Lord: Starting with Biological Modification

The wind at Sharp Teeth Gorge, smelling of salt and sea, howled through the pass, whipping at their robes.

The Sword Tooth Mountain Range stretched south from Forest Sea Province, ending here.

The mountainside plunged straight into the sea, leaving a nearly vertical cliff face.

The grayish-black cliff face was riddled with holes and fissures, with only a few stubborn clumps of shrubs clinging to it.

Below, the waves of the Gray Sea crashed against the foot of the cliff, churning up foam, but there was little in the way of a beach.

Velin and his party stood at the edge of the cliff.

"My lord, are you sure this is the place?" Barrett tugged at his collar, his eyes sweeping over the barren landscape. "There’s nothing here but seabird droppings. A ship could never get close, let alone unload cargo."

"By the Battleaxe!" Ola ground the loose rock at the cliff’s edge with his boot. A few stones tumbled off, falling into the churning waves below without so much as a splash.

"My Dwarf blood tells me that if we try to build here, it’ll take ten or twenty years before we get anywhere!"

Velin ignored the ground at his feet, his gaze fixed on the enormous cliff face.

The cliff was almost perpendicular to the sea.

"We’ll carve right into this mountainside."

"We’ll hew out a platform, then another, and another, like a staircase leading all the way down to the sea."

"Each platform will be a city district."

The group fell silent.

Velin continued before they could ask their questions.

"As for the excavation, don’t worry. We have Worker Ants. They’re the most competent miners there are. To them, digging through mountain rock is like us digging up potatoes."

"Afterward, we’ll plant Stone Skin Soft Vines, just like in Newly Town."

Finally, he looked down at the sea below.

"The waste rock from the Worker Ants’ digging will be dumped directly into the sea. We need to create more land to build the docks."

Carving out the mountain to fill the sea!

Everyone present was stunned by the scale of the project.

"My lord..." Ola’s throat was a little dry. For the first time, he felt that the imagination of Dwarves was truly lacking.

"Even with the Worker Ants and the vines, this would require... it would require countless artisans and laborers. Winter is coming. Who would leave their homes to come work in a godforsaken place like this?"

This was the most practical problem.

Without enough people, even the grandest blueprint was just empty talk.

Velin smiled.

"This time, we’re not just hiring workers. We’re bringing in immigrants from all over Gray Bay!"

"The plan is simple. We’ll target the entire Gray Bay region and recruit experienced port workers. That includes, but is not limited to, porters, carpenters, stonemasons, ropemakers..."

"Any worker who meets the criteria and is willing to immigrate will, upon signing a contract, be guaranteed a job and receive their entire year’s salary upfront."

"What?!" Ola nearly jumped. "A full year’s salary in advance? My lord, our money doesn’t grow on trees! What if they take the money and run?"

"Run?" This time, it was Caroline who spoke. "Where could they possibly run?"

"A quarter of their salary will be paid in Copper Leaves. The rest will be paid in ’credits.’ Only a fool would risk breaking a contract with a noble just to run off with three months’ worth of Copper Leaves."

After hearing this, Barrett’s brow furrowed as well.

This sounded like a losing proposition. Building a port was already expensive, and now they had to pay out a huge sum for immigration on top of it.

Velin could see the lingering doubt in their eyes, so he continued to explain.

"Once the workers get their salaries, they’ll need to eat and buy clothes. Every last copper will flow right back into the shops, taverns, and inns that we establish."

"As long as they live here, the ’credits’ will generate more demand for things like restaurants, hotels, general stores... This will create more jobs and attract even more people."

’A cycle of credits?’

Aside from Caroline, everyone else looked like they only half-understood.

Walker, who was also struggling to grasp the concept, only cared about the most fundamental problem. "My lord, even with such good terms, how many people would be willing to leave their homes and families to come to a completely strange place? Everyone has a home of their own."

Velin didn’t answer directly, instead exchanging a look with Caroline.

The two of them smiled in unison.

...

「Seven Ports Alliance, Little Seagull Port.」

As evening fell, the wind off the port grew colder.

The porter, Kane, dragged himself home. The streets were deserted, though idle laborers like him, with no work to be found, were everywhere.

Since the start of November, storms at sea had become more frequent and visibility had dropped. The long-haul merchant ships had all returned to port.

For men like them, who lived by their strength, winter was famine.

He pushed open the worn wooden door, and a gust of cold wind rushed into the house.

Three children were huddled around a small table, staring at a pot of rye porridge so watery you could see your reflection in it.

"Still... no work today?" his wife, Mara, asked as she came to greet him, her voice filled with worry.

Kane shook his head and plopped down on a stool.

"Don’t worry," he said, forcing some cheer into his voice. "I’ll check the docks again tomorrow. There’s bound to be something."

Mara said nothing, silently ladling the porridge for the children. Her own bowl contained only a little of the thin liquid.

"The price of grain in the city has gone up again," she said in a low voice. "The grain merchants are being especially vicious with their price hikes this year. It’s like they don’t plan on ever selling grain again."

Kane sighed.

Every winter was hard to get through, but this year was especially difficult.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

It was their neighbor, Hans, another dockworker.

He squeezed in with a mysterious look on his face and pulled a beautifully printed booklet from his coat.

On the cover of the booklet was an impossibly magnificent city.

The city was built along a cliff, tier upon tier, reaching into the clouds. Below it lay a bustling port and the boundless sea.

"Minas Tirith," Hans said, pointing to the city in the booklet. "The Grey Marsh Territory is building a new port city, and they’re recruiting!"

"They’re recruiting skilled port workers to immigrate! They guarantee a job and even pay a full year’s salary in advance!"

"This has to be a scam, right?" Kane’s first reaction was disbelief.

"No way!" Hans thumped his chest. "It’s guaranteed by the Golden Sail Commerce Association! I already signed up today. I’m leaving next week! Kane, you should come with me. It’s better than starving to death here!"

Kane was tempted.

He looked at his children, pale and thin from hunger, and then back at the booklet.

The next day, he followed Hans to the sign-up location.

A long line had already formed in front of a temporary wooden cabin.

The clerk handling registration was very efficient. Kane quickly completed the procedures and pressed his handprint on the document.

"Alright, here is your voucher," the clerk said, handing him a sheet of parchment. "Also, if you can refer other qualified workers to sign up, you’ll receive a reward of one Copper Leaf for each successful referral."

Kane froze.

He instantly understood why Hans had been so persistent in persuading him the day before.

One Copper Leaf was enough to feed his family until they were half-full.

He suddenly remembered that he, too, had quite a few friends who were starving...

Meanwhile, the same scene was playing out across the Seven Ports Alliance of Gray Bay.

Countless families like Kane’s, struggling through the cold winter, were ignited by this heaven-sent hope.

Every single one of them became the most enthusiastic promoter for Minas Tirith.

In the Port Administration Office of Little Seagull Port, a subordinate was giving a report.

"Sir, it’s only been three days, and the number of families registered to leave has already exceeded two hundred! And the number is still growing!"

The expression on Martin’s slightly chubby face was grim.

’Grey Marsh Territory... Golden Sail Commerce Association... They’re retaliating! Retaliating because I didn’t support them back then!’

"Sir, we... we can’t stop them," the subordinate advised. "Just endure it for now. It’ll be over when winter passes."

「One week later.」

Kane, carrying all their worldly possessions on his back, his wife and three children in tow, arrived at the border of the Grey Marsh Territory as part of the first wave of immigrants.

He stared at the vast, yet somewhat desolate, land before him, his heart filled with apprehension and doubt.

’Could everything promised in the booklet really be achieved here?’