"With Cassius as commander and the three of you as his aides, lead the Star Prayer Camp, Fourth Battalion, Fifth Battalion, and Seventh Camp to form the southern expeditionary army and suppress the Monster Clan tribes along Luming County's border."
"Yes."
"Iden, Orion."
"My lord."
"You two will continue west with me."
"We shall obey your command."
Early the next morning, Cassius led the troops of the four battalions, forming the southern expeditionary army and advancing toward Luming County's border.
Velin commanded the remaining six thousand troops toward the lake Cosmo had mentioned.
Three hundred kilometers from West Wind County's border lay the western reaches of the buffer zone. More than two hundred kilometers farther west was the boundary of the region jointly inhabited by kobolds and goblins.
Following Cosmo's directions, Velin looked at the broad lake before him. From time to time, a two-meter-long aquatic magical beast leaped from its waters.
"If it weren't so far from Qixing Territory, this would be an excellent place for fish farming," Velin remarked casually.
"My lord, perhaps we could station another force here to control this area and, while we're at it, curb the number of Monster Clans in the buffer zone," Kyle suggested, stroking his chin.
Velin's words gave him some ideas. As the border region grew more stable, the number of Pioneer Lords arriving in Kadlo Province had noticeably increased. Perhaps he could establish outposts and claim these ownerless locations in advance.
"My dear master, there is a spring beneath this lake. Little dragon came here through that pink spring," Cosmo said in the Common Tongue, his hooves planted firmly on the ground.
Watching the Black Dragon grow ever more accustomed to being a horse, Velin could not help entertaining a malicious thought: *Perhaps I could use him as a