webnovel Chapter 163 - Two Months
Chapter 163 - Two Months
Aside from one human, Rick—the slaves consists of 3 elves, 6 kobolds, and a dryad.
They all decided to follow Verc, including Rick.
In the first place, they’re too scared of Verc to reject his offer. And also— a village with a lot of non-humans living peacefully was something that attracted them.
The idea of a sanctuary hidden away from the reach of the human slave traders was like a dream to them, who had spent their entire lives being hunted down as commodities.
Verc also told them that they will be protected, and that they wouldn’t have to fear of being caught ever again.
His words carried the absolute weight of a ruler who could back up his claims, giving the fragile slaves a sense of security they hadn’t felt in years.
Rick, on the other hand, just doesn’t want to go back to the city again, not wanting to take a chance to meet his old mercenary group members and the noble bastard that framed him.
He knew that if he returned to human territory, it would only be a matter of time before someone recognized him and threw him back into a cage, or worse, finished the job his old comrades started.
*****
Moving on...
Verc accompanied the whole group back to the village, and at a normal pace—they arrived when the moon was already at its peak above the sky.
The deep silver light filtered down through the thick leaves, casting long shadows across the path as the three carriages slowly rolled deeper into the territory.
On their way though, everyone saw the trail of destruction he left behind on his way at the entrance of the forest.
Massive trunks were splintered into toothpicks, uprooted bushes were scattered across the dirt, and deep craters gouged the earth every few meters along the side of the path.
Bernia asked what happened in the area.
"Lord Verc, what exactly caused this level of damage along the path? The trees look as if they were struck by a violent force."
She remarked, looking out from her seat at the wreckage.
And Verc, with a casual shrug of his shoulders—he told her that two group of wild monsters went berserk and clashes against each others.
"Some territorial beasts must have lost their minds and had a massive brawl right here. It happens in the forest from time to time."
He lied on the spot without batting an eye.
He kept his face completely blank, acting as if he hadn’t just used his own legs to blast through the landscape like a living cannonball a few minutes prior.
Anyway, when they arrives at the village—the slaves couldn’t believe their eyes. There was really a settlement inside the ominous forest.
They had expected a rough camp or a dark cave, but what began to appear through the thick mist was a structured perimeter with organized defenses.
They were attacked by strong looking monsters on their way here, but Tatum and Jed took care of all of them.
Whenever a wild beast bounded out from the shadows, the two vampires would move with blinding speed, dealing with the threats before the creatures could even get close to the carriages.
Then, when the slaves got inside—their eyes show wide open.
"?!!"
"...!"
It was a full and proper civilization.
They saw rows of built huts, lit torches illuminating the dirt streets, and a massive stone castle towering over the center of the clearing.
Ashley and Maya greeted the whole group on the gates—the two of them felt their Lord’s and Tatum’s arrival for a while now.
The two girls stood straight by the entrance, their expressions respectful as they waited for the wagons to come to a full stop.
Verc expected them as well, he ordered the two to take the slaves to the castle, feed them, and give them a room they can rest.
"Ashley, Maya, take these people inside. Make sure they get a proper meal tonight and give them clean quarters to sleep in."
Verc commanded.
Ashley and Maya followed his words without a question.
"Yes, My Lord. Right away."
Ashley replied, bowing her head before turning to gesture for the captives to follow them toward the castle gates.
Then, Verc turned to the five that were tasked on the infiltration of the City of Sven—he told them to rest for now, and he can hear the information they gathered later.
"You all did a good job. Go get some sleep. We will discuss the details of the city and the underworld leader tomorrow morning."
Verc said, looking at Pwyll, Bernia, Tatum, Jed, and Nara.
The five nodded their heads, and followed after Ashley and Maya. The five of them are staying in the castle, after all.
They were thoroughly exhausted from the week-long journey, and the prospect of a comfortable bed inside the fortress was exactly what they needed.
*****
The next day...
Verc called for all of the slaves—they appeared before him, dressed much nicely, and it seems like they had all rested well.
They were gathered in the main hall of the castle, their old ragged clothes replaced with clean, simple garments provided by the village staff.
The fear in their eyes were mostly gone now as well, they’re looking at Verc with curiosity now.
The warm food and a safe night of sleep had worked wonders on their morale, and they no longer looked like prisoners waiting for an executioner.
And Verc, he just seem pleased with this. A small smile appeared on his face.
Then without further ado—he started assigning them.
He sat on his stone throne, looking down at the small group with a calm expression as he reviewed their skills. They were on the fifth floor, in the meeting room.
He assigned the 3 elves to the agriculture group, of coursed he asked them if they were fine with working with dark elves.
"We have a farming team led by the dark elves. Will you have any issues working alongside them?"
Verc asked, wanting to clear up any potential racial tension beforehand.
But unlike what he knows in novels and fiction stories—the elves have nothing against the dark elves.
One of the older elves stepped forward, shaking his head gently.
"There is no conflict between us, Lord Verc. We do not harbor hatred for our kin just because of the shade of their skin."
He explained plainly.
They know that they’re victims as well, and just like them—the dark elves have the power to connect with nature and the world tree.
"The blessing of the world tree is what defines our kind. If the forest and the earth accept them, then we have no right to reject them."
The elf added.
There was no way they would be evil if the world tree acknowledges them.
To the elven race, the judgment of nature was the absolute truth, completely overriding any petty historical divides that humans wrote about in their fictional books.
Verc nodded after hearing this information, he learned something new.
’So that whole ancient rivalry thing is just human nonsense back on Earth.’
He thought to himself.
He noted in his head to ask more about the elves and dark elves later on.
Their unique connection to the land would be incredibly useful for expanding the village’s food production and discovering more hidden resources within the territory.
Then after that, he also assigned the dryad to the same group.
The Dryad race was specifically connected to plant and nature, much more than elves and dark elves. Of course Verc would put them there.
The green-skinned creature gave a small, silent nod of agreement, seemingly relieved to be placed in an environment where she could tend to living things instead of sitting in a dark iron cage.
Then he looked at Rick next—Verc told the human to find Pwyll, the one with the wounded eye that came with them.
"Rick, you have experience as a mercenary. You will report to the training grounds."
Verc stated, his voice firm.
He told Rick that he would be working under Pwyll in training the warriors.
"Pwyll is in charge of organizing our combat forces. Your knowledge of human tactics and group fighting will be valuable for preparing our orcs and gnolls."
He explained.
Rick nodded silently, his expression serious as he accepted the task, finding comfort in the fact that he was being given a role that utilized his actual skills instead of mindless slave labor.
Lastly, the kobolds.
Verc looked down at the six small creatures, who were standing close together, their tails twitching with a nervous energy.
Verc told them that they will do specific jobs and will be working with specific members of the village as well. But currently, those people aren’t in the village.
He was planning to place them under Scally and Skul for scouting and information gathering once the duo returned from their mission.
So until then—Verc told the kobolds to train in the training ground with the warriors. He told them to come with Rick in finding Pwyll.
"Go with the human to the fields. Learn how our warriors move, and keep your bodies in shape until your supervisors return."
Verc instructed.
The kobolds let out small, high-pitched yips of agreement, bowing their heads before stepping back inline with Rick.
The slaves now all had specific jobs they have to do.
They were no longer property; they were functioning members of a growing community, each given a purpose that contributed to the survival of the village.
Verc dismissed them.
"You all can go now."
He returned to his regular schedule of physical conditioning, mana manipulation, and some duties, overseeing the steady progress of his kingdom after this all.
And the slaves went to go where they were assigned.
... ... ...
... ... ...
... ... ...
The days began to blur together once more as the entire village worked with a single, unified focus.
The forge under Kuma and Aodh continued to produce rows of iron armor and weapons, the fields under Grainne flourished with explosive plants, and the warriors under Pwyll and the orc leaders grew more disciplined with each passing sunrise.
And just like that, before Verc even knew it--
Two months had passed since he declared the plan to conquer the [Cursed Forest].
The entire village was fully prepared, the weapons were sharp, the armor was fitted, and the intelligence maps were complete.
It was now time to attack the wolf-kin.