Chapter 39: Talking with Noda Amidst Ruins
Ibro sighed, helplessly, as he was sure he could gain more than two hundred million soldiers if he sold the runes at another time.
"How many tokens can you provide now?" Ibro asked, without showing any limitation for the number of runes he could sell.
He wasn't sure of how bad the situation here would reach, and so he wanted to be more ready, far ready than his enemy.
"I might provide one hundred million tokens, including commanders, generals, and saints as well."
Ibro didn't waste any more time in words, as he took out ten runes and put them in front of Moran, whose eyes twitched slightly when he saw these weapons of mass destruction.
"May I ask why you will sell these and not use them on the monsters?" he asked.
"It would be short sighted of me if I did that, as my enemy won't stand still, watching me slaughtering his monsters like this. Plus, even if I forced him to retreat, all I can do is to leave some runes here, and then move on to oversee my own things. your sister's village will be under threat over and over again. the best thing is to kill the enemy directly, not forcing him to hide out."
Ibro's logic was acceptable, but Moran felt there was something more to it. Ibro didn't just want to kill the enemy; he wanted to train a human army, an army he could train and use later on at any battle here.
He wasn't sure of his trip to save Sefiera, as he might leave here for a long time. Even if he didn't leave here for long, he would be forced to go and look for his other girls, and thus he would leave here eventually.
He didn't want to lose what he just built, as what happened when he left here for a few months. He needed to be sure, no matter how many enemies came to attack here, nothing bad would happen to his village and territory.
So, building a huge strong army was the only way he could find, to save his village at any time. These tokens were just the start, as he would make more runes and sell them on a higher price, but right now he had a golden opportunity to train his army, even if this meant he would lose over half of it.
"Where are my tokens?" Ibro calmly asked.
"Give me a minute, and they will be transferred to you," Moran said, as he was pressured by the mere ten runes in front of his screen. Suddenly, a huge amount of tokens started to show up from the market interface, which Ibro moved at once into his pocket world.
'Start summoning the soldiers, and let them train with the skeletons on killing the demon,' Ibro ordered his system, as he planned to let half of the soldiers or more inside his world to train, while he used the suitable number of them to help in the upcoming war.
"Good," Ibro muttered in content after receiving the one hundred million tokens, "Take these, they are your," he threw the runes towards the screen, where Moran jumped from his seat to, nervously, catch them. his face was pale, extremely pale, when he took them in his hands, while looking in a blaming look towards Ibro, who just smiled faintly, as if he didn't do it intentionally.
"Sorry, but I need to go on now," Ibro said, as he moved and waved his hand towards Moran, "After the battle, I would need a word with the saint you introduced me to before," Ibro then paused at the door of the market as he turned to glance at Moran, "the one that can use spiritual energy."
Moran's face got more paled, as he muttered:
"You gotta be kidding me, right?"
"No," Ibro just replied, before turning outside, "Just tell him I have found a treasure cultivation trove, if he wants it, he must be there when I return."
Ibro then left, without concerning himself with the words or even the curses Moran was saying to him. He wanted the help of that master. If Ibro's guess is right, then this master must be from a very early world, and someone like him must have a well established knowledge network. Finding Sefiera, and knowing all about her condition would be easily done by him, at least.
As for the price of the help, Ibro wasn't worried at all. If this master wasn't a cultivator, then he might be stressed, but Ibro already had a lot of cultivation techniques and ways, things that would blow the mind off that master.
Ibro exited the market, to be hurriedly followed by Noda. It seemed her brother didn't speak long with her, or perhaps he asked her to monitor his actions.
Ibro moved, uncared about the nice company he got, wandering around the ruined streets of this village. He noticed many destroyed buildings, which made him think this was a thriving village before it was destroyed.
He thought the village had developed better than his own, until he passed by the collapsed defensive wall. The village was nowhere equal to his in matters of defenses, and thinking back about the circumstances of his village, the early days of it, and his sudden disappearance, it all seemed fit to push his village towards the military route.
He wasn't upset about it, as this decision taken by his saints, was a right one indeed. It seemed his village still stood until now wasn't a mere fluke, and the desperate fate of Noda's village was quite reasonable.
"Are you taking a tour around my damaged village?" Noda suddenly opened her mouth, with a chuckle, while putting her hands over her waist, "I know it's a hell of a scene, but why do you try to make it unforgettable?"
Ibro stopped as he turned to look at her. Her smile, childish act, was something he lacked a lot. Somehow, he felt some familiarity with her attitude, and that reminded him of the first time he met her and her little gang. He had to admit, he lived quite a day full of fun and adventure, a day that reminded him of his past game days.
When fun was everything, playing was just to prove himself and gain more benefit, knowing new friends, and enjoying the play. He longed for such a life, which he knew he wouldn't have, or enjoy, until he figured out why all this was happening to him.
He suddenly realized he never asked himself that question before. He was carried out, by the rapid train of events that kept hitting him, but he never asked the most essential question, why him?
'Because I'm Rioneed?' he muttered to himself, lost in thought, as he had no clear answer to such a question. His silence, and absent look over his face made Noda think, wrongly, he was lost in her. She didn't feel annoyed, as what he did so far to just help her was worthy of her admiration. If she wasn't content and happy with such a man in her life, then she must have something wrong in her mind, or that was what she was thinking of.
Being with him wasn't that bad of an idea after all, despite her never thinking of it this way, she started liking the thought though.
"Hey hey, what are you distracting about?" she asked again, interrupting his deep thinking, and making him return back to reality once more.
He just smiled, before looking again and checking using his divine sense. The monsters never came. He knew he had now more time to train his soldiers, but it also meant the monsters could be more prepared as well.
He still was sure of the monsters attacking here, and now all he needed to do was to rest a bit, and wait for them.
He looked to Noda, and strangely she reminded him of Maya. Just the thought of her made him chuckle, as if Maya was here, he would never feel any tired or stressed.
"Don't look at me and smile in this way," Noda's cheeks got blushed right away, under the gaze of his, which made him realize his mistake and look away at once.
"Your village was quite developed before it was destroyed," he said, changing the topic.
"Y-Yes, I focused on developing my economy and my villagers' life affairs," she hurriedly replied, feeling happy about changing the topic, but not completely happy though.
"But the defensive preparations weren't matching this," he commented on the point she lacked here.
"I-I know that, but I don't have many experienced generals to aid me here," she embarrassedly said, like someone caught on action.
"That's not a problem," he simply said, as they two kept moving around the village, "after this battle, I will ask Froki to select capable generals and saints from my army and dispatch them for your service."
"N-No, that's unnecessary," she hurriedly refused, feeling more odd to his offer and generosity, despite having some happiness from his offer.
"Don't," Ibro firmly said, "or else I won't feel relieved seeing you vulnerable again like this," he added, "If things went as planned, I intend to leave a garrison to defend you here."
Noda looked away as she pointed towards the increasingly growing skeletons. "Army of them?"
Ibro looked towards the direction she pointed at, before he shook his head as he asked:
"What about them?"
"I like the dragons, those flying things, also those giant things walking on four legs, I like them too. If you are going to leave an army of them here, I will be much appreciated."
The corners of Ibro's eyes twitched involuntarily when he heard her words. this little girl wanted his dragons and golams, something that was very familiar. It seemed girls were all alike, he sighed, asking himself why each girl he knew of was always aiming for his best, hardily trained, and rarest units?