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Sitting in front of the bonfire in the camp, Romon kept stealing glances at Freya who had just returned from digging the canal.
This "giant bear" with a timid and sneaky look was the most eye-catching presence wherever she squatted.
Two village women were holding huge wooden brushes and scrubbing vigorously at Freya, who was munching on her pre-meal snacks, to brush out the dirt and pebbles from her fur.
After dinner, the village women would also boil four large pots of hot water to give Freya a bath.
Thanks to her efforts during this period, Freya had overtaken Leo and successfully been promoted to the "emperor of part-time jobs" in the River Bend Territory, enjoying the highest level of treatment.
The villagers were almost on the verge of worshipping her devoutly like the Wild folk did.
With Freya's digging progress five times faster, the first phase of Ulyan's plan had already been completed. The canal successfully connected the upper reaches of the Anzerno River with the small lake in the middle of the river - bend peninsula.
Nearly five hundred acres of land in the northern part of the entire river - bend peninsula had access to irrigation and drainage.
Thanks to the villagers' tireless efforts in reclaiming land, over a hundred acres of land had been reclaimed and were just waiting for spring to be planted.
If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, Leo wouldn't have believed that the real main force in reclaiming such a large area of land was actually a group of the elderly, the weak, women, and children in the village.
But Ulyan certainly wouldn't stop there. Adhering to the principle of making the best use of everything, he came up with different ways every day to tempt Freya to continue digging the canal.
In just a few days, the southern section of the canal was almost finished.
Moreover, it was much straighter than Ulyan had planned, almost like plowing straight through the rocky ground.
If viewed from a high altitude, the canal was like a straight knife mark, giving the river - bend peninsula a hard slash.
The entire river - bend peninsula seemed to have been cut off from the southern shore by a knife, turning into an island.
Compared to provoking the Wild Boar Man and participating in the war, Freya undoubtedly preferred this kind of work that suited the nature of a marmot.
It's just that when she slacked off or did something silly, she couldn't quite control herself!
Although Ulyan explained that she was an elves' druid in the form of a giant bear, Romon still didn't dare to turn his back on her, for fear that this giant beast would gobble up him, a stranger, in one bite.
While keeping a wary eye on the marmot out of the corner of his eye, Romon said, "My father has promised to continuously provide assistance to the River Bend Territory in the next three years. The assistance mainly includes food, cloth, some weapons, and a certain amount of military support. Here is the document signed by my father. I will be in charge of the specific operations."
"When I came here, I already gave a personal letter from my father to Knight Noyes at the Western Watchtower."
"Knight Noyes is the garrison commander of the Western Watchtower. He has fifteen cavalrymen and fifty regular infantrymen under his command. In case of an emergency, the captain can first ask Knight Noyes for help, and he will also keep an eye on the River Bend Territory."
Listening to Romon listing out the items of support one by one, a delighted expression spread across Ulyan's face and he kept rubbing his hands.
A big family was really different. They either didn't do anything, or when they did, it was on a grand scale.
With the Petukhov family as the backing, as long as the River Bend Territory didn't face some sudden and devastating disaster, it could generally endure ordinary small disasters and difficulties.
"When your father was the garrison commander at the Western Watchtower, I was the infantry captain under his command." Ulyan rubbed his hands, trying to strike up a friendship while continuing to dig for information. "So, what's the background of this Knight Noyes?"
"Nois Hobert. He is the eldest son of the Hobert family, a rising family in Isonpol. Well, he is also the husband of my distant older cousin. My cousin-in-law."
"One of us! One of us!" Ulyan felt greatly relieved.
Thanks to the arrival of Knight Romon, dinner became extremely sumptuous.
There were not only crispy baked wheat cakes but also fragrant thick soup.
The members of the militia also received an extra large piece of bone-in meat from a one-horned wild boar as a reward for their brave fighting.
Moreover, Ulyan also promised that due to the great victory in this operation to wipe out the Wild Boar Men and the heroic fighting of the militia, regardless of whether they killed any Wild Boar Men or not, the members of the militia would all be rewarded with one mu of land.
Once the colonization of River Bend Territory was successful and Ulyan was promoted to a colonization knight, the outstanding ones among these militiamen would become the first batch of professional soldiers in the territory.
Leo was on the side, holding a roasted pig leg, eating while watching the fun.
If using only the half soul of the original owner, Leo, what he saw was Ulyan shedding tears of gratitude in the face of the unexpected aid, and Knight Romon being mature and steady, presenting a harmonious scene.
But from the perspective of the other half soul of the transmigrator, what he saw was a crafty rough man manipulating a young man at will.
Every conversation and every micro-expression was filled with acting skills.
All night long, under Ulyan's patient guidance, Knight Romon revealed everything but didn't get a chance to mention the conditions set by his father.
Little Mouse squatted beside Leo like a little dog, staring intently at the roasted pig leg in his hand. Whenever Leo put down the pig leg to chew and digest, she would pounce on it and take a huge bite, tearing off a piece of meat.
The other kids followed suit, staying beside their older brothers or fathers and seizing the opportunity to have a bite of the roasted meat.
The kids without fathers or older brothers could only gather around Olivia and vie for favor with the kobold cubs.
Freya held the wheat cake in her hand and stared at the roasted pig leg in Leo's hand, her gaze shifting back and forth. Suddenly, the wheat cake didn't seem so delicious anymore.
She asked angrily, "Why can you eat roasted meat while I can only eat wheat cakes!"
Leo replied unhurriedly, "Giant bears don't eat roasted meat."
"Giant bears do eat roasted meat!"
"Can a giant bear start a fire? Can it roast meat?" Leo looked around.
The villagers looked at Freya's huge belly and quickly hid their food behind them, shaking their heads repeatedly.
Are you kidding? One bite from you is equivalent to a whole meal for others.
Leo said earnestly, "Your master is right. When practicing Shape-Shifting Spells, you need to learn all the habits of the shapeshifted creatures, including their diet!"
With that, he waved his hand and shouted, "What are you all standing there for? You're interrupting the Druid Master's meal!"
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone scattered, leaving the marmot holding the wheat cake and doubting life.
In addition to the aid, Romon also brought the latest news of the orc invasion.
In less than two months, the orc invasion had spread three hundred li deep along the entire southern bank of the North Ice River. Hundreds of human villages had been looted, and a large number of refugees were fleeing south.
The Frolov family, which controlled the World Tree Avenue, had gathered their troops in the town of Varanger, two hundred li south of the Wind God Fort, temporarily blocking the invasion of the main force of the Beast Race on the western front.
However, a large number of small orc clans still took the opportunity to break through the human defense line and hide in the wilderness.
In the wilderness to the north of the Anzerno River, numerous alien tribes and groups of beasts were roused and started to migrate further south. Many villages along the way had already been raided.
Since Frolov's troops were concentrated in the north, only a few garrisons were left in the south, unable to cover all the villages. Many remote villages, logging sites, and mines had to move closer to the towns.
Displaced people had already started to show up in Isonpol.