Chapter 294: Listening Runes
Hearing the frantic panic in the streaming Lord’s voice, Vespera almost let out a loud chuckle right there in her saddle.
"Heh..."
At the end of the day, Vespera and Sky were currently business partners trading construction materials for stream engagement... but that didn’t change the cold fundamental reality that they were still rival Lords set to wage war next week.
Hearing that Morwenna had casually slaughtered his stealth scouts while they were attempting to spy on her field training was thoroughly entertaining.
There was no non-aggression rule between their territories stating that scouts caught lurking on Blessed Land soil couldn’t be executed on the spot. The same was for the other side.
Vespera shook her head with an amused smirk, waving her single gauntleted hand.
"Close the listening feed for now, Rowenna," Vespera instructed smoothly. "We’ll request a full playback review later when we’re back at the Keep."
"For sure, My Lord," Rowenna replied sweetly.
With a soft flick of her fingers, Rowenna closed her palm, and the glowing violet rune instantly dissolved into harmless ambient sparks.
The two Blessed Wolves picked up their pace, vaulting over fallen Ironwood roots and galloping smoothly across the final ridge leading toward the heart of the territory.
Up ahead, the massive towering translucent boundary of Eluned’s Barrier shimmered under the morning sun... a divine high-tier protective dome that completely encapsulated the Blessed Land, obscuring its inner layout from outside optical and satellite surveillance.
Valkyrie and Luna leaped straight through the shimmering barrier wall without slowing down, the divine nature mana washing over their armor like a warm, refreshing breeze.
Passing through the open iron gates of the outer perimeter, the wolves sprinted down the paved stone main road.
It took a couple of minutes to cover the distance from the outer forest boundary to the central district of the territory, where the Keep, the Foundry, the Library, and the Barracks were situated.
The once-barren dirt landscape had transformed into a thriving, bustling fortress territory... lined with lush green grass, blooming mana-fruit trees.
Reaching the central square beside the main courtyard, Vespera brought Valkyrie to a smooth halt and disembarked from her leather saddle with her suit-clad frame stepping onto the stone pavement.
’Ah I forgot... He didn’t tell me to return them.’
Rowenna dismounted gracefully from Luna a second later, smoothing down her arcanist robes.
Vespera reached out her gauntleted right hand, gently patting Valkyrie’s dark, furry head, then turned her eyes toward the Grand Runemaster.
"Thank you for following me today, Rowenna," Vespera expressed warmly. "Your presence made the entire trip infinitely smoother."
Rowenna’s blue eyes sparkled with pure devotion. She stepped closer, placing a hand over her heart as she bowed her head softly.
"I would always follow you anywhere, My Lord," Rowenna replied sweetly, her voice full of affection. "No matter where you go or what challenges arise, I am always by your side."
She paused, looking around the open central square, and asked gently.
"You are planning to construct the new living quarters now, right? Aeli told me about it."
Vespera nodded with a confident smirk touching her lips beneath her traveler’s hood as the two Blessed Wolves trotted off toward the stable pens.
"Yes," Vespera confirmed. "I’m going to start constructing them right away. Would you like to come along and see how the new residential complex will look?"
Rowenna’s eyes lit up with delight. "For sure! I would love to see it, My Lord."
Vespera reached up with her left hand, unclasping the Disguise Ring from her finger.
FLASH!
A subtle blinding ripple of golden light washed over her frame.
The suit-clad female Warlord persona instantly dissolved... shrinking back down into Silas Graves’s true physical form.
’It seems once again the clothes in the other form stay there, this truly is amazing.’
Silas stood on the stone pavement wearing his comfortable dark tunic, leather trousers, and boots with his sharp blue eyes clear and his dark hair shifting in the breeze.
He stretched his shoulders, letting out a long sigh of relief as he rolled his neck.
"Man..." Silas groaned, shaking his head. "Wearing a double-breasted suit and acting like a corporate executive for twenty minutes is way more exhausting than fighting a Tier 3 monster."
Rowenna giggled softly, stepping up beside him with an affectionate, comforting smile.
Silas looked toward the northern district of the territory, pointing a finger toward a wide clearing.
"Come on. I think we’ll start building the new quarters a bit away from the main Barracks."
As they walked side by side down the paved stone pathway, Silas mentally reviewed his territory’s current logistical breakdown.
The Tier 3 Barracks was a solid reinforced military structure that had served them well.
It was currently housing all the women an the Barracks could easily handle over seventy women living together under its roof, but Silas wasn’t content with just providing basic military cots.
Silas was planning long-term.
Not only did he want these women to have high-tier, private living spaces, but he also wanted to prepare luxurious high-capacity housing for the new recruits that would inevitably flood into the Blessed Land after they won the upcoming territory war against Lord Sky.
"Once the new residential complex is built," Silas said. "the old Barracks can be permanently converted into an intensive physical training hub and advanced armory. It already has a massive high-pressure hot-spring bathhouse attached to it. It’ll be the perfect staging facility to house brand-new recruits for initial drill conditioning before they earn the right to move into the private quarters."
Rowenna listened intently to his explanation, nodding her head vigorously in agreement.
"That is a brilliant logistical strategy, My Lord. Structuring a clear progression between basic conditioning and private luxury will motivate new recruits to push their physical limits during training."
Now she would no longer have to bear Brida’s smell!
"Exactly," Silas smirked.
They arrived at the designated building site... a massive grassy clearing located a safe distance away from the noisy heat-spewing Warlord Foundry, but pleasantly close to the Library.
Looking over toward the Library, Silas could see several women through the wide glass windows sitting quietly at wooden study tables, reading through magical scrolls and strategy books.
The entire Library structure had been built with thick, soundproof runic insulation, meaning the peaceful quiet inside would never be disrupted by the people living in the adjacent residential buildings, nor would daily residential noise disturb the scholars inside.
Silas pulled up his sovereign system interface, opening the [Territory Construction & Blueprints] tab.
’Show me full details.
[BLUEPRINT UNLOCKED: Tier 2 Multi-Floor Living Quarters]
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+ STRUCTURE TYPE: Residential Complex
+ CAPACITY: 40 Private Suites per Building
+ MATERIAL REQUIREMENTS (PER BUILDING):
- Obsidian-Slate Stone: 300 / 300 Units [AVAILABLE]
- Ironwood Beams: 600 / 600 Units [AVAILABLE]
------------------------------------------------
Silas inspected the blueprint specifications, tapping his chin thoughtfully.
’Since each of these Tier 2 Living Quarters houses forty private luxury suites...’ Silas calculated, ’...if I erect four of them, that will give us a total capacity of 160 private rooms. That’s more than enough space for our current roster and the upcoming post-war recruit expansion.’
He checked his resource reserves.
Thanks to Sky’s generous bonus transfer, Silas currently had a staggering 4,000 units of Obsidian-Slate Stone sitting safely in his Lord Inventory... far more than the 1,200 total units needed to erect four living quarters.
...However, his eyes caught the second material requirement... Ironwood Beams.
While he had plenty of it right now, he was currently short on processed Ironwood timber to make more than one.
’Well, that’s not a major issue,’ Silas thought casually. ’I can always tell Eluned to fell a few dozen Ironwood trees for me, or assign Valeria and the team to run a timber harvesting drill in the forest.’
Though, considering the strength of ancient Ironwood trees which were notoriously as tough as solid iron... having Eluned use her SSS-Rank Nature Magic to cleanly slice and process the timber was by far the faster, more efficient choice.
Silas looked out toward the lush forest surrounding the Keep.
Ever since the territory expanded, most of the surrounding trees had begun producing massive glowing mana-fruits like magical apples and golden plums.
However, there were still vast swathes of un-enchanted Ironwood trees deeper in the Basin that could easily be harvested for high-grade construction timber.
A sudden, intriguing thought flickered through Silas’s mind.
’Wait a second...’ Silas paused, his blue eyes narrowing as he analyzed the territory’s mechanics. ’Considering that the Territory automatically regenerates damaged territory structures and natural land features easily... do harvested trees grow back automatically too?’
If natural resources like Ironwood timber regenerated within the territory boundary after being harvested, that would mean the Blessed Land possessed a literally endless infinite supply of high-grade construction timber...
They could build entire cities without ever depleting their forestry reserves.
Silas turned his head, looking down at Rowenna as they stood on the grassy plot. Well if they were made out of meat.
"What do you think of this specific position for the residential complex, Rowenna?" Silas asked, gesturing toward the open land with his hand. "It has easy access to the Library, sits away from the Foundry’s heat, and has a direct path to the mess hall."
Rowenna looked around the clearing, taking in the pleasant breeze and the peaceful view of the distant mountains, her blue eyes shining with genuine admiration.
"It is an absolutely wonderful location, My Lord," Rowenna praised softly, her voice filled with delight. "It feels peaceful, dignified, and extremely convenient. I truly cannot wait to see how the complex looks once you finish constructing it!"
Silas let out a quiet, satisfied sigh, closing the construction tab for a brief second.
The Tier 2 Living Quarters blueprints sounded exceptionally comfortable on their own... featuring private baths, insulated stone walls, broad glass windows, and spacious bedroom layouts.
’I won’t bother using Upgrade Points to upgrade the residential buildings just yet,’ Silas reasoned internally. ’The base Tier 2 design is already luxurious enough for human living. I need to strictly save my UP reserves to upgrade critical defensive assets like the Watch Tower, boost Fenna’s combat stats, and then upgrade the rest of the Vanguard girls before the war.’
It was going to be an extraordinarily busy intense week leading up to the official Lord War, for sure.
But Silas was completely confident in his strategy.
He had the resources, he had the talent, and he had the foresight to lock everything down before the broadcast cameras rolled again.
’And speaking of preparations...’ Silas reflected with a dry smirk, ’...I’m going to have to make an official announcement to all the girls soon regarding my Vespera disguise. It would be a complete, embarrassing waste to go through the trouble of acquiring a high-tier disguise ring if my own troops accidentally call me "Lord Graves" in front of Sky’s streaming drones during the war.’
FWOOSH!
Suddenly, out of nowhere... a fiery energetic streak of silver and copper blurred across the ground.
Before Silas could even finish his thought, a solid, heavy weight leaped straight out of the air, crashing directly onto his chest and throwing her arms tightly around his neck.
"MY LORD!" a boisterous cheerful voice yelled out.
Silas stumbled back half a step, catching the sudden flying attacker in his arms.
He looked down to see Thora... the territory’s Master Smith grinning up at him with mischievous delight.
’Isn’t she mad I spanked her or something?’
She wore her leather blacksmith’s apron over her sports top and shorts with her hair tied back and her cheeks lightly smudged with soot from the Foundry.
Before Silas could even say a word—
SMACK!
Thora leaned up on her tiptoes and planted a loud and enthusiastic kiss directly onto Silas’s right cheek.
"Heh..." Silas laughed smoothly, steadying her on her feet as Rowenna chuckled softly beside them. "What’s going on, Thora?"
Thora let go of his neck, wiping her soot-stained cheek with the back of her leather glove, her eyes sparkling with intense curiosity.
"I saw you ride back into the territory with Rowenna!" Thora greeted excitedly, pointing a finger toward his hand. "Give me the Disguise Ring! Let me see it for a second!"