Under the leadership of the dozen or so crusaders, the final resistance of the cannibals was suppressed. No prisoners were taken in this battle, not only because the cannibals were naturally fierce—even their sick and elderly put up a spirited defense—but also because Richard held no need for captives.

Unlike wars fought among his own people, the purpose of annexing other territories and peoples was solely to increase one’s sphere of influence, but the best course of action for such a violent and savage race as the cannibals was extermination.

The entire log fortress reeked of blood, the stench of which was compounded by the particularly pungent odor of cannibal blood.

Yet the Flying Bear Army soldiers showed no signs of discomfort as they processed the battlefield methodically, removing the bodies to separate them from their fallen comrades. They carefully identified each soldier, bringing their bodies back to camp, then dug a large pit to bury the cannibals. The Flying Bear Army had practically wiped out the entire tribe, and Richard needed to clean up the log fortress for further use.

“Sir, we’ve taken care of everything,” reported Ronen, who had led the crusaders into battle, as he approached Richard while inspecting the fortress.

“Mm-hm.” Richard nodded, naturally understanding what Ronen meant by “taken care of.”

Although Ronen was kind to human women and children, he felt no qualms whatsoever about exterminating strange and foreign races that preyed on humans. This was the case even if they looked nothing like humans.

“Bang!”

Al, who had been slaughtering alongside Ronen, suddenly dropped to his knees before Richard.

“Many thanks, my lord. My vengeance is now complete, and Al’s wish has been fulfilled. Henceforth, Al’s life belongs to my lord, and Al is willing to lead his entire clan in service to you, even unto death.”

Though momentarily taken aback by Al’s declaration, Richard knew exactly what to do. Having weathered the storm of information on Bluestar and experienced two lifetimes as a human, he understood the necessity of winning over hearts and minds, of showing deference to talent.

Even though the half-elves seemed rather mediocre at present, one couldn’t simply ignore a hero unit like Al—could they? After a moment of surprise, Richard strode forward and lifted Al up. The latter had indeed knelt with sincerity, but Richard pulled him up using the strength of a knight.

“Al, from now on, consider Tie Mu City your home. Share in its glory and disgrace.”

“May I offer my unwavering loyalty, my lord.” In his excitement, Al once again pressed a hand to his chest and bowed.

If Al’s decision to lead his people to ally with Tie Mu City before had been a reluctant attempt to find a warm shelter during winter, then after witnessing Richard’s army march to decimate the cannibals for the sake of his tribe’s revenge, Al was now wholeheartedly willing to serve Richard, having pledged his allegiance.

To Richard, Al held two distinct values. The first was that he came equipped with a hero template, his innate talent unquestionably rare. However, he had never possessed the means to acquire suitable martial training, as their tribe was too small and lacked the necessary martial legacy.

They possessed only a second-rate breathing technique, but lacked the energy-refinement technique required to advance to the rank of knight, which had been an insurmountable obstacle in Al’s growth.

If Al’s tribe had possessed a knight during the cannibal attack… Of course, the outcome would likely have been the same, as half-elves were biologically weaker than cannibals, and no individual half-elf could hope to best a cannibal warrior in single combat.

Yet Al’s potential growth would not have stopped at the rank of knight, and he would have gone on to become a grand knight. For the sake of a future grand knight, it was well worth Richard’s attention.

Even more impressive was the fact that he was a natural-born leader of half-elves, and there were nearly ten thousand scattered across the northern lands. Although these half-elves were weak in direct combat, with training, they would make excellent scouts and archers.

Utilizing Al’s unique skill to recruit some half-elves into the Flying Bear Army would also serve as a good supplement to their forces.

However, the most important thing to Richard at this moment was settling the Elven Main City.

In an era where elves had disappeared, finding an elven castle that still stood was no easy task.

If even this stronghold, which still retained a strong elven aesthetic, could not meet the System’s requirements, then Richard would have no choice but to abandon the Elven Main City for the time being.

“Quill.”

“Master Richard.”

Quill, who was directing the Flying Bear Army soldiers as they cleaned up the battlefield, jogged over to Richard at his call.

“Once you’re done here, lead the Flying Bear Army back to TIE Mu City. I’ll return with Ronen shortly. Remember, aside from the personal guard, no one is allowed to stay behind—bring everyone back.”

The personal guard was Richard’s way of referring to the System’s soldiers. Their origins were mysterious, and they were fiercely loyal to Richard, so it was fitting to call them his personal guard.

“Yes, my lord.”

Quill, ever the straight-talker, never questioned Richard’s orders, even if they seemed a bit odd. He simply focused on executing them, which was one of the qualities Richard valued most in him.

Under Quill’s urging, the Flying Bear Army soldiers swiftly finished clearing the battlefield and departed in formation, leaving Al and the others among their ranks. Though they were puzzled, this was a minor affair, and none of them thought to ask Richard for clarification.

As the Flying Bear Army soldiers disappeared into the forest, Richard gave Ronen a subtle signal.

Ronen understood at once and dispersed his men to stand guard in all directions. Constructing a city out of thin air was a shocking feat; they needed to keep it secret for as long as possible, ideally until everyone forgot about it.

Summoning the System within his consciousness, Richard once again selected “Construct: Main City.”

This time, the surroundings changed instantly after he made his choice—the wooden walls were swiftly replaced by stone walls.

Within the center of the log fortress, a Boule Chamber and centaur stable emerged as the first buildings, with no others appearing.

As expected, the log fortress’s foundation was too poor to support more advanced structures, and the initial buildings were indeed far inferior to those that had been built in Boulder Fortress when the Human Race’s Main City was established there.

After officially dubbing the site “Forest City,” Richard began to examine the buildings in detail.

The Boule Chamber, of course, was a fundamental structure for any city, and it provided Richard with fifty gold pieces per week—certainly a useful resource. Unfortunately, the Boule Chamber could not provide new quests; perhaps only the main city’s Boule Chamber could do so.

The centaur stable, on the other hand, enabled Richard to recruit the centaurs, a powerful tier-one unit, which was especially useful for Richard, who lacked cavalry.

With the timber and stone resources he had stockpiled, Richard had no shortage of funds, and he swiftly upgraded the centaur stable to a high-level stable, recruiting twenty centaur chiefs. A group of centaur chiefs was certainly more important to Richard than certain tier-two units.

Currently, centaurs existed only on the northern grasslands. They had once been one of the Elven Empire’s servant races,

After the collapse of the elven empire, the centaurs had occupied the most expansive grasslands in the north and lived as nomadic herders. Their territory lay beyond a whole stretch of ironwood forest and a large snowy mountain range, so they rarely had any interaction with the Human Race, only aware of their neighbors’ existence through hearsay.

To avoid causing too much alarm, Richard kept the centaur chiefs within the Forest City, both as guards and as a secret weapon to be used at any time.

After completing his most important objective, Richard gathered Ronen and the others and rushed toward Boulder Fortress. His mood was akin to a player who had completed a quest and was rushing to an NPC to collect his reward.

The mission to eliminate the cannibals had been spectacularly overachieved, so Richard eagerly anticipated the reward from the Boule Chamber.