Chapter 18: The Offer part 3

The staff holding Vulcan's head glowed with purple eyes like the sentries, its design emitting a beautiful yet powerful aura. "May I?" asked the lord, and Geppeto obliged by giving the staff to a knight, who then carried it to the outstretched hands of the lord. Carefully, the lord examined the workmanship. Then, he had an idea. "Heed my call, golems, line up in formation!" he commanded. The sentries then lined up in a perfect formation, their limbs letting out a crisp sound. Impressed, the lord handed the staff back to the knight, who returned it to the box it came in.

"This is the next set of items I have created, my lord," Geppeto then showed the plasma spears and swords. "These weapons release a powerful energy that cuts through objects like they are nothing. They are comparable to an uncommon rarity weapon but definitely at a slightly higher power. The only downside is that it seems that the ones who developed this weapon made it only for the hands of these golems to wield. Allow me to demonstrate." Geppeto said as he handed the weapon to the golem, and the golem took it. The spear's tip then lit up with a bright blue color. Geppeto took the spear, and wasn't able to turn on the spear; it just looked like a metal staff to anyone but this was just because he didn't try turning it on. This gave the impression to the lord that he was human underneath and not a golem like the rest. He knew the man was probably getting suspicious.

"Interesting, but it is fine; the weapons will only make these golems far deadlier," declared the lord, being really impressed. "I have to say, Geppeto, you have proven yourself to be quite valuable, but tell me. What is it that you seek out of this deal? Surely, you didn't just plan to hand all this over without something in return," he inquired as to the motives of the magi-craftsman.

"As I have told you, my lord, I was once a failed magi-craftsman. I wish to receive resources to improve my strength so I may prolong my lifespan as I am getting too old. I also wish for the crown to sponsor me and join the court magi-craftsman so I may improve my talent."

"That is indeed a fitting reward; we shall only see how your golems do on the battlefield. Anyways, I have other things to do, and this court session has gone long enough. I shall leave my steward to explain the further details of the delivery of the golem army to the capital in 3 months. I hope you don't disappoint me, Geppeto. Also, let it be known that if anyone outside of this room as so much speaks about this meeting, they will be killed along with their entire family!" ordered the lord, leaving everyone sweating.

"Thank you, my lord, it shall be done as you said," and with that, the golems redressed and left the audience chamber while the gaze of the lord was on them. If Vulcan could smile, he would be smiling while hiding underneath the cover of his mask. He would now be able to receive several more resources from the kingdom as well as infiltrating it from the inside. Most importantly of all was the war, a place where countless beings lost their lives. If they were going to die, at least let it be done by his hands so he may reap the energy points to fund his plans of expanding his army. He wasn't the only one with plans; in the audience room, the lord had a malicious gaze on his face.

Back outside, Jess finally felt less pressure from being in the presence of the lord. She didn't enjoy being in the company of those high-standing morons. They have never done anything good for the common people other than tax them and use their people to wage their wars.

"So what now? It seems like everything went well. Do you even need my help anymore?" asked Jess as they walked together side by side.

"Don't fret, I still need you. We will head back to the village for a short time until the supplies he has promised will arrive. Once that is done, we will head out to another kingdom. Have you been to the kingdom of Harrien?" asked Vulcan while they walked.

"Yeah, they are well known for the abundance of metals in their many mountain range mines," she explained, before she realized something. "Wait, you're planning on somehow getting more metal there, aren't you?"

Vulcan just laughed, "You're finally catching up. Come on, we've got a lot of work to do," as they exited the town. They made sure no one saw them get on the hover bikes as they left for the village.

Back at the village, a large, well-built stone wall could be seen. They even had a metal gate, with plenty of sentries dressed up standing guard. "Whoa, I see you've been busy. How did you even manage to do all of this?" asked Jess as the newly improved village came into view.

"It helps when you have thousands of clones of yourself working in perfect unity," he responded, and they soon got off the bikes before any wandering villager saw them on it. Sentries hiding in the nearby treeline came out and took over the bikes, disappearing into the forest. A small metal gate door built into the bigger gate opened for easier and more convenient access. The sentries even gave a small salute as they passed through, which made Jess giggle at the fact of Vulcan saluting himself. But her laugh was caught in her throat when she saw what the inside of the village looked like now.

Not only had Vulcan built a far stronger outer wall to protect the village, but he had expanded it by four times its size. The old village houses that were built with cheap materials and were already wearing down were no more. In their place were beautiful modern wood and stone lodges, with large, wide roads laid with stone going in a cross shape all over the village. Kids were playing in a newly built playground made for children, with small treehouses connected to trees by bridges above the playground. It looked more like a small town than the village it once was.

"Off in the distance, I made a new building distillery for the mead-making process. I even taught them how to make plenty of other different spirits. You can't see it because of the walls, but in the back, I had torn down a part of the forest to build larger fields for plantation. Over there is a training ground for those who wish to join the local militia. I built a small barracks and armory," Vulcan explained to Jess, who was still gazing at the town like it was an alien environment for her.

They soon arrived at the center of the village, where the water well originally was built. In its place was an artistic water fountain with lifelike stone sculptures of warriors joining forces with the sentries. Vulcan hadn't taken away the village's only water source but had built in plumbing to every home when he rebuilt the village. All it took was some knowledge of how water pressure worked, and now every home had access to clean water.

The biggest notable thing at the center was the large Manor lodge he had built for the head of the village, which was Jason. Vulcan led her to the second-story beautiful home. Sentries at the door opened up, and they were shown inside. Just like the home, the inside was tastefully decorated, with some paintings Vulcan made hung up on the walls.

They walked up the main staircase to the large study room. Another set of sentries also guarded it. They opened the door which revealed a study that was simply stunning, with leather couches, a red carpet with a bear pelt laid on the floor. In the back was a large desk with plenty of documents on top, and behind the desk was Jason, writing something down. He looked up when he heard the door open.

"Jess, you're back!" Jason said with happiness as he stood up and walked up to her, hugging her. He then looked at Vulcan and shook his hand. "I didn't know you were arriving so soon; this is an amazing surprise. I'm sure you're also surprised to see the new changes to the village, or maybe I should call it a town now," he said, laughing at his own words.

Jess smiled, but then she looked at Vulcan nervously. Jason sensed that there was something going on. "What? Is there something wrong?" he asked, looking at them both.

"Sit down, Jason. We need to talk to you about something important."