The return journey south took nearly three weeks.
Not because the roads were difficult.
But because the expedition was no longer an expedition.
It had become a migration.
When Kaelen first departed from the Village of Kaelrith, he had left with barely three hundred trained men:
soldiers scouts archers beast handlers supply wagons
Now?
Thousands followed behind him.
The roads of Kaelrith stretched endlessly beneath the movement of people, livestock, wagons, and supplies.
Long lines of buffalo carts carried children and tools while tribal hunters walked cautiously beside organized Kaelrith soldiers.
The six tribes that joined Kaelrith still looked overwhelmed by everything.
Especially the roads.
Even after weeks of traveling on them, many tribal people still stared at the stone roads with disbelief.
One older tribesman from the Frostfang tribe crouched near the road during a rest stop and touched the stone carefully.
“…It’s still smooth.”
A Kaelrith soldier laughed nearby.
“Of course it is.”
The old man shook his head slowly.
“In rain, our old paths become mud.”
He looked down the endless road stretching through the forest.
“But this…”
“…this is like walking on mountain stone.”
For the tribes, even roads felt miraculous.
Kaelen silently observed all of it while riding near the front.
The people who followed him now were no longer merely tribes joining another settlement.
They were witnessing civilization for the first time.
And that realization alone would bind many of them to Kaelrith permanently.
The closer they moved toward the Village of Kaelrith, the more crowded the roads became.
Trade wagons passed regularly now.
Farmers moved supplies between districts.
Scouts rode constantly across the growing territory.
The northern tribes stared openly at everything.
“How many people live here?”
“Why are there soldiers everywhere?”
“What are those metal poles?”
One tribal child pointed excitedly toward distant windmills near the farming regions.
His mother looked equally confused.
Kael Draven rode beside Kaelen while watching the reactions with amusement.
“They look like they entered another world.”
Kaelen answered calmly.
“In a way, they did.”
Because compared to primitive tribal life—
Kaelrith truly was another world.
Three days later— the outer farms of the village finally appeared in the distance.
And the reaction behind Kaelen became immediate.
The northern tribes slowed almost instinctively.
Rows upon rows of farmland stretched across the plains while stone irrigation systems carried water through carefully planned channels.
Large fenced livestock fields covered entire hillsides.
Buffalo.
Cattle.
Sheep.
Horses.
Thousands of animals.
Smoke rose from distant industrial districts while windmills turned steadily beneath the afternoon sky.
Then finally— they saw the walls.
The Village of Kaelrith rose proudly in the distance beneath the sunlight.
Massive stone walls surrounded the expanding city while watchtowers overlooked the plains.
Roads connected directly into enormous gates guarded by armored soldiers carrying steel spears.
The northern tribes stopped completely.
Many simply stared.
One woman whispered softly,
“…How can this exist?”
The Frostfang chief stood near the front of the caravan, silent.
Even he looked shaken now.
Because hearing about Kaelrith and seeing it were completely different things.
Kaelen noticed it all calmly.
Good.
The more awe they felt— the smoother integration would become.
Trumpets suddenly echoed from the walls.
The guards had spotted them.
Within moments, movement exploded across the village.
People rushed toward the walls.
Workers stopped entirely. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
Even merchants abandoned market stalls to look toward the northern road.
Because rumors spread quickly.
Lord Kaelen had returned.
And he had not returned alone.
At the main gates, chaos erupted completely.
Mira Stoneveil stood frozen atop the wall while staring at the endless caravan approaching from the north.
Behind her, Lucian adjusted his glasses repeatedly like he doubted his own vision.
“…How many people is that?”
One guard answered weakly,
“…Thousands.”
Mira looked horrified.
“What do you mean thousands?!”
The gates slowly opened.
Kaelen rode through first beneath the banners of Kaelrith while soldiers lined both sides of the road immediately.
The people erupted into cheers.
“LORD KAELEN!”
“KAELRITH!”
“THEY’RE BACK!”
Children ran beside the roads excitedly while citizens stared openly at the enormous migration entering behind the soldiers.
Then Mira finally reached Kaelen near the inner district.
She looked past him toward the endless lines of people still entering the city.
Her eye twitched slightly.
“…Kaelen.”
He calmly dismounted his horse.
“Yes?”
“How many people did you bring back?”
Kaelen glanced behind him casually.
“A little over four thousand.”
Silence.
Complete silence.
Mira stared at him like she wanted to throw a stone at his face.
“FOUR THOUSAND?!”
Nearby soldiers immediately pretended not to hear anything.
Kaelen remained completely calm.
“Approximately four thousand two hundred.”
Mira pointed violently toward the caravan.
“WHERE AM I SUPPOSED TO PUT THEM?!”
Kaelen walked past her.
“You’ll figure it out.”
Mira looked moments away from committing murder.
Lucian, meanwhile, stared at the migration with a completely different expression.
Concern.
Not fear.
Calculation.
He quickly approached Kaelen.
“My lord… our food reserves can support this, but housing becomes a serious issue.”
Kaelen nodded once.
“We’ll expand districts immediately.”
Lucian lowered his voice slightly.
“And laws.”
Kaelen looked toward him.
“The new tribes have different customs.”
“Integration may create conflict.”
Kaelen’s eyes sharpened slightly.
“Then we adapt faster.”
Lucian slowly nodded.
That answer alone reminded him why Kaelen ruled while others followed.
No hesitation.
No uncertainty.
Only decisions.
The following days became absolute chaos.
Controlled chaos.
But chaos nonetheless.
Every district of the village became overwhelmed.
New temporary housing areas were constructed rapidly near the outer walls while Mira nearly worked herself to death organizing expansion plans.
New farms had to be marked.
Water distribution increased.
Food storage reorganized.
Military patrols expanded.
Yet despite the stress— the people of Kaelrith were excited.
Because for the first time, they truly realized something.
Kaelrith was growing beyond a village.
The newcomers themselves struggled even more.
The northern tribes stared at everything endlessly.
The market district especially shocked them.
Rows of organized shops.
Coin exchanges.
Steel tools. Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
Large bakeries.
Medicine halls.
Some tribesmen simply stood in the streets watching workers build stone structures for hours.
Children became fascinated by copper coins immediately.
Meanwhile, the Frostfang chief walked beside Kaelen through the city one evening in complete silence.
Finally, the old man spoke quietly.
“…I thought you exaggerated.”
Kaelen glanced toward him.
“I rarely exaggerate.”
The chief stared toward the growing city.
“This place…”
“…it feels impossible.”
Kaelen looked toward the roads, markets, and towers surrounding them.
“No.”
His voice remained calm.
“It feels like the future.”
The old chief slowly nodded.
Perhaps for the first time in his life— he believed it.
Several days later, the council gathered once more.
This time the atmosphere felt heavier.
Not from danger.
From scale.
The numbers themselves were becoming absurd.
Lucian spread reports across the large table.
“Our current estimated population is now over nineteen thousand.”
Even hearing it aloud felt surreal.
Nineteen thousand.
From one starving orphan boy…
to nearly twenty thousand people under Kaelen’s rule.
Mira rubbed her exhausted face.
“We need another residential district immediately.”
“Road expansion too,” Borin added.
“Food storage,” Tomas growled.
“More patrol routes,” Darian said quietly.
The room continued discussing problems rapidly.
Yet despite the stress—
Kaelen noticed something important.
Nobody doubted growth anymore.
Nobody questioned whether Kaelrith would survive.
The only question now was:
how large it would become.
Then suddenly— a familiar sound echoed inside Kaelen’s mind.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Settlement Rank Advanced
Village of Kaelrith →
Grand Village of Kaelrith
Population Requirement Achieved
New Reward Available
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Kaelen’s eyes narrowed slightly.
The others noticed immediately.
Lucian tilted his head.
“My lord?”
Kaelen slowly leaned back in his chair.
“…Interesting.”
Mira frowned.
“What is?”
Kaelen looked toward the massive city outside the council hall windows.
The roads were crowded.
Smoke rose endlessly from industry.
Children played through expanding streets.
And thousands of new lives had just entered Kaelrith.
Slowly—
Kaelen smiled.
“It seems…”
“…Kaelrith has grown once again.”
Far beneath the growing civilization— deep within the hidden systems of the continent— something ancient continued watching silently.
Author’s Note:
Thank you all for reading and supporting my stories!
• Chapter 24 —
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Thank you everyone!