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The emergence of the Hydra was indeed perilous, but it brought me the greatest benefit. Not only did it spare me from the tremendous casualties that would have resulted from a direct battle with humans, its corpse itself was a rare treasure. Ignoring the value of the super magic beast's crystal core, its thirty-yard-long skin alone was an excellent armor second only to dragon hide. Its bones, organs, flesh, and sinews were all premium magical materials. The swords forged from its fangs could easily slice through steel, though they were difficult to repair.

The only regret was that Hai Ruo informed me that the legendary poisonous venom of the Hydra, "Doom's Kiss," which could slay dragons, was an ability acquired after the Hydras migrated to the ocean. On land, no creature required the massive Hydras to utilize their venomous fangs. It wasn't until they encountered prehistoric marine beasts that they gained this ability through some special method, thus renaming themselves as "Nine-Headed Sea Serpents." In that sense, we might have hunted down the last genuine Nine-Headed Hydra in the world.

After the war, I naturally established my main base in the new city. Of course, it was no longer the "City of Corruption." I happily restored its original name, "Fontainebleau," which was also the purpose of the "Rebirth" operation – to revive this historic city of the Beastmen.

In comparison to the war, post-war construction was tedious and intricate, especially since the cultural and educational level among the Beastmen was limited. Among those who received elite education, either they were nobles or Shamans. Though Ankara and Oseveli were intelligent, they could only handle security tasks; they were unable to assist me with planning and management. Fortunately, there were indeed many talents among the merchants and mercenaries, coupled with Hake's leadership, managing everything was kept from descending into chaos.

However, when it came to profit, no one could remain indifferent. Even Beastmen couldn't be fully trusted, let alone the cunning humans where businessmen and criminals were as dangerous as politicians. If I thought I could emit the "aura of a king" like the heroes in epics, making people swear unconditional loyalty, I'd likely end up being recorded as a clown in fables and joke collections rather than a hero in epics.

More pressing than these matters was the reconstruction of a castle capable of defending against humans.

"Captain Hake, I've read your proposal, and I can't agree with using Red River mud to build the walls. Next spring, we'll undoubtedly face a fierce battle with the army of the Duchy of Langton. Such fortifications would be suicidal."

"Lord Xuanfeng, I understand your concerns, but Fontainebleau's location is far from the Sun Never Sets Mountains. Finding enough rocks for the walls would be challenging. It's said that our Beastman ancestors took ten years to construct the city. Completing this task within three or four months would be overly arduous."

"Then how were the walls of the previous 'City of Corruption' dealt with? I recall they weren't made of mud nor stone, right?"

"They were brick walls, a craftsmanship from the south, but it seems impossible to mass-produce them. Those bricks were crafted by the old architect of 'City of Corruption,' Arusis. I've summoned him. If needed, you may inquire personally."

Old Hake's organizational skills were impeccable; he had anticipated my questions about the bricks and already arranged for Arusis to be present.

"You are Arusis? I've heard from Old Hake that you were once a renowned architect in the south before being implicated and forced to flee. Now, what I want to know is if you can construct my castle using bricks."

"It would be challenging, Your Excellency. The main issue lies in fuel. There's a sedimentary blue mud in the swamps that contains abundant magical elements. When mixed with clay from the banks of the Red River, it can produce bricks harder than stone. However, there are no coal mines or forests near the city, and even if the swamp plants were dried, they wouldn't serve as fuel. Thus, I cannot build a large kiln to bake large bricks efficiently."

"I see. Then, what kind of fuel do you usually use?"

"When merchants come from the Langton Empire, they usually travel down the Red River on massive log rafts. On their return journey, they use lighter sailboats, leaving behind those rafts as my source of fuel."

"Speaking of which, I recall there being vast amounts of peat in the swamps..."

"Your Excellency, although peat eventually turns into coal over time, the devouring swamp was formed only four hundred years ago. While rapid plant growth and magical influences have resulted in an immense reserve of peat, there's no coal to be found. As for the peat itself, it's not suitable for ignition."

"Hmm, what if I had a method to transform the peat into excellent fuel?"

Frankly, this knowledge was beyond the grasp of the Beastman Alliance. Despite having a more ancient civilization than humans, our strong physical prowess lessened the urgency for external assistance like architecture and machinery, leading us to fall behind in inventions. The secret technique to convert peat into fuel originated from my former junior, Wu Mianfeng, in my previous life.

Mianfeng, who specialized in casting, came from an ironworking family and was said to possess many inherited secrets, albeit fragmented. Master Huang Yaoshi, with his almost obsessive thirst for knowledge, wouldn't have become a polymath otherwise. After taking Mianfeng under his wing, he rallied all his disciples to assist in experiments, striving to revive lost secrets. Although they didn't manage to achieve everything, the "Peat Melting Technique" was one of their successful endeavors.

I imparted the "Peat Ignition Technique" to the veteran architect and mobilized a squad of orcs to serve as laborers for his experiments. Sure enough, after a few days, the first batch of combustible peat was produced. Upon inspection, its quality proved no less than that of refined coal. The old architect promptly directed the orcs to excavate large kilns, preparing to manufacture the finest city bricks.

To hasten the commencement of the castle's construction, I deployed three thousand orc laborers to dig twenty massive kilns along the banks of the Red River. The design integrated the architect's expertise with plans for the grand official kilns of the Great Song Dynasty that I provided. Within them, simple arrays of fire, wind, and earth were installed, making them incredibly luxurious. The clay used for the brick molds was supervised by the half-elf Aevir, who, with her innate elemental sensitivity, identified the layers of soil richest in harmonious magical energy. The resulting bricks measured eight feet long, five feet wide, and three feet high, unprecedented in size for city bricks. Although the orcs were not skilled craftsmen, they were still sentient beings. Despite their inherent laziness, when they witnessed my resolve, akin to Emperor Qin Shi Huang's dedication to building the Great Wall, and understood that I was not averse to using orc bones as the foundation of the new castle, they finally submitted to diligent work.