Chapter 370 - Eating Together

"It’s the Lord, Lord Gaven, those flying gnolls are chasing him!""Prepare for battle, prepare for battle, prepare for the rescue of the Lord."

"Idiot, with which eye did you see the Erde chasing the Lord? Clearly they are following behind the Lord. The Lord, who can even blast vampires to death, would be chased by a group of Erde? The Lord can fly."

"Uh... it does seem like... Haha... I meant well, this is just concern for the Lord, right!"

"Everyone calm down and get ready for battle."

"Lord Thornspike..."

By then, Thornspike had already staggered forward and said, "Don’t misunderstand, these gnolls are followers of the Lord, brought from another territory to assist you in building a new settlement."

"The Lord’s followers, gnolls?"

"The Lord’s other territory? This isn’t the Lord’s first territory?"

"Our new Lord, just who is he? Why does he seem more mysterious the more we interact?"

Thornspike clarified one question, yet it brought forth even more doubts in the hearts of the Thacel refugees.

Thornspike had no intention to continue solving their puzzles and staggered back to where he had been dragging a heavy cart, faithfully practicing the idea that silence is golden. Unless absolutely necessary, he would not speak rashly; and not only him, but the other treants were the same.

The treants under Gaven had all been enlightened with the same knowledge package he infused. Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs novᴇl(ꜰ)ire.ɴet

That doesn’t mean all treants have the same character.

Definitely there was some subjectivity from Gaven influencing them, their alignment and viewpoints on matters similar to Gaven’s stand as the best proof.

What really determines their character is their initial consciousness, the trials and tribulations of their own growth, and their identity as treants.

You couldn’t expect a treant to see eye to eye with their enlightener on matters of aesthetics.

For one, they are not the same species, and two, treants do not have the hormonal secretions in this regard.

As for Five-Willow, they are an exception, after all, they were enlightened collectively as a single entity.

When they separated, they existed as individual parts of a whole, naturally showing a lot of convergence in many areas.

To avoid unnecessary misunderstandings, Gaven had the Dog Demon stop from afar, with the Erde Squadron led by Chester guarding behind him in two columns.

Upon Thornspike’s reminder, Kopofiel did not hesitate to urge his horse towards Gaven.

Seeing Kopofiel about to dismount and salute, Gaven quickly waved his hand and said, "No need to dismount. First, I’ll take you to see your future settlement. After all, it’s up to you how to build your homes here. Engineer Chester and his team will be in charge of the construction.

Let me introduce you. This is Kopofiel, the headman of the new village; this is Chester, the chief engineer of the new village construction. This gnoll construction crew will be under his command. The two of you must work together to build the new village well."

Kopofiel and Chester, being named, nodded to each other, acknowledging the introduction.

Kopofiel followed Gaven and climbed up a nearby hillock only to be stunned by the scene before him.

Before his eyes lay a huge construction site, swarming with gnolls, in the thousands at least.

These gnolls were small and exquisite, but the engineering work they were performing was by no means small-scale, with several gigantic trenches neatly lined up.

The topsoil of these trenches had been scraped off, revealing the rocky layer beneath.

Amid the low rumble of trembling booms, those hard rock layers were easily broken open, and then swiftly cleared to the sides of the ditch by the gnolls as they swarmed forward.

Gaven pointed to the construction site below and said, "The Three Rivers Region is rainy, especially during the rainy season, which is said to bring constant heavy rain for several months. The water level of Yewen Pond is expected to rise by more than a meter, so the drainage sewers will be of the utmost importance for the entire town.

This triple-layout will not only allow all streets to drain easily but also make it convenient for villagers to dispose of wastewater there. All the sewers will converge to a single point, where there will be a large septic tank, turning all the impurities into fertile land fertilizer."

Kopofiel couldn’t help saying, "The sewer system must not only consider sewage and drainage convenience but also ease of cleaning. It often becomes the main hideout of filth in a town, where much evil breeds."

"Naturally," Gaven nodded and said, "we will set up traps at intervals as a precaution, but maintaining a town’s sewer system well truly depends on regular maintenance and cleaning. As long as we do this thoroughly, there’ll be no chance for evil to breed. If we rely solely on defenses, problems will arise sooner or later."

"You’re absolutely right, Lord," agreed Kopofiel, "I’m not very knowledgeable about this, but among the villagers, there are several professional stonemasons with extensive house-building experience. The houses in the refugee camp were their doing. I will send them over to assist Lord Chester in due time."

"That is exactly what we have been lacking," Gaven said with an irrepressible look of joy, "With this, we will have addressed the last missing piece. I believe that by winter, everyone will move into brand-new homes. But don’t rush the construction; first, bring out the architectural plans and conduct an overall assessment before we proceed."

Chester had long been accustomed to Gaven’s planning and took it for granted.

Kopofiel, however, looked astonished and said, "Those stonemasons can build a house according to the terrain with no problem, but asking them to draw up plans might be too difficult, since most of them are illiterate."

Gaven wasn’t surprised by Kopofiel’s empiricism, as the gnolls were even more so before they became his subordinates. He smiled and said, "I understand, but as long as they have the relevant experience, that’s all that matters. I will arrange for professionals to assist them."

"All right, I’ll arrange for someone in a moment." Since the other party had already made thorough arrangements, Kopofiel naturally went with the flow, "Lord, what do we need to do now?"

"Set up camp on the other side and then eat. I reckon you haven’t had a chance to eat lunch yet, I’ve already asked Chester and the others to prepare a hearty lunch for you," Gaven pointed to the other side of the hill.

Kopofiel looked in the direction Gaven indicated, where nearly a hundred large cauldrons were set up in two rows, all bubbling and steaming. The rich scent of the food was so pungent that even several hundred meters away, it could be distinctly smelled.

Two squads of gnolls were bustling around the cauldrons.

Compared with the other dust-covered gnolls, these two squads seemed exceptionally clean, with sackcloth aprons tied around them, and their fingers appeared to have been carefully trimmed and cleaned.

Concerned that Kopofiel and his group might be psychologically averse to consuming food made by gnolls, Gaven explained: "These two squads of gnolls are professional chefs. Not only do they possess impressive cooking skills, but they also have relevant spell-like abilities, such as purifying food and detoxifying poisons. The row on the right is using new cauldrons, specially prepared for you.

"If it’s not to your liking, you can arrange for your own people to take over in the future. Before you move into your new homes, you will need to live collectively for a while, as it’s relatively simpler to supply food this way."

"Lord, you worry too much. They’ll be happy to have ready-made meals, how could they be picky about who made it?" Kopofiel shook his head, "Why set up camp here and not in the manor over there? The manor should be able to house some of us, shouldn’t it?"

Gaven sighed and said, "The situation at the manor is a bit special, it’s not possible to accommodate people there, you will see when you go there later."

"Alright, I’ll go down and make arrangements in a moment," Kopofiel didn’t ask further, "Have the villagers who took the water route not arrived yet? The wind direction has been unfavorable these past few days, travelling against the current, they must have taken much longer."

Gaven gave Kopofiel a thumbs up: "As expected of the old captain, even these minor details do not escape your attention. Indeed, due to this reason, they have been delayed for several days. They should arrive by this afternoon at the latest. You go ahead and set up camp, the rest we can discuss slowly."

Although the entire caravan was composed of civilians, under Kopofiel’s organization, it operated like a small military unit, following orders without question.

At his command, even with doubts in their minds, they resolutely carried out the order, beginning to establish a semi-permanent camp behind the small hillock.

Although they were organized by family units, the entire camp was orderly arranged, with families that had more able-bodied members on the outside and those with more women and children on the inside. They had already developed enough tacit understanding, and none were seen quarreling over this, fully demonstrating their unity.

In a foreign land, it was only through unity that they could survive better, a fact they had already come to understand.

Those who did not unite had mostly become bones in the wilderness.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

A loud bell sounded atop the hillock.

The Thacel refugees setting up camp looked puzzled, and some, more wary, immediately grabbed the weapons next to them.

"Sorry, I forgot to explain, that’s the meal bell, three long and one short ring is the alarm bell, which will sound more urgently and closely," Gaven said to Kopofiel with an apologetic smile, "It seems we still have much to iron out between us. In the upcoming time, General, you will have much to attend to. Please organize your people for the meal. No need to prepare anything, utensils and seating are all ready, all you need to do is line up to get it."

"Lord has really thought of everything, I’ll go and make the arrangements," Kopofiel said, still a bit unaccustomed to Gaven’s meticulous arrangements.

By the time Kopofiel organized the Thacel refugees to line up,

the gnolls on the other construction site had long formed forty long lines, holding their own eating utensils, waiting to get their food.

The first impression these gnolls gave to the Thacel refugees was one of order.

Not only were the lines to get food neat and orderly,

but even their eating was orderly, as if everyone had their designated spot. After being served their food, they hurried to their seats to eat.

Their eating was very concentrated, with very little chatting and mingling.

However, most of the Thacel refugees could clearly sense that the gnolls were sizing them up with the corner of their eyes while they ate, their gazes filled with irrepressible curiosity.

Compared to them, their own side was a bit more chaotic.

They were no strangers to communal pot meals on the migration journey, but this was their first time eating communal pot food prepared by gnolls.

There was a bit of resistance, more or less.

After all, it was a different race, and under normal circumstances when encountering each other in the wilderness, they would typically draw swords immediately.

But it was hard to resist the allure of the delicious food.

Pieces of meat, two to three fingers thick and the size of a palm, tumbled endlessly in the cauldrons, accompanied by no fewer than six or seven types of wild vegetables, all suitable for stewing.

Thick bread, two fingers thick and the size of a round shield, was baked to a golden brown, emitting a rich wheat aroma. This was a type of bread they had never seen before.

Some gnolls had a piece of stew in one hand and a piece of bread in the other, sipping a mouthful of stew and then taking a bite of the bread, their mouths dripping with oil as they ate.

Other gnolls were more refined, tearing the bread into small pieces and throwing them into the stew, waiting until it reached the optimal softness before eating slowly, giving off an air of sophistication.

Of course, this scene of communal dining was intentionally arranged by Gaven.