BMN Chapter 40 (Patreon)

Chapter 40: Village Expansion

Naming these 30 Ogres had cost Bai Luo over 50,000 magicules.

The remaining 14,000, on the recommendation of Hakurou and Sekiou, Bai Luo used to name several individuals with special talents in the village.

There were five of them in total: Baifunpo, who was skilled in medicine; Kurobee from the original work, who had survived and was skilled in forging; Ginkaku, who was adept at calculations; Yukihime, who was very knowledgeable; and finally, Benihime, who, like Sekiou and Benimaru, came from the Red Oni clan and was quite confident in her culinary skills. 

Perhaps it was a case of their appearances reflecting their inner nature, but after these five talented individuals received their names from Bai Luo, the Extra Skills they awakened were almost all related to their respective talents.

【Bai Luo】 Magicules: 26,000 EP

Twenty-six thousand. This was the amount of magicules Bai Luo had left after completing the first batch of namings.

It was less, yet it wasn't.

‘My magicules haven't disappeared; they've just taken a different form to stay by my side.’

This wasn't like spending real money on gacha games. Not to mention Benimaru and Souei, Shuna and Shion were genuinely adorable girls. Especially Shion—since becoming Bai Luo's head guard, she stuck to his side almost constantly.

Shuna was a little jealous but couldn't afford to be as idle as Shion. As the Miko Princess, she not only needed to serve Bai Luo personally but also had to convey his decisions to the Ogre tribe.

After taking charge of the Ogre village, Bai Luo officially began his reforms.

First was the structure of the village, which shifted from its previous mercenary model to become more independent and self-sufficient. Then came the reclamation of new land and the expansion of the village's area. Every Ogre was a human-shaped excavator—even the children contributed their strength to the process.

"The center of the village will be the plaza, then we'll divide it into four areas in a cross-shaped structure."

In a certain quaint courtyard, Bai Luo sat under the eaves, his lap serving as a pillow for a girl with delicate, fairy-like features—it was Ogerpon. At this moment, Ogerpon was curled up, her head buried in Bai Luo's embrace, her cute nose sniffing her master's scent as she let out comfortable murmurs.

"Residential area, work area, entertainment area, and planting area. Then we'll set up shops along the crossroads to create a shopping street."

While patting Ogerpon's back to lull the child to sleep, Bai Luo unhurriedly arranged the work.

"Swish, swish, swish."

Shuna wrote down Bai Luo's instructions without missing a single word. She listened very attentively, occasionally asking about key details.

"Mm, mm-hmm, I see..."

Shion was also scribbling beside them. Bai Luo peeked at Shion's paper and found it covered in boxes of various sizes. As for the words... Bai Luo could only say it was very Shion-like because he couldn't understand it at all.

Fortunately, there was still Shuna. The Miko Princess of the Ogre tribe was truly intelligent and had great talent for internal affairs.

"The residential area is almost complete, but... isn't it a bit too big?"

Following Bai Luo's instructions, Shuna had the Ogres clear a section of the forest to build houses. The number of houses in the residential area already far exceeded the needs of the Ogre tribe. With a total of fewer than 250 tribe members, even including the 30 who were out on mercenary commissions, the houses in the residential area were less than half occupied if allocated by population.

But that was clearly impossible. The Ogres lived in a family-based model, and the entire village had only about eighty households, so they didn't need that many wooden houses at all.

"This is in preparation for the future."

Bai Luo thought of the village Rimuru had built in the original work. He intended to follow that model and subjugate more Majin tribes. Doing so would not only bring Bai Luo new magicules but also prepare for the future establishment of a nation. 

Since he was going to become a Demon Lord, he couldn't do it alone. Subjects, an army, and a populace were all indispensable.

"You mean?"

"The Ogre tribe isn't the only intelligent Majin tribe in the Great Jura Forest." Bai Luo said, "Lizardmen, Goblins, Insectars, Tengu, Orcs... I need their power."

Now that Shuna and the others were his dependents, there was no need to hide some of his secrets from them.

"If we can win them all over, even if it's just 1% each, with each person providing Lord Bai Luo with 10 magicules, that's several million."

When Shuna mentioned millions of magicules, her little face flushed, looking just like a young wife who had just found out her husband had an impressive annual salary.

"1% is just the beginning."

Bai Luo was confident that under his people-friendly policies, the proportion of magicules these monsters could provide would continue to rise. It was important to know that this magicule provision wasn't a one-time thing. Once they became Bai Luo's followers, named recipients, and dependents, every time they grew stronger, they would provide Bai Luo with feedback of 1% to 3% of their increased magicules.

When the time was right, Bai Luo would use his magicules to name them. In this way, the feedback would increase from 3% to 15%. It might seem like a loss at first, as Bai Luo would need to spend magicules for their evolution. But on second thought, was it really a loss?

Take the Ogres, for example. Was 12,000 magicules the limit for Benimaru and Shion after evolving into Kijin? Obviously not! They would continue to grow stronger. And the magicules gained after they grew stronger had nothing to do with Bai Luo—it was a return on his investment.

Therefore, for Bai Luo, who possessed the Unique Skill 【Leader】, bestowing names wasn't a waste at all, but rather spending money where it mattered most.

Although 【Leader】 is powerful, it has its limits.

Over this period, Bai Luo had roughly figured out the limits of the 【Leader】 ability. Its upper limit is 1 million magicules. Any more than that is beyond the scope of what 【Leader】 can interfere with.

This wasn't surprising. 【Leader】 was just a Unique Skill; it was certainly impossible to rely on it for limitless growth in magicules. Fortunately, Bai Luo could use these magicules to strengthen the monsters under his command.

As long as I use up the magicules before they reach 1 million, 【Leader】 can bring me more magicules again.

By repeating this cycle, not only Bai Luo himself, but also the Majin he named would experience dramatic improvement. Therefore, Bai Luo would not harm the intelligent races in the forest but would instead give them a better future.

You are all precious experience sources to me!

Without the need for slaughter, just by making them submit, he could continuously obtain magicules. Could there be anything more delightful?

"Let me go, Lord Bai Luo!" Shion volunteered. "I'll beat every single one of them into submission!"

"I've already sent Souei and the Oniwaban to investigate this matter." Bai Luo didn't plan to launch an attack so soon. "When he brings back information about the nearby tribes, I will make further arrangements."

"Aww..." Shion was a little disappointed. She really wanted to go out and fight.

"Don't worry, you'll get your chance to act."

"Really?!" Shion was still easy to handle. The girl was just a straightforward, simple-minded big sister. In terms of intelligence, she was basically on the same level as Ogerpon—not too bright.

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