Free Web NovelChapter 312: Making Us Look Incompetent
The City-State of the Paragon Troupe was now on the right track. Given time, it would surely become one of the foremost Great City-States.
Unfortunately, she didn’t have that much time. Everything she was doing now was to ensure the males and cubs could live happy and peaceful lives in the future.
Next, she would adopt some drastic measures. She would take the initiative to expand and make a name for the city-state across the continent through war. Of course, to minimize Beastman casualties, she would be even more extreme. She would "capture the king to capture the bandits," using this strategy to gain the support of various city-states.
As Evangeline effortlessly defeated Leomund, The Everwake’s mouth twitched. He glanced at the vines covering the ground behind Loras, clicked his tongue, and clapped him on the shoulder. "Having such a powerful female around kind of makes us look useless, doesn’t it?" he sighed.
Loras gave a wry smile, retracted his vines, and followed Evangeline toward the fortress.
The Everwake glanced at the vast contingent of Lion-Salt City-state warriors, who were carrying the still-unconscious Leomund.
His eyes darted around, and a grin spread across his face as he followed them. ’Perfect timing. The treasury is running low on City-state Coins. With the "addition" of the Lion-Salt City-state, I’m sure we’ll become much wealthier and be able to support more displaced Beastmen.’
The Lion-Salt City-state had arrived full of menace, but their invasion had ended with a whimper.
As Evangeline walked back along the main street, she was met with deafening cheers from the citizens.
They never would have imagined that the renowned Lion-Salt City-state could be dealt with so easily by their Druid!
That was Leomund! The Commander of the Lion-Salt City-state, a War Pattern Level Beastman! Yet he was no match for their Druid at all. Ha! Did this mean their City-State of the Paragon Troupe had strength comparable to a Medium-sized City-State?
The thought thrilled them, filling them with even greater confidence for the upcoming Sharp Teeth Judgment.
’Perhaps one day they’d wake up and suddenly find that the City-State of the Paragon Troupe had become a large city-state?’
They gasped, and their cheers grew even more deafening.
Evangeline, however, was unfazed. For her, this truly hadn’t been difficult.
The warriors of the Lion-Salt City-state followed dejectedly behind Evangeline. To them, the cheers of the citizens felt like nothing but humiliation.
They hadn’t even had a chance to fight before being shattered by the Raiden that fell from the sky. This Druid from The Wildlands, as Aiden Atwood had called her, possessed the ability to summon Raiden. That kind of power was something an ordinary Druid could never wield.
Could she be a Druid whose power had reached the Ancestor Spirit Level?
They swallowed hard, their heads bowing even lower.
The group returned to the Commander’s Fortress. Evangeline had Drake and Loras gather the warriors from the Lion-Salt City-state. Any who were willing to sign a contract could stay and would receive five City-state Coins per month, according to the city-state’s welfare policy.
Those unwilling to sign would be imprisoned, their fate to be decided after Leomund woke up.
The Beastmen of the Lion-Salt City-state weren’t idiots. Their own Commander had been forced to sign a contract, so what good would come from being stubborn? Besides, as warriors in the Lion-Salt City-state, they didn’t even get paid in City-state Coins!
They barely had to weigh the pros and cons before their minds were made up.
As for Riley Atwood, he naturally had no other choice and voluntarily signed the contract.
As he emerged from the crowd, head hung low and utterly defeated, he saw Aiden Atwood standing not far away. His eyes immediately turned red. He approached, sobbing, and whispered, "Commander! I failed to get revenge for our Otterhaven City-State... I’m sorry..."
"That’s enough. Don’t say things like that anymore!" Aiden Atwood rolled his eyes, clearly displeased.
Hearing this, the crying expression on Riley Atwood’s face froze. He stared at Aiden Atwood in disbelief.
’No, that can’t be right. Wasn’t he the one who told me to escape, go to the Lion-Salt City-state for reinforcements, and take back the Otterhaven City-State?’
Aiden Atwood glanced at his expression and sneered. "What? Think I changed my tune too quickly?"
Riley Atwood wiped the moisture from his eyes and looked cautiously at his former Commander, unable to discern his meaning.
"Follow me." Aiden Atwood sighed and led Riley Atwood out of the fortress.
Riley Atwood was confused, but the thought of continuing to follow his own Commander brought him a sense of relief. ’No matter what, Aiden Atwood is a Barbarian Tooth Level Beastman. Even if we’ve joined a new city-state, I want to be a squad leader. I don’t want to take crap from anyone, and I definitely don’t want to be a low-class citizen. Who knows if that Druid holds a grudge? After all, I wasn’t exactly polite when we first arrived at this Beastman City-state.’
Aiden Atwood led Riley Atwood on a tour, showing him every corner of the present-day City-State of the Paragon Troupe. From the defensive patrols to the lush, green fields tilled by females, and then to the incredible Floating City-State, every sight was different from what had been before.
"See what’s different?" Aiden Atwood asked, his hands clasped behind his back, his expression a complex mixture of emotions.
Riley Atwood blinked and whispered, "The... the new city-state is very capable?" freewёbnoνel.com
Aiden Atwood scoffed and shook his head. "It’s more than that. What you’re seeing now is just one part of the Druid’s vision. After spending more than a month here, I’ve realized I was never a qualified Commander. Or rather, every Commander in the Beastman City-states is too narrow-minded. We can’t see the bigger picture."
"I dare say, in another year—maybe not even that long—the City-State of the Paragon Troupe will become the most powerful entity among all the Beastman City-states. When that time comes, what will a mere Barbarian Tooth Level Beastman like me even count for?"
As he said this, a hint of melancholy inevitably crept into Aiden Atwood’s voice.
He was already a middle-aged Beastman. If he didn’t find some great opportunity, he would never break through to the War Pattern Level in this lifetime.
Riley Atwood’s lips moved. He wanted to offer a few words of comfort but found his own heart aching with the same sorrow.
’I’m a middle-aged Beastman too, and I’ve been stuck at the Eight-Star Pattern level for ages without any progress. Heh, born in a Beastman City-state but unable to awaken my bloodline... all I can do is talk my way into a squad leader position.’
’Compared to Aiden Atwood, aren’t I even more pathetic?’
"Did you see what the Druid can do?" Aiden Atwood turned to glance at the timid Riley Atwood.
Thinking back to the earlier scene, Riley Atwood swallowed, his face filled with terror as he nodded. freeweɓnovel.cøm
Seeing this, Aiden Atwood was filled with immense regret. ’Why wasn’t I there at the time?’ he lamented internally.
When the Lion-Salt City-state arrived, he had been busy distributing "Identity Cards" to the citizens. That thing called a "photograph" was so novel that he had become completely engrossed. He didn’t snap out of it until the sky suddenly darkened and Raiden echoed outside the city-state.
By the time he realized what was happening, however, the "battle" was already over.
Or perhaps it couldn’t be called a battle. It was a one-sided slaughter.
When he heard about it from his kinsmen, he couldn’t believe it. Leomund was a War Pattern Level Beastman! And he couldn’t even withstand a single blow from the Druid? She could summon Raiden! That revelation had shaken him to his core.
Aiden Atwood felt a surge of relief that he hadn’t caused any major trouble back then. Otherwise, he would have surely been killed.
But now, he finally understood. This Druid was a Druid who had awakened her ancestral veins!
