Chapter 96: The Opportunity to Rule the Northmen

Now, Alayen, just as he had done when he was an attendant, led the horse and followed behind Allen, incessantly recounting the events that had occurred during this period, from the surrounding environment to the reclaimed fields, from the construction of the camp to his understanding of the Northmen.

In his speech, the young man would, from time to time, put in a good word for those Northmen employed by Allen, saying things like "they have been working steadily and diligently," or "they are very honest and simple," revealing in his words that he had a very favorable impression of the people from these three villages.

"Mm, good."

Allen, listening from the side, nodded with a calm expression, responding to his subordinate's chatter with brief words, but in his heart, he was contemplating the thoughts Alayen wanted to express.

You must know, as a subordinate, for Alayen to spare no effort in speaking well of the Northmen in front of Allen, the meaning represented within was truly too obvious; if one were to translate it, the general meaning would be.

"My lord, could you, for the sake of the many years I have served you, take better care of these Northmen?"

Allen knew that Alayen, having once been a lord's heir, had received a complete aristocratic education, so the meaning represented in these words was something this young man was certainly aware of.

If Alayen were not an aristocrat, but merely a commoner of ordinary birth, Allen would not have thought much of it, because in Calradia, ordinary commoners do not express themselves so subtly.

If it were Cress, she would say directly: "I like it, I want it," instead of praising how good this thing is on the side, and how beautiful she would look wearing it.

If it were more ordinary commoners, facing a leader like Allen, they might not even dare to open their mouths to state their requests.

Only those aristocrats would be keen on these circuitous matters, expressing their thoughts in veiled words.

If that were not the case, then the only possibility would be that Alayen had gone foolish in the span of a month, not knowing what he was saying.

Allen would not think Alayen was foolish; this was a very clever young man, and he possessed an extremely strong sense of self-awareness, knowing what he wanted and knowing what he was doing.

Of course, Allen would not hold any opinions about Alayen because of this small matter; it was just human nature, after all. These subordinates following by his side were not cold NPCs; they had their own likes and dislikes, their own codes of conduct, and their own purposes in doing things.

Could it be that because of this small matter, Allen should think Alayen was unfaithful to him?

Allen knew profoundly that making others absolutely loyal to oneself was an act that violated human nature and was also an impossible hypothesis; even with the help of the Simulator, he did not think he could achieve this point.

He was just a bit curious; it had only been a month and a half, so what exactly had happened that was worth Alayen showing such an attitude in front of him for the sake of these Northmen?

Allen's confusion did not last long, because he saw Caroline waiting at the entrance of the camp.

This girl, who in Allen's impression was slightly shrewd and decisive in her actions, actually showed a trace of embarrassment after seeing Allen, which was not very obvious, but was captured by Allen.

Allen, seeing Caroline's maidenly demeanor, frowned, thinking to himself, "What is this situation? Could it be that she has fallen for me? That's impossible!

"

Afterwards, he immediately reacted, turned his head to look at Alayen, and then saw a similarly embarrassed face, and an extremely absurd thought suddenly popped into his mind.

"Holy crap!

It's only been a month and a half, less than forty-five days, how did you two manage it? Damn it!

Alayen, aren't you only into noble young ladies?"

Allen, having figured everything out, felt a trace of a smile appear on his face amidst his surprise; he nodded at Caroline in front of him, and then walked into the tent.

Allen would not point this matter out; if Alayen could successfully marry Caroline, then it would also be a good thing for Allen. At that time, whether from a legal perspective or a relationship of vassalage, Allen would obtain basic control over Fir Village.

Unless Alayen, who had followed Allen for seven or eight years, wanted to stand on his own, but the possibility of such a thing happening was too low; Allen had not considered this problem.

Moreover, Allen always felt that the matter was a bit suspicious; the time was indeed too short. Although this young man Alayen was very handsome, his combat power was also very strong under Allen's cultivation, and there was a touch of aristocratic temperament in his every gesture.

Hmm? Wait, if you put it that way, this matter doesn't seem to be wrong either.

Forget it, let nature take its course; this kind of thing cannot be rushed, it must be done slowly, and it's useless for Allen to be anxious; it depends on the intentions of Alayen and Caroline.

Allen, having figured it out, no longer dwelled on this matter, but his gaze kept wandering between Alayen and Caroline, making these two young people more and more embarrassed; Allen, watching their reactions, felt the smile on his face grow increasingly bright.

Soon, Tier and Stephen, who knew Allen had arrived, also hurried back, and then they reported in detail the progress of the project and the expenses of the recent period.

Tier told Allen that according to the current progress, it should only take half a year to open up Mirkwood Road, and as a professional engineer, Tier swore that he would definitely build this road to be smooth and straight, his words revealing a confidence derived from the superb craftsmanship of the Dwarves.

And Stephen told Allen that he had contacted several familiar settlement leaders and settled the matter of purchasing grain; since the quantity purchased was not large, the price of the grain did not change much.

After Mirkwood Road was opened, he would immediately arrange for the purchase of more grain.

At the same time, he also reported some other situations to Allen, such as the fact that there had been no major safety accidents among the Northmen during construction, and their enthusiasm for work was also very high.

These matters were not under Stephen's management, but he still paid extra attention to them, and, Allen could see, Stephen's belly, which looked as if he were pregnant, had become much smaller in this month and a half, his skin had also become darker, and the whole person looked more spirited.

Whether these changes in Stephen were out of concern for his family or a desire for power, Allen did not know; as long as Stephen could do his job well, Allen would not treat him unfairly.

In short, in the reports of the two, everything regarding Mirkwood Road was very smooth.

Allen had already seen a part of the things Tier and Stephen said on the way here; the Northmen's work attitude was indeed very enthusiastic, which showed that there were no major problems with the work of these two, and the progress of the project also matched Tier's statement.

Allen was very satisfied with this, and he did not hesitate to praise the three people who had put in the effort for it, and indicated that after the project was finished, there would definitely be corresponding rewards for them.

And after all this was said, the sky had gradually darkened; Allen thought about eating something and then resting, as he planned to leave here early tomorrow morning and return to Wilderness Town, and by the way, go to Bëor's garden to take a look; there were some things there that he needed to check the progress of.

Just at this moment, Gale walked in; this leader of Pine Village had asked for leave to leave Allen's team after arriving at the construction site, saying he wanted to visit his clansmen in Pine Village and his grandfather, Hank.

Allen allowed it; in his view, this was a matter of course.

The returning Gale brought a piece of news to Allen, which was that his grandfather wanted to meet with Allen, and under Allen's questioning, this burly man stammered and could not say anything.

It was obvious that Hank had not told his grandson his thoughts; Gale only said that his grandfather was already waiting outside the camp.

In this situation, what else could Allen say? He said with a somewhat stern tone: "Then what are you still waiting for? Quickly invite him in."

Whether out of respect for the elderly or out of Allen's desire to rule more Northmen, he needed to properly deal with this actual manager of Pine Village.

After all, in this difficult time when the darkness was gradually growing, Allen could only gather more strength to do more meaningful things, so as to deal with the invasion of the dark forces in the future.

Before long, a man wearing simple clothing and revealing solid muscles lifted the curtain of the tent and walked in; he had golden-white hair and beard, and there were age spots on his face covered with a thick beard.

This indicated that this man's age was already not young, at the very least he should be around sixty years old.

However, in reality, Hank was not sixty; he was actually only fifty-two years old, it was just that years of arduous life made him look a bit old.

Especially since Gale's parents died at the hands of the Great Spider active in Mirkwood during a certain hunt, he managed the many affairs of the village while painstakingly raising Gale; this kind of busy life further aggravated Hank's aged appearance.

It was only in these two years that he passed the power of the Village Chief to his grandson, and he only assisted from the side, so the pressure was slightly lighter.

Now, this experienced old man wanted to see with his own eyes what kind of temperament the lord of Wilderness Town, who hired his group of people to work, actually had.

During this period, Hank also learned some things indirectly from Tier, Stephen, and Alayen, but what was poured into his ears was all praise; words of praise such as benevolent, good at fighting, generous, honest, friendly, etc., frequently came out of the mouths of these few people, making this old man feel that their lord was a bit too good to be true.

So Hank wanted to have personal contact with this Dragon Slayer, and then decide what to do next.

Allen, sitting in the main seat, also understood that the old man who came in should be Gale's grandfather.

Allen felt that in this situation, he should maintain a certain majesty, so he did not stand up to welcome this old man, but out of politeness, he still could not help but take the initiative to greet the guest and state his identity.

"Good evening, Mr. Hank. I heard from Gale that you have something to discuss with me?"

Hank, who was over fifty, looked at the young man sitting in the main seat and felt full of surprise in his heart.

"This lord, who already rules over ten thousand people, is actually so young; he probably isn't even thirty yet, right? And he even killed that dragon, Smaug? It's hard to believe!"

No matter how surprised Hank was at this moment, he did not show it. Instead, his face was full of smiles as he respectfully said to Allen, "Good evening, Lord Allen. I never expected that someone as renowned in the North as you would be so young; it is truly astonishing. You see, I just learned of your arrival from that brat Gale, and I came specifically to thank you for giving us this work, allowing us to survive this difficult winter."

As he spoke, Hank bowed deeply to Allen. At this moment, to show his respect, Allen stood up and reached out both hands to help the old man up; after all, this was not his subordinate.

While helping him up, Allen said, "No need for such courtesy. As fellow Humans living in this great Wilderland, we should naturally help each other in these hard times. It is nothing; please, sit."

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As he spoke, Allen gestured for Hank to take a seat. He did not quite understand what this old man was up to; he did not believe the words about coming specifically to express gratitude.

If he really wanted to express gratitude, having Gale, the nominal Village Chief, come with a gift would have sufficed. There was no need for this old man to make the trip himself, nor was there any need to act so respectful.

Allen felt that this old man might have something to ask of him, and this feeling was very strong. He was waiting.

Hank made this trip personally for no other reason than for his grandson, Gale, and for the future of the hundreds of villagers in Pine Village.

This old man, who had struggled to survive his whole life in Mirkwood, knew deeply that having three villages become neighbors with Allen's forces could absolutely not be considered a good thing, even if this neighbor was also Human.

Because in future survival, both sides would certainly have frequent conflicts over resources and space, and they, with strength vastly inferior to Allen's, were the weaker side—and very weak at that.

According to the information brought back by Gale and Caroline, the soldiers of this Dragon Slayer alone were more numerous than their total population. Once a conflict arose, they would have no way to resist.

After learning this news, Hank was filled with worry, because as time passed, there were only two paths before the three villages: either submit or migrate.

He was not as naive as his grandson, nor as short-sighted as Baron, who would not consider future possibilities at all just because of work that could last a few years.

However, what comforted Hank was that the little girl Caroline had already made her own decision, choosing one of the other side's important subordinates as a partner. As long as things went smoothly, she and her people could have a good backer within this powerful force.

Moreover, Hank thought the two were quite a good match, so he had helped Caroline out from behind the scenes; otherwise, things would not have gone so smoothly.

As for the remaining two villages, Hank needed to consider them. After all, Baron was also the grandson of his old friend, someone he had watched grow up, and he couldn't just ignore them.

However, the first impression Allen gave Hank today made this old man feel much more at ease; this young lord did indeed act very friendly.

Hank, who was chatting with Allen, suddenly felt a bit of anticipation. If this young man was truly as good as Stephen and Alayen said, then he would not mind handing over those thousand-plus people to Allen's rule.

It was just that he still had a few years left to live, and he wanted to continue observing. After all, Allen had not shown an attitude of wanting to accept them, and bringing up this matter rashly might lead to some unnecessary problems.

Allen, who was chatting with Hank, even if he were smarter and had read more novels, could not completely guess what this old man before him was thinking. If he knew Hank had the idea of defecting to him, he would certainly raise both hands to express a warm welcome immediately.

Allen had always accepted Humans who came to defect to him, but he had never issued a call for other Human settlements to submit to him. He felt that loyalty obtained by forcing others was unstable, or rather, far less stable than those who came of their own volition.

He believed that as long as his reputation thoroughly resounded throughout Rhovanion, there would definitely be a steady stream of Humans coming to defect to him. As long as he did well enough, he wouldn't have to worry about those who came to defect to him abandoning him and migrating elsewhere.

Precisely because of this mindset of Allen's, his soldiers and his people had an extremely high level of recognition for him; in other words, at the very least, it was barely enough to be called loyal.

The two people, each with their own thoughts, chatted continuously, from the environment around Mirkwood to the progress of the projects, from daily life to future plans. In their chat, the two also constantly probed and revealed their own intentions.

Time passed quickly, and dinner was brought out under the arrangement of Alayen and Caroline. The food available in the military camp was very simple: a piece of grilled fish, a piece of unknown grilled meat, and a large piece of bread.

Allen liked good food, but he was not picky. At the same time, he warmly invited Hank to stay and dine together, and Hank gratefully stayed. At the same time, he had Gale take out a bottle of unknown fruit wine, stood up, and poured a glass for Allen and himself.

To show his gratitude and respect, Hank raised his glass and drank first. Subsequently, Allen also downed the clear and transparent fruit wine in his glass in one gulp. A sweet and sour taste spread in his mouth, and as the wine slid into his stomach, the aftertaste had a bit of an alcoholic flavor.

As more and more wine bottles appeared on the table, the atmosphere of the dinner gradually became lively, and the things Allen and Hank talked about became more and more numerous.

In such a conversation, Hank always felt that Allen did not seem like a young man. The figure of the Numenoreans flashed faintly in his heart; after all, the Northern Men once had a covenant with Gondor that lasted for hundreds of years, and some information would always be passed down.

And Allen finally heard a truly useful sentence from Hank's mouth.

"Lord Allen, I heard from Gale that you rule over vast lands, but do not have enough population to cultivate them. It seems you are currently recruiting people to open up more farms, is that so?"

To Allen, this sentence sounded like his old classmate asking him in the past, "Is your company hiring? Do you think I'm suitable?"

"Yes, ever since the battle at the Lonely Mountain was finished, the surroundings of Wilderness Town have become much safer. I do indeed have a large labor shortage now to cultivate land and complete some other work. You see, aren't I employing you now?"

Allen's words actually already expressed the intention of wanting to recruit the Northmen, but Hank did not continue along Allen's words.

He changed the subject, raised his glass to toast Allen again, and said:

"Yes, thank you again for helping us survive this winter."

Allen was stunned, then laughed, tilted his head back to drink the fruit wine in his glass, and said, "No need to be so polite. Helping each other between friends is what should be done."

"Yes, yes," in the smile, the wrinkles on Hank's face deepened.