Even the children admired the walls. The dwarven girl nodded her head, enjoying the earth and stonework. ‘Not bad, not bad,’ she thought. ‘It’d be difficult for ours to get through.’ She could imagine the walls lined with Iyrmen. ‘Impossible, maybe.’

The elf girl stared at it, wondering why they used stone. They could have just moved the hills around, then asked the trees to create another layer of defence. ‘Oh, right.’ They weren’t elves, so of course they couldn’t ask nature to move.

The boys eyed up the walls, trying to recall how big their castle walls were. Being children, it was hard to estimate. Half the size? Double the size? Somewhere between there.

Once they were all done admiring the walls, they followed the path forward. Part of the path beside them gently sloped further downwards, save for the path which led right to the gates. The gate itself was made of a giant slab of wood, twice as tall as Adam, and six Adams wide.

Argon exclaimed something in their tongue, his voice echoing off the walls, before the ground began to shake. The slab of wood began to shift as it opened up horizontally, only to reveal another slab of wood, which was moving in the opposition direction, before they met half way and the light peeked through.

The gate was about twenty to thirty paces deep, which caused Adam’s eyes to widen. ‘That’s a big tunnel.’ He wasn’t sure how deep a gate should have been, but he hadn’t seen any gates as deep as this one.

As they stepped through it, the light shone against the opened pathway, which was surrounded on either side by sheer walls, each which was slightly taller than the wall, which couldn’t be seen very well previously due to the angle of the land. The path gently sloped upwards for roughly half a mile, towards another set of heavy gates.

Adam glanced on either side, at the huge walls which swallowed the path. “Is this the pit of death?” Adam asked. He could only imagine how many archers could stand on those hills, raining down arrows on anyone with dark plans.

The other Iyrmen couldn’t help but smile slightly at his words. The entire Iyr was like this, designed to let the enemy know just how futile it was to try and invade. Of course, this area had been built a long time ago, and had yet to see use, but it was more than good enough to showcase to the nobles and the processions which tried to enter.

“Yes,” Jurot said, noting how no one was willing to answer the question. “It is.”

The gates at the top were already open by the time they arrived, which had another path which led to a village some quarter mile away from them. Adam’s shins were already aching from the gentle incline, and he couldn’t imagine how much the children were hurting.

The village was surrounded by a wooden fence, creating its boundary. There were a few towers which were propped up, and Adam could see tiny shadows within them. As they approached Front Iyr village, a few people stepped out to meet them.

‘Where were the people which opened the gates?’ Adam wondered, having not seen anyone up until this point. ‘Was it magic? Hidden Iyrmen?’ He thought back to the two women who had appeared out of nowhere.

Five figures approached them, each as imposing as any Iyrmen they had met, save for the two from earlier.

Four of them wore Steel tags on their persons, from necklaces to bracelets, each carrying a spear and sword, though one carried a spear and axe.

The fifth, the leader, was a silver fox of a man, with a chiselled jaw, greyish hair which fell to his shoulders. At his side was a flail, though none could think it was impractical, as his Adventurer’s tag hung loosely across his bare chest, glinting the blueish silver of mithril.

‘A Mithril tag? Whoa…’ Adam and the children noticed it right away, staring at it with a mixture of awe and respect, as one would when they met such a powerful figure.

“Argon,” the Iyrman said, greeting the leader. They clasped hands, before the leader glanced over the newcomers. For a moment, his dark eyes fell across Adam, pausing for less than a breath on him, before they continued along the rest of the party. He said something in their tongue, and Argon smiled.

“I am Lykan, but we should wait on greetings, I think,” the Iyrman said. “You must all be so weary. Come, allow me to invite you to our humble village. I will lead you to your lodgings.” He turned, allowing the other Iyrmen to take their positions around the group, before they were led forward.

As they stepped through the wide main road, Adam glanced around to see the various buildings. Half were made of earth, and half were made of wood. Those within the centre were mostly made of earth, stone at the base, earth above, standing strong and tall. As he walked past the small towers, he could see teens manning them, staring over at the new arrivals, before returning their attention to all around them.

‘Why are there children on lookout?’

There were many Iyrmen walking around, adorned in their cloths and furs, going about their business. Adam could only wonder how many Iyrmen there were. Most seemed to be either Bronze or Steel, though there were some which didn’t wear any tags.

‘Hmm?’ Adam thought, glancing between everyone. Almost everyone within the village wielded a spear, staff, and axes, and carried a bow with them. Some carried greataxes, but there were very few blades he could count, and they were only on those who were Bronze or Steel. The flail the leader held was the most exotic weapon within the walls.

Children all gathered to stare at the strangers who had arrived, pointing and whispering between one another. They wore cloths and furs too, some even wearing minor pieces of jewellery. Almost all carried a wooden weapon at their side. Adam didn’t understand their language, so could only assume what they were saying, though quite a few were glancing towards Amaerabyl and Thunderhammer.

‘Right, they must be the first dwarves and elves they’ve ever seen.’

Adam noted the lack of tattoos on most of the children, though a few of the teens were tattooed with the main symbol of their family, but not the secondary symbols.

As they stepped towards the centre buildings, Adam’s head snapped to what he first assumed was a hill, but he had only just taken the time to look at it properly. It was no hill, but a fort.

“Is everything in the Iyr designed around stopping invaders?” Adam asked, glancing all around them. He had yet to spot anyone who was unarmed, save for a few of the youngest children.

“Not everything,” Lykan said. “Only most things.”

“Why are there so many children at the first point of contact?” Adam had expected this to be an outpost, rather than an actual village. Was the Iyr relaxed due to the fact it hadn’t been invaded in hundreds of years?

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“That is not a worry for you, Adam,” Lykan said, smiling calmly at the young man.

Adam’s eyes fell on the handsome man. “I don’t recall giving you my name.”

“I didn’t mean to be so rude,” the Iyrman said. He motioned a hand towards two large buildings. “The children will take the building to the left, and the rest can take rest in the building to the right.”

The children looked up at all the Iyrmen. The boys had stopped whispering between one another when they had approached the gates, and had walked through the Iyr with their heads held high. However, their grace was broken when they heard they were separating from the Iyrmen who had saved them.

“I understand you’re close,” Lykan said, dropping to a knee, “but there are others who wish to speak with you and tell you of their tales. There are plenty of children who will play with you as well, isn’t that right?” Lykan turned to the nearby children, smiling at them, but they understood it wasn’t a request.

“Right!” an Iyrman teen said. “We’ll definitely play with you!”

“I’m really good at Sockball,” another said, puffing out their chest.

“Sockball?” the Count’s son asked.

“Football,” Lykan said.

“Oh,” the Count’s son said.

‘They have football here?’ Adam thought. ‘Wait! The Iyr calls it the wrong name?’ Adam grimaced, losing a sliver of respect for the Iyr. ‘I hope they spell colour correctly, at least.’

“Go ahead and get yourselves situated,” Lykan said. “Liazin, go bring some potions for the children, to wash away their weariness.”

Liazin, one of the women beside Lykan, who wore a cloth all over her chest, up to her face, only revealing her eyes, bowed her head and left to a nearby building.

“Hey, kids,” Adam said, looking at the boys and girls. “You better behave, otherwise I’ll be telling your parents you troubled the Iyrmen. I can still flavour your food poorly. It won’t hurt you, but you’ll regret it.”

The children pulled away from the half elf, walking towards the building. Even the elf and dwarf entered together, their mutual distrust of Adam creating a bond between them.

“How many Iyrmen live here?” Adam asked, noting how small the place was. This wasn’t here in his last life. Most of the area seemed so foreign to him. ‘Last time the Iyr was about ten time as big as this, I think?’ Compared to Red Oak, this place was utterly minuscule.

“Two thousand,” Lykan said, motioning a hand to the building for Adam and Jurot.

‘Two thousand?’ Adam stepped inside, seeing the large common room, sparsely furnished, with two doors at the far wall. Jurot walked over to one and opened it, putting away his things within it.

“Come, Adam,” Jurot said.

Adam followed him, finding a square room, with enough space for both of them to sleep in, but not much else. Adam dropped his pack at the foot of the bed.

“You should strip,” Jurot said.

“Excuse me?”

“Your armour,” Jurot said. “Are you not weary?”

“Oh, right. I guess we’re at the Iyr now, so I should probably do that.” Adam doffed his armour, placing it to one side, before he stretched his entire body. “Oof! That was one hell of a journey.”

Adam fell onto the bed. “Two thousand people?” Adam wondered. ‘Wait, hold on. Red Oak is so many times bigger. Not just ten times bigger, but far more than that.’

“That is how many people make their home here,” Jurot said.

“How many people live in the Iyr in total?” Adam asked.

“Roughly sixty thousand,” Jurot said.

Adam coughed. “Excuse me?”

“Sixty thousand,” Jurot repeated.

“Sixty thousand?” Adam gasped. “You’re telling me there are sixty thousand of you?” ‘Sixty thousand Iyrmen? How many were there last time? Fifteen thousand?’

“That is how much who live within the Iyr,” Jurot said, speaking only half the truth. There were a few things which were called the Iyr, and he had been taught to tell no one the real number of Iyrmen, so fifty thousand would be the number given to the various people who would ask. He didn’t know the true number either.

“Whoa. So there are, what, at least ten thousand of you who could raise arms to fight for the Iyr?” Adam whistled. “Ten thousand Iyrmen…” If they were made up like those at the village, then there would be at least five thousand Bronze Rank Iyrmen, and the rest would probably be made up of Steel, Silver, Mithril, and Gold. “How many people make up Aldland?” Adam asked.

“Many millions,” Jurot said, trying to recall. “At least twenty million.”

Adam coughed. “At least twenty million? So you guys are outnumbered twenty to one?” Adam raised his brows in surprise.

“Yes.” Jurot nodded his head.

“Wait, no. Is that right?” Adam shook his head. ‘If I double the Iyr, that would be one hundred thousand, which would be twenty to one, so I need to double that.’ Adam rubbed his forehead. “Forty to one?”

Jurot narrowed his eyes, taking a long moment to count. ‘Fifty, and fifty, makes one hundred. Then ten is a million. Then twenty is twenty million.”

Adam watched as Jurot went about calculating it within his head. He understood the pain.

“Yes,” Jurot said, a short while later.

“If Aldland wanted to go to war, wouldn’t you be in trouble? If we assume they can bring out even a hundred thousand soldiers, you’d be outnumbered ten to one.”

“It would be a slaughter,” Jurot said, nodding his head.

“Right, isn’t that-“ Adam paused, narrowing his eyes. “You would slaughter them?”

“Of course.”

“Jurot, ten to one! Ten to one!”

“During Blackwater…” Jurot stopped, recalling how the story hadn’t been finished.

“What? What about Blackwater? You mean Blackwater Crisis?” Adam narrowed his eyes, glaring at the Iyrman, who avoided his gaze.

“You will hear it soon, for Dargon has promised it to you. I cannot take that away from him.” Jurot crossed his arms.

Adam grit his teeth, becoming annoyed. “Even so! Nevermind one hundred thousand, what if there were five hundred thousand soldiers? With their population, they could easily bring out five hundred thousand soldiers, maybe even a million.”

Jurot shrugged his shoulders. “Their army size is closer to fifty thousand, sixty if we include the knights of various households.”

“That’s it?” Adam asked. “I expected more.”

“That is their professional army,” Jurot said, nodding his head. “Though those who are elite, are probably six thousand? And those who could pose some threat to an Iyrman, around a thousand?” Jurot tilted his head, trying to recall what he had learnt.

“How do you know so much about the army and its size?” Adam asked, narrowing his eyes.

“We’re all taught the estimates of the army sizes, and how many soldiers could be raised if there was ever a war. They wouldn’t leave their forts unmanned, so they would only field twenty thousand of their main army, and they would raise another one hundred thousand immediately from the nearby towns.”

“Why are you speaking so casually about it?” Adam asked, raising his brow. “I’d be terrified to hear about all of this. Even if the Iyrmen are strong, being outnumbered so much, it’s not like you have a machine gun or anything.”

“A what?”

“Nothing.” Adam shook his head. ‘Right, I need to be careful.’

“Even if they brought a hundred thousand, the Iyr would win.”

“Sure, behind your walls. What if they remain at the walls of the Iyr.”

“Even if we met in the open field, the Iyr would win.” Jurot nodded his head.

“Jurot, are you crazy? You’d be outnumbered ten to one, minimum!”

Jurot raised his brow, smirking smugly at Adam. He knew so many things about the Iyr which Adam couldn’t possibly know.

“Well, if you’re confident, I assume you guys have a few secret weapons at your disposal.” Adam thought about the woman they had met, Shaool. “How many people are as strong as Shaool in the Iyr?”

“I cannot tell you that,” Jurot said, smiling ever wider.

“How many are as powerful as Shaool in Aldland?”

Jurot furrowed his brows, going deep into thought. “Hmm. As powerful, and more powerful?”

“Sure.” Adam leaned in intently. He had listened to the power ranking from the boys, but hearing it from Jurot seemed more official.

“Ten?” Jurot said. “I can only assume her strength. I know of her grandniece, and the tales which she has told me.”

Adam coughed. “Excuse me?” He kept coughing. “You’re telling me, out of twenty million people, only ten could match Shaool?”

“From the people, yes,” Jurot nodded, recalling the various guardians of the land who would easily raise that number. “If we include magical artefacts and such.”

“Jurot, are you messing with me?” Adam raised his brow. “Is Shaool the strongest in the Iyr?”

“No,” Jurot said, raising his brow. “The Chief and the Great Elders are more powerful.”

Adam blinked, rubbing his eyes, then blinked once again. “Excuse me?” Adam had forgotten the existence of the Chief and the Great Elders. “So what, that’s… eight people in the Iyr, ten in Aldland?” Adam stared at Jurot’s smirk. ‘Wait. Are there more people as strong as Shaool?’

Jurot tried his best not to reveal anything, but he couldn’t help but smile. Oh, how little Adam knew. Once he was given permission to head into the Iyr, he’d see something which would no doubt shock him. Eight people? Adam had met someone else that day as powerful as Shaool, a woman with the skull of a deer. Jurot had no idea how many of them there were, but he assumed greater than ten, since that was how the Iyr always formed their units, using bases of ten, just like Aldland.

Adam continued to stare into Jurot’s eyes. ‘Wait, that woman with the deer skull…’ Adam shuddered. “Well, if there are even a handful more as powerful as Shaool, maybe I was worrying for no reason.”

Jurot giggled.