Crison Fort

The journey from Tami Village to Crison Fort took two or three hours. Though they had two Travel Horses, the others could not keep up, and they would need to haul back a large amount of grain later. So Nord followed the hunters on foot to Crison Fort.

Crison Fort lay southeast of Tami Village. Once they left the village, everyone's spirits soared. The hunters were excited because of the grain. This year, they could finally live well, instead of struggling day after day like in previous years, never knowing whether they would survive or have enough to eat. They had even joined their lord's guard—what an honor! Tami Village had never received such treatment. It had once been such a poor backwater that not even the Tax Officer was willing to visit. Yet now a Viscount had come and even intended to settle down. The noble lord of Crison Fort was also a Viscount, wasn't he? Lord Nord truly was an important man.

And they received three loaves of bread every day. Thinking of the bread they had just eaten made them crave it again. When the time came, they could bring some home for their wives and children to taste. They had surely never eaten bread that fragrant. Not to mention the Copper Be they would receive every month. Once they had money, they would have to think carefully about what to buy.

Seeing everyone so enthusiastic, Nord could not help but sigh. The people were simple. As long as their stomachs were full, they could live happily. They had no messy thoughts and no demands. As society progressed, people's demands only grew greater. Just as Mr. Lu Xun had said, those who were content were often happy...

His countless thoughts were scattered by a mountain breeze from afar. Before he knew it, they had already left the village behind. They had just passed the village's farmland, where women and elderly people worked, while some children played beside the fields. It was not that the men of the village were lazy. They had to shoulder the burden of their families and venture into the mountains to hunt. The safe work in the fields could only be left to their wives and elders.

Whenever Nord's group passed by, the women would look up at them. Some might have been relatives of the hunters, while others did not understand where the group was going. Those who knew began explaining it to the people around them. Soon, their gazes became expectant, filled with hope.

Nord walked along the country path, with endless mountains behind him. Looking at the rugged road beneath his feet, he could not help thinking that road construction needed to be put on the agenda as well. To get rich, first build roads.

As he grew bored on the road, Nord studied the system and discovered that after the hunters joined his party, he could also view their Personal Panels.

Name: Ryman

Class: Amon Hunter LV1 (0/100)

Attributes: Strength 12, Agility 8 (12), Intelligence 9, Charisma 8

Weapon Proficiency: One-Handed Weapons 106, Bow 135

Ryman's panel lacked the skill section compared with Nord's. Nord did not know whether the system could not display it for the time being or whether Ryman had no skills. If it was the former, he could only wait to find out later. The latter was highly unlikely. Ryman's attributes looked excellent; it was impossible for him to have no skills.

Nord planned to check everyone else's panels to see what differed. Comparing and analyzing them would be a good way to pass the boredom of the journey.

Name: Marco

Class: Amon Hunter LV1 (0/100)

Attributes: Strength 9 (10), Agility 9 (12), Intelligence 8, Charisma 7

Weapon Proficiency: One-Handed Weapons 96, Bow 123

Name: Mor

Class: Amon Hunter LV2 (0/200)

Attributes: Strength 7 (10), Agility 8 (12), Intelligence 9, Charisma 6

Weapon Proficiency: One-Handed Weapons 112, Bow 149

Attributes: Strength 7 (10), Agility 9 (12), Intelligence 7 (8), Charisma 5 (6)

Weapon Proficiency: One-Handed Weapons 84 (90), Bow 107 (120)

After comparing them, Nord found that everyone's attributes differed. Old Mor was even a level-two hunter, but aside from his higher weapon proficiency, his other attributes were inferior to Ryman's and Marco's. Nord did not know whether it was because of his age.

The attributes in parentheses were likely the Troop Type template. Some hunters had not yet reached the template's standards. Nord did not know whether they needed training or leveling up to improve. He also noticed that Old Mor, a level-two hunter, required only 200 experience to level up, while he himself needed 1,000. Was the system playing favorites?

Nord truly wished his system had an assistant. There was no manual either, so he had to figure out every function by himself. Other transmigrators' systems either had aloof mature beauties or sweet, adorable girls. Why did his have nothing at all? Was it because he had not paid? Was this a trial version, with VIP functions unavailable?

Shaking his head, he stopped grumbling about the system. No amount of complaining could change reality. A crippled version was still better than having none.

After three hours, it was already noon when Nord and his group finally arrived at Crison Fort. The main structure of the fort was built from granite, likely quarried from the Amon Mountains. There were no city walls outside the fort, only densely packed shacks. Most of the people coming and going were ragged and pale with hunger. Though it was a small town, the people here did not live much better.

From the moment they entered the urban area, a foul stench filled the air. Animal or human excrement lay scattered along both sides of the muddy road, creating an extremely unfriendly impression.

After passing through the Shantytown Area, the road ahead became much cleaner. Wooden houses stood along both sides of the street. This appeared to be the town's market.

Two guards stood lazily at the market entrance. They wore battered Leather Armor and held spears whose tips were covered in rust. The guards squinted drowsily as they occasionally stopped merchant caravans to collect the entry tax.

When Nord's group arrived at the market entrance, the two guards saw that they were fully armed and immediately raised their spears. Trembling, they shouted, "W-who are you? This is Lord Oli Crison's fort. Y-you'd better not try anything."

Nord smiled and signaled Abel to announce their identities.

"This is Viscount Nord Isaac. I am the Viscount's steward, and they are the Viscount's guards. Do you intend to stop the Viscount from entering the city?"

Hearing the steward's words, the two guards dropped to their knees with a thud and cried as they begged him for mercy.

"My lord, we wouldn't dare! Even if I had the eyes of a blind dog, I wouldn't dare stop a noble lord! We only saw that you were carrying weapons and thought some foolish bandits had come to cause trouble in the city."

"I'll clear the way for you at once! I'll drive those lowlifes aside and welcome the noble lord into the city!"

After saying that, the two men rose to their feet and turned to strike the people standing in the middle of the road with their spears.

Those who were struck did not dare fight back. They ran meekly to both sides of the road. Seeing this, Nord frowned and spoke to stop the guards.

"Stop! This has nothing to do with you. Stand your post properly!"

With that, Nord led his people into the market.

The two guards let out long sighs, as if they had survived a disaster. They returned to the entrance, then glared viciously at the people coming and going, seemingly looking for easy targets to vent their anger on.