Four months had passed since the settlement grew from 46 inhabitants to 226. Initially, it was difficult for the new residents to adapt, but they soon adjusted to the routine. As always, they woke up early for physical training. In the afternoons, they focused on more specialized training, such as weapon handling, team tactics, and even combat. At night, they dedicated themselves to studying.
Learning to read the empire's language and other subjects was crucial. Additionally, 1765 had decided to teach English, as it wasn't spoken in this world and was much easier to learn than the complex imperial language. It also offered a strategic advantage: serving as a coded language for communication that others wouldn't understand.
While most of the inhabitants trained outside, 1765 was in his cabin. It was a simple and improvised room. The furniture consisted of a rudimentary wooden desk, a basic chair, and shelves filled with papers and tools. A small window allowed sunlight to faintly illuminate the space. Despite its simplicity, the room was orderly.
1765 sighed as he looked at the papers before him. Although the settlement had progressed significantly, it wasn't without problems. On the table were designs ranging from primitive gunpowder weapons and improved carts to a castle and other rudimentary yet advanced systems by the empire's standards. All these designs had been created with Silas's help, but implementing them posed numerous challenges.
For example, the pistol. While necessary materials such as iron, saltpeter, and carbon were available thanks to mining in the nearby mountain, the issue lay in processing them. They had found promising minerals, but separating and refining these materials required special furnaces. These furnaces could be built with stone and clay, or better yet, with materials like blocks and concrete, which weren't impossible to produce thanks to the silt found in streams near the great lake.
However, producing weapons also required a constant supply of ammunition, which meant setting up an entire industry. Golems could handle much of the manual labor, but when it came to parts requiring high precision, their limitations became evident. Additionally, the cooling system necessary for production demanded large quantities of water.
Another problem was energy consumption. So far, the settlement had 500 functional golems tasked with various manual jobs. Although the Forest of Silence provided an abundant supply of fruits for fuel production, collecting and processing them took time. This made increasing the number of golems unfeasible for the moment.
The lack of women in the camp was also a problem. There were only two: one aged 13 and another aged 15. Both, like the rest, had arrived emaciated and wounded. After a year of good nutrition, constant exercise, and nutritional supplements, their appearance had changed drastically. The younger one, 6743, still had a childlike face, but her body was beginning to grow and mature. Meanwhile, 5476, the older one, had developed notable beauty, at least by slave standards.
This had created tension in the camp. To prevent incidents, 1765 decided both would share his cabin. While the decision could be misinterpreted, it was necessary to maintain stability. The impact of having so much male hormonal activity concentrated in one place, where the oldest person was barely 35 years old, couldn't be underestimated.
The central issue, however, was the lack of inhabitants. The settlement was isolated and unknown to the outside world. There was no trade or migration. Only one solution remained: freeing more slaves. But this time, it couldn't be from a mining camp, where the majority were men. They needed both women and men to ensure generational continuity.
This meant targeting more complex locations, such as cities, farms, or villages, where resistance would be greater. In the human empire, the caste system was clearly defined. Slaves occupied the lowest rung, handling production and construction. Common citizens supervised the slaves and could use magic, making them potential combatants. Above them were soldiers and the nobility, who wielded real power.
For 1765 and Silas, this system was unacceptable. The Galactic Federation Charter, which promoted equality among species, strongly contrasted with the human empire's structure.
1765 considered two options. He could attack a location to free more slaves, but this carried significant risk. Or he could prioritize creating infrastructure to produce weapons, which would increase their future defense and attack capabilities. However, this option wasn't perfect either, as it would require time and labor, tying their hands from attempting to free more slaves.
The decision wasn't easy, especially for someone inexperienced in making such choices, like 1765. He spent the entire afternoon thinking and analyzing each possibility, extending his deliberations well into the night. Although he had two general options, each plan needed to be detailed and meticulously evaluated. In his mind, the process for achieving the final goal was as important as the goal itself.
Max sat beside him, accompanying him in his marathon reflection session. Despite his intimidating size and imposing appearance, Max showed signs of being kind and loyal. 1765's assumptions about his nature seemed correct. In a way, Max behaved like the dogs in Silas's database: when fed and cared for, they saw humans as part of their pack or family.
This behavior reinforced the idea that they could use domestication methods to establish livestock and other species to help ensure the settlement's self-sufficiency. The potential of this strategy could be significant, and Silas had insisted that domestication would be a key pillar for future development.
As 1765 continued working, the night grew darker. The lights in the cabins went out one by one, and the settlement's inhabitants went to sleep. There was no need for anyone to stay awake to keep watch; the golems handled that task. Or, more precisely, Silas supervised everything through the golems' remote control.
In the midst of the calm, dark night, as 1765 kept a torch lit to see, a loud sound suddenly echoed outside. It was as if something heavy had crashed into the ground. Even 1765 felt a brief vibration in his room.
Seconds later, a guttural roar broke the silence, a sound so deep and visceral that it chilled the blood. For a brief moment, 1765 froze, caught between surprise and uncertainty.
But Silas wasn't caught off guard.
—Urgent report: unknown creature within the perimeter. High danger level. Initiating security protocol.
Immediately, bells rang throughout the settlement. Simultaneously, crystals mounted on poles began to light up, bathing the area in an intense glow. This lighting system, designed by Silas, used magical matrices and specialized crystals to disperse photons generated by runic energy. Although effective, its high fuel consumption made it viable only in emergencies like this one.
1765 quickly got up and stepped out of his cabin. Outside, the scene was both impressive and terrifying. A massive feline creature with wings loomed in the middle of the settlement. Its muscular body was covered in shiny black fur, with dense tufts around its neck that gave it a majestic and fearsome appearance. Its wings weren't enormous and feathered, resembling those of an eagle, with black feathers reflecting the emergency crystal lights. Its eyes, an intense yellow, scanned the surroundings with a predatory intelligence. Sharp claws adorned its forelegs, looking capable of tearing through anything, and its long tail ended in a shape suggesting blunt force.
The creature didn't stay still for long. With an agile and ferocious movement, it lunged at one of the wooden houses. Its colossal size easily took up half of the settlement's dwellings. The creature's claws tore through the wood effortlessly, causing part of the structure to collapse. Fortunately, the bells had alerted the inhabitants, who, thanks to drills and training, managed to evacuate their cabins quickly.
The beast fixed its gaze on the humans emerging from their homes, its eyes glowing with the ferocity of a predator stalking its prey. However, before it could attack, several wooden golems arrived at the scene and hurled themselves at the creature.
The golems, though numerous, were little more than a nuisance to the beast. With a powerful flap of its wings, the creature pushed several of them away, sending them crashing to the ground. One unlucky golem was crushed beneath one of the creature's massive paws. The beast roared again, as if asserting its dominance.
However, the golems kept coming, appearing in waves of six at a time. While unarmed, their relentless assault made it harder for the creature to move. This gave the settlement's inhabitants enough time to organize and arm themselves. Crossbows and hundreds of arrows were swiftly distributed.
Thanks to their constant training, the inhabitants knew exactly what to do. Each moved to their assigned positions, demonstrating the effectiveness of months of preparation. 1765, also in the midst of the fray, knew it would be absurd to engage such a large creature in hand-to-hand combat; a single swipe could cut a person in half. Thus, the safest strategy was to keep their distance and attack with crossbows while the golems held the beast back.
1765 aimed his crossbow at the creature's head and fired. The arrow flew with precision, but the creature, aware of the attack, used one of its wings to shield itself. The arrow, made of Silent Tree wood reinforced with a metal tip designed to pierce armor, merely bounced off the beast's feathers.
Despite the setback, the inhabitants couldn't afford to stop. More golems continued arriving to harass the creature, but they weren't infinite. Somehow, they had to neutralize the threat determined to turn one of them into its prey.
Quickly, the inhabitants divided into squads, spreading around the creature and firing arrows in staggered intervals to keep it under pressure. However, the beast used its wings to cover what seemed to be its vital points while continuing to wreak havoc and attempt to eliminate the humans surrounding it. Thanks to the golems, its movements were sufficiently hindered for the squads to stay out of its reach, but the battle was far from over.
Suddenly, the creature froze for a moment, and some of the feathers on its body began to emit a faint red glow.
Silas issued a sudden alarm in 1765's mind.
—Electromagnetic activity detected. Possible magic activity. Cover recommended.
1765 shouted loud enough for everyone to hear:
—It's about to use magic! Take cover!
The squads quickly ran for cover wherever they could find it. For them, magic was unpredictable. Although their wooden armor could resist certain magical effects, they knew it was situational; if the magic was elemental, their chances of remaining unscathed were slim.
The worst part was that the creature didn't behave like a human, who, when using a spell, would form a magical circle that could be disrupted by an attack. This creature seemed to use a type of magic unfamiliar to them, with no clear signs of preparation.
The glow of its feathers intensified, turning a deep red. Suddenly, the creature unleashed a torrent of fire in all directions, forming a fiery circle around itself. The flames spread several meters, incinerating all the nearby golems and setting several houses in the settlement ablaze.
The fire around the beast was black, indicating extreme temperatures. The creature had freed itself from the bothersome golems. However, thanks to 1765's quick warning, no humans were injured. The squads, now under cover, resumed firing.
The creature seemed irritated, but without nearby golems to distract it, it had enough time to use its wings and powerful legs to lunge at one of the scattered humans.
It was clear that the beast was intelligent and possessed a certain degree of reasoning. However, for it, the humans present were nothing more than simple snacks, while the golems were annoying creatures without any nutritional value. This disdain for the golems cost it dearly, as it failed to notice everything happening around it.
While the creature attacked and was surrounded by several scattered squads of humans, another group worked silently in the distance. This group had run to the settlement's largest building, a warehouse containing several carts. These carts were similar to those used during the assault on the mine, though this time they were uncovered. On them rested arrows, wooden barrels, and the contraptions for the automatic ballistae.
A total of ten carts were ready for use. Each required a team of four people to operate, so the inhabitants divided into groups and began assembling the automatic ballistae quickly and efficiently. These weapons were loaded with arrows and positioned strategically around the settlement. Some carts were taken to higher ground, while others were placed in clear areas within the settlement, but all remained at a safe distance from the creature. Instead of using scaled horses, the carts were pulled by golems, as the horses would have panicked in the presence of the beast.
The assembly and positioning of the carts were completed just as the creature unleashed its devastating flame and prepared for a new attack. At that moment, the operators of the automatic ballistae pulled the triggers.
A total of two hundred arrows were fired in less than a minute at the creature. Realizing the threat too late, the beast could only shield itself with its massive wings. Although the feathers managed to deflect most of the projectiles, this time the arrows left visible marks on their surface. The creature let out a faint whimper of pain, a sign that, while resilient, its defenses were not impenetrable.
After the first wave of arrows came a second, followed by a third and a fourth. Meanwhile, the squads of humans continued firing their handheld crossbows, keeping the creature under constant pressure. Thanks to Silas' ingenuity, the settlement had developed a semi-automated system for arrow production. Although the golems couldn't touch Silent Tree wood due to its special properties, pulley and cutter mechanisms had been designed to mass-produce arrows quickly. This ensured a constant supply for the battle.
Despite the pain and pressure, the creature did not give up. With a deafening roar, its feathers began to glow again with an intense red hue. The settlement's inhabitants, anticipating another blaze, sought cover. But this time, instead of releasing fire toward the ground, the beast took flight.
The mighty creature rose swiftly, leaving behind a trail of fire that burned some arrows in midair. From its new position, it scanned for a vulnerable target. That's when it fixed its gaze on a nearby corral where a group of scaled horses was enclosed. With impressive speed, the creature dove toward them. The poor animals, unable to escape, neighed in terror. One of them was snatched by the beast's claws, which lifted it effortlessly and flew toward one of the towering mountains surrounding the valley.
1765 watched in silence as the creature's figure disappeared into the darkness. The battle was over, but the aftermath was clear. Several houses were damaged or on fire, the golems had been decimated, and a scaled horse had been lost. However, thanks to the settlement's quick reflexes and organization, no humans had been injured.
Although the beast had left the settlement, the night was far from over. Damage assessments and checks had to be made. In total, ten houses were lost to the fire, and over seventy golems were destroyed during the skirmish, including the unfortunate scaled horse.
The losses were significant for a small settlement like theirs but not irreparable. The golems could be recreated, and the cabins rebuilt. However, the scaled horse represented a harder loss to overcome. It was still uncertain how long it would take for the foals, both born and unborn, to reach maturity.
The worst realization from the attack was that the settlement was not 100% safe. The rumors of magical beasts living in the mountains seemed to be true. This added a new and far more severe problem for 1765. Bringing more inhabitants would be futile if their safety in the area couldn't be guaranteed.
After issuing instructions, organizing vigilant guards, and repositioning the carts with the automatic ballistae in strategic locations to reinforce the security perimeter, 1765 finally returned to his cabin. He collapsed into his chair, his mind overwhelmed, ready to rethink his next steps.