Chapter 17: Awang, A Name Easy to Remember

Safiya was also surprised by the series of changes in Owens. When she heard Draxel’s explanation, a mix of irritation and concern welled up in her.

“You possess magic, yet you didn’t use it in last night’s battle? Getting yourself so gravely injured, you really are a foolish man!”

“This… I… Ah, damn it.”

One lie leads to the necessity of countless others; it’s too damn tiring, Draxel thought. In pain and mentally drained, he could only express his frustration with a curse.

Safiya, seeing Draxel in his weakened state, felt a pang of sympathy.

“But you were injured because you came with me to Nomar Village. I’ll take good care of you. You need to recover quickly; we still have to go back to Uxkhal.”

She then began peeling grapes and feeding them to Draxel.

“These aren’t the grapes I gave you from Xiko Village, are they?”

“Of course not! Those would’ve spoiled long ago. You really can be incredibly naive sometimes.”

Draxel’s comment lightened the mood, and Safiya laughed. She was pleasantly surprised by the occasional humor from the usually valiant and competent warrior.

“By the way, where am I?”

“We’re in the village chief’s house in Nomar. He recognized you as the lord of this area,” Safiya replied.

“Owens, please call the village chief over.”

Owens responded with a respectful nod, “At your command, my lord.”

As Owens left with his strong and imposing figure, Draxel reflected with a touch of amazement. The young man had grown significantly stronger after his recent upgrade, promising even greater reliability ahead.

After about five minutes, the village chief arrived.

“Esteemed Couny Draxel, our revered lord, greetings. I am the village chief of Nomar.”

“Village chief, I might need to recuperate at your home for three to five days before I can recover enough to get out of bed and move around. During these days, I’ll need to trouble you for providing food and water at no cost since I’m short on money. Of course, as a return favor, what can I do for you?” said Draxel.

“Earl Draxel, as the lord of this land, it’s our duty to provide you with food and water without charge. Our living conditions here are quite decent, and Nomar is relatively prosperous and wealthy. We don’t require any help at the moment,” said the chief.

As they were talking, Safiya suddenly came up with a great idea.

“Draxel, how about this. We build a watchtower and a training ground here. If enemy forces approach, the watchtower can alert us in advance, and if we are in Uxkhal, we can come to support promptly. The training ground would allow the villagers to train themselves, enhancing their ability to protect their homeland.”

Draxel found the idea appealing but shook his head.

“Safiya, your idea is brilliant, truly unprecedented, but we don’t have enough money for such a project. Building a watchtower and a training ground would be costly.”

“Then you should go make some money!”

“Oh dear, it’s not like I can just go out and–” Draxel was about to retort when the system suddenly activated.

[New task–]

Draxel quickly responded in his mind, ‘Hold on, system, you’re not seriously expecting me to build a watchtower and a training ground, are you?’

[Don’t interrupt.]

[New task: Construct a watchtower and a training ground for Nomar Village.]

[System Prompt: A watchtower costs 1000 Denars, and a training ground 1000 Denars.]

After a moment of silence, Drexel, irritated by the system, spoke, “Safiya, you’re right. Let’s work hard to earn the money needed to build a watchtower and a training ground.”

Seeing Draxel agree so readily, a warm smile spread across Safiya’s face as she playfully looked at him.

“Exactly, that’s the spirit. So, how much do you think we need to earn? I want to help too~”

“Well, I recall Owens mentioning that a watchtower costs around 1500 denars. I guess a training ground would be about the same, so we need around 3000.”

[Reward: Wisdom +1.]

[Evaluation: It’s a pity you’re not in the business of being a middleman.]

Draxeil laughed toward the system within his mind, tauntingly saying, ‘Earning a margin as a middleman, a skill taught by He Sian*, impressive, isn’t it?”

[Who is this person you’re referring to?]

‘Who he is doesn’t matter much, but I think he’s the one who created you.’

At that moment, Owens entered again, “My esteemed lord, I’ve discovered a cave not far from Nomar Village. It has a wide mouth and it seems to be deep.”

“Oh? What then?”

“Well, that’s all. But I believe there might be treasures inside. It looks like a den of robbers.”

If Owens was right and they were bandits, Draxel felt it was highly plausible for it to have treasures. After all, this area was frequented by forest bandits, and they were likely to have a hideout.

“Send our Khergit lad to scout it out. I bet he now has his own horse,” drexel said with a knowing smile.

“My lord, you’re absolutely right. He probably acquired a fine horse from our enemies last night.”

Hearing this, Draxel nodded in satisfaction, signaling to Owens to make the arrangements.

“Safiya, let’s wait here for news then. If that cave is indeed filled with riches, we can use its gold and jewels to rebuild Nomar Village. After all, it’s ill-gotten wealth.”

“Sure, that sounds great! It’s like taking from the people and giving back to them. They robbed the villagers, and now it’s being returned to them. Perfect! But Draxel, I have to confess something.”

Safiya suddenly looked sheepishly guilty, her expression pitiful.

Draxel grew anxious, uneasily asking, “What is it?”

“The grapes you ate, they really were from the bunch I got in Xiko Village, and it’s been several days already.”

“Damn it! Woman, you–” 

Draxel was about to continue, but Safiya stuffed a peeled grape into his mouth. It felt almost like a premarital plot to murder her future husband.

That night, Draxel’s Khergit archer, whom he referred to as Awang for easy recall, approached the cave. The dim moonlight, intermittently obscured by slowly moving clouds, was faint and elusive. The thick night fog lingered, obscuring the long and silent road where no one was seen, with footsteps seeming both present and absent behind him.

In this darkness, a chill ran down Awang’s spine, his scalp tingling.

It felt as though countless eyes were watching him from all directions, his body curling up involuntarily, not daring to confront the darkness.

“Ahoy! Aha! Long live Count Draxel! Ahoy! Ya hoo,” Awang suddenly shouted, trying to bolster his own courage.

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Note: He Sian is the author’s name, 😀