CH753 Fonterra Bastide

***

The Fonterra Bastide was a major fortified settlement within the Frontier March, planned and built by the Empire itself to house and coordinate the people sent to settle the region.

It was essentially a fortified town intended to grow into a major city within the border buffer zone—or at least, that was what its layout suggested.

It had likely been named a bastide rather than a town during its early years to demonstrate the Empire’s commitment to the settlement’s future.

’Tall, sturdy brick walls. Strategically placed defensive structures designed to keep beasts at bay... this is better than I expected.

’At the very least, these walls show that the Empire was once serious about holding the line here. I wonder what changed.’

Alex studied the defensive installations surrounding the settlement.

They were far more impressive than he had anticipated.

Even though this southern gate faced away from the Great Berserk Beast Forest, it still bore the scars of countless battles, evidence that it had done its fair share of keeping hostile beasts at bay and protecting the town’s inhabitants.

"Halt!"

A shout suddenly rang out from above.

Looking away from the walls and towards the gatehouse, Alex saw a man in a guard’s uniform staring down at them.

"Identify yourselves!" the guard ordered.

"I am Count Alex Fury."

Alex produced the House Skywalker token and channelled mana into it.

The crest engraved upon the token immediately projected itself into the air.

It was a common proof of identity among the nobility, as only nobles possessed the means to create such tokens.

It was one of the few noble customs in Verdantis Alex genuinely appreciated.

The guard’s expression visibly changed.

Shock and fear flashed across his face.

"Open the gates, and inform the magistrate that I wish to see him," Alex ordered coolly.

"At once—at once, Count," the guard stammered.

"Open the gates!"

Shouts echoed from behind the walls.

Slowly, the massive fortified gates swung open, revealing the settlement beyond.

The guard who had been standing in the gatehouse hurried down to greet them.

"My name is Barkley, my lord. I am the captain of the town guard," he introduced himself. "I have already sent someone ahead to inform the magistrate."

He gestured towards the town.

"Please follow me. I will lead you inside."

Alex nodded and guided his convoy through the gates and into the town.

The first thing that struck Alex and his convoy about the town was... its stench.

"What is that horrible smell?" Eleanore said aloud.

Alex had already come to terms with the fact that, outside major cities such as the capitals of higher-ranking noble fiefdoms and above, settlements in this world would never be as clean as those from his previous life.

He accept the reality that hygiene and smell would be poor.

However, Fonterra Bastide was different.

It did not merely smell, it stank horribly.

Even several members of his convoy—some of whom were natives of this world—wore expressions of disgust. A few looked as though they wanted to turn around and leave the town altogether.

"We gather beast faeces and spread them around the town," Barkley explained seriously. "We discovered that the strong smell helps keep the beasts away."

He quickly added, "Do not worry, my lord. The stench is strongest around the walls. It gets better further into the town."

Left with little choice, the group circulated their respective energies—mana, Internal Energy, and Combat Energy—to dull their sense of smell.

Only then were they able to tolerate the appalling odour.

Unfortunately, their horses were not so fortunate.

Dread was the only mount intelligent enough to imitate his rider’s actions. The remaining horses had no choice but to endure the horrid smell as they proceeded through the town.

A large open area stretched behind the gate where no one dared—or wished—to build due to the overwhelming stench.

The space existed because the land enclosed within the walls was unusually large for a town.

Considering how sparse the population was relative to the settlement’s size, the empty ground was hardly surprising.

As they moved deeper into the town proper, Barkley’s words proved true.

The stench was noticeably weaker here than near the walls.

Nevertheless, it remained obvious enough to be unpleasant for newcomers.

’The first order of business will be dealing with this smell.’

Alex silently made a note of it.

Most of the buildings within the settlement were constructed from wood.

The majority were simple single-floor, bungalow structures, with only the occasional two-floor building scattered among them. Most of those taller buildings housed shops on their ground floors.

Overall, the atmosphere reminded Alex of the medieval towns from numerous games he had played in his previous life.

And like most medieval settlements, the streets were practically deserted at this hour.

Night had already fallen, and the townsfolk had long since retreated indoors, leaving only the patrolling guards outside.

The settlement was so underdeveloped that it did not even possess the most basic magical lamps to illuminate its streets.

Barkley carefully observed Alex’s every movement and expression, as well as those of the people accompanying him.

He believed he was being discreet about it, but little did he know that none of his actions escaped Alex’s notice—or amusement.

It was obvious that the man was extremely tense about dealing with a noble.

He had undoubtedly heard stories about how fickle nobles could be.

In fact, had he not been the captain of the guard—and the only person with sufficient rank to properly receive someone of Alex’s standing—he likely would have pushed the responsibility onto someone else the moment Alex introduced himself at the gate.

However, neither Alex nor any of his companions made any effort to reassure him.

It was better to establish a strong first impression now. Doing so would make the man easier to deal with later.

The group had just passed through the town’s main square when they were met by a middle-aged man flanked by two guards who had clearly hurried over on foot.

A hint of surprise flashed through the man’s eyes seeing how young the noble was before he composed himself and introduced himself.

"I am Ralf Hahn. I serve as the magistrate of this territory in service to His Imperial Majesty.

"May I know the identities of your esteemed selves?" he asked respectfully.

Alex dismounted from Dread’s back.

"I am Alex Fury. I am a claimant to the deceased House Skywalker. By the will of the Emperor, and under the authority of my title as Count, I shall now assume control of this March."

He retrieved a scroll.

"Receive the Emperor’s edict."

"I receive the Emperor’s edict."

Ralf Hahn immediately dropped to one knee. The two guards followed suit without hesitation.

Ralf raised both hands respectfully to receive the document from Alex.

Alex placed the edict into the magistrate’s hands.

Ralf Hahn carefully examined the imperial seal and the document itself, confirming its authenticity before opening it and reading its contents.

Meanwhile, Barkley and the other guards continued studying Alex.

None of them seemed entirely sure what to make of the young noble who had arrived to take charge of the domain.

***