Kingdom of the Weak

19. Ways To Support

For now, though, the most they could do was offer some light if the battle took place at night. If it happened in the day time, the most they could offer was some fire (and smoke) support. Remian was not about to ask Carrie or Buff to fight on the side of Frontier Town in the event of a Beast Wave. He’d worry about them getting attacked by the human defenders or worse, joining the other side.

Why did the Wilds attack Frontier Town anyway? There had to be a reason for Beast Waves and the like.

Ten years ago, there had been three towns on the Frontier, but one day there was an event referred to as a ‘Beast Tide’, a large scale version of the Beast Wave. As a result… only Frontier Town was left. There were many dead, and many more fled the Frontier, never to return. Many of the Circling Ravens were babies who were orphaned at that time.

If a Beast Tide rose again, the way it was now, Frontier Town would be finished. Already it could barely hang on against a Beast Wave. The gangs weren’t going to be much help. The next wave would mainly be up to the Iron Legion. Remian wanted to provide whatever support he could.

If the worst happened, if the Beast Wave broke through the defenses… the first thing place they’d destroy would be the town center. That included the church, the tool shop, and the inn. Sweeping straight onward, they’d hit the north side and that would be the end of the Circling Ravens. Rose wouldn’t last much longer, but she might just last longer than the east side. Remian wasn’t too confident that the Secret Waves Gang would be able to hold off a Beast Wave either. If it turned out to be a strong wave, even the Blood Claw might get wiped out, leaving Burning Steel the sole survivors in the ruins.

That likely outcome was probably why they, who had the most assets to lose and the most strength to offer, were not all that eager to help defend the town. The reverse was also true; the Circling Ravens, who had the least assets, were also the most likely to lose out if the worst happened and therefore the most willing to aid the defense of the town.

Actually, before even them, the church was the definite goner if the defenses were overrun. Thus Kairos and Rhema went all-out to help however they could. Even the Iron Legion could move their camp to the north desert edge where they were supposed to build the road. But the church couldn’t just pack up and move.

As to why Markus hadn’t moved the camp… it was because he intended to protect the town. Otherwise, what was the road even for? In order for his objective to have meaning, there had to be a place the road would lead to.

Very soon, his determination would be tested. From what Mandy said, Beast Waves would hit the town every other week. It had already been two weeks since the last Beast Wave. In other words, the next Wave was going to hit town any day now.

There were many things on the map which intrigued Remian, many places and resources that he itched to set missions for. There were ancient ruins and caves and unexplored areas, there were odd anomalies that Joshu hadn’t dared to investigate, and there were resources like Amaranth trees, metal ore deposits, sulfur and clay deposits, crystal lodes, precious medicinal herbs…

But there was no time for that. In view of the imminent Beast Wave, Remian had to prioritize.

Obviously, the highest priority went to Recruitment. The real Frontiersmen, the hunters and explorers, were his best bet. They were not with the gangs, they were brave, and they were capable; exactly the kind of people he needed. Whether it was for recon, or to gather resources at dangerous places, or to help protect the town, they needed more of such people.

The second highest would be nearby resources. Interestingly enough, the nearest special resources to town marked on Joshu’s map were at the Secret Chasm River, something about the fish. Considering the chasm, however, getting to them would be difficult to say the least. They would need to travel at least ten kilometers to the south to reach a point where the cliffs were less steep and they could climb down to the river. Tier 2 Wilds were all over that area.

Fish aside, they needed resources they could sell for good money, building materials, and materials for magic ink. While finding Glass Dandelion roots nearby was a Tier 1 mission, Kairos had had to buy Rainbow Jellyfish fluid from the Secret Waves Gang and hire a Blood Claw Slayer to collect Purple Beating Heart Wood sap last time. This difficulty in getting ingredients put a severe limit on Remian’s Inscribing, which meant less scrolls to sell and less they could use in any upcoming battles.

On top of that, Tier 2 magic ink was even harder to make. Other than Tier 2 Bone Powder, Glass Dandelions and Rainbow Jellyfish ink, they also had to collect Blue Ringed Mushrooms that grew on top of trees (Vigil’s specialty) and Blood Moss (at the mangrove far south-east of town where the forest met the river). The Blood Moss alone counted as a Tier 3 mission. Because of the price Kairos had to pay the gang Slayers for the harder materials, the Guild was only able to acquire a little ink for the Tier 2 bone marrow they’d been giving Kairos all this time. Already that ink had run out.

Now they had Tier 3 bones, and Remian was worried that the ingredients for Tier 3 magic ink was going to be even tougher to get.

What else could they gather that could help improve their combat strength? Coal and iron ore? They could sell those to Burning Steel, but it was easier and more profitable to hunt Wilds and sell the skins and meat. Soft Blood Rabbit fur fetched a good price. Remian was actually saving up the furs for when the airship arrived rather than sell them to the Burning Steel. He believed the airship would offer better prices. The airship should next stop by in two days. Charlie would arrive then, and it would be time to settle scores with Rose.

But would the Beast Wave wait until the airship arrived? There was no telling when it would hit.

“Joshu? I have a priority mission for you.” Remian told him.

“What’s that?” Joshu asked, a bit warily.

“Archery classes.” Remian spelled out. “Teach everyone who wants to learn.”

“We’re going to need more bows and a lot more arrows.” Joshu didn’t even blink. “The Burning Steel forge sells Tier 1 short bows at 50 Lir each. A bundle of twenty cheap arrows would cost 10 Lir.”

Remian winced. “Fine. Let’s get three bows and five bundles of those.”

They really didn’t have much money at the moment. Remian could offer rewards for missions simply because they had created a new currency out of Guild points; the Fire Ball wand, the half-built Guild Hal, even the Cave had become prizes on offer for points exchange.

But when it came to Lir… well… “Max? Could I borrow some money?”

But Max refused. “No need. I’ll buy some Tier 3 meat for the Legion and have the reimburse me later. They could use some fresh meat for dinner.”

“And I’m gonna be cooking it anyway!” Tim threw in from the side.

***

Archery classes started the next morning. Mindy gave up by lunch time, Remian and Mandy likewise didn’t seem to do very well, but Jane and Kavitha loved it.

“Wouldn’t you rather be learning magic?” Remian asked.

Jane shook her head. “No way. It’s too hard.”

Remian’s face fell.

Tim and George had an altogether different idea.

“You want to join the Legion?” Remian blinked.

“For training, yes.” Tim nodded. “I would rather use swords and spears than bows or magic.”

“Same.” George raised a hand in support.

From then on, Remian’s magic class only had Mandy and Mindy for students.

***

Joshu came back with bad news that evening.

“Three nearby Hunters’ homes are destroyed.” He said grimly. “One more was abandoned in a hurry. Koma and Ruth were packing to leave when I found them. They’re at the Frontier Inn for now, but they’ll come by tomorrow.”

“Is that all?” Remian joked half-heartedly.

Unfortunately, Joshu shook his head. “Actually, no. There’s bad news too.”

Wait. That wasn’t ‘bad news’ enough?! “What is it?”

“The Beast Wave is coming.” Joshu told him. “They’ll be here tonight.”

That started a scramble. “Everybody! Priority Mission! We need to help the Legion prepare defenses!”

This time, the defense doubled down on sharpened stakes. Rows upon rows of them were stuck into the ground facing outward, then sharpened on the other end. Bear-traps were scattered around in plain sight. During the day, they would be easy to see and avoid, but chances were that a horde of maddened Wilds in a headlong charge at night might very well run right into them.

Once again, ten ‘fighters’ from every gang was sent to aid the defense force, including one Slayer from each gang. Kage arrived with nine adults from the Circling Ravens, all garbed in black and masked. Ye’Tuo arrived with the Cruel Rose gangsters, armored in hard leather. A tall man wearing blue Finned Frost Frog armor appeared with nine men in light scale armor from the Secret Wave gang. Nine muscular warriors in chainmail armor arrived from the Burning Steel Gang, led by a Slayer wielding an oversized two-handed Red Steel greatsword. As for the Blood Claw gang, they only showed up at the last minute, garbed in heavy furs, armed with spears and axes, and all their faces painted.

Tonight, the Iron Legion matched their numbers and more. Markus, Max and the ten trainees were equipped in standard Legion splint mail armor, all bearing heavy shields, sets of short spears, and short swords.

Joshu acted as an advanced scout. While he was away keeping an eye on the Wave to give them all early warning, the Adventurers Guild were represented only by Remian, Mandy and five children. Their strongest fighters, being Wilds themselves, were left behind to ‘guard the home base’.

Kairos and Rhema arrived as the sun was setting. They took one look around, spoke briefly with Markus, who was again coordinating the defense, and very quickly went over to join Remian.

“Are you sure you should be bringing children to the fight?” Kairos asked, frowning.

“They’re just casting Light Orb spells from scrolls. They can do that much.” Remian explained. They were learning other ways of combat as well, but none of them were anywhere near ready just yet. “They also have Fire Bolt and Smoke scrolls just in case.”

“Wow. In that case… do you even need me here?” Kairos wondered. “I may as well go back and sleep.”

“We can focus on healing and tending the wounded.” Rhema poked him. “Don’t run away!”

A horn sounded in the distance.

“There’s Joshu’s signal. The Beast Wave is almost here.” Remian straightened. “Everyone ready?”

“NO!” chorused eight voices. (Remian: Kairos and Rhema too?!)

“Here they come!” Markus shouted. “Archers, fire at will!”

The battle began.