Chapitre 9: Fortified Village of Peace, a Month of Progress
After a few days, Ter and his men finally came back, along with a group of warriors led by Kel. Fredrinn didn't say anything about the lack of people; clearly, Kel wished to confirm the matter.
The old man was shocked when he saw the village in rumbles. His heart turned cold. Who dares to offend such a powerful man like Fredrinn? Did he offend someone he shouldn't?
Fredrinn did not immediately confirm anything. He just told a few midwives to escort them to a settlement so they could rest after a few days of traveling.
Kel's doubt about him wasn't unacceptable. He expected it, even. In this world, interests prevailed while sympathy was lost.
As a village head himself who wished for the safety of his people, Fredrinn could even empathize with him.
"My Lord, what happened?"
A day later, a small gathering was held inside the main hall where the village usually held its ceremonial customs. Sitting opposite Fredrinn, Kel asked respectfully with a concerned look.
On Fredrinn's side, everyone was fuming. They considered the attack as shameless and vulgar, for their Lord was not in the village!
Fredrinn himself remained cold as he answered curtly: "A bunch of uncivilized people bit my village when I wasn't here; don't worry, I'll raze their force to the ground, along with everything else included."
The fearsome aura he emitted, despite his indifference, was heart-palpitating. The strongest man after him, Kel, could feel it the most.
Menacing!
Overbearing!
Compared to what he felt back when Fredrinn visited his village, his aura was way more fearsome than before! Not even a knight could exert such pressure, clearly indicating a certain conclusion that Kel couldn't help but deduce. His heart trembled, but he just showed a smile outside.
"If so, then, I wonder who was audacious enough to offend my Lord? Perhaps I can help?"
Although Kel got the message from Fredrinn's men, he needs a double check. He could never be sure enough; in this kind of world, vigilance cannot be overlooked.
If it's true, then with his discovery, it would be a huge boon for him! So what if the force behind the attack would consider him as an enemy? Can they handle his Lord?
Within the Mystyr Kingdom, there are only 10 Grand Knights known as the Ten Supreme Commanders. Can that unknown force match such a strength?
Fredrinn easily understood all of Kel's intentions, and he smiled in satisfaction. This Kel is quite competent. He understood things clearly and easily, signifying his competence in preserving his people as a village head.
With him, he could be at ease if he went out to 'play' in the future.
"Kel, I want to integrate your village with mine. After those uncivilized people ran rampant, most of my people unfortunately passed away. Thus, we are currently short on manpower. Do you have any objection?"
"Of course, I'll have compensation if you feel like you've suffered a loss."
Kel almost exploded in excitement. He tried to calm down, but his face couldn't help but split into a wide grin, "As your subject, I'll heed your every command!"
"Good! I hope you won't disappoint me. Here's your reward!"
Fredrinn threw a familiar vial, and Kel caught it. His face was plastered with confusion until it changed drastically when he realized what his Lord had just given him.
His arms started to shake. He wanted to say something, but Fredrinn waved his hands, not showing even a bit of loss and pity in his eyes: "Go and make a breakthrough. As your Lord, I need your strength to defend the village well."
Kel's warriors were in shock and awe as they looked at the vial in Kel's hands. For Fredrinn's people, however, they didn't even show an ounce of surprise; their Lord was very generous to his people, so it's not that strange to give out benefits.
It was as if he would pour out all his wealth for the village to prosper. It could be seen from the way that the precious wealth and exotic meat were given away just like that all for the sake of development of this village.
There's a reason why when the calamity arrived, no one abandoned the village; they knew their Lord was worth serving, so they would do everything in their power to fight for him!
Their Lord gave his everything, so they would also give their everything;
"M-My Lord!"
"Enough talk. Go!"
Fredinn started to get impatient. He has a lot to do, so Kel's chattering is a nuisance. In the end, Kel and his men were kicked out by Fredrinn and were commanded by him to speed up the progress of integration.
"Go and bring your people here; I want them here after three days!"
They didn't feel embarrassed, however. They just stand there, dumbfounded.
"Sir, Lord Fredrinn... It seems like he's worth serving."
"We've searched for a Purification Potion all our lives, but just by following the commands of our new Lord, we already got a vial..."
A Purification Potion is worth hundreds of gold coins in the market if someone is willing to sell it. It's a scarce resource monopolized by the nobles. For a small village like them, even getting an Inferior Purification Potion was already a good thing.
His men were filled with amazement and worship towards Fredrinn, and Kel couldn't blame them. He himself also wanted to prostrate before him and pledged his utmost loyalty.
He wanted to be suspicious and doubtful, a characteristic built by the constantly challenging toxic environment of the territory he used to serve. But there's no logical reason he could find nor deduce to sprout the seed of his doubt.
His Lord had no reason to poison the vial; his strength was overwhelming. He also had no reason to trick him for benefits; he could easily ransack a viscount's territory.
There's only one answer he could find: His Lord is a Saint!
"My people, don't ever doubt nor show disobedience to our Lord, for he is a Saint!"
Seeing the devout Kel, the warriors didn't feel strange. Instead, it was as if they'd found the right way to express their feelings toward their Lord.
Following such a worthy Lord; who wouldn't feel moved and excited?
Thus, Kel and his men set out, ready to spread the doings of their saintly Lord!
Fredrinn, oblivious to this all, continued the meeting with his men. After all, taking in 500 people was no easy task; at least not with the current situation.
"My Lord, after the Hebel Village has settled in, I suggest creating a new division. It would be named the Construction Department, where people could form a systematical, structured group to accelerate the progress of the rebuilding. I feel like the current workers were too chaotic and unorganized, it would be great if it was organized."
"My Lord, I also suggest monthly reports of each division. It would be beneficial for us to know what steps we have to take to maximize our progress by knowing the situation in the past month. We also got an outline of the progress we've made, creating a clearer outlook."
It seems like Ryly had thought a lot these past few days. He felt a sense of urgency as the village was too unorganized for his liking. He didn't say much in the past because he was weaker than most men, drawing their pity and coddling, but now considered as a trustee by his Lord as the Head of the Educational Hall, it would be a shame to not speak out loud of his ideas.
Fredrinn was amazed; he wanted to implement these ideas long ago, but he kept getting distracted. But the crucial point was the fact that Ryly was able to conjure all of these ideas as a meager village boy.
How high his standing would be if his starting point was a city?
It seems like his decision to appoint him as the Head of Educational Hall was not wrong.
The Bright Mind, a Coal talent, could not be underestimated!
"I understand. I will need your assistance to establish all of these ideas. Are you willing?"
"Absolutely!"
A month swiftly passed by. For Fredrinn, it was a lot of time.
Kel and his men brought all of their belongings and their people to his territory. It took a while, but the original people finally integrated with Kel's people. Some of his men even got married immediately to the women of the Hebel Village, and vice-versa.
Now, the Village of Peace has over 550 people, excluding the people outside of it. During this time, Fredrinn worked hard to actualize the ideas. With the help of Ryly and Kel, an experienced leader, they finally made a rough sketch line.
Fredrinn also secretly visited Maltel this whole month, whose house was near the main hall. Kel had ulterior motives to place her house near his dwelling.
He didn't do much. Just familiarizing himself with her, and vice-versa. Although he was in a man-eating-man world, his conscience wouldn't let him do a despicable act such as cheating.
He sighed exasperatedly. Maybe he was a little bit impulsive and was greedy for her talents and beauty...
He didn't feel regret, just a little bit troubled. Sooner or later, he'll definitely tell his intention to his beloved wife!
Putting that aside, the biggest change was definitely the strength of his men. A month of effective exercises, along with the generous amount of exotic meat gathered by the Combat Group, resulted in an explosive, surging improvement of strength.
The forest did not lack wild beasts; it was practically infested with it. Thus, the efficiency surged even more after the Hebel Village was integrated into his territory. The combined force of these two was simply fearsome for the wild beasts.
Not to mention the experienced squires that are Kel's men, the average strength of his men has reached the ceiling of 1,000 kg, an optimal accumulation to make a breakthrough.
This week, he expected there would be at least 30 men who would make a breakthrough, including Ter and his men.
As for Kel himself, he was optimizing himself before he entered the knight realm. He had already perfected his preparation, so his breakthrough was expected this week.
When that time comes, after Lutto comes back with the information he needs, he shows the people behind the fanged wolf crest what despair is.
Speaking of the devil, as he was inspecting the newly implemented monthly report of the four divisions, Lutto's cold voice sounded out.
"I'm back my Lord! And I found everything about them!"
His voice was hoarse, filled with intense rage and killing intent!
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone