Chapter 166: Spot the Builder

Chapter 166: Spot the Builder

I watched as Bee led the train of people out of the city gates and crested over the horizon. It wasn't the first time that we had been separated. But it was the first time I had really been on my own. Who knew how large of a commitment I had just made? But I still stood by my decision.

The undead needed to be stopped. And judging from what I had seen here, the humans were going to struggle at it if they were left to themselves.

I turned as Beatrice moved out of sight to look down at the people below. They were surprisingly fast at stacking blocks. I never watched anyone stack blocks at home except for the small clumsy human, but I couldn't imagine him ever moving anywhere near as fast as these men. Which was strange because they were obviously so inferior to my humans in every other way.

It probably was related to the skills that seemed so popular around here, but at the rate they were stacking the blocks, they would likely be done with building suitable gatehouses by the end of the day. Apparently, the longer time that they had estimated came mostly from gathering new blocks and getting a new door. It was good that they hadn't received nearly as much damage as expected. Looking back on it, my domain probably had something to do with making sure they stayed in nicely-shaped rectangles instead of shattering everywhere.

I spotted Arthur walking among the people working. He wasn't shouting like he had been during the battle now. Instead, he mostly just watched. However, wherever he went, the men worked about 23 percent faster. It was like a bubble of efficiency followed him around. For a human, he sure resonated with my kind.

Still, this work as a whole was going to take at least a day or two at the rate they were lifting everything into place. I could feel my domain assisting them; each time they placed a block, it was nudged to be in a slightly more perfect spot. This wouldn't really help them move faster, though. Unless I started intervening more directly, of course. The only issue was that I didn't know anything about building large stone structures.

Hovering down from the wall, I went over to Arthur's side. He saw me approaching and waited for me before giving me a slight bow. "Lord Void."

I returned his formal greeting with one of my own before launching into why I had come over. Unfortunately, he still didn't seem able to understand me. "I'm sorry my lord, you may need to slow down. I don't think I caught that."

Arthur was too polite. Changing the pace at which I beeped at him wasn't going to help anything. I still wasn't sure what made people understand me, but it had taken everyone a bit of practice. Some of the children were better at it, but the adults always took a decent amount of conversation to glean even approximate meanings.

I wasn't expecting him to be any better, but if I didn't give him a chance to practice, he definitely wouldn't learn. Well, when I thought of it that way, maybe trying to speak slower might help. So to humor him, I repeated myself, drawing out each beep until the distortion was just to the edge of understanding.

"Terribly sorry-" Arthur started to apologize again, but I cut him off and backed up a little, leaving a lot of room between the two of us. With my claw, I slowly and painstakingly scratched in the dirt. It took me a minute to make sure the letters were perfect, but when I was done, the letters read, "I HELP."

—-

The foreman came up to Arthur, cursing up a storm. The man wasn't particularly angry; it was just the way he talked. Arthur listened to the man give his estimates. The news sent a smile to his face despite his best efforts to maintain his composure.

It seemed they wouldn't be waiting here for days after all.

Turning to his aide, he gave him orders. "Ready the men; it seems the few days in the city are canceled. If there are any grumblings, let them know the sooner we catch the enemy, the sooner we all get some proper leave.

The aide scurried away, and Arthur continued his discussion with the foreman. With the method that Void was stacking blocks, the man was worried that they would need to alter the gates themselves, but Arthur had his doubts. Perhaps he was too trusting too soon, but that sounded like something Void would be able to handle.

He promised the man that he would confirm the matter about the gates. Then he reassigned him and his team to work on repairing other parts of the city with the rest of the engineering corps.

Now that their timetable had moved up several days, he had a lot more work to do. Calling all his officers through messengers, Arthur made his way to the command post. They had plans to make and not much time to get them moving.

Once he was in front of the map table, he didn't wait for everyone to show up. Instead, he just started working with what was available. The first was an armory report. They needed to know how much equipment they had and how much to take with them.

The number of spares was calculated by a complicated formula based on how many men, how long the campaign was, and how frequently there were engagements. The Quartermaster class greatly helped with all of this as often most of the variables couldn't be known. Arthur was lucky to have the best Quartermaster in the country. While he was a respected commander and good at tactics, his head wasn't the same for numbers. It had taken a significant effort for his tutors to drill them into his head as a child.

Basil was the first to arrive; the Quartermaster was ever punctual. "Sir." He saluted. "'We should be ready to go. The stores have been packed and counts are being done. But for a two month campaign we should be fine. Sir."

"Very well, Basil. How are we on winter supplies?" Arthur asked.

"You think we will be wintering in the field sir?" The Quartermaster asked with a grimace.

"I think this hunt could take longer than any of us would like."