The residents of Dawn City had been in a state of excitement these past few days.
This was because the first task after the Security Squad, which offered a monthly salary of 12 Silver Pucks and now fully recruited, was to measure the land on the wasteland outside the Southern District.
Every ten acres were divided into one plot, with a deep trench dug in between, one blade wide, serving as a divider.
Moreover, to speed up the measurement process, the Saintlight Vampires hired 50 civilians and promised that each of them would receive three Silver Pucks as payment upon completing the work.
The rush of people instantly filled all 50 spots.
At this moment, everyone could see that the Saintlight Vampires were truly going to fulfill their promise of allocating land to every adult.
By the Goddess of Life, this was the best news they had ever heard.
Many excited residents, after receiving free food, voluntarily went to help, just to complete this task faster. The sooner it was done, the sooner they might receive their land.
Rekel, upon receiving Harrison's notice, also arrived at the wasteland outside the Southern District.
Looking at the black soil beneath the short grass, Rekel felt an inexplicable urge to cry.
He swore to the Goddess of Life, this was fertile land. Even in Eric Town, such land did not exceed twenty acres.
Land represented hope, represented the future.
And he would also receive a piece of it—ten acres, enough to support his family. Perhaps in the future, he could marry a wife and bid farewell to his previous nomadic life.
A civilian with land was a civilian with roots, no longer worrying about starving to death at any moment. Li De's plan to distribute land undoubtedly struck at the lifeline of the civilians.
"Rekel, you are the captain of the Logistics Team. You also take charge of organizing this. Measuring the land will be a massive project."
Harrison stood under a large tree, wearing a white mage robe, with a very neutral appearance and a gentle tone of voice. Behind him followed two vampires whose faces looked somewhat pale due to the daylight.
Daylight was too unfriendly to vampires, so the task of measuring the land could only be handed over to humans.
"Yes, Master."
Rekel's original fear of vampires had largely disappeared after interacting with these Saintlight Vampires.
These vampires were nothing like the legends. They were courteous, polite, and each one was handsome or beautiful, quickly evoking goodwill.
If they weren't actually vampires, Rekel believed that these people would have already settled down wholeheartedly in Dawn City.
But given the current situation, even though they were vampires, they still intended to settle down wholeheartedly in Dawn City.
The temptation they offered was too great for anyone to refuse.
Not only were they giving out land, but they also planned to build schools and mage towers, completely arranging for survival and development. All they needed to do was settle down, and they could see the future.
This sense of visible hope was an unprecedented experience for the civilians who had survived amidst the turmoil at the border.
Thus, the sense of belonging these civilians felt towards Dawn City developed much faster than Li De had anticipated. So fast that many of his strategies hadn't even been deployed yet, and the goal had already been achieved.
However, Li De, who was currently purchasing supplies in Green City, naturally wasn't aware of the changes already occurring among the residents.
The second day, the third day.
On the fourth day of measuring the land, with the participation of hundreds of people, the originally planned week-long land measurement was completed in half the time.
And just as all the civilians were preparing to draw lots to receive their own plots of land, Dawn City welcomed its second batch of residents.
Odys felt delighted because both operations at the border had gone perfectly, without encountering those damned Beastmen.
The first time, they brought back more than 700 people, and this time they found a group of over a thousand displaced civilians.
No one could remain calm under the shadow of Whispering Bats covering the sky. A group of civilians who had lost their land under the military force of Beastmen immediately collapsed upon seeing the vampires.
Had he not been prepared, these thousands of people would have scattered and fled.
There was no resistance, not even anyone daring to step forward. The strongest among them was a Level 4 hunter, utterly incapable of resisting.
This massive group of displaced civilians from more than ten villages was thus captured by the vampires.
When the Whispering Bats carrying the crowd descended upon Dawn City late at night, Harrison, who had already received the news, instructed Rekel to lead the Logistics Team and Security Squad along with the vampires to welcome the new residents.
Hedgehog, the first to become a resident of Dawn City, was now a member of the city's Security Squad. After receiving orders tonight, he joined the team welcoming the second batch of residents.
On the first day of joining the Security Squad, Hedgehog received a full five Silver Pucks as payment.
Goddess above, this was the first time in his life he had received so much money at once, and there would be six more Silver Pucks at the end of the month.
He absolutely loved this job.
But what excited him most was the upcoming land allocation—that was his root.
He had originally felt quite uneasy about joining the Security Squad, especially since there were Saintlight Vampires in it.
But these few days, patrolling with the mage masters of the Saintlight Vampires in the Security Squad, his thoughts had quietly changed.
Contrary to what he had thought, the supposedly terrifying vampires were not so bad after all. Apart from being extremely averse to sunlight, they didn't seem much different from humans in other aspects.
"Boss, yesterday I caught a wild chicken outside. The soup was incredibly delicious. I think you must not have tasted it before. After we finish tonight, why don't you come over to my place?"
For instance, now, Hedgehog understood the personalities of the two Saintlight Vampires in their small team. One liked to collect odd trinkets, like cups from hundreds of years ago, while the other enjoyed human food.
Sure enough, hearing this, the vampire beside him instinctively swallowed. "Is it really that good?"
Vampires' craving for human food was generally not high, but there were exceptions, like Li De, who simply enjoyed tasting delicious food.
"Absolutely."
"Well, alright. After we finish tonight, I'll go to your place to try it. By the Goddess of Night, if you dare deceive me, I will beat you up severely."
Hedgehog chuckled. "Of course not. My wife's cooking skills were famously excellent in Eric Town. And now, even in our Dawn City, they are commendable."
The vampire's expression subtly changed, and he gave Hedgehog a deep look before nodding.
"That's right, our Dawn City."
This statement made Hedgehog pause momentarily, unsure why the other repeated it. Before he could think further, cheers from the crowd around the square interrupted his thoughts.
The second batch of humans had arrived.