Levi was not the first Pioneer in this land, and the wooden cabin was a remnant left by those who came before.
From both a military and an environmental standpoint, this was an exceptionally advantageous location.
The hill was a rare high point in the vast, flat Wilderness. Even better, next to the cabin was a pool fed by a natural spring.
Water from this pool flowed down the hill, forming a creek that meandered deep into the Wilderness before gradually widening into a small river.
If a war ever broke out and this place was besieged, the defenders would not only hold the high ground but also have a stable source of water.
And since the pool was fed by a spring, the tactic of polluting the water supply with corpses would be utterly useless against the defenders.
From a development standpoint, having this water resource meant that farming would never be an issue due to insufficient water or drought.
This was, without a doubt, an excellent Pioneer Territory.
He just didn't know why the previous Pioneer had abandoned it.
"From now on, this is our home," Levi declared. The Beastman Barbarians had no objections.
To them, wherever their chief said was their new home, it was.
Besides, with their years of experience living in the Wilderness, they knew a prime spot like this was a rare find.
A location like this was rarely an Unclaimed Land. Even if the Pioneer who found it had left, it hadn't remained vacant. A pack of Kobolds had taken it over.
Levi truly couldn't understand how a group of timid, cowardly Kobolds—creatures from the bottom of the Wilderness food chain—had managed to occupy such a perfect location.
Logically, superior locations tended to attract powerful Tribes. The weak Kobolds had never possessed the ability to defend any territory.
They usually ended up as Vassals to more powerful Races, wandered the Wilderness, or eked out a meager existence in some poor, undesirable place.
Levi couldn't be bothered to waste much thought on such unremarkable opponents. He simply held up three fingers. "Three minutes. Leave none alive."
The eager Beastman Barbarians let out a wild howl and charged forward.
The sleeping Kobolds never had a chance to react before the Beastmen's fists smashed them flat as paper.
Knowing this was to be their new home and wanting to avoid a bloody mess, the Beastmen didn't use their weapons. They killed all the Kobolds with nothing but their bare hands and feet.
The Kobolds were all skin and bones, barely reaching the Beastmen's waists. They could hardly be called opponents.
Moreover, to conserve energy, Kobolds typically lie down and refuse to move an inch after eating their fill.
Combining these factors, the Beastmen expended hardly any effort, finishing off the entire pack of Kobolds in just over a minute.
Seeing this, Old Neil, himself a Kobold, let out an almost imperceptible sigh.
'This is the fate of a weak Kobold,' he thought, 'to be slaughtered at will. In the Wilderness, their only chance of survival is to cling to a powerful Race.'
"What's wrong? Feeling sorry for your kin?"
A voice suddenly came from his side. Seeing Levi's unreadable, mocking smile, Old Neil couldn't help but gulp, fine beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
Fortunately, quick thinking saved him. He scrambled over to a dead Kobold and began frantically stomping on the corpse.
"My Lord, I'm showing my contempt for them! These damn Kobolds! How dare they not obediently surrender this place upon your arrival, my Lord! They deserve to die!"
Only after stomping his kinsman's chest flat did Old Neil sneak a glance up, but he found that Levi was already long gone.
He couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.
'This human noble is terrifying,' he thought. 'He looks like he's smiling, but he could fly into a rage at any moment.'
'After spending some time with him, Old Neil had figured it out. If he was useful, this Lord would not be stingy with his rewards. But if he was useless, he would be cast aside without a second thought.'
The hill rose abruptly from the Wilderness, its gentle slopes converging upwards like a trapezoid. The summit had clearly been leveled by hand and was as large as a soccer field.
At its center stood a wooden cabin, with a slightly smaller, adjacent outbuilding.
A low stone wall ran along the edge of the flattened summit, barely reaching Levi's chest. For the Kobolds, however, who were significantly shorter, this must have been a true defensive wall.
Levi could roughly deduce what had happened to this predecessor's Pioneer Territory.
After discovering this spot, the previous Pioneer's first step had been to build the cabin and erect the wall.
This was something nearly every Pioneer did first.
Next, they had begun to level the ground, planning to build more houses.
'But just as the ground was leveled, something happened,' Levi mused. 'Perhaps he was killed in an attack out in the Wilderness, or maybe he ran out of money, racked up huge debts, and got dragged back to sell his ass to pay it all off.'
Regardless, this perfect Pioneer Territory had now fallen into Levi's lap for free.
The two cabins were in even better condition than Levi had expected. They were built from high-quality oak. Even after enduring the wind and rain, they only looked a little old, with no real signs of rot.
It was clear the original Pioneer had spared no expense on this place.
The interiors were not drafty or leaky. The only issue was a foul stench from the Kobolds having lived there, but with a little cleaning, it would be ready to move into.
Levi was somewhat thankful the inhabitants had been Kobolds and not Goblins.
If it had been those rat-like Goblins, the entire cabin would have been filled with their filth. You'd be able to smell the stench from a mile away.
Although Kobolds were also one of the weakest Races in the Wilderness, they had enough Intelligence to relieve themselves far away from their sleeping areas.
The Kobolds had also stored some roots and dried meat strips in the cabin. Levi certainly wasn't going to eat food of unknown origin, so it all went to Old Neil and the others.
Additionally, Levi found some tattered cloth armor and weapons, which he dumped wholesale into the system store. This netted him enough money to upgrade four Beastman Barbarians.
Upgrading a Tier Three Soldier to Tier Four wasn't expensive. A single Beastman Barbarian only cost Ten Silver Coins to upgrade.
After the upgrade, the Beastman Barbarians who received the Gift of the War God smugly showed off the new feeling to their comrades.
He'd been feeding the Kobolds and Goblins for a while now; it was time for them to earn their keep.
Under the supervision of the Beastmen, the Kobolds and Goblins began moving supplies bit by bit from the carts at the foot of the hill to the summit.
Only after the heavy cargo was unloaded could the draft horses finally pull the empty flatbed carts up the slope.
The Beastmen then began setting up tents on the flat ground. They would be sleeping outdoors tonight; after all, there were only two cabins, and those naturally belonged to their chief.