My territory is filled with block creations.

Chapter 30 Shields and Spears

Thorne first checked the supplies Doug had brought back. The most eye-catching item was two chickens, but there was no rush. He dug a hole and stuffed the chickens in to keep them from running around before continuing to look at the other supplies.

For example, the fifteen palm-sized iron ingots that filled the entire backpack weighed more than 70 kilograms, which was quite impressive for Doug's small frame to carry back such a heavy load.

Besides that, there were some seeds, a bag each of potato and carrot seeds, and a section of sugarcane. According to the vendor who sold it to Doug, sugarcane is very easy to grow, so Thorne simply planted it by the river.

Finally, there are some essential seasonings: salt and yeast, which are both essential. As for white sugar, well, it's a bit wasteful to buy it together with sugarcane, since sugarcane can also be used to make sugar. However, the latter still needs to mature, so it's not a problem.

Finally, Doug somehow managed to steal a sewing needle and hid it in the gap of the frame, where it was firmly stuck.

Overall, the trade trip was quite fruitful, and according to Doug, what he brought back was only the small part; the big stuff was with Leicester—two cows, two pigs, and the other half of the iron ingots.

And now Lester is waiting to be sold by some damned slave trader... Clearly, the three gold coins Alex just invested in have come in handy again.

Of course, this time it wasn't to buy supplies or ransom people, but to gather intelligence. Three gold coins were definitely a lot of money in this remote and impoverished adventurer's guild.

Most importantly, adventurers' guilds, which operate in a gray area, profiting by playing both sides and being purely commercial and profit-driven organizations, are extremely sensitive to intelligence. In fact, adventurers' guilds themselves have intelligence networks within various organizations, including slave traders in each city.

Throwing these three gold coins into the Adventurers' Guild in exchange for information about the slave trader who has Lester under his control would be the most appropriate course of action.

As for who will be chosen for this task...

Thorne looked at Doug, who was not far away and whose face was full of sleeplessness and exhaustion. He was constantly waking up one villager after another. Thorne realized that he was the only one left to choose from.

He went out to purchase supplies and returned with half of them successfully, which can be considered as proof of his ability. As for Lester not returning, it was purely due to force majeure. After all, who would have thought that this village, which just stayed here obediently, would offend a merchant guild president who was completely unrelated to them?

Moreover, his loyalty has been proven. There were mercenaries chasing him! Yet he managed to carry back a 70-pound iron ingot without throwing it away. What else is there to say?

All that's needed is to make sure Doug doesn't re-enter Autumnwind Town only to be recognized and targeted.

Thinking of this, Thorne asked, "Why are those mercenaries causing you trouble? Do they know you, or did you reveal some special identity?"

Doug, who was knocking on the door, quickly turned around and rubbed his face, forcing himself to stay awake to answer Thorne's question: "No, they don't know us, and we didn't say anything strange. They were just guarding the entrance to the woods on our way back to the village."

"Did they recognize your face?" Thorne continued to ask.

"No, they came out from behind us. I was fighting those two old hens when I suddenly heard Lester tell me to run. So I ran, and that's when I heard what the mercenaries were saying."

After Doug finished speaking, Thorne nodded: "In that case, you should still be able to move around normally in Autumnwind Town. After you wake up, go to the Adventurers' Guild to post a quest, find out which slave trader Lester is in, and get information about the slave traders. Set off as soon as you wake up."

"My lord, I can do it now..." Thorne interrupted Doug before he could finish speaking, which was unusual for him.

"Listen to me and go to sleep. The slave traders only operate once a quarter. Spring has just passed, they won't leave now. Besides, you'll arrive in Autumnwind Town in a daze, not thinking clearly, and won't be able to take advantage of the situation. What if you get caught too?"

Doug suddenly realized, "Do I need to take the longer route?"

Thorne nodded: "That's definitely necessary."

After hearing this, Doug quickly woke up the last villager, then returned to his room and forced himself to fall asleep on the bed with the mindset of completing a task.

Meanwhile, Thorne had already started working at the worktable.

First of all, the village currently only has twelve people, including myself and Alex, so we definitely can't just conjure up twelve shields with a wave of our hand; that would be too extravagant.

In a normal 12-person battle formation, six people holding shields for frontal and flank defense would be sufficient. After all, the villagers are indeed physically weak, and it would be too much to ask them to charge forward like I do, holding a shield in one hand and a spear in the other, as if nothing had happened.

Therefore, it is still necessary to divide the work. Six people hold shields and the remaining six hold spears. With this setup, it is easy to unite the villagers into a cohesive unit.

While the villagers may not be as individually combat-effective as the mercenaries who risk their lives and are practically 25 hours a day, their organized and disciplined formations in group combat can give those mercenaries a little shock.

Those kinds of people might be fine if they were outnumbered and had a winning streak, but if their lives were in even the slightest danger, they would just abandon their employers and run away.

Now that the shields and spears are in place, it's time to start full-time training for everyone. After all, time waits for no one, and the slave traders' cages are not a good place.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but raise his head, but he didn't know when it happened. After the villagers learned about Lester from Doug, they all gathered around, but seeing Thorne working, none of them dared to disturb him.

Although they remained silent, upon hearing that Lester had been captured, both of them revealed a mixture of fear and anger on their faces, along with a hint of confusion, as if they didn't know what to do.

Or perhaps he didn't know whether he should ask Thorne to rescue Leicester, since this misfortune was, strictly speaking, Leicester's own bad luck.

They also didn't dare to dream of Thorne provoking a slave trader and fighting mercenaries to the death for the sake of an ordinary villager.

Thorne, completely unaware of their inner turmoil, simply stood up calmly and slowly said, "You all know about Lester's situation, right?"

The villagers nodded one after another.

Thorne didn't spout any grand, righteous pronouncements; he simply said calmly, "Good that you know. Now that you know, don't work today. Go to the threshing ground for training."

For a moment, the villagers were stunned. Why weren't they working today? But they quickly realized what was happening.

"My lord, are you going to give Lester away...?" one of the villagers asked cautiously.

"I'm going to save him." Thorne nodded.