A mage's journey begins with a battle mage.

Chapter 86 Slum Transformation

"Sir, this is our plan."

Jiang Shuzhou sat in the main seat of the tent, and Viscount Alston presented Jiang Shuzhou with his renovation plan.

With just a glance, Jiang Shuzhou was so angry at the incompetence of these nobles that he laughed.

You only have two days at most, yet you've planned five days' worth of work?

Do you know that in two days, a high-ranking mage will use magic to raze this slum to the ground?

Why don't you stay here and hold the line?

"What's with this plan? You only have two days, why did you plan five?"

Jiang Shuzhou asked Alston a question without any hesitation.

"Sir, two days is too short, and we don't have enough manpower. We simply cannot count the number of people and move them within two days."

What kind of administrative efficiency is this?

"I remember there were over seventy people here, including me, right? You can't even count them all in such a small area?"

"My lord, you are unaware of the situation. I investigated this area before coming here, and I roughly estimate that there are more than 7,000 people here."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Shuzhou couldn't help but gasp. The population density was just too high!

Slums shouldn't be sparsely populated, where most people are either killed or starved to death. How come there are so many people in such a small area?

"Many people die here, but even more people come."

"After all, this is Velissco."

Viscount Alston explained that he could tell the mage was probably someone who had never experienced human suffering.

In some ways, he was right. Although Jiang Shuzhou considered himself to have experienced the hardships of life, he lived in China, where even the worst living conditions were much better than here.

"Can't they go to the city and find a job?"

Jiang Shuzhou was quite puzzled. Putting aside other places, the dock area under Jiang Shuzhou's management was hiring people every day, especially now. After all, with war imminent, maritime transport was the cheapest way to transport ordinary goods, so it was naturally extremely prosperous.

As a result, Jiang Shuzhou's extra income doubled.

"They are not qualified to apply."

Following that, Alston gave Jiang Shuzhou a detailed explanation of the situation in the slums.

The population of slums is quite diverse, mainly consisting of illegal immigrants, criminals from other areas, and undocumented immigrants.

Although many jobs in Willisco only require an ID card to be held by an individual.

But what if someone doesn't have an ID card?

It turns out there aren't many good people in this slum. The pity that had risen in Jiang Shuzhou's heart immediately vanished by half.

"Forget it, let's spread the word today so that everyone in this slum knows about the situation. We can start the rest of the work tomorrow."

Jiang Shuzhou waved his hand, informing Viscount Alston of his afternoon tasks and indicating that he could leave the tent. He didn't say anything more.

Given Viscount Alston's administrative abilities, it would be asking too much of him to make plans on his own.

Jiang Shuzhou planned to come up with a plan himself, and then let him carry it out when the time came.

If this still can't be done, then Jiang Shuzhou will have to consider assigning him the job of a high-level spell close-range observer.

In no time, Jiang Shuzhou had roughly completed the plan.

The process mainly consists of three parts. First, staff will take inventory to determine how many of the people brought by both sides are administrative personnel and how many are security guards. After the inventory is completed, different tasks will be assigned to them according to their different identities.

Secondly, the area was divided into several smaller areas, each managed and headed by an administrator and two to three guards. This dispersed approach would maximize the speed of the headcount.

Finally, there's the issue of housing and material support after the relocation is complete. These aren't difficult either, since the Mage Alliance plans to give these poor people a sum of money directly, and then it can be done through work relief. They can set up their own tents and take care of their own living conditions.

Jiang Shuzhou wrote down the plan as quickly as possible and handed it to Hayes, who then delivered it to Viscount Alston.

Having finished his work, Jiang Shuzhou casually took out the book "Magic and Alchemy." Time was of the essence; war was imminent, and every minute and second was crucial.

Getting his alchemist certification sooner will ensure his safety.

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The candles in the tent were replaced one after another, and before they knew it, night had fallen.

Jiang Shuzhou originally planned to continue studying alchemy, but the information transmitted by the mage's mark made him stop what he was doing.

It was an invitation to a gathering, and the two inviters were Master Jia Wei and Master Ji An, who had previously collaborated with Jiang Shuzhou.

This was the first time he had been invited to a gathering, and moreover, it was a gathering of mages. Jiang Shuzhou had no reason not to go. After all, it was not advisable to work in isolation, and those mages on the forum didn't understand anything and couldn't communicate with him at all.

This invitation is exactly what Jiang Shuzhou wanted.

As he stepped out of the tent, Hayes, who had been waiting for him, immediately came to greet him.

"My lord, where are you going?"

The coachman had already fallen asleep, since it was already night. Unlike Jiang Shuzhou, he didn't have free candlelight and didn't have the habit of staying up late, so Hayes was now driving the carriage.

To be honest, Jiang Shuzhou was a little touched, so he waved his hand and gave Hayes two hundred gold coins.

I can't speak for anything else, but he's certainly not short of money.

With that little money, you can easily make a few bottles of healing potions.

You can't let your subordinates suffer losses, especially loyal ones like these.

After being informed of the location of the Hayes gathering, Jiang Shuzhou sat in the carriage reading a book, his mind immersed in the ocean of knowledge.

"Hand over the money obediently, and I'll spare your lives!"

Jiang Shuzhou may have forgotten that this is not the lawless city of Velissco, but a festering sore, a lawless place.

It's obvious they've been robbed.

Several masked bandits were blocking the road in front of the carriage. Hayes wanted to get down and deal with them, but Jiang Shuzhou acted even faster.

"I think you're asking for death!"

Jiang Shuzhou was already in a bad mood today. His partner, a nobleman, was a good-for-nothing who had to do everything himself. Now, he finally wanted to relax and read a book in the carriage, but he was robbed.

Who can bear this?

Jiang Shuzhou leaned out of the carriage and casually unleashed a fireball spell, instantly blasting the people in front of him to smithereens.

As Jiang Shuzhou rose through the ranks, the power of his magic naturally increased significantly.

Jiang Shuzhou waved for Hayes to continue driving and then turned his attention back to the book.

It must be said that proper venting is indeed beneficial to physical and mental health.

Jiang Shuzhou, who had been feeling somewhat depressed, now felt none of it anymore.

The price was a few puddles of mud on the ground.

By the way, this seems to be my jurisdiction, right?

After a moment of silence, Jiang Shuzhou finally released a few more spells to clean up the mess, physically eliminating the people blocking his way before continuing on his way.

Shortly after Jiang Shuzhou left, several ragged poor people emerged from the dark corner. They groped on the ground, stuffing something into their mouths as they did so.

"Damn, it's so clean! I only ate a few bites!"

One of them swore and cursed a few times before retreating back into the darkness.

The remaining people continued to search carefully for edible things on the ground, especially meat.

Jiang Shuzhou naturally didn't see this scene, but he vaguely guessed what it was, which is why he tried to destroy the evidence.

After all, there is an old saying: "In times of great famine, people eat each other."