Rowan had just returned from setting up his village's defenses and was sitting in his room, deep in thought, when Brandon rushed in with alarming news.
"Lord Rowan, Glenwood soldiers are arriving!"
"What?" Rowan exclaimed. He hadn't expected the Glenwood soldiers to return so soon and couldn't understand why they were coming to his village.
Standing up, he scolded Brandon, "Brandon! Why are they coming so soon? When I asked you about the state of the village, you never mentioned any war! How could you overlook something so important?"
Brandon quickly explained the misunderstanding. He informed Rowan that Glenwood sent their soldiers every week to Winterseed to seize a large chunk of their farm produce and take new slaves with them. He even told Rowan how some men had tried to fight the soldiers in the past and lost their lives.
"This is bad. If they take any more food from our farms, the villagers will die of starvation," Rowan muttered, contemplating with his hands on his jaw.
This was a serious matter; the starvation of the villagers was not something he could allow.
"How many men is Glenwood sending?"
"Around fifty soldiers, my lord, and they're really strong," Brandon answered remorsefully.
'Hmm, fifty men. We could definitely kill them if we wanted to, but that would provoke a brutal war between Glenwood and Winterseed, which would be the end of Winterseed. We can't let them take our food, but we also can't start a big war at a time ,' Rowan thought, stuck between two bad choices.
If it were a week later, he would have stood a chance against them, as he would have improved his territory and his soldiers. But it hadn't even been a day since he arrived, and his territory was already in jeopardy!
'Fine then, we'll sacrifice this week's ration. In return, I'll try to copy as many attack skills as I can from the Glenwood soldiers and teach them to my soldiers. It's a lose-win situation,' Rowan finally decided.
"Inform the new captains. Tell them to meet me at the village square. We'll set out to welcome our visitors."
"Alright!" Brandon nodded and left the room.
A few seconds after Brandon walked out, Riela strolled in with a cheerful smile on her face, happily swinging a basket of fruit.
She was dressed in a short brown gown made with the poorest material, which accentuated her voluptuous curves.
Taking a clearer look at Riela, Rowan noticed her seductive shape. Her bust was not unnaturally big but wasn't small either, it was the lovable size that could fit perfectly in one's hands when they grope them. She also had a nice hip that would make even the gayest man stare twice, and her ass looked very soft. These features combined with her innocent face made her irresistible.
As a guy who had spent a lot of quality time with models in his previous life, he could tell that Riela's beauty rivaled theirs. With a little cleaning up and better clothes, it would become difficult to resist her charm.
"Young Lord, you look really stressed. Here, I brought fruits for you," Riela smiled sweetly and lifted the basket of fresh fruit she was holding.
It seemed she hadn't heard about the soldiers of Glenwood approaching the village.
"That is very considerate of you, Riela," Rowan replied. "I will eat them when I get back."
Riela nodded happily and kept the basket of fruit on the small stool beside Rowan's bed. As she squatted, Rowan couldn't help but take an extra look at her accentuated assets and smile to himself.
After dropping the basket, Riela hopped cheerfully beside Rowan and held his hands like a little girl with her crush and said, "I will go with you, Rowan."
But Rowan refused her request instantly. In a situation , revealing someone as pretty as Riela to those soldiers would be the dumbest decision any sane man with brain and rod could make.
"I am off to greet the soldiers of Glenwood. I fear you can't come with me because those bastards might try to seize the pretty innocent woman," he replied.
"P-Pretty?" Riela blushed profusely, covering her heated face with her slender hands. Her gesture caused a slight jiggling that Rowan fortunately didn't miss.
But he couldn't enjoy the sight more as he had more important matters to handle. He complimented her beauty for a few moments before rushing out of the hut, leaving the flustered Riela behind.
Welcome guys to my first kingdom-building novel, I would like to read your comments about the first five chapters and if you have free power stones, send it here!!