Sorcery Monarch

Chapter 24: I Want It All

Chapter 24: I Want It All

"Have you all heard? Sweetwater Town was burned to ashes by a black dragon, leaving only ruins."

"I heard too. The caravan barely escaped because of the lord's orders, otherwise, we'd be waiting for a new lord again."

"Keep your voice down, don't let the soldiers hear you..."

"What can they do to me?"

"Ha, what can they do? Next time you go into the woods to gather herbs, or get attacked by wild beasts in the wild, you'll have to rely on yourself to get back alive, won't you?"

"Pfft, relying on those soldiers who haven't trained for more than a few days?"

"Not trained for more than a few days? They killed hundreds of monsters yesterday while passing through the Misty Marsh to get to the village..."

"Exactly, and without much effort, they killed the giant troll that had been attacking us often. The body isn't even fully burned yet..."

"So what? Didn't you hear the soldiers conscripted at the outpost? The new lord is especially generous, giving each soldier who fought at least one gold coin!"

"Everyone got at least one gold coin. The soldiers got at least two, and old Sean was lucky enough to get eight gold coins!"

"Eight gold coins? My god, how many cod do I need to catch, how many salted fish do I need to make, to earn that much?"

"It's true, but it has nothing to do with us. They risk their lives every day, who knows when they might be gone..."

"I don't care about the rest; I just hope the new lord is kind and doesn't raise taxes again..."

"Yeah, if they raise them any more, we won't even be able to afford black bread..."

"..."

The various conversations continued to filter into Matthew's ears, surprising him that after just one night's sleep, his body had strengthened considerably, much like Yaya's continued growth. His stats hadn't shifted drastically.

But as the effects persisted, Matthew felt that he wasn't far from becoming a versatile melee arcanist.

Of course, even if Matthew could achieve that, he didn't have that much time.

The urgent task was to gather more hands and bring Bay Village completely under his control.

Listening to the chatter, Matthew noticed with some amusement that aside from some discussing him, only a small portion of the villagers were concerned about the recent giant troll. Most were busy preparing for the twice-yearly fishing trip.

As expected, food is the most important thing.

As some say, being attacked by trolls or beasts might result in death, but without food, one will certainly starve.

The situation was just as Matthew expected, and he let go of all his worries.

Even if he failed, they wouldn't lose much since they had nothing more to lose anyway!

Calming his thoughts, Matthew soon returned to the lord's manor.

Outside were stone walls about three meters high, separating the manor from the village.

The walls were marked with white cutting scars, and there were several broken and missing sections, all indicating that this village in the wilderness was far from safe.

That was why the previous lord of Bay Village, Knight Wood, after aging and weakening, sold the village and moved to the Carl Plains to start anew.

As the easternmost territory of the Netheril Empire, the surroundings were full of dangers.