Chapter 765
Avalon’s Troll Construction Crew
After a long while, Alistair’s spirit gradually stabilized.
Much like how hardened metal becomes tougher after being quenched, this cathartic cry had left Alistair feeling significantly more stable and resilient. With her mind cooled, she also felt clearer.
Although Isabel wanted Alistair to simply lie in her embrace and rest for the night, to completely relax her spirit, Alistair was insistent. After all, it was already the latter half of the night when Alistair entered the dream. Much time had passed since then, and it was highly likely Isabel was already close to waking up.
But Alistair’s attitude was firm. She still wished for Isabel to bring up important matters first.
Unable to persuade her, Isabel finally agreed. She also keenly observed this detail—it seemed Alistair harbored a deep anxiety and unease about wasting any time, a trait she shared with Eivass.
“Do you remember the port of Summer County?” Isabel asked softly. “I recall last month when you went to the Church… I mean, when Eivass went to the Church, they took a ship from Summer County.”
“Yes, it’s quite well-built there now,” Alistair nodded. She had a relatively vivid impression of Summer County, though it was certainly not “comfortable and luxurious.” After all, Glass Island was Avalon’s largest port. If Eivass, who grew up on Glass Island, praised the construction of Summer County, it was likely just politeness.
“But Summer County already possesses all the essential elements of a developed port city. What it lacks is population… far from enough. As a port city, there are only about a dozen people on any given street! The number of newly built, empty warehouses exceeds the active population; there are more trolls under construction than dockworkers unloading cargo.”
Alistair commented, “I can only say that those Goblin engineering teams have done a very good job. The ground is paved smoothly, rivaling even Glass Island. And everything in Summer County is new—so new that I could smell paint on any street I walked.”
“Was it a Goblin engineering team? I thought it was a Troll engineering team,” Isabel was taken aback, then marveled, “The construction crew consisted entirely of tall, large Trolls, almost all of whom were Extraordinary. It frightened many people at first. Not only were they a different race, but they also looked terrifying, and every single one of them was Extraordinary… They could build a building out of thin air in just over a day.”
“A building?” Alistair sounded somewhat doubtful. In her memory, there were no tall structures that could be called buildings; they were all small, single-story houses.
“Yes, a special type of building. It’s said to be quite popular in Star Antinomy, where workers live. Perhaps it’s because the cement strength in Star Antinomy is high, or perhaps the bricks are superior, allowing buildings to be constructed very tall without collapsing easily,” Isabel nodded, adding, “When you were there, they hadn’t finished the construction yet—those Trolls first cleared the dense forest around Summer County, bought the timber at market price, and then began building roads. After they finished the roads, they started constructing warehouses; after you left, they began building residential areas.
“These are different from the houses we live in; they are very tall high-rises. Each high-rise is over ten stories tall, with two elevators sealed by wire mesh on the outside—these elevators are even more advanced than those of the Lloyd Society. And each floor of these high-rises has over twenty empty rooms; each room can accommodate four beds, offering more space than many inns.
“According to this standard, a single building can house thirteen hundred people. And such high-rises, built by just one construction team, can be completed in less than two days—though they are just gray walls and empty rooms without any decoration, the efficiency is astonishing. Those five construction teams completed thirty-three such high-rises in just over ten days…
“That gray cluster of buildings can be seen from very far away. Many reporters traveled to Summer County specifically to photograph these giant buildings… They viewed these buildings as a ‘proof of advancement and prosperity,’ and a ‘popular architectural style from Star Antinomy.’ As a result, Avalon now seems to be considering building such buildings as well… but it’s difficult to obtain these bricks in Avalon, and they are being scalped at very high prices on the black market.”
“…That’s truly quite astonishing.” Hearing this news, Alistair was genuinely surprised. She had underestimated the labor capacity of the Trolls. She had initially thought they were only there to build warehouses and repair railways, but she hadn’t expected them to even help clear the surrounding forests and build roads.
In this era, there was no discussion of environmental protection and greening—the main factors hindering urban expansion were uneven terrain, complex topography, and dense forests. The cost of mass road construction was too high, and more often than not, it required urban administrators to foot the bill. Therefore, in Avalon, apart from the main thoroughfares, other areas of expansion relied on developers who had purchased land rights to expand themselves. For cities where the land lacked development value, only a small central district might have passable roads, while the surrounding towns and villages outside were crisscrossed by uneven dirt paths. This is also why, even with the widespread adoption of trains, there were still large numbers of horse-drawn carriages and even donkey carts used by merchants.
It was said that one Troll slave could replace seven hardworking laborers, but she hadn’t expected these Extraordinary slaves to be so capable. It was no wonder those slave owners in Anxi wanted to purchase a large number of Trolls. This meant that if they wished, they could erect a simple military fortress from a flat ground in just a week—the reinforced bricks from Star Antinomy were extremely strong, making them difficult to shatter even with large-caliber cannons fired from ships. Such military fortresses would actually be more robust than many fortresses in Avalon.
“What technology are they using?” Alistair’s mind immediately went to this question. “Can we send someone to steal their techniques?”
“…Uh, probably not,” Isabel hesitated, then continued, “Our workers might not be able to run with steel bars several meters high. They don’t push their carts; they carry them. To save on wheels and prevent excessive wear, it’s not people pushing carts, but carts carrying people.
“Moreover, many of their construction techniques—it’s said to be like a ritual. The workers simply don’t understand it. They would just gather around a bonfire, sing and dance, and the cement would fly up on its own, spreading along the walls. The walls would even writhe and consume the cement. This initially frightened many people, and quite a few reported it to the Inspection Bureau and the Church, causing quite a stir for a long time.
“However, the Trolls themselves have good character. Although they don’t speak Avalon language, they are quite polite. Later, some townspeople gradually got used to them and, seeing them work so hard, brought them food and water. They immediately knelt on the ground. As they grew accustomed, it turned into bowing as a form of thanks. By the time they were about to leave, many residents of Summer County had developed feelings for them—they requested blessings from them, considering it a form of auspicious power…”
Isabel recounted the stories from within Avalon with vivid detail.
“That’s understandable—after all, they did bring prosperity and wealth to Summer County. It’s not strange for the locals to see them as embodiments of abundance and good fortune,” Alistair nodded. “With these well-built, sturdy roads, densely packed port warehouses, goods being handled at the ports, and three railways about to open, connecting the east and west of Avalon… and these sturdy buildings capable of housing large populations, Summer County’s prosperity is only a matter of time.
“Speaking of which,” Alistair paused and decided to explain something to Isabel, “Just a side note… those Trolls kneeling was likely not out of gratitude or politeness… but out of fear.”
(End of Chapter)
