Arrival

Marco was ready to go. The eight hunters and eight young men were all assembled. Looking at his subordinates, Marco felt a surge of pride. Just a few days ago, he was an unknown small-time hunter, and now, in the blink of an eye, he was the Viscount's Guard's deputy captain, with over a dozen men under his command. A sense of pride swelled within Marco.

With a wave of his hand, and led by the three returning hunters, they set off. Under the gaze of Colin, the village chief, and the assembled villagers, Marco felt like an army marching to war.

In the forest, Reed rubbed his bulging belly and let out a satisfied belch.

"Lord Nord, I never thought these mountain roots… oh no, yams, could be so delicious! Why didn't I ever discover them before?"

"They've always been there. You just lacked the eyes to see them."

Reed nodded vaguely, finding Lord Nord's words profound. Though he didn't quite understand, they made a lot of sense.

Nord turned to look at Ryman and the other man. Almost all the yams had been eaten by Reed and his companion. Ryman and Old Mor hadn't eaten any because they were meticulously focused on protecting Nord's safety.

"You see, once cooked, yams aren't poisonous at all. They can be a perfect food source. Plus, they don't need to be planted in farmland. The mountainous areas around the village can be utilized to solve the villagers' food problem."

Ryman was happy to hear this. Food had always been a major problem for Tami Village. Hearing Nord's solution, even if he wasn't sure it would work, at least it offered a direction. Ryman looked at Old Mor, hoping for a satisfactory response.

Everyone's gaze was on Old Mor. Old Mor's expression was complex. Among them, he was the most knowledgeable about this newly named plant, the yam. Although he hadn't searched thoroughly, yams were indeed abundant in the forest. If only he had known then that yams were edible, they wouldn't have…

"Lord Nord, I don't know if yams can be mass-planted, but if you look carefully in the forest, you can find a lot of them. I'm not sure about cultivation methods, but it's worth a try. If it's really as you say, that would be wonderful."

Unlike Ryman and the others' apprehension, Nord was full of confidence. Based on his experience from his previous life, as long as there wasn't too much species deviation, the yield of this food was bound to be astonishing. The villagers' food problem would be solved in the short term.

"Before they arrive, let's go look for more yams around here."

Nord saw that everyone was idle anyway, so they might as well do something productive. Digging up some yams would be useful for Nord to research cultivation methods back home.

Just as Nord and the others were busy digging for yams, Marco finally arrived with his men.

"Lord Nord, we're here! And I've also brought the remaining young men from the village. Please see if they're suitable to join the guard."

Nord looked at the group of young men. They were all full of spirit and excitement, with only a touch of naivety in their eyes. But that was fine. He himself had no experience as a Lord. They could all progress together.

"Excellent. Marco will lead you from now on. Your treatment will be the same as the others, though equipment is temporarily insufficient. We will supply you gradually in the future."

Nord was very satisfied with them. And when these young men heard Nord agree to their joining, smiles broke out on their faces.

Since returning yesterday, these young men had heard Marco talk about how generous Lord Nord was and how brave Ryman was, which had greatly lifted their spirits. They were all somewhat envious of Marco's treatment and had asked Marco if they could also join the guard.

Marco was overjoyed; it had all fallen into his lap effortlessly. He had immediately clapped his chest and vowed that he would bring them into the guard. Now that their wish was granted, they were all beside themselves with joy, eagerly pledging their loyalty to Nord.

"Lord Nord, I am willing to serve you."

"Me too, Lord Nord! I will do my best under Marco's command."

"Me too!"

Eight Amon Mountain Dwellers have joined the party.

A System notification flashed before his eyes: Amon Mountain Dwellers? He looked at the naive youths in front of him. Mountain dwellers, then. Nurturing them slowly would be just as effective.

During their wait, Nord and the others had dug up a pile of yams, seemingly over a hundred catties. It seemed his prediction was correct; the yield of this food was indeed high. Even if they couldn't cultivate it immediately, simply digging it from the mountains would be enough to sustain the villagers for a while.

After instructing everyone to carry the yams, Nord had Old Mor search for the wild boars' escape tracks.

In fact, this world also had dogs, humanity's good companions. For example, the Besser Black Hounds, famous in the Besser Duchy, were said to have been domesticated from forest wolves in the Amon Mountains. Besser Black Hounds were loyal, brave, and massive in size, a rare and excellent breed. However, Tami Village was poor and lacked food, so they couldn't afford to raise such large hounds.

In the Besser Duchy, only nobles could afford to train Black Hounds. They served as a status symbol during hunts. A purebred, exceptionally well-conditioned Black Hound was priceless.

Nord was already considering whether, once the food problem was solved, he should buy a few Black Hounds. After all, having hunting dogs would better assist Nord in developing the mountains.

Soon, Nord and his group, led by Old Mor, arrived at a cave. The cave appeared to be naturally formed, with an entrance about five meters high and three meters wide, in a flattened shape.

"Lord Nord, judging by the tracks, the wild boars are likely inside the cave. This will be a bit difficult."

Looking at the dark cave, Nord had no intention of sending anyone in to investigate. Even though Nord had no hunting experience, he understood that in such terrain, sending hunters in to catch wild boars would be sending them to their deaths. With such a narrow opening, if a wild boar charged, there would be no space to dodge.

So, they had to force the three adult wild boars out of the cave and then capture them all.

Nord asked everyone to brainstorm ideas, but even the experienced Old Mor was at a loss. Normally, when encountering such a situation during a hunt, they would usually give up, and it wasn't always necessary to catch them alive. So everyone was finding it difficult.

"How about we set up an ambush around here and wait for this group of wild boars to come out to forage again, then we figure out a way to block them?"

Ryman proposed a crude method. Hunters usually waited for the right moment, setting up ambushes and waiting for prey to arrive. This was a method hunters had learned by observing how carnivorous animals hunted in the mountains.

From Nord's perspective, this method was akin to waiting by a tree for a rabbit to run into it. Although the wild boars would eventually come out, waiting there for a day or two would be extremely dangerous.

Not only would it consume a lot of time, but the night would also be very dangerous. Moreover, they hadn't brought rations. Were they supposed to rely on digging for yams on the spot to eat?

Nord temporarily dismissed this method, racking his brain to recall his past knowledge, hoping it could help him. Roast yams to eat? An idea sparked in Nord's mind.