14: Bandit Extermination

That was right—the city ruins.

Although Despair Fortress was currently being rebuilt, with only a thousand or so Ratkin and a hundred Horned Demons, restoring the entire outer city was nothing more than a fantasy.

On the spire balcony at the very top of Despair Fortress, exquisite sculptures stood all around. The winged demon statues wore savage expressions, as though alive, silently guarding the place.

Arthur stood with his hands folded before his abdomen, a white towel draped over one arm. At a black obsidian table nearby, Avilan quietly read the intelligence report in his hand. Finally, he set it down and unconsciously rubbed his temples.

Not long afterward, three figures approached, bowed respectfully, and said nothing.

"Zhou Yu, how is the outer city developing?"

Avilan raised his head. Having shed his heavy armor and dressed only in a white shirt and casual slacks, he looked exceptionally sharp and capable.

If not for the bizarre sculptures and surroundings, anyone would have mistaken him for an elite professional on vacation.

"Lord Avilan, everything is proceeding smoothly. Development in the South District is going well and recovery is underway. It is only that the current population of the entire South District..."

Avilan nodded to show that he understood, then continued, "To what extent has Despair Fortress been restored?"

After a moment of silence, Zhou Yu said, "Three Gold Wells have been successfully repaired, though they are all only Level One and can produce just three thousand gold coins per day. One Ore Well and one Lumber Well have also been repaired, as have one Crystal Well and one Gem Well. They have begun slowly producing resources. The four resource wells can only produce one thousand units of resources per day in total."

Avilan covered his head in distress. Three thousand gold coins and one thousand units of resources per day sounded like a lot.

But when repairing a single building required hundreds of units of stone or wood, along with several hundred gold coins, it no longer seemed like much. The South District had only been restored this far because those resources had been worthless in the game, sparing them from ruin. Yet in order to restore the South District, the resources in the warehouse had already been nearly depleted.

"Zhou Yu, you have done well." Avilan quickly recovered. Population growth was so slow anyway, so he was in no hurry. He would restore the South District first and leave the other districts untouched for the time being.

"It is this subordinate's honor to share Lord Avilan's burdens." Zhou Yu dropped to one knee and saluted.

"Mi Yue, is there any news from the investigation I assigned you?"

Avilan turned toward another graceful figure, anticipation in his gaze.

"Lord Avilan, the investigation has been completed. Thirty li from Despair Fortress, three groups of foreign races have taken up residence. One is rather mysterious and rarely takes action, while the other two burn, kill, plunder, and commit every imaginable evil."

Mi Yue saluted and spoke at an unhurried pace. Though her words were somewhat extreme, her face remained utterly expressionless, making her sound as dull as if she were reading from a textbook.

The three foreign races were Goblins, Ogres, and Catfolk. The Ratkin had once been a servant race of the Catfolk.

Avilan nodded lightly, somewhat excited. To others, exterminating a race merely meant eliminating evil and benefiting the people. But he was different—wiping out a race could greatly strengthen his own forces!

He still knew little about this world. He only knew that this place was called the Messiah Great Forest, which was known as the largest forest on the Carons Continent. It occupied a quarter of the continent and, unfortunately, lay right in its very center, surrounded by more than a dozen nations.

Allen and the others were too low-ranking to know anything at a higher level. For instance, the strongest person they knew of was the lord of Essin City, the closest city to this place—a Third-Tier Great Swordsman.

By Avilan's estimate, a Third-Tier Great Swordsman was roughly an existence beyond Level Thirty.

As for the lord of Essin City, he had a teacher named Brand, known as the kingdom's Sword Saint. Not to mention the rumored Grand Elder of the royal family, who could supposedly duel a dragon alone.

His forces were still weak, so he needed to develop discreetly.

Stockpile grain, build high walls, and delay claiming the throne!

That was what he should do.

"Zhou Yu, receive your orders!"

As for the three foreign races, Avilan had no hesitation whatsoever. He made his decision at once and issued his command.

"This subordinate is here!"

Zhou Yu fell to her knees with a resounding thud, her eyes carrying excitement and bloodthirsty killing intent.

"I order you to lead one thousand troops and depart immediately to wipe out the three foreign settlements!"

A cold gleam flashed in Avilan's eyes as he spoke in a deep voice.

He had already received word from the Ground Rats that the strongest among the three races were merely at the peak of the Second Tier—perfect for capturing as slaves.

"This subordinate accepts the order!"

Zhou Yu clasped her fists in salute, abruptly rose, and strode toward the outside of Despair Fortress, her face filled with killing intent.

"Mi Yue, receive your orders! Zhou Yu is heading out. I order you to command the remaining personnel and strictly defend Despair Fortress!"

Avilan shifted his gaze toward Mi Yue and issued another command.

"Mi Yue accepts the order!"

Mi Yue lowered her head in salute, then turned and headed for the city walls.

Half an hour later, at the military camp of Despair Fortress.

"Lord Avilan, you are going as well?"

Zhou Yu's eyes widened as she looked at Avilan, who wore a mage's robe and held a staff, clearly surprised.

"Of course. I happen to want to see these foreign races for myself."

Avilan spoke calmly, though in truth he was curious about these so-called foreign races. Compared to seeing them in a game, he looked forward more to seeing them in reality.

Zhou Yu nodded lightly and did not think much of it. As the supreme Avilan, his strength exceeded even Zhou Yu's, so there was no need to worry about his safety.

"Move out!"

Zhou Yu shouted. The group traveled light, leaving through the South District and heading directly toward Bulin Heights more than thirty li away.

Of the thousand troops in this operation, fifty were Horned Demons and twenty were Ratmen. The rest were Ratkin.

The additional Ratmen had not been granted names by Avilan. Rather, Zhou Yu had bestowed them as rewards upon those with outstanding performance.

Behind this group of Ratmen were more than twenty relatively large Ratkin, who showed faint signs of evolving into Ratmen.

Clearly, these Ratkin were the direct descendants of those Ratmen. Though they had not been granted names, they had remained beside the Ratmen for years, slowly absorbing the radiation and evolving as a result.

Bulin Heights was a hill. It was not tall, but it covered a vast area. The vegetation on it was lush, and massive trees that three or four people could barely encircle were everywhere. Because of these trees, it was difficult to tell that the place was a hill at all; only upon arriving could one discover it.

Standing beside Zhou Yu, Avilan looked into the distance but found nothing. Everywhere his eyes fell was a sea of green.

"Go! Spread out and scout!"

Zhou Yu gave a low command and waved at five people behind her.

The five accepted the order with fists clasped. Their bodies flickered, moving at extreme speed, and they vanished from sight in the blink of an eye.

Avilan watched quietly. These five were all Horned Demon Commanders, just over Level Thirty. In the terms of this world, they were Third-Tier warriors. Five Third-Tier warriors were absolutely not to be underestimated. It was said that among the major families of Essin City, even their strongest members were merely Third-Tier professionals.