CHAPTER 222: UPGRADING THE WALLS [2]

Most of those present didn’t really agree with the decision, but they could only nod their heads in unison. Not like Gabriel really cared about what they thought.

If everyone was to join a simple raid mission like this... who would protect the camp in case of enemy attacks?

Gabriel was the first to leave the meeting as he had more important things to attend to before the journey tomorrow.

When he stepped out, it was already night and most people were heading into their homes. As he walked toward the left part of the camp, he received several greetings, to which he simply nodded.

Soon, he arrived and saw one of the former militants patrolling the area... or at least, that was what he was supposed to be doing. Instead, Gabriel found him dozing off.

A frown appeared on his face, and a look of disgust flickered in his eyes.

He was a strict and disciplined individual, thanks to his past life, and had a strong dislike for the weak and lazy.

Seeing the guard who was meant to protect the walls napping so peacefully without a care in the world pissed him off the wrong way.

Suddenly, sensing a presence beside him, the militant jolted awake, startled, gripping his gun tightly.

"Who is there?! Show yourself!" he cried out.

Gabriel calmly walked forward into the light, which shone on his chiseled features. His red hair cascaded down his temple, covering the pair of electric-blue eyes that were especially striking at night.

When the militant finally saw who it was, his face instinctively paled. He dropped the gun, stammering.

"L-Leader... w-what—"

"Go back to the treasury and submit your weapon. You’re fired." Gabriel spoke coldly, the chilling look in his eyes almost making the man stumble.

"Y-yes, sir," he managed to say, before scurrying away from the scene.

Gabriel glanced left and right, spreading his perception outward. He sensed a few figures, but they were on the other side of the camp.

After the confirmation, he grinned slightly. "Let’s do this."

He placed his hand on the wooden wall.

’From the monster subjugation quest, I was able to increase my extraction points to 500. I hope it will be enough for this.’

A new screen appeared before him.

[Do you wish to extract the left wooden wall? Cost 78 EP]

The cost was much lower than he had anticipated, but then he realized something. This extraction was for only the left part of the wall, and there were a total of four portions.

In total it was about 312 EP.

He grimaced, realizing his points would be nearly halved. However, it was worth taking the risk if it would improve the base.

"Yes... Extract," he muttered, as a purple glow slowly spread out from his palm toward the wall.

A thin line of purple crawled across his hand, then spilled onto the wood like ink. The glow moved with a will of its own, licking along the left panel and seeping into cracks.

Before his eyes, the wood straightened, the surface smoothed, and a strange metallic sheen coated it without losing its wooden essence. The glow crawled up every inch, repairing dents, reinforcing beams, and merging old wood with something sturdier. By the time the process ended, the wall looked brand new—no, stronger than brand new.

Gabriel smirked at the upgrade.

However, the sudden purple light had not gone unnoticed. From nearby, a few curious militants lifted their heads in that direction and began murmuring amongst themselves.

"Did you see that glow?"

"It came from the left wall..."

"Something’s happening—let’s check it out!"

But before the group could approach, a figure appeared before them like a ghost out of thin air. They all flinched back.

"How did sh—" one of them began, stunned.

"Back to your posts. Now." Anna coldly ordered. She stood with arms crossed, her piercing eyes sweeping over the group. The militants froze as if caught doing something shameful.

"But Lady Anna, we—" one of them tried to speak.

"No excuses," she cut in sharply. "What the leader is doing is none of your concern. Unless you plan to get in the way of his work, return to your duties immediately."

Her tone brooked no argument. The men exchanged nervous glances before finally bowing their heads.

"Y-yes, ma’am!"

As they left the scene whispering amongst themselves, Anna lingered a moment longer, her gaze sliding over the newly reinforced wall. Her lips curved slightly, almost imperceptibly.

’Seems master is playing with his Talent again.’

That purple glow... she had seen it before and knew it only came when her master was using his Talent. She had come here out of curiosity when she spotted the militants.

...

Meanwhile, Gabriel didn’t take his hand away. He let the glow finish, felt the last of the energy sink into the timber, then checked the numbers in his head.

Thanks to his perception, he had sensed that a crowd was coming a few seconds ago, but for some reason they had stopped and returned to their duties.

Regardless, he decided to complete what he had started. With the left wall done, he moved to the next, sending the patrol guard away and repeating the process.

For the rest of the night, he would extract all four parts of the camp.

By the next morning, a dozen people had gathered. Faces pressed over rails, mouths half open in awe and confusion.

"W-what happened to the walls?" one of the refugees muttered, shielding his eyes.

"Am I... seeing things?" another whispered, leaning forward.

The militants on patrol stopped in their tracks, mouths slightly open. Some even reached out and touched the surface, only to jerk their hands back at how firm and cold the reinforced wood felt.

"It’s like stone... no, even stronger."

"Did someone... upgrade it overnight?"

"Impossible. We don’t have craftsmen like this here. Even if we did, something like this would take days to complete!"

"It has to be the leader."

"Who else could’ve done this? That’s why Lady Anna stopped us!"

"But how?"

While everyone was left wondering how the walls had come to be, Gabriel—the cause of everything—was already inside a large cargo truck along with Sophie and Cassie.

"In an hour and a half, we should reach Crane’s base," he announced as they slowly moved out of the camp.

***

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