Lair Harvest

Calm nodded and said in a deep voice, “Once spring arrives, there's no telling what might emerge from the depths of the forest. We indeed need to strengthen our guard.”

The two of them then began to discuss.

Calm suggested that they could contract the range of their daily patrols inward slightly, avoiding several known, dangerous passes that led deep into the forest.

At the same time, they could set up a few simple watchposts and warning bells outside the village, with the patrol squad taking turns to guard them.

Matthew added that they could organize several targeted hunts, focusing on clearing small and medium-sized beast packs that frequently roamed around the village. This would both reduce potential threats and replenish their food reserves.

After all, Matthew knew that the goat demon Rivera, who called himself the “Shepherd,” was already dead. The only currently known threat in the forest that posed a real danger to the village was the unresolved Shadow Wolf King.

But now that it was early spring, most of the village's young, able-bodied men could be mobilized. The scale and strength of a collective hunt would be enough to ignore any harassment from ordinary wolf packs.

This was an excellent opportunity to venture deep into the forest's outskirts under the premise of ensuring safety, replenishing a batch of desperately needed meat reserves for the village.

After a brief discussion, the basic plan was finalized.

Calm told Matthew to notify the other patrol squad members and gradually implement these adjustments starting tomorrow.

“Yes, Instructor.”

Matthew acknowledged, bowed, and turned to leave the courtyard.

As the twilight deepened, he walked with steady steps toward his home, already calculating the harvest within those two heavy cloth bags.

The figures on the village road were sparse. From afar, Matthew saw Aidan guarding the two cloth bags.

Walking up, he patted Aidan on the shoulder and said,

“You've worked hard today. Go back and get some good rest first. Starting tomorrow, the village's patrol and hunting arrangements will change, so make sure to stay in top shape.”

With that, Matthew quickly pushed open the door, took out a piece of prime magical beast meat weighing about two pounds from beside the door, and handed it to Aidan.

“From now on, come to me every week to collect one pound of prime magical beast meat.”

Aidan took the heavy piece of prime meat, his heart filled with both shock and joy.

Having trained in the patrol squad for over half a year and received guidance from Matthew, he already had a decent understanding of extraordinary common knowledge. He naturally knew the precious value of prime magical beast meat for tempering the body and nourishing life energy.

He also knew how rare this magical beast meat was.

Aidan carefully cradled the piece of prime magical beast meat, his eyes filled with gratitude and solemnity.

Matthew looked at him:

“Take it and consume it properly. Combine it with your daily training to temper your body and accumulate life energy as quickly as possible. The village isn't very peaceful right now, especially with the unpredictable changes at the forest's outskirts. Become a Black Iron Rank as soon as you can to help the village.”

“You are currently only a step away from becoming a Class holder. Combat techniques aren't comprehended out of thin air; you have to find that 'feeling' in life-and-death combat.”

Matthew patted Aidan's shoulder. “During the next hunt, follow me closely. Watch how I strike with my sword, how I dodge, and feel it with your heart.”

Aidan nodded vigorously. “Yes, Big Brother Matthew, I will definitely work hard!”

“Mm.” Matthew withdrew his hand, his gaze softening slightly. “Hurry up and make a breakthrough.”

Aidan bowed deeply before turning to leave, his steps much lighter than when he had arrived.

Matthew withdrew his gaze and looked down at the two cloth bags at his feet, his lips curling up slightly.

He bent down to lift the bags into the house, shut the door, and finally relaxed completely.

The interior was dimly lit, with only the last ray of twilight filtering through the window, barely outlining the corner of the table.

He lit the oil lamp, took out one of the cloth bags, and emptied all of its contents onto the table—it was precisely the loot he had hastily swept from the wooden chest in the kobold nest.

When he had poured the contents of the wooden chest into the bag back then, he had caught glimpses of scattered golden glints...

“I hope it doesn't disappoint me.”

Matthew acted swiftly, beginning to sort the items into categories.

A moment later, three categories of items were neatly laid out.

His gaze first fell upon the largest and most cluttered pile—coins, ores, beast hides, and so on...

The lamp cast a warm yellow halo on the tabletop.

Gold, silver, and copper coins were mixed together, their surfaces coated with dust, glinting with varying degrees of luster under the oil lamp.

He picked up a gold coin, his fingertip brushing over the faded patterns on it—

It was the old griffin emblem of the Kingdom of Cher. The edges were worn, but its heavy weight remained substantial.

“It seems those kobolds collected quite a few belongings from passing travelers...” he murmured to himself, a trace of joy mixed in his tone.

After pocketing this old gold coin, he buried himself in the pile of miscellaneous items and began to sort through them carefully.

His fingertips flipped swiftly through the pile of coins, ores, and hides. He quickly brushed the copper and silver coins aside, his eyes focused on searching for any scattered golden glints.

A moment later.

From the bottom and crevices of the clutter, he picked out eleven gold coins of varying sizes and wear.

He arranged them neatly in the center of the table, where the oil lamp's halo was brightest.

Eleven, plus the one he had just pocketed, made twelve in total.

“Not bad at all... If this were given to other adventurers, this single haul would probably be enough for them to retire in a town.”

Matthew sighed with emotion as he pocketed them.

In border towns where resources were scarce and coin circulation was limited, even a single gold coin was enough to cover the living expenses of an ordinary family for several months, let alone twelve.

While sorting the gold coins, Matthew also roughly estimated the value of the hides and ores beside them.

Based on his previous experience going to the Anda Town black market, he quickly determined that these hides were coarsely tanned and of poor quality, and the ores were quite ordinary with many impurities.

Even counting all the miscellaneous items, the coins they could be exchanged for would be extremely limited.

“If I take them to the Anda Town black market, I'd be lucky to get three gold coins for them.”

Matthew quickly calculated in his head, But the exact value will only be clear when the time comes. After all, I'm no veteran merchant...

A thought flashed through Matthew's mind.

Since he had saved Old Joel at Mute Pass last time, the experienced merchant had frequently expressed his gratitude, always muttering about finding an opportunity to repay him.

For one, Matthew knew that Old Joel traveled between towns all year round, possessing a sharp eye and never letting himself get ripped off.

His previous Green bow, which was of excellent quality, had been purchased through Old Joel.

Secondly, all the animal pelts caught by the traps Matthew set during this period had been handed over to Old Joel to handle. The amount of coins exchanged was quite reasonable, and there had never been any discrepancies in the accounts or the quality.

“There shouldn't be any issues if I hand these miscellaneous items from the kobold nest to him.”

Matthew thought to himself, already having a solid plan. He even intended to hire Old Joel as his exclusive buyer.

As a noble Brass Rank Class holder, having an exclusive buyer was perfectly reasonable.

With these thoughts, he turned his gaze to another pile of items.