The quality of land was determined by its location from the very beginning. Factors such as nearby rivers, soil moisture, and the weather shaped by the surrounding terrain all played a role. Land that had all these advantages naturally attracted settlers, but not every piece of land was so fortunate.

Similarly, on the continent of Vicanthia, people were divided into those born into royalty under the light of Vican and those born in places without that light. Even among non-royalty, there were distinctions between commoners without surnames, ordinary citizens, and nobles with titles, whose status could change by royal decree. Occasionally, a person’s position could also change if they were born with divine power, blessed by Vican.

However, since Dana Rowen was born into royalty, Kaiden viewed people simply as either royalty or non-royalty.

For Kaiden, who was farthest from Dana’s status, the land of Leonas, granted to him by King Taras, was among the poorer lands.

Leonas lacked nearby water sources, and its dry northern climate left the land parched. The Dorbas Mountains, right at its doorstep, constantly sent down monsters. Thus, this gloomy land was one where one could earn merit by clearing out monsters, but it was not a place suitable for people to live.

In the past, Kaiden Leonas had tried everything to make the land livable. After all, Leonas was his first foothold and his first estate. He restructured canals to draw water from other territories and built barriers to keep monsters at bay.

He hoped that, should the princess ever come here, Leonas would not be an unsuitable or uncomfortable place for her, so he worked hard to improve it. Additionally, it was the first land he had to reach the princess. He wanted to make it a good land.

That was the story of the past. The returning Kaiden Leonas now understood he no longer needed to go through such hardship. Good land and poor land had been determined from the beginning, and his land was not among the good ones, just as his origins did not easily connect him to the princess.

Thus, the current Castle Leonas had become a sort of military base where soldiers prepared for expeditions, trained, and stored necessary supplies and equipment. The residents of Leonas were either aspiring knights, knights themselves, or people involved in making weapons and equipment or related to expeditions.

Since farming was difficult on this land, most of the residents, regardless of gender, were blacksmiths making weapons, armor, and shields on Kaiden’s orders. Many people raised and managed warhorses as well. Kaiden invested a significant amount of money in producing weapons, shields, and armor.

Unlike knights from other territories, the senior knights of Leonas received precious plate guards to cover the vulnerable parts of their chainmail, and instead of regular helmets that left the face exposed, they were given iron helmets with face guards. These were items usually reserved for high-status lords in other territories.

All the young boys in the territory dreamed of becoming knights and became squires, and many aspiring knights or knights came, hearing they could receive better weapons and armor if their abilities were recognized.

In terms of numbers, Leonas had a significantly higher proportion of archers compared to other territories, and there were separate streets where workshops for crafting longbows were gathered. Carpenters who cut the wood for making longbows resided there, and their wives carved the wood and tied strings to create the bows. The territory was essentially preparing for war and waiting for war.

And Kaiden felt that now the land suited its purpose and nature. It wasn’t good land, but for Kaiden, who also didn’t come from a good background, it was appropriate. A land of soldiers to protect the princess. A place that could defend her against any invasion aimed at her. That was the current Leonas.

Now, the knights from this territory had come to Khalid. The Khalid territory, being very large, was not too far from Leonas, which was adjacent to the Dorbas Mountains. Therefore, planning a defense line connecting the Khalid border guarded by the Divine Beast Corps and the Leonas border wasn’t particularly difficult.

Thus, Kaiden’s plan involved merging and reorganizing the Khalid Knights, which Dana had delegated to Countess Vicar for management, with the Leonas Knights.

As a result, the now larger knights and army were bustling with activity from early morning. Numerous carts loaded with supplies stood in front of the Khalid military warehouse.

“Name.”

Khalid soldiers checked the identities of those pulling the carts and inspected the goods. After verifying the large barrels and boxes inside the carts, they waved them on. Inside were round clumps of clay. Surprisingly, these were the most important items in the early summer of the north.

Mid-summer in the north marked the breeding season for monsters. Unlike spring, when one could simply slaughter the frenzied monsters, summer required meticulous and systematic action from start to finish.

By late summer, after the breeding season, knights would find and destroy the eggs laid by monsters, collecting the liquid inside in bottles. They would then place clay lumps coated with the liquid collected the previous year in the spots where the eggs had been destroyed.

To prevent the mother monsters from going on a rampage when they discovered their eggs were missing, these clay lumps were used to deceive them. In the north, these lumps were known as “Huran.” Since the mother monsters became extremely powerful while guarding their eggs, the knights had to place the Huran while the mothers were away hunting for food.

Occasionally, some mother monsters detected the different smell and became aggressive, but most spent the summer caring for the Huran, believing them to be their offspring. However, by autumn, when it was time for the eggs to hatch, no monster young emerged from the Huran. Instead, the liquid inside rotted and seeped into the soil. The mother monsters then believed their offspring had died. The remaining mother monsters were dealt with during the autumn monster hunts.

Thus, placing the Huran was the most important task at the end of summer in the north, right after the monster breeding season, serving as a method to control the number of monsters that increased in autumn. At that time, the soldiers and squires in Khalid were busy making these Huran.

While the residents could roll the clay into balls, completing the Huran required using monster sap, which was dangerous work meant for soldiers or squires. It was a dirty, smelly, and tedious task, naturally assigned to the lowest ranks.

Knights, having endured such menial tasks during their squire days, could now step back from them, but they weren’t idle. When installing the Huran, they had to carefully consider the habitats of the monsters. This was because the Huran had to be made with sap from eggs of similar monster species. This minimized the risk of monsters realizing the Huran were fake and going berserk over their missing eggs.

In other words, before making the Huran, knights had to plan which sap-coated Huran would be placed in which area, and soldiers and squires had to organize and store the Huran accordingly.

This year, there was even more work to do. The new Duke of Khalid had ordered Huran to be placed in far more areas than usual and to collect more sap. Although no one understood the reasoning behind this command, they had to comply because it was the lord’s order.

Since Dana came to Khalid three years ago, having received authority from King Taras, managing the territory had been her responsibility. Matters related to military power were handled only with advice from Countess Vicar, within what Dana could manage. Not confident in making decisions that could risk soldiers’ lives, she had only taken the minimum necessary actions to protect the territory without ordering full-scale hunts.

Thus, the storehouses in the territory contained sap collected from monster eggs in previous years. Now, the new Duke of Khalid, who was both experienced with monsters and a knight, already knew from experience that this alone would not be sufficient for the coming year.