The Death Mage that doesn't want a fourth time

98 The one who guides and the ones who go on

"Now then, we will begin the project to turn the marshlands into a Capricorn farm," Vandalieu declared enthusiastically, but there was actually not a lot to do. There were still only a few dozen Capricorns that had transformed from goats, so the only thing they could do was make preparations for a large-scale farm in the future.

First, he informed the two thousand Lizardmen with Shashuja as the mediator. But since he was only a Rank 5 Lizardman Geronimo, it seemed that leading two thousand members of his own race was harsh on him.

That was why Vandalieu had left the Zombie of the former Scaled King, who had now been renamed Leo, as well as the Dragons that had been his subordinates, under Shashuja's command. A Zombie of the former ruler would be serving him. It didn't have any practical abilities, but this would likely discourage the Lizardmen from disobeying.

"Come to think of it, it was my first time creating a Zombie out of a Dragon," said Vandalieu.

Knochen, the combination of countless bones, groaned unhappily.

"Knochen, please restrain yourself this time."

It seemed that Knochen had wanted Leo's bones, but Vandalieu had given it Earth Dragon bones to keep him restrained.

Vandalieu still felt unsure about the Lizardmen, so he had decided to call Bone Man, who had remained in Talosheim during the battle of the expedition, to come out and be stationed here for a while along with the Black Bull Knights' Order who were mounted on Demon Horses.

"Jyuuh, please leave it to me, my lord," said Bone Man.

Demon Horses had the Rough Road Travel skill, so they could run across the muddy marshlands the same as any flat ground. And unlike the horses that they had once been, they could eat anything, so they were easy to maintain.

Of course, Bone Man was planning to replace his Demon Horse mount to Leo once things had settled down in the marshlands. Leo had some difficulties with mobility compared to Demon Horses, but he was Bone Man's desired Dragon Zombie.

"I'm counting on you," said Vandalieu. "Well, while you're here, I'm planning to be going back and forth from Talosheim."

"After all, you are talented, my lord," said Bone Man.

There were many things that only Vandalieu could do, and many other things that others could do but Vandalieu could do much quicker and in a much simpler way.

"Well, this work isn't that impressive though," said Vandalieu, using Golem Transmutation to build barns with the trees produced with Plant Binding Technique as lumber.

And then he taught the Lizardmen how dairy farming worked with ten of the Capricorns that he had brought from Talosheim.

Of course, the Lizardmen, who had been living a lifestyle of hunting and gathering, were inexperienced with dairy farming. However, there was a race known as Lizardman Riders who tamed and mounted monsters resembling crocodiles, so they immediately understood Vandalieu's orders to raise the Capricorns.

At first, they had been confused that they would be doing so for milk rather than for combat, however. As their appearances indicated, Lizardmen were oviparous, so they were unfamiliar with milk.

But that didn't mean that they couldn't drink it. They were carnivorous, but milk provided animal protein, so Vandalieu had told them to try a cup. While they had been bewildered at first, after a mouthful of milk, they understood that this task was for the purpose of securing a stable food source.

Capricorns were a little more intelligent than normal goats and they were also sturdy and resistant to disease. They ate any algae and aquatic plants growing in the marshlands without specific preferences, so they were popular with the Lizardmen as well for their use in dealing with weeds.