Chapter Nine: The Special Building Appears!
Ten Minutes Earlier — Laura's POV:
As though sensing something, Laura lifted her gaze to the sky and spotted two grey specks circling in wide arcs overhead.
She turned to the militia soldiers and said firmly:
"Prepare yourselves. The battle will begin shortly."
Though she knew the greater burden would fall on her shoulders, having the militia as support was enough.
The Lord had told her previously that killing monsters increased the strength of both herself and her team members — and that had already been confirmed after their battle with the black snake, where she had felt a clear surge in her own power, as had the rest of her party.
Laura attributed this to one of the Lord's blessings, much like the protective barrier and the instant construction of buildings, among many other things. So even though the militia soldiers were still unable to participate effectively, that would change soon enough.
"Understood, my lady!"
The soldiers responded with resolve, their eyes gleaming with anticipation for the day they would prove useful to the Lord and the territory.
Up in the sky, the eagles had little patience. The food was right there on the ground, yet they could see no humans below — for that was one of the effects of the protective barrier: unless something touched it, nothing beyond it could be seen.
Detecting no nearby threat, the first eagle descended.
Laura whispered to the soldiers not to move. She drew an arrow and placed it on the ground, then knelt on one knee. She nocked a second arrow, drew a slow breath… and waited.
When the second eagle saw the first busily devouring the entrails, it could hold back no longer. It folded its wings and plunged downward, closing in on the feast.
At that moment, Laura's bowstring was drawn to its limit. Her target: the eagle that had just landed.
She took a deep breath and did not hesitate.
She released.
"Fwshhh~"
"Kaaaa—!"
The distance was extremely short and the arrow swift as lightning. From the moment of release to the moment it pierced the eagle's skull, only a fraction of a second passed. The eagle let out a cry of pain that never finished — its brain ceased functioning the instant the arrowhead reached it, death coming instantly.
Laura did not stop.
Her hand moved with blurring speed, snatching the arrow she had set aside beforehand and nocking it in one fluid, practiced motion. She drew and released again without hesitation.
By then the other eagle had tried to flee upon seeing its companion fall — but it hesitated a moment too long, and that was enough.
The arrow pierced its right eye and the bloodied tip emerged from its left ear.
With one final, mournful cry… the battle was over. It had lasted all of three seconds.
"Incredible! Lady Laura is amazing!"
The militia soldiers erupted with enthusiasm.
By virtue of belonging to the same party, they received a small share of the experience, while Laura claimed the lion's share — rising to Level Two and drawing close to Level Three.
---
When Kaiden arrived, he found Laura with one foot planted on the neck of a grey eagle the size of a small car, pulling free an arrow lodged in its skull, while the militia soldiers dragged the other eagle's carcass aside.
Laura greeted the Lord quickly and recounted the battle, confirming that his strategy of luring the eagles with bait had worked exactly as intended.
Kaiden commended them, but as his eyes settled on the carcasses of the winged monsters, his thoughts grew complicated:
Giant lizards… wolves… enormous snakes that could swallow a man whole… and now airborne units.
Since his arrival yesterday, his territory had faced all manner of monsters — but airborne units were the most dangerous of all.
After all, against land-based monsters he could shelter behind his forces thanks to the protective barrier… but an enemy in the sky could swoop down on him at any moment and end his life.
That thought made him considerably more resolute about raising his personal strength.
In other words — more determined than ever to upgrade the Lord's Crown.
He left his forces to clean up the battlefield and opened the Lord's inventory to check his rewards.
"A Warehouse Blueprint… plus a defensive building blueprint — an Arrow Tower?!"
Curiosity surged through him. He opened the information on both blueprints.
The Warehouse was straightforward, as its name suggested: a dedicated storage building with a cumulative capacity of one thousand units. Since his inventory was already more than half full, having a solution to a looming problem pleased him greatly.
But what truly seized his attention was the second blueprint:
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Blueprint Name: Arrow Tower (Common)
Building Type: Defensive
Fire Rate: 3 arrows/second — Maximum Range: 100 meters
Fire Mode: Manual / Automatic
Description:
A ten-meter-tall tower that fires arrows upon detecting enemy units within its range.
Capable of targeting both ground and airborne units.
No need to supply arrows — simply place the required resources in the designated slot and the tower will automatically convert them into arrows.
---
Kaiden felt a wave of relief wash over him.
Just moments ago he had been troubled by airborne units — and now he held a countermeasure in his hands.
Even so, he did not build the Arrow Tower immediately.
First, he needed to build the Warehouse to complete his first quest of the day. Then he would decide on the best placement for the tower.
The moment he confirmed the construction, a large rectangular wooden warehouse appeared beside the workshops.
[Quest "Emerging Territory!" Completed!
Reward dispatched to the Lord's inventory:
Rare Building Blueprint — Apprentice Alchemist's Workshop ×1]
"An Alchemist?! The kind that brews magical potions like in the novels?!"
Kaiden muttered, excitement boiling within him.
He looked out over his territory, where buildings were multiplying as the open spaces steadily shrank. Fortunately, there were still plots available.
He chose to build the Alchemist's Workshop beside the other workshops, on the side closest to the Lord's Hall — given the importance of the building.
When the white light faded, a fully stone-built square structure appeared. Along its roof ran a row of four chimneys, and along its sides were ventilation slots.
It was the only workshop in the entire territory without an open frontage.
Instead, there was a sturdy iron door.
It opened with a quiet creak…
And out stepped a slim, unremarkable-looking young man wearing a loose blue robe with wide sleeves.
He stepped forward briskly, then knelt before Kaiden on one knee:
"Luther greets Your Lordship!"
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— End of Chapter Nine —