The largest Burrowfang emerged from the ground with a furious shriek, its armored claws tearing through the soil beneath the damaged cottage.
Before it could retreat underground, Ria extended her hand.
Violet flames spread across the creature’s legs, forcing it to recoil. Ashveil immediately seized the opportunity and charged forward with his Bastion Shield raised.
The monster struck his shield with enough force to numb his arm, but he managed to hold his ground. As its claws slid away, he drove his Steel Longsword into the exposed joint beneath its head.
The Burrowfang collapsed with a final screech.
With their largest companion dead, the remaining creatures began retreating toward the fields. Several disappeared into their tunnels, while others were intercepted by the spearmen waiting near the cottages.
"Don’t chase them!" Ashveil shouted. "Protect the villagers!"
The soldiers maintained their formation as the surviving Burrowfangs withdrew. Although Ashveil wanted to eliminate every last one, pursuing creatures capable of moving underground would only expose his men to unnecessary danger.
The fighting gradually subsided.
Ria surveyed the surrounding fields before confirming that the remaining monsters had retreated beyond the settlement.
Only then did Ashveil lower his sword.
They had survived.
Once the villagers were safely outside, Seraphina released her protective barrier. Without the divine magic holding it together, one side of the damaged cottage finally collapsed.
By sunrise, the villagers had begun assessing the destruction. The damage was considerably worse than Ashveil had expected.
One cottage had partially collapsed, several sections of farmland had been torn apart, and the ground around the settlement was riddled with tunnels.
Fortunately, no one had died.
Four spearmen had suffered injuries during the fighting, while two villagers had been hurt while escaping the damaged cottage.
Despite exhausting much of her magical energy maintaining the barrier, Seraphina had managed to stabilize the worst injuries after a short rest.
She couldn’t fully heal everyone immediately, but none of the wounded appeared to be in immediate danger.
Ashveil was inspecting the farmland when a familiar notification appeared.
[Territory Defense Successful!]
[Hostile Creatures Eliminated: Burrowfang × 18]
[Rewards: Gold Coins × 120, Source Stones × 2, Tier 1 Troop Recruitment Voucher × 1]
The rewards were considerable.
With the additional Source Stones, his reserves had increased to eleven. He had also obtained another recruitment voucher, although Ashen Hollow still lacked the food supply necessary to support another ten soldiers.
For now, the voucher would remain unused.
Ashveil dismissed the notification and turned his attention back to the damaged fields.
Martha was already inspecting the surviving crops, carefully checking how much of the farmland could still be salvaged.
"How bad is it?" Ashveil asked.
"Some of the crops are ruined, my Lord. But most of the wheat should survive," she replied.
Ashveil nodded. At least their food supply hadn’t been completely destroyed.
The Burrowfangs had demonstrated that ordinary barricades wouldn’t be enough to protect the territory.
If another group tunneled beneath the settlement, they could attack the villagers without ever approaching its entrances.
He needed a more permanent solution.
"Rowan, can we reinforce the ground around the cottages?"
Rowan examined one of the tunnels.
"We could dig deep trenches around the cottages and reinforce them with tightly packed stone. It wouldn’t stop every burrowing monster, but it should make shallow tunnels more difficult to approach through and might force the creatures to surface farther away."
"Then prioritize that. I don’t want another monster appearing beneath someone’s bed."
Rowan nodded, but his expression remained troubled.
"There’s one problem, my Lord."
"What is it?"
"We don’t have enough stone."
Ashveil frowned.
The territory possessed plenty of timber, and the northern mine provided iron ore, but neither resource could replace the large quantities of stone needed for proper foundations and defensive trenches.
Although the surrounding hills contained plenty of rock, most of it was unsuitable for the sturdy foundations Ashveil had in mind.
Without proper quarrying tools and experienced workers, cutting and transporting enough usable stone would take far longer than he could afford.
Worse, the villagers were already struggling to keep up with farming, construction, and equipment production.
Ashveil had finally discovered another weakness in his territory’s development.
He had resources, but not necessarily the ones he needed.
Later that morning, Ashveil visited the holding enclosure.
The six captured kobolds were still confined inside, with the Forgotten Kobold standing guard nearby.
One of the prisoners had recently recovered from exhaustion after Ashveil ordered its food portions to be separated from those of the others.
Seraphina happened to be passing the enclosure when Ashveil arrived.
"You’re still keeping them alive?" she asked.
Ashveil glanced at her.
"Shouldn’t I?"
"They attacked your people."
"And we defeated them."
"That doesn’t mean they won’t attack again."
"Which is why they’re prisoners."
Seraphina fell silent.
Ashveil inspected the enclosure before continuing.
"I haven’t decided what to do with them yet. Killing them now won’t recover the food we’ve already spent keeping them alive."
"So you’re preserving them because they might be useful?"
"Partly."
Seraphina frowned.
"Partly?"
Ashveil looked toward the weakened kobold resting near the enclosure’s corner.
"They’ve already surrendered. I’m not going to execute helpless prisoners just because feeding them is inconvenient."
The answer surprised her.
She had expected him to justify his decision through profit or military necessity. Instead, he had drawn a distinction between enemies who were still fighting and those who had already been defeated.
"But they’re monsters," she said.
"So is the one guarding them."
Seraphina glanced toward the Forgotten Kobold.
"That’s different. You’ve bound that creature to your service."
"Then perhaps the difference isn’t quite as simple as you think."
Ashveil left her with those words and returned to the construction area.
Seraphina remained beside the enclosure.
She still believed that creatures associated with the Forgotten Dominion were dangerous, and nothing Ashveil said could erase her devotion to the Four Gods.
However, she had begun noticing that his actions didn’t always match the wickedness she had expected from him.
He had protected his villagers, treated her with reasonable courtesy, and now refused to kill prisoners who could no longer resist.
None of that changed the nature of his relationship with Ria.
Nevertheless, Seraphina was beginning to suspect that judging him solely by that relationship might be a mistake.
By the following afternoon, Rowan had made an unexpected discovery.
While dismantling the damaged cottage, the villagers had been using pieces of Burrowfang shell to reinforce a temporary support.
The material had proven surprisingly difficult to break.
"My Lord, take a look at this."
Rowan presented a curved section of dark carapace.
"We tried cutting it apart for disposal, but ordinary tools barely scratched it. One of the villagers suggested using the smaller pieces to reinforce our shields."
Ashveil accepted the shell and examined its surface.
Despite having been struck repeatedly during the battle, the material remained remarkably sturdy.
"Can you work with it?"
"Some parts, yes. The thinner sections can be shaped with enough effort. We might be able to make protective plates without using much iron."
That immediately caught Ashveil’s interest.
Iron was valuable, and their smelting operations were still limited. If the villagers could manufacture equipment using materials recovered from monsters, they could conserve their metal supplies for more important purposes.
"Try making a shield," he instructed. "If it works, see what else you can produce."
Rowan agreed and returned to the workshop.
Two days later, he brought Ashveil the finished product.
It was a wooden round shield reinforced with overlapping carapace plates. Its appearance was crude, but the hardened shell provided considerably better protection than ordinary timber.
Ashveil tested it with several controlled strikes from his Steel Longsword.
The shield held.
"Not bad."
Rowan smiled proudly.
"We’ve already started another seven. If everything goes well, we’ll have eight finished shields before long."
Ashveil nodded approvingly.
The discovery gave Ashen Hollow another potential product, but it didn’t solve the territory’s most immediate problem.
They still needed stone.
And they needed it quickly.
That evening, Ashveil spread the map recovered from the destroyed Grade B territory across his desk.
His attention settled on the Western Valley Lord’s Market.
According to the information accompanying the map, the market operated under the protection of a powerful Lord and allowed visitors to exchange resources, equipment, and other goods.
Ashveil had originally intended to visit once Ashen Hollow could manufacture enough equipment to sell.
However, the Burrowfang attack had changed his priorities.
If he could purchase stone or hire workers capable of gathering it, he might be able to strengthen the settlement before another attack occurred.
Selling equipment would help cover the expense.
He examined the market permit bearing the number 047.
The journey would take approximately one day, assuming the roads were passable.
Of course, the surrounding region was becoming increasingly dangerous. The Grimfang Riders he had encountered earlier were still unaccounted for, and the recent Burrowfang attack suggested that hostile creatures were growing more active.
Nevertheless, remaining in Ashen Hollow wouldn’t solve his problems.
Meanwhile, Martha had begun overseeing the first harvest of fast-growing wheat. Although the yield was still insufficient to feed the entire territory, it was a promising beginning.
The villagers had also completed the remaining shields, bringing their total to eight.
Ashveil reserved four for Ashen Hollow’s defenders, while the other four would be taken to the market and sold.
*
The following morning, Ashveil instructed Rowan to prepare several samples of their equipment.
The villagers selected four carapace-reinforced shields, a collection of iron tools, and several spare weapons. Everything was packed carefully to prevent damage during transportation.
Ashveil didn’t expect the goods to command particularly high prices, but they would provide an opportunity to gauge demand.
If the market proved profitable, he could eventually establish regular trade.
Before finalizing his preparations, Ashveil summoned Rowan and reviewed the territory’s responsibilities.
The villagers would continue repairing the damaged cottage and cultivating the farm. The spearmen would maintain their patrols, while the three soldiers undergoing archery training would practice whenever their duties allowed it.
The captured kobolds would remain under guard.
As for the defensive trenches, construction would begin as soon as sufficient stone became available.
With those arrangements settled, Ashveil turned toward Ria.
"We’re heading west tomorrow."
The succubus smiled.
"Another adventure, little lord?"
"Something like that. Hopefully, this one will be more profitable than dangerous."
"How disappointing."
Ashveil ignored her teasing and glanced toward Seraphina’s cottage.
The priestess had already demonstrated her willingness to protect Ashen Hollow’s residents during the Burrowfang attack. Although she remained distrustful of Ria, her healing abilities would be valuable during the journey.
With that in mind, Ashveil visited Seraphina before nightfall.
"I’ll need you to accompany us to the Western Valley Lord’s Market tomorrow."
Seraphina frowned. "And I assume that succubus will be accompanying us as well?"
"Of course."
Her expression darkened, but she offered no further protest.
"Very well, my Lord."
After settling the matter, Ashveil returned to the Lord’s Hall and examined the map one final time.
Ashen Hollow had survived another crisis, but its weaknesses were becoming increasingly apparent.
The territory needed stronger defenses, additional resources, and a dependable source of income.
The Western Valley Lord’s Market might provide all three.
And with the Monster Tide approaching, Ashveil had little time to find another solution.