The thousand skeleton soldiers from the ten squads were bustling with activity, yet everything remained orderly and without the slightest bit of chaos. Their movements were swift and agile, no less impressive than those of the young dwarves, leaving them stunned and in awe.
At that moment, Jack Williams sat with one leg crossed over the other, enjoying a massage from the dwarf maidens, Ella and Bea, while sipping a glass of exquisite Myths wine. The afternoon sun bathed him in warmth, making his body relax, as though every hair on his body was stretching with comfort.
"Lord Protector, please have a grape! It will soothe your throat," Ella said, gently offering a grape from the fruit platter on the stone table, placing it near Jack's lips. At just sixteen years old, she was delicate and fair, with a youthful smile that lit up her apple-like face. In the dwarven community, she had already reached adulthood, though her petite stature and shy personality made her resemble an innocent, immature girl, causing a fluttering sensation in Jack's heart.
"Master, please try this freshly sliced honey fruit," Bea said, holding a small dish of vibrant, colorful fruit and cautiously offering it to Jack with a slight tilt of her body. Bea and Ella were of similar age, both small and petite, with large, expressive eyes. When they smiled, dimples would appear on their cheeks, making their charm even more irresistible.
Jack Williams smiled slightly, taking the grape from Bea's delicate hand, but instead placed it near her lips, saying with a grin, "I've had enough wine, I don't need to soothe my throat. But you two, after massaging me for so long, I'm sure your throats are dry and your hands must be numb. Come, sit down, have some fruit, and rest for a bit."
Ella's face turned pink at the sight of the "Protector Lord" feeding her the grape, her heart fluttered, and she hastily shook her head, saying, "Respectful Protector Lord, this... this is too much, I... I..."
Jack Williams, however, paid no mind, instead feeding her the fruit and pulling her and Bea to sit beside him. He then casually declared, "Protector? That's nonsense. From now on, don't call me 'Respectful Protector Lord.' It's too much of a mouthful, I'm already tired of hearing it. From now on, just call me 'Boss.'"
"Boss?" both Ella and Bea exclaimed in surprise.
"Yes, simple and cool, and it sounds impressive," Jack Williams said with a self-satisfied grin.
"Then... should we just call you 'Boss'?" Bea, with a bolder nature, tentatively asked.
"Yes, that's right. Here, let me give you a fruit as a reward," Jack Williams said, grinning, handing her an unknown fruit, which made Bea's face flush a deeper shade of red, even more so than the fruit in her hand.
"Boss, you're doing well, making us do all the hard work while you relax here, chatting up the girls. It's so unfair!"
Suddenly, the little mole, Toby, jumped onto Jack's shoulder along with his wife, both looking covered in dirt and mud, as if they had just emerged from the ground, and protested unhappily.
Earlier, Jack Williams had enlisted them to help dig the foundations for the city walls and houses—a rather strenuous task that had left the two little moles so exhausted they could barely stand.
He quickly grinned and poured them a glass of Myths wine, apologetically saying, "It's just the principle that the more capable one works harder, right? Think of it, our Lord Toby is a master at digging. Without your help, how would the Dwarven Clan of Sam be able to protect itself or build the town? So, your contributions are crucial. As for me, with no skills to speak of, I'll be at the bottom of the list."
Toby downed two big gulps of Myths wine, then smugly proclaimed, "Of course, who else would be as skilled as me, Toby? Back in the day, I was a standout in the mole clan. If not, I wouldn't have gotten such a beautiful wife. Uh... looks like I've fallen for your sweet talk again. Don't think you can fool us with flattery. Tonight, I want braised lion meat!"
"But we're out of fire cloud lion meat. How am I supposed to get it for you?" Jack Williams replied, looking helpless.
"Stop lying! I saw two fire cloud lions, three swift magic wolves, and six earth-shattering bears in your storage ring yesterday. How are they still intact? It's truly unbelievable," Toby exposed him, laughing.
Jack Williams blushed, cursing the sly little mole a hundred times in his mind.
Toby, grinning maliciously, swept all the fruit from the stone table into his hands, then patted his bulging stomach and burped, saying, "Boss, this life is so comfortable. No need to worry about magical beasts, and look at all the delicious food and drink. So relaxing! Honey, give me a kiss... Ah! Help!..."
Immediately, his wife began beating him mercilessly.
Ella and Bea giggled at Toby's miserable state, feeling much more at ease.
At that moment, Abe and Harold, along with over forty other young dwarves, walked briskly towards Jack Williams, followed by dozens of skeleton soldiers. They all knelt in unison, respectfully addressing him, "Respectful Protector Lord, we, representing fifty warriors, wish to offer some suggestions."
Jack Williams blinked, then opened his eyes wide, giving them a quick glance and smiling, "Call me 'Boss,' not some ridiculous 'Protector Lord,' okay? Now, speak up. What's the matter?"
Abe, looking furious, glared at the skeleton soldiers standing nearby, saying, "Our dwarven clan has brave warriors and powerful soldiers. We don't need these skeletons to train us."
"Oh? Why is that?" Jack Williams asked, half-closing his eyes, intrigued.
Harold snorted, "We have our own ways of training. We don't need them to show us how."
Jack Williams understood immediately from their defiant expressions that, in their eyes, his skeleton warriors were just mindless killing machines, with no intelligence or strategy, incapable of training them. He smiled and nodded. "I see. You think you're stronger than them?"
Abe and Harold exchanged looks and nodded confidently.
It seemed Grinda had heard the commotion and hurried over with several of her kin. She cast a furious glance at Abe and the others, shouting, "Abe, Harold, what are you doing? How dare you disrespect our great Protector Lord? Go back, do you hear me?" Her beard was twitching with anger.
Jack Williams waved his hand at Grinda, signaling he didn't mind, then clapped and smiled, "Good, confidence is key. How about we settle this with a little contest? If you can't defeat my skeleton soldiers, then you'll have to accept their training, no complaints. If you win, you can train yourselves, and I won't interfere."
"Is this for real?" Abe and Harold asked, their faces filled with doubt.
"A gentleman's word is as good as gold," Jack Williams replied, nodding firmly.
At first, Jack Williams had been concerned that the dwarven youths lacked practical battle experience, so he had selected fifty capable skeleton soldiers from Alex's first squad and trained them rigorously to enhance their combat skills. He hadn't expected things to escalate like this.
He led the group to an open space not far away. This plot of land was about four or five hundred square meters in size, cleared by James's tenth squad using Hellfire. Some dead branches were still smoldering with embers, as they had originally planned to establish a small square there, but due to a shortage of manpower, it had been left empty for now.