Chapter 62: bank valle guardian

Before she could reply, a voice come. The stone divider panel at the back of the tunnel began to lift slowly, rising back into the ceiling as a group of our guards forcefully cleared the locking mechanisms from the opposite side.

Victor marched straight through the open passage, "Sir! The distortion fog has completely cleared from the main corridor. The five hundred men are back in formation and the sector is fully secured."

"Good work, Victor," I said, turning away from the cart. "Did you find any other structural assets on your way down?"

Victor’s eyes narrowed slightly as he pointed his spear toward the corners at the back of the sorting yard. "No living assets, sir. But my scouts found the final destination of the old workforce."

Suzy and I followed him past the transport carts, walking toward a low archway cut into the rear wall of the yard. The sight inside the hidden room was completely quiet. There were no monsters or ghost left. Resting in straight lines along the paths were dozens of skeletons wearing the ragged clothes of the old village miners. They were slumped against the rock, their old tools resting loosely next to their bones. The text from her father’s note was completely accurate—there were no living human survivors left in this district. Every single worker had been run into the ground until their cores broke.

The guards stood in total silence, dropping their spear toward the floor in deep respect for the dead.

Suzy walked over slowly, kneeling down on one knee next to the first line of remains. Her long hair fell over her shoulder as she looked down at the old, rusted tags attached to their belts. A very deep sadness showed on her face, and her chest moved fast as she processed the reality of what the old Prince had done.

"They stayed right here until the very end, Barry," Suzy whispered, her voice full of human emotion as she looked up at my face. "My father tried to delete their names from the tracking files to save them, but the palace guards still dragged them down here to die."

I knelt down right next to her side, my arms reaching out to gently touch her shoulder . "Their work is done. We will have Victor’s men bring them up for a proper burial tomorrow. But their memory gives us the legal right to claim this whole canyon as our own private sector."

Suzy looked at my face, a lovely expression showing in her eyes"You’re right, Let’s make sure their home is never forgotten."

I stood up again as I turned to look at Victor. "Victor, load the mineral maps onto the lead wagon. We are taking the first division back to Oakhaven to update the master project. Tomorrow, the new mining shift begins under our own rules."

"Right away, sir," Victor gave a bow as he turned to organize the men.

Then We all marched out of the canyon together.

.....

The convoy moved out from the path, heading straight past the village without a full stop. I had already sent two wagon units ahead to Oakhaven with the distribution charts so Suzy could process the numbers at the central office. The local housing project was safe under her management, which left me free to clear the next supply line while the weather parameters were still steady.

Victor rode his horse right next to my stride,he looked at the tree line ahead. Five hundred of our guards marched behind his mount, their weapons held upright in a line.

"The West Bank Logging Sector is located just three miles past the river bend, sir," Victor said. "The old Prince used to harvest the high-density cedar trees from that valley to build his palace ships. Since the human workforce was removed ten years ago, the entire forest path has grown completely wild."

"A queen sector needs a premium lumber supply, Victor," I said,"We can’t finish the roofing frames for the new village houses without clean cedar beams. Let’s get the tracking line clear."

Before we could even cross the river bend, a whistle come from the high brush on the opposite bank.

Three figures stepped out, blocking the entrance to the logging path. They wore dark coats covered in leaf mesh, and they held long, curved hunting weapons leveled straight at Victor’s chest. These were rogue woodsmen who had taken over the abandoned border woods after the old dynasty fell.

The lead man, a tall man with a scarred neck and a messy beard, looked down at our five hundred guards with a arrogant expression. "Hold your steps, capital trash. These woods don’t belong to the crown anymore. If you want to cut a single log from this valley, you pay our syndicate a seventy percent transit fee in gold coins right now."

Victor didn’t even blink. his hand resting on his sword as he looked the leader straight in the eye without a single flicker of fear or interest.

A young female rogue wearing a green hood stepped up right next to the leader’s, her eyes widening slightly as she looked up at Victor’s tall, broad frame and his military stance. Her face turned a tiny bit red under her hood, and she lowered her weapon, her voice turning soft. "Hey... if you are the captain of this squad, maybe we can negotiate a better deal in private? You look like a man who knows how to handle a contract..."

Victor didn’t look at her face,He kept his gaze fixed completely straight ahead on the center tree line.

"I am currently conducting a primary resource survey for Queen," Victor said. "Female rogue interactions do not fall within my operational boundaries. Clear the path immediately or your syndicate will be processed as illegal trespassers on corporate land."

The young female completly in total shock, her mouth dropping open as she got completely shut down in less than seconds. She stepped back into the weeds, her face burning with pure embarrassment as her leader let out an angry curse.