With that, things went on to a schedule. He’d go out with a retinue of his troops, secure some more people and monsters to fill up his army, and he’d return to eat. Rinse and repeat, and nothing much happened throughout.
By this point in time, the Conquistador’s forces and territory had grown. With everything he had garnered, a quarter of the entire town had been secured. More defenses, armor, weapons, everything. So much had to be scaled up to continue making everything set up to his demands, something that was rather difficult to go through. However, they had a whole schedule and plan set up to continue the advance.
There were different groups set up: foragers, smiths, and cooks. Foragers were those that went out and harvested all necessary materials, whether that be metal, wood, plants, whatever. They were in charge of gathering everything to continue the further projects, of course, with having a few of his soldiers keeping guard over them to ensure their safety. The smiths worked on everything, turning those materials into true products. Things like weapons, armors, defenses, the works. Finally, there were the cooks, who were all necessary with making a load of food for everyone.
The result? Everything.
Every single one of his soldiers were outfitted now. Each of them had custom-made armor, along with weapons that fit each of their purpose. Some had swords to make use of their shields, some had giant axes to make use of their overwhelming power, and some just had giant tower shields with spears to act as defenses from some of the ranged monstrosities. Those energy blasts couldn’t go through metal, so the shields would be absolutely necessary.
Then there were some that had weapons personally made for them. Those ranged crooked arm monsters he found were given some blades that acted as replacements for their proper arms, allowing them to become a well-rounded soldier. Of course, training had to be done to get them to figure out how to use their weapons, but that didn’t take too long.
He now had a good military that were well-equipped to deal with most threats. Some of them didn’t have any special abilities, while others did. In any case, this was something he was quite pleased with.
Not just that, but his own armor had been replaced and even upgraded. He now had something far more befitting his position, a sleek silver-esque chest plate with multiple insignias of God and Spain, metal pants that covered everything, and a helmet that had several feathers bunched up on the top to signify his status. That of a nobleman, one who certainly far outstripped all these peasants he had made into his own subjects.
Though, he did have to elevate some of his subjects to higher positions. It was only right, as those that proved their capability were gifted with benefits worthy of their skills. Some of the buildings that they were able to take over were converted into more necessary locations. Workshops, homes, warehouses, and the like were recreated in those areas. The temporary base had been transformed into his own personal palace, where a lot of the rooms were changed from workshops into luxurious waiting rooms.
Why, he’d even been so kind to give the people a brand-new barracks, one that was certainly supplied with functional beds and tables to personalize their places. More and more, this place was becoming closer to that of a settlement once more. That was, at least, while one stayed within the wooden barricades that surrounded their territory.
The Conquistador had to admit one thing: Mandeline certainly did fantastic work. Without her, he’d probably have been forced to deal with so many brainless fools that he might have converted the entire lot of them. However, thanks to her help, he hadn’t needed to waste his divine energy on such an endeavor and instead had the capacity to expand his forces more.
All of which put him in a place of power. In fact, the Conquistador knew he could take the town entirely now, but he held off. The problem with doing such a task would be logistics, as he’d need to get every single supply and all the workings of stability before doing such a thing. While yes, he had a functional society right now, he certainly did not have enough smart soldiers to patrol, deal with any problems that arose, and so on. Something that a city watch would be necessary for.
For that, he’d need to set up a court, a judge, jails, and so on. All of which was something he’d need to set up later on, as this was not a concern at the current time. That could come later, though he didn’t really need any sane people for the village. The only reason he had chosen not to do so was to conserve the energy.
These new monsters required a lot of divine energy to convert. That much was for sure. Either way… He was going to change things up, here and now.
He affixed his armor, before rolling his shoulders. Already, the rest of his soldiers were ready to set out once more, with some of them holding onto wagons to push forward and secure a constant stream of supply and transportation. He had just finished putting on his helmet when the door opened wide to reveal Mandeline with a tired look on her face.
“Um, my lord, I’ve come to deliver some more news.”
He nodded and waved for her to continue. Once more, he had to admit that she was truly a godsend and a blessing to find: she certainly knew how to get the people to act according to his desires. While he definitely could have found an assistant that could do the same thing she was capable of, having her around was certainly better.
He’d even been so magnanimous to gift her a building of her own. Good work must be rewarded, after all.
She swallowed, clear that despite all of this time, she still had the courtesy to show some respect towards him. She smiled and then proceeded to explain her findings.
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“Well, for one, the food is ready for your trip.” She started, “The requests you sent out to our craftsmen haven’t borne any fruit. While the woodworkers were able to get started on some bows and arrows, we have not been able to reproduce those… crossbows you speak of. Less is said about the gunpowder material you want. If you wish for something like that, we’d need to find an alchemist or someone with divine blessings to create this strange compound.”
The Conquistador couldn’t help but sigh. While all of that had been a pipe dream, it still stung to hear that his wishes couldn’t be granted at this time. He had hoped that these blacksmiths and woodworkers would have been able to recreate a crossbow with all their efforts, but if they weren’t capable of doing such a thing, then there wasn’t much he could do. Not to mention the fact that if these savages couldn’t figure out how to make a single crossbow, then there were serious doubts about making arquebuses or cannons.
In any case, he’d certainly need to find some more people with capabilities like him. That or an alchemist, but were there even any in this settlement?
He went ahead and asked that question. Her face scrunched up at that, trying to come up with a good answer to respond to his request, before shaking her head.
“I don’t believe there are any here. Most of the people I have talked to have not heard of any alchemist’s guilds in the settlement, nor were there any expectations of such a thing being set up. There may be a few herbalists, but I sincerely doubt that is what you are searching for.”
“No, those aren’t the same thing,” he sighed, “Alright. Get them to make some bow and arrows. We could have the hunters use them to hunt and maybe find some animals that aren’t those wild, disgusting beasts. However, once more, tell them to focus on figuring out the crossbows. That is of the utmost of importance.”
“I’ll be sure to relay all of that information.” She nodded, before grimacing. “Although, there is another issue we have at hand.”
And there was the other shoe that dropped. Of course, there had to be problems that were coming up now, especially when the people were all put into a moment of peace and stability. He rolled his eyes, before looking back at her, once more waving to continue.
She looked own at the ground, before looking up. “We’re having complaints about the food.”
Of all the things he expected, that was not it. He expected some thievery, looting, perhaps even a murder amongst the villagers. But complaints about the food? Really?!
“Oh come on.”
“I–I’m serious, my lord,” she swallowed, “People complain that certain people are getting preferential treatment. They don’t want to be eating the meat of those beasts the way they are now, they want to eat some of the meals that you and some of the craftsmen feast on as well. They… They’re saying that the nature of the situation should call for good meals throughout.”
“The craftsmen get good food because they are experts in their field.” He stated firmly, “Of course there’ll be some favoritism. Who exactly is complaining about all of this? The foragers?”
“Um… well, it’s a variety of people, my lord.”
“Ugh.” With that, he turned away and looked out of the window. He could see his soldiers all lined up perfectly, ready to move out on a moment’s notice. There were several wagons out, with a few people working to get everything loaded up onto the last wagon. Wrapped meals, spare weapons, and a bunch of wood to create some temporary barricades. All in all, necessities for the future advancements.
He looked over some of the crowd, analyzing their reactions. True to her word, he could spot some of the people looking on with hateful looks towards the meals being packed up. However, there was a slight problem: he didn’t recognize these people.
They certainly weren’t saboteurs. They weren’t random people who could have come in out of nowhere, as they had to be saved by his own hands. No, these were those that were so down the ladder in importance that he had chosen to neglect their existence altogether.
Either way, something did have to be done to quiet the masses. Of course, there was one obvious solution. That being said, perhaps Mandeline would have an idea that wouldn’t require his choice.
It wouldn’t be good to invite rebellion at this crucial stage.
“So? What is your suggestion to deal with this… conundrum?”
“Um… Well, that…” She seemed at a loss for words, before coughing. “Perhaps we should… Share the special meals?”
“Absolutely not.” He snapped as he turned towards her, “That meal is a reward for the hard work the craftsmen had put in to ensure the army is ready for further advancement. Without their efforts, we wouldn’t have been prepared for this assault.”
“But without the foragers, we wouldn’t have any of the materials necessary to get any of these projects completed.”
He blinked. For the first time, she had shown an iota of a backbone and thrown back an argument.
That was something he did not expect, and it was something he wasn’t all too pleased by. Perhaps she had become complacent. He had given her an important role, so perhaps all the power was finally getting to her head.
That being said, she did have a point. Those foragers did bring back the necessary components to make the meals and everything. Perhaps he could throw them a bone.
“Hm.” He rubbed at his chin, before sighing. “Fine. Perhaps we could give some lenience.”
“So, then–”
“No, they won’t get any of the special meals.” He frowned, “They can get the leftovers. But that will be all. Nothing else. If they complain again afterward, I’ll take care of the issue myself.”
“Oh.” She looked down at that and gave out a deep sigh. She stayed like that for a while, before lifting her head and giving a shaky smile. “Alright. I’ll relay the news.”
“Good. If anything happens, let me know immediately. Understand?”
“U-understood.”
And with that, he headed downstairs. All of these issues could be sorted out far later.
It was time to focus on the most important part: securing more of this settlement. After all, this was his to own, his to conquer.
Nothing could stop him now.