Chapter 43: orange-tier blood chrysalis

And at the very heart of the settlement, the loose, smoky dirt pits of the first night were entirely gone. In their place sat magnificent, circular hearths crafted from flat, interlocking granite slabs that trapped and radiated a deep amber heat into the cooling mountain air.

Wide, halved pine logs were arranged in perfect concentric rings around the stones, creating a sturdy, communal gathering place. This was the area Bramm had designated to become the main hall, where they would gather and feast on joyous occasions.

The whole place had made a qualitative leap in order and sturdiness. With the rise of the new buildings, whenever the builders had to leave for the city, he would summon a few more. As of today, he finally has 25 summoned warriors under his command.

Each of Bramm’s five commanders—Adara, Keren, Mestin, Resven, and Telarin—took command of five Light Red summons. With their new responsibilities, the warriors organized into distinct teams, each led by one commander.

Mestin led a team of warriors with war hammers and great axes, functioning as the house’s strike force. Telarin commanded the defensive group—still capable attackers, but focused on protection. Keren oversaw a team specializing in agility and speed, forming the core of future scouts and spies. Resven and Adara headed balanced teams combining offensive and defensive skills.

Bramm had made sure that whoever joined Keren’s team should be lean and wiry, with immense agility. They were the core of Bramm’s future scouts and spies. Resven and Adara’s group, on the other hand, had taken a more balanced approach.

Mainly because Bramm had given Mestin priority on the men with higher attack damage, basically, men with more agility went to Keren, and the more defensive ones went to Telarin. Which, in essence, led whoever remained to go towards the two of them.

Bramm was pleased with the distribution, particularly with Resven’s balanced team, which was tasked with guarding cargo on city trips. Adara’s similarly balanced group was ready to adapt as needed.

Adara, on the other hand, had an uncanny ability for command. He had seen it even more in the last two weeks. The Primal beasts on the outskirts had become even more numerous. The whole group had to fight the beasts.

Adara was the one who took command of the battle, directing the warriors to fight. ’She was a born commander.’ That is what Resven had told him after a particularly grueling battle in which they were outnumbered.

However, thanks to her commanding abilities, there were only some serious injuries and no deaths, which gladdened Bramm even more. They had fought a massive number of beasts, which in turn allowed the group to grow stronger.

They gained quite a bit of gold thanks to the materials as well, and overall, the last two weeks could be called a productive success.

Adara and the other four men had all advanced to the max level of Dark Red. The other 30 summoned warriors had also gained significant experience and advanced to True Red. Some were even closing in on advancing to Dark Red.

Over 80 corpses, more than 30,000 silver talons, and a whopping 3850 renown gained.

That was the extent of the spoils they had. These enabled them to further supply the builders with the materials they needed. The supplies also helped Lady Elspeth, who had, of course, been quite busy treating his men, and to better protect them from harm.

There were, however, a few dangerous situations they had almost been a part of.

One day after a hunting party, Keren reported that orange-tier beasts were fighting closer to them, and over the last week, especially, more of them had been wandering through the forest.

Due to both Adara and Mestin not fulfilling the requirements to advance, Bramm did not dare to let them face the beasts in battle.

That being said, Bramm was close to gaining his first Orange-tier warrior. The prerequisite for them advancing was, first off, being at the peak of Dark Red, which was the most obvious one; secondly, they needed a chrysalis or vitre source of the orange tier to absorb.

Vitre sources were the blood of primals. Absorbing the blood allows the remnant energy within it to boost the warrior’s strength. In doing so, he would be able to break the deadlock blocking them from advancing. There was, however, a degree of danger. The warrior would need to face off against the remnant will of the beast. If it can be endured or slain, the warrior would advance. If not, only eternal sleep waits for them.

The reason why they did not advance, however, was that... it was extremely expensive. One orange-tier blood chrysalis was worth over 1200 Gilded Gold coins, equivalent to 12,000 silver talons.

He had been buying supplies for other things when he found out about the price, so he had to earn more money before he could buy one.

Resven and his companions had been in the city for two days and should be returning soon. This visit, they were mainly responsible for buying a few more supplies: grain, bread, mead, salt, and other things. He was also tasked with buying a few more ponies. That way, they could get ready to basically form a merchant caravan.

And of course, lastly... they were tasked with buying the orange-tier primal blood.

Bramm stood on his porch overlooking the area, the neatly built cabin in the distance, on either side of the ’main road’, a few campfires already lit with smoke rising in the dwindling daylight.

Off to his right, the sounds of wood clashing, thumping against one another, rang out loudly. A chorus of voices continued to shout as the unmistakable melodic voice of Adara rang out in command.

The area to his left was where the storage and warehouse were housed, as well as Elspeth’s healer’s quarters, which were quite a deal bigger than the other cabins and buildings. From here, Bramm could see Torin standing outside the doors, his hand ever resting on the pommels of his sword.