My Farming Domain Is Broken

After the meal, Kaia escorted Rhea, Tomas, Milan, Evan, and the district workers back through the Domain Portal. Their invitation had been for one meal, not an overnight stay inside Ironroot.

Cedric remained behind. He needed to brief Lydia about the brace and return with her in the morning to oversee the channel assessment.

Lydia left for the Ancient Cultivation District before breakfast was finished.

Carlos went with her, Kaia, Cedric, and both Clayborn Masons. The new troops stayed inside Ironroot. Brann remained with the Marsh Trolls, while Nessa watched the hyenas and wolf rider from the western wall.

The temporary brace around Auxiliary Channel Three looked worse in daylight.

The Glasswood length had been tied across the split support with rope and packed tight with loose stone. It kept the worst of the water from pushing through, but the channel wall had shifted slightly during the night. A narrow crack ran beneath the brace toward the old marker line.

Lydia crouched near it without touching the wood.

"Who decided to put stone there?"

Tomas raised one hand slowly.

"I did."

"It was the correct short-term choice," Lydia said. "It stopped the water from widening the split. But if you leave it there while the channel keeps moving, the pressure will break the support beside it instead."

Tomas lowered his hand again, less embarrassed than before.

Carlos watched Lydia inspect the water, soil, and Glasswood. She did not rush because everyone was waiting for an answer. She took time because a bad repair would damage the channel more than leaving it alone for another hour.

At last, she stood.

"We can repair it today. I need two new Glasswood lengths, iron-rich mineral clay if you can get some, and the Masons working together. The damaged one can only prepare the mixture, not do the main work for now."

Carlos looked at the crack beneath the brace.

"Can we use ordinary clay?"

"We can," Lydia said. "It will hold, but it will not bond as well to the Glasswood. Iron-rich clay gives the mixture strength without making it too brittle."

"... If I had not suggested iron-rich clay, would you be asking for it?"

"Well, now that I know you know about this type of clay, I want to use it on the structure this time. We can’t have it break with every attack, Carlos."

Carlos sighed and nodded. He remembered Cosmic’s message from the night before.

"If I can get iron-rich clay in a few days, will it still help?"

Lydia looked at him.

"For this repair? No. We need it now or use ordinary clay. But future channel repairs, wall supports, and Mason work will all benefit from it."

That was enough information.

Carlos told Cedric to keep the temporary brace watched until Lydia returned with the Masons. Then he went back through the portal with Kaia.

The four acquired barracks were still in his inventory.

He opened the panel in the empty strip near the outer storage ground. It was the only place inside Ironroot where a large building could stand without pressing against the fields, the wagons, or the gatehouse approach.

Carlos selected the Dire Hyena Den first.

--

Dire Hyena Den

Level 1

Uncommon Grade

Daily Summon: 1 Dire Hyena

Summoned Troop Ability:

Pack Hunt (Level 1)

Den Effects:

Dire Hyena movement and aggression increase while fighting beside pack members.

Injured Dire Hyenas recover faster while inside the Den.

--

Carlos looked at Kaia.

"Does this place work?"

Kaia studied the open strip, then the wall and gatehouse in the distance.

"For the hyenas, yes. They can reach the gate if there is an attack, but they are not sleeping beside it. The trolls cannot stay here."

"I know."

Carlos confirmed the location.

The inventory panel pulled the Den free.

Dark wooden posts rose from the ground first. Then a low shelter formed between them, wide enough for the three hyenas to lie under without crowding. A shallow stone basin appeared near the front. The finished structure was not impressive, but it was solid.

The hyenas noticed it immediately.

The injured one limped toward the shelter first. The other two followed and sniffed around the posts before settling near it.

Carlos looked at the new line on the panel.

--

[Dire Hyena Den deployed]

[Daily summon available: 1 Dire Hyena]

--

He closed the panel.

"No summons," he said.

Kaia nodded.

"Good."

Carlos selected the other three barracks, then stopped before choosing a location for any of them.

The Marsh Troll Barracks needed a large footprint. The Goblin Wolf Rider Stable needed room for mounts. The Four-Armed Goblin Berserker Barracks was smaller, but Carlos had no intention of filling Ironroot with creatures he had not even trained yet.

Buildings were not power by themselves. They became power when he had the food, space, and people to use them.

His Lord message panel flashed.

--

[Cosmic Merchant]- That Lord accepted a system review. His name is Joren Pell. P.S. The Beginner Period ending in a few days is affecting people, bro. He just told me his real name casually. Or maybe it is made up. I will shut up now. He has one Common Builder and three workers. No stored iron-rich clay yet. His site is on the eastern edge of his territory, and he says there are two creatures guarding it as if it is their home. They are not his summons, just invaders in his territory that he needs to get rid of.

[Cosmic Merchant]- He is not asking you to fight for him forever. He needs one durable troop for three working days if you can do so. His proposed payment is half of all iron-rich clay extracted during that period, delivered each evening through a recorded trade.

--

Carlos read it beside the Dire Hyena Den.

"There are monsters there," Kaia said. "That is not a job for an injured hyena."

"No," Carlos said. "And I am not risking Brann or a Bearkin for someone I have never met."

He opened the stable panel, then stopped himself again.

"Are you thinking of sending your main troops to such missions too, Carlos?" Kaia asked curiously.

"No, not the main ones. It will mainly be these four barracks that do that work. I need everyone else in this territory."

The wolf rider and its mount were injured too. More importantly, they had only been under his command for one night. Sending them away with a stranger who could be incompetent could lead to certain death, Carlos felt.

So he sent Cosmic a reply.

--

[Carlos Goldwin]- Ask Joren for the system details of the clay shelf and the monster threat. I need the exact terms before I lend anyone a troop. Tell him I will not promise a fighter before I know what his situation actually is. Tell him I will only take the system’s word as true, not his.

--

Kaia looked at him.

"My lord, I would recommend you not send these wounded ones to this Lord. I don’t have a good feeling about it. If you are really considering it, then a new summon from these barracks can do the trick."

Carlos looked toward the hyenas resting in their new shelter.

"I do not intend to send these ones. I don’t waste potions anymore, and they are too wounded."

Cosmic’s reply came quickly this time.

--

[Cosmic Merchant]- The system has shown an option since we started this discussion. It is calling it Temporary Troop Delegation. You keep the troop and building ownership. The other Lord gains spoken-command authority only inside the listed work area and only for the contract time. We already knew that part.

[Cosmic Merchant]- Another rule is that you will not be able to message the delegated troop. The unit returns when the timer ends, or earlier if the contract’s safety condition is triggered. Joren must provide its food and cannot transfer, dismiss, or take it outside the listed area.

--

Carlos read every line carefully.

The system had already solved the most important problem. The troop would not become Joren’s. Carlos would not be able to talk to it from Ironroot, but Joren could not drag it somewhere else or sell it the moment Carlos looked away.

Still, a contract did not make a stranger trustworthy. Carlos opened a final message.

--

[Carlos Goldwin]- I will review the contract. If we accept, payment is delivered daily before the summon reset happens. The troop stays inside that iron clay resource point. Any injury caused by work outside that area ends the lease immediately.

[Carlos Goldwin]- You will also give Cosmic the exact location, your Builder’s capability, and the burrowers’ system information. If you hide anything, there is no deal.

--

He closed the panel and looked across Ironroot.

One barracks had been deployed. Three remained in his inventory. The first lease had not begun, but Carlos could already see the shape of the business he wanted.

It would not be charity, but not blind trust either.

Anyone who wanted Ironroot’s strength would pay for it properly and he wanted the world to know that.