Frostbound [LitRPG Apocalypse]-Chapter 178 - Council Decision

Carson

Watching the City Owner ruminate over what Carson had just told him, it was reassuring that he took the threat seriously. From what he'd heard, the other pylon they reached out to didn't fully understand what they were up against.

Not everyone had the urge to expand their knowledge while in the tutorial and buy information about the wider multiverse which left some in the dark about what Demons were, but this man knew.

He asked the right questions and seemed to be putting things together quickly enough that he understood the gravity of what was said.

When the news first broke in their city, those who knew went wild with worry. Those who didn't know what Demons were quickly came to understand and join in on everyone's worry.

Thankfully Ashton, the City Lord, knew the threat the Demons posed and swiftly sent out groups to ask for help, if there were any out there. Carolyn could locate pylons using her Profession but that didn't mean they would be inclined to help.

At first, when she initially pointed in this direction, he thought she was joking. After living through the Winter and seeing how harsh and desolate the area became, Carson thought any further North would be abandoned. He wrote off any who lived in Northern Provinces as long dead.

The people who used to live there either dead or evacuated before the snows came. He didn't think many would've survived out here alone, but he was wrong.

It took them a month to get here but they came upon a budding town. Or, the beginnings of one at least. It seemed odd to him that they focused on the castle first but who was he to say anything.

Not that they had time to look about. After being discovered by a group of scouts, they were then escorted to where they sat now without having the chance to observe much else.

From what he was able to see, the Castle wasn't even close to finished construction wise, as workers were clearing the land for extensions and additional construction. From what was already built, though, he knew it was built to last.

For some reason, it felt like even if he launched his strongest spell at the stone nothing would happen, even when he was one of the higher levels among their city.

He sat well into E-rank, even with a Law, but it still wasn't enough to feel strong enough to break through the stone edifice. The fact the large structure was built on an alcove of the cliff that jutted out over the rest spoke volumes of the owner.

They were building fortifications strong enough to weather any siege and it showed in their thoroughness and the castle's positioning. Carson's city, Fort Hope, was mostly thrown together as fast as possible so people could feel safe.

Where the previous Fort Hope once stood was gone and they built what they could upon the ruins.

When they first came upon the castle, even under construction, it gave off that noticeable feeling. After being let in and escorted to the meeting room, he didn't know what to expect.

They had asked to meet the Pylon's owner but that didn't necessarily mean they would be immediately led to the person. Except they were, which was a quicker reception than anticipated.

After leaving the rest of the group behind, the next stop brought him to the meeting room he now sat in. The hallways and rooms they passed were mostly empty and devoid of any furniture but not the one they were in now.

It held various things on the wall to break up the wash of grey stone along with a table and chairs that felt finely crafted. A Carpenter of higher than average level was most likely responsible.

Other than that, the fur of a beast almost as high a level as Carson decorated the floor. While that didn't mean much, as a large group could have taken it down, the pristineness of the fur said otherwise.

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A large group would've had a hard time not ruining the pelt.

There were no patches or stitch marks to indicate any errant slashes or arrow holes and the fur was still intact, signifying there weren't any spells used to take it down. Which meant it was taken down swiftly and by someone with experience.

All of that wasn't even taking into account the man sitting across from him. Victoria, with her better perception and skill, signaled his level discretely but Carson hardly believed the woman.

Even when they had spent a month fighting through the wilds together and the fact he trusted her to watch his back, he doubted the man's level was only a level above his own.

The faint feeling on the back of his neck impressing upon him that he stood before someone strong meant he had to be much higher level than himself, which made the idea the man was only level 68 laughable.

Not even Ashton, the strongest person he knew, gave off as powerful a feeling.

Carson's tutorial had been fraught with battles and vicious struggle which made him believe the feeling he was receiving from the man, even if Victoria's skills said otherwise.

Other than the prickle on the back of his neck, the man was otherwise unassuming. He didn't wear any fancy clothes or armor, nor did he have any treasures in his possession.

The man sat before them bare of anything to defend himself, which Carson struggled to presume was either too trusting or just plain stupid. He did note that there was a massive Warhammer in the corner of the room but it seemed decorative rather than used for combat.

For one, it was massive. The shaft alone was nearly 6 feet in length and the head of the weapon was entirely too big to be effective. Secondly, it was made of ice. What kind of blunt weapon would use something as brittle as ice as the material?

Sure, they had a few Ice Affinity warriors and mages in their city, but none of them used it as a hammer. One warrior crafted it into swords while the rest fought with normal metal. The mages didn't use weapons so they didn't count.

Knowing that, Carson assumed the weapon was decorative but they hadn't hung it up on the wall yet for whatever reason. He did notice it gave off an odd effect with the cascading frost coming off the weapon, but that didn't change his mind.

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Seeing the man was weaponless, he did keep an eye out for any concealed weapons, but he couldn't spot any and neither could his two companions. They had come up with different ways to signal each other about certain things and neither had given the signal for weapon.

While the clothes looked comfortable and the craftsmanship was well made, they didn't seem very strong. Not that he assumed they would be. His mind was just trying to come up with reasons for why the man would appear defenseless.

Having his clothes be strong armor was just one of the more fanciful things he had come up with and then dismissed.

Before he could think of anything else, the man was finished deliberating on the news given to him.

"Thank you for bringing this to me, I will need time to deliberate on this before agreeing to anything. You are welcome to stay in the rooms provided while you await my answer." While the answer was disappointing, it wasn't unexpected.

It was the diplomatic answer to put off agreeing to anything before discussing it amongst themselves.

It was upsetting that there wasn't immediate agreeance to help but Carson couldn't do anything about that. He could only hope they this visit turned out to be fruitful.

If he came back empty-handed, he wasn't sure what would happen.

Chris

After the three got up and left, I called in our Council who were waiting nearby. It wasn't a surprise that we would have to discuss whatever the newcomers had to say and they were waiting for the meeting to finish up.

We could have all been in the room together, but it wasn't prepared for that many people and would be awkward.

Everyone shuffled in quickly after the three were returned to the rest of their group and I wasted no time filling them in on the details.

As soon as Demons were mentioned everyone knew this was serious. This wasn't a diplomatic group nor was it here for trade. It came bearing a threat to the area.

Worry arose but I was glad that panic did not. It was good to worry, as we weren't sure the extent of the threat right now and worry was a fine emotion to feel, but panic was not.

Panic helped no one and would only delay the process of figuring out what we were going to do.

Abigail listed off an even more extensive description of Demons than I remembered from reading about them and it did not spell good news. With everyone up to speed and knowledgeable on the subject, ideas started flowing.

While I wasn't sure the extent of what kind of help we would send, I knew at least some would be sent. It sounded wrong to say, but this was a perfect opportunity for me.

I wasn't growing slowly in levels, but nor was I growing fast. The newcomer bearing the news was within a level of me and that was discouraging. If he was close, others were no doubt ahead.

I wasn't chasing the title of highest level in the world, but I didn't want to be left behind either. I knew some would take wild risks to gain in power faster than I was and this was an opportunity to do the same.

Yes, it was a wild risk, but I felt the rewards were worth it. Plus, it was a threat we couldn't ignore. There were people who the Demons had to go through to get to us, but that didn't mean we were safe.

If the people in this Fort Hope fell, we would be next. Or the pylon to the South they mentioned but we would be soon after. It was better to fight it now with help than wait and stand alone.

The Demons were close enough in vicinity that we couldn't leave them for someone else to deal with. If even one got away, the threat would never be over. For some, that was a good thing.

A faction with deep roots might even keep a few Demons sequestered away for just that reason, but we were not that kind of faction. We were just getting on our feet and had just started to grow.

We couldn't afford to have Demons running amok in the area around us, no matter how many levels they would bring.

The only question was, how many people would be going with me?

The few guards who spent the travel here on watch and patrol had transitioned well into City Guards if they chose to. They helped during the monthly waves and they actively sought to improve themselves in the dungeon.

While they weren't technically a force I could call on, not yet at least, I doubted they would deny me if they knew the same information I now did. The reason I hadn't made a more formal group or created official Guards was because the construction was still underway.

I wanted the city to be built before I started getting ahead of myself with employing the people we would need. It also saved on coin which we weren't as flush with as people would believe.

If I stopped delving as often as I did we would have a marked loss in revenue. Or, if we added a large number of Guards to our payroll, we would be in the same boat.

Luckily, Abigail oversaw all financial matters along with Jonathan's help and would keep us from going bankrupt. Abigail was in charge of spending while Jonathan was our link to selling things through the store.

The two combined had knowledge of every way we made and spent money, which was perfect for them to be in charge of all the financials. We would eventually have to branch out and appoint a treasurer of some sort to take over, but that was a future problem.

Additionally, I didn't know anyone I trusted to take the job and I wasn't going to hire some random person to be in charge of our books. When it became a problem and Abigail started getting swamped with all her responsibilities, then we would have to bite the bullet.

The percentage of our population who participated in the monthly waves was around 30%. We had around 800 people living here now thanks to Austin and over 200 chose to fight every month.

A good percentage in my opinion, but I wasn't sure 200 would be enough. With months of time to run free, there could be thousands of Demons by now. I was confident in my strength, but I wasn't enough to make sure none got away.

That exact point was brought up and what we were discussing now.

"Sending 200 won't be enough. What if one gets away? Then this whole thing starts over and we're back to square one." Abigail commented.

"We have this other city to help. This... Fort Hope or whatever it's called. It sounds like they have more people than we do already. If we take into account the amount of people they send, it could be enough." Sam pointed out.

"We cannot rely on them to stamp out the threat. The fact they're here in the first place shows they aren't strong enough." Hal said.

"How do you suggest we get more volunteers then?" I cut in with a question.

At my comment, the discussion died down before falling silent. It wasn't until a second later that Abigail spoke.

"Volunteers?" She asked questioningly.

"Yes, volunteers. I will not drag the unwilling into a fight they don't want. If any go at all, it will be because they choose to." I said firmly. I had assumed we were on the same page about that, but apparently, I was mistaken.

"What if they don't understand the threat Demons possess and choose not to go?" Hal asked.

"Then I suggest you impress upon them the severity of what we face. If they are uninformed about Demons, inform them. I think informing them should get us a good number who choose to go." I said.

"Won't that cause widespread panic? We can't just come out and say there's an army of Demons we have to go fight and not expect people to panic." My mother asked.

"Are you suggesting we don't tell them?" Vinny chimed in. It was rare for him to speak unless directly asked but he did now.

"People are stronger than you think. I've trained with them more than any of you and I know they are resilient. You don't go through what everyone did without becoming so. Informing them won't be as bad as you imagine." Jonathan said.

Jonathan was a new addition now that Austin was gone but it was good he was here. As he said, he spent the most time with the guards out training and knew them best.

The discussion was passed around a few more minutes but it was settled not long after. We would be telling them what we knew and asking for volunteers to go fight.

Vinny even agreed to make weapons and armor for the few who volunteered and didn't already have them. Most already did, either from having them before joining us or buying them afterward but a few didn't.

Those were mainly the ones who chose not to fight but we predicted a few of those would flip and decide to go when told of what we faced. I wasn't hopeful that number would be high, but I at least expected a few.

Everything was settled and we had our course of action but I caught a stray bullet at the end of the meeting that I should've seen coming.

It was as everyone was getting up that they all looked at me.

Ah, fuck. They want me to announce it.