Chapter 114: The Celebration of Victory
The orange light of dusk filtered through the fine snowflakes when the Overlord Tribe’s caravan finally crossed the southern hills. At the head of the formation, Kellar marched with a steady stride, flanked by Krag and the hunters. Behind them, the four wooden carts equipped with oak wheels creaked softly, loaded to the brim with dull iron ingots, tools recovered from the enemy workshops, and the remaining jars of gunpowder.
Nearly fifty former captives walked in the middle of the contingent, wrapped in the hides distributed to them along the way. Their emaciated faces showed a mixture of exhaustion and growing wonder as the silhouette of the Overlord Tribe revealed itself before their eyes.
From the palisade, the sentries spotted the column and raised the alarm immediately. The wooden gates swung wide open, and in a matter of moments, the entire population of the settlement came out into the courtyard to welcome the victors.
Mila led the household party, wearing her hide cloak fastened with a polished bone brooch. Beside her, Maya watched with a radiant smile and crossed arms, while Elia, Loria, and Meli waited a step behind with warm blankets and jars of steaming broth.
"The Great Shaman has returned!" shouted Lennis, raising his arms in an enthusiastic bow as he looked over the carts packed with ore. "Look at those wheels! Not a single break along the entire way back!"
Kellar stopped in the center of the main yard and raised his hand to halt the caravan’s march. Mila stepped forward with a firm, graceful stride, stopping in front of him. Although she tried to maintain her composure as the lady of the house, her blue eyes shone with unmistakable relief after days of tension.
"You returned," said Mila, adjusting Kellar’s hide collar with firm fingers. "And you brought half a mountain with you."
"We said we would claim what was ours," said Kellar, offering a faint smile as he took her hand. "Were there any problems while we were gone?"
"None," said Mila, glancing sideways at the crowd of new faces quietly observing the village. "Meli and the others prepared temporary shelters in the western storehouses, just as you ordered. There is enough food for everyone."
Maya stepped forward, tilting her head coquettishly as her eyes scanned Kellar’s face, making sure he didn’t have a single wound.
"It seems the ’thunder’ from your other world did an impeccable job," said Maya, brushing her shoulder against Kellar’s arm. "Lennis and the boys haven’t stopped talking about the huge plume of smoke seen toward the north."
"The north is no longer a threat," said Kellar, turning toward the tribe’s crowd awaiting his words. "The Black Skull Tribe has ceased to exist. As of today, their mines, their iron, and their lands belong to us."
An outburst of cheers and roars of victory shook the village yard. The hunters struck their shields against their chests, while the former captives dropped to their knees in the snow convinced they had been rescued by an unstoppable force.
Elia and Loria quickly approached to offer Kellar a bowl of scalding deer broth. Both lowered their gazes with a soft blush on their cheeks, but their hands were precise and careful, proving the discipline they had developed in the workshop.
"Good work in the lab while I was gone," said Kellar, taking the bowl from Elia’s hands. "Tomorrow we will need to purify more saltpeter; the iron from the mines requires higher quality tools."
"We will work hard, Great Shaman," said Elia, offering a small bow before stepping back alongside her sister.
Krag approached Kellar, wiping the mud off his boots in the snow before looking toward the storehouses where Mentz and Lennis were already coordinating the unloading of the ore.
"Our people need to celebrate tonight," said Krag, patting Kellar’s shoulder with familiarity. "A victory like this isn’t seen every year in this valley."
"Organize the feast," said Kellar, taking a sip of the warm broth. "Roast the best cuts of meat and distribute the grain brew. Tonight we celebrate, but tomorrow at dawn, we begin the Forge."
As the hunters and builders began hauling the meat and lighting the giant bonfires in the central yard, a faint bluish light floated before Kellar’s vision.
The system’s mechanical chime resonated inside his mind:
[DING!]
[Main Quest: Defend Your Village] The Black Skull Tribe is expanding rapidly across the borders. Survive their impending advance and secure the continuity of your settlement. Status: COMPLETED!
[Bonus Objectives]
Bonus Objective 1: Annihilate the Black Skull Tribe. [COMPLETED]
Bonus Objective 2: Liberate all subjugated and enslaved tribes. [COMPLETED]
Bonus Objective 3: Suffer total casualties under 30% of your tribe’s population. [COMPLETED]
Kellar formed an smile as he read the holographic screen. Not only had he managed to secure the territory’s survival, but he had fulfilled every single additional goal with surgical efficiency.
"At last..." said Kellar in a barely audible whisper, closing the notification to view the breakdown of his rewards.
Kellar couldn’t hide the thrill surging through his chest. Without wasting a single second, he opened the holographic development tree interface and spent his 10 Tech Points on the Forge skill.
Moments later, the blue screen flashed with a series of golden notifications that made his heart race:
[Congratulations! You have obtained your first Level 1 Technology] [Your Technology Tree has been updated] [Congratulations! For achieving a perfect result using a superior technology—"Advanced Gunpowder"—without system assistance, additional loot will be granted]
[Forge Knowledge granted]
[Expert Blacksmith granted]
[Expert Miner granted]
A rush of data, diagrams for high-performance furnaces, and metal tempering techniques flooded Kellar’s mind in a matter of seconds. As he digested the overwhelming amount of information and the unexpected bonus reward for his tactical cunning, Krag’s footsteps crunched over the snow.
The veteran hunter approached hastily, escorting two robust men with calloused hands who walked with bowed heads yet firm posture.
"Shaman," said Krag, gesturing toward the newcomers. "We found these two among the freed prisoners at the camp. They claim to be the Black Skull Tribe’s chief blacksmith and chief miner."
Kellar stood stunned, staring at the two experts before him while the system notifications still hovered in the air. The system had not only granted him the theoretical knowledge, but it had just placed the qualified personnel in his hands to execute it immediately.