Chapter 243 - C243. Arrival Of The Ravens

Galloping through the snowfield, the large group of Demi-humans migrating through the Darknar region arrived in front of the starter town located in the Greyad plains at the break of dawn.

Although they were aware of the dangers of the night, they had still chosen to leave before dawn because they were already so close to their destination and the non-combatants amongst them were fatigued from the rushed trip.

Jarret led the group as he drove his carriage towards a surprisingly sturdy fence that surrounds the town, this was something he hadn't expected since he was aware that this place has only been under construction for a little over a week now.

He had expected the construction of the town to have made decent progress by now but what they saw was beyond the capabilities of a few Kobolds. 

Behind the high wooden walls that were well spaced out to create a sort of fence, were countless large tents the sizes of mansions alongside some wooden structures that were currently still under construction. The road leading to the town had been cleared of snowmaking their ride there quite smooth. 

A wooden gate had also been constructed, making their entourage come to an abrupt halt a few meters away from it as they sensed multiple presences lurking in the shadows, keeping a close eye on them.

The town didn't have any defensive structure aside from the single wooden watch tower by the gate where a single Kobold kept watch of the surrounding with a magic item.

Riding behind Jarret were more than a hundred Horse-drawn carriages, most of which belonged to the Raven settlement. And as the name suggests, they were pulled by normal horses as only a bare minimum of the carriage were being pulled by Tier 2 Demonic horses. 

Their trip would've taken more than two weeks without the aid of the Six eyed Bull's fiery aura that was able to clear their way and constantly restore the stamina of the other horses. 

Although they had sensed several presences watching them from a while back, Jarret had insisted they don't stop before getting to the gate to investigate. He trusted the fact that the town was still under his master's command and didn't pose any danger to them.

Upon arriving at the gate, two Kobolds riding on large black wolves seemingly appeared out of nowhere to inspect them. They were able to recognize Jarret immediately and having already been aware of why they were building the town in the first place, they allowed him in without any issues. 

While this was just a town made up of tents, even the Raven settlement was surprised by how organized it was. Large areas around the town had been cleared out and flattened to make for smooth roads even though no stone slabs had been laid. 

Magic lanterns had been hung all around the town to provide proper illumination at night even though there weren't that many Kobolds around. The place seemed to be well maintained. 

The carriages slowly drove through the wide and empty streets and soon came to a halt in the center of the town where A flying Kobold named Tarka moved to greet them along with a certain flying insectoid girl Jarret didn't recognize. 

Taking a look around with his innate ability, he could also see Giant insect monsters hovering at the edge of the town as they commute with massive logs that had been cut from the darknar forest. Several more kobold atop Nightmare wolves were guiding and instructing the insects around.

Jarret wasn't sure what had transpired here but he decided to ignore it, believing his master had something to do with this and there was no need to be concerned. 

After everyone had disembarked from their carriages, Jarret introduced them to Tarka and the Bug girl who had introduced herself as Loriel. The two of them seem to have been left in charge of the town and were tasked to help the Raven settlement settle into the town. Although it seems they didn't quite get along as they were talking over each other.

As the settlement of mostly hobgoblins and Karma oni's got acclimated with their current living situation. Jarret took the time to quickly contact Tyler who then permitted him to bring only the representative of the Raven settlement to see him.

Walking over to a man who stood by a luxurious carriage as he observed the situation in the town, Jarret politely bowed as he spoke to him. 

"Captain Orias, sorry to spring this up the moment we arrived but Lord Ty had permitted me to bring the representative of the settlement to see him, I hope that would be fine."

"Oh Mr. Jarret, surely you jest. We've traveled all this way to serve under your Master. It brings us great honor that he had decided to see us so soon. Please wait a moment, I'll inform the chief."

The man returned Jarret's bow with a slight nod of his own as he turned around towards the end of the carriage the chief of the settlement had traveled in. 

He was a middle-aged man that didn't look much different from a demon or human as his only distinguishing feature was the tail he had hidden in his several articles of casual clothing with a robe like cloak draped over his shoulders. 

He had short black hair styled lazily to the back and a neatly shaven face. With light brown eyes, he looked like an easy-going guy with almost no aura around him.

However, he was the captain of the most elite force compromising mostly Karma Onis for the Raven settlement and the strongest person in the settlement. According to what Jarret was told, there were only around 50 members of that squad.

The moment Captain Orias turn the corner and entered the carriage, two people stormed over in Jarret's direction and he couldn't help but sigh.

Jarret was keenly aware that there were still three people who had tagged along with them because they wanted an audience with Lord Ty. They were the group of predatory beastmen who they had met on their way to meet up with the Raven settlement a few days back.

After overhearing his conversation with the captain, he could accurately guess what they were about to say.

"Hey, why can't lady Levi see your Master immediately. We've traveled a long way just for this."

The one to address Jarret so abruptly was the Leopardkin Wrynn. He seems to be agitated by the fact that his teacher Lady Levi was being ignored. 

Jarret turned to meet his fierce gaze without changing his expression and spoke bluntly.

"Lord Ty is extremely busy. Please wait in the confines of the town and he'll summon you whenever he's ready. He may also send someone out here to speak with you." 

"What the hell does that mean! Lady Levi doesn't have that much time to waste! We need—"

"Wrynn!" 

With a sudden shout, Levi called out to Wrynn who was going off on Jarret as she was being helped out of the carriage by Yeva. 

"Please don't be rude, we've been graciously ac—" *cough cough cough!

"Lady Levi, please calm down."

Yeva tried to soothe the angry Levi who had broken into a coughing fit again and Wrynn came rushing back to help her up. 

"It's okay, I'm fine now. Wrynn listen, we came here abruptly seeking to ask for a favor. Please do not go around being rude because of me. That's not you. Besides, we still have time even if I don't get what I need. We can just rest here for a bit okay."

Wrynn nodded his head in agreement as his expression became somber. He then walked back to Jarret who was still waiting on Orias and the chief of the Raven settlement.

"I apologize for raising my voice earlier. I'm just a little on edge about Lady Levi. Isn't there a way we could—"

*ROARRRR!*

Before Wrynn could continue his thoughts, a resounding roar that reverberated over the entire plains shook the very foundations of the town as a gigantic black beast came flying down from the direction of the Darknar forest. 

"What the hell."

Everyone that had only just arrived in the town including Jarret was surprised and amazed by what they were seeing. The absolute massive lizard-like creature came at them with absurd speeds. 

It arrived above the town in less than five seconds and honed above an open clearing on the edge of the town. 

"That's impossible! Is that a drake!"

"We're being attacked by a drake! Defensive formation."

Orias who had just exited the chief's carriage snapped the panicking Hobgoblins and Onis out of their stupor, including Jarret and Wrynn who had also been dumbfounded by the lesser dragon's dominating presence. 

"Man your weapons, everyone fires on my command!"

Captain Orias immediately, took charge of his men as they ready their various weapons to attack. However, Tarka hurriedly took flight and got in their line of fire as she yelled at them.

"What the hell do you think you're doing! Do you have a death wish or something? Besides, that's lord Ty's servant as well."

Struck by the gravity of her words, everyone including Levi was stunned. This was not a simple monster they were talking about. This was a Lesser Dragon, a Dark Drake.

This was a Lord class monster they were talking about. A lesser dragon at the crux of becoming divine. Levi who was the only one able to fully comprehend what it meant to tame a drake was at a loss for words. 

Due to the monster being quite a distance from them. It didn't seem like anyone could tell that it was an undead creature. Besides, aside from the negative aura, it emitted and its black scales, the Dark Drake looked no different than it had when it was still alive. 

The monster flapped its wing and landed in the open clearing. Soon, a short figure hesitantly climbed down from its back. It seems the someone had ridden the drake back here. 

Jarret was the only one who could clearly see the situation and even the realization that the Drake was undead meant his master had to have killed one within the span of the few days they had been gone. 

After Tarka's warning, Loriel had one of her Azure Dragonflies fly the person who had ridden on the drake over to them. It didn't take long for that to happen and they were all surprised yet again to find out that it was indeed a dwarf. A race that wasn't commonly seen in the demon continent.

"This is Mr. Gerl, Lord Ty had placed him in charge of managing the construction of the town. Please treat him well."

As the dragonfly placed Gerl gently on the ground, he breathe a heavy sigh of relief as he hurriedly took a swig from the flask he had in his pouch. 

"Pwaaaaah... That's the stuff. I just can't get used to flying on such a scary thing. My job is almost torture."

Gerl complained upon landing and he walked over to the others and greeted them. The shock of the Dark drake seems to have calmed Wrynn down as well as they willingly followed Tarka to an assigned tent. 

"What's with all the commotion."

With a yawn, Nadine came out of a carriage next to Jarret and asked that question. 

"Seriously, were you asleep the whole time?"

"What! You woke me up way too early. I can't get up by that time."

"The who the hell was driving your carriage."

"A volunteer."

"You little—"

"Mr. Jarret. The chief's ready to see the Master. I'll stay behind to organize everyone and integrate our troops with the security. Please take care of the chief in my stead."

After things had calmed down a bit, Orias came up to Jarret and Nadine as he made his plead. He then stretched out an arm and Jarret shook it in agreement as three figures came out of the chief's carriage and headed his way. 

Alright, I go check the town out, later."

Before Jarret could even scold her, Nadine had bumped over the carriage and ran away. He wanted to say something but someone else suddenly got in his way. 

"Hey, do you require any help in getting to the castle, we can spare Drago for a little while."

Jarret raised his head and saw the blonde bug girl hovering in front of him as she made a suggestion. He was unsure of who Drago was but he figured it out pretty quickly. 

"A ride on that, Sounds terrifying.. I'll take it."