Surviving The Fourth Calamity

Hill turned his head thoughtfully and finally asked, "How is the situation at the Star Gate?"

"I am not sure about other places, but it's chaos over here at Ferun. Many people can now only remain in Felunryel. Thankfully, there is also a portion of the Undead Tribe, which, despite being from the Chaos System, are quite useful," responded Thorne with a wry smile.

Hill calmed his nerves. Had Tyr already classified the Undead Tribe under the Chaos System? What had they done during their time in Felunryel?

Right, the one in charge of them now is that Divine Artifact Core, which, when it comes down to it, is a system with a relatively strong intelligence but can be somewhat rigid despite its ability to adapt.

It definitely operates based on various rules, and indeed, setting out numerous provisions is the best way to deal with the Undead Tribe. However, what the Undead excel at is finding loopholes.

When William was here, he could promptly identify these loopholes and swiftly incorporate restrictions against the Undead Tribe. The system, however, would still need to review whether it violated any core laws or submit any improper matters to the God of Time and Space for inspection, potentially slowing down the banning process.

The Undead would definitely take advantage of this slower response time without William's swift hand.

The time when strategists are far away is when the most wonderful moments in the game unfold.

"Actually, the Undead should be considered lawful." Hill couldn't help but speak up, as he didn't want Ferun to treat the Undead Tribe like an unstable gnome bomb.

The Paladins showed an expression of 'how could you spout such nonsense so confidently.'

"Exactly, someone needs to manage them." Hill stubbornly finished his point, "They have a Devil-like style, delighting in finding loopholes in the rules.

But they are not as evil in their actions as Devils; sometimes they enjoy playing pranks, causing little more than minor mischief."

Hill fell silent for a few seconds, seeming to realize his explanation was becoming more powerless.

"If His Majesty King William were here, he would be able to stop the Undead's probing in the fastest way, so it would still be manageable..." In the end, that was all he could say.

"So, Mr. Hill believes that despite their chaotic demeanor, they will obey the orders of their leader, even if they curse him on a daily basis?" asked Thorne, a bit curious.

"Yes." Hill breathed out softly, "Even if they are dissatisfied with the rules set by their leader, they will adhere to them. That's sort of a form of order, isn't it?"

Thorne was silent for a while before saying, "I will let our friends who are staying in Felunryel closely observe them, as they've had more contact with the Undead lately.

The Undead complete their tasks well, but they overreach and like snooping around; many friends are starting to find it unbearable."

"They can go and communicate with the Light Orb in the Undead Tribe Camp." Hill casually offered a suggestion, "As long as it's reasonable, it will agree to limit where the Undead can't go."

A whole year has passed, and the people left behind in Ferun still don't know how to deal with the Undead?

They must have really suffered a great deal.

Thorne nodded and decided to report this to Tyr when he returned.

They all knew that the Undead were not an Evil Faction, but indeed, the divine followers staying there really didn't know how to interact with them and had been at a disadvantage.

Since Hill had traveled with them for so long, the solutions he proposed must be useful.

"Mr. Hill." Thorne spoke earnestly, "If we establish a Temple here, the number of people coming will not be small. There are 56 official Silver Shield members and 32 reserve Paladins. Then there are our retainers, each of us has at least two.

There are also quite a few ordinary people who serve us, and if they settle here permanently, some of their relatives might come over too.

If that's the case, the area we occupy will be very large."

Hill waved his hand dismissively and said, "Then I'll just build a small town along the main road, it's better if ordinary people don't live at the far north.

The chill of the shadows there is too intense, and staying there for long would be detrimental to their health.

Your people can come and live here by paying some rent, 12 gold for a large house and 6 gold for a small one, per year.

But as you know, I am establishing a territory here mainly for Agleya; I have no intention of building power.

However, if your people are here, then you must take responsibility for managing the town's public order, and don't go casting Alignment Detection in the tavern. No one dares to cause trouble there; Terry likes all the guests."

Thorne and his team members struggled to maintain their composure. He truly couldn't understand why Hill would allow Tyr's Paladins to manage public order.

No lord would want the Paladins to have a thorough understanding of their territory. Shadows in the darkness are taken for granted for their existence.

"Agleya has no interest in managing humans." Hill couldn't help but laugh, "Neither do I, originally I didn't plan to allow this place to become a settlement.

Since they're your people, of course, you manage them."

Looking at Hill's indifferent expression, Thorne suddenly had an epiphany: Hill was a bit like the Silvermoon Dragon Queen who freely uses Harpists. The Golden Dragons also lack the desire to control, but as long as she lives, nobody would think that the Lord of the North could be replaced.

Their strength is great enough to fear no threats, so they are indifferent to others entering their spheres of influence—as long as it's their will.

Thorne thought for a moment, "Regarding the tavern, normal Paladins wouldn't go in there.

Unless they stir up some big trouble.

But by that time, it's usually the lords who request a city-wide search that gets us involved in those messy places."

"We won't just stand by and watch someone do evil in front of us, but seeking out trouble for its sake, unless one is that sort of extremist."

"The Silver Shield needn't be that fanatical, and Tyr actually doesn't like it, unfortunately, there always are those who think they understand the deities better than the deities themselves."

"Since Mr. Hill puts it that way, we'll head back and start relocating. The Knight Corps will come over first..."

He suddenly looked up and asked, "Mr. Hill, how well does this Puzzle Lock control temperature?"

"Are you referring to the Dead of Winter?" Hill replied, "It should be about the same as what you feel inside Silvermoon City."

Thorne leaped up: "That's excellent! Deepwater City isn't so hospitable to ordinary folk. We'll head back right now and move everything over!"

They didn't mention rent, for even the commoners working for them could easily afford it.

Clearly, Hill was merely defending his sovereignty.

Hill saw off the Paladins of the Silver Shield.

Agleya, who had been eavesdropping from upstairs, floated down: "Dad Hill, why did you agree to their request? You've never liked trouble, have you?"

The Paladins of Tyr, judging by their approach, meant trouble.

"Every nook of Ferun is trouble," Hill curled his lips, "I miscalculated. Baal seems to not be completely dead after all.

That guy is full of bad tricks, and I have no interest in matching wits with him; that's Tyr's business."

He glanced at Agleya: "Our task is to kill Ambori, stabilize your divinity as the Goddess of the Sea, and even if Ambori plays dead and dares not come, we won't need to lift a finger.

Forget other matters, things are too chaotic on Toril's side."

Also, Tyr's Paladins only said Ambori needed to be dealt with by Agleya herself, without mentioning Talos, the Storm God.

That's because Talos is already an enemy of Tyr. If his followers showed up, the Silver Shield would naturally confront them, with no need for any further mention.

If Talos himself came, there would be no issue. Thorne was, after all, the Avatar of Tyr; Tyr would certainly appear with great excitement to directly oppose Talos."

Although Hill was not afraid of this leader of the Berserkers, he would still gladly accept any gesture of goodwill.

There was no need to tell Agleya this; Tyr was also here because of him. It looked like the God of Justice was quite eager to repay Hill's favor soon.

He was never one of those hypocrites who'd just say thank you and consider the favor repaid.

His ways of repaying might be odd at times, but Hill, being the mild-mannered person he was, could understand that deeper intention.

With water here, Tyr's Paladins could easily build their own Temple on the land in front of Neverwinter.

Hill or Agleya wouldn't refuse the Paladins coming for water, would they? Frankly, even the stingiest Giant Dragon wouldn't be that foolish.

There was no need for Tyr to place the Temple in a location where Talos might strike at any time. Although Talos was his enemy, that didn't mean Tyr was obligated to help others resist a powerful Divine Power.

Hill couldn't help but laugh. Only Tyr would choose such a rigid attitude to do good, but most people might not think it through and would probably only perceive him as competing for faith or even territory.

Agleya cast a few curious glances at Hill, sensing that some things might be different from what she had thought.

Since the arrival of these Paladins wouldn't have a negative impact on them, she wouldn't object either.

The deities of Teraxil were long accustomed to opening Temples in one place.

Those who needed no faith were truly liberating.

Hill flew out of the castle and hovered to the left of the inn, calculating carefully. Even if they were behaving now, Hill wouldn't allow them any contact with the knights of the Silver Shield.

Even if both sides were restrained, it was better not to meet if they could avoid it.

Hill extended his hand and summoned the Maze Forest Array centered around the fir trees at the back of the inn, completely securing the rear of his territory.

If this place became a small town, then the vast wilderness behind it would represent danger.

The fir tree was the type of tree Hill could control and summon most easily; they were even willing to move slowly for Hill with their long roots.

Hill shifted two rows of giant trees along the mountainside, then scattered some seeds of trees and flowers unique to The North behind the inn.

After some thought, he sprinkled a good amount of pasture seeds as well before reluctantly using Nature's Blessing only on this spot.

In the future, Hill's Floating Castle would hover above this piece of land.

Starting from the northern wall of the inn's large warehouse to the edge of the forest, Hill built a row of tall three-story shops.

Hill hovered in midair, his expression inscrutable, as if he were about to start selling goods again.