Hax stood in the field as the Black Wolves set off with their carriages. He was about to look for Bodin until Gaelin and Ailmon approached him. Both of these men were cultivators. They liked to call themselves pugilists because they primarily used their bodies to attack and defend. Hax still didn't know the system of this world. Some norms called the humans with a superpower as cultivators, some called them magicians, and some called them with specific titles such as pugilist, archer, fighter, guardian, and swordmaster.

He didn't know the details for each of those titles. What was the difference between fighter and pugilist? And the last one split the system into three, namely warrior superhuman, magicians, and psychic warrior.

It was a very complicated system. Well, considering how vast the world was, it wasn't surprising.

Hax sighed. When he conquered the kingdom he would make a simple system that everybody had to use. And why would people call superhuman cultivators? Cultivators sounded more like farmers rather than people with superpowers.

"Sir," Gaelin said. "We have come back from the sect."

"What's the situation? How many numbers do they have?" Hax asked.

Ailmon, Gaelin's brother, replied: "There are 24 temples and each temple has one elder overseeing them. These elders were stage-3 swordsmen."

"So they have twenty-four stage-3 superhuman?"

"No, sir. They are swordsmen."

"Whatever. What about their numbers? How many swordsmen does a temple have?"

"At first, each temple only has a few dozens apprentices, sir. But the sect has been calling its members to return to the sect. Now, their numbers expand into the thousands."

"And these returning members have the experience and power in battle."

Gaelin nodded. "I saw them practice their skills every day. Even the stage-1 swordsmen could kill a magic beast by themselves."

"Are magic beasts hard to kill?" Hax asked.

"If the cultivators only rely on power alone, then it's impossible. They must have the skill, technique, and judgment to defeat the beast in the same stage.

Hax nodded. "Alright. I get the rough idea."

"We would like to return to the sect again, sir. We will report if we find another change."

Gaelin and Ailmon left Hax alone in the shooting field. As he watched them walk away, Hax can't help but felt defenseless. If Gaelin and Ailmon were enemies, they could kill Hax with their superhuman strength.

"I should have some bodyguards following me." Hax called for the guards that protected the forge hall. He told six of them to follow and let the rest guard the building. It would be bad if someone sabotage the weapon factory. The production of firearms would stop and the rebel army would have a hard time equipping its soldiers.

As the six guards circled him with their bulky BC-75, the people that passed him bowed in respect as they walked away.

There was a small town hall in the center of the town, but Hax basically owned Barmwich by now. No one cared if he changed anything. In fact, they would support him with all they had.

Hax walked around the street. He noticed tens of builders building a wall that circled the forge hall as its center. It was a few hundred meters away from the forge hall. The walls were taller than the outer wall and even incorporate some steel on their surface.

Tall towers stood around the entrance. Hax believed that would be the place where the soldiers would be when the walls were breached. He also saw some people filling a crate with gunpowders and placing them beside the gate. It seemed like these walls were not for holding the enemy out, but just to gather the enemy in one place. This would make the explosions much more effective.

It was a crude strategy and had many ways it could go wrong. What if the enemy didn't breach the gate and made their own entrance instead? Well, at least they made some efforts.

"Hax!" Bodin called and approached him. "What are you doing?"

"Just taking a walk."

Bodin nodded. "Too much work is bad too. You need to breathe some fresh air to clear your head."

"I know. Tell me about the materials."

"I have got them. The miners we recruited are very experienced. He has mined for the cultivators all his life. He didn't get paid but he did learn a lot about minerals and metals.

Hax's eyes lit up. "Where are the materials?"

"I have ordered them to be sent to the forge hall. I believe your order will come in a few days."

"Perfect."

…

Elaith sat in his bedroom with a bowl of spiritual crystal placed on the table in front of him. He grabbed one and crushed it. The crystal cracked and shattered as powerful energy seeped into his nose like smoke. His skin glowed and his wound started to heal. The energy strengthened his skin, muscles, and internal organs.

Goliath hopped on his window. He was a lava fox that lived around the Boiling Volcano. Wiggling his red tail, Goliath pounced on Elaith from behind and licked his neck.

"Goliath. You're such a naughty boy. Have you been eating those fire beetle again?:

Goliath ignored his questions and licked his face.

Elaith was overwhelmed by the attack, but he grabbed the fox's stomach and lifted it up. "Goliath, I think the weather is getting cold. Why don't I give you a blanket to stay warm?"

The small fox opened his mouth and spat out a breath of flame that hit Elaith in the face.

"Is that how you refuse my goodwill?" Elaith pulled the fox into his chest and squeezed it into a hug with all his might.

The fox struggled for a few seconds before it bit his chest.

Elaith released his hand. "Ahh!"

The fox jumped out of his arms and wiggled his butt at the stinky human.

Elaith chuckled. "Stop eating those fire beetles. Here have this instead." He put a plate of huge meat in front of the fox. The meat was from the flame ox that his friends killed for practicing their skills. It was hard, yet juicy enough.

Goliath's eyes lit up and wobbled the meat. Not even a minute passed and the Fox already laid on the bed with a bulging stomach. His expression showed satisfaction.

"There goes my lunch."

Goliath turned around, stood on his feet, and rubbed his head on the human's hand.

Elaith enjoyed the soft fur that moved around his hand. He wanted to hug Goliath, but he wouldn't like it.

Goliath climbed on his thigh and pooped out a smoking waste.

Elaith panicked and slapped it away as Goliath leaped on the wall. "Goliath!

His clothes had a small hole now. The heat didn't hurt him in any way, but it was bad to see a poop-sized hole in his clothes.

Trying to catch the little fox, Elaith leaped around his room. His feet were stuck on the wall as he reached out to grab the tail. But Goliath quickly jumped to the side and rolled on the bed.

"You're not getting away after that." Elaith continued to chase the fox.

As he and his fox ran and jumped around the bedroom, Elder Tasar opened the door.

"You seem to be having fun."

Elaith slipped on his feet but he quickly stabilized himself and landed gracefully. He couldn't shame himself in front of the elder.

"We're just playing, Elder Tasar."

The elder smiled. "I don't mind. Having fun and relaxing is good sometimes. Don't burden yourselves with other thoughts."

Elaith sighed. "It's my fault, isn't it? I led the attack."

"It is not you to blame, Elaith. It's your weakness. If you are strong enough, you can defeat your enemy. Go outside and train with your brothers and sisters. They don't blame you and neither do anyone else."

Elaith wanted to refuse and stayed inside his room forever, but he respected the leader too much to do that. "I will."

"The volcano is getting active these days. Maybe you should go to the crater and train with the magic beast."

Elaith nodded.

The elder smiled as he walked away from his bedroom.

Goliath hopped on his shoulder.

"What do you say Goliath? Are you ready to hunt for some magic beast?"

The fox licked his ear.

"Let's go ask the others."

Elaith walked with big strides as he went to the square. Thousands of apprentices trained with each other using the exquisite swords that they found in their travel. A lot of stage-1 swordsmen went out to travel the world when they felt that they reached a bottleneck. If they were lucky, they would become stronger.

The ones on the stages were mostly stage-2 swordsmen. They fought with better skills, technique, strength, and speed than the stage-1 swordsmen. Unlike what most stage-1 swordsmen expected the battle between them didn't only consist of using the swords.

"Laeroth! You're much faster than before."

"I can say the same to you, Vamir! You couldn't lift a sword a decade ago, now you're stronger than a mountain ox."

"Enough talking! I will make you eat my dust!" Laeroth dashed forward.

The both of them attacked each other like the wind. The movement of their swords was almost invisible. Sparks came out of the collision. Laeroth was quick, but Vamir was steady. He didn't take any step back as he was attacked by Laeroth.

Facing these attacks, Elaith wouldn't be able to react before he was cut into pieces.

Vamir slashed down, but Laeroth dodged. Laeroth grabbed his collar and stabbed his neck. Vamir caught the sword and snapped it in half.

Laeroth panicked. He released the sword and punched the man in the chin. The punch jerked his head to the back.

Immediately, Laeroth moved behind him and performed a choke hold.

Vamir grinned. "Bad move." He grabbed Laeroth's hand and squeezed.

Laeroth grimaced. "You really are strong. But I'm not done yet."

His hand flashed in rapid speed. He took a small knife from his thigh and stopped an inch away from Vamir's neck. He did this in less than the blink of an eye.

"Nice trick, Laeroth. But if this is a real fight I would have snapped your arms already."

"Then, let's take it as a draw because I could have cut you up and served your meat to our brother and sisters before you blink."

"Alright."

The both of them put away their weapons and shook hands.

"Why don't we go to a nearby tavern," Laeroth said. "I want to hear about your travel."

Vamir laughed. "Good idea. I want some magic beast on my stomach."

"I don't think norms could sell that."

"Then I want some strawberry juice."

"I don't think it exists in the Avatar Kingdom."

"What? This kingdom sucks!"