“Now, let’s start,” said Lark.
The strong killing intent vanished entirely. Lark gripped the spear then began stabbing through the air. The moment the blade made a piercing sound, he would immediately twist his wrist, change the grip by releasing one hand, then strike once again. The spear bent wide into different directions, piercing the air numerous times. It was like a moving snake, changing its direction at the last moment.
If that was a real opponent. A human with flesh and bones…
Clark could only imagine the outcome. He knew that even he would be unable to dodge those everchanging strikes.
“So, how’s it?” said Lark, grinning. He playfully spun the spear on his hand. “I tried slowing down the movements so that everyone would be able to easily see.”
Clark’s eyes widened after the casual remark.
He was actually holding back so we’ll be able to follow it?!
Although Clark wanted to refute the statement, at the corner of his heart, he felt that it was true. The bloodlust shown by the Young Master was utterly abnormal. There was no way a normal person was capable of that.
Then, a question came up. If the Young Master was actually this strong, then why did he always run towards the guards whenever trouble came up? Even back in the Gryphon City, the Young Master was always like that.
He would always make trouble, and his personal guards would always have to clean after him.
More and more questions piled up, and Clark was unable to answer each of them. In these past few days, the Young Master he knew became a different person entirely. Not only in the demonstrated skills, even the way he addressed other people had changed.
Lark clapped his hands once. “It’s too early to be teaching you spearmanship. First, we will focus on training your bodies. After all, the basics are the most important.”
The hall was silent. Everyone could still vividly remember the spearmanship the young master has shown them. It was beautiful yet deadly, like a dance with blades and swords.
“While carrying the spear in your hand,” said Lark, demonstrating the proper way of holding the spear. “Run around this hall. Three hundred times.”
The hall of the mansion was vast, and it would take them half a minute at most to run around it. Just thinking about running around it three hundred times was already tiring.
Lark grinned. “Those that are able to finish the task will receive dried fish for lunch.”
“I-Is that true?!” said one of the soldiers.
“Of course.” Lark nodded. “You have my word. Furthermore, the first to finish will get an egg.”
Numerous gulping sounds were heard.
A fierce blaze filled the eyes of everyone.
“Let’s start.”
After a clap, everyone started running around the hall while holding a spear in their hand.
***
While the soldiers were training, Lark approached Melody. She, too, passed the ‘seed’ test.
“It’s a refreshing sight, isn’t it?” said Lark. Melody bowed her head upon making eye contact. “Once winter ends, they can start training outside. Also, I’m planning to recruit more soldiers by that time. The number right now is simply not enough.” He stared at her for a moment. “Melody, I want you to work for me.”
A straight offer.
Melody had heard of the evil deeds of the Young Master before. Honestly speaking, she did not want to work for such a person. But since she was homeless and jobless, just like others that came from Lion City, she was left with no choice.
“Payment will be fifteen silvers a month. Free meals, three times a day,” said Lark. “You will also be given a house once the construction in the eastern border is finished. Of course, depending on your performance, a raise is not out of the question.”
The offer was extravagant. Even when she had been working for the mistress back in Lion City, the amount was not that high.
“Y-Young Master, what kind of job is it?” she asked in a slightly trembling voice. If the young master suddenly told her to service him during the night, she would immediately reject the offer. No matter how many silvers were offered, she would never offer him her body.
“I want you to teach the soldiers how to read and write,” said Lark.
His gaze went towards the soldiers running around. By now, they were terribly huffing, but probably due to the reward of dried fish, they kept running. The guards, on the other hand, did not want to lose to the ‘soldiers’.
Lark smiled in amusement upon seeing this.
“Read and write?” breathed Melody, her voice almost a whisper filled with uncertainty.
It was common for soldiers to be illiterate. After all, only nobles were able to afford basic education. She had never heard of someone training common soldiers such advanced skills.
Lark nodded. “Knowledge is a powerful weapon. Though a lot of people may disagree with me, the soldiers definitely need to learn at least this much.”
He saw that one of the soldiers was about to give up. He shouted, “Only those that finished three hundred laps will receive dried fish! Remember that!”
Upon hearing it, the soldier fiercely looked ahead and continued running. Lark chuckled, “Good! Keep going!”
“So, how about it?” said Lark to Melody. “Would you teach the soldiers for me?”
There was a moment of hesitation. Melody carefully said, “I can teach them, probably… but Young Master, you… you won’t ask me for anything else, right?”
Lark slightly titled his head. “Of course, that’s not all.”
Melody shivered. She was determined to immediately reject him if he asked for ‘that’.
“You will be required to learn arithmetic, together with Gaston,” said the Young Master. “I plan to expand this town further. To do that, I need capable vassals.”
“Arithmetic…” her voice trailed off.
It was a popular skill known by all merchants. Just the thought that she would learn such skill made the offer enticing. After all, even some of the nobles did not know of it.
Melody considered all possible scenarios. After weighting the pros and the cons, she swallowed the lump in her throat then slowly nodded. “I accept the offer, Young Master.”
Chapter Nine
After the training, the soldiers and the guards fell down the ground like stringless puppets. Their entire body was drenched in sweat, and their chests rapidly rose and fell in succession. The heavy spear they carried made running around the vast hall arduous, almost excruciating.
To Lark’s surprise, aside from the three soldiers that fainted from exhaustion, everyone finished the task. As promised, he gave each of them a lavish meal with a dried fish included. Everyone immediately regained their vigor upon seeing the food. Some of them even drooled like rabid dogs. Great food after a rigorous task was definitely more delicious.
Seeing this, Lark was clearly amused.
While everyone was eating, Lark clapped his hands once. “As promised, the one who finished first, aside from dried fish, will also get an extra egg.” On his signal, a servant came and brought out a boiled egg. She gently placed it on the plate of Clark, the Head of the Guards.
Seeing the envious looks of the soldiers on him, Clark smirked and slowly ate his prize. Now that they were in the middle of winter, eggs were a luxury.
“Damn, to be eating wheat porridge with both dried fish and egg.”
“The Head Guard is so lucky.”
“Hey, just think of the guys that are still unconscious over there. At least we get to receive a reward.”
The soldiers looked at their unconscious comrades, their eyes filled with pity.
Lark cleared his throat. “For now, everyone will rest for an hour,” he said. “After that, all of you shall proceed to the room on the second floor to receive further training.”
At the words ‘further training,’ everyone stiffened. They looked at the young master as though he was the devil incarnate. Making t
hem run around the hall three hundred times while holding a spear was already excruciating enough, and now, they were supposed to attend more of those stuff?
The soldiers wanted to protest and grumble, but they were afraid that the porridge and dried fish would be taken away from them if they complained. In the end, they all shut their mouths, except for one – the Head of the Guards.
“Young Master,” said Clark carefully. He knew that the room on the second floor was a bit small for training. “What kind of training is it?”
The young master smiled. “Basic Education. We will be teaching you guys how to read and write.”
***
Night came. Under the light of the candle-filled candelabra, Lark reread the documents Gaston handed to him a couple of days ago. Although Reading Magic enabled him to read at a relatively faster rate, comprehending everything at one go was still impossible. Lark once again checked the documents and reports that seemed confusing or suspicious. Currently, his attention was on the number of deaths in Blackstone Town.
“Five hunters died last year,” mumbled Lark as he contemplated.
The number was actually small considering the risk of the profession. To the citizens of Blackstone Town, a hunter being killed by its prey was a normal occurrence, especially considering the fact that the Endless Forest was uncharted territory. Although fierce animals seldomly attack the town, it was an entirely different thing for hunters who purposely look for such beasts.
Everyone simply dismissed the deaths of the hunters as natural, a consequence of the job. But after analyzing the reports, Lark found out a peculiar point – they all died in the eastern part of the Endless Forest.
Currently, the eastern part of Blackstone Town was the place Lark was trying to expand. After it reached a certain size, he planned on clearing out some trees in the Endless Forest.
“Gaston said that the deaths of the hunters last year must have been a coincidence,” said Lark. He had consulted the old butler for his opinion this afternoon. “But the state of the bodies… all of the wounds are quite identical.”
Lark could not rest easy until he confirmed the authenticity of the state of things himself. He donned a black cloak, swept aside the curtains, then opened the windows. The night breeze brushed against his body.
The entire town was sleeping.
Lark breathed in the night air, amplified the strength of his body using mana, then jumped out the window. He landed with a soft, thud sound. After checking that there was no one around, he quickly ran outside. His body blurred as he sped through the empty streets, his cloak violently fluttering.
Eventually, he arrived at the eastern border of Blackstone Town. He saw some builders resting near the half-constructed houses, their chatters heard through the quiet night. Since several Heat Stones have been installed in this area, the workers were able to stay outside.
“The construction project is going smoothly.” Lark smiled. “Good.”
Although the workers were amateurs, under the guidance of Lark, they were able to build decent houses. It was not as good the houses in major cities, but they were definitely better than the shacks frequently seen here and there. At the very least, each of these half-constructed houses were built with wood and stones. Those houses would not easily collapse from the weight of snow, leaving them homeless during winter.
Lark once again moved forward, towards the eastern part of the Endless Forest. Upon reaching the place, the darkness of the night swallowed him entirely. The canopies of leaves blocked the moon above, amplifying the darkness of the night. The sound of insects and ravens filled the forest.
Now, let’s see. There should be something here. I don’t believe the deaths of those 5 hunters last year are mere coincidence.
Deep within his heart, he sincerely wished that it was actually a mere coincidence, but his instinct was telling him that there was something dangerous in this place. After searching the area using magic, his instinct was proven right.
Over there.
His body shot forward, skillfully moving past the root-blanketed ground. After a few minutes, he arrived at the entrance of a small cavern. If a normal person was around this part, they would not easily see it due to the vines that blocked the view.
Lark once again scanned the area using magic. But this time, he focused it inside the cavern.
His brows rose when he detected numerous presences inside. At the very least, there were around fifty of them.
Lark erased his presence, cast concealment magic, then entered the cavern. Although it was very dark inside, he was able to see the flow of mana. Whatever was inside this cavern, they were definitely not humans. The flow of mana clearly told him that.
As soon as Lark entered the cavern, putrid stench assaulted him. He frowned, crinkled his nose, but kept walking. Eventually, he saw the identity of the creatures living inside.
“Goblins,” the name of the monsters came out naturally in a whisper. Some of them were walking around, rummaging through the piles of loots here and there, while some simply sat on the ground. The nocturnal monsters failed to notice that someone was observing them.
Lark looked around, but it seemed that that there was no Hobgoblin or Shamans. He was amazed that despite having no leader, this group was able to live in this place for so long. Judging by the reports, these creatures never once attacked Blackstone Town.
Still, Lark was not naïve. Although these creatures may seem harmless if they took those reports into consideration, they would definitely kill the humans if given the chance. They were probably unable to attack the human settlements because of the lack of a leader. This was a rare thing, even back in Lark’s previous life.
The hunters must have encountered these creatures and died. That should explain why all 5 of them died in this part of the forest.
For now, Lark decided to leave the group alone. Once he had trained the soldiers, he would issue a subjugation order to eliminate these monsters. After all, real life battle was different from training. Lark decided to make these weak creatures the stepping stone for the growth of his men.
Of course, if these creatures suddenly decided to invade the town, He would immediately eliminate them there and then. No questions asked.
As Lark was about to leave the cavern, he noticed something glimmering near the walls. He increased the flow of mana within his eyes to see better in the dark.
Kalrane Gemstones?!
Lark’s lips visibly rose. For the past few days, he had been pondering on how to solve the current lack of funds for Blackstone Town. Tiling the soil and planting the wheats take time, and it would be several months more before they would be able to reap the harvest. Although Lark still have a lot of gold coins given to him by his father, it would run out sooner or later.
He wanted to find a way to compensate for the lack of funds. But in this town which literally had nothing to offer, he found it hard to find one.
Finally! A product that could become the town’s specialty!
Lark licked his lips in anticipation. He could already envision it. Workers from Blackstone Town gathering Kalranes. Merchants coming and going out of the town to buy them. He could already hear the clanking sound of gold coins.
He looked at the Goblins. At first, he wanted to leave them alone until the soldiers were strong enough to subdue them, but now, he decided to act sooner. Although it would be dangerous for the trainees, Lark would accompany them. He would definitely not let anyone die during the encounter.
***
In the morning, Lark summoned Gaston into his room.
“You called for me, Young Master?” said the old butler.
The young master was sitting at his table, scribbling something down on a notebook. After the butler entered, he closed the notebook then smiled.
“Just in time,” said Lark. “Here, take a look.”
The old butler received a parchment from the young master. There were numerous things listed inside.
“This is…”
“I want you to send a couple of servants, along with some guards, to Lion City and buy those for me,” said Lark. He took a sip from the goblet and stared at the butler. “I want you to prioritize the seeds and the iron ingots. We aren’t really in surplus of funds, so I want you to buy those two first before anything else.”
Since Lark was not really aware of the prices in the Lion’s City, he could only surmise using gathered data from his subordinates.
Gaston looked at the list once again. It was an amazing list with some items he had never heard of before. Wheat seeds, iron ingots, hemp ropes, loi saplings, ormatane dust, and many more.
Gaston mumbled, “A thousand eggs.”
He read it again then asked the young master, “Sorry for the impudence, but young master, isn’t a thousand eggs a bit… unnecessary?”
Gaston knew the state of the town. There was no way the residents would be able to afford eggs right now. Without doubt, the eggs would eventually rot in the storage.
“it’s fine,” said Lark, dismissing the remark. “Just do what I say.”
Lark actually planned on using magic on those eggs and force them to hatch. After all, eggs would be cheaper than poultry.
Gaston felt that the amount of wheat seeds and iron ingots were absurd too. If they actually went ahead with this list, they would end up buying a large portion of the wheat seeds in Lion City. Furthermore, the amount of iron ingots was enough to build armor for more than a dozen knights.
The old butler felt that the Young Master was squandering his money.
“Young master, please reconsider,” said Gaston. “The amount of seeds is too much. The lands of this town are mostly barren. As for the iron ingots, there’s no blacksmith living in this place. Even if we buy those things, they’ll only become unnecessary expenses.”
Lark creased his brows. He sighed then leaned on his chair. “Listen, when I told everyone that I’m going to reclaim the lands in the north and the west, I meant it. Once winter ends, I plan on making a large-scale farming project in those areas. To do that, we need at least this much wheat seeds. Do you understand?”
Legend of the Arch Magus- The Expansion Page 5