territory].

Lin Rui remembered clearly that one Territorial Essence triggered the Vast Territory trait, increasing the domain's area by 5 miles.

Lin Rui brought back a multitude of Territorial Essences; even triggering a few dozen Vast Territory traits could increase the domain area by over 100 miles.

Though it might not fundamentally resolve the tight land resources, it could greatly ease the situation at least.

The domain's total area was only 280 miles; increasing it by over 100 miles could enhance it by at least a third, possibly boosting it by half.

How could it be stumped?

Upon hearing Lin Rui's response, Caroline shook her head repeatedly and said, distressed, "We absolutely can't deploy the Territorial Essence! That would only exacerbate the problem!"

"???" What nonsense are you talking about? I can't understand.

Lin Rui furrowed his brows and, seeing Yuyu sneaking away and hiding behind Audrey, immediately asked: "Yuyu, where are you going?"

"Oh? Me? I... I just remembered that Wutong might not know you're back yet. I'm going to inform Wutong about it; don't you miss her?"

This excuse was unbeatable, and even Lin Rui didn't know how to respond for a moment.

It was truly challenging to surprise someone so lazy as her, yet she managed to concoct such a perfect excuse to dodge.