My Kingdom Building Done Right!-Chapter 25: Old But Still Fit To Fight

With the Alborin Tribe now mobilized to help Leone gather materials to strengthen their new home’s defenses, the young man couldn’t stop smiling.

He reviewed his plans with Daedalus while the clang of pickaxes hitting stone played in the background.

"This Auto-Gather feature is great, but it’s so expensive!" Leone complained after browsing the skills Daedalus could unlock in the Arcane Shop.

The Auto-Gather Skill cost a thousand BP and would allow the grimoire to automatically collect materials within Leone’s territory without anyone needing to physically go there.

But since they were currently short on BP, purchasing it was impossible.

"It’s fine," Daedalus replied. "Once you increase your number of vassals and gather more followers, we’ll eventually earn enough BP to buy that kill. One step at a time, Leone. There’s no need to rush."

Leone sighed. "You’re right. I should be happy we can build our defenses before the Black Wolf Tribe attacks."

Fighting over a hundred warriors was no easy feat, especially since the Alborin Tribe had less than a dozen fighters.

To compensate for their lack of manpower, Leone needed to train four non-combatants to operate the repeating crossbows.

The other women of the Alborin Tribe might not be as strong as Yuni, but they had adapted to the Borderlands’ hardships. They would have fewer reservations about killing if it meant protecting their families.

"Where should we place the pitfall traps?" Leone asked.

"Best to put them on the path leading up to the cliff," Daedalus answered. "But we should wait until we’ve spotted the Black Wolf Tribe. The last thing we want is our own people falling into something meant to protect us."

Leone nodded. "Then to protect the cave, let’s place pitfall traps inside once the battle starts. That way, the enemy can’t threaten the non-combatants or use them as hostages."

"Good plan." Daedalus approved of Leone’s consideration toward the tribesmen. Not to mention, warriors could fight more peacefully knowing their families were safe.

A moment later, they heard Blitz squeak as it soared toward the cliff. The little creature informed them that Ulric had chopped enough wood to meet their quota.

"Well then, I’ll be back!" Daedalus said before flying down toward the forest to collect the trees that would be used to build their defenses.

Meanwhile, Arion patrolled the skies, keeping a lookout for the path that led to the forest. Leone had asked his Familiar to watch out for the scouts the Black Wolf Tribe might have sent to the forest.

If any barbarians entered their territory, Arion had to report back immediately.

The young man had also purchased a Warning Bell from the Arcane Shop for 50 BP, placing it near the cave entrance.

The moment someone rang that bell, everyone Leone considered an ally would know they were under attack, no matter where they were in Grimjaw Mountain or the forest below.

His precious BP was now down to 150. But he didn’t regret that purchase.

After all, lives were more precious than Builder Points!

It didn’t take long before Daedalus returned to the cliff after collecting the cut trees. It then flew to where Maximus and the two warriors were digging into the mountain.

Just as it had done with the trees, the grimoire sucked up all the stones and dirt littering the ground.

With the Stonebreaker Pickaxe’s help, the three had made remarkable progress in just a few hours. They had already cleared enough space to form a camping area that could accommodate a dozen people.

"This pickaxe is incredible," one of the Guards, Castor, said with a smile. "If we keep mining for a few days, creating a secondary cave that could serve as extra dwellings won’t be a problem at all."

"Right." The other guard, Pollux, nodded in agreement. "If given a week or a month, we can even create a tunnel that goes deep under the mountain. Who knows? We might be able to create a path that leads to the other side of this mountain!"

Maximus nodded happily as it truly enjoyed mining. Perhaps it was because it was a Kobold that mining felt like second nature.

"Well, we can think about that once we’ve dealt with the Black Wolf Tribe," Daedalus commented. "If we get lucky and dig iron ores or any metals, we can speed up our progress and soon make our own weapons and tools!"

""Yes!""

Maximus also raised its hand and growled in agreement.

Kobolds could speak their own language, as well as the languages of other races, given time.

In fact, Daedalus believed that in a week or two, Maximus would be able to speak the common language of the continent, allowing it to better communicate directly with the Barbarians instead of being limited to Leone, Daedalus, Blitz, and Arion.

A few hours later, just before sunset, Leone, Ulric, and the Alborin Tribe’s warriors gathered for a meeting.

They were discussing how to maximize their base’s defenses while giving their warriors every possible combat advantage.

Daedalus also showed them projections of structures and weapons Leone could craft, given they could provide the materials needed to craft them.

It even displayed a 3D model of the defense plan it had developed with Leone earlier.

The warriors rather liked the idea of pitfall traps at the mountain’s base and inside the cave.

When Leone mentioned that non-combatants could join the fight by operating the repeating crossbows, some of the women volunteered to learn.

Even the two old men of the Alborin Tribe volunteered to do it as well.

"We’re old, but that doesn’t mean we’re not fit to fight," one of the old men, Swain, stated.

"He’s right," the other old man, Darius, seconded. "As long as we won’t have to clash weapons with the enemies, using a crossbow will not pose a problem to us. Besides, Swain and I were the best hunters when we were young. We’re quite knowledgeable when it comes to range weapons."

Ulric and the warriors were also taught by Swain and Darius growing up, so no one dared to look down on these two old men