Capítulo 14: The bastard of the God Envoy
The next morning, Haotian awoke early as usual. Instead of sleeping on the ground, he now enjoyed the comforts of a bedroom in the upgraded Village Hall. The back courtyard housed a fully furnished room, a stark improvement over his previous accommodations. Sleeping with his soft and warm maid in his arms made his nights exceptionally pleasant.
After breakfast, served by the maid Sally, Haotian reviewed the progress of the limited-time hunting mission. Overnight, the accumulated gold coins had reached seventy-six, indicating that the royal knights had slain dozens of monsters despite the freezing desert night, which even deterred the creatures. He expected the number of monsters to increase significantly during the day, particularly in the mornings and evenings when temperatures were more moderate.
"Sally, you stay home today and meditate," Haotian instructed.
"And you, Master?" she asked.
"I'll be chopping trees."
Chopping wood and stockpiling it was Haotian's self-assigned task, while the royal knights focused on hunting monsters. Such mundane labor didn't bother him; he even had a helper— the bound gnoll who had spent the night tied up.
Upon untying the gnoll, instead of fleeing or attacking, the creature prostrated himself before Haotian, fervently calling him a divine messenger. When Haotian casually tossed him a piece of gray wolf meat, the gnoll, named Agu, was so grateful he couldn't stop kowtowing.
"Eat up and start chopping trees," Haotian ordered. "Do a good job, and you might get to live."
"Yes, great divine messenger! Serving you is Agu's honor! Agu will follow you forever and be your loyal servant!"
"Let's see how you perform," Haotian replied, handing him an axe. He wasn't worried about Agu escaping or rebelling. As a level-three gnoll facing a level-seven high-tier professional, Agu posed no threat. Haotian could easily subdue him with a fireball or a swing of his knightly sword.
True to form, Agu showed no inclination to flee. Instead, he labored diligently alongside Haotian, not only chopping trees but also carrying the felled wood to the training grounds. He even washed red dragon fruits and handed them to Haotian with a sycophantic smile, acting every bit the eager toady.
Meanwhile, miles away in the Blackwind Tribe, a large contingent of gnoll cavalry prepared for an assault. Their goal: to avenge their fallen kin slain by the royal knights at the Salt Lake.
"Those humans can't have gone far overnight," a gnoll leader snarled. "Their camp must be at the Golden Oasis. We can catch and kill them there!"
The gnoll cavalry changed direction, heading for the Golden Oasis. As they approached, a patrol of royal knights spotted them and rushed back to warn Haotian.
However, Haotian was already aware of the impending attack, having received an urgent task from the Lord System. Without delay, he issued remote commands to recall all royal knights from their hunts.
The knights, along with the advancing high-tier mage, Steward Hoden, quickly regrouped.
"Master, what's the matter?" Hoden asked, clutching his staff. The old mage had become more vigorous with his advancing power, no longer looking like he had one foot in the grave.
"A gnoll army is coming to attack us," Haotian explained. "They're seeking revenge for yesterday's battle at the Salt Lake."
Hoden glanced at the gnoll Agu, who was trembling. "It's not my fault! I'm no longer part of the Blackwind Tribe. I'm the divine messenger's loyal servant now!" Agu cried.
"Go tie yourself to that tree," Haotian ordered.
"Yes, great divine messenger!" Agu complied without hesitation, expertly binding himself to a tree.
Hoden watched in astonishment. "With over a hundred royal knights and the altar's aura, our combat strength has vastly improved," Haotian said. "I'm not worried about repelling the gnoll attack; I want to annihilate them completely."
"I can hide initially and then use wide-area spells like Wall of Fire and Sea of Flames to cut off their retreat," Hoden suggested.
"Excellent idea!" Haotian agreed. Cutting off the gnolls' escape was crucial, especially given their mobility.
Preparations went into full swing. Haotian relocated the five Arrow Towers closer to the Village Hall, knowing that with the expanded size of the Golden Oasis, spanning over two kilometers, the knights couldn't defend the entire area. Protecting the Village Hall was paramount.
As they finalized their defenses, distant howls signaled the approaching gnoll army.
Special Trigger Task: Task Information: The gnolls from the Blackwind Tribe are retaliating for the royal knights' incursion into the Salt Lake and the killing of their warriors. They are launching a revenge attack on your territory. Task Objective: Repel the attacking gnoll army. Task Rewards: 500 gold coins, one random building blueprint.
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