"Clang! Clang!" the swords clashed loudly as Aaron and the others fought against a group of goblins in front of them. When we say a group, we are not talking about a small number, of course. The opposing group consisted of at least ten dozen goblins.
"Pule! Your footwork is too slow, you're the team's assassin, you need to speed up your movements," Aaron shouted seriously.
"Yes, sir!" Pule responded after hearing Aaron's words.
After Aaron woke up, took a shower, and had a good meal, the group ventured out for a hunting expedition. It had been exactly one hour since they set out for hunting, and the group was just getting into full condition to begin their hunt.
Aaron had noticed that they were dealing with a slow-spawning wave, but their fighting style and harmony with each other were impressive and at a high level. Even in his previous life, Aaron believed it would be difficult to find such harmony.
"My Lord," a voice said from beside Aaron. It was Kevin. Kevin had been working as a servant in the secure area where Aaron was staying before all these events began. From what Aaron had learned, the people he served were the most despicable individuals, and only the master of the house treated him well. When all this started, the lady of the house had taken her children and fled, but unfortunately, as soon as they left the house, they were immediately killed by goblins, and their bodies were left in the middle of the street.
After making sure the goblins had disappeared, Kevin had taken the bodies and buried them in the garden within the secure area. He thought he could serve them one last time by doing so.
What surprised Aaron was that Kevin had actually practiced Karate and Jiu Jitsu for four years, which indicated that he could become nearly invincible in close combat and duels. Aaron, who normally didn't pay attention to servants, attendants, and followers, decided to take in the children first and then Kevin. Of course, he hadn't told Kevin about this yet, and he was fully aware that his heart would be broken if Kevin rejected his offer.
Another thing that struck him as odd was the response he received from the children when he asked them the same question he had asked Kevin before taking a bath. All the children had answered no to his question, finding it quite strange. However, for Aaron, this question wasn't strange but rather very interesting.
In his previous life, the reason for the system's content to change was only when the boss monsters within the missions became more difficult and challenging or when someone obtained a class mission. Rarely, missions like rescuing someone could also result in changes, but these were all very rare occurrences, usually below 0.50%.
Furthermore, all these rare events were usually below 0.50%. Aaron found this incident quite odd, as if the system intentionally posed challenges and tried to help him develop.
"Nicole! You're one of the two wizards in the group. If you don't prioritize your targets properly, it can cause the whole group to be injured or even killed. Pull yourself together," Aaron shouted while observing the group for a moment.
"My Lord, would you like me to join the battle as well?" Kevin asked Aaron, looking at him attentively.
Aaron didn't expect this question; he had thought that he would be the one to direct this question to Kevin.
Aaron was as happy as he was surprised by this question, not even realizing that his hair had turned golden blond due to his happiness.
"Yes, that would make me happy, Lord Kevin," Aaron said with a smiling face.
"I also believe that I will become a happy person, but fighting against them without any weapon still scares me, despite being accustomed to it, my Lord," Kevin said calmly yet with concern.
"Don't worry, you mentioned that you had practiced martial arts before. I can arrange some gloves for you, but you'll have to give me a little time, Lord Kevin," Aaron said happily.
"However you wish, my Lord," Kevin replied, feeling relieved.
"Well done, Camelia. You can try applying a bit more pressure. As a spear user, you need to press your opponent as much as possible. Later, I'll show you these fundamentals in more detail, but for now, try to improvise," Aaron shouted towards Camelia.
"Yes, sir!" Camelia responded, becoming more serious and using her spear in a more offensive manner, just as Aaron had instructed.
"That's it," Aaron thought at that moment. Each of these young individuals under his command was developing exactly as he wanted, progressing in the shape and pace he desired. Everything was going according to his plan.
"One more hour!" Aaron shouted towards the group that was clearing the goblins in front of them.
Upon hearing these words, the group nodded their heads in agreement or continued to slaughter the goblins without stopping.
As Aaron continued to observe the young ones, he also began to formulate a plan in his mind. His face had become serious, and he had truly started to think about things. He was experiencing a moment of internal deliberation, considering where his path should lead, how long it would take to reach that destination, and how he should get there. It was completely understandable for Aaron to be in this state, as he was no longer alone but accompanied by a group of eight individuals.
He could either go directly to London and complete the trials at the World Tower there, hoping to receive rewards if he was lucky, or he could initially clear the area around London and then dive headfirst into the city. At least he wanted to gradually implement these thoughts he had.
"I'm heading back. Return after about 50 minutes," Aaron said firmly and decisively.
Upon hearing this, the group responded in unison, saying, "Yes, sir," and went back to their tasks.
After this, Aaron took Kevin with him and returned to the mansion. Now, all he had to do was prepare himself and continue his journey.
Aaron didn't want to step foot in the Manchester region of England as per his own choice because he had learned from the system forum, in a rather comical manner, that almost all the monsters had been cleared there.
Of course, Aaron was quite happy about this fact, but missing out on the loot within Manchester was somewhat saddening for him, even if only slightly.
As a result, Aaron would not enter the Manchester region and would proceed to the Sheffield region. His goal was to directly enter the Sheffield region and reach the World Tower in the Rotherham area. He believed that the tower would be located there, just as it had been in his previous life. The locations of the two World Towers he had encountered so far had hardly changed, not even by a centimeter.
Moreover, Rotherham was not a particularly special area. It was one of the residential areas near Sheffield and had some nice things around, but unfortunately, Sheffield was one of the regions with the least resources in the world, at least in Aaron's eyes, and it was indeed the case. In his previous life, Aaron had been able to obtain many resources, including those from Sheffield, but all the materials and similar items that came from this region were low-level and of no use to him.
However, Aaron still had the responsibility to bring security and safety to England as a whole, and he had to clear even the most unnecessary regions to accomplish this.
That's why Aaron was now staring at the map of England on the table in front of him. He could view and memorize this map from the system, but he had realized in his previous life that trying old methods and using them provided comfort and peace of mind to the human mind. That's why he had made up his mind not to bother collecting things like old maps, even though others insisted on it.
At that moment, Aaron began to think to himself as he wanted to plot a course:
"Even if we enter Rotherham, we will likely encounter a considerable number of enemies. However, it shouldn't be too difficult to eliminate them since Sheffield is an area where low-level monsters appear. Let's hope we don't come across multiple Goblin Kings, or else we'll have to slay thousands of goblins," Aaron thought. But his thoughts didn't end there:
"What about afterwards? What will I do next? Rotherham may be one of the areas with the highest concentration of monsters, but it's not the only place with that status. I must not forget about Buxton and Chesterfield." As Aaron entertained these thoughts, Kevin, who was right beside him, opened his mouth to speak.
"My Lord, if you excuse my rudeness, I would like to offer you some tea," Kevin said, placing a cup in a spot on the table that would not leave a mark on the map. He then poured a tea with a delightful aroma into the cup, which had a scent that Aaron found pleasing, and then stepped back.
"Thank you, Kevin. You're very kind," Aaron said with a smiling face.
"It's my pleasure, my Lord," Kevin replied with narrowed eyes.
Upon hearing this, Aaron felt somewhat relieved. He had enough power by his side, and moreover, they would have enough time to train Kevin. Realizing that he was overthinking, Aaron pulled out the beautiful-looking chair beside him, sat down, and took a sip of his fragrant tea.
"Kevin, if you don't mind, could you summon the others? I gave them one hour, but I want to share our plan with them," Aaron said, still smiling.
"Very well, my Lord," said Kevin with narrowed eyes.
After about 5 minutes, Kevin returned with the seven young individuals, and each of them stood respectfully in front of Aaron.
Noticing their arrival, Aaron gestured with his right hand for them to sit, and they all sat down on the floor. Seeing this, Aaron said, "What are you doing? Sit on the chairs."
Almost everyone in the group blushed upon hearing his words and felt foolish. They quickly stood up and took their seats, waiting for their Lord's words.
Setting his tea cup on the saucer, Aaron began speaking. "Pay close attention because I will only explain this once. I detest having to repeat myself," he said calmly, and the group nodded their heads in acknowledgment.
"In two days, after we have made our preparations, we will depart from Leeds," Aaron added to his words.
The group was shocked to hear this. Pule immediately spoke up, "Forgive me for interrupting, my Lord, but we haven't cleared Leeds. We have been trying to catch up to you and took turns hunting monsters while you were resting, but it seems never-ending. Are we leaving without clearing Leeds?"
"Yes, the people have risen up. Even though these monsters are still a threat, they have realized that they cannot be eradicated. They have started to fight back, and the world is now standing on its own feet and running. The gunpowder that I accidentally ignited is now burning and will soon reach the barrel it is connected to, resulting in an explosion. Ultimately, the world will find peace once again. I am sure of it," Aaron said calmly.
"I apologize, my Lord, for questioning you," Pule said, sounding a bit saddened.
"Why? The only place where you shouldn't question me is on the battlefield. I am not a God. We will naturally have discussions and debates," Aaron replied.
Pule nodded his head in understanding after hearing these words.
"In any case, we will first enter Sheffield. We will not set foot in Manchester because the people there have almost cleared it themselves. In fact, they were so efficient that people have even started entering the dungeons. Therefore, we will leave the people to their own devices. We will enter Sheffield head-on and then proceed to Rotherham. After that, we will go to Chesterfield, and finally, even though it is small, we will enter the Buxton region. Buxton holds a significant position, especially because it is surrounded by open areas, making it one of the safest regions within Sheffield, if we consider its border to be within Sheffield," Aaron explained calmly as he outlined the plan.
The group was listening carefully and attentively to Aaron as he spoke. They understood that he would only explain it once, so they focused all their attention on him. After a short while, Aaron finished his speech and started looking at the group intently.
After a few seconds, he spoke angrily, "Well, what are you waiting for? Go and get ready!"
Upon hearing these words, the group shouted in unison, "Yes, my Lord!"