The journey back to Lions Den was far more magnificent than the trip there.
The size of the retinue had more than doubled, consisting of Hake's brothers, Brin and his warriors.
There were also the bandits who had surrendered along the way, who would later be evenly distributed among the various military towns, receiving land for cultivation.
When the group reached the valley entrance, all the new recruits stopped in their tracks.
Hake's jaw dropped, unable to believe his eyes, and Brin also stood rooted to the spot, his heart filled with indescribable shock as he gazed at the scene before him.
Even Arthur was quite surprised, because what lay before him was no longer a simple abyss valley. During his absence,
Evelyn and the people of the city had created another miracle.
The steep cliffs of the abyss had been carved with countless dark, gaping windows, resembling a beehive.
These windows were not haphazard but distributed at different heights, forming an intersecting projection net.
One could imagine that if an enemy intruded into the valley, they would face a rain of arrows and projectiles from all directions, with nowhere to hide.
"My Seven Gods," Hake exclaimed in shock, muttering, "Are we..."
...Are we going to live inside the mountains of the cliff?"
"This is Lord Arthur's brilliant idea," Lucien said, his eyes gleaming as he looked at the firing ports, raising his head proudly. "This will be a fortress that can never be breached."
Arthur walked at the forefront, a smile on his face as he saw Evelyn waiting to greet him. This woman was truly invaluable.
Evelyn stood at the valley entrance to welcome him, her golden hair blowing in the mountain wind, her blue eyes reflecting the triumphant procession.
"You've done very well," Arthur said to her with a smile. He was never stingy with his praise.
"Welcome home," Evelyn said, raising her head proudly, her smile gentle and serene. "It's just a simple renovation; there's still a long way to go. The internal passages are still being excavated, but it already has the Prototype of a fortress."
The new members followed the group into the valley, marveling at the dwellings and passages carved into the cliffs.
They had never imagined that humans could build their homes in the sheer cliffs like birds.
Arthur entered the council hall, which had been redecorated to be exquisite and luxurious, even carpeted. It was truly exaggerated. Although he believed money shouldn't be spent on this, he had given Evelyn full financial authority before leaving. She could take money from his treasury whenever she deemed it necessary.
"Any news about Bronn, whom I asked you to keep an eye on?" Arthur turned to Evelyn and asked, "Or any rising mercenary groups recently?"
Evelyn shook her head, her expression somewhat strange. When she arrived, Bronn had already taken the money and left. She had learned about this mercenary's deeds from some old soldiers: "No, I sent people to contact some mercenaries and inquire, but no one knows this person."
Arthur's heart sank. That bastard, that scoundrel wouldn't really have taken the money and run, would he? You'd better not let me catch you. If I do, don't blame me for not being nice to you.
However, compared to that scoundrel, he had more important matters to deal with. Arthur didn't like to seek revenge overnight, and he hadn't even gone to find trouble with him first, but rather, trouble had found him.
"Pass on my order," Arthur said, his voice echoing in the empty council hall. Although he didn't turn his head, the order was given to Lucien and Hakon, who were standing at the door. "Assemble all the stewards of the four military towns, now, immediately."
Inside the Lord's Hall, Arthur sat high on the lord's seat, the flames in the fireplace licking the firewood, emitting soft crackling sounds.
Twelve men stood on either side. They were the stewards of the four newly established military towns. Although most were commoners promoted rapidly by Arthur,
they now indeed looked like officials.
Though still very nervous, they stood there, their breathing softened, waiting for their young lord's decree with an anxiety mixed with awe and unease.
Arthur looked at Brin, signaling him to come forward and display the map. Brin strode to the stewards, unfolding the map with both hands, and the stewards gathered forward to examine it.
On the map, the outline of the Brightmoon Mountains was clearly delineated with charcoal, and a circled red dot marked the Lions Den, where they stood.
Brin's finger pointed to the red circle, then drew five lines outward, connecting to five marked mountain peaks on the map.
Brin watched the stewards being astonished by the detailed map, but he was actually just as astonished, though he didn't show it, that such a precise map existed.
"My first decree," Arthur's voice was not loud, but it tightened the nerves of all the stewards present. "The beacon fires will show my will."
Arthur stood up and began to walk down the steps, his gaze sweeping over everyone: "With Lions Den as the center, you will immediately return to your respective towns and establish beacon towers on these five key mountain peaks and passes that I have marked and that you can see."
"When I say beacon tower, I don't mean a complex structure. All I need is a pile of dry wood soaked in oil, capable of igniting a wolf smoke that rises into the sky."
Arthur walked in front of them, tapping his finger lightly on the map held by Brin.
"Remember, when you see the first wisp of black smoke rise from Lions Den, you must, in the shortest possible time, light the wolf smoke for which each of your military forts is responsible. This smoke is the trumpet of war."
He paused, letting the weight of the sentence sink into everyone's hearts.
"When the wolf smoke rises, it means war has begun. You must immediately gather all civilians in the military town, regardless of gender, age, or youth, back into the town."
"Mobilize all males aged fourteen to sixty to take up arms, seal the town gates, enter the highest state of readiness, and let the military officers take over everything."
"Once the Lions Den wolf smoke is red! Immediately proceed through the roads in the Brightmoon Mountains to gather at Lions Den!"
"Not just Lions Den! In the future! If an enemy invades! Any town under attack! Can send smoke!"
"One fort lights a beacon! All towns respond! Armies gather at Lions Den! Come to aid immediately!"
Everyone exchanged glances.
"And! I will soon light a beacon! The military fort that arrives the fastest will be rewarded! The slowest to arrive will be punished!"
Their exchanged glances turned into expressions of great shock. The slowest would be punished. They looked at the stewards from other towns beside them, and suddenly their gazes changed, and an inexplicable scent of gunpowder filled the air.
Only Lucien and Hakon had a slight inkling; they felt that Lord Arthur was very likely to make a move against the Legge Family, and this was preparation for war mobilization.
Arthur looked at their confused gazes. Only Lucien and Hakon seemed to half-understand, and Evelyn's expression was one of realization. This was something she had considered: a false mobilization experiment, but in reality, a real move. In the era of cold weapons, whoever mobilized their army first and struck first would win half the battle.
He was very confident in the "superiority" of the Three Elders system.
He wanted to give the lords of Westeros, who took several months to mobilize old farmers, a "systematic" shock.
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