Andrew's eyes gradually lit up when he heard this.

An Ya frowned slightly, "What do you mean? Outside the territory? Uncle Ivan, do you mean for us to expand? This... this might go against our initial intention of establishing the Wildfire Territory to bring happiness to everyone, right?"

By the end, her tone had revealed a hint of dissatisfaction.

She thought Ivan meant: now that the territory has become strong, we should go and occupy other towns around the Inner Sea Desert.

"Ivan didn't mean that."

Andrew laughed, having understood Ivan's idea.

He then explained to An Ya in detail—

Simply put, it involved the question Andrew and Ivan had discussed once or twice about "what kind of existence the Wildfire Territory ultimately hopes to become."

Ivan is the only person other than Andrew who knows about and has personally visited the underground "Lake of the Ocean" beneath the Wildfire Territory.

Back then, Ivan had mentioned to Andrew, "The water level of the Lake of the Ocean will continue to rise and recover as the Wildfire Territory becomes stronger. One day, it will expand to be as large as the entire Inner Sea Desert. After all, the scope of the Inner Sea Desert was originally left behind after the drying up of the ancient Lake of the Ocean."

"So?"

"So Andrew, you have to think ahead: what kind of relationship should the Wildfire Territory have with other towns throughout the Inner Sea Desert?" Ivan said slowly.

Andrew remembered that at the time, his idea was not to think too much, but to focus on building the Wildfire Territory well first.

First, make the Wildfire Territory truly become an "oasis in the desert"!

As for those coming from various parts of the desert, as long as they are willing to work diligently, they are welcome.

But if they harbor ill motives, such as once someone came under the guise of seeking refuge but in reality was a "water thief," then there's no need to be polite, and they should be severely punished, along with the instigators behind them.

"I still remember, some water thieves were sent by towns near the territory, controlled by Earth Fire Mages. Ivan and I quickly went to deal with them."

Andrew thought, "There were also some thieves sent by towns controlled by Warm Fire Mages. At that time, to avoid misunderstandings, I directly discussed with Sister An Ya to pass the responsibility to Barbara. As a result, Barbara's punishment was even harsher than mine and Ivan's!"

If I remember correctly, at that time, although harsh punishments were meted out to the Chief Mages of several nearby towns who had instructed people to steal water, the Wildfire Territory itself did not send Magic Apprentices trained within its territory to take over the local Magic Laboratory.

Instead, the task of appointing a new Chief Mage was entrusted to Barbara, who was then required to report to the Warm Fire Commerce Association for them to send someone to take charge.

In other words, the Wildfire Territory as a whole has always maintained a restrained mindset that prioritized internal development and construction.

Externally—meaning to the towns throughout the desert—even if there were disputes, they would be dealt with swiftly and then withdrawn.

Absolutely wouldn't extend their influence too far.

And certainly wouldn't leave their influence stretched out there without pulling it back. This was unprecedented and something Andrew as Lord deliberately avoided. An Ya and Andrew were in complete agreement on this point.

Precisely because of this, when Ivan mentioned "outside the territory" just now, An Ya reacted so negatively.

However, Ivan's real intention was not to invade other towns throughout the desert, that wasn't the intention.

Andrew and Ivan had discussed it, so he knew.

Ivan's intention, as well as a suggestion he had mentioned before, was actually to give back.

The logic was simple: the Wildfire Territory had grown strong and absorbed a large number of people from all over the desert, and recently, thanks to Andrew, it had gained huge profits and benefits from the Warm Fire Commerce Association. But a single Wildfire Territory ultimately cannot accommodate everyone in the desert nor consume all the benefits.

So on one hand, those who have benefited from coming to the Wildfire Territory should be encouraged to return to their original towns and bring back some of the good ideas from the Wildfire Territory, such as prioritizing the happiness of civilians.

On the other hand, although the Wildfire Territory won't invade any town throughout the desert, normal communication, cooperation, and aid when needed, surely there won't be a problem with that? It is necessary!

As a saying from the world before crossing states, now that Wildfire leads development, it should lead other towns in the desert to develop, build, and be happy together too.

—Set this as the target and mission for the next stage after expansion, will people still be restless?

Okay, perhaps a certain restlessness is inevitable, as human nature is complex and imperfect, after all.

But during the meaningful task of "leading other desert towns to develop together," any restless mindset would certainly dissipate quickly.

Just like initially, Ivan had succeeded outside the desert and had swelled with pride, he was indeed extremely proud at that time, but the first time he returned to the Inner Sea Desert, to Wildfire Town (at that time Ivan had not suffered a lung burn), seeing the backwardness of Wildfire Town, Ivan remembers there was only one sentence in his mind at that moment: I wish the other people in the town could also, like me, go and see the world outside the desert.

Although later on, due to certain events, and with injuries to his lungs, he became self-defeating and couldn't fulfill his own promise at the time.

But Ivan understands the sentiment, and he still remembers it.

So he proposed the concept of "giving back" to Andrew. Ivan had once also possessed a heart willing to give back.

In short, accepting people from all parts of the desert, and then sending the intention of striving to build happiness back to towns throughout the desert—this is Ivan's idea for Andrew regarding the future relationship between the Wildfire Territory and various desert towns.

"I see, so that's what it means…"

An Ya was somewhat surprised after hearing Andrew's explanation, "Didn't expect Uncle Ivan to have such a side."

Ivan touched his nose, feeling a bit awkward, knowing that quite a few people in the territory had dissatisfaction regarding his past actions, including exchanges of food, safety, and water with quite a few local women including Sofia Auntie.

"But I really was a righteous young man, okay!" Ivan felt regret for his self-defeat during the lung injury period, while simultaneously having a voice saying, "Don't see me as an evil old man, damn it!"

Andrew looked at An Ya and smiled, "Shall we proceed with Ivan's 'giving back' idea? Give it a try?"

Thinking that after the expansion, giving everyone new tasks and helping more people might indeed be a solution to the restless mindset?

Moreover, as Ivan said, because of the continuous recovery of the underground "Lake of the Ocean," even though the likelihood is slim for the future Inner Sea Desert to revert to a water area, surely there will be an increasing number of oases appearing, improving the harsh living conditions in the desert.

Currently, every town in the desert is established next to a Water Tower Tree.

And the water source that all the Water Tower Tree roots absorb from, is precisely the Lake of the Ocean beneath the Wildfire Territory!

The connection has actually always existed.

Or rather, the connection between the Wildfire Territory and the entire Inner Sea Desert, and towns throughout the desert has never been severed.

So perhaps, it is also time to let the people of the territory go out and make the Inner Sea Desert a better, more suitable place for people to live.

"Actually, it's like people. When they're full, when they eat too much, when they're stuffed, they're prone to that certain desire, won't people become restless then? Now the Wildfire Territory is just eating too much at once, hence the various issues arise.

In this case, then just work harder on doing the right things, doing good things, and everything will be fine."

Andrew thought, "Ivan's suggestion is truly brilliant!"

An Ya at the other side of the territory knew this would usher the Wildfire Territory into a new stage.

She couldn't help but become solemn, while also feeling excitement, anxiety, and expectation, among a series of complex emotions.

She nodded and said, "Okay, my lord, I understand."

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