After journeying with a great population through the forest for three weeks, Asher finally got to his fortress on the first day of the fourth week. They had to cater for the population of the old and the young, which was while they took so much time returning to the fortress.
In this period, the mountains were now snowcapped, and the depths of the wastelands were colder than ever. Soon, beasts would find it uncomfortable and leave their habitations to human habitations.
A great battle was coming, one against deadly beasts, and it was like a heavy burden on Asher’s shoulders.
On their way back, Eritrea told him about his fame as the rider in the barbarian tribes, and by accepting it, he would be able to gain their trust and increase the number of his citizens. However, he was still on the sidelines.
Such an idea had its disadvantages.
What would happen if they found out he wasn’t the great rider?
It was different from Eritrea, whom he had informed severally that he wasn’t the rider, but she kept insisting that he had lost the memories of his past life.
Finally, after weeks, he saw the high wooden walls of his fortress and the vast corn and wheat fields, which still flourished despite the thick snow. This was the benefit of a plant that depended on mana.
Asher looked at the 1200 old and young from the wolf tribe, 800 strong men and women who weren’t accepted into his army, and the 600 and something captives from the raging bear tribe and his troops.
50 Bladebreaker cavalrymen.
200 Bonestrike Rangers.
300 bronze-ranked axemen.
The population stretched for a long distance, and they were all looking at the fortress with different thoughts in mind.
When they got closer, the gates of the fortress opened, and five riders emerged.
“My Lord!”
All of them jumped down, kneeled, and bowed their heads. At the front was Kelvin, and behind him was Alex. The others were not popular faces.
“Arise.”
When Alex stood up, he couldn’t believe the huge man was his brother. Alec smiled and poked Alex’s breastplate.
“I’m bigger now.”
His voice shook Alex’s ears. Alex’s lips twitched, but there was no comeback from him because Alec looked like his father with such a size and mature look.
“I’m pretty sure your sword is nothing compared to the weight of my shield. Do you want to lift it?” Alec asked his twin brother.
Kelvin, who rode beside Asher at the front, heard the brothers banter and smiled. “Your forces look imposing, My Lord.”
“Thank you for the compliment, Kelvin. Right now, I need a warm bath and some days of rest.”
“And that is what you shall have, My Lord.”
The irritation on Asher’s face vanished. “You’re the best butler; I would have increased your salary if I paid you.”
Kelvin’s lips twitched.
There was awe and shock in the eyes of the people as they saw the imposing cavalry and the graceful sharpshooters. Both troops made some citizens eager to join the military, but their Lord had put a rule that one must first awaken a D-grade talent.
Asher did this because D-grade talents had a chance of entering the gold rank and becoming a knight!
Because of this law, voiced by Kelvin some weeks ago, many were eager for their children to become ten and undergo the natural awakening that would decide their fates. As prestigious soldiers who would die for his land or working as a farmer, miner, and in other occupations.
“Lord Asher, I see that the barbarian lady has transformed into a refined young woman.” Kelvin took a glance at Eritrea and looked away.
“She’s worth being nurtured.” Asher said with a gentle nod.
“She’s also capable companion, My-”
“I’m not interested in that for now, Kelvin.” Asher interrupted instantly.
“I understand.”
……
As Asher entered his room and dropped his sword on his desk, he heard the sound of the system. His eyebrows raised.
Ttring…
[Ding! You have increased your population to over 8,000, and after a battle, your military has grown by leaps and bounds. You have hit a hidden criteria for an upgrade. ‘Win a war without losing any of your men.’]
[Reward: Upgrade your Tier 1 fortress to become a Tier 1 stronghold.]
[Initiating upgrade…]
Rumble!
Asher fell on his butt as the ground began to shake. He looked up and saw the ceiling going higher and higher. Before his naked eyes, a chandelier with magic candles appeared in the center of the ceiling, and his room grew to about three times the previous size!
His bed became king-sized. The quality of the wood, mattress, or whatever he slept on was more than doubled.
His desk transformed from a casual one you could find in a mercenary guild to one of those that were in the manors of rich merchants and castles of high-class nobles. The body of the table glimmered due to how polished it was.
Asher looked at the neat stone walls. Before, his castle was made from casual stones, but now it was made from whitestones. A special stone was found in the western part of the high plains, and the stones were neatly cut.
He caressed the wall and found out it was as smooth as a brick wall!
As he went toward the window and opened it, his eyes widened. His room was high off the ground, his castle was now a three-story building! Not only that, but the castle walls were also made from whitestones and were thicker and sturdier.
His courtyard grew wider. There was now a quarter for his castle guards and horses. He could spot two carriages made from top-grade wood, and the carriages were meant to carry a noble. He had seen many of these in the county when he went to Liya’s party.
However, all of these paled in comparison to the broadened land and more housing for his citizens. Their houses now had roof tiles instead of wood for the roof. The roads were wider and paved with cobblestone.
The defenses of the stronghold’s walls increased by several folds. It was now a 10-meter stone wall with thick round watchtowers and a gate strong enough to withstand the full strike of any silver-ranked entity.
Knock! Knock!
“Lord Asher! Something has gone wrong with the fortress!”
Asher heard a knock and a yell from behind his door.
