Chapter 343: The Budding of the Spell Breaker

The Elemental Channel planned by those three Arcanists from the Hand of Secrecy is not far from the north side of Linshui Village; it is only a few steps away for Xia Duo to walk over.

In reality, the temporary living quarters for those digging the river channel have always been in Linshui Village, but since Xia Duo's own territory residents have not yet been assigned proper houses, those people are only living in temporary shacks.

Fortunately, it is summer now, so things like accommodation are relatively easy to resolve.

Just after walking a few steps to the north, Xia Duo heard a voice rising and falling with varied intonations, accompanied by some sort of strange musical instrument, singing about something. Upon listening carefully, it was actually recounting the prosperous scenes of the Elf Kingdom.

Xia Duo could not help but feel a bit puzzled, "Could it be that a Bard has come here?"

Passing through the last row of trees that had not been felled, Xia Duo saw that under a large tree not far away, more than a dozen bare-chested burly men were surrounding a tall, thin man, listening with great interest!

The workers on the other side who were still repairing and moving logs would turn their heads back from time to time, as if they could hear more clearly just by looking.

Xia Duo's arrival caused the tall, thin man to stop the instrument he was holding—which looked like it had been made on the spot—and the singing in his mouth also ceased. The surrounding crowd was feeling a bit confused, and they followed the tall, thin man's gaze to look behind them.

A burly man in the crowd suddenly stood up, untied his clothes from his waist, threw them on haphazardly, and then hurriedly walked toward Xia Duo, bowing respectfully, "Hunter greets the Lord!"

Only then did the others react, putting on their clothes one after another and then bowing. The sudden change here caused some disorder among the workers working on the other side, but they soon ran over as well.

"Lord!"

Xia Duo accepted this calmly, then waved his hand, "Those who should be resting continue to rest, the others continue to work. Hunter, come with me."

"Yes, Lord!"

After the two left, those who were originally resting also began to work. Xia Duo saw this, but did not say anything. Arriving at a mound of earth, Xia Duo asked:

"Weren't there fifty people when you came? I just counted, why are there five missing?"

Seeing that the question was not about the singing performance just now, Hunter secretly breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly replied:

"Lord, it is like this: among those five, one was attacked by a wild beast and died on the spot; two others were bitten by poisonous insects and are currently receiving treatment in Linshui Village; the last two, because they had been Adventurers, were recruited by Lord Mai Er Si into the guard squad."

"Guard squad?" Xia Duo muttered.

This guard squad is actually similar to the small team led by Jibu; they were all transferred from Savile Territory, only this guard squad here is used to protect these river-digging workers.

Mai Er Si has a total of twenty people under his command. He did not expect that two had already been lost. Including the workers attacked by wild beasts, a total of three had been lost out of less than 100 people.

This ratio is a bit high!

I wonder how the situation is over at Linshui Village? When he just got off the boat, Xia Duo did not ask for the detailed situation, though Laidun had already handed him some records of the Territory, but he had not had time to look at them yet.

"Hunter, the progress of this river needs to be accelerated. I have brought 50 people for you this time, and there will be more later. I will arrange a Clerk for you; you must do a good job of overall planning and ensure the river channel is opened in the shortest possible time."

"Yes, Lord,"

Watching Hunter pat his chest with a loud thud, Xia Duo nodded with satisfaction. In fact, he did not know much about Hunter; he only knew from Sain that Hunter was a fairly capable manager.

In any case, Xia Duo has been in the Territory during this time, and as long as he discovers something wrong, he can correct it at any time.

Next, Xia Duo gave some more details, and Hunter nodded in agreement from time to time. While the two were talking, the fully armed Mai Er Si brought two subordinates over.

"Lord Xia Duo!"

It is estimated that he received the news. Xia Duo let Hunter leave first, then asked Mai Er Si: "I heard the guard squad lost two people, what is the situation?"

Normally, if it is just defense, there shouldn't be such a heavy loss. Two dead out of twenty is a ten percent mortality rate, and it hasn't even been a few days yet. If this continues, there will be no one left later.

Upon hearing this, Mai Er Si's expression turned somewhat gloomy, "Lord, they were two new recruits. While clearing out a den of wild wolves, they were too impatient and had their necks bitten by the wolves. By the time they were sent to Lord Laidun, it was already too late."

Xia Duo was silent, feeling the fragility of life, and also feeling that the human living environment is truly harsh! Every inch of land is truly being claimed from Nature with lives!

Xia Duo did not offer any comfort; those words were not suitable for him to say, and life and death are the duty of these soldiers. After thinking for a moment, he said: "Select two quick-witted, slightly younger soldiers and send them to Linshui Village. I will arrange for people to provide them with training."

Xia Duo is preparing to equip the soldiers with Magic Scrolls. He brought Aiwa along this time specifically to train his subordinates to learn how to use Magic Items.

His requirements are not high; he does not need them to be able to guide a Fireball like a Spellcaster, only to be able to use instantly triggered Illusion Sound Spells and buffing spells.

For them, auxiliary Magic might be more suitable.

However, Xia Duo is also looking forward to the scene where his subordinates are equipped with a full set of Magic Equipment, armed to the teeth, and fighting against Spellcasters. He even thought of a name for this troop.

Borrowing the name of a unit from a game, it shall be called—Spell Breaker.

From this name alone, one can see Xia Duo's expectations for them, and all of this must start from a simple training session now.

Next, Xia Duo chatted with Mai Er Si for a few more words, mainly about the situation where he needs to cooperate with the upcoming river-digging work. As more river-digging workers arrive later, there will also be more soldiers, and these soldiers will be handed over to Mai Er Si.

……

Returning to Linshui Village, Priest Laidun had already finished registering the new workers brought this time and was arranging for them to build temporary shacks themselves. There are plenty of materials in the forest, not to mention that Daxia Territory has been developing for such a long time that an unknown amount of timber has already been accumulated.

Considering that the river is being dug to the north, which will produce a large amount of earthwork and timber, Xia Duo is already considering building a brick kiln. Savile Territory has a brick kiln, and he has seen the bricks produced; they are far less sturdy than stone, and basically, an adult can break them.

These bricks are generally used by small villages in Savile Territory to build low walls; if they are too high, the bottom cannot bear the weight. They build low walls and then use wooden boards and such to build houses.

Real perimeter walls are still made of stone.

Xia Duo must have fantasized about his own transmigration before he transmigrated, but to actually prepare for transmigration, that would be truly insane!

As for brick kilns, Xia Duo has never understood them in detail; he probably only knows that it is like making bread, wetting the soil to make it into blocks, and then burning it, and that is all there is to it.

As for the specific details, he knows nothing at all.

Fortunately, he does not need very high-quality bricks; he just wants to consume this earthwork and timber that is clearly somewhat excessive. Burning them into bricks, even if used for paving the ground, would be better than the current situation!