“My lord, I understand your idea, I truly do.” One of the lumberjacks spoke up as he walked towards the forest with the Conquistador and a retinue of monsters, “However, why do you need me and one of my friends to come with?”
He couldn’t help but groan as he got asked the same question again. He had thought his explanation from earlier had been more than enough to get them up to speed with his goals here, but apparently not. Have they gone stupid after he stopped managing them so that he could recover his wounds? That was something that was possible, yes, but even he could not imagine that these people would have gotten so incompetent without his command. He only rested for a few days, it wasn’t like he had been gone for some weeks.
“Again, I will repeat,” he breathed out, “You are coming so you can show these monsters how to chop down wood as well as what plants are to be harvested. This way, when they have that in their memory, they will be able to replicate all of these actions. You won’t need to come out anymore, you can stay back in base and work on constructing all the equipment we need to defend against the Usurper’s forces.”
“N-no, we understood that, my lord, it’s just…” The man hesitated, before swallowing, “How exactly are we meant to help when we do not know anything about crafting? We are foragers and lumberjacks, not… craftsmen.”
“Then you will learn how to improve your expertise in working with wood and metal.” He scowled, “We don’t have time for this crap. Do you want to squabble around and do nothing when those bastards are coming upon us? Are you willing to see your wives and children be cut down without any way of defense?”
“No, my lord!” The man cried, “That is something we could not allow! We–we want to help, we really do!”
“Then you can quit complaining and show these monsters how to chop a log and what plants we need to gather for food and other materials.” With that, he stopped at the edge of the forest. The time spent had changed very little, though there were some signs of change.
Stumps were scattered around the ground, though there were some small branches and leaves beginning to grow out of the center. Tall trees stood above all present, forming dark shadows all over the ground. Thick foliage covered the ground, hiding whatever monstrosities could be lurking within the forest. All in all, a haunting image that put all of his present subjects to fear as they huddled up right behind him. Typical, as those with low mental strength and cowardly spirits could not withstand any concept of terror, merely breaking down at the sheer idea of facing horrifying experiences.
Of course, he wasn’t the common rabble. He was certainly better than all these people, being a Conquistador gifted to become the successor of God. Why would he falter and feel fear when he was gifted beyond reproach? The ability to warp souls and minds with his own powerful spirit was one that was far beyond almost any.
Well, except for having true immortality, being completely invulnerable to any damage, but that was still nothing compared to what he had! Why, he had so many capabilities, so many ways to go forward that simple invincibility was nothing and– he was getting off-topic. Perhaps the foolishness of the villagers were getting to him as well.
He shook his head and focused back to the task at hand.
“Alright, let’s start off with showing them how to chop down a tree. I hadn’t expected for this to be a lesson, but I understand that there is an art to lumber jacking. So, feel free to show these monsters how to do this task.”
“Understood, my lord.” The man stated, before shaking his head and moving forward. He hefted the axe that was by his shoulder and stopped right next to the trunk of the tree. One deep breath, and the axe was lifted and ready to slam against the plant.
However, just before he went ahead and starting cutting down the tree, he realized that he was supposed to be teaching these monsters how to do his job. The man stood there for quite a while, trying to figure out the best way to do this. He looked at the Conquistador, searching for any kind of assistance to get these beasts up to speed.
He couldn’t help but sigh as he shook his head. Seriously, what was this man expecting from him? Had this stupid moron not learned how to teach anyone on the lessons of chopping down a tree? This shouldn’t be difficult at all. If anything, he should have at least some modicum of committing such an act. The fact that they were absolutely lost and confused on how to even go through with such an action appalled him to no end.
“Just go with it how you would normally go! There is no reason for you to overthink this at all.”
The man seemed to understand instantly, as he swallowed and nodded. Then, he turned towards the beasts with a shaky smile as he waved his axe.
“S-so, what I am going to do is sink the blade of my axe into this tree. I need to do this in an angle, as that would be necessary for the tree to fall down in a certain direction. We need to do this several times until we have cut through three fourths of the way, then the tree should fall by itself. Um… I’ll demonstrate this now.”
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With that all said, the man proceeded to chop at the tree, following his own instructions. He went from the top to a certain way, before going underneath. All of this was done in a certain manner, each of them replicating the same movements over and over again until the tree had been cut down most of the way.
Loud creaking from the tree symbolized what was to come. With that, the trunk began to fall down to the ground at a high speed, before slamming onto the ground and causing the earth to shake somewhat. All of that led to a single felled tree, which laid there on the ground rather unceremoniously. Everyone stared at the fallen tree, at least before the Conquistador gestured for the man to continue.
“Th-then we would simply chop up parts of the log since it is too big to transport back. But, now that we have the wagons, we could just… leave them at this size.” The man trailed off, before looking over the giant tree, “Though, on second thought, it may be better if we simply cut it down to size and then bring it back to base. We can do it simply by getting a saw or axe to cut it into large chunks for later use.”
With that, he walked down the length of this log, before stopping at a random point. “Usually, we would measure, but this is merely meant to be a demonstration. So, I’d chop down here. This all depends on what the wood is necessary for, but this size would be decent enough. Understand?”
None of the monsters responded, making the man squirm in his seat. As for the Conquistador, he couldn’t help but shake his head. With a deep breath, he stepped forward and looked over all his potential woodsmen.
“Go and chop down several trees. Around ten for now, and make sure to cut them to size. We still need you lot to get the wagon back to base. Understood?”
At his words, they moved. Each of them lifted their tools and got to work chopping the tree. Interestingly enough, they were following the same method that the lumberjack had demonstrated before, which was quite a relief to see. They were all working for gusto, getting each of those trees cut down before quartering them down to size.
He couldn’t help but nod. Excellent, one part of his hypothesis was confirmed. Now, if they could forage, then he could truly get everything done in good time. After all, now he could get his craftsman to work on figuring out the crossbow. Who knows, maybe one of these people could figure out the recipe for gunpowder as well?
That thought went through his head for a single second before he shook his head. No, there was no way for these morons to figure out such a godlike contraption. There was no means for hem to develop, nor were there any signs they could accomplish such a thing.
Once again, he felt pain that he did not know the recipe for this alchemical compound. He did not know any of the components that made up the blasting powder, but in the end, that was something that could come later with more experimentation. Perhaps there was some kind of alternative present in this world? He had heard of this strange material called petra that could easily be a replica for concrete. If they could have something to replace concrete, then there might be a material that could replace gunpowder itself.
That was something he’d need to ask Mandeline for then. More information about this world was still an absolute necessity, especially when he was still in the dark over some key details that would allow his future empire to expand. In any case, all he could do now was get the rest of the monsters ready to forage and–
There was the loud noise of movement. A horde was coming towards them, moving in. That group was most likely attracted by the constant noise of the falling trees, which would explain their movement. What didn’t explain anything was their speed, as they were rushing at such high paces that he couldn’t help but wonder if these were monsters on horses or anything like that.
“Oh no.” One of the two men spoke up with horror as he began to back up significantly, “Th-the monsters! They heard the noise of all the trees being felled! They’re going to come and kill us all! We’re going to die!”
“Cease your brainless talk.” The Conquistador snapped back as he got his halberd ready, “You are not dying this day, not while I am here. Do you have so little faith in me that you will run away at such minor events?”
“Minor events?! There is a horde coming! We have to leave, lest the masses rip us apart! There is no end to them, do you understand that? Even all the monstrous soldiers you brought won’t do anything against them!”
He couldn’t help but scoff at the ridiculous words of this coward. Truly, this idiot and his partner had walked out in the forest for numerous days, chopping down trees and bringing back materials. Where did this cowardice come from?
This did all seem unnatural, but in any case, he didn’t have any time to think this over as a swarm of monsters burst from the foliage. All of them of different shapes and sizes, with arms and legs that had sharp claws, nibs, or regular human hands. In any case, all of this lead to one thing that he needed:
More men. Well, time to change focuses.
“Men! Focus on stalling the beasts! That includes you two idiots!”
“Us?!” The two men cried as his soldiers rushed forward to do his bidding, clearly loyal and understanding. The remaining subjects looked between each other, before stammering.
“My lord, please, this is something that will result in our death! We are not warriors, we are a lumberjack and a forager! W-we, this is–”
“I’m not going to let you kill me like this, you bastard!” One of the men cried, tears and snot running down his face as he grabbed one of the fallen axes, “I’ve had enough! I’m going to get revenge for every single last person you’ve broken! This is for–”
He didn’t even get the chance to move any steps forward before he got his mind and soul converted to the Conquistador’s will. With that done, he turned around to the following battle, only to start focusing and turning each monster in the vicinity to his cause.
There was no point in talking to these imbeciles anymore. No, the focus now was to expand his workforce tenfold and to get these monsters to learn how to forage.
That was all that was important here and now.