Chapter 8  : Troubles in the Morning

The peasants all stood up, seemingly in high spirits.

“Very well.”

Kant nodded, feeling satisfied.

Those 50 Swadian Peasants were the base population of Drondheim from then on out.

They were now the main force driving the village’s future development.

This was not a game. While Kant only needed to fight battles with his newly created troops, he still needed a certain number of peasants to look after the village. They needed to make the village, which currently only had the Council Hall, bigger and stronger.

The 50 Swadian Peasants also solved the safety problem they currently faced.

With the 20 Dukedom of Leo knights gone, Kant and the Oasis Lookout had faced a huge predicament.

The escaped Jackalans would have no intention of simply let things slide. They would have regrouped and tried to take back the oasis that had once been their home, militantly clashing with Kant.

The Oasis Lookout was still at the forefront of danger.

The 10 Swadian Militia and 20 Swadian Recruits were too small of a force to deal with such a threat.

The addition of the new peasants considerably relieved the lingering threat.

At the very least, if they were to be put in a tight formation with their long scythes in hand, it would be impossible for the Jackalans, who did not even have iron weapons, to break through their defenses.

We still need further development. Kant was planning in his mind.

According to the system’s page, the only building the village currently had was that simple, shabby Council Hall.

As for the other buildings, such as houses, city walls, mills, watchtowers, and wells, all of those would require funds and time to construct. The process would be as complicated as constructing real buildings.

There was nothing Kant could do about it.

Funds and time were the two things he needed the most.

The Jackalans were not going to give him time.

Furthermore, the only funds available to him were the 1,000 Denars acquired for completing the main quest of building a village.

There was one other thing that made Kant feel exasperated.

That world had several currencies—Small Silver, Great Silver, and Gold, which was of an even higher value.

None of those currencies were exchangeable for the Denars required by the system.

The burden is heavy, and the road is long, he thought.

Kant could not help but shake his head with a bitter smile.

…

The bright, beautiful moonlight enveloped the entire place.

Without any means of temperature regulation, the chill throughout the desert quickly grew apparent.

The night was no longer young.

Yet, the Oasis Lookout was still as busy as it was during the day.

It was impossible for 80 people to just camp outside in a desert.

The Council Hall was the only building in the village. Despite being two-stories, it was not that big of a building. It was only of 5,380 square feet at most, which was equal to the size of a bungalow within the country.

Fitting all 80 people inside was impossible.

Kant quickly made arrangements.

The 30 troops were assigned to rest within the council hall while the 50 peasants were told to set up camp outside around the Council Hall.

Kant had brought a good number of living supplies in the three carriages.

Those supplies included huge tents that could fit plenty of people, as well as wool clothing to keep everyone warm. All of that was enough for the 50 peasants to get through the night.

Kant had his reasons for making such arrangements.

Rather, he had his priorities.

Regardless, the 10 Swadian Militia and 20 Swadian Recruits were all that formed his current main combat force. Losing even one of them would have created quite a heartache for him.

They all had a lot to do with how his future forces would be developed, which meant that he could not afford to treat them as expendables.

As for guard duty that night, it was also taken care of by his 30 troops.

As such, they needed more rest to be able to deal with any potential crisis that might arise.

The 50 peasants, who were all outside the Council Hall, had superior numbers. Even if there was any danger, they could quickly band together when prompted by the troops on duty, forming tight formations to protect themselves and prevent any huge casualties from happening.

Reality was usually cruel.

The so-called protection was, at times, little more than petty compassion and kindness.

Kant was far from pedantic.

He, on the other hand, knew the value of the concept of gaining the highest benefit with the lowest cost.

“Alright, hurry up people!”

Kant hurried his people to get the tents set up as soon as possible to prevent any unforeseen circumstances from happening.

Campfires were lit at the same time. They used tent materials and wood found in the Jackalan Tribe to start them. The fires raged and burned brightly, giving off heat to somewhat ward off the chill of the night.

The Oasis Lookout camp was almost finished being set up.

A peasant briskly walked up to Kant and said, “My Lord, your room is ready.”

“I see.” Kant nodded.

His room was on the second floor of the Council Hall, which was guarded by 10 Swadian Militia. The 20 Swadian Recruits were getting ready on the floor below to ensure that nothing untoward happened to him.

They originated from the system, so they only existed because Kant existed.

As such, he had nothing to worry about when it came to their loyalty.

He looked at the dazzling stars in the sky. The chill around made him shudder.

“Best be careful.”

He said that to the peasants as walked into the Council Hall.

He walked up to the second floor via the stairs at the corner of the hall. Kant’s room was at the very end. The place had been tidied up by the militia.

The room had a window, which coincidentally faced the pond.

Kant gazed out the window. Light from the night sky shone soft light on the pond. It glittered as the water danced from the gently blowing wind. The beautiful scenery was mesmerizing.

Kant was unable to help but say, “This is indeed beautiful.”

This was the first time he had witnessed such a beautiful sight since he entered the Nahrin Desert.

Unlike the harsh and burly desert, the beauty before him was soft and gentle.

However, he quickly pulled his thoughts back and took a good look at his room.

He knew that he would have to stay in that room for a very long time in the future.

The room was approximately 107 square feet. It was furnished with a wooden bed and wardrobe, as well as a crudely made table and chair. All in all, the layout looked primitive and cramped. The accommodations were only slightly better than what commoners would have.

The single bed had a linen sheet on top of it. There was also a blanket made of wool and cotton neatly folded at the end of the bed.

Everything looked to be the standard style of the Kingdom of Swadia.

While the room looked crude, it was well-kept.

At the very least, there was no odor around.

It looks decent.

Kant felt satisfied with the room. Besides, the option to sleep on a wooden bed without worries in a protected room was far better than sleeping in a shallow hole that looked like a grave hastily dug in the desert.

Despite being the youngest son of a duke, he had still experienced harshness in life.

He placed the light crossbow and quiver neatly on the table. He took off the linen robe, which served to shield him against the dust, dusting it for a bit before hanging it on the wardrobe.

However, Kant did not take his clothes off. He also kept his short sword at his side.

Despite being in a room that was close to 10 Swadian Militia, he deemed it best to be on guard. At the very least, if anything unforeseen were to happen, he would not be caught off-guard and end up in a panic.

Kant spread his blanket out and went to bed.

He slept soundly, possibly due to having made a long, arduous journey, as well as having to fight a bloody battle on top of that.

The crisp chirp of birds was heard, which woke him up.

Chirp, chirp, chirp.

Kant slightly opened his eyes, still drowsy from the restful sleep.

Two birds were standing at the window. He did not know what kind they were, but they resembled sparrows except were a dirt-yellow color. The chirped as they hopped about, pecking at the ledge with their beaks.

The light of the morning sun shone through the window. The sun had risen.

“Hmph.”

Kant took off his blanket. The early morning in the Nahrin Desert still felt somewhat cold.

However, he knew it would not take long for the temperature to quickly skyrocket, reaching a level of heat that no man could withstand.

He put on his linen robe and looked outside as he stood at the side of his bed.

A sea of sand was spread out before him. The desert’s yellow dirt seemed to be out to swallow everything. Only the small bit of green nearby gave him a measure of reassurance.

This was how the Oasis Lookout was.

The crystal clear spring water reflected the bit of light. The shallow depth, which was not even a couple of feet, enabled him to easily see the sand and rocks beneath.

Kant unconsciously said, “Beautiful indeed.”

He was correct. Compared to the Nahrin Desert as a whole, the oasis was like a paradise.

And, it was a paradise that belonged to him.

He frowned and found that the paradise was still a dirty one.

The Jacklans’ messy tents lined the sides of the pond. There was garbage from living nearby for years, as well as excrement, scattered all over the place in messy piles. Those beings had no concept of hygiene.

They were defiling the oasis!

When he saw Swadian Peasants already hard at work cleaning up the garbage, his mind was put at ease.

That area was to soon become the place where they would settle down. The sight of messy garbage littering the place was an eyesore to the peasants, who were inherently people with an affinity for cleanliness and loved the sight of a beautiful field. They promptly went on to clean the place up because it was all too much for them to stomach.

Knock, knock.

There was knocking on the door. A voice from outside said, “My Lord, breakfast is ready. Would you like some now?”

It was the Swadian Peasant from before.

“I’ll get it right away,” Kant replied.

He closed the window and walked out of his room. A stout peasant was respectfully waiting for him outside.

Kant asked, “What’s for breakfast?”

“Bread slices and soup made of dried meat cooked with cabbage,” the peasant replied.

“Dried meat cooked with cabbage?”

Kant was rather shocked. He walked down the stairs to the lower floor and said, “I don’t remember bringing cabbage with us.” He paused and seemed to have recalled something. “Does the Council Hall have cabbage?”

“Yes, My Lord.”

The peasant nodded and said, “There were 500 loaves of bread, 250 pieces of dried meat, and 100 cabbages in the storage room.”

“That many?” Kant frowned slightly.

The bread, dried meat, and cabbage were all calculated in hundreds, so they were huge numbers.

However, the man hesitated for a bit before adding, “All of that can only last for 10 days.”

Kant was baffled. “Ten days?”

The man nodded and said, “Indeed, My Lord. We need to search for more food, or we will run out of food in 10 days. Even if we conserve whatever food we have, we’ll only be able to last about 15 days.

They went outside the Council Hall. The greenery around the pond was still as lush as ever.

However, Kant was no longer in the mood to admire it. He frowned and asked, “How could we eat that much?”

The 50 Swadian Peasants were tidying up the oasis. They were cleaning up the Jackalan tribe’s toppled tents, as well as the garbage and excrement they left behind.

The 10 Swadian Militia were patrolling with their iron-reinforced heavy spears in hand.

The 20 Swadian Recruits had spread out around the dune, setting up guard posts.

“Alright.”

Kant nodded. He looked rather severe. “I guess 80 people would eat quite a lot of food.”