THE WARLORD'S SURVIVAL HAREM SYSTEM

Chapter 7: Acknowledgement

As the weeks bled into one another, the grueling, day-and-night labor began to change the atmosphere within Ric’s immediate household. The cold barriers of suspicion and rank that had separated the four of them began to crumble under the weight of shared survival.

One evening, deep into the midnight hour, the four of them gathered in the central longhouse around a single, flickering lantern. Ric was cross-referencing Lady Yan’s supply logs with the blueprint designs for a new smokehouse, his eyes bloodshot with fatigue.

Kathleen quietly set a wooden cup of steaming, herbal tea beside his hand. "Drink," she said softly, her usual timidness replaced by a gentle, steady warmth. "If our leader collapses from exhaustion, the medicine won't save this village."

Ric looked up, offering a tired but genuine smile. "Thank you, Kathleen”

Kathleen blushed with a gentle smile, she has a gentle personality and her frail body has begun to take its required shape, the medicine Ric made for her has solved the problem that her body was suffering from and she knew this her New husband is more knowledgeable in medicine then her as profound respect for him began to deepen.

She nodded her head towards Ric as she went back to her seat!

Lady Yan paused her quill, looking between them. The sharp, calculating gaze she usually leveled at Ric had softened into profound respect. "The numbers don't lie, Ric. Your blueprint for the basic farming package for the Frost Resistant Seeds and Irrigation Plans has really saved a lot of lives. The crops have shown signs of germinating and the irritation plans were superb.” She paused slightly as she looked deeply at him before she continued, “I must confess, at first I began to doubt everything, not until it was implemented and actually worked. Your sanitation reforms have saved us at least thirty citizens who would have succumbed to the influx by now.”

She smiled slightly as she spoke slowly.

Ric was carried away and captivated by her smile, this was the first time seeing Lady Yan showing such a rare smile, he has to really admit, he still can't get used to all these beautiful ladies surrounding him.

Ric shook his head slowly when Morgana's voice interrupted his thoughts.

Morgana who was sitting in the corner as she sharpened her shortsword, let out a rare, low chuckle. "He's a brute with an inkwell, but his tactics hold. The militia actually held a phalanx formation today without tripping over their own spears." She looked at Ric, her eyes locked onto him with an intense, familial solidarity. "We make a decent council, conscript."

She knew Ric is very different from what he has seen and he possesses excellent combat skills and good leadership, she knew with time this militia will be a force to record!

Morgana thought of something as she suddenly said, “Why don't we just name the militia into something more terrifying!”

Morgana nodded her brows, she stood up from her wooden chair and held her sword with her left hand and used her right hand to make imaginary gestures as she continued speaking without even giving anybody room to argue, “Something like the Iron front vanguard, River Park legion, River Park defense corps. Hahaha yes!”

She laughed loudly as her voluptuous chest began to bounce slowly like they were trying to leap out from her dress. Ric eyes were fixated at her chest but Morgana noticed his gaze but wasn't disturbed like before.

“I can be the Ice Instructor or the Frost Drill Mistress!” Her eyes began to glow.

Everyone exchanged glances within themselves and laughed out loud.

In that quiet moment, surrounded by the howling winter wind, they no longer felt like a mismatched group of political outcasts and a weak conscript. They felt like a true, unified family, bound by blood, sweat, and a shared destiny.

But the peace was shattered before dawn.

A scouting patrol, led by one of Morgana's newly trained militia hunters, burst through the doors, dragging a heavy, tarp-covered supply wagon into the courtyard.

"Commander Richard!" the hunter gasped, catching his breath. "We intercepted this on the southern road. It was flying the banner of the regional governor's estate. The drivers fled when we ambushed them.”

“Take it slow, why is your voice loud that you almost scared the hell out of me

If I wasn't mentally strong I would have used my sword to hack you down before I realize it was one of my men”

Morgan spoke from behind as Ric, followed closely by the three women, stepped out into the freezing night.

The man who just spoke earlier, body trembled slightly, he knew the terror of this beautiful woman, she knew the dangerous drilling he and the rest of the militia had been through, it was excruciating and deadly to them without any rest.

He has never been through those drills in his entire life, the break they took was little and her icy gaze was intimidating to the core making them extinguish any thought they have to beg for mercy.

She was like a devil, a beauty with the strength to command all the men in the outpost.

Ric came in the front of the wagon, studied it slowly as he hesitated slightly before he pulled back the heavy canvas tarp. Inside were crates of salt pork, sacks of processed grain, and barrels of winter military grade rations.

"This is royal relief stock," Lady Yan whispered, her face turning pale as she recognized the seals. "These were meant for Riverpark and the surrounding border sectors months ago.”

Ric’s expression darkened. He grabbed a nearby spear, prying open the crates, but his eyes caught something unusual about the wagon's construction. The floorboards were too shallow. With a powerful heave, he tore away a false floor at the bottom of the wagon.

Hidden underneath was a bound leather book: an official, highly classified regional ledger.

He slowly had a bad feeling about it and he quietly picked the ledger as his eyes flipped into the content as his expression became extremely solemn!