<120. White Stone of the Exiled Land (2)>
Kaaaaak!
A sound resembling a crow’s cry rang in my ear. It was Goblin’s scream.
Puck!
Seeing that, Digo hit Goblin’s head with a halberd spear. Goblin, whose head burst, fell to the floor with green blood and wriggled.
“It’s in vain”.
Lind muttered when he saw it. It can be. It was fully understandable.
Lind’s group had struggled for months to get rid of the goblins. It wasn’t easy task, they couldn’t eat well and fought with insufficient sleep.
For him, this was the best he could do. Without the experience, dealing with monsters was a conundrum.
Half of my mercenaries in my previous life were monster extermination.
Most of the requests that came in for third-rate mercenaries were for low-grade monster extermination. The cost of the request was not very high, but it was always one of my jobs.
Especially in the last few years of my previous life…….
“So you set a fire and we deal with the ones that come out, and that’s it? Then why did we have to suffer for all this time?”
Lind’s question stopped me in my tracks. I thought his question was valid.
If I would come and solve it, it would have ended soon, why did they have to suffer for months?
“No, it’s thanks to you. You did great.
The former Lord, who ruled this land, built an altar underground and offered sacrifices. A madman obsessed in a cult built the entrance inside the territory.
Finding it was nothing for me, who was a great treasure hunter.
A hidden entrance, with a group of Goblins hiding in an underground cave.
The answer was simple. They were afraid of fire, so I grabbed all the oil I could find for my lamp, wet a cloth, found a dead tree branch, and lit the underground entrance on fire.
I roughly guessed where this cave led to and knew that I didn’t have to deal with a thousand goblins here.
“It’s coming out again.”
Those who were near the entrance pierced through the flames and came out with scorch.
Puck!
This time it was Dokki’s turn. As soon as it came out, his axe fell vertically from top to bottom, and the goblin’s head was split.
It was a sharp blow that cut right through the skull. He’s definitely improved.
I heard that there is a stage during the knight’s training when they have to stay awake while fasting. Minimize sleeping and eating, and practice to fight continuously.
Usually, the knights climb the rugged mountain range for two days without sleeping, but the three of them naturally did it for months.
No matter how low-level monsters were, they would die even if they were cut by their swords. Just because it’s easy to deal with doesn’t mean the sword isn’t dangerous.
“Now that we’ve got most of it under control, let’s go.”
The four of us went inside, waiting for the strong smoke to escape from the fire.
Lind looked at me, having solved this all in one fell swoop, and still seemed to think that all their hard work was meaningless.
You did a good job. That’s true.
It was very necessary, and I don’t think it really needs any explanation. With a mind like Lind’s, it will come naturally.
“There don’t seem to be any goblins.”
Digo took the lead. Although he had to bend down and walk, but the cave was not long.
There was one rather large hollow that had probably been used as an altar in the past, and we could see a passage next to it. There were no traces of any cult.
It was a simple structure.
Well, no matter how the fortress was built along the mountain range, it did not make sense how the enormous underground facility was built.
If it had been slightly larger than this, it would have collapsed quickly. I had no particular interest in architecture, but this was common knowledge.
“I think this is a natural cave”.
Lind said, looking at the connected passage.
“I guess they all escaped here.”
Digo spoke.
Dokki grabbed his nose and looked at me as the monster’s unique smell vibrated. Ready to chase after them at my one word.
“Leave it.”
Are you really going to chase after a thousand of them, or even if we attacked together can the four of us cut them all down?
Well, it won’t be impossible if you use your brain, but do you really need to suffer like that?
Moreover, I thought it would be better if the monster remained in moderation.
“Okay.”
The three of them looked like they didn’t understand what was good about it.
“Let’s stop here.”
This passage is not needed right now. Digo gathered stones scattered on the floor and blocked the entrance. While I and the other two helped, the passage was quickly blocked.
“Where are we going?”
“Where?”
Lind replied in kind as he mumbled to himself.
“I think to Blade Mountain.”
The location where the fortress was located was just the entrance of the Blade Mountain, and behind it was a real mountain with two more ridges.
Wouldn’t it be only one place where natural caves are connected?
“But…”
Lind muttered. We finished the monster sweep in one day. It was so easy that Lind called it vain.
Of course, it is easy to say, but it was impossible without an understanding of Goblins and an eye for grasping the nearby terrain.
Once the monsters were gone, I had to make this a place for people to live.
“What about those people?”
It was a sudden question, but Lind replied without hesitation.
“I’ve already asked them. But I don’t know if they’ll migrate just because there’s no monster.”
Count Ludwig’s triangle policy was excellent, but the drawbacks were great.
He did not properly protect the village outside the triangle. In particular, restoring the village on the way down after the invasion of Eight Gates this time would be as difficult as creating a new one.
There were a lot of people who had lost their homes, so I had Lind lead them to stay nearby.
Thanks to this, most of the money saved was spent. In other words, I was responsible for the refugees which Daybed and the other cities were not accepting.
“This land is not suitable for farming.”
Lind continued. People need to eat in order to live. In other words, for a territory to be viable, it had to be able to be farmed.
In that aspect, though, the Fraunmunt territory is in the worst condition.
“It’s okay.”
Agriculture did not necessarily have to be the main.
People don’t trust other easily.
No matter how much you defeated a monster in the Praunmunt territory, who would come to live on this land?
Who would want to live under the threat of life?
There was only one way to come to all those threats.
It’s sincerity and truthfulness. No matter how perfect the acting is, it is a lie in the end.
And the human mind is capable of reading lies.
“I thought they might not come.”
Lind muttered.
Ten days after killing the monsters, we settled at the fortress at edge of the blade mountain and I sent Jabrien to spread the word that we had dealt with the monsters here.
Along with the stories of the people who have been fighting monsters here for several month.
They didn’t know this place became my territory. They were just looking for a place to live.
“The land is too dry.”
One of the refugees who saw Lind stepped forward and said. It was a man with thick eyebrows and angled jaws.
“That’s how the land is.”
Lind picked up on his words. This was something I had already asked for before going to the Central Shed.
These are the people abandoned by Count Ludwig. Officially, they are the Count’s subjects and those outside the Triangle.
They were the lambs who had nowhere to go after the invasion of the Eight Gates.
I also got permission from the king to migrate the count’s people if wanted to, and live here if they wanted.
I’ve mixed up those rumors in moderation. “There are people who want to take responsibility for those who were abondoned by the count.”
It was me who intended and I was the one who created this situation, but I was not the main character of today.
The refugee man bowed his head deeply toward Lind, Digo and Dokki.
“Thank you for everything you’ve done for us.”
“Ah!”
Lind raised the man’s body with a surprised face. Before I left, I told Lind they had to kill the monster here.
What are they going to do?
Shouldn’t we save them?
Weehain Ludwig will not be responsible for them.
None of the lords around will take responsibility for them.
This is the only land they can live without problems, and I said I would get permission to migrate them from the Royal Palace.
Basically, Lind and Digo, and Dokki have been fighting for them. To them, these were people they couldn’t turn away from.
The three of them fought for months to exterminate monsters. My orders were the basis, but on the surface it was something entirely different.
It was a fight for the people that Count gave up and no one wanted to take care of.
And there were only three of them.
No one knew they were Wyze users, so for them the three risked their lives.
From the refugee’s point of view, it was a fight for themselves. There were those who had a remorse for not being able to come here right away to help in this fight.
“We will turn this place into a farmland.”
Lind looked back on me with a look of realizing why he had suffered here for two months.
He understood that dealing with the monsters wasn’t the problem, but how much effort did you put in for them, how hard you suffered.
That was the power that moved people.
I smiled and overtook Lind. There is no need to say that I am the Lord, so put that aside.
“What did you do in the previous village?”
“I built houses, hunted, and made chairs etc.”
He’s a carpenter.
I looked at the group of refugees gathered behind the man and asked.
“Is there anyone who has dug up the soil?”
An old man who understood the words stepped forward. That old man had a serious face since earlier.
“This is not a land for digging.”
That’s right. Fraunmunt’s estate has no farmland.
“Then what should we do…?”
“Is there anyone who has worked as a miner?”
Some raised their hands. It’s not that bad.
I think it’s about twenty. It was me standing in front of 500 people.
It didn’t need to attract people’s attention. The momentum that spreads when I use the Wyze along with my appearance made it happen naturally.
Upon receiving their gaze, I opened my mouth.
“Instead of digging the soil, we are going to dig mine.”
“Mine”?
“Is there an iron mine here?”
“There’s nothing like that.”
My words made several people talking. Of course, there is no iron, silver, gold, or mana mine.
But there’s something else.
Shortly after I saw the carpenter who I talked to, bringing in a nearby tree and starting to build a large house inside the outer fortress. I took Lind, Digo, and Dokki to the Blade Mountain.
“The mountains are rough.”
“We will have to pave the way to get here.”
I heard Linde and Digo talking.
Of course, It’s not a big deal. After all I’m Chris The Path Finder. The one who finds the paths and make the paths.
And it’s not something I have to do alone.
If you took some hunters from the village and used them, you could quickly make it a way for people to walk.
There are 500 people gathered here.
There are limited things I can do alone to revive a land. The rest was up to the people who gathered here.
“Then should I call you ‘Lord’ from now on?”
It’s a pretty rough mountain path, but for us who have been trained by Tekil, this is the only trail. Perhaps it was for this reason that Lind had the leisure time to say something sarcastic.
“Of course.”
Digo accepted that remark. Digo was the first to say he would serve me, so he might be very happy with the way things are now.
Look at his expression. He is a man who can’t lie for the rest of his life. But Lind is different.
He’s my best friend.
“Do whatever you want. Just be natural…”
“Let’s just go with Lord. I’ll try to fix my speech slowly or something.”
Lind interrupted my words, smashing the branch in front of him with his hand. Lind’s attitude was understandable, as he didn’t like my new last name very much.
“I guess it’s around here.
When I looked at the topography around the river and spoke, everyone stopped walking.
“What are you trying to dig up?””
Digo asks out of curiosity.
“Gold.”
“Gold?”
“I’m going to dig up gray gold.””
No one understood what I was saying. Lind pondered and looked at me.
I guess I’ve read so much books that I know a lot more than I should.
“That thing. Is it here?””
“I guess so”.
Originally, it was a land that eight gates would occupy, but history has changed. No, I changed it.
So I occupied the unused land.
We walked forward and faced a cave. It was wide enough to fit three or four people at a time.
Kaaaaak!
A group of goblins nearby found us and ran towards us. And as soon as he saw them, Lind plucked the string of his bow.
Ting ting ting!
Three consecutive shots, Lind also improved his skills. I feel like I’m the only one who hasn’t improved. I can’t say that life in the royal palace is easy, but it is true that I neglected my training.
Stammering!
The arrows were stuck in the three heads and Digo swung the Halberd horizontally at the other ones rushing in.
Oh my god!
Five of them exploded in one blow.
“This is…”
It’s not a fight, it’s a slaughter. Wouldn’t this be enough to win even if it’s against a thousand?
I don’t know. You can’t be sure about battles and fights until you’ve done them.
No matter how hard you try to calculate, there are always variables in the calculation.
It was after dealing with Goblin. When I entered the cave casually, the party followed me.
In the middle, traces of human touch remained. It is a vein that was dug once and abondoned because there was nothing.
Fools.
I hadn’t gotten very far when I lit the torch I had prepared.
I stopped walking.
“Ah.”
Lind let out a light exclamation and waved the torch in all directions. White thing on the walls and ceiling reflecting the fire could be seen.
“What is it?”
Digo and Dokki still looked like they were wondering what was going on.
“This is a treasure trove.”
The first miner who sold this place is an idiot. He was a blind man.
Pluck
I broke a part of the wall by punching it. And said, holding crumbled gray debris in my hand.
“This is gray gold”.
Digo picked up a piece. When Lind asked him to taste it, he put his mouth on it and spoke.
“…… It’s salty.
It must be salty. This is a gold mine. It’s just that what we have here is not golden gold. The real treasure of Fraunmunt was salt, and this was a rock salt mine.
