บท 39: The Expansion Of Lont

"John, are you saying that Lont is the only town that survived this disaster?" Jekyll asked.

"Yes," John replied. "Lont is the only town that is still standing in the Western Edges of the Hellan Kingdom."

The atmosphere in the room became heavy as everyone finally understood their current predicament.

Their eyes fell on James who was lightly tapping the table with his fingertips.

"Owen, what do you think will happen after the kingdom deals with the current Beast Tide?" James asked.

"What else?" Owen sneered. "Those scummy nobles will fight tooth and nail to gain a foothold in the territories that have lost their owners. They will rain on the sky like vultures and grab every piece of meat that they can find on this ruined land.

"Frankly, I think we can consider ourselves lucky if they don't come knocking on our doorstep. No greedy scum would miss this opportunity to add lands to their fief."

"Of course, there is another possibility," Ava commented with a smirk. "The king will definitely use this as an opportunity to 'award lands' to those of his Knights that have done meritorious service during this crucial period."

James looked at the territories that surrounded Lont and made up his mind.

"Fushia to the North and Xynnar to the East," James said after careful consideration. "Lont is at the farthest edge of the Western Region. These two places have been our good neighbors for many years. Since that is the case, we will not allow them to fall into the hands of those greedy nobles."

James raised his hand and issued orders. "John, take Blitz and raise the flag of Lont in Fushia. From this day onwards, it will be part of our territory. I will send some people to help you gather the dead bodies. We will give them all a proper burial and erect a monument in their name."

"Yes, Sir!" John nodded his head and left the room.

"Marcus, Ava, and Jekyll, go to Xynnar and do the same. In the small chance that there are any survivors, make sure to take good care of them. I will also send some people to help later."

"Haha! I like this plan." Jekyll chuckled. "Xynnar is a good place to grow wheat. If we secure it, Lont will not have to worry about its food supply."

"Fushia is known for their silver mines." Ava brushed her hair. "The nobles would definitely set their eyes on that one."

"Well, that will depend on their ability." James sneered. "I'd like to see them try."

Everyone in the room smiled. They had been living peacefully for so many years. Some of them were itching to beat some stupid nobles to release their pent up urges.

-----

After the meeting had been disbanded, Mordred approached his father to talk more about their 'expansion'.

"Father, are you sure about this?" Mordred asked. "The King may not like it."

"I'm sure that his Majesty has more important matters at hand than dealing with small fries like us. Compared to us taking a few lands on the edges of the Western Region, he would focus more on how to deal with the current Beast Tide," James replied. "As long as we do not reach his bottom line, I'm sure that he won't mind our shameless attempt to take possession of a land or two during this period."

"You have a point, father," Mordred rubbed his chin in agreement. "Even if we take Fushia and Xynnar, there are still plenty of territories that have lost their owners. It will be more than enough to satisfy the nobles."

"Right? That's why, you don't have to worry about this matter," James commented. "Also, it will still take a few months before the other lands are reclaimed. Even the greedy nobles won't be able to rebuild these territories in such a short amount of time. Besides… I feel that this Beast Tide isn't over yet."

"Eh?" Mordred looked at his father in surprise. "It's not over yet?"

The older man shook his head. "I'm not sure. I just have a nagging feeling that this Beast Tide is not as simple as it seems."

James walked towards the hill that overlooked the town of Lont. They had lived in this small piece of land for many years. Life here in the countryside was peaceful. Although it didn't have the lively atmosphere of the cities, it was still a wonderful place to spend your days in retirement.

"Send the messenger birds. It's time to call them back," James ordered. "Time for everyone to have a reunion."

"All of them?" Mordred asked. There was a trace of excitement in his voice.

James turned his head to look at his son with a smile. "All of them."

----

"Aunt Anna, shouldn't you be relaxing instead of doing the household chores?" WIlliam asked. "You're pregnant, right?"

"Who said pregnant women can't do chores?" Anna lightly pinched William's cheeks. "Enough talk. Eat your breakfast. Although you can't go outside the town, you still need to take care of the goats."

William smiled and nodded his head. After eating his breakfast, he didn't immediately go to the goat pen. He and his Mama Ella decided to take a stroll. William sat on Ella's back as they traveled the familiar roads of their hometown.

Along the way they were greeted by a bunch of people. Almost everyone in Lont knew each other. Of course, everyone knew who William was. Since the Ainsworth Family was the overseer of Lont, it was impossible for the children and the adults to not know who he was.

William watched the children playing on the streets with a smile. He greeted the busy adults carrying wolf pelts, and waved at the old people who were making wolf jerky.

Although Lont was a small town, it was filled with smiles and life. The two walked up the ramparts of the town wall and gazed at the distance. The bodies of the Centennial and Millennial Beasts were being dismantled by Mr. Bond.

He volunteered to do it alone in order to preserve the quality of the goods. William watched the enthusiastic barber as he worked with a serious expression. According to his Grandpa, Aunt Helen would make him a set of clothes made from the pelt of the Millennial Beast.

This set of clothes could be considered on par with first rate light-weight armor that he could wear for any occasion. For this, William was truly grateful.

"Mama Ella, I'm glad that we managed to prevent this town from getting destroyed," William said after looking at the scene in front of him.

"Meeeeeeh."

"I'm just a bit worried."

"Meeeeh?"

"I'm afraid that the Beast Tide was just a prelude to something bigger."

".... Meeeeh."

-----

Fort Windermere...

The soldiers manning the fortress walls had grim expressions on their faces as they looked at the Beast Tide that was slowly, but surely approaching them. This was not the first time that they had experienced a Beast Tide, but the current one far exceeded their expectations.

"My Lord, it would be best if we ask for reinforcements from the capital," Mont, the Vice-General manning the fortress proposed. "If we don't receive help soon, I'm afraid that the fortress will be overrun in two days."

"You're right." General Erith sighed and nodded his head. "Send our fastest messenger hawks to the capital. Tell them that we need the Gryphon Brigade to assist us in battle!"

"At once, General!" The general's aid stepped out of the conference room to execute his superior's order.

Erith left the conference room and made his way to the fortress walls. All the high ranking officers in Windermere followed behind him.

General Erith stared at his trusted aides and the soldiers who were awaiting his orders.

He then raised his fist into the air and made a declaration.

"No matter what happens, Fort Windermere should never fall!! The moment we fail, the Hellan Kingdom will fall into ruins. Our mothers, brothers, sisters, wives, and children, will then become the food of these monsters! Do you want this to happen?!"

""No!""

"Then fight!" General Erith roared as he unsheathed his sword and pointed it at the Beast Tide that was slowly approaching the fortress walls. "Fight for everything that you hold dear in this world! Let us send these foul monsters to hell! Death to the enemies of the Kingdom!"

""Death!""

"Kill them all!"

""Kill!""

"Archers aim!" General Erith ordered. "Magicians, prepare your spells!"

Thousands of archers loaded their bows with arrows and took aim.

Hundreds of Magicians started to chant their long range spells.

The archers and the magicians focused their attention on the enemies before them.

General Erith watched as the Beast Tide came within range. He then resolutely thrust his sword forward and gave the order to fire.

"Fire at will!"

Thousands of arrows took flight and spells rained down from the fortress walls. The battle of Fort Windermere had officially begun.