Chapter 826 Chapter 825: Aiding Custodia (1)
Unsurprisingly, our first patrol ended rather uneventfully and quietly, with Leraie and I creating large wagons to store the wheat before pulling them back to the city alongside Jackie and Harry, the four of us exerting even more physical effort as we transported a large amount of grain back to Custodia to be used for bread.
We had decided that the grain alone would be the best thing to harvest at the moment, so we left the orchards alone for now and instead returned before the two hour mark passed, ensuring we would return within the timeframe that Satanya had given us.
Bland and tedious to the extreme, but when it was over it was something that we could appreciate, the sheer amount of golden grain resting inside the wagon enough to make those long two hours worth it since this would feed the humans for many days to come on its own.
When we returned to Custodia, the other two teams were preparing to head out as well, the three Demons and two humans in each group talking quietly amongst themselves as they reviewed their assignments and got to know one another.
As we were storing the bountiful harvest away into the hall that everyone lived in, Jahi and Anput returned with their teams, the Demoness carrying a giant green furred deer of some kind across her shoulders, whilst Anput had a few fat birds hanging from her shoulders as well; the others were hauling sleds laden with logs back into the city, all five of them displaying their haul proudly.
"Wow... That's..."
Mary stood in front of us, the mature woman appraising both of our hauls with wide eyes, her surprise at this one singular expedition from both of us yielding so much becoming as clear as crystal as she shook her head in wonder.
"Quite a bit... So much wheat! And that deer! It's a monster, isn't it?! And yet..! Wow..."
I chuckled softly at the amazement in the gaze of the older woman, continuing on with my work as I loaded the wheat into barrels to be stored until their eventual use, all while Jahi and Anput began to work on butchering the monsters that were shrouded in mana, working quickly before they could dissipate.
We all worked swiftly, with Leone and I beginning to grind the wheat down into flour, which we stored inside rough sacks, while the meat was stored inside some of the 'permanent' ice chests I had created to keep cool and fresh for a few more days.
Our work took a bit of time, and when we finished up we made our way over to Satanya and Mary to go over the map again, informing them of our activities and planning the second - and final - patrol for ourselves on the day.
Two total outings per team per day was the agreement that we came to, and for Leone and I we decided that it'd be best if we just remained as harvesters for now, agreeing to clear out a certain section of the forest and hunt whatever was nearby for this second and final outing.
Meanwhile, Satanya wanted Jahi and Anput to press deeper into the forest to clear out some more of the monsters and begin clearing a path up towards the Grottos, which was our goal in a few days time.
It had been decided that we would aid the humans long enough to ensure that they had enough food for a week or two when we finally left, allowing them to survive on their own until a fresh group of Demons are sent out to continue developing and repairing this city.
To do so, we needed to replenish their resources - materials, food, water, and medicines - as best we could, whilst also cutting down the surrounding monster population to a manageable degree.
With that in mind, we waited for the second set of teams to return before heading out once more, the sun beginning its slow descent down to the horizon, giving us more than enough sunlight to work as we made our way towards Magna Forest, albeit in two different directions.
Guiding my team towards the fringes of the forest, I located the area that we had deemed as replaceable and began to order my team around as I designated certain trees for removal and had Leone inspect the herbs that grew around the trees for anything useful, all while I kept my eyes on the depths of the forest just in case.
The sounds of axes chopping into the trunks of the trees reverberated throughout the forest, and unsurprisingly some monsters became curious enough to investigate, bringing a smile to my lips as I swiftly and cleanly dispatched them, getting myself a few different meats to work with for these upcoming days, as well as a deeper understanding on what lived inside the forest.
Those birds that Anput had hunted were the most abundant - Stone Beak Dodo's - which were fat birds about three feet tall and a foot wide, with claw studded wings and sharp talons waiting to rend flesh, though the deadliest part of them was their jagged, heavy beak that threatened to snap bone with one crunch.
Four of them appeared at once, and I listened to their screech once before swiftly lopping their heads off, before getting to work in butcher the meaty birds, which were an abundant source of protein and soft feathers.
Then there was the other two monsters that approached us as well, with the first being the more worrying of the two.
Silently getting within a dozen feet of me, a scaled, camouflaged monster crept closer and closer, not alerting me until it was almost too late as it hissed, causing me to turn towards it and raise a shield of ice, which blocked a gobbet of acidic spit that sizzled against the barrier.
A crest of feathers flared around its neck as it raised its head, the monster looking like a cross between a Komodo Dragon and a feline as it began to run forwards at a high speed, baring its serrated fangs and long forked tongue.
Sadly for it I was faster, and I used the curved edge of my Khopesh to slit its throat, revealing the venom sac that flared as it tried to spit again, only to realize it couldn't now that its throat was cut in two.
Not the strongest physically, but instead rather hard to spot and able to get close to me without alerting me, which was worrying in and of itself, meaning it was a damn good hunter since it wasn't spotted until the last moment.
As for the last monster, it was a basic cat like monster that had stone claws and a nasty set of teeth, though it was rather weak and small compared to the others.
Of the three, that Viridian Latro was the most dangerous monster, whilst the Rock Ocelot was cute and the Stone Beak Dodo were wonderful sources of food.
The others managed to get a few trees felled and cut into logs, while Leone had a satchel of herbs that she could use to brew into some basic potions, meaning this was quite the haul as well.
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