After Surviving the Apocalypse, I Built a City in Another World - Chapter 130

Chapter 130: Prepare for War (Part 2)
Rowan’s red eyes blinked a bit, before he nodded passionately. “Anything, my Lord.”

“I’m sure you’ve seen Fufi.” Althea said, pointing at the smiling dog with a wildly wagging tail next to her. Unconsciously, Rowan smiled at the creature.

“Yes, I have indeed seen Fufi, Milord.” He said, “He often runs around the territory and follows us when we’re doing rounds.”

He had never encountered such a cute little battle pet before, though it seemed the lord was treating him as the children’s playmate instead…

“I need you to take him during your rounds. You can also ask Drake to help you out on this.” She told him, “His level had gone stagnant the past few days, and I feel sorry for him.”

“Yes, milord.” He said, really feeling an honor to watch over the lord’s pet.

Also, looking at the “good boy’s” smiling face, Rowan looked a little forward to it.

Pets were different from Beasts, as they had some intelligence and empathy. They were also very, very, rare.

They were bred from animals that hadn’t changed hundreds of years prior. These animals were divided into domesticated meat as food sources or Pets.

And although the pet was weak, he had never seen a pet so smart.

As expected of the Lord, even the pet was amazing…

….

Alone on the second floor of the village center, Althea took the time to peruse through the list of applicants for the guards, which had been pouring nonstop since the announcement was made.

After about half an hour, Althea chose the next 140 people to be on the shortlist for guards. Except for two people, all level 3s had officially joined the guard team.

She would forward this list to both Rowan and Drake, to determine through interview which ones to keep.

After all, she was no soldier and it would be a pity to lose talents by pretending to know the field.

After the manpower, the next point of concern was the equipment. Ideally, they’d find a way to go way beyond the standard level E weapons and armor.

Even if death was unavoidable in wars, she wanted to do her best to keep it to the minimum that it could get.

She opened her tab and sent a message to Brenda and Clutch, asking them to come to the second floor.

As they entered, their atmosphere was a little grim, no doubt knowing the implications of her mass hiring of new guards.

Everyone looked at each other with serious expressions.

“You may have noticed something.” She said, and the other two nodded.

“We’re upgrading soon.” Clutch said, and Brenda nodded looking at the lord with a worried expression.

Brenda knew of the lord’s plan and, looking at her face, this seemed to be forced?

“Mandatory upgrade is required 100 hours after the qualification.” She sighed, answering Brenda’s question.

“And I had wanted to dominate the level 1 villages…” she mumbled in regret. Pity…

Of course, this was also a fair rule, keeping cheating territories like hers from taking advantage of loopholes.

“Now we can only prepare.”

“You don’t have to stress yourself too much, my Lord,” Brenda said, comforting.

“Only level 2 mobs should attack our territory. The walls and sentries are strong enough.”

Hearing this, Althea’s shoulders slumped a little in relaxation. However, it didn’t last long.

The reason why hoarders were hoarders was because of their instinct to take everything needed in case of a rainy day.

Similarly, she’d rather be super overprepared than be underprepared.

“How’s the upgraded weapons going?”

“We’re in our finalization stage. He should be finished with the missing detail drawings

“You should hire him as an apprentice.”

Brenda nodded with a bright smile, happy to have the same thought process as the Lord. “Indeed, that is what I did. He had just accepted, in fact, so he’s working really hard in the workshop.”

Clutch looked at her with envy. She not only had a weaponry store but also a reliable helper! Would the Lord dislike him for his lack of productivity?

He ought to look for apprentices as well.

“Clutch.” The Lord’s voice instantaneously brought him back to the present. Then he saw her hand over two earthenware bottles.

He opened them to smell the contents.

Plants?

“This is plant extract taken from Amerie and Glutose. Try experimenting with different rations and mix them with your shields.”

“Plants, milord?” Clutch had never heard of this done before…

Althea nodded and continued with her explanation. “One plant could help harden any surface, while the other makes it more flexible and could have a reflective function.”

It was unfortunate she only had the time to rummage through the warehouse the day prior, otherwise, he’d have more time to prepare.

Hearing this, Clutch couldn’t help but feel agitated. Plants could do so much? Indeed—what if he could combine it successfully with his armors?

More importantly, Clutch looked extremely honoured to be partnering with the Lord for a project.

Although he had no idea how to combine plants with his work…

At this thought, he felt nervous. What if he failed?

“Ask Eugene for advice, he should be able to guide you.”

“T-Thank you, my Lord.”

Althea nodded, her eyes sparkling a little, looking forward to their products.

“I’ll leave it up to you!”

The two stood up and bowed. “Yes, Milord!”

…

That night, Althea was drinking her tea, the relaxing type, because she really couldn’t rest at all.

She patted her large belly, and they were not moving. Very peaceful. She smiled. At least her babies were sleeping well…

She was smiling and imagining how her babies would look in the future, when the countdown for the mandatory upgrade finally turned 0.

The air changed a little, a milder version of how it was when she activated the lord token.

Because most people were sleeping, they did not notice the change in the atmosphere, but she and the NPCs definitely did.

[Congratulations for reaching Level 2! Rewards +5000 wood, +3000 stone, +3000 gold, +2 building slots]

Her pretty eyebrows rose in surprise.

Hey, no wonder others were so hyped to level up.