Farming in a Parallel World and Becoming a God
Chapter 865 - 555: Kill Two Birds with One Stone

Chapter 865: Chapter 555: Kill Two Birds with One Stone

The donation of materials was not simply because Gaven was wealthy and generous, but because their trading caravan had set up such a large spread on the Giant Dragon Coast that they had traded for a large amount of goods in a short time. When it was time to hit the road again, part of the cargo had to be streamlined, which could perfectly be used to curry favor.

Gaven, despite having refused the title of Chosen of Lady Strategy, found the ties between them growing ever tighter. Katherine, Zalanda, and Veranika, the top three disciples of Lady Strategy, had all converged.

What Gaven valued most was the potential of the Yin Hong War Academy, which would become an important source of mid-to-low-ranking military officers in Felen. He wanted to make his mark on it first, especially those civilian students who received his sponsorship, would naturally be filled with good feelings towards him, which was advantageous for recruiting them under his command.

"What terms?" Katherine’s gaze hid an uncontrollable hint of joy. The Yin Hong War Academy had been delayed in its establishment due, in part, to her financial difficulties.

The Fortress of Strategy in the Land of Death was far from a blessed land. It was also a region fraught with warfare. Currently, the Land of Death, Troll Claw, and Troll Hill were predominantly occupied by various Monster Tribes, and they could only protect about twenty kilometers of land around the Fortress of Strategy.

Not to mention that it was located on the inevitable route southward from the Supreme Wilderness’ Monster Tribes.

Just maintaining an army was an enormous drain on resources, and the Fortress of Strategy had been almost completely destroyed before it was retaken by her, and it had not yet been fully restored. Preparing an academy that produced nothing was like a money pit, with large initial investments and slow returns.

And Lady Strategy’s faith had only just begun to expand, with very few able to provide financial assistance.

The only close relationship was with the church and Temple of Tempus, but the God of War was not the Goddess of Wealth; accumulating riches was never their forte. The paltry donations they gave were a drop in the bucket.

As for Lady Strategy, it was the same old story; even gods are not omnipotent. They must adhere to the basic Law of Conservation of Matter. The various material creations they fashioned required the expenditure of Divine Power, and her followers were few, providing her with only a small amount of Divine Nature Force. She was so meticulous with its use every day that there was no way she could spare any to support Katherine.

Doing so would also violate the Divine Law of faith. Even if one built many Temples for oneself, they would be useless because they wouldn’t serve to gather faith—if a Temple was numerous enough, one’s own Divine Power would become much stronger. No one could surpass the Goddess of Wealth, Woken.

And yet, she wasn’t reduced to an unclear fate, with the Divine Position of wealth temporarily managed by the Joy Goddess.

Building Temples is a process of proving one’s faith, and overcoming various difficulties is akin to tempering the gathering of faith. Such Temples are meaningful and become a tool for concentrating Divine Strength. The same is true for the Yin Hong War Academy.

Before that, Katherine had already heard from Veranika about Gaven’s wealth, but she hadn’t expected him to be so generous—his first contribution was three million, not to mention the follow-up investments. This wasn’t just about getting the Yin Hong War Academy up and running; it was about doubling its scale from her original plans, with the number of students in the first cohort increasing from the initially planned five hundred to a thousand.

"First," Gaven laid out his first condition, "I hope Ms. Katherine can set aside conventional notions and accept some rather unconventional students into the academy." After all, he planned to follow a multi-racial integration path in the future, accumulating increasingly diverse races under his command.

Katherine thoughtfully said, "You don’t mean Hobgoblins, do you?"

Nowadays, everyone knew that Blood Gorge City had been graced with a Hobgoblin Knight by Gaven. The rise of Hobgoblin power and cities on the Giant Plains was inevitable.

"Yes, precisely Hobgoblins," Gaven nodded, "Of the first cohort of students, I want at least three hundred. But rest assured, they will not need their tuition fees waived; they will pay their own way."

After pondering for a moment, Katherine replied, "Even if I agree to let them join the academy, because of their origins, they might find it difficult to integrate with the other Sage Races. If they’re purely coming to learn strategy and tactics, there’s no need to come to the academy. We can select some instructors from the academy and send them to Blood Gorge City and teach those Hobgoblins military strategies and tactics. I guarantee that what they learn will be identical to what they would learn at the academy.

In doing so, we can conserve academy resources and you can train even more Hobgoblin officers in one go."

As the first Chosen of Lady Strategy, Katherine naturally lacked neither versatility nor understanding of the principle that there’s no such thing as a free lunch. Since the other party was spending so much to support her, she should reciprocate.

Even if they worshiped the same deity, the same principle of reciprocal obligation applied—even among the holy, there was a need for give-and-take.

Gaven thought about it and realized she was right. To forge bonds of fellowship, the dispatch of standard-race students was sufficient; there was no need to mix in the Hobgoblins. This would also ensure the purity of the Hobgoblin Army, keeping it from being infiltrated by external powers. He was inclined to change his mind and proposed, "I originally wanted to bring this up as my second condition, but since it’s like that, I’ll include it as part of the first condition. I hope to establish branch campuses of the Yin Hong War Academy with you, Ms. Katherine. I will provide the manpower and materials, and I’ll be responsible for recruiting the students. You only need to send instructors. We’ll set up one in Blood Gorge City and another in Battle Valley."