8 – Episode 8 Monster
＜Episode 8 Monster＞
“What on earth is all this?”
Monster corpses piled up on B’s farmland.
Taking a closer look, they were Black Goblin corpses.
At that moment, Isaac approached.
“Master, I apologize. We fought hard, but we couldn’t protect the farmland.”
Isaac’s armor was torn, revealing wounds underneath.
“Are you okay? What about the others?”
The gathering place of the injured.
There, five slaves lay still without any movement.
“Could it be…?”
“It’s fine.”
The approaching grandfather spoke.
“Grandfather?”
“They’ve been hit by goblin paralysis poison. They’ll wake up as time passes.”
It was fortunate that they hadn’t died.
Whether their current status was as slaves or not didn’t matter.
They were people who worked for me and would help grow my influence.
“What happened?”
“That’s the thing. Oh dear, it seems the leg got pierced.”
A bridge that crossed the western river.
It connected the current River Town with the former Frost River.
Now it plays the role of preventing monsters from crossing the water.
“The self-defense unit missed it?”
“I don’t understand it myself, but apparently so.”
It’s not even a wide area, just watch over the bridge.
And yet, they missed it?
Is it negligence, I wonder.
Or maybe I fell asleep.
If that were the case, it wouldn’t be hard to understand.
Even humans can make mistakes.
But…
For now, I stopped thinking.
I had to deal with what was right in front of me.
“Grandfather, we should postpone the development of C cultivation land.”
“Yes, we should. The injured slaves need to recover. If it weren’t for the slaves, A cultivation land would have been trampled on.”
The B cultivation land that suffered this time is where clover and barley grass grow.
It didn’t matter much if it became desolate since there were no livestock.
On the other hand, A cultivation land is different.
Barley is growing there.
“I’m really relieved. Call a healer to treat them.”
“Don’t worry about that.”
As the day broke,
only one-third of the slaves came out to work.
Because I ordered everyone, even those with injuries or severe muscle pain, to rest.
All the slaves were assigned to A cultivation land.
Until the treatment was over, all work would be stopped, and they would focus on A cultivation land.
While kneeling and using the earth restoration in C cultivation land,
Isaac approached.
“Master.”
“What’s the matter?”
“Those with sore muscles can still work.”
After seeing hope,
the slaves had definitely changed.
It could be because of this that the slaves came forward and guarded the farmland.
“Rest well.”
“But, we still need to finish clearing C farmland…”
I raised my hand to stop Isaac’s words.
“We’re going to plant wheat in C farmland. We still have time, so focus on resting.”
Wheat is planted in autumn and harvested in summer.
There’s still time before autumn, so there’s no need to rush.
“Understood.”
Isaac bowed his head.
“Isaac.”
“Yes, Master.”
“You will follow my orders, won’t you?”
“Of course. Entrust anything to us.”
Select swift individuals and monitor their legs.”
“Do you mean the bridge?”
“Yes, this incident may not be a coincidence.”
“Understood, sir.”
I trust my grandfather.
The people of River Village also trust him to some extent.
But it can’t be said that there are no people from the Brilda tribe among them.
Because he was the most powerful figure in the territory along with my father, Frontier Zajak.
What I did is not just this.
I wrote a letter to my father.
Asking him to send Hans.
This is not the first time I have sent such a message.
When I broke off my engagement with Allensia and returned to the territory,
I had also sent a letter to my father at that time.
I wrote about what happened at the vampire mansion,
Why I had to come back,
And I asked him to send Hans in the end.
Of course, I didn’t receive a reply.
Hans didn’t come either.
“Once it happens, monsters can come over at any time. If only Hans were here…”
Hans.
Frontier Knight.
He showed talent in swordsmanship since childhood, being highly regarded as the future frontier’s knight.
Also my guard as the future lady of the manor.
Until I go to the vampire duke.
“Sigh…”
I pondered while reading the letter from the enemy this time.
He wrote in detail why Hans is needed.
But it seems they won’t send him.
“Do they no longer consider me the lady of the manor?”
If Father doesn’t send Hans, what should I do?
Assuming Hans is already gone, I thought about the next plan.
I left the letter at the village hall,
and went to see my grandfather.
“What’s happening at this hour?”
“Grandfather, can we obtain weapons?”
“Weapons?”
Grandfather’s gaze fell on my waist.
“It’s not for me. I want to arm the slaves.”
“Slaves? Won’t it be dangerous?”
“Right now… it should be okay.”
Certainly a burdensome task.
To arm slaves.
In extreme cases, a rebellion might occur.
After all, slaves are supposed to be powerless.
But what about now?
For those who have glimpsed hope?
Those who have nothing to lose now have something to lose.
The likelihood of them causing a rebellion is low.
It’s not just because of hope.
The overall strength of the River Town itself is not bad.
No, to call it a town is an understatement; it’s formidable.
This is because a considerable number of residents are hunters.
Let’s assume, in an extreme scenario, that slaves defeat the entire River Town.
Will the future of the slaves be bright?
Not at all.
This time, the Frontier Territory Army will move.
In the end, there is nothing to gain and only things to lose.
‘Even upon reconsideration, the likelihood of slaves rebelling is low.’
“The slaves will be fine. I will control them.”
“Well… then follow me.”
The place Grandfather and I went to was an arrow stand manufacturing plant.
It used to be owned by Grandfather in the past.
Now it has been sold to several people in the village.
“We have everything except for weapons that don’t exist.”
“Of course, we have everything except for weapons that don’t exist…”
Bang! Bang!
Grandfather awkwardly hit his back a few times.
As we entered, people greeted us.
Grandfather received the greetings familiarly and continued inside.
And there, various weapons were arranged.
Mostly long-range weapons.
I saw various types of bows and even crossbows.
“I like the crossbow. How many can I get?”
I cleared out the crossbows at the arrow stand manufacturing plant.
Since I didn’t have immediate funds, I decided to pay after the barley harvest.
.
.
After finishing the farm work,
we gathered in the field before the sunset.
“From now on, you will practice with the crossbows.”
The slaves received crossbows with complex expressions.
“It seems like the monsters are coming again. We need to prepare in advance.”
Grandfather assisted with crossbow training.
Having been a hunter for a long time, he knew how to handle various weapons.
One day, two days.
Three days, four days.
With each passing day, the accuracy of the crossbow improved.
“Indeed, a crossbow is better than a bow.”
Bows and crossbows have their pros and cons.
Bows have a fast firing rate.
The more you train, the higher the attack power becomes.
On the other hand, crossbows take time to reload.
However, the learning period is short.
According to Grandfather, in a week, one could perform basic reload and shoot,
and in two weeks, one could hit a stationary object.
“Reload!”
Upon Grandfather’s command, they stopped their thoughts and raised their heads.
The slaves efficiently reloaded the bolts.
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“Fire!”
Shoo, shoo, shoo.
Shoo, shoo, shoo.
Dozens of bolts were embedded in the wooden board set up in front.
Approximately 70% had hit the target.
‘With this level of accuracy, the crossbow is fine. Once the watchtower is complete, everything should be good.’
Just raising a crossbow doesn’t mean a slave who only worked the fields could fight monsters.
That’s why they were constructing watchtowers around the farm.
***
Frontier Mansion, 3rd floor.
Brilda sat in the chair,
and Anna, a direct maid, stood next to her.
“You’ve written a lot. In the end, it’s a failure, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
In the town of River, Brilda had people.
He held a position as the administrative official of River, a position that allowed him to gather various information.
And it was good for scheming behind the scenes.
“You destroyed only the place where weeds were planted, leaving the crucial A cultivation site unharmed? So, after all, it’s half a success?”
Brilda threw the paper aside.
Anna picked it up and burned it with a candle.
“Now, what do we do?”
Brilda regularly received reports on Elwin’s movements.
Then, one piece of news reached me.
It was about the barley grown on the farm not being contaminated by magic.
At first, I doubted it.
I secretly sent a magician to investigate.
After magically examining it, there was indeed no magic.
‘How? Why? Did I really meet the goddess of the earth?’
Numerous questions raced through my mind.
No answers came.
I couldn’t find the reason.
Instead of pondering how it happened,
I thought about what to do next.
The conclusion that emerged was to ruin the crops.
If only my son, Gibson, would undergo the coming-of-age ceremony.
I could claim the position of the Lord.
Until then, Elwin just had to keep a low profile.
“aaah!! There’s not much time left!! Why is this happening when there’s not much time left!!”
“Mistress, please calm down. Even if Elwin manages the farm, Lady Soyoung will become Lord Gibson.”
Brylda’s words slightly pacified Anna.
“Yes, that’s right.”
What Monster Island Lord needs is power.
The power to protect the land and its people from monsters was necessary.
But… even so.
“Send the soldiers back. Tell them to trample the A fields.”
He didn’t want even the smallest variable to arise.
Until Gibson became the lord.
“Understood.”
