After saying a word to Faradon, without a moment's delay, Levi turned and headed back to the castle to begin organizing supplies.
With permission granted, Faradon also curiously walked inside the walls, following behind him and looking around.
Levi went straight to the castle's smelting room, collecting the iron ingots that had finished smelting in a row of furnaces, and began crafting.
He opened the chest marked [Minerals].
Five complete stacks of iron blocks lay quietly inside, along with various other miscellaneous ores... among them, one stack of sulfur and 43 pieces of saltpeter.
Level: 35.
This was the result of a month of continuous mining.
"How do you plan to deal with them?"
Watching Levi inventory his supplies, Faradon couldn't help but ask.
Taking advantage of his entry, this experienced Ranger had also examined the internal structure of the walls, and his observations made him frown involuntarily.
The defensive engineering of these walls... if not completely useless, could certainly be said to be utterly lacking.
It was purely a wall built by piling up stones, with only a few ladders to climb up. Once up there, it was completely bare with no cover whatsoever. Standing there would basically make you a living target with nowhere to hide.
He really couldn't figure out how Levi planned to defend this place with such a bare wall and what looked like a fragile palisade gate.
Through magic?
"Just defend it like this," Levi gave an ambiguous answer.
While speaking, he took out over a dozen stacks of cobblestone and, in just a few dozen minutes of back-and-forth trips, raised the entire wall by a full five meters.
The whole process left Faradon dumbfounded.
What kind of power was this?
Why did those huge stone blocks stick in place like they were glued once placed, completely motionless? And where did all these stones come from? He seemed to just point at the air and conjure stones out of nothing.
Looking at the wall that appeared to be one complete whole with no joining marks, the Ranger was bewildered.
This building ability was simply like a creator god descending to earth.
Any nation that could secure his services would achieve a qualitative breakthrough... this would be more useful than ten thousand defending soldiers...
"Now I understand why you're confident about holding this place."
The Ranger quickly recovered and said, "But your defensive works are indeed somewhat crude. Listen to me, like this..."
Levi listened, his eyes gradually brightening.
As a building-focused Minecraft player, he had always prioritized aesthetics over practicality when constructing houses... whatever looked good.
Now, hearing Faradon's suggestions, he suddenly saw the light.
In half an hour, the general defensive engineering, structure, and functions of the castle were explained clearly, making his eyes shine as he immediately began modifications.
Faradon provided real-time guidance, telling Levi what to do, where to build cover, where to leave arrow slits, and where to place obstacles to prevent wall climbing.
They worked like this all afternoon.
Under the setting sun, another simple watchtower was completed. Levi took a big bite of beef jerky and handed several pieces to Faradon.
"Try my handiwork... system-brand secret beef jerky."
Although he didn't know what this "system" thing Levi mentioned was, it didn't stop Faradon from taking a few bites.
With one bite, the hidden flavors in the jerky broke through the outer layer and exploded in his mouth.
"Delicious. Even the finest dishes made by the most elite royal chefs would be no better than this."
Loyal System Food Fan +1.
Seeing that the castle had truly become a real castle with both beauty and defensive capabilities, Faradon had no more ways to help.
Everything was ready... now they just needed to wait.
As dusk was ending, Levi turned and asked, "Aren't you leaving? If your intelligence is accurate, that warg cavalry squad will attack tonight."
Faradon took another bite of jerky and said after swallowing, "I'm not leaving. I want to see how you'll deal with them."
"Besides, one more person can always help, right?"
Although he said this, the Ranger had other thoughts.
Direct confrontation was definitely impossible... that was a cavalry squad of a hundred strong.
He had already made up his mind: if Levi ultimately failed to hold the position, he would directly take him and flee, rather than let Levi die here reluctant to abandon his castle, or be captured by orcs. That would be such a waste.
"Aren't you afraid?"
"Battle and combat are things I experience every day."
Faradon looked completely unconcerned.
Levi took a breath.
Damn, he got outclassed.
"Alright then, if you insist on staying, take these... consider them a gift."
He produced a set of iron armor plus an iron sword and placed them on the ground. Faradon's eyes immediately widened.
Such exquisite iron armor, such a sharp longsword... was this person also a master blacksmith?
"Try it on and see if it fits."
As soon as he put on the armor Levi gave him, Faradon immediately felt the difference. This sturdy-looking, silver-white iron armor didn't affect his movement at all when worn, nor did it feel heavy... one had to admire the ingenuity of its craftsmanship.
"You always exceed expectations, Levi."
He really liked this set of armor.
"It looks like I'll have to put in more effort tonight."
Dusk passed in an instant.
Night arrived.
The sky wasn't particularly clear.
In the forest visible at a glance, pairs of crimson eyes stared fixedly at the castle that had appeared out of nowhere in the distance, along with the walls that had been built almost overnight.
Even though orcs weren't generally very intelligent, they still knew there were some powerful beings in this world... like those wizards, elf lords, and their own masters behind them.
What if whoever was inside the walls was a similarly powerful being? Wouldn't that be asking for trouble?
However, it had been over ten days since they first noticed this strange human. Watching the castle become more and more complete, the farmland multiply, and the walls grow higher and longer, it seemed that aside from an incredibly fast building speed, that person had no other special qualities.
"This castle can be ours!" A small scout orc reported to the relatively burly leader after returning. "Moreover, the wargs smell meat... there must be lots of fresh meat inside..."
Meat... fresh meat...
Hearing this news, many orcs lost control.
"I've had enough of moldy rotten bread and maggots... I want fresh meat!"
"Meat, man-flesh!"
"Shut up!" The burliest orc roared and violently smashed a nearby large rock.
Looking at the cracks in the stone, the surrounding commotion immediately calmed down considerably.
"Everyone get ready... now, immediately, move out! Tonight I'll feast on roasted man-flesh there!"
The leader issued his command.
Roar...
The wargs couldn't stop their low growling, and the orcs began to cheer.
[Chapter Complete]
***
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