With late autumn approaching, the temperature was getting colder and colder.
During this period, Orange Fruit Village's orchards had entered their second harvest, bringing smiles to the villagers' faces that stretched from ear to ear.
At that moment, Aiven was training the Walking Grass squad in the meadow.
As the temperature continued to drop, the Pokémon on Mt. Coronet had surely begun migrating toward the foothills.
Once they reached the Black Forest at the foot of Mt. Coronet, they would inevitably throw its ecosystem into disarray.
With food in short supply, the Pokémon would leave the Black Forest and enter human territory.
That would be the true test of the Walking Grass squad's combat ability. Whether they could protect the orchard would greatly affect Aiven's plans for farming.
To these Walking Grass, who had come to regard the farm as their home, the winter battle was just as important. They didn't want to lose the home they had worked so hard to find, and that filled them with strength.
"Walking Grass, just like that! Use Absorb Technique!"
As Aiven's voice rang out, green light began to shine from the Walking Grass in the field.
Since they were all using Absorb Technique at once, their green lights joined together, and the grass beneath their feet began turning yellow at a visible pace.
This was because the Walking Grass were using Absorb Technique to draw all the energy contained in the soil directly into themselves.
But Aiven wasn't worried in the slightest. Tomorrow, he would have the Ironclad Rhinoceros use Digging Move, and the withered pasture grass would soon grow back.
"Mm, training with Absorb Technique is going well."
"Combined with Digging Move, Absorb Technique can completely cover the Walking Grass's daily needs."
Aiven let out a quiet breath. After this period of growth, the number of Walking Grass had reached 200. With the squad growing, resource consumption was beginning to increase severalfold.
And that was only the Walking Grass squad's consumption. It was hard to imagine how a lord managed to support the enormous needs of an Ironclad Rhinoceros cavalry regiment. Even just 100 Ironclad Rhinoceros would consume an amount beyond what ordinary people could imagine.
While the Walking Grass in the field used Absorb Technique to recover their stamina, Aiven went to the Fruit Orchard.
Several wooden barrels sat in the orchard. They were filled with Rotten Tree Fruit that was fermenting, and before long, he would be able to produce a decent amount of Growth Fertilizer.
Even so, it was unrealistic to rely entirely on Growth Fertilizer to cover the Walking Grass's regular needs. It could only be used once every few days, like watering the fruit trees.
This had also slowed the Walking Grass's training considerably. So he had been trying to find a way to obtain a large supply of Rotten Tree Fruit on a reliable basis. Using fresh fruit to make Growth Fertilizer would be too wasteful.
"Aiven, you plan to buy all that unripe fruit?"
At the farm, Darby looked at Aiven in surprise, uncertainty on his face.
Just a moment ago, Aiven had come to him and proposed using the coins he'd earned from the lord to buy large quantities of unripe fruit from nearby villages.
That wasn't what surprised Darby. The price Aiven had offered was simply too high—it was practically giving money away to the fruit farmers in the other villages.
"Winter came too early this year. Given the circumstances, most of those farmers' fruit won't have time to be harvested."
After hearing Aiven's words, Uncle Darby fell silent. He felt deeply sorry for the fruit farmers' plight.
He wasn't opposed to Aiven buying their unripe fruit. Aiven had explained that it could be used to make fertilizer.
It was just that Aiven's offer was too high: about five copper coins for each unripe fruit. For five copper coins, you could buy an entire basket of Rotten Tree Fruit.
At that price, they might lose everything they'd earned this year, and possibly even more.
"It's fine. Just do as I say."
Aiven smiled unconcernedly. Darby could only swallow his doubts, sigh, and head out to make preparations.
"We have to protect these fruit farmers. To some extent, population matters even more to a region's development." Aiven looked at the Healing Potion before him as he thought.
After making it through this winter, he planned to gradually bring all these fruit farmers into his Rural Cooperative.
The large stockpile of Growth Fertilizer he had saved up would be perfect as the initial resources for the project.
After this transaction, they would trust him a little more, too. It would be a good foundation for cooperation.
Besides, he really did need a large amount of fertilizer now, so the Walking Grass squad could grow faster and help him defend the orchard through the winter.
Raul, the village chief of Persimmon Seed Village, was in very low spirits.
The early winter this year had been disastrous for fruit farmers like them.
In previous years, they hadn't been able to harvest all their fruit before winter arrived, but they could usually at least gather the first crop.
But now, according to their estimates, they wouldn't even be able to harvest the first crop before they were attacked by monsters.
Those damned monsters would eat every last fruit in the orchards, leaving only bare branches.
At the thought of it, the old village chief felt his breathing grow heavy. It meant that all their hard work for the year would yield nothing.
The villagers were already discussing how to resist the invading monsters.
They planned to protect as much of the fruit as possible when the monsters came. From what they knew, the number of monsters that invaded human territory at first wouldn't be too large.
But they were still monsters. Their village had only one Great Wolfdog—how could it possibly hold off those monsters?
Even the weakest Rattata could kill an adult wielding a weapon with its teeth, let alone the stronger monsters.
Just as the old village chief was weighed down by worry, someone came to tell him that Village Chief Darby from the neighboring Orange Fruit Village had come to see him.
Orange Fruit Village... The old village chief's thoughts stirred. He'd heard about the village's bumper harvest and, along with his envy, had felt a little jealous. How had they managed it?
Some of the young people from his village had gone to Orange Fruit Village to ask about the reason for its abundant harvest, but the villagers there had kept their mouths shut, and they hadn't learned anything.
Now he wondered what the village chief of Orange Fruit Village wanted with him. Could it be that he was willing to share the secret behind Orange Fruit Village's harvest?
Before you continue