"Things happened." Ikaris replied evasively, brushing off his enquiry with a smile.
"... "
Liam definitely didn't believe his laid-back act. He had a hazy memory of clawing at the boy's back during their altercation the night before and now he had confirmation.
What troubled him was that he couldn't feel the usual mental link between him and the rest of his pack. His Lord was obviously different, but the expected subordinate relationship had not taken place. If it had, it would have strengthened his position in Last Saint which would have benefited his daughters and his pack.
"I entrust you with the task of collecting wood. Bring back as much as you can." Ikaris switched topics as he patted his shoulder. "If you find any domesticable Demonic Beasts don't kill them but try to capture them alive."
"No problem..." Liam said after a brief hesitation.
Once Liam and his band of lycans went to work, the village became a little emptier and while the new villagers finished eating their breakfast, the other residents got to work as well. Construction of the palisade resumed, but its size was increased to accommodate Last Saint's faster than expected expansion.
Being momentarily free, Ikaris then took the opportunity to take his bath.
There were two watering places near Last Saint. The Tartarus Lake about 16 kilometers to the north and the Bleeding River about 9.5 kilometers to the east. The Bleeding River ran south through Cutthroat Island in an L shape, winding through mountains and forests before emptying into the bay on the southeast side of the island.
The huge body of water bordering the shores of Cutthroat Island was strictly speaking large enough to be treated as a small sea. Since the island was actually a double peninsula connected to the rest of the Warring Lands this body of water was separated into two gigantic lakes named respectively the West and East Infernal Expanse.
These two lakes were well named and Ikaris had obtained all his information from the map he had copied with his Appraisal Spell when selecting his territory. The neighboring territories bordering these two bodies of water did not dare to sail there because of the water monsters and other unexplainable climatic and supernatural phenomena causing the sinking of all ships daring to venture there.
This was another of the reasons that convinced him to choose this territory to build his nation. Although the expansion of his territory after conquering Cutthroat Island would be much more difficult, it would temporarily protect him from most of the rival Lords. Even if they wanted to get rid of him later, they would have to think twice about attacking him.
The Bleeding River was closer than Tartarus Lake, but he didn't hesitate for a second to make the 16 kilometer walk to the lake. This river was also aptly named and was currently un-crossable. In addition to having an extremely strong current, a school of tyrannical Demonic Piranhas ran rampant there.
Fortunately no one had committed the mistake of bathing in it and this danger had been discovered in a harmless way or so. Nadeen, the Egyptian veterinarian, had realized it in time when she went there to fetch water on the second day and since then no one had been there again.
The population density of these carnivorous fish was so high that they had long since devoured all competing species to extinction. Therefore, in order to feed themselves, these Piranhas had become their own predator.
Something in this water allowed them to grow and reproduce at a frightening speed and because they were constantly killing each other, the blood flowed freely and the river was constantly tinged with red.
Bathing in it would be suicide and the water would undoubtedly taste funny. On the other hand, as far as fishing was concerned, this river was a source of fish that was not very diversified but almost inexhaustible if one had the gumption to venture near it at one's own risk.
Tartarus Lake was different. The water was clear and calm. Too calm. Its surface was eerily still, with not even a single ripple on its surface. So far, anyone who had gone there to get water had not seen a single fish.
Although this might be a bad omen for the villagers, the water collected so far was perfectly clear and drinkable. In fact, it tasted great and was just right for freshness. Ikaris had used his Appraisal Spell on it just as a precaution and had found nothing special in it.
However, he was not fooled by that. The Bleeding River was one of the tributaries connected to the lake and logically the Demonic Piranhas swarming inside should have abounded in the lake as well.
Yet this was not the case. Although it was the same water, an invisible barrier seemed to keep them at bay at the edge of the lake, and for Ikaris only an even more terrifying predator could achieve such a feat.
'Whatever the reason, at least it doesn't seem to be very aggressive.' He thought as he undressed.
The plain and the lake was a flat, almost reliefless expanse and with his keen Crawling vision Ikaris could easily make out all the creatures timidly poking out of the forest to drink or bathe. Their bathing was always kept brief, rarely exceeding two minutes.
Among these beasts, the teenager spotted several monsters of the same caliber as the Rank 4 Magical Shield Boar that had attacked his village. Instead of being territorial or aggressive as he expected such creatures to be, they too avoided the lake, even ignoring potential prey nearby.
A quadrupedal dinosaur covered in scales and spikes with a membranous crest extending up its back felt his gaze despite the distance and turned its head in his direction.
Ikaris' heart missed a beat, but the beast immediately lost interest in him, quickly taking a few sips before disappearing with a heavy step into the forest.
It made him realize that there must have been many such creatures spotting Last Saint and its inhabitants since their arrival but none of them had decided to venture out of their forest to target them. It was a puzzling mystery that he found hard to explain.
In doubt, the boy preferred to imitate them and bathed as quickly as he could, scrubbing himself vigorously with the soap he had brought with him, then returned to the village. On his return, he informed Ellie and the others about what he had observed and strongly advised them to reduce their presence near the lake to a strict minimum.
Some women like Malia, Ellie or Danchun had bathed there without experiencing any trouble, but they took his warning very seriously.
Before starting the day's training with Malia and Danchu, Ikaris decided first to make better use of his new villagers' skills.
At that moment, Connor Murdoch and Kayden Jenkins, the UFC fighter and the special ops soldier, were standing in front of him outside the village, waiting for his orders. Upon discovering their previous professions, the teenager had immediately decided to appoint them as instructors for his future army.
Danchun was obviously much more qualified than them but Ikaris was selfish and preferred to keep her by his side to optimize his own training. However, before giving them any responsibility he had to test them first.
"Danchun, I'll leave it to you." He stepped aside with a strange smile.
With her scars, the gorgeous maiden was now disfigured and particularly intimidating. Thanks to her consumption of Rank 4 Meat, she had fully recovered from her injuries and was in great shape.
Despite the fact that she had been a formidable Cultivator in her past life, her cultivation in this world was not even in the embryonic stage and therefore did not have a significant physical advantage over these two men. That was the best way to judge their skills.
"Who do I start with?" Danchun asked quietly.
Connor and Kayden looked at their lord in confusion, not understanding why he would have two trained men fight a disfigured young woman, but he just nodded.
"Connor first. This is a friendly barehanded spar." Ikaris hastily clarified the rules as he saw the dancer equip a wooden sword.
"Oh. Okay." She tutted with a frown as she threw down her sword. Motioning with her hand toward the UFC fighter, she called out, "Come."
"My Lord, I'm not sure that's a good id-"
Bam!
Before Connor had time to voice his misgivings, a fierce punch smashed his nose. His head jerked back and Danchun lunged forward, ducking into his guard with several quick steps to follow up with a front elbow that connected with his solar plexus, paralyzing his diaphragm.
Connord immediately collapsed to his knees like a shrimp out of water and began to suffocate, unable to breathe. Despite this, he showed his fighting experience and ignoring his agony he tried to grab the young woman's arm, but instead her fist closed deftly around his middle finger, neutralizing his grip and with a sudden twist of the wrist broke his finger.
With a jerk of her shoulder and a deft shove on the ground with her foot she flipped the fighter nearly twice her weight over her shoulder and threw him mercilessly to the ground. Connor didn't get up, knocked out cold.
Ikaris, Malia and Kayden instantly became slack-jawed.
'Did this poor guy kill your parents in a past life?' The boy thought dumbfounded.