Chapter 337: New Additions To Blessed Land
He didn’t want to drag them by force as he didn’t want to build his territory on resentment.
"You can either join the Blessed Land right here, right now," Silas offered, "or you can stay where you are and remain with the Unmovable Wall. I cannot, and will not, force you to cross over if your heart is not in it."
He paused, looking specifically at the group of soot-stained dwarves clutching their hammers.
"Though I will admit," Silas added strategically with a smirk touching his lips. "My Master Smith is currently drowning in raw materials, and I am in desperate need of highly skilled dwarven craftsmen."
Silas crossed his arms.
He waited.
He wasn’t planning on cultivating a bunch of mindless resentful slaves. These were all people who had heads, emotions, and feelings.
That was exactly why he had allowed the Unmovable Wall to park their fortress and stay here for a week.
He wanted them to naturally observe how the Blessed Land women acted.
He wanted them to see the food, the safety, and the camaraderie.
He knew that over time, seeing the luxury and freedom his territory provided, they would willingly enter his ranks of their own power.
However, that didn’t seem to be a problem right now.
A large group of heavily muscled dwarven women immediately broke ranks.
They marched straight over to the left side of the courtyard without a single second of hesitation.
"We go where the forge is hot, Lord Silas!" one of the dwarves grunted loudly, hoisting her heavy hammer over her shoulder. "Lord Sky was good to us, but the Unmovable Wall only has two forges... We want to strike mythril!"
As the dwarves moved, the rest of the women began to follow.
They split from the main forces with surprising organized efficiency.
It was almost as though they had already discussed this among themselves while sitting out in the mud.
They didn’t argue and they didn’t cry or scream about betrayal.
They simply patted their comrades on the shoulders, gave quick, tight hugs, and walked confidently over to the designated spot on the left.
Within two minutes, exactly seventy women stood entirely separate from the main force.
A tall girl with short brown hair and a dented chestplate stepped up from the main group.
She offered Silas a crisp and perfectly executed military salute.
"Lord Graves," the girl reported clearly. "We were already made aware of these wager terms by Lord Sky’s secondary commanders while we were being treated on the field."
She gestured to the seventy women standing proudly on the left.
"We had already discussed the logistics and decided exactly who would go before we even marched into your courtyard," the girl explained.
She offered a small proud smile.
"We did not want to make too much of a fuss about it in front of you," she continued respectfully. "We of The Unmovable Wall are not the kind of people to cause trouble over an honorable wager. Our Lord gave her word, and we will honor her debt..."
Silas raised an eyebrow.
He was genuinely impressed.
The discipline, maturity, and professionalism of Evelyn’s troops were top-tier.
...They were taking their defeat with incredible grace.
"Thank you," Silas said respectfully, returning her nod.
He turned his head toward the massive stone structure of the barracks.
"Brida!" Silas called out loudly.
BANG!
The heavy wooden door of the barracks slammed violently open.
Brida stepped out into the bright morning sun.
The Grand Titan Bastion was not wearing her massive multi-ton adamantine armor as she was dressed casually instead.
"Hehehe~"
She wore a ridiculously big white singlet that stretched tightly over her massive muscles and loose cloth shorts and she was aggressively massaging her wet hair with a thick white towel, having clearly just stepped out of a hot shower.
She walked lazily over to Silas with her heavy muscles flexing effortlessly with every step.
"Yeah, Boss?" Brida yawned, tossing the wet towel casually over her broad shoulder.
Silas pointed to the seventy women standing proudly on the left.
"Take charge of our new recruits," Silas ordered.
Brida looked at the massive group of battered soldiers, scouts, and dwarves.
She cracked a wide grin, cracking her thick knuckles loudly.
"You got it," Brida laughed.
She walked heavily over to the recruits, towering over almost all of them like a literal mountain of muscle.
"Alright, listen up!" Brida bellowed, her booming voice echoing off the Keep walls.
She pointed a thick calloused finger back at the barracks.
"The seventy of you who just joined the Blessed Land are coming with me," Brida commanded.
She looked past the crowd, scanning the faces until she spotted two familiar figures standing near Gunnhild.
"Morrighan! Lupina!" Brida shouted loudly. "Get your asses over here!"
The demoness and the wolf-girl quickly jogged over to join the group, looking slightly intimidated by the towering Bastion.
"That makes seventy-two," Brida noted, doing the quick math in her head.
She rested her hands on her hips, looking down at the recruits.
"You are officially Blessed Land recruits now," Brida told them bluntly. "You will be staying in the barracks for the time being. You follow my orders and you follow the Lord’s orders as well. Follow me, and do not lag behind."
Brida turned around and started marching heavily toward the massive stone barracks building.
The seventy-two women immediately fell into line.
They followed the towering woman without a single word of complaint, eager to get inside and see their new bunks.
As the recruits marched away, the sound of rapid footsteps approached from the main gates.
Elm had arrived back in the courtyard.
The white-haired Hero jogged up to Evelyn, panting slightly.
She offered a quick, sharp nod to confirm that Hiro and the other commanders had been securely put in the fortress medical bays.
Silas turned his attention to the remaining women from the Unmovable Wall.
There were about thirty or so soldiers left standing in the grass, the ones who had chosen to stay with Evelyn.
"The rest of you," Silas announced calmly. "Follow me."
He didn’t wait for a response. Silas turned and began walking down the paved stone path that cut deep through the center of the territory.
Evelyn and Elm quickly fell into step right behind him. The thirty surviving soldiers formed up into a loose column and followed their Lord.
They began moving across the Blessed Land.
As they walked, the defensive tension slowly began to leave the soldiers’ shoulders.
They stopped marching like prisoners and started looking around with genuine curiosity.
"Whoa..." one of the knights muttered softly, her eyes going wide.
Evelyn and Elm were equally stunned.
They commented quietly to each other, pointing at the structures as they took in the undeniable beauty of the territory.
The Unmovable Wall was a massive, vibrating cage of iron, steel, and suffocating smog.
It was very functional, but it was incredibly bleak.
The Blessed Land oh the other hand was a vibrant living paradise.
Lush, thick green grass carpeted the ground perfectly.
Massive, magical mana-fruit trees lined the paved pathways with their heavy branches sagging with glowing red apples that radiated pure energy.
The air smelled like fresh blooming flowers and clean soil instead of burning engine oil and exhaust.
"It is so green," Elm whispered in absolute awe, her silver eyes reflecting the sunlight. "I haven’t seen real grass in such a long time."
They walked past the grand multi-story stone structure of the Territory Library.
Evelyn spotted several of the Vanguard girls sitting comfortably on the outdoor wooden benches.
They were casually reading thick leather-bound books in the sunlight, sipping tea and chatting.
They didn’t look like soldiers waiting for the next attack as they looked incredibly relaxed and at peace.
Silas smiled faintly as he heard Evelyn’s quiet gasp of surprise behind him.
He knew exactly what he was doing. He wasn’t just giving them a tour as he was showing them a significantly better life.
He was planting the seeds.
’In case some extra people want to join us...’
They continued down the path until they reached the newly constructed residential sector.
Silas stopped walking.
He stood directly in front of the massive towering Obsidian-Slate living quarters.
There were four identical, sprawling three-story luxury complexes standing proudly on the manicured grass.
The dark stone walls gleamed with a subtle purple hue in the sunlight as thick ironwood columns framed the entrances, and wide glass balconies lined the upper floors.
The thirty Unmovable Wall soldiers stared up at the architectural majesty of the buildings with their jaws collectively dropping.
Silas turned around to face Evelyn.
He reached into his tunic pocket and pulled out a heavy iron key ring.
He tossed it smoothly through the air.
JINGLE!
Evelyn caught the heavy keys clumsily against her chest, looking down at them in confusion.
"I am giving you and your people the fourth building," Silas told her, pointing to the massive complex on the far right.
Evelyn stared at the keys in her hand, completely dumbfounded.
"This entire building?" Evelyn asked in disbelief. "Just for us?"
"Yes," Silas confirmed calmly.
He crossed his arms over his black tunic.
"Each suite inside has a private runic bath with perfectly heated water," Silas explained casually. "There are fresh clean linens on the beds, and the walls are fully insulated against the weather."
The Unmovable Wall soldiers standing behind Evelyn literally gasped out loud.
Hot water... Private rooms... Real, soft beds?
It sounded like unattainable heaven to soldiers who had been sleeping on vibrating cots inside a metal hull.
"My only rule is that you keep the place neat," Silas warned them cleanly. "Do not track mud on my hardwood floors."
Evelyn gripped the keys incredibly tightly.
She looked up at Silas.
Her dark eyes were filled with genuine, and overwhelming gratitude. He hadn’t just given them a place to sleep... he had given them luxury after the worst day of their lives.
"Thank you, Silas," Evelyn said softly with her voice carrying sincerity.
Silas nodded.
He took a long look at the exhausted, soot-stained faces of everyone gathered around him.
They had bled today and they had fought incredibly hard so they deserved a break from the brutal reality of the Sovereign Realm.
"You all should go inside and clean up," Silas announced loudly to the group. "Wash the mud off. Soak in the hot water. Get some rest."
He offered them a genuine grin that completely banished his intimidating aura.
"And when you are done," Silas added warmly. "Come down to the main Mess Hall in the Barracks."
Evelyn raised an eyebrow, tilting her head.
"Why?" Evelyn asked.
"Because we are going to have a party," Silas declared.
...
The party in the main Mess Hall was deafening.
It was genuinely unknown how the massive wooden building was able to contain so many women at once without the walls physically bursting outward from the pressure.
But that didn’t matter...
The volume of noise was incredible.
Over a hundred and fifty women were packed tightly into the expansive high-ceilinged hall.
Every single long oak table was full as the women were eating a lot, drinking deeply, and laughing at the top of their lungs.
The suffocating tension of the Lord War had completely vanished.
It was entirely replaced by the universal unifying camaraderie of a massive well-earned feast.
At the far end of the hall, a large group of the newly recruited dwarven women were literally standing on top of the sturdy oak tables.
They had locked arms tightly together and were stomping their heavy boots, singing a loud rowdy dwarven tavern song.
"HEAVE THE IRON, STRIKE THE STONE!" they bellowed merrily, their voices shaking the rafters.
Thora was in her undisputed element.
The Master Smith was actively carting a massive heavy wooden barrel of alcohol across the room, completely ignoring the weight.
She was aggressively slamming heavy wooden tankards down onto the tables with boisterous enthusiasm.
"Everyone, take one!" Thora shouted gleefully over the loud singing. "Come on, drink one! It’s fresh from the brewery! Don’t be shy!"
She was handing out massive overflowing cups of highly concentrated Blessed Drinks.
It didn’t matter who they were.
It didn’t matter if they were the exhausted women who had stayed with the Unmovable Wall, the Blessed Land soldiers, or the brand-new recruits.
Everyone got a drink.
The Unmovable Wall soldiers looked at the glowing white liquid hesitantly at first.
Then, they took a small sip.
GULP!
The exact second the magical liquid hit their stomachs, a blinding warm wave of pure refreshing mana washed entirely over their exhausted cores.
"Oh my goddess," one of Evelyn’s heavily bruised knights groaned aloud.
She let out a massive shuddering sigh of relief as her sore, aching muscles instantly relaxed.
The lingering painful bruises on her arms completely faded away into nothingness.
It was simply too much enjoyment to process at once.
Especially when combined with the food.
At a table near the center of the hall, Talira was completely losing her mind.