When Allen returned to the vicinity of Wilderness Village, he could barely recognize the place as his own territory.
When he had left, everything here had been dark soil and tender green shoots. Now it had become a sea of gold.
The wheat planted in spring was nearly ripe. Along the road, he occasionally saw villagers chasing birds away from the crops.
Harvest would probably begin in another few days.
On his way back, Allen roughly calculated that he had been here for four or five months.
In less than half a year, this place had changed so much. Walking along the paths between the fields, Allen was filled with emotion. At last, he felt he had changed this little corner of the world.
Soon, Allen reached the road built for the construction of the city wall and returned to Wilderness Village while chatting with villagers hauling timber.
By now, the village no longer had only the two thousand people who had lived there when Allen left.
During the first month of Allen's journey, more villagers had moved in, one group after another-roughly another thousand people.
Several hundred more had arrived during the second month. Only recently had the influx stopped.
Clearly, most of the Woodland Dwellers living nearby had gathered in Wilderness Village.
Allen naturally understood why. As the Half-orcs became increasingly active in Wilderland, they would inevitably drive the surrounding villagers toward his territory.
Previously, with nowhere else to go, the Woodland Dwellers had held on to the villages where they had lived for so long.
Now they had a choice, while danger prowled around them.
The human instinct to band together for survival would drive these people to settle in Wilderness Village. That was both good and bad.
The good part was that more people made it easier to get things done. Their numbers also gave Allen greater confidence when facing the Half-orcs.
The bad part was that the Half-orcs of the Misty Mountains probably would not stand by and watch Allen and his people build a human city in Wilderland, which had once belonged to them.
Suddenly, Allen felt as though a storm was gathering.
That evening, Allen summoned all his subordinates to learn what had happened in the village during his nearly two months away.
Ymira reported first. Close to four thousand people now lived in the village, which would already have counted as a sizable town on the Calradia Continent.
As the population increased, the village had expanded to more than five times its original size.
The growing population had also multiplied the difficulty of administration. Ymira had been forced to select and promote several assistants herself.
Food, on the other hand, was not particularly scarce. For one thing, before leaving, Allen had purchased tens of thousands of denars' worth of grain and stored it in the village warehouse.
For another, the goods Allen had left in the General Store and Clothing Store had actually brought in a great deal of grain through trade. His eyes lit up at the discovery of this new possibility.
There was little to report about public security. Outside the village, a great bear and fully armed knights patrolled everywhere.
Inside the village were fierce, burly Nord Royal Guards and sharp-eyed Rhodoks Sharpshooters. Few people dared cause trouble, so Bunduk did not have much to report.
As for military affairs, Firentis told Allen that the hunters among the newly arrived Woodland Dwellers who could answer a levy, together with the original villagers, could form a force of more than a thousand.
However, their equipment was generally poor, and their discipline was lacking. They could manage small engagements or ambushes, but they were not yet suited to a proper clash between battle formations.
If Allen truly wanted them to become an effective fighting force, they would need prolonged training and adequate equipment.
Of course, Allen knew that was unrealistic for now. Even equipping them with simple spears would keep him busy for a long time.
Artimenner had already waited quite a while. Several times he had tried to speak, only to be interrupted by someone else. At last, it was his turn.
As for the city wall, the extensive preliminary work meant that less than a tenth of it had actually been built.
At the current pace, completing it would take until at least this time next year, and it would not enclose every house in the village.
Artimenner had also found a little time to revise the village's layout.
Viewed from above, Wilderness Village now resembled a spiderweb, forming an irregular circle.
It spread outward in every direction from Allen's Lord's Longhouse at its center.
The old perimeter wall built to withstand Half-orc attacks had been completely demolished and replaced with a city wall enclosing a much larger area. Until that wall was finished, however, the entire village lay undefended.
Fortunately, according to Deshavi's report, the Half-orcs around Wilderness Village had been quite quiet, and the Great Eagles had brought no bad news.
Only scattered reports from Woodland Dwellers migrating from the south hinted at Half-orc activity. They seemed to be looking for something, with their search extending from the Old Ford far into the distance.
Allen did not know what these Half-orcs were searching for. What he did know was that Isildur had died in the Golden Iris River while carrying the One Ring. That much was clear.
A group of Hobbits had once lived in that region as well. Gollum, who had still been called Smeagol then, had strangled his friend and obtained the One Ring. Where was he now?
Allen thought for a moment. Gollum should already have been living by the lake beneath Orc Town.
But that had nothing to do with Allen. He cared neither about Gollum's fate nor about the One Ring. It was of little use to him.
While Allen was recalling all this, Deshavi suddenly mentioned that she had discovered a small wooden cottage east of Wilderness Village while scouting.
It stood very close to where Beorn lived. A short old man lived inside, a strange fellow who looked filthy and unkempt. For safety's sake, Deshavi had not approached him.
Suddenly hearing news of the Wizard made Allen a little nervous. He said, "Don't provoke him. I know who he is. I'll deal with it later."
Then Allen looked around at everyone in the room and asked, "Is there anything else important that I need to know?"
Everyone said there was nothing more. At Allen's announcement of "Meeting adjourned," they left.
Allen returned to his bedroom as well. He brushed his hand over the neatly arranged bedding, lay down with peace of mind, and opened the simulator.
[Simulator starting] [Please select the world you wish to visit] [You arrived on the Calradia Continent] [Time: late one night] [Location: a street in Uxkhal] [You were following Hunter, your childhood friend, through the streets of Uxkhal, avoiding the patrolling guards.] [You were exceptionally familiar with Hunter, not because he was your childhood friend, but because he had another name that you knew even better: Night Owl.] [You still remembered how, a few days earlier in a tavern in Veluca, he had excitedly told you that he finally had a chance to restore his family's glory. As he spoke, he had actually begun to cry with joy.] [In the twenty years you had known him, you had never seen him behave like that.] [Hunter told you he had a mission. If he completed it, he would become the lord of Serindir. Earl Matheas had personally promised him this.] [He also told you that you would no longer need to work as a mercenary then. He would certainly make you a knight. Faced with such news, you did not know what to say.] [As a nobleman from a fallen house, Hunter treasured this opportunity. But with such enormous rewards at stake, there were few people he could trust. You, however, were certainly among them.] [Your party of four had arrived in Uxkhal yesterday. Your mission was to rescue Earl Tachias's son, Tachiman-or rather, to steal his son back. This could determine the outcome of the war between the Rhodoks and Swadia.] [Of course, you had discerned another meaning in Hunter's expression and words: if you could not take him back, you were to kill him. His death in Uxkhal would not necessarily be a bad thing.] [With the help of a spy, it had taken you one day to locate your target.] [You and Night Owl were now heading to the place where Tachiman was being held. The other two would meet you near the city wall and prepare your escape, so you could all slip out over the wall together.] [Tachiman was being held in a nobleman's mansion. Clearly, he was being treated well-at least for now.] [Hunter did not have you enter the mansion with him. Drawing on your childhood friendship, he joked quietly that your pay was not worth taking such a risk.] [Hunter slipped inside alone.] [Everything went smoothly-so smoothly that it felt unreal. Half an hour after entering the nobleman's mansion, Hunter slipped out with the unconscious Tachiman over his shoulder.] [You took the unconscious Tachiman from Hunter's shoulder. Without a word, the two of you ran straight toward the agreed location.] [Soon, you reached the city wall and met your contact. You felt something was wrong, because only one person was waiting there. Though he claimed the other man was setting up ropes on the wall, you did not believe him.] [You handed Tachiman to Hunter, using the opportunity to give him a meaningful look. He clearly understood and stopped walking.] [You quietly drew the dagger at your waist and moved behind the contact. Grabbing his hair with one hand and pressing the dagger to his neck with the other, you told him to back away slowly without making a sound.] [Just then, countless torches flared to life, illuminating the surrounding area. You saw innumerable Swadian soldiers charging toward you from the city wall.] [The contact you were holding tried to say something, but you gave him no chance. You drove the dagger straight into his neck, hoisted him over your head, and hurled him at the pursuing soldiers. Before they could surround you, you ran with Hunter into the darkness.] [With your abilities and Hunter's, how could you possibly have only one plan for a job like this?] [You had a backup plan known only to the two of you. But now the enemy was hard on your heels, and the commotion of the pursuit would alert the soldiers on night watch, bringing them all running to cut you off. You knew this could not continue. If you kept running like this, both of you would die here.] [You stopped. Hunter, who was running behind you, was puzzled. He stopped beside you too and tried to pull you along with him.] [You quickly told him that you could not keep running like this or you would both die. You would stay behind and draw their attention.] [At that, you joked that this was the only way to earn the knighthood Hunter had promised you.] [Hunter's eyes reddened in an instant. You could see his inner struggle, but the enemy would not give him time to wrestle with it. Figures had already appeared behind you again. You waved to Hunter, who was carrying Tachiman, and charged straight at the enemy.] [The men pursuing you were only a small squad of Swadian militia and light infantry. Wearing light armor or none at all, they could give chase more quickly. To you, taking their lives would be little different from crushing ants.] [You did not kill them, merely knocked them unconscious with heavy blows. Then you hoisted one of the fallen enemies onto your shoulder and picked up a sword. You shouted at Hunter, who was still staring at you blankly in the distance, **"I've got Tachiman! Meet at the usual place!"**] [With that, you ran in another direction. Once you turned away, you did not see what Hunter did next. In any case, he did not follow you.] [More and more soldiers joined the pursuit. With your keen senses, you could even hear pounding hooves, forcing you to take narrower alleys.] [At the same time, you made noise to draw the city soldiers' attention. A large section of the city came alive as you ran for your life.] [At last, you felt enough time had passed. Large numbers of troops had surrounded your area, and each attempt to break through required you to kill more men. There was no longer enough room or time to keep running. You hid in a narrow dead-end alley and rested.] [Of course, you would not simply surrender. You tore a piece of clothing from your captive and leaned against the wall, catching your breath as you wiped the blood-soaked sword in your hand.] [Gradually, you heard more and more voices gathering outside the dead-end alley where you hid.] [Then a middle-aged man's voice rang out. He told you that your accomplice had been caught, and that if you handed over Tachiman, he could guarantee both your lives.] [You immediately knew he was talking nonsense. Clearly, Hunter had not yet been found. You felt you ought to cause an even greater commotion.] [You laughed loudly and told the people outside that if they wanted him, they could take him over your dead body.] [The middle-aged man fell silent. Soon, four Swadian sergeants entered with shields raised and pointed spears in hand. A dense crowd of soldiers followed behind them.] [Holding your sword, you walked slowly toward the shield formation formed by the Swadian sergeants.] [Seeing you advance instead of retreat, the Swadian sergeants swiftly thrust all four spears at your body. You twisted aside to dodge three and deflected the last with your sword. Your left hand snapped shut around a spear shaft as it withdrew. With a heave of your arm, you dragged the startled sergeant toward you as easily as pulling in a chick.] [As he stumbled toward you, the sword in your right hand sliced straight across his neck. Blood spurted onto your face, making you look savage and terrifying in the torchlight.] [This made the remaining three sergeants nervous. They stood their ground and tightened their grips on their spears. You gave them little time to think. Reversing the spear in your hand, you hurled it toward the men not covered by shields. It pierced three or four men before stopping. Then you picked up the kite shield from the ground and charged at the enemy like a demon.] [The edge of your sword soon rolled, its blade coated in thick blood. It was only an ordinary sword, after all. Even chopping through too many bones was more than it could endure.] [Now you had switched to a spiked mace. You found it far more useful than the sword. You did not have to care whether the place you struck was armored. Even through armor, your immense strength was enough to tear tendons, break bones, and burst skulls.] [Soon, no enemies remained standing before you. Apart from the dozens lying on the ground, everyone else had fled screaming.] [You ignored the enemies groaning on the ground and listened closely to the argument outside the alley.] [A rough voice vehemently demanded that a formation of crossbowmen shoot you dead in the alley. They could not let their soldiers go in and die for nothing. The middle-aged man from earlier strongly objected, saying they could not allow Tachiman to die in Uxkhal. If they ruined the favorable situation at the front and King Harlaus held them responsible, neither of them could bear the consequences-not even the lord of Uxkhal could.] [Thus, the situation settled into a strange stalemate. A moment later, the middle-aged man outside politely asked whether he could send men in to retrieve the wounded. You agreed. They could no longer fight and could not join the hunt for you again. Staying here would only mean waiting to die, and you did not mind giving them a way to live.] [You considered this your compassion, an inseparable part of your nature. Yet that compassion ultimately brought you trouble.] [After carrying out several wounded men, those who came in saw that you were not attacking them. When you were not paying attention, they threw their torches into the depths of the alley. In the firelight, they saw the captive's face. He was not Tachiman at all. They immediately shouted out.] [With their shouts, this simple but effective ruse was exposed.] [The moment the torches hit the ground, you realized something was wrong. You gave these men, who had risked their lives for information, no chance to escape. You smashed their heads apart with your spiked mace.] [Even so, you still did nothing to the enemies groaning on the ground. Instead, you gripped your mace, picked up another reasonably intact shield, and charged straight out of the alley where you had taken shelter.] [From your position inside the alley, you had barely been able to see any enemies. Once you charged out, however, you discovered several hundred soldiers holding a dense forest of torches, blocking the entire street.] [Beside the alley stood a pale-faced, beardless middle-aged man in lavish clothes. Sheltering behind several apparently capable guards, he stared at you in stunned disbelief. He had never imagined you would charge straight out like this.] [Without hesitation, you quickly killed the mercenaries guarding him and seized him, holding him in front of you.] [By the time you finished, dozens of Swadian Sharpshooters armed with heavy crossbows had formed ranks four or five meters in front of you. A heavily bearded officer commanded them. You could not see his expression beneath his beard. You only heard the order: **"Fire!"**] [Dozens of bolts shot straight toward you. Caught off guard, you dodged some, while the middle-aged man in front of you blocked others. But two bolts still pierced your thigh. The pain there reminded you every moment that you were going to die here today.] [In truth, you no longer wanted to kill anyone. You had delayed them long enough. If Hunter still had not escaped after all this, then that was his fate. You had done everything you could.] [Since escape was impossible, you thought a swift death might not be such a bad ending.] [Holding the corpse, you watched the Sharpshooters reload their heavy crossbows quickly and steadily. You raised the dead middle-aged man as though to throw him at the crossbowmen, and heard another order to **"Fire!"**] [In an instant, your chest bristled with crossbow bolts. You slumped to the ground, bloody foam spilling from your mouth. You grinned at the bearded officer as he slowly approached. The figure before you grew increasingly blurred, until at last, everything went black.] [You suffered severe internal bleeding.] [You died.] [Simulation ended. Result: failure] [You gained 1 honor, 50 renown, and 1,000 denars.] [Continue the simulation? Yes/No]
Allen selected no. He still had plenty to do over the coming days, friends to visit, and a Maiar waiting for him to make his acquaintance.
Before you continue