After all, as a paladin who had led armies and fought orcs, he had often commanded his men to fell trees and build camps, so he certainly had an eye for this sort of thing.

“Next up is chopping down trees.” This was by no means an easy task. Not only did they have to cut down each towering tree, but they also had to clear away all the branches from the trunks, and then carry the hefty logs back to the village.

Although the village wasn’t far from the forest, there was still a certain distance. David Clark looked at the thick tree trunks, truly unsure if he could carry them.

“By the way, there’s something I forgot to ask.” Franklin Baker was still surveying the surroundings. Seeing that the trees here were all massive and the forest stretched so far he couldn’t see its edge, he realized they would never have to worry about running out of timber.

“What is it?”

“What’s the name of our village?”

“……” David Clark was momentarily stunned by this question—he had never considered it before.

Although the pioneer camp had been established for nearly two years, due to the rough progress of development and the constant decrease in members, it had never become a true village, so they had never given it an official name.

“Because of all sorts of issues, we’ve never given it an official name.” After answering Franklin Baker’s question, David Clark also began to ponder what name would be good for the village.

He hadn’t thought about this before, since at that time he’d been on the verge of giving up. Now that he had decided to persevere and even had a direction for development, the village name needed to be settled as soon as possible.

Not only would this make it easier to introduce the place to newcomers, but the official village name also had to be filled in on the pioneer certificate, which would make it easier to report to the kingdom authorities and receive various rewards.

“I see!” Franklin Baker had already picked out a large tree, and now swung his axe to start chopping: “Then you’d better come up with a good name.”

“I’ll give it some serious thought.”

David Clark also grabbed his axe and prepared to start chopping, but after a few swings, he realized his efficiency was worlds apart from Franklin Baker’s.

His physical condition wasn’t bad—otherwise, he wouldn’t have survived two harsh winters. As a hunter, he’d never lacked for meat since childhood, and with years of training, he was much stronger now than he’d been in his previous life.

But compared to Franklin Baker, who came from Azeroth, was a human descended from titan-forged iron beings, and had been blessed by the Holy Light, he was a total weakling.

Franklin Baker finished chopping down a tree and even cleared away all the branches and leaves, while David Clark was still struggling with his first trunk.

“By the way, there’s not much food left in the village, is there? I think we should gather and store some more.” Franklin Baker could see that David Clark’s physical strength was far inferior to his own, but he waited until David Clark had felled his first big tree before making his suggestion.

“Phew~” David Clark knew Franklin Baker meant well. The difference in their tree-chopping efficiency was just too obvious, so it would be better to split up and do different tasks. That way, they wouldn’t slow down the logging and could also make sure there wouldn’t be a food shortage: “I’ll leave this to you, then.”

“Don’t worry, this kind of work is easy for me.” Once highly respected, Franklin Baker didn’t shy away from such hard labor as chopping wood. Since he’d decided to live a relatively ordinary, reclusive life, he could no longer see himself as the lord of Hearthglen in the Kingdom of Lordaeron.

Now, Franklin Baker was just an ordinary ‘farmer’, ready to create a new life with his own two hands.

Thinking this way, he found that chopping wood wasn’t so tedious after all—in fact, he felt more motivated, and the trees fell even faster.

Meanwhile, after parting ways with Franklin Baker, David Clark moved along the edge of the forest to the west.

The river was in that direction. By following the forest’s edge to the riverbank and then heading north along the shore, he could make sure he wouldn’t get lost and would also have a better chance of spotting large animals.

This route wasn’t absolutely safe, so David Clark always kept his left hand on his hunting bow, and his right hand hovered above the quiver at his waist, ready to draw an arrow and attack at any moment.

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a shadow flitting by. Instantly, his right hand plucked an arrow, and in the shortest possible time, he nocked it, drew the bow, and aimed.

In that instant, everything in David Clark’s field of vision seemed to slow down, and the indistinct shadow became clear—even magnified—so he could see it much more clearly.

Not only that, but he had a feeling that he needed to move a few centimeters to the left—that would be the true ‘bullseye’.

His thumb released the drawn bowstring, and as the arrow shot toward its target, David Clark had a sense of certainty that he would hit, with no need for a follow-up shot.

And just as he sensed, the arrow struck a wild pheasant dead-on, swiftly ending its life. From the moment David Clark drew the arrow to the moment the pheasant was killed, it all happened in the blink of an eye.

“Wow, my archery skills have improved by leaps and bounds!”