Chapter 156: Chapter 144: The Vengeful Little Silver Dragon
On the wasteland not far from the foot of the hill, soldiers were setting up camp in an orderly fashion. Hemispherical white tents popped up on the flat, barren ground like mushrooms after a rain.
Under the massive hammers swung by a group of three-blades-tall Giants, thick wooden stakes were pounded one by one into the tamped earth. They enclosed the camp, forming a simple fortification with an opening left on each of the four sides, blocked by cheval de frise.
Patrol squads of about five men weaved through the area like butterflies flitting through flowers, while the logistics Auxiliary Soldiers began to light fires and cook. The smoke from the cooking fires slowly drifted across the entire camp.
Everything appeared methodical and well-organized.
Perched on a small folding stool on the hill, Levi watched with great interest, cracking open sunflower seeds as he did.
’To be honest, with High Cliff Castle’s current number of troops, fighting a small-scale battle was no problem. But once the numbers expanded into the thousands, or even tens of thousands, problems would spring up like bamboo shoots after a rain.’
’Just figuring out how to make camp and distribute the Guards was a subject one could study for a lifetime.’
’But what truly surprised Levi were those soldiers who were over three blades tall yet were clearly human. Frankly, when he first saw them in Duke Kolon’s Mansion, he had thought they had gigantism. But now, it was obvious they were another branch of humanity.’
"I wonder if these big guys are stronger than the Trolls."
Levi muttered to himself.
Ever since taking in the Trolls and Ogres, the former had basically become blacksmith reserves, swinging great hammers in the smithy all day. The efficiency of High Cliff Castle’s weapon production had visibly increased.
The latter, meanwhile, served as laborers for menial work, including but not limited to pulling carts, hauling stone, and so on.
It could be said that these two Races were indispensable to High Cliff Castle’s rapid development.
’Levi was now quite envious of these natural-born construction workers. Aside from their large appetites, they had almost no flaws. He planned to head back into the depths of the Wilderness to capture more Ogres and Trolls to bolster High Cliff Castle’s construction teams after the Minotaur situation was resolved.’
"Those are the Northern Old People. They live in the Forgotten Mountain Range and are said to possess a trace of Giant Bloodline. Every one of them is born tall and incredibly strong."
Levi turned his head and saw that Baisitina had appeared behind him at some point.
She was bundled up in a thick, hooded, snow-white wool coat, with only her small, chubby, flushed face showing.
The cold of the Northern Lands needs no description. Snowflakes now drifted from the sky at any moment, and your breath was visible as a cloud of hot air. The people of High Cliff Castle had all switched to uniform wool coats, wrapping their bodies up tightly.
Our Lord, however, was still bare-chested. Snowflakes landing on his skin instantly melted into water before evaporating.
"This world really is full of diverse species. To think that even Giants can have descendants with human Bloodlines," the Lord remarked, shaking his head.
’He really couldn’t figure out how those Giants, who were often over ten blades tall, had managed to produce offspring with humans, leading to the emergence of the Northern Old People Race.’
’Then again, that era was full of strange happenings. Levi wasn’t an archeologist, so he just sighed with wonder at it all.’
"Yes, what with all the different Half-Beastmen, the Dragon Descendants who carry the Giant Dragon Blood... It’s so numerous that not even the most learned scholar would dare claim to know every Race in this world," Baisitina said, rubbing her somewhat cold hands, her small face very red.
"On a day this cold, you should just stay inside. What are you doing out here? It’s not like there’s much going on right now." The somewhat bored Lord continued to watch the Bailiu City soldiers below, who were building their camp bit by bit, like ants.
"Well, a certain busy person wasn’t even wearing a shirt. I was afraid he’d freeze, so I came to bring him some clothes."
Levi turned back to her.
Baisitina held up a thick, hand-woven cloak. It wasn’t exactly exquisite, but it had a rugged feel unique to the Northern Lands. One look and you could tell it suited the Lord’s style perfectly.
"Haha, well, I didn’t have one, and I’m not afraid of the cold, so I just didn’t bother." Levi scratched his head. "Look at that oaf Zat, isn’t he also running around bare-chested in this freezing weather?"
"How dare you say that? I specially wove a winter coat for you, and you just gave it away."
Speaking of which, Baisitina put her hands on her hips, unable to hold back her irritation.
She had squeezed it into her busy schedule, weaving it little by little by lamplight at night as a return gift. She never expected a certain someone to just give it away without a word—and to another woman, no less.
"It’s not that I gave it away." Levi stood up, took the cloak, and draped it over his shoulders, forcing an explanation with a straight face. "Miss Liya arrived here without suitable clothes, so I could only give her my coat to ward off the cold. She never mentioned returning it afterward, and I felt it would be awkward to ask. After all, she is nominally my Feudal Lord and has actually helped me quite a bit. If I asked for it back, it would make me seem stingy."
"By the way, where are Zat and Mier?" Levi changed the subject.
"I just saw them squatting by the river with Sophia, having a fishing competition." In truth, Baisitina wasn’t really that angry. The Lord’s explanation had completely put her heart at ease.
"Oh, that’s just great! High Cliff Castle doesn’t even have any surplus grain, and they dare use it for fishing?!" Levi appeared angry that they were using corn kernels as bait, but inwardly he was cursing them. ’Those three went fishing and didn’t even invite me! He had been an avid angler in his past life, after all.’
"They’re using the Goblins and Kobolds they caught for bait..." Baisitina added.
"Er..." The Lord was stunned for a moment, then put on an angry expression. "I knew it! This had to be that idiot Zat’s idea! He used Goblins to fish for crocodiles before, and now he’s added Kobolds to the mix!"
"Doesn’t everyone know that Kobolds are my High Cliff Castle’s most capable hands for cultivating fields and mining ore?"
"The Goblins were Zat’s idea, but Sophia was the one who added the Kobolds," Baisitina said with a slight smile. "Sophia believes the only reason you were able to catch her was because of that Dragon Vein Kobold. Even though that Dragon Vein Kobold is already dead, it doesn’t stop her from taking her anger out on its kin."
"Fair enough." The Lord scratched his head. He really hadn’t expected the Little Silver Dragon to be so vindictive.
He later learned some of the specific details.
Originally, after Sophia arrived in the Wilderness and took these followers under her wing, she had instructed them to quietly collect treasure for her.
And in this restless era, everyone was desperately looking for a chance to prove themselves.
After she fell into a deep sleep, that Dragon Vein Kobold unexpectedly decided it wanted to perform a world-shaking, heroic deed for its Giant Dragon master.
This led to it leading the Giant Dragon Corps to sweep through the surrounding Tribes, gathering more manpower, which eventually led to them provoking High Cliff Castle. Then, the Lord followed the clues right back to the Giant Dragon’s lair.
From Sophia’s perspective, you could say that creature was a complete traitor, the one who led the army that captured her right to her doorstep.
