Refugees

Huff, huff, huff!

Little Arro braced himself against his legs, gasping for breath as beads of sweat the size of beans rolled down his forehead.

Once his breathing had steadied, Little Arro remembered his Knight's Breathing Technique. After immediately switching his breathing method, his condition gradually improved.

When he looked up at the street, Little Arro froze.

Though he had never come here before, he had often looked down from the Castle's high windows. This place was hardly unfamiliar to him.

This Small Town had been built with great orderliness, its neatly arranged two-story buildings lining roads paved with bluestone. Usually, the townspeople looked healthy enough, and with the recent harvest, the town ought to have been brimming with celebration.

So what was going on now?

Why were there so many disheveled, raggedly dressed people on the streets?

Upon taking a careful Look At them, Little Arro found old people, women, children, and even perfectly able-bodied adult men among them.

Some injured or disabled people huddled in the corners of the town's buildings.

Several half-grown children stood in the middle of the road, their thin faces filthy. Whenever they saw passersby, they immediately kept bowing and held out their grimy palms.

Rather than begging, they seemed more like they were robbing people. The slower a passerby was to hand over money, the more children gathered around them.

As for using force?

The filthy-clothed adults nearby were all watching this way, whether deliberately or not.

The once-quiet Small Town was now incomparably chaotic.

Little Arro quietly took a step back. With the situation unclear, he was merely a scrawny, pitiful child. He could not take risks lightly.

The Black Cat silently walked to Little Arro's side and casually glanced at the town streets.

"Teacher Gemma, do you know what is going on here?"

Little Arro was somewhat suspicious. Had the Black Cat forced him to come this way today because she wanted him to see this?

The Black Cat was licking her paws, Cleared of the grime from their earlier run. Hearing Little Arro's question, she casually raised her head and lazily said, "I don't have time for that. A few days ago, when your mother went out, she specifically told me not to leave whenever I pleased."

Little Arro turned and called toward the distance, "Did no one in the Castle hear anything? Why has no one come to deal with this?"

Thud, thud, thud!

Clanging Footsteps rapidly approached. Kabir walked over and explained in a low voice, "Young Master Arro, no one in the Castle has been allowed to leave these past few days. So even if we know the situation in the Small Town, it is inconvenient for us to intervene."

"Teacher Gemma," Little Arro asked as he turned back, "would you be willing to live beside a latrine?"

The Black Cat warily raised her head and Frowned at Little Arro.

"What do you mean?"

Little Arro pointed at the Castle. "That is my home. This Small Town is my courtyard, and now my courtyard is turning into a latrine."

"But we must be responsible for your safety, Young Master."

"Safety?" Little Arro sneered. "The Small Town right beside us has already become this chaotic, and you're still talking about being responsible for my safety? Why don't you lock me in a little room and have all of you stand guard outside the door?"

"Don't worry. Even if all of you came at me together, I could still protect Little Arro," the Black Cat chimed in. "Just do as Little Arro says. He has a point too. Who would want to live beside a latrine? Hmm... perhaps stray dogs would?"

Little Arro looked at the Black Cat in surprise. He had heard his mother say that the Black Cat was very capable, but he had not expected her to be so arrogant.

Whether she truly had the skills or was merely boasting, Little Arro had no desire to walk into danger. He led Kabir back while explaining, "I saw that the people in the Small Town are all ordinary people. You only need to arrange a few fully armed knight retainers to suppress them."

A strong body was the key to awakening Life Force. Without powerful muscles, did one want to become a knight?

Not even in one's dreams!

Because of this, anyone with a little experience could tell from appearance whether someone had undergone knight training.

"There are at least a dozen knight retainers in the Castle. Sending out a few of them should not affect the Castle's security, right?"

Kabir hesitated. "It won't have much of an effect, but if we really let them leave, I'm afraid they might be bought off and allow us to be broken from within."

Little Arro could not help rolling his eyes.

Not to mention whether those drifters in the Small Town had the means to bribe anyone.

If several people went out together and could be bought off in half a day, their Castle should have been conquered long ago.

Besides, if anyone truly harbored ill intentions, allowing them to live for a long time in the Small Town so close to the Castle would be the greatest danger to him.

Little Arro did not argue. Instead, he put on an agreeing expression and nodded to Kabir. "Then you must keep a close watch on them and prevent them from harboring evil intentions!"

It was not a bad thing for the people around him to have such a sense of danger. It was just that Kabir was a little stupid, as if he had trained his muscles into his brain.

Still... people like that were easy to control.

Once they reached the Training Ground in front of the Castle, Kabir immediately gave orders and began gathering the Guards.

Little Arro quietly drew a deep breath.

He had never forgotten the plans he had made as a baby.

However, whether he wanted to develop martial arts or technology, he needed sufficient influence.

Any direction of development would change their current way of life. Before people saw results and benefits, no change would lack opponents.

Influence would not come out of nowhere. Status was only a foundation. He needed to lead them in doing more practical things and earn their trust.

He might still be young, but that was also an advantage.

At this time, even if he made mistakes, his age could serve as an excuse and earn him forgiveness. It was the perfect time to gain experience.

And if he succeeded, then he would be a Born Leader!

This was his first battle to demonstrate his command ability. It held vital strategic significance for winning over the hearts of the Small Town, and its importance could not be underestimated.

Little Arro first asked Kabir, "How much food is there in the Castle?"

"Food?"

Kabir looked somewhat blank.

"Our knights' rations are all..." Kabir paused for a moment before saying hesitantly, "brought back from outside. I don't know how much food is in the Castle. You may need to ask the Head Chef."

Little Arro turned and ordered, "Go invite the Head Chef here."

While waiting for the Head Chef to arrive, Little Arro lowered his head in thought, asking and answering himself as he Sort Out his thoughts.

First, what was his main objective?

To establish authority and lay a foundation of popular support for future development.

Establishing authority required force. In other words, mobilizing only a few Guards might not be enough.

Little Arro slightly Frowned. He quietly looked around, then asked the Black Cat lying behind him in a low voice, "Teacher Gemma, even without these Guards, are you sure you can protect me?"

The Black Cat raised her head and said with a half-smile, "Timid Arro, I am very sure of that."

Little Arro's heart stirred. He ignored the Black Cat's assessment and lowered his head to continue thinking.

Soon, Kabir strode over and reported, "Young Master Arro, they have all arrived."

"Mm."

Little Arro looked up at the group of burly men in the Training Ground. These Guards were all at least Apprentice Knights. With such force, they would be enough to overpower all the Refugees.

Little Arro stepped onto a stone block at the side, swept his gaze across them, and asked, "Kabir told you what happened, right?"

"He did."

"He told us on the way here."

"Mm-hmm!"

The Guards answered unevenly.

Little Arro nodded slightly.

"Why bother with them? Just shut the gates. We only need to protect Young Master."

A sudden remark among the Guards immediately sparked a fierce argument.

"You homeless stray dog, what do you know?"

"Don't insult me for no reason. My home is in that Small Town too, but Lord Pahez gathered and trained us to protect Young Master's safety, not to have you look after yourselves."

Who was Lord Pahez?

Little Arro cast a puzzled look over. That Guard immediately noticed, quickly lowered his head, and offered a humble smile.

Forget it. It was better not to deal with someone whose thoughts were so complicated.

Little Arro withdrew his gaze and shouted, "Quiet!"

Yet the Guards continued arguing without pause. Little Arro's young body was not enough to convince them.

Little Arro was not surprised by this. Building his own prestige would take effort, but when the master was insulted, the servant should die. Kabir clenched his fists, knocked several men to the ground, and roared furiously, "Shut up, all of you!"

Seeing several men lying on the ground and howling in pain, the Guards wore varying expressions, but they finally fell silent.

Playing the good person, Little Arro gestured for the men to be helped up and casually offered them a few comforting words.

He was still too young to leave an impression of ruthlessness in the hearts of the Guards protecting him.

After they got up, Little Arro first said modestly, "I have a few thoughts about this matter. If there are any mistakes, I hope you knight uncles will point them out."

That was what he said, but Little Arro did not give them any chance to correct him.

After learning the amount of food from the Head Chef, Little Arro made a rough calculation in his mind and decided on the Refugees' daily rations.

This amount would not starve them to death, but it would be difficult for them to eat their fill.

Still, this was only temporary. Little Arro had long set his sights on the source of the knights' rations. They just needed to endure the present difficulty first.

In addition, Little Arro began making arrangements for the Refugees.

First, they had to use the Guards' strength to drive all the Refugees who had poured in out of the Small Town.

The Small Town was simply too small to accommodate so many people. Moreover, it was his foundation, and he could not allow it to fall into chaos.

Once the food arrived later, Little Arro planned to launch a solution—Work Relief!

The Reason Why Work Relief was mentioned time and again was because the method was simply too useful and deeply won people's hearts.

He also intended to use the Refugees' labor to build basic infrastructure for the Castle while laying some foundations for future development.

However, authority without compassion was not enough to win people's hearts.

Work Relief was somewhat like a transaction and was not enough to demonstrate his benevolence.

Little Arro planned to take in the orphans among the Refugees. This would also cultivate trustworthy people for his future development.

Of course, Little Arro would not forget the other Refugees either. He would arrange for people to build new houses in another Open Space. This would both prepare for the Small Town's future expansion and provide homes for the Refugees who intended to stay.

If he wanted to do this, preliminary investigation was also indispensable.

Well prepared, Little Arro clearly and methodically arranged each matter. Though the Guards wore varying expressions, none voiced objections. They all quietly listened to Little Arro's orders.

The Black Cat standing behind Little Arro silently watched all of this.

Caught up in his excitement, Little Arro did not remember what he had forgotten.