Chapter 136. 6 days left (1)
Carlos did not accept Joren Pell’s offer because Cosmic said the Lord sounded desperate.
He accepted the system review first. The panel appeared in front of him while Kaia stood beside the Dire Hyena Den.
--
Iron-rich Clay Shelf
Registered Owner: Joren Pell
Extraction Status: Blocked
Available Workers: One Common Builder, three untrained workers
Threats within registered work area:
Tusked Burrower x2
Noted trait: Burrowing charge can break light structures and injure unprotected workers.
--
Carlos read it twice to be sure.
The system did not say the creatures were powerful. It also did not say they were harmless. The extraction frame had already been broken once, and Joren’s Builder could not protect three workers while rebuilding it.
"One new fighter might be enough," Kaia said. "But only if it can stop those things from reaching the workers."
Carlos looked at the three barracks still in his inventory.
The Marsh Troll Barracks was too much. Even if he had space to deploy it, Carlos was not sending a newly summoned troll into another Lord’s territory for his first contract. The Goblin Wolf Rider Stable was not useful without room to ride, and its living rider was still injured.
That left the Four-Armed Goblin Berserker Barracks.
Carlos decided to place it near the narrow strip of clear ground beside the outer storage area. It was far enough from the kitchen and fields, but close enough that Kaia could watch any new troop before he sent it away.
--
Four-Armed Goblin Berserker Barracks
Level 1
Uncommon Grade
Daily Summon: 1 Four-Armed Goblin Berserker
Summoned Troop Ability:
War Frenzy (Level 1)
Barrack Effects:
Four-Armed Goblin Berserkers gain increased strength while facing more than one enemy.
--
Carlos checked the space one last time, then chose Deploy.
The building rose from the ground in a short burst of dust. It was a low square structure made of dark timber, with a broad doorway and four weapon hooks set beside it. Nothing about it belonged beside Ironroot’s fields.
At least in Carlos’s eyes. Kaia looked at it with obvious dislike too.
"You are sure about this?"
"No," Carlos said. "But it is the first time we are trying this. I am not risking anyone who already belongs in our defense."
He opened the summon panel.
--
[Daily Summon available: 1 Four-Armed Goblin Berserker]
--
"Summon."
The doorway darkened.
A short, wide gray figure stepped out. It had four arms, two holding curved blades and two hanging empty at its sides. Its eyes moved over Carlos, Kaia, and the walls around them without fear.
Kaia put one hand near her sword.
Carlos stepped forward before she could say anything.
"You will protect workers for three days. You do not leave the marked work area. When the contract ends, you come back here."
The goblin’s upper right blade tapped against its shoulder once.
Kaia moved in front of it and raised her shield. The goblin reacted at once, both upper blades coming up. It did not strike.
It waited, knees bent, watching her movements rather than her face.
"It can be a good fighter. Pity its previous Lord was not good enough," Kaia said.
"That is all Joren needs," Carlos replied. "We aren’t giving him a friend or anything. He needs something between his workers and those burrowers."
Kaia lowered her shield, but she kept watching the goblin.
"A fighter like this can protect a work site. It can also make a bad situation worse if Joren gives it stupid orders. He should know how to be a good lord, right?"
"He should, we were all taught how to before we came here."
Kaia nodded. "If he is like those Lords we just fought..."
Carlos looked at her.
"Look, this is why I am leasing the troop for three days, not thirty. We will see what this guy does before we decide anything for the future."
As Carlos thought about it, another panel opened, making him wonder whether the system was always listening and was actually sentient. It did not feel like one, but he could never be sure.
--
Temporary Troop Delegation
Owner: Carlos Goldwin
Delegated troop: Four-Armed Goblin Berserker
Client: Joren Pell
Duration: Three working days
Work area: Registered Iron-rich Clay Shelf
Client authority: Spoken commands within work area only
Return condition: Contract completion or safety-condition activation
Payment: Half of all clay extracted each working day, delivered before the next summon reset
--
Carlos read the final line again.
Joren would not pay in advance because he had nothing. But he would pay every day before getting another day of protection. That was enough control for a first contract.
Carlos confirmed it.
The goblin disappeared from the barrack doorway in a narrow line of pale light. Its eyes widened, and Carlos thought something had gone wrong.
But soon, a panel opened that made him a little relieved.
--
[Temporary Troop Delegation active]
[Food burden transferred to Joren Pell for the contract duration]
--
Carlos stared at the empty doorway.
"That was faster than I expected," Kaia said.
"That is why I wanted the system doing it," Carlos replied. "If I had to walk a new troop across unknown territory, this business would already be useless."
"Could you? During the Beginner Period?"
"Yeah, but only through the pocket dimension, everyone’s portal is there and with permission, we can enter"
Kaia nodded and, for once, Carlos felt good. Retaining knowledge in his brain felt godlike.
They returned to the Ancient Cultivation District before noon.
Lydia had already removed the old brace. The two Clayborn Masons worked from opposite sides of the split support. The damaged one mixed ordinary clay and channel sediment in a wide basin. Its companion pressed the mixture between two fresh Glasswood lengths while Lydia watched every movement.
Carlos stood beside Cedric and said nothing until Lydia stepped away.
"Will it hold?"
"It will hold," she said. "Not as well as it would with iron-rich clay, but it will hold. Do not confuse an ordinary repair with a careless repair."
Carlos nodded but judged her with a side eye. Since she heard iron clay, she could not stop talking about it.
The final Glasswood length settled into place. The narrow leak stopped.
--
[Auxiliary Channel Three: Structural stability restored]
[Seasonal Seed Store water route secured]
--
Cedric let out a breath that looked as if he had been holding it since the attack.
Carlos looked at the repaired channel, then at Lydia.
"Good work."
She gave a small nod. "Bring me that clay when your business works. I want to see what it can do before I make promises about it."
That evening, Carlos’s panel flashed while he was back at Ironroot.
--
[Joren Pell has completed day one of the Temporary Troop Delegation]
[Iron-rich Clay transferred under recorded contract terms]
[One Four-Armed Goblin Berserker remains delegated]
--
Carlos opened his inventory. A small stack of dark, red-flecked clay sat beside the other resources.
It was not enough to change Ironroot. But it was proof that the first contract had paid and this could actually work.