For Kant, obtaining the help of the Ents was extremely useful!
After all, this fantasy race had already surpassed the concept of ordinary creatures. Even if they were not used for war, even if they were stationed in the castle, they were the existence that made him feel at ease.
And this sack of Spring of Nature was also an unexpected surprise.
But there were also regrets.
Through a detailed communication with Manid, Kant actually learned that in the Fangorn Forest, the peace-loving ancient Ents did not accept denar or gold as currency. Even ordinary goods were not accepted.
Or rather, there was no concept of trade at all!
They originated from plants.
It was a natural evolution and belonged to the fantasy race.
Therefore, they did not need to eat and drink like flesh and blood. Their roots would absorb the nutrients and water in the soil. Their branches and leaves could photosynthesize with the sunlight. Other than having intelligence, they were basically ancient trees.
Just like their appearance, they could be treated as ancient trees turning into spirits.
Gold also had no value to them.
In the end, gold and silver, these precious metals, were still minerals.
Just like how humans looked at stones, in the eyes of the Ents, these golds that were found in the ground and could often be seen were just a type of stone. They only had a shiny yellow appearance.
Indeed, they had no value to the Ents.
Manid had already communicated with them.
If it were trade, other than the Spring of Nature and some wondrous items with natural divine power, the Ents would not accept any trade because they only accepted barter or gifts from friends.
They were completely an ancient and simple natural race.
They were also old-fashioned.
If they did not have these needed resources, the Ents would not trade.
Even bartering was impossible.
Just like how humans could not use their own gold to trade with the stones in other people’s hands, perhaps the other party thought that they had the high-value items, but if they were useless to the Ents, then it had no value to the Ents!
Kant temporarily put aside his thoughts about Fangorn Forest. After all, with this bag of Spring of Nature, it was enough to last for a long time.
It was much better than nothing.
“Next…”
Kant’s finger lightly knocked on the table.
The three people in front of the table were all solemn, while Kant said in a deep voice, “Start recruiting civilians. I need to train a group of troops that can hold up the battle situation. The quality can be slowed down, but the quantity must be able to hold up.”
“Understood!”, as the military commander, Firentis immediately replied in a deep voice.
His fingers tapped on the table.
Kant turned his head and looked at Manid and Joslin. “The two of you should run to your respective trade points. Right now, we don’t lack denar. Buy more food, arrows, tools, and other materials.”
“Yes!”, Manid and Joslin also immediately nodded.
Although they could not trade in the Fangorn Forest, they could in Pendor Continent.
Joslin was able to transport all kinds of supplies through the Pendor Continent. Sometimes, it was even more abundant than the Continent of Caradia. It was enough to satisfy the current “Drondheim” Castle and quickly accumulate supplies.
For example, there was no shortage of food in the castle. There were nearly 2,500 soldiers and civilians. It was enough to feed them for more than a month.
But it was still not enough.
The danger Kant and the others were facing might not be solved in a month.
And according to Kant’s idea, whether it was the Continent of Pendor, the Continent of Caradia, or the local Dukedom of Leo, they would buy food crazily, even if they had to increase the price.
It was so that when the undead came in the future, they would have a basic guarantee!
“Continue to build the barbican.”
Kant pondered for a moment.
After thinking for a moment, he continued to instruct, “Dig a moat outside the city wall. Later, I will make a spring and place it inside the moat to ensure the defensive ability of the castle.”
“Lord Kant.”, Firentis frowned and said, “It is very difficult to dig a moat outside the city wall. After all, it is a sand layer.”
“Sand layer?”
Kant frowned even more. He had never thought of this.
The construction of the city wall and the city gate was actually built on a solid layer of soil, not a soft layer of sand. This was a change brought about by the system, just like how soil appeared out of thin air in farmland.
Therefore, the construction of the city wall and the city gate was completely built on the soil.
However, the outer layer was still covered in sand.
If they wanted to dig a tunnel and dig a moat, the soft sand would collapse, and it would bury all the dug tunnels. Even if they were supported by wooden planks, the sand would collapse when the spring water seeped into the surrounding sand.
“Then let’s wait for the time being.”, Kant sighed slightly and frowned. “There’s no need to dig the moat.”
“Understood.”, Firentis nodded.
Actually, there was no problem if they did not excavate the moat.
Although this kind of defensive fortification was an excellent way to defend against the enemy’s attack, in front of an enemy who lacked siege equipment, even a ten-meter-tall city wall could be considered a natural moat!
As for the undead skeletons that were already dead and resurrected, Firentis did not think that they would have siege weapons!
This was also the reason why Kant gave up on excavating the moat.
As long as they could withstand the death canopy, then they would be able to face the sea of skeletons, no matter how many there were. Defending the city wall was equivalent to defending the castle!
The four of them discussed in the council hall.
There were many difficulties that they would have to face, and they needed to be very careful in dealing with them.
They talked for a very long time.
Kant then let Firentis and the others disperse.
However, they had already discussed the details. The rest was just to implement them.
This was a crucial period of time, and the situation they were facing was very tense. At least in Kant’s opinion, if they could not hold on this time, the consequences would be even more terrifying than when they were attacked by the Jackalan Expedition Army!
At least when they were attacked by the Jackalan Expedition Army, they could still escape.
Now…
They could not escape even if they wanted to!
The Sky Veil of Death would devour any living creature, and the skeletons would kill any living creature with hatred.
Once the “Drondheim” Castle was captured, the undead, who had been expanding without the slightest physical limitation or the slightest fluctuation in morale, or even the limitations of their minds, would definitely continue to head towards the “Aaron” Town.
The Senwaya Range was a natural chasm for ordinary creatures.
However, to the undead, it was just a bumpy road in the environment. Even if it took time, they would still be able to cross it.
Moreover.
Kant didn’t want to escape either.
Why should he?
This was his foundation in the Nahrin Desert and in this world. He absolutely couldn’t give up!
The river of time flowed.
Soon, seven days passed.
“Drondheim” Castle was still extremely busy, but everyone seemed to have sensed the arrival of a difficult situation. Everyone’s pace of work was even faster, trying to finish all the preparations before the last moment arrived.
The barbican was being built, and the construction team from Aaron was in charge.
Half of the construction was done after seven days.
The thick and heavy stones were mainly in the shape of a semicircle, just enough to hold the original city gate.
Moreover, the two sides of the city walls of the barbican were each inlaid with four towers, which could allow soldiers to garrison. At the same time, they could shoot at the enemies on the inside and outside of the barbican, greatly increasing their firepower output.
If they wanted to attack the city gate, they had to first attack the barbican.
And even if they were to attack the barbican, the archery towers and towers of the main body of the city gate, together with the archery towers of the barbican itself, would be the deadly defense line!
The dense rain of arrows would cleanse the earth like a torrential rain!
There was also the stubborn resistance of the infantrymen.
During these seven days, almost all of the agriculture and animal husbandry in the entire “Drondheim” Castle were given to the military. 1,000 civilians put down their work and entered the training ground of the footmen to begin training.
At the end of this week, 1,000 Swadian Footmen appeared in the castle.
They were all level 3 footmen with excellent military skills.
They were the type that could go onto the battlefield and kill enemies in formation!
This was Kant’s explosive force. The explosive force ability from the system allowed his troops to produce a batch of soldiers with decent equipment and rich combat experience in a short period of time.
As the war continued, if they were not completely wiped out, the troops would become more and more elite.
Trained the soldiers with wars.
The war did not bring about injuries, but experience.
As well as gaining experience points, they began to level up and transform into a higher level troop class!
As for the number of Vaegir Archers, they were few in number.
Their recruitment was 10 people per week, and it was a fixed recruitment. Even if Kant had enough denar, he could not recruit more. They could not be recruited by using more denars or recruited from the civilians like the castle, the footman training ground, the cavalry training ground, and the crossbowmen training ground.
The Vaegirs Shooting Range needed the Vaegir people.
And Kant’s castle was full of Swadian people, so they had the advantage in recruiting the footman and cavalry.
In fact, that was indeed the case.
Kant indeed thought so.
1,000 Swadian Light Footman could completely form an independent army. After experiencing a few battles, they might be able to level up to the Swadian Heavy Cavalry. They did not even need to enter the cavalry’s training ground.
After all, training the footman and cavalry would cost several times more than the cost of leveling up in an ordinary battle!
Kant might still be able to support a few dozens of them.
Once the number increased to a few hundred, it would cost hundreds of thousands of denars
Even Kant could not afford it now.
Even if the table salt trade was on the right track, it would still cost a lot to maintain the current military strength.
In addition, the expenditure on trade procurement, construction and building, as well as all kinds of losses, added up to hundreds of thousands of denars per week, could not be easily wasted.
1,000 Swadian Footmen was enough.
Level up to 1,000 Swadian Light Footman was also enough to form a heavy cavalry group.
Kant was ready.
However, on the last day of the month, the desert bandits from the central posthouse arrived quickly. They appeared in the council hall with a nervous expression and brought information.
The central posthouse discovered the arrival of troops from the Dukedom of Leo.
There were 1,000 of them.
And the leader was Baron Dylan from the Stone Pass!
After receiving the news, Firentis, Manid, and Joslin had already arrived at the council hall. As for Kant, he immediately made a decision. Holding his Sword of King, he ordered in a deep voice, “Firentis, come with me.”
“Yes!”, FIrentis immediately nodded.
Kant turned to Manid and Joslin and ordered, “You guys stay behind to watch the house. For this battle plan, I will bring the newly recruited 1,000 Swadian Footmen and all the knights in the castle.”
