"…Are you preparing for a Hunt, or are you preparing for war?" Rianna asked as she looked at the hustle and bustle that was happening on the other side of the warehouse, where Thirteen and his slaves were staying.
The Trolls were busy assembling arrows using the arrowheads that Brutus and T1 were making non-stop.
Aside from creating moulds, they were also constantly melting iron and steel which they'd later pour into the moulds to create the arrowheads, which would then be passed to the assemblers.
It was tough work, so Thirteen divided the Trolls into two teams. One team was assisting Brutus, while the other team was shaving wood to be used as the arrow's body.
The Trolls that Thirteen handpicked were already proficient in making arrows. However, the most they could make were very crude arrows.
So, the seven-year-old boy taught them the right way of making them. Fortunately, the Trolls learned quickly, which was why they were able to create so many arrows in a short period of time.
Percival was also forced to join the production, but the latter didn't voice out any complaints.
His character had changed a bit after Thirteen gave him a taste of his killing intent that he had been holding back for thousands of years.
If the Tigerkin hadn't been strong-willed and didn't have the makings of a hero, he might have been completely traumatized by the boy's deadly gaze.
Of course, he would still glare at his Master from time to time, but the glare wasn't as intense as the ones he gave him before.
"A Hunt is also a war," Thirteen commented. "The only difference is that I'm taking this war seriously."
"Can you give me some of the finished arrows?" Rianna asked.
"No," Thirteen replied. "I gave you enough freebies already. Use your own slaves to make your own."
"Stingy!"
"Huh? You're already freeloading in my warehouse, and you still dare call me stingy? Should I kick you all out for not paying the rent?"
Rianna lightly cleared her throat before bidding Thirteen goodbye with the excuse of having a strategy meeting with her own Hunting Party.
The boy watched her go, and only when he could no longer see her did he sigh in his heart.
'War, huh?' Thirteen thought as he looked towards the Northeast. 'I just hope that I'm overthinking things.'
Vassago soared across the sky and kept watch on the land under him.
Thirteen had given him three missions, and he only had four days to finish them.
One of his missions was to find the exact location of the Purple-Furred Honey Badger, the Overlord of the Warsor Plains.
The seven-year-old didn't want a repeat of the incident that happened a few days ago when the Rank 6 Monster managed to get close to them without their notice.
They were able to escape the first time with their lives, but they might not be lucky the second time.
Because of this, Thirteen wanted to know the location of the monster at all times, preventing another tragedy from happening.
While doing the first mission, Vassago was also able to do his second mission, which was to identify all the types of monsters in the plains as well as the surrounding areas.
Thirteen asked the Pocopoco to double-check if there were any Jinn Type Monsters, who liked to eat humans, around.
The reason why he wanted to know the locations of these monsters was due to a simple reason.
Wanderers were the Jinn's natural enemies.
Because of this, Wanderers had a higher chance of getting items from Jinns after they were killed.
Cristopher's luck wasn't as high as Rianna's when it came to monster drops.
The seven-year-old wanted to overcome that problem by hunting Jinns and collecting their body parts for weapons.
'Target found,' Vassago thought when he saw something purple moving on the ground.
That 'something purple' was none other than the Purple-Furred Honey Badger, who was targeting a group of Gray-Haired Cheetahs that were eyeing a herd of Robust Bisons.
The target of the cheetahs were, of course, the young ones since the older ones were very tough and harder to deal with.
Vassago took note of the Honey Badger's location before flying away.
He still needed to visit the cities of the Tigerkins to see whether they were also preparing for a large-scale battle with the Barbarians.
If the two sides were really going to fight, then Thirteen would choose a different route for their hunting trip in order to prevent getting accidentally sandwiched between the two parties.
The seven-year-old had no interest in who would emerge the victor of the battle.
He had no intentions of letting his subordinates, as well as Rianna's subordinates, participate in a war.
They were already struggling to survive in Solterra.
Being thrown onto the battlefield was the last thing that they wanted to happen.
While all this was happening, Norris was currently entertaining a guest who had arrived at his establishment just an hour ago.
"Tell me more about this Zion whom you sold the Domini Mortis to," a woman wearing a black robe said. "Is he really just a boy?"
"Yes," Norris replied. "I don't know his exact age, but I'm pretty certain that he's not more than ten years old. Also, he doesn't act his age, which is why I find him interesting."
"When was the last time you saw him?" the woman asked.
"A few days ago," Norris answered. "He was in need of slaves, so he bought 10 Trolls and 2 Ogres. He also requested a few favors from me, like helping him purchase metals, and he asked if I knew someone who could help him build a simple Forge in the warehouse that he is renting from me."
"Metals and a forge?" The woman frowned. "Does he plan to do Smithing?"
"Perhaps." Norris shrugged. "I did not want to be nosy, so I didn't ask him for details. Are you planning to investigate him?"
"Yes," the woman replied. "After all, he might be the one I am looking for."
Norris nodded his head in understanding.
"Just be careful, okay?" Norris said after sipping his tea. "I can tell that he isn't an ordinary boy. It is best that you do things in moderation. I did my best to befriend him, so don't make me lose my hard work, okay?"
"Worry not," the woman stated. "I just want to know if he will be able to help us with the thing that is troubling us."
"He's still a child. I don't think he's able to do the impossible."
"There's always a first time for everything."
Norris sighed. "To think our organization has regressed to the point where we have to put our faith in a child who is not even ten years of age."
The woman nodded her head in agreement, but she still said what was on her mind.
"Norris, even a pebble can make small ripples in a lake," the woman said before walking towards the door. "No matter how small that ripple is, it might lead to an outcome that all of us have overlooked."
Norris watched the woman leave his office with a frown on his face.
Although he believed that Thirteen was impressive for his age, this wasn't his first time seeing such a promising child.
He just didn't want his acquaintance to overestimate the boy, who still hadn't grown into being a man, and expect him to create a miracle that they had been hopelessly trying to achieve for the past decade.
