Chapter 147: Soren’s City! First Update
2015-04-10
Author: Floating Tower of All Beings
“Vivian!”
Soren caught the little girl who lunged at him, holding her petite body and twirling around, then leaned down to give her a hearty kiss on her rosy cheek. The little girl wrapped her arms around Soren’s neck and clung to him, resembling a little kitten nestling in his arms. She took a deep breath and then looked up at Gloria beside her, eagerly opening her arms for a hug.
Vivian lunged at her with open arms and whined, “Gloria sister! I miss you so much!”
Seeing the adorable little girl, a gentle smile appeared on Gloria’s face. She reached out to catch the little girl, gently stroking her long hair, and said softly, “Vivian, I miss you too!”
The little girl hung onto Gloria, burying her head into her ample chest, seemingly very comfortable.
After a while.
She suddenly furrowed her brows slightly, then wrinkled her little nose, sniffing around Gloria like a little puppy, making Gloria appear a bit uneasy. After sniffing around, the little girl murmured, “Gloria sister smells like brother!”
Hearing Vivian’s words, a blush instantly spread across Gloria’s face, making her look exceptionally charming.
“Hmm!”
The little girl nuzzled in her embrace, then brought her little nose closer to the ample chest, seriously sniffing right under the peak, even lightly pinching it with her little hands, muttering to herself, “The smell is strongest here!”
Smack!
Gloria, feeling a mix of embarrassment and anger, gently swatted the little girl on her bottom. Her charming face was flushed red, and she directly hugged Vivian and hurriedly walked forward, her earlobes also flushed. Before leaving, she shot Soren a pretend glare. As for Soren, he showed no sign of embarrassment. He merely turned his gaze to the distance to cover his awkwardness. When did Vivian’s nose become so sensitive that she could even sniff out his favorite spot?
The little girl seemed to understand something!
After all, she grew up in the slums and was much more mature than other children her age. She peeked at Soren, then glanced at the blushing Gloria. She poked her delicate little finger at her own face and mischievously said, “Shy!!!……”
“Gloria sister! Did you do something naughty with brother?!!!……”
Smack!
Ouch!
That hurt!
The little girl puffed her cheeks and rubbed her bottom, which had just been swatted. She obediently stopped talking, but her big, round eyes rolled in circles, seemingly deep in thought.
However, her expression was one of curiosity!
After all, she was just a child who had just turned nine. The little girl quickly forgot about the incident and held Gloria’s fingers with her fair little hands, leading her around the camp while proudly explaining everything. She told Gloria that this stone-paved road was just completed the day before yesterday and that she had cleaned up all the nearby monsters one by one. After walking a short distance, a camp enclosed by a fence came into view, now resembling a small town.
Soren, needing to transport goods, lagged a bit behind, so Vivian led Gloria forward, cheerfully introducing everything.
After all, she had fully participated in the camp’s construction.
At this moment.
The camp had changed significantly since Soren left. The fence was much taller than before, now three layers thick, making it difficult for powerful beasts to break through. Additionally, it allowed for more arrow towers to be built. The entire camp now had sixteen arrow towers, comparable in scale to many medium-sized towns. Building walls would take too much time, effort, and resources, so Soren currently had no plans to construct walls, likely not needing them for another year or two.
The east gate of the camp had a row of guards, but not all were lazy pirates; there were also Drow Warriors among them.
This unexpectedly surprised Gloria!
Because Soren hadn’t had a chance to tell her some things yet, when she saw the stern-faced Drow warriors, even the normally composed Gloria showed a slight change in expression, seemingly shocked by Soren’s rapid development.
Subduing Drow was not an easy feat!
“Miss!”
One of the relatively young Drow warriors slightly bent forward, looking down at little Vivian, then shifted his gaze to Gloria. He seemed to recognize Gloria’s strength to some extent, appearing quite shocked, and respectfully bowed his head, saying, “Welcome to the camp, esteemed Witch!”
Drow is a race that venerates strength.
Gloria nodded slightly and followed Vivian into the camp. She noticed that these Drow did not fear sunlight; they seemed not to be pure Drow but more like Half-Drow. Only Half-Drow could move so freely on the ground, and they appeared to have some albino Drow bl**d. She wondered where Soren had found these people, as such Drow had become quite rare after the fall of the Underd.
Inside the camp were neatly arranged square roads!
Unlike any town Gloria had seen before, she felt a strong visual impact as soon as she entered.
It wasn’t about any spectacular buildings.
But everything was very orderly, more organized than any city she had ever seen. Straight roads divided into four areas, with drainage ditches on both sides having the same facilities. All the houses built were of similar styles, consisting of neat, new-looking brick and tile houses. They couldn’t be considered particularly ingenious architecture, but rows of them lined up along the streets were very pleasing to the eye. After just one glance, Gloria felt a bit more fond of this place; she liked such a clean and orderly environment.
There was no filth on the roads, and even though there were quite a few people, there was no foul odor in the air.
Although the pirates had a somewhat unruly demeanor, they clearly understood many rules. When they saw Gloria walking with Vivian, they all instinctively bowed their heads slightly in respect. The corners of the streets had blacksmith shops, and the noisiest places were the three taverns. For pirates, being without alcohol was unbearable; however, there were no signs of common fights or brawls here. This was because Soren specifically established a dueling ground where any personal grudges had to be resolved. Conflicts between pirates also required their leaders to be present.
Gloria saw many slaves!
However, unlike slaves in other places, even though they were ragged, they were strong and not emaciated; some even looked rosy, indicating they were well-fed.
From the west gate, one could see trucks of bricks being transported, and there were many areas marked out but not yet constructed, busy with many craftsmen, some of whom bore distinctly Eastern features. Among the laid-back pirates, some with serious expressions provided patrols, and there was a hint of military presence among them. In every patrol squad, one could see solemn-faced Drow warriors equipped with remarkable elven strength.
Outside the south gate was an area being cultivated.
Groups of indigenous slave laborers worked in the fields, and the initial clearing and deep plowing required more preparation, with fierce-looking pirates supervising nearby.
Quality fertilizer was needed here.
Otherwise, the harvest from the first year of cultivation would be poor, despite the soil being quite fertile.
Gloria quietly observed everything before her, and as she progressed deeper into the camp, her expression grew increasingly astonished, as she fully understood how quickly Soren had built all of this. It could be said that if it were her doing it, even with the aid of the Witch Council, it would be impossible to achieve this scale in such a short time, let alone the fact that this place already had the faint shape of a city.
It was hard to imagine!
If given some time to develop, what kind of city Soren could eventually establish in the Overseas Islands!
………………(To Be Continued ~^~)
