71: Detecting unusual activity

"Everything is ready!"

"As per your request, all the granaries have been inspected and repaired; there are no issues!"

"With the guidance of those newly joined Farmers, the drying grounds near the fields have also been renovated, but the ground of the drying grounds still needs you to petrify it, My Lord."

"Given your abilities, My Lord, it won't take even two days to complete the hardening of those drying grounds."

"The harvesting tools are also ready and have all been distributed to the Farmers."

Fornal reported the preparations for the upcoming harvest season to Renn one by one; everything was in order, and all that remained was the harvest itself.

"According to Bar, after two months of continuous investment and the guidance from the new Farmers, it's estimated that 3,000 tons of grain can be harvested this season, which is 200 tons more than previously estimated."

"Very good!"

"We're going to the drying grounds right now!"

Renn still had mana, and since the other renovations of the drying grounds were complete and only the hardening remained, why wait?

Reck, who shared a telepathic bond with Renn, appeared by his side in a flash.

Mounting Reck, Renn told Fornal to continue organizing the construction in the town while he headed to the drying grounds alone.

Reck's strength had also increased by a level after Renn fed him a Bronze Rank magic core, reaching Middle Bronze Rank.

After that, Renn didn't feed Reck any more magic cores; he planned to give the remaining magic cores to the warriors in the Guard Army with better talent to train them into Magic Wolf Knights.

Soon, Renn arrived at the drying grounds outside the town.

There were a total of four drying grounds along the river banks outside Red River Town; Renn went to the nearest one first and immediately began petrifying the ground.

Soon, more than half of the ground of this drying ground was petrified.

Feeling that the mana in his body was exhausted, Renn stopped casting.

"It should take about two days to finish hardening the four drying grounds; with the staff assisting, the spell's effectiveness has increased significantly."

Renn now held the staff from his spatial ring whenever he cast spells; although it wasn't a very high-grade staff, the assistance it provided Renn was very noticeable.

With the staff, mana consumption was much lower, and the power of his spells increased by thirty to forty percent; Renn could no longer do without the staff when casting.

While Renn was busy building the territory, Ross was leading the Magic Wolf Knights and the Cavalry Squad to patrol the territory.

The fifty-man Cavalry Squad was divided into ten five-man teams to patrol various parts of the territory, each led by a Magic Wolf Knight.

As Renn continued to invest resources into training Magic Wolf Knights, five more people in the Guard Army gradually broke through to Bronze Rank; Cecilia's potions were also continuously produced, and the number of magic wolf mounts kept increasing.

Unbeknownst to anyone, the number of Magic Wolf Knights in the Red River Territory had increased to ten.

After killing a roaring Gnoll leader in the distance with a single arrow, Ross put away his longbow, and his magic wolf mount galloped swiftly, carrying him into the pack of Gnolls to begin a slaughter.

Ross had officially broken through to the Silver Rank three days ago; the entire breakthrough process was natural and without any major incidents, and he became the second Silver Knight in the Red River Territory.

Behind Ross followed five Cavalry Squad members at the Peak Black Iron Rank.

Their enemy was a pack of about a hundred Gnolls.

The combat power of Gnolls was stronger than Goblins, but an ordinary Gnoll was only at the level of a regular human soldier and had not yet reached the combat power of Professionals.

The strongest in the pack of over a hundred Gnolls were just a dozen or so Black Iron Rank Gnoll warriors and one Bronze Rank Gnoll leader.

To Ross, this level of combat power was completely insignificant.

Ross killed the Gnoll leader in one hit and then charged into the pack; within a few breaths, he had killed more than half of the Gnolls, and the remaining forty or fifty Gnolls soon fell under the swords of the Cavalry Squad members behind him.

Ross shook the blood off his sword, while his magic wolf mount bit through the neck of the last Gnoll.

"How many waves has this been?"

"The fourth wave, Vice Commander!"

Today, Ross had been continuously encountering small Alien Tribes or small packs like these Gnolls during his patrol, which made him feel that something was wrong.

"Blow the horn and have all teams assemble!"

"Yes!"

The dull sound of the horn drifted across the wilderness into the distance.

Eric, who had just finished a battle not long ago, was the first to hear the summons of the horn.

"It seems there really is a problem; I was wondering why there were so many of these aliens."

Eric headed toward the sound of the horn with five cavalrymen.

As time passed, the knights scattered outside gathered around Ross one after another.

"All teams, any abnormalities today?"

Ross inquired about the situation of each team, and each Magic Wolf Knight leading a team gave a report.

Finally, Ross discovered that the teams patrolling the north of the territory hadn't encountered many Alien Tribes, only finding scattered traces of them.

However, the teams patrolling the south had more or less found traces of Alien Tribes.

"They're all coming from the south; did something happen there?"

Noticing the pattern in the movements of the aliens, Ross turned his gaze toward the south of the Red River Territory.

"Leave one team each in the north and east for daily patrols; the remaining Cavalry Squad and Magic Wolf Knights will be divided into four groups, each with ten cavalrymen and two Magic Wolf Knights, to eliminate the Alien Tribes coming from the south."

"Remember, do not act impulsively if you encounter large Alien Tribes or powerful individuals; maintain surveillance and wait for my reinforcements to arrive."

"Yes, Vice Commander!"

As Ross issued his orders, the Magic Wolf Knights and the Cavalry Squad immediately went into action.

Ross also had the team heading north bring the news of the sudden increase in aliens in the south back to the territory.

When Renn received the news, he was in the fields checking Bar's preparations.

"Abnormal movements from the Alien Tribes in the south?"

Renn mounted Reck and returned to Red River Fortress, summoning Wayne and Alger.

"Ross sent word back that small Alien Tribes are continuously entering the territory from the south and migrating northward."

Renn told the two of them the news Ross had brought and then began making arrangements.

"The hundred recruits we enlisted half a month ago have been training for two weeks now; these recruits will be added directly to your two companies, with fifty men added to each."

Half a month ago, Renn had recruited a hundred new soldiers from the young and strong men of the territory to expand the Guard Army.

The original plan was for the recruits to train in the barracks for three months before being added to the two companies, but now, due to this sudden situation, they had to be added ahead of schedule.

Fifty men will be added to each company, with veterans leading the new recruits to gain experience through actual combat.

"Take 25 veterans from each of the two companies and add them to the Cavalry Squad."

Renn had a hundred warhorses in his possession; previously, the cavalrymen each had two horses, but now Renn didn't plan to be so extravagant and would assign one horse per person to expand the scale of the Cavalry Squad.

"I'll give you one day to prepare; complete the reorganization of the units in one day."

"Once the reorganization is complete, leave one company to guard the territory, and the other company will follow me to patrol the south of the territory to eliminate all the aliens trespassing on our land."

"Wayne, you and your company will set out with me when the time comes; Alger, you will stay behind with your men to guard the territory and protect Red River Town."

Renn's orders were concise and clear, and after he finished, Wayne and Alger had no objections and immediately began execution.

The reorganization of the units was something Renn and Ross had already discussed, but it was being done early because of the new situation.

"Yes, My Lord!"