Chapter 19

  { The Meaning of Being a Lord }

  Blacksmith Hammer

  Common

  Attributes: None

  Ian smiled and began the process again.

  This time he would craft pickaxes…

  Agricultural axes.

  But before that, he would craft an anvil instead of hammering on rocks.

  The villagers watched him in shock…

  They did not expect their Lord to be so generous and humble.

  And their loyalty increased.

  The soldiers who had been training increased their determination and resolve…

  Martin in the garden rolled up his sleeves, forgot he was an old man, and began working the soil.

  Aliano, who used to take some breaks from time to time, opened his eyes wide and started working on the research, especially the main research, at 150% effort.

  The goblins who had arrived not long ago, and who naturally held hostility toward humans, were now much closer to Ian.

  And all this because of a simple action.

  A profession.

  The word “profession” means that upon obtaining it, one gains a basic understanding of the profession… its requirements and essentials to use it properly… even some supporting skills for the profession that reduce time, increase success chances, increase efficiency, or grant special attributes.

  Unlike a skill, which was predetermined.

  Was Ian a blacksmith? Of course not, but the moment he obtained the profession, he understood what he needed to do to obtain some common items.

  Unlike if he had a skill. A skill would be predetermined in forging swords or hammers… or even just lighting fire. It would never be as broad, complete, and high-level as a profession.

  The problem was that Ian was very late to the game’s opening.

  In its early days, Lords didn’t suffer from this… they possessed many basic professions such as blacksmith, farmer, builder, and many blueprints such as the Blacksmith Building, the Medical Hall, and other essentials.

  Even the items used in them, such as farming axes, pickaxes, the blacksmith hammer, the anvil, and all those things, were available… but for Ian, the situation was very different.

  Honestly, if he weren’t a Lord of Legendary grade, he would have suffered greatly.

  Mirror Shard…

  Collect ten to form the Heavenly Mirror

  Uses unknown.

  Description: A special product of the Forest of Horrors and cannot be found outside.

  Hmmm… it seems I’m facing another strange thing.

  Time passed.

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  Food was prepared, and the soldiers and villagers ate, and Ian soon finished crafting the pickaxes and agricultural axes.

  He wanted to craft a set of armors… this was the second purpose for obtaining this profession, but… his understanding did not allow it yet… he had to raise the profession mastery to the intermediate grade first.

  “Salute the Lord.”

  Ian finished working on the set of agricultural axes and pickaxes and headed toward the west of the village…

  He wanted to take a large area to make it farmland so it would serve as a natural defensive barrier like the north, where it was covered by a dense cluster of trees.

  The soldiers wanted to help him, but he refused…

  “You are soldiers of the Kingdom!.. If you’re going to work as farmers, then who will protect us?” Ian shouted at them and returned to work.

  The word “Kingdom” ignited the fire in the hearts of those soldiers and made them go mad to become stronger.

  “My Lord,” the moment Chris, Liu, Noa arrived… they rushed toward him.

  Even Tory, Porto, and Boban were surprised.

  “How are you?” Ian placed the axe down and asked firmly.

  He shifted from farmer to Lord in a second.

  The group was stunned.

  Ian had been waiting for them anxiously…

  The Orc group worried him greatly, especially after remembering the bandit incident.

  “My Lord…” Chris said, “I was searching for a Den of horses to form a cavalry unit, and I found one… apologies for not informing you, but after I examined that lake, I decided to do something else.”

  “No problem… what kind of horses?”

  “War horses,” Chris said eagerly.

  Those horses would give his soldiers a strong boost and save them a lot of effort and hardship.

  War horses… horses famous for their strength and speed and their lack of fear toward swords.

  Ian nodded in approval and looked toward Noa.

  “To inform the Lord… I indeed found a Den of chickens and rabbits near the river… the chicken den provides ten per day… and the rabbits twenty,” Noa said.

  “Good.”

  Then he looked toward Boban, leaving the most important matter for last.

  “Apart from the three dangers I informed Chief Yora about, nothing else,” Boban said.

  “And you, Tory?” Ian asked.

  “I observed the mine from afar… nothing strange… it seems the mine’s story ended with the death of the bandits, but… when I went to what used to be their cave… I found traces of Orc black wolves there,” Tory said with concern.

  It seems my worry was correct, Ian thought, and looked toward Porto and Liu.

  Without him speaking a word, the pair understood and quickly said, “There is a valley where the Orcs live in a strong village. There are more than 100… the problem, my Lord, is one thing. All of them are first level warriors, and the most important thing is the Orc leader… strong and fierce, and he has the aura of the second level. Aside from that, they have a Den of wolves and an army of more than 200 wolves used as mounts and forces.”

  Porto spoke, and Liu continued, “They patrol the borders of the valley where their village lies. And the most dangerous thing, my lord, is the range of their scouting… First, they’re only five miles away from us— not a far distance. If not for the harsh terrain, they would’ve found us already… but that won’t last long. They’re sweeping the area left and right. And we noticed that several groups go to pay them tribute… coins, women, slaves, weapons… and items. Most of them are bandits, but… there was one human.”

  “Oh? Where is he?” Ian asked.

  “We didn’t follow him,” Liu said, surprised.

  Ian frowned. “Do you at least know their general location?”

  The two shook their heads.

  They didn’t realize how much that mattered to Ian… and more importantly, the danger of the Orcs, which is why they hurried back.

  Ian’s frown deepened.

  This had been a chance to gain another group of humans… and as long as they were providing these things to the Orcs, it meant there was a decent amount of labor.

  Ian wanted labor of all kinds now to help his village rise in various fields… but they had lost that opportunity.

  “I will correct this mistake, my lord,” Liu bowed.

  “And I as well.”

  “This is not the time,” Ian denied. “We’ll deal with the closer border problems first.”

  The lake.

  The fallen village.

  These were the most dangerous matters for now.

  “Chris… tell me about the village with the skeletons.”

  “The situation is as follows, my lord.

  “The number of skeletons is unknown, but it won’t exceed two hundred… most of them are untrained, but the strongest, aside from the general there, is at the first level…”

  “Good… that will be our next step,” Ian said. “Prepare the forces. We’re all leaving. I want them at peak condition.”

  “And what about the horses, my lord?” Chris asked.

  “Tell Aliano to craft a Tamer Rune and a Knight Rune while we deal with those skeletons,” Ian ordered.

  Chris obeyed and left.

  Ian continued to work until the morning fully rose, and then the timer ended and five new individuals appeared at the Breeding Gate.

  As for the Goblin Village Stones and the Bandit Village Stones, Ian couldn’t place them because he hadn’t established the Village Center yet. And even if he could, he wouldn’t.

  The nature of bandits never changes…

  As for the goblins, their numbers were already large to begin with, and their loyalty wasn’t as high as the humans.

  And now… any increase among them could form a hidden threat.

  Ian tried to work around this by mixing the groups— appointing a human leader over a group of goblins or the opposite, to strengthen communication and loyalty— but the risks still remained.