Chapter 484 Extra Hands
Zero returned to Half Moon Village and quickly arranged for a trip down to New Moon Village, accompanied by the gnomes and lab members. Construction was still under progress and Zero heard about the conflict that happened not too long ago between the villagers in the allied village. Truen was currently in Smargdas so Zero decided to show his face in the allied village and sort out the unhappiness.
From what he heard, the argument arose when a team had to be arranged to send the goods from Half Moon Village to Deadman Town and Smargdas. Without a leader in New Moon Village, after Monoman left to escort Jermine back to her village, these people couldn’t come to an agreement. Raj tried to intervene but nobody listened to the ’builder’.
Currently, New Moon Village was divided into camps. The people who believed that the hunters who were better at combat should go were camp one. The people who thought that a balanced party based on hunters and intellectuals should go made up camp two. The last camp thought that they should hire some mercenaries or guards to assist with the escorting of valuable goods even if finances were limited.
Nobody knew what to do and the assistant leader who was a hunter called Rohan sided with the hunters in camp one. The man was an adept archer who rivalled a C-rank adventurer and could use minor healing spells. Zero didn’t know the man or any of the villagers but he didn’t want them fighting among themselves. Having a leader was very important and if it wasn’t for the risk of the mission, Zero wouldn’t have sent Monoman to escort Jermine to Lycantopia. Since he was the one who sent their leader away, Zero would take responsibility for New Moon Village as well in Monoman’s absence as part of the alliance agreement to help each other out in times of need.
Accompanied by Raj and Ruth, Zero wondered if the villagers would readily welcome or accept him. Many people tend to judge others based on appearance and Zero knew that he wasn’t the most intimidating or impressive first impression. He still hoped that they would at least give him a chance to talk and make his announcement before things became ugly. Ruth wasn’t as tolerant as Raj and Zero didn’t want anyone getting hurt.
New Moon Village was nothing like Zero expected. He heard that they were living underground but he never expected the above ground to be so barren. How did these people live without the sun? He couldn’t understand it. Then, Raj pulled a lever hidden in the long grass and Zero finally understood why there was nothing on the ground level even if there was a faint perimeter drawn around what looked like New Moon Village’s official territory.
"We’re going up?" he asked and Ruth nodded. "A little bit of Half Moon Village’s design for the security but everything else is underground apart from the farms that aren’t here. This is the living quarter and community area. In the future, there should be a training ground but for now, this is what Jermine managed to do before she left. We’re just building on what she did underground but there is still a lot to be done. For now, we’re meeting the leaders for the different camps within the village."
Zero didn’t mention how surprised he was when he heard that there were representatives. He only hoped that it would be a civilised discussion.
The treehouses and sky bridge were built in a very similar way to the one Half Moon Village had. Zero looked around and took in the view. He could see some small towns in the distance outside the forest. That should be the edge of Smargdas. From there, Zero didn’t think that anybody would know about this new settlement and Zero wanted to keep it that way. Cleo worked hard to increase the foliage and used many branches and vines to hold the sky bridge up. Raj’s carpentry made the structure seem like it was grown into the trees and Zero liked how stealthy the treetop fort was.
They went into a small outpost platform with some rope rails in a huge tree. Zero saw three men standing around, waiting with tension in their postures. Raj was the first to join them and Ruth helped Zero up the platform as the mossy branches were slippery. Zero took Ruth’s outstretched hand and all eyes focussed on him.
"This is...?" the archer that Zero assumed was Rohan pointed at him with an uncertain look.
Ruth stood behind Zero and looked at the leaders. In a resolute voice, he introduced the leader of Half Moon Village.
"You’ve heard of him previously but because he was away, this is the first time anyone from New Moon Village apart from Monoman has met him. He is Zero, our leader and the one who offered New Moon Village an alliance. It has come to our attention that there are some conflicts over delivering the goods to New Moon Village so Zero has personally come to understand the situation."
Nobody argued with the vampire. As one of the guards sent by Half Moon Village while they were harassed by the necromancer and undead bandits, nobody questioned Ruth’s strength. In fact, Monoman openly declared his admiration for this vampire who was also the combat teacher of Half Moon Village’s leader. His words had power that nobody wanted to defy.
Zero was pleasantly surprised that nobody questioned his identity or authority but he didn’t dwell too much on it. It must have something to do with Ruth standing behind him and he was thankful for that. Ruth’s presence assured him a lot and Zero could get things done easier this way.
"I heard about the situation from Raj on the way here. Who is the vice leader of New Moon Village in Monoman’s absence?"
The men pointed at Rohan who raised his hand. Zero nodded. As expected, the man who spoke earlier was Mohan. Zero studied Mohan’s physical build and found that he was indeed a good hunter.
"I heard that New Moon Village could not agree about who to send for the trip to Deadman Town," Zero said and the three men stiffened. Raj simply stood by one side and watched as Ruth remained stoically behind Zero like a sturdy mountain.
Mohan swallowed harshly and nodded. "That’s right. We don’t have capable people to send precious goods. On the way to Deadman Town, the carriage will pass by a huge lawless zone where highwaymen and bandits frequent. If we do not send the best hunters we have, the goods will be stolen and the escort party may be killed."
The man beside Mohan frowned. "If too many hunters go, the village won’t have enough protection and hunters to hunt for food. We cannot place fifteen hunters just for the escort that will take two weeks! We will starve."
The third man had his opinion too and Zero sighed while they bickered.
"Enough," he said and the men fell silent when they felt bloodthirsty intentions directed at them from the vampire behind Zero.
Zero was calm. He understood the concerns of each party and honestly, if they didn’t have additional help or resources, it would be a tough choice to make. New Moon Village barely had anything and now that their leader wasn’t around, the remaining villagers were mostly incapable of defending themselves adequately. With difficulties surviving independently, Zero couldn’t expect them to also deliver the goods to Deadman Town safely without some kind of sacrifice on their end. As an ally, Zero thought that he should extend the olive branch first. Monoman was doing him a personal favour so Zero would return this favour.
"I understand your concerns. This escort mission, please let Half Moon Village assist you. We might not have enough manpower at the moment for the escort mission but we certainly do have extra hands. I just ask that nobody question their identities when they arrive. I personally vouch for their capabilities and trustworthiness. I just have one question."
Mohan nodded eagerly, relieved to hear that Half Moon Village will be aiding them. "Please ask away."
Zero glanced at all three New Moon villagers and frowned. "Who is familiar with the road to Deadman Town?"
At once, all eyes were on Mohan. The archer bowed. "I am. I might not go to Deadman Town as frequently as our leader but I’ve accompanied him there before to meet Dwayne the innkeeper."
Without further ado, Zero appointed Mohan as the escort leader. "You should pick several people good at logistic arrangements to travel with you, not more than three people from New Moon Village. Your job is to cook, set up camps and navigate the journey for the extra hands I will provide. They will be in charge of fighting, protecting the goods and negotiating for the best price. Profits will be split as per the agreement. Half Moon Village will bear the cost of these mercenaries."
The declaration made Mohan and his two buddies very happy that they knelt down to thank Zero who quickly told them to get up and get out.
"The fields won’t tend to themselves and the housing won’t build themselves. If you have time to waste here over something so trivial you should go hunt a boar or something!" he chided and kept the tough front until they left.
Once the men left, Zero sighed and held onto the railing for support. He was so nervous! Acting as a leader really wasn’t easy.
"Good job," Ruth noted and patted him on the head.
Beside the vampire, Raj looked equally proud. Zero grinned shakily and nodded. Now that this was done, he should mend the waystone so that they could take the express route back to Half Moon Village.