Chapter 95: Water Monster

After the water supply system was established, the town’s public facilities needed updating as well. Fountains, public bathhouses—these were essential. Since expanding the town had already been decided, the public bathhouses would be built outside the town limits.

The existing town, measuring five hundred meters per side, was designated as the Lord’s living quarters. Aside from Su Lun’s castle, this area would house the Lord’s Guard, including their families. Once the outer city was completed, everyone here would be moved entirely to the outer city.

The newly planned city wall was one kilometer per side, totaling four kilometers in length—a small city. The original wall became the inner city. To build the outer city, Su Lun took the Barbarian Guard back to the Wasteland and captured a large number of slaves.

Actually, due to their constant patrols and sweeps, Goblin tribes, Kobolds, and Gnolls had become scarce in the territory’s vicinity. Though not smart, these creatures knew to avoid dangerous areas. Su Lun’s Territory was now considered such a dangerous zone by them.

To capture slaves, they had to go further out. After clearing several Kobold Tribes, the number of slaves in the Territory exceeded two thousand.

Su Lun didn’t plan to use the “Turn Mud to Stone” spell for the outer wall again. The scale was simply too big. In his plan, this wall would be ten meters high and four meters thick. Relying solely on him casting the spell for such a massive amount of work would require thousands of castings.

So he decided to build it using bricks and stone. The Territory would be in a development and construction phase for a long time, requiring vast amounts of bricks and stones. Su Lun planned to set up a Brick Kiln within the Territory to produce them.

The White Sugar Trade provided a steady income. Su Lun sent Ji En to the northern cities again to purchase slaves, boosting the Territory’s population. By now, human slaves numbered over a thousand, and more than three hundred Refugees had arrived with the Caravans. The total population in Su Lun’s Territory had reached over seventeen hundred people. Assigning some workers to establish the Brick Kiln wasn’t a big strain.

Su Lun had been in a good mood lately. With money, the Territory’s construction sped up significantly. Last night, he spent fooling around with Chris, and he woke up feeling energetic.

However, his good mood didn’t last long. A Soldier from the Militia rode up in a hurry. The bad news made his face darken.

Three fishermen were killed at the Port last night. Hearing this, Su Lun’s previous cheer vanished. Grim-faced, he headed towards the Port.

…

The deceased were slaves Su Lun had purchased. Their job was fishing. Because the town surroundings had become quite safe after numerous clearing operations, and two rivers blocked the Port from Goblin and Kobold incursions, plus Gnolls disliked water and wouldn’t come here, these slaves often stayed near the Port overnight for convenience.

They rested on their fishing boats and came ashore every few days for a break and to restock supplies. In fact, these fishermen accumulated some of the highest Points among all the workforce. The fish caught at the Port were the main source of meat for the Territory.

Wild Oxen were needed for plowing and were no longer slaughtered. Zebra Antelope were also being attempted for domestication, so they weren’t slaughtered until successful. This greatly reduced the meat sources within the Territory. With three fishermen dead, the others would naturally fear for their safety.

By the time Su Lun arrived, many people had gathered around. Seeing the Lord approach, the crowd parted. Constable Harrison came forward to meet him.

Seeing the crowd, Su Lun frowned. Harrison immediately shouted at the onlookers, “Anyone who isn’t a fisherman, back to your posts at once! Violators will clean the public toilets for three days!”

At the Constable’s command, the crowd dispersed like birds and beasts. Su Lun followed Harrison to the Port where three stretchers lay. The bodies had been recovered and placed there.

“When were they found? Cause of death? Any clues?” Su Lun approached the bodies. A soldier quickly lifted the linen covering them.

“My Lord, it was this morning. Other fishermen alerted us when a few were unaccounted for. We found them after a search,” Harrison answered.

“These men seem to have been dragged into the water and drowned before death. Look at the entwined marks on their bodies. Their faces are purple.” With his military background and Scouting skill, Harrison could tell the cause of death.

“They were attacked, held tight, and then dragged under while asleep. The enemy was powerful. None of the three put up much of a fight. After killing them, the murderer carved out their hearts.”

“Initial judgment: The killer wasn’t human. Likely some kind of Water Monster from the river.”

All three victims were strong, well-fed adults. They were killed without being able to resist, clearly indicating a powerful assailant.

“Ding. Task triggered. Host, please resolve the crisis in the river immediately.”

“Any findings on the boats?” Su Lun asked after examining the bodies.

“The three boats are damaged. Plus, they’re covered in slippery slime.”

“Let’s go look.” They headed to the fishing boats docked at the Port.

The boats had been pulled ashore. All three were damaged and smeared with a semi-transparent slime. The slime felt smooth and smelled fishy. Clearly, the attacker was a river creature.

“A creature in the water? Fishmen?” Su Lun muttered, frowning.

But Fishmen lived along the coast, and this place was hundreds of kilometers inland. Why would Fishmen come all the way here? Impossible. Looking at the injuries, the men seemed wrapped and pulled down by something like tentacles—Fishmen didn’t have tentacles. Su Lun quickly reasoned.

“Where exactly were the bodies discovered?” Su Lun asked Harrison.

“In some river grass. They were tangled in it when found.” Harrison led Su Lun to a bend in the river and pointed to a patch of river grass.

They quickly went there and found traces of the same slime on the grass. Su Lun and the others expanded their search around the area. Soon, a soldier spotted something new.

“My Lord! More slime here!” Su Lun went to check and found the slick substance on the grass at that spot too. Following the trail of slime, they found more and more clues.

The party continued along this trail. After another half hour of searching up ahead, nothing new was found. They returned to focusing their search on this stretch of the river.