Chapter Twenty-Eight

The first thing Lark did the moment he arrived home was hole himself inside the underground chamber of the Mansion. After assessing the current needs and capabilities of Blackstone Town, he came up with an ideal guardian. 

They should be creatures capable of protecting the territory and at the same time contribute to its prosperity. A reliable workforce.

The three suits of armor were strong, but they were made with the sole purpose of protecting his subjects in mind. There were clear limits to their uses, especially in a time when there was no war. 

Lark decided to create guardians capable of plowing the field, repairing walls, planting seeds, and if the need arises, take up arms and protect the domain. A versatile guardian. 

Lark looked around, his gaze eventually stopping at the pile of iron ingots. After defeating the Third Legion, he ordered these things from the Merchants Guild, spending quite an amount of money in the process. They were necessary investments for the prosperity of his territory. 

Let's start. 

Using magic, Lark started making several bodies. Each of them resembled humans devoid of any skin, showing the muscle intertwined underneath. Their arms were long, almost reaching the ground, and a two-meter tail protruded out of their backs. There were three eyes, two at the front and a very small one at the back. 

It was nothing short of a monster. With just a single glance, anyone would arrive at the same conclusion. 

The appearance doesn't matter. My subjects will get used to them as time passes by. What matters is the body's efficiency.

The intertwined fibers made of iron would make it possible to flexibly move the bodies' limbs. Furthermore, it would enhance its strength several fold. The tail on its back have pincers at its tip, serving as a tool to grasp and carry things. At the same time, it would become a lethal weapon in times of war. 

Lark carefully considered the amount of manual labor these things would do when he created the bodies. 

Should he create a strong soldier using the soul of the basilisk? Or should he create a dozen weaker ones by splitting the soul several times? 

After pondering for an entire day before returning to Blackstone Town, Lark decided on the latter. Even if these soldiers were to be formed using the fragmented souls of a basilisk, each of them would still be around as strong as the three suits of armor he created before – or maybe even stronger than that. 

He doubted that the United Grakas Alliance would send another Legion to topple the Kingdom soon. In a time when there was no war, the best thing to do was to focus on the development of the town. As such, Lark chose to create several soldiers instead of one. Soldiers capable of contributing to the prosperity of Blackstone Town. 

Lark relentlessly continued making the bodies, stopping only after his mana was nearly exhausted. Afterwards, he would take a quick meal and resume his physical body training. 

On the third day, the preparations were finally done. Two large magic circles overlapping each other were surrounded by several smaller ones. 

Now, it's time to harness the souls.

Lark opened the sacks containing the heads of the basilisk. The male's head was large, almost the size of two carriages combined. The female's was around a third of that. Lark momentarily amplified his strength using magic and placed the two heads on top of the large magic circles. Immediately afterwards, he placed the humanoid shells he created inside the smaller ones. 

Lark took several deep breaths. He started channeling mana into the magic formation, making the runes engraved on it glow. 

After some time, he frowned. 

It's not possible, huh? 

Unfortunately, it seemed that the soul within the male basilisk had already dissipated due to the amount of time elapsed since its death. Extraction was impossible. It was regrettable, but Lark could do nothing about it. 

On the other hand, the soul within the female was still intact. Lark focused all his mana for its extraction instead. 

Soon, a malevolent haze started forming on top of the magic formation, slowly assuming the shape of a colossal snake. Its pair of eyes glared at Lark as it hissed. It could still remember the humans who killed it. 

After seeing this, Lark calmly said, "I'll be borrowing your power for a while."

The magic formation suppressed the soul of the female basilisk, preventing it from going back into the void. Slowly, it split into several pieces. Twelve of them to be exact. The runes glowed brighter and the fragmented souls were sucked inside the humanoid bodies created by Lark. 

Upon the completion of the ritual, the runes broke into particles of light then dissipated. Darkness returned inside the chamber, with only a single lamp as source of light. 

Lark watched as the humanoid bodies made of iron started to move.

Now was the time to test if the ritual was a success. 

"If you acknowledge me as your master, kneel down."

Nine out of the twelve humanoids knelt upon hearing those words. The remaining three glared at Lark, their killing intent evidently oozing out. 

As expected of a Basilisk. Its ego remains even after the soul's been fragmented. 

Those three were probably the ones who acquired the soul containing most of the basilisk's ego. 

It's a shame, but I'll have to be content with nine for now.

Without warning, the three humanoids leapt towards him, their long arms aiming for his neck and chest. These three were without consciousness – their desire to take away Lark's life was born only from the rage left behind by the basilisk's ego. Knowing this, Lark had no intention of holding a conversation with them. There were no rooms for negotiation with such unintelligent beings. 

"Take them down," said Lark. 

The nine humanoids immediately leapt into action and confronted the enemies. Since those three were without intelligence unlike the other nine, destroying them was easy. Lark joined the fray and helped the nine mutilate the rebelling soldiers. After several minutes of futile struggle, the three humanoid creatures fell to the ground, squirming with just their trunks as all of their limbs were cut.

Lark cast his magic and the three were engulfed by flames. Slowly, they melted away, leaving behind nothing but a pile of smelted iron.  

Lark turned towards the nine humanoids. 

"Your jobs are simple." Lark raised two fingers. "First, protect the citizens, protect the land – protect the territory. And second, contribute to its prosperity."

The nine made deep grunting sounds. They were unable to utter a single word, but Lark knew that they understood. 

"Help my citizens till the fields, maintain the walls," said Lark. "Mine ores, explore uncharted territories. From now on, these things will be your priorities."

***

After creating the humanoids, Lark immediately introduced them to the farmers. As expected, the farmers were stunned speechless upon seeing them. After all, they looked grotesque, like those monsters told in legends to scare children. 

Had the Young Master not introduced them personally, the farmers would have already ran away in fright. 

Lark looked at the farmers gathered together. Several of them were pallid, their eyes trembling as they warily stared at the humanoids standing behind the Young Master. 

"Young Master… they are?" One of the farmers asked. 

"Additional hands," said Lark. "Harvest season's just around the corner. These guys will help in harvesting the wheat. But for now, they'll help in tilling the soil and removing the weeds."

After hearing that these humanoids were going to help them till the lands, the farmers' expressions softened somewhat. For some reason, these humanoid creatures did not look as terrifying as before. 

"You." Lark pointed at one of the humanoid creatures. "Lift that thing and place it over there."

The humanoid creature immediately heeded Lark's instructions. Without uttering a single sound, it lifted a large stone the size of an adult human and placed it on the place instructed beforehand. It easily completed a task which would normally require two to three people to be done. 

Seeing this, the farmers let out awed sounds. 

"Now, pull those weeds off the ground," said Lark. 

The same humanoid creature pulled the weeds out. Because of their long arms and slender fingers, it did not even need to bend down. The dexterity it showed was on par with humans. 

Lark nodded satisfactorily at this. "I'm sure there's a lot of questions in your mind, but what you need to know is this—" He paused and locked eyes with the farmers. "—These guys are on your side."

The last statement ignited the fire within the farmers' hearts. For some reason, these humanoid creatures felt so dependable. They did not look scary any more. 

"Gaston," said Lark. 

The butler bowed his head. "Young Master."

"From now on, you'll be in-charge of these guys. Be free to order them around." 

Gaston stared at the humanoid creatures then bowed once again at Lark. "As you wish, Young Master."

Lark turned to his creations. "This man shall be your master from now on. Listen to everything he says."

The nine of them all grunted, saying they understood. 

Good.

With this, his territory now had a workforce capable of carrying out heavy tasks left and right. Since the humanoids' bodies were made entirely of iron, they would not wear out easily even if they were to carry logs and large stones. 

Gaston started issuing out his orders to the humanoids and each one of them immediately followed the commands of the old man. 

I should make them fortify the walls after this, just in case.

The invasion of the beastmen was still vivid within his memories. If some variables had gone missing that time, the town would have been under the beastmen's hands by now. 

As Lark was contemplating on these things, he heard a horrified shout. One of the farmers was pointing at the sky, his entire body quivering in fright. 

Everyone looked up, and immediately, creases formed on their brows. A portion of the sky had turned black. 

That is…

Lark squinted. From the distance, he could make out the hundreds of thousands—if not millions—of insects forming a canopy in the sky. Each of them was the size of a thumb, their scales reminiscent of the abyss. When they flew past by, day momentarily turned into night. 

"T-The Black Famine?!" 

"But why? It hasn't even been a year since the last one!"

The entire town went into uproar upon seeing the swarm of insects flying in the sky. Color drained off the faces of everyone. 

The Black Famine… So they're really Kelnup Flies, huh? 

Contrary to the ghastly expressions of everyone, a smile slowly formed on Lark's face. He had been a bit worried about the so-called Black Famine that's been devastating the entire Kingdom and the Empire for several years now. But after confirming that they were indeed Kelnups, he quickly moved into action to prevent the withering of the plants. 

Harvest season's just around the corner. I won't let you damn bastards foil my plans to prosper this Town.

"Bring me around five barrels of castrel oil. The more, the better," said Lark. "Now!"

With a jolt, Gaston and the servants quickly moved into action. A few minutes later, a horse-drawn carriage arrived. Several barrels of castrel oil – an expensive commodity – were inside. By now, the swarm was still encircling the sky, bidding their time before consuming everything in sight. 

Lark ordered the humanoids to toss the barrels into the air. He channeled mana into his fingertips and shot several balls of fire. The barrels filled with oil exploded with a deafening bang. Thick smoke filled the sky. 

Lark manipulated the fire created from the explosion, then with a single motion, shot them towards the swarm. It struck tens of thousands of insects, burning them into crisp and dust in the process. 

But it was not enough. It did not kill even a tenth of the swarm. 

Everyone thought that the damnable insects would soon come down and suck everything dry. 

But a different scenario unfolded before their eyes. 

The swarm, which was previously encircling the sky, suddenly flew west and slowly disappeared from sight. 

Several farmers fell on their knees. "T-Thank God."

"But what if they come back?" One of them voiced his thoughts out loud. 

"It doesn't matter," said Lark. His calm voice felt soothing to the ears. "It's impossible to annihilate them anyway with a single shot. But with this, we've bought enough time to prepare for the time they come back."

"Gaston," said Lark. 

"Yes, Young Master?" 

"I want you to prepare these things for me." Lark started enumerating a myriad of things. "Make it quick. I want everything prepared within half a day."

The time limit felt absurd, considering the amount of items the Young Master requested, but the old man simply bowed his head. "I shall do my best."

The things enumerated by Lark were common goods which could be found even in Blackstone Town. But the time limit and the amount requested would require dozens of helping hand to finish the task.

"Time is of great essence!" said Lark. "We can't let those damn insects destroy the crops!"

Everyone started moving at once.

***

Meanwhile, in different parts of the Kingdom, swarms of Kelnups started appearing one by one. They appeared only for a fleeting moment, but the devastation they left behind made everyone pale from shock. The crops the farmers painstakingly planted for several months withered after a few hours. 

The farmers wailed and groaned, but they could do nothing to stop the swarms which nearly covered the sky. 

King Alvis received the reports of these incidents all throughout the Kingdom. 

"Why now?" he grabbed his ashen hair in utter frustration. It was not even a year since the last Black Famine. He could not believe that those damnable swarms would come back a month before harvest season comes. 

"This is why I told the officials to increase the budget for the Ministry of Research!" said the King. His chest tightened at the thought of how gravely this would affect the Kingdom. 

The thirty thousand barrels of wine… It'll be impossible to produce such amount now.

He successfully made contact with the King of Dwarves, but it would be all for naught if he was unable to seal the contract. The dwarves adamantly insisted that the Kingdom provides them with thirty thousand barrels of high-grade wines in exchange of weapons to resist the invasion of the Empire. 

The reports stated that several cities tasked to produce the wine were infested by the Black Famine. 

King Alvis closed his eyes. He could not imagine how they would repel the invasion of the Empire without the help of the dwarves. 

The amount of soldiers in the Empire is five times that of the Kingdom. It's impossible. If they decided to invade us now…

And there was also the risk of invasion from the Mullgray Islands. 

King Alvis' head throbbed as he tried to find a way out. 

Then suddenly, he remembered the report of Mikael stationed in Blackstone Town. He remembered how a local Lord drove away enemies numbering in the ten thousand despite the odds. 

A thousand soldiers destroyed an entire Legion of beastmen. And according to Mikael, the amount of casualties on the human's side did not even reach half a thousand. 

If was a feat close to a miracle. 

A feat possible only with a very competent leader of the army. 

No, being merely competent was not enough. Someone needs to be a genius to pull through such act. 

Amidst the chaos brought forth by the reports of different City Lords, a single name resounded through the King's mind. 

Lark Marcus. If you're in my position, what will you do?