Lord Evolution: Starting With Overpowered Sacrifice System

Ragnar and Noah spent a few minutes with Daniel, the carpenter. Their discussion revolved around how to use his skills to improve not only the Hamlet's shelters but also its security. Daniel was gladdened by the revelation that his skills, long looked down on by others, would finally be useful at long last.

Nonetheless, though ambitious, he was faced with a small issue — materials.

The Hamlet had plenty of timber supplies, but not a single tool to work them. It took Daniel weeks to process the timbers before he got his desired sizes of wood for his craft back then. There was also an unavailability of nails, measuring tapes, and many other tools.

Ragnar assured him that he would handle the materials personally. He gave Daniel the task of drawing up all blueprints for the future projects.

Once that was over, Ragnar asked Daniel to gather the others at the center of the Hamlet, since they lacked a proper meeting spot.

Once they had gathered, Ragnar shared the same water purification methods he had disclosed to his people in the tenth Hamlet.

Hearing that their water had become the leading cause of their poor health, the people of the eleventh Hamlet became attentive. They learned all three techniques Ragnar explained, promising themselves never to use water from the stream directly without purifying it.

During the meeting, Ragnar even used his painkiller on one of the injured farmers. The revelation of the medicine sparked awed chatter among the crowd there immediately.

How could such a tiny consumable get rid of pain so quickly? How did Ragnar even get his hands on something so precious? Who really was Ragnar? Such questions were shared by every single person, including the little ones, there and then.

Hearing their wondering chatter, Ragnar could not stop himself from imagining how these people would react if they truly learned of his feats.

At the end of the day, he decided to keep those other feats hidden.

His goal for the day was to remove all obstacles preventing the development of the Hamlet.

He had already partially taken care of the shelter problem, all that was needed to finalize it was materials and tools. He had also addressed the water problem properly.

Thanks to the Hamlet now being under his territory, his passive skill [ Efficient Harvest ] had linked directly to it — the harvest of the farmlands would increase, solving most of the food issues.

For now, the Hamlet was in a stable state. The only worry in his heart was the gang returning soon to exact their revenge on these people.

Thinking about that, Ragnar decided to put a plan into action to keep the people safe there. He instructed the crowd on what to say should the gang return after his and Noah's departure.

Although the people were adamant about Ragnar staying, they had no choice but to accept — an ambitious young man like him could not be tied down to a rundown Hamlet like theirs.

After the meeting was over, Ragnar and Noah went to eat the food the women had kept in their hut.

After breakfast, they bade the people farewell and began their journey back to the tenth Hamlet.

With the help of the young ladies they had rescued, they found their way to the stream, and then, using the direction of its flow as a guide, they made their way back to the Hamlet once again.

===

It was noon in the tenth Hamlet.

The people of the tenth Hamlet went about their day peacefully, momentarily forgetting about the goblin incident in the morning.

Farmers tilled the soil, women mended the homes. At that moment, Kendrick and Roger stood guard at the south exit of the Hamlet, the exit that led to the forest entrance, the same one the goblins had come out of earlier today.

Kendrick sat on a rock slab with a frown on his face, hugging his blade as his mind refused to stop worrying.

Roger, on the other hand, paced around as he kicked a small stone, his mind still thinking about how inferior he was before his own master, who was old.

Both of their minds were preoccupied with heavy thoughts, but their eyes did not stop watching their surroundings from time to time.

As the sunlight bled over the vegetation around them, two figures suddenly strolled out of the woods several minutes away from them.

At first sight, both of them stood up, unsheathing their weapons, fearing it was goblins.

"Ragnar? Noah?" Kendrick's eyes recognized the two figures as they strolled closer then.

"Oh, they are back!" A smile quickly appeared on Roger's face.

But then the two scouts quickly realized someone was missing.

Their eyes widened at once.

They looked far ahead of Ragnar and Noah, but there was no sight of their comrade.

Worried and troubled, they sprinted toward the two.

When they approached, Roger grabbed Ragnar's shoulder and asked then, "You two, where is Milan?"

Kendrick halted in front of the three and studied their expressions. He saw how Ragnar and Noah's faces quickly dampened. His heart skipped a beat as he awaited the bad news.

"He is dead..." Ragnar let out, in a tone laced with all forms of deep, sad, and self-loathing emotions.

Beside him, Noah's face was already saddened, his eyes reddened, a sharp pain appearing in his heart.

"What? Milan... dead..." Roger's voice trailed off.

His eyes widened.

He couldn't believe it.

His friend and colleague was... dead?

The look on his face slowly crumbled. His eyes reddened, and with a solemn voice he asked, "How did he die?"

"Goblins..." Ragnar responded, his words laced with anger, his fist clenched. "They ambushed us while we were relaxing. Big brother Milan did not get the opportunity to defend himself."

"Goblins..." Kendrick muttered.

His friend had been killed by those same creatures... now it began to make sense a little bit.

"Nooo!!" Roger's saddened voice ragged. His knees weakened as he collapsed on them. He clenched his fists with anger and frustration, punching the ground continuously to vent.

"I could've gone with you guys instead," Roger let out. "Milan wouldn't have died!"

Ragnar and Noah watched Roger vent. They could understand what he was feeling at the moment, it was the same feeling they had when they ventured into the goblins' hideout and slaughtered the remains back then.

Seeing that Roger was filled with so much rage, Ragnar decided it would help if he learned that the goblins who brought about Milan's death had been dealt with already.

He shared the story of how they defeated the goblins and cleared out their hideout, slaughtering all of them.

"Really?" Roger stopped venting, looked up at the two, and asked.

Both of them shook their heads.

"It was the least we could do to avenge the death of big brother Milan. He was a great man and did not deserve such a death."

"Indeed..." Kendrick responded, taking a step closer as he patted the shoulders of Noah and Ragnar. "No matter what happened, you guys should not blame yourselves. Even taking the courage to slaughter those disgusting monsters would make Milan truly smile wherever he is right now."

While he consoled them, Roger did not stop venting on the innocent grass in front of him.

After Kendrick was done consoling them, he ushered them into the Hamlet. On the few minutes' walk into the Hamlet, he told them about the seven goblins.

"Goblins attacked?" Ragnar was surprised. So was Noah, who turned to look at Kendrick, awaiting his response to the question asked.

"It is nothing to worry about, they were only seven of them. Thanks to the help of old man James, we were able to take care of them before they entered the Hamlet," Kendrick responded with a small smile.

"Wait," Roger suddenly called out, "could it be those goblins that attacked were part of the hideout you guys cleared out?"

Ragnar and Noah shook their heads. "We killed all of them completely. Their exit was blocked, so none of them could have escaped," Noah responded.

"It doesn't necessarily have to be escapees. Goblins usually send a few of their members on scouting missions, especially during nighttime. The seven goblins that attacked the Hamlet could have been scouts sent out," Kendrick explained indeed.

He had already derived this deduction the moment he learned both of them had cleared a goblin hideout.

The four of them kept discussing the goblin incident until they made their way into the Hamlet, crossing the border and reaching the farmlands, where the farmers quickly recognized them there.

"They are back!"

"Our heroes are back!"

The farmers left their lands and came to welcome both of them. Nevertheless, just like the scouts, they too noticed the absence of Milan. Once they heard the news of his death, a solemn atmosphere hung over them.

The other members of the Hamlet were drawn by the initial excited scre

ams of the farmers. They had already gathered to welcome them, but the sadness of Milan's death made it difficult to express their joy.