Chapter 775: Dare Hurt My Caretaker?

*Leo’s Territory approximate appearance, not canon*

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Chapter 775: Dare Hurt My Caretaker?

By the time Leo reached the teleportation array, a big commotion had already broken out.

"Hey! Move aside!"

"Give me some space, idiot!"

People barely had time to move away from the teleportation array before more people arrived, making the already crowded area even more packed.

"Sir Leo! I have nearly 10 capable fighters under me, and together we can take on even a Peak 2-star beast, with me as a Mid 2-star combatant! I will be very useful to the territory!"

"Where are Sir Leo and Lily?! Please recruit me into your territory! I can make excellent bricks for housing and structures!"

"Who wants your idiotic bricks when Lord Leo can do better Earth Manipulation than you?! Lord Leo, take me in! I know how to craft Spirit Armour and Spirit Weapons up to Peak 1-star rank!"

Though the man seemed unusually proud of his seemingly low-level skill, crafting Peak 1-star Spirit Equipment was actually a great feat for a freshman. After all, such equipment wasn’t entirely useless, even if it wasn’t particularly valuable to the current Leo.

A single piece of Peak 1-star Spirit Armour, when sold to Aurelius Hall to be resold across the Empire, could fetch nearly 20,000 AC, or 4 Gold Coins.

This was because Spirit Equipment wasn’t like regular equipment made purely of metal or other materials. Instead, it incorporated special beast body parts, mana crystals, and even natural treasures to produce magical effects.

In a way, they were similar to Miho’s ability, which let people use skills from the beasts whose materials went into the equipment, though the effects were inferior to her natural ability.

In fact, Miho had already been learning to craft such equipment alongside her combat training. Once she got the hang of it, the equipment she crafted would actually be more effective than normal Spirit Equipment while consuming less mana.

That meant even her Peak 1-star Spirit Equipment could sell for double the price.

Then there were those who had come purely for the benefits.

"Look! There’s even free tap water along the path! My leader charges for even a single bucket of clean drinking water!"

Contrary to what most people might think, drinking water from just any source in the wild wasn’t a good idea, both for health reasons and because of the risk of unintentionally offending a territorial beast. So Leo was actually being very generous by providing even a clean source of water.

As a matter of fact, the water condensed by Crystal Fish was among the highest-quality water available, containing all the essential minerals. Combined with the fact that the general pool was situated in a mana-dense region, the water even had magical effects that strengthened and healed the body.

Moreover, it was an exceptionally clean water source, since nobody was allowed to bathe in it, and the other fish filtered out and ate any impurities.

But Leo wasn’t petty enough to charge people for something as basic as water.

Well... not until fewer people were around.

"I have brought 20 people! We can act as guards for the expanded territory!"

People, or rather, many of the leaders, seemed to have brought their entire territories along with them.

The elves had already formed a perimeter to prevent anyone from wandering around freely, making the place even more crowded.

James, Virat, and Brok were present too.

Even the 17 maids from Ember City nervously tried to keep the crowd tame.

"Get the fuck away!"

Suddenly, a man shoved one of the maids, sending her tumbling several meters away, making her fall.

Thum! Thum! Thum! Thum!

"Wha-what the fuck?!"

At that moment, Howl’s avatar golem, which had been walking calmly and silently under the cover of the tall trees, charged forward with heavy footsteps, startling the crowd.

Seeing the hulking, 5-meter-tall rocky structure, everyone went quiet and stiffened.

Howl stopped beside the fallen maid and gently picked her up. The golem’s hand was wide enough for her to lie on, though she remained frozen in fear, unsure of what would happen next.

Then Howl’s avatar turned toward the man who had pushed her, standing as if to say, ’How dare you hurt my caretaker?’

The maids were especially active in cleaning, grooming the plants, and collecting fruits growing around the territory, so Howl liked them.

Howl walked toward the man, who had already taken several steps back in fear, as the crowd automatically parted to make way.

Then, extending his other arm, Howl flicked the man’s head.

Dead.

Or rather, he was teleported away to the temple.

The others immediately straightened and stopped ranting. The elves hadn’t intervened when the new golem appeared because they knew only Leo could create one around here.

After dealing with the man, the golem walked a few meters back to where the maid had been trying to urge people to remain quiet. He sat in the lotus position and extended his arm forward, letting the maid continue her work.

He remained there as if daring anyone to act out of line.

The maid, however, didn’t jump off his palm, afraid he might strike her next. So she stayed seated, and Howl’s avatar didn’t mind.

After that, things went smoothly. Everybody obeyed.

Even the newly arriving people swallowed nervously at the sight of the 5-meter golem sitting in front of them.

By then, Leo had arrived, and nearly 200 students had gathered.

"What the hell is happening here?"

One of the elves quickly summarised the situation, and Leo turned toward the men and women gathered before him.

"Have you all come to attack my territory?" Leo asked with a serious expression.

"S-Sir Leo! You’ve got it wrong! We’re merely here to try and join the territory since we felt there was a need to..." one brave person spoke up on behalf of the others.

"Hoh? And how’s that possible when I haven’t sent out any recruitment notice or personally invited you?"

They had no answer to that.

A few people also realised that, given how many people had suddenly arrived in the territory, their actions could indeed be mistaken for an attack.

Nonetheless, some of them were still shameless.

"S-Sir Leo! I am good at..."

"Sir Leo! I have very..."

"Sir Leo! I am as hardworking as a horse!"

"SCRAM! Get out of here before I lose my patience and tell that golem to crush you all!" Leo snapped, losing his temper after just a few minutes of interacting with them.

Some still tried to say something, but at that moment, Lily walked out of the forest.

The moment they saw her, goosebumps covered their bodies, and they quickly began retreating toward the teleportation array to escape.

Nobody wanted anything to do with someone who loved torturing people live on camera under the guise of a fight.

"Haahh, they really think I’ll choose just any random person to join my territory," Leo sighed. But interestingly, he was the only one who thought that way; if it had been another top 10 student’s territory, they would have taken nearly all of them after a simple screening to increase their manpower.

All except Tavian, since Leo inspired him.

That’s why so many people were so shameless.

Leo briefly introduced Howl’s avatar golem to the others, explaining that it was, ’in a way,’ his beast, who would do some heavy lifting when asked, and that he was pretty chill.

The others watched the golem hold the maid on his extended arm and sway her around like a swing. They nodded.

Pretty chill indeed.

After that, Leo went to the Gnomes.