Chapter 19 Ethan Paul

Olivia, who had followed behind, witnessed all of Leo's actions and couldn't help but mock him, saying, "How childish. You're an adult, and yet you bully little ones!"
"You see them as little children? Would your family's kids be kept in a pigsty?" Leo retorted as usual, and then threatened, "These are pups I brought back for you. From now on, you have to raise them as your own sons. If any of them die, beware of a kobold uprising!"
As he spoke, he pointed at Olivia and taught the kobold pups, "Come on, say 'mother.'"
"Mother..."
Olivia rolled her eyes at Leo, speechless, but she didn't dislike the kobold pups. On the contrary, she squatted down with interest, trying to communicate with them.
Sadly, the kobold pups only showed any cleverness when threatened by Leo. With Olivia, they just kept babbling "mother, mother," unable to learn another word.

The next morning, Ulyan set out at dawn with two militiamen and a sack of iron ore, riding a donkey toward the nearest town, Isenport.
Isenport was the southernmost small city of the Freiloff family. Located at the intersection of the "World Tree Avenue" and the Anzeno River, it was commercially prosperous—one of the main trade hubs connecting the Western and Northern Marches.
The Grand Barrier formed a circle at the heart of the Dawn Continent, resembling a massive tree stump on the map.
This "tree stump" was called the "World Tree" by the elves who lived on the central plateau. The so-called "World Tree Avenue" was a ring road built around it.
But this miraculous, ancient road had existed for over ten thousand years, and even the elves could hardly trace its builders.
Previously, Ulyan had led the pioneering party from a small village by the North Glacier and the Wind God Fortress, following the World Tree Avenue southwest for over a thousand miles before reaching the Riverbend frontier.
Without this road, Ulyan would never have dared to dream so boldly.
In theory, all lands west of the World Tree Avenue—the eastern foothills of the Grand Barrier and the broad Wolfbane Plain—belonged to the Freiloff family.
In reality, humans had only established small towns and villages along the edge of the great forest on the eastern Wolfbane Plain, following the World Tree Avenue. The depths of the Wolfbane Plain and the eastern slopes of the Grand Barrier were still covered in primal forests, home to countless beast lairs and non-human tribes.
Due to cultural differences, the nobility system in the North was unlike that of the rest of the Empire. Here, titles like "Baron" or "Viscount" were nearly unheard of.
Beneath the Grand Duke of the North were seven great Earls. Each Earl was akin to the king of a small country, with vast territories that southern nobles could hardly imagine.

Under the Earls were their enfeoffed knights.
Of course, centuries ago the Empire had tried to divide and weaken the Northern Earls by granting many "Viscount" and "Baron" titles.
But these weaker minor nobles, faced with the robust and unceremonious Northern chieftains, were like lambs to the slaughter. Within a century, most had lost their lands and heirs for various reasons, their territories either "managed" or "inherited" by the neighboring great Earls.
To this day, the North was still ruled by the Grand Duke and the seven great noble houses.
Among these seven, the Freiloff family was not the strongest, but they did control four small and medium cities and seven or eight castles along the World Tree Avenue, with over two hundred knightly fiefs under their command.
From the Riverbend camp, one crossed thirty miles of wilderness along the Anzeno River to reach the western watchtower under Isenport's jurisdiction, where one could access the World Tree Avenue.
Heading east along the smooth World Tree Avenue for another sixty miles, passing two small villages, one would reach the town of Isenport.
Here stood the only large bridge across two hundred miles of the Anzeno River’s upper reaches, and the only inland waterway direct to the great eastern city of Olenik. As a result, most trade between the Northern and Western Marches passed through here.
However, since the geography and products of the two regions were similar, trade volume was not high. Western merchants preferred to head southeast to the empire’s central plains, selling warhorses and furs much like those from the North.
Ever since the Orantis Empire established relations with the Free Isles of the Storm Sea to the southeast, most bulk trade departed from the southernmost ports, crossed the Free Isles, and went directly to imperial cities on the eastern coast. The North’s importance seemed to have dwindled to near insignificance.

After Ulyan’s departure, Leo, as his chief henchman, confidently took over overall command, ready to wield authority and make grand plans.
But the rest paid him little heed. Tasks like felling timber, building houses, or clearing land were all handled by dedicated foremen—seasoned old men who took Leo’s suggestions as empty bluster.
All camp management fell to Olivia: from injuries and illnesses among the villagers, to food distribution, to every squabble among the children, she had to settle it all.
Amid a group of numb, bewildered illiterates, Olivia—who held the purse strings and was the only one able to read and reckon—was the very embodiment of a goddess of wisdom, her word taken as law.
It was easy to forget she was only sixteen.
A crowd of kobold pups clustered tightly behind her as she moved about the camp, like a mother hen leading her brood out to forage.
In two days, aside from maintaining militia drills, Leo’s only real accomplishment was, by flexing his muscles and threatening violence, to force the villagers to use the newly dug latrines, rather than relieving themselves all around the camp—even outside their tents.

It was not until the afternoon of the second day that Ulyan finally returned on his donkey.
His first action was to lead several villagers to the river, where they built a simple wooden footbridge, and then ordered everyone to pile the ore on the riverbank.
In two days, the industrious kobolds had carried nearly ten tons of iron ore, exchanging it for twenty sacks of rye. The entire kobold tribe was swept up in a frenzy of transporting ore.
If Ulyan had not returned, Olivia would have had to halt the trade herself.
Leo quickly grasped Ulyan’s plan and exclaimed in delight, “A boat’s coming?”
Only then did Leo realize: with the Anzeno River cutting through the North, if they had a boat, not only could they reach Isenport with ease, but they could also travel directly to the great northern stronghold of Olenik—or even follow the current to the sea.
Of course, they needed a boat first.
Ulyan shot Leo a smug look, but said nothing. Instead, he stood with his hands behind his back on the makeshift pier, exuding calm authority.
After half an hour battered by the cold river wind, Ulyan could stand it no longer. Shivering, he returned to camp and told Leo, “Keep watch by the river. If a boat comes, fetch me at once.”
Leo spent over an hour fishing off the bridge with Little Mouse. As dusk fell, four small boats finally appeared downstream.
These were the typical little fishing boats of the Anzeno River, each less than five meters long and able to carry perhaps a thousand pounds of fish at most.
But that was already a great improvement, for the pioneer camp didn’t even have a single dinghy that could float.
At this moment, the first boat was packed with people, while the other three were loaded with goods, each manned by only two fishermen to row and pole.