|3rd POV|
Bara looks at the so-called village in the distance in shock. He looks at Ferlana and says.
"You said a village, right? I don't think that thing can be called a village."
Sol-Leon already expanded for the past month. The barren villages are now full of activity, and many buildings are behind the uncompleted wall. Even with the help of Golem and all the materials for it, building walls around the village will take time.
"That's right. This is Sol-Leon, our beautiful village!"
"That thing cannot be called a village any longer, Ferlana. It can be called a Town or even a city now."
Ferlana smiles a little and says.
"That is right. It cannot be called a village any longer. I shall tell Lord Armaah when we arrive."
As they get closer, they see a dozen stone golems working alongside workers building stone walls around the town. Bara's jaws drop when they see the golems easily pull a massive stack of stone. That can only mean one thing. The golem is strong and very durable to be able to pull that feat.
"Golems?!"
Bara looks at Ferlana and says.
"If you have golems, why the fuck do you guys need us?!"
Ferlana looks at them and says.
"Look at the wall. What do you see? That's right, an incomplete wall. Golems might be strong, but they are slow and have a hard time moving in narrow places. Not only that, if the one creating dies in battle, they will crumble and turn back into stone. We are afraid of the bandits coming at night and sneaking past them if we put them on in public. We will put them hidden somewhere to ambush the enemy rather than attacking our enemies directly."
Bara takes a deep breath and nods his head. He has fought a rogue mage before, and they use Golems. What Ferlana says is correct. They are slow and easy to dispatch if you know where to strike, as all Golems have magic cores that make them alive. Not only that, but they also take a lot of energy to maintain their form. If they get attacked, the magic core will be depleted sooner or later, and the golems will crumble.
However, moving them around takes less energy and makes them a worker because they will not get injured and do not need more energy to heal themselves.
"I see. Does that mean your lord has a blessing related to Golem Making, huh?"
Ferlana only smiled at that but did not answer him. Bara nods his head, thinking that he was right.
As they get closer to the town, they can see people working hard with anything they can do. Not only that, Bara and his party can see people smiling and laughing even when they are in the middle of the harsh desert.
Their carriage split into three. The first one goes to the farm, the second one goes to the warehouse, and the last one goes to the Lord Mansion. When they arrive, Ferlana takes the Red Horn Party to Lord's office.
"My lord? May I come in?"
"Ferlana? Come in."
When she opens the door, she and the others can see a young man sitting behind a table with two people standing next to him. This is Arma and the one standing next to him is Sebastian and Cassandra.
"Ah, Ferlana! Are they the party you hire?"
"That's right, my lord. They are the Red Horn Party, a B-rank Party. They are known for their expertise in bandit extermination and have a lot of experience in Monster Wave."
"Perfect!"
Arma looks at them and says.
"Please take a seat. I shall inform you about your new job."
Bara and the others nod their heads and take a seat on the couch. Arma sits in front of them while Sebastian, Cassandra, and Ferlana stand behind him.
"As you already know, we need you guys to defend against the incoming bandits. They will come from the east. Sadly, that area is the least defended area of the village. Because of this, we need your team to scout every morning to ensure they have not yet arrived at our village while we take care of the incoming monster from the west."
Bara nods his head and says.
"What is the parameter of our scouting area?"
"Ten kilometers meters from here should be enough."
"That is easy enough. We do need supplies to do some scouting."
"Don't worry about it. We will take care of it. Please ask Sebastian," The old butler walks forward, "for all your supplies. However, please don't take advantage of us. I want to make you guys comfortable, but I also did not want to take advantage of it. If you do that…"
Arma releases his holy power and looks at the Red Horn Party with all the hatred he can muster at the moment. Golden flames surround him and without him knowing, create an image of a giant golden lion roaring at them.
Bara nods his head and says.
"I understand."
Arma smiles brightly at them, and the lion behind him disappears instantly. Arma nods and says.
"Good."
Arma looks at Ferlana and says.
"Ferlana, can you take them to the nearby inn? Tell the owner that I will pay for their room, food, and bath."
"Of course, my lord."
As they leave the office and walk away from the room, Bara looks at her and says.
"What the hell is that?! You want us to protect him?! He looks like he can take all of us in a second!"
Ferlana shakes her head and smiles at them.
"You might be right. However, Lord Armaah did not want to do this alone."
"Why? He has the power. He can be the protector of his territory."
"That's right. Protector. He is a protector of this place, but he is a Lord first and foremost. As a lord, he needed to make his people grow and not rely too much on him. He did not want us to suffer, and because of that, he needed to teach us how to stand on our own two feet. He will protect us when the time comes, but when he can teach and make sure we can stand on our own two feet, he will do that."
Of course, this is a lie Ferlana gives to them. She knows that her lord is not all-powerful, as she has seen him beaten by Captain Jargu many times, and she does not want this stranger to know that. It is good to let the others think he is powerful so they do not look down on him for his young age.
"I see. I guess I understand."
Bara did not understand, but he had already accepted that the world of the nobles was completely different from theirs.
"So, where is the inn?"
"Oh! Do you remember the two-story building not too far away from the lord's mansion?"
"I see. That is the inn, huh?"
"Yes. It is an inn directly under Lord Armaah's supervision. At the moment, it is nothing but a tavern because we did not get too many guests. However, I can guarantee that it has great food and a bed."
===
While Sol-Leon village is busy preparing for the incoming attack, the people who are going to attack the village finally gather and march together.
"Tch! Don't you dare take all the women in that place, you bastard!"
"Kakakaka! Don't worry, my friend! I shall leave some to you and sell the rest!"
"That bald bastard is right. You can take them after we taste them all!"
The first one is a bald man wearing pants and a pair of gauntlets.
The second one is a skinny man wearing dark armor with twin sickles on his back.
The third one is a short man with a tribal tattoo on his arms and carrying a Warhammer the same height as him on his back.
These men are the famous bandits leader in the area and they are bringing their group for this job. Each group consists of one hundred members. Three hundred desert bandits march through the desert.
If the local lords know this movement, they will dispatch all their soldiers to prepare to exterminate them before they can do anything. However, someone blocked the news of this movement and left them marching without any care as long as they did not get too close to a town.
Sol Leon Map after it is done.
