"But where are we going to get a ballista?" Aaliyah asked, voicing her inner concerns.
In this remote wilderness, let alone a ballista, there’s not even a decent workshop.
Even if there were, making a ballista is time-consuming and labor-intensive, not something that can be done quickly.
However, since Gauss mentioned this plan, it wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment idea.
He calmly took out the commission scroll from his bag, unrolled it, and pointed to a line of additional terms.
"The commission notes that at the base of the Heron Mountain Range, there’s a settlement where the Adventurer’s Guild has authorized us to freely use the equipment stored in the armory if needed."
"There’s probably a ballista there."
"It might be a bit old, but with some simple repairs, it should work."
Gauss rolled up the scroll.
"We need to get to that small town to obtain a ballista or other remote attack equipment, so we can have a chance to shoot them down from the sky the next time we encounter them, or at least keep them from getting close."
The others nodded in agreement.
To face high-speed aerial enemies, we indeed need more direct and effective long-range firepower.
It’s not that their team is insufficient.
In fact, most elite teams would be helpless against such enemies.
Unless they have some agile and powerful flying mounts capable of countering the threat of goblin bat knights.
Such teams do exist, but they’re definitely rare.
No time to lose, the team sprang into action.
Following the map directions, they returned to the village where they had stowed their chocobos, then rode toward the settlement at the base of the Heron Mountain Range.
Nested in Gauss’s collar, a few fairies chirped excitedly.
It turned out, Gauss learned this was their first journey away from home.
They had never left the forest before.
Seeing human villages, wild roads, and merchant caravans made these little creatures who had never seen the big world very excited.
"So this is what a human village looks like..."
"Nothing special, nothing special."
"It’s not even as pretty as our village, nor does it have as many houses," fairy Moss grumbled.
"Shh... Moss, you bumpkin, don’t say such embarrassing things. Do you know this is just the smallest of human villages? It’s said there are villages so big, tens of thousands of people can live in one," fairy Dandelion quickly patted him.
Dandelion was the most "knowledgeable" among the four little ones.
"Tens of thousands?" Moss, who had been critiquing, immediately fell silent.
"Is that true? How big?" he looked up at Gauss.
"It’s true." Gauss nodded.
If cities count as those very large villages Dandelion talked about.
With Gauss’s confirmation, fairy Moss’s mind went blank, seemingly trying to imagine how many times bigger such a village was than theirs.
He counted on his fingers for a long time but couldn’t figure it out.
The only thing he knew was that it was an unimaginably large number.
Gauss listened to the fairies’ discussion in his collar, smiled, and said nothing.
He found these little guys quite endearing.
Perhaps because of their race, or maybe their environment, fairies are naturally simple-minded.
Direct and speak their mind.
This was something he quite liked.
At least, compared to many cunning people, these little creatures were much more comfortable to be around.
Of course, provided you gain their approval.
Otherwise, they would have already used toxins to confuse people and throw them into the forest.
The monotony of the journey was greatly alleviated by the chirping conversations.
Before the sun set, Gauss and his group finally arrived at a settlement along the dirt road.
Looking at the fenced area not far away, Gauss checked the map.
"This should be it."
"Lawrence Camp."
It’s called this because a long time ago, an adventurer named Lawrence settled here with his family, attracting more adventurers and pioneers, forming a small settlement that took his name.
The Lawrence Camp before their eyes looked more organized and larger than typical villages. The wooden fence surrounding it was sturdy and thick, even with spikes to prevent climbing.
At the gate, there was a watchtower with two militia keeping watch, eyeing Gauss and his group with vigilance.
It wasn’t until Gauss approached and presented his adventurer credentials and commission that the guards’ expressions became noticeably more respectful.
One of them quickly ran into the settlement to report.
Soon, a sturdy middle-aged man, looking like a captain, emerged wearing exquisite armor with a longsword at his waist.
After carefully checking the documents, especially the authorization and guild seal regarding the use of armory equipment, he confirmed, showing a rough smile.
"I am the captain here, Miller. Welcome to Lawrence Settlement, adventurers." His voice was loud, with a hoarseness unique to those who frequently shout.
"I heard you’re here to deal with those goblins in the mountains? That’s great! Those green-skinned pests are getting bolder lately. They even attacked one of our foraging parties a few days ago, injuring several people."