Lord Kale stood before the mountain range of Marina City.
As he looked at the newly opened road stretching out before him, a look of deep emotion appeared on his face as well.
To think that a road connecting Marina City and the Pokémon Domain had actually been forcibly carved straight through the Coastal Mountains.
In the past, this was something he would have considered absolutely impossible. Yet now, all of it had become reality. This was not something human manpower alone could ever achieve—only Pokémon possessed the power to make such a feat possible.
As his gaze followed the road extending far into the distance, a convoy of carriages suddenly came into view, rapidly approaching. It was a merchant caravan.
"Your Highness Aven!"
Upon seeing the carriages arrive, Lord Kale immediately led the officials behind him forward and bowed in salute.
The moment the road had been opened, he had received news that Aven would be traveling to Marina City through this passage, so he had immediately brought the officials here to welcome him.
Even so, Aven's speed of arrival still surprised him greatly. From the Pokémon Domain to Marina City, the caravan had taken only half a day to arrive—and this was despite being fully loaded with goods.
In the past, if the Pokémon Domain wanted to transport supplies to Marina City, it could only rely on Bibarel hauling goods across mountains and ravines. But now, the road between the two places was completely unobstructed.
"This is truly wonderful. From now on, Marina City will no longer be a lonely island on the fringes," the officials of Marina City said excitedly.
With a direct road leading straight to Aspiration City, the relationship between Marina City and Aspiration City would grow much closer, and Marina City itself would usher in tremendous development.
"Everyone, please rise," Aven said as he stepped down from the carriage.
Along the way, he had ridden in a carriage pulled by Skuntank, and the journey had been remarkably smooth.
Naturally, this was thanks to the Rock-type Pokémon, who had long since used their abilities to turn the soft ground into solid stone.
Although they had not used cement like in the future world, the rock roads laid by Rock-type Pokémon were not much inferior in effect.
Aven was very satisfied with the riding comfort as well. With this, it would be possible to attempt opening long-distance passenger carriage routes between the two locations.
Pulled by Skuntank, it took only half a day to travel from Marina City to Aspiration City. This would greatly promote exchanges between the people of both regions.
Not only did he plan to establish long-distance passenger carriages between Marina City and the Pokémon Domain, but he also intended to pave large areas of flat stone roads throughout Aspiration City itself, fully laying out its transportation network.
After hearing Aven's words, Lord Kale and the officials rose from the ground and stood respectfully at his side.
"Everyone has worked hard," Aven said, sweeping his gaze across them.
These officials had all originally come from the Pokémon Domain, and over this period of time, they had fully integrated into Marina City's administrative system.
Upon hearing his words, the officials hurriedly replied that it was no hardship at all. Their faces were filled with excitement—now that there was a road connecting to the Pokémon Domain, they could return there frequently as well.
Afterward, Lord Kale led Aven toward Marina City, and along the way Aven inspected the progress of the Pokémon Breeding Zone established in the Coastal Mountains.
Once they entered the outskirts of Marina City, a vast expanse of lush green wheat fields came into view, with countless farmers busy working among them.
Some of these farmers had been brought here by Aven back then, under the condition that they would shed their status as serfs. Now, they had gradually grown accustomed to this new way of life.
Freed from serfdom and able to live here as free citizens, it felt to them as though their very lives had been reborn.
In addition to the former serfs Aven had brought over, because Marina City had now begun implementing the same system as the Pokémon Domain, a large number of Marina City's own serfs had also successfully escaped their former status.
Although the nobles of Marina City were extremely dissatisfied with the serf promotion system, the city was currently in dire need of laborers. Coupled with Lord Kale's full support, there was little they could do.
After all, Lord Kale himself was the largest serf owner in Marina City. Since even he had begun pushing forward the serf promotion policies, the other nobles had no way to oppose them.
Moreover, with the Marina City Knight Order and the Pokémon Domain backing Lord Kale, even if the nobles wanted to resist, they had no means to do so and could only watch as the reforms were implemented.
At the same time, as more land in Marina City was reclaimed and cultivated, the city gradually became prosperous. If the nobles wished to develop their own lands, they could only follow behind Lord Kale's lead.
"Your Highness Aven! Your Highness Aven! Your Highness Aven!"
Upon seeing Aven, large numbers of commoners and serfs immediately knelt on one knee and bowed deeply.
To them, Aven was the one who had truly changed their fate. In the eyes of these commoners, Aven's prestige had already surpassed that of Lord Kale himself.
"Kale, you've done very well," Aven said.
"Now that the road between Marina City and the Pokémon Domain has been completed, you must further advance Marina City's reforms."
"At the same time, I will continue establishing Pokémon Centers, Pokémon Gyms, and other facilities throughout Marina City's territory."
"Additionally, the rights belonging to the lords must begin to be reclaimed. I can allow these lords to retain ownership of their land, but their authority over territorial governance must be withdrawn."
As Aven toured Marina City's lands, he planned the next phase of its development. This place would become the first Pokémon Domain, with some of its institutions coming directly under the administration of the Pokémon Domain.
Upon hearing his words, Lord Kale was visibly stunned. He had already prepared himself for the establishment of Pokémon Centers and Pokémon Gyms.
However, reclaiming the rights of the lords was something he had never expected. If that truly happened, could they still be called lords?
"The reason the noble system exists," Aven explained, "is because the lords' territories are too vast to govern effectively."
"But once the Pokémon League is established, that reason will no longer exist. At that time, the Pokémon League will set up branches in every territory, and everything will be uniformly managed by city halls."
Aven explained to Kale that the Pokémon Domain had already begun implementing this system, and Marina City would soon become a subordinate territory developed under the Pokémon Domain as well.
By concentrating all territorial authority and handing it over to the Pokémon League—this massive administrative machine—the efficiency of resource production and utilization would increase dramatically.
"But what about the nobles?" Kale asked, his gaze flickering.
Based on Aven's ideas, he could already understand the benefits of such reforms. In the future, his own authority in Marina City would also be strengthened.
However, those nobles who had been deeply entrenched in Marina City for generations would not so easily surrender their power. And what about the nobles of Aspiration City—how would they view Aven's actions?
If Marina City's nobles were next, would Aspiration City's nobles follow? That would have an enormous impact on governing Aspiration City as well.
"The nobles' thoughts?" Aven raised his head and glanced at Kale. "Do you think that with the power we currently command, we need to care about what these lords think?"
"For generations, the lords of Marina City have retained their lands and expanded their vassals in order to better protect and manage their territories."
"But now, no matter how much they expand their forces, they cannot withstand even a single knight order from the Pokémon Domain. When all resistance is futile, what choice do you think they will make?"
There was a profound meaning in his expression. "It's not that we are seizing their power—it's that we are having them return the power they hold. After all, protecting and governing the territory no longer requires these nobles."
"I understand, Your Highness Aven," Kale nodded after a long pause.
The reason he had hesitated was that he feared chaos would erupt across Marina City without the lords maintaining order.
But it was clear that Aven had already prepared for everything. Setting aside Aven's immense prestige in Marina City alone, did the lords truly have any other choice besides submission?
"Of course, there is still another option," Aven continued. "The development of Stark Island is currently short on manpower."
"These lords can choose to exchange their lands for equivalent territories on Stark Island to develop. I will personally see to it that they are sent there."
All of this had already been planned by Aven. The development of the Pokémon Domain had reached a bottleneck—next, it could only expand outward.
Once Marina City completed its reforms, it would be fully integrated into the Pokémon Domain. With the final obstacles between the two regions removed, Aven had come here precisely to push this process forward.
From here on, all focus had to be placed on the development of the Pokémon League. Anything that hindered its progress would be destroyed without hesitation—this was the inevitable tide of the era.
(End of Chapter)