Chapter 52: going to village

The fifty cargo wagons moved down the northern road in a long line. Victor rode at the very front of the convoy, his hand resting comfortably on his blade as he guided the two thousand newly hired guards through the outer valley tracks.

Behind the wagons, the capital city walls slowly grew smaller in the distance, replaced by vast stretches of dry, yellow weeds and neglected fields that had not seen a real harvest in years.

I walked right next to Suzy near the center of the line. My new long coat was unbuttoned, moving slightly in the morning breeze, while Suzy kept her pace steady beside me. Her long hair was tied back, and her face looked thoughtful as she looked out at the empty landscape.

"The soil in this district is completely starved, Barry," Suzy said, her voice low as she kicked a piece of dry dirt with her foot. "The old Prince forced the farmers to plant the same tax crops three times a year without giving the ground any rest. If we just dump grain here, they will eat for a month, and then they will be starving on the land all over again."

"A temporary bailout never fixes a structural deficit, manager," I smiled, pulling up my invisible system panel as we walked.

’System, analyze the local soil parameters in this sector. Give me a basic agricultural efficiency report.’

[System: Analyzing western valley soil... Warning: Nitrogen levels are at an all-time low, host! The land is too hard for regular wooden plows. If you want these people to grow food, you need to introduce crop rotation and proper iron-tipped tools. I can unlock a basic engineering blueprint for a deep-soil turn plow for 5,000 Gold Coins.]

’Buy the blueprint and store it in inventory for now,’ I thought.

[Transaction Finalized: 5,000 Gold Coins deducted. ’Deep-Soil Plow Design’ added to inventory.]

"I have a plan for the fields, Suzy," I said, turning my head to look at her profile. The closeness between us on the road felt very comfortable now, the old professional stiffness completely melting away. "We are going to teach these people how to switch their crops every season. Half the fields will grow grain, and the other half will grow clover to fix the land. But first, we need to make sure our shipment actually reaches the warehouse."

By noon, the front of our convoy finally reached the gates of the first outer village, a small settlement called Oakhaven.

The sight was completely heartbreaking. The small houses were falling apart, their roofs full of holes and their walls rotting from neglect. Dozens of thin, pale village children and starving farmers in ragged clothes stood along the road, their eyes wide with a mix of absolute shock and pure fear as they saw two thousand elite capital guards entering their town. They looked like they expected another royal tax raid.

"Halt the line!" Victor called out, his voice stopping the fifty wagons right in the middle of the village square.

Before our guards could even begin unloading the grain sacks, a fat man wearing an expensive silk vest and gold rings came walking out of the largest house in the center of the square. Behind him stood four local thugs carrying wooden clubs. It was the local district supervisor appointed by the old Prince.

"What is the meaning of this?!" the supervisor shouted, waving his fat hands at our guards. "By order of the royal palace, all outer district imports must be processed through my private office first! Unload those boxes into my personal barn right now, or I will have you all reported for trade violations!"

The starving villagers backed away into the shadows of their broken houses, their faces full of sadness. They knew that if the grain went into the supervisor’s barn, they would have to sell their own children just to buy a single bowl of flour.

Suzy stepped forward immediately, her eyes flaring with an intense anger that made the fat man stay still in his tracks. Her hand rested firmly on her sword. "Your royal office was liquidated three days ago, supervisor. The old Prince is dead, and we are the one who is running the registry now, do you have any problem?"

The fat supervisor gasped, his face turning completely completely shocked as he looked at her dark royal clothes, then looked at the two thousand guards who were all glaring down at him with their spears ready. "D-Dead?! That... that cannot be! Who authorized this?!"

"I did," I said, stepping right up to his face. My frame cast a long shadow over him, and the full pressure of my mid-stage Ascendant tier came pouring off my muscles, making the four thugs behind him instantly drop their clubs in pure terror. "The new policy is very simple. The grain is for the people, free of charge. If you touch a single grain of this inventory, I will personally turn your private house into cash and bury you under the foundation boards. Do you understand the new contract terms?"

The supervisor fell straight onto his knees, his hands shaking violently as he pressed his face against the ground. "Yes! Yes, sir! Take everything! I won’t touch a single box!"

"Victor, clear him out of the district and secure his private barns," I said. "Put his personal funds straight into the village relief ledger."

"Right away, sir," Victor smirked, dragging the weeping fat man away with the help of two guards. The moment the supervisor was removed, the entire village went completely quiet. The starving farmers slowly walked out from their broken house’s, looking up at me and Suzy with absolute awe and tears running down their pale cheeks. They had spent years being crushed by the capital, and they couldn’t believe a new boss had just arrived to protect them.

An old village elder with a long beard walked up to us, his body trembling as he bowed low. "Great experts... why are you doing this for us? We have no money left to pay you."

Suzy walked over gently, helping the old man stand up straight, a beautiful smile showing on her face that made her look incredibly radiant in the midday sun. "You don’t need to pay us, elder. We are here to help you rebuild your homes and your fields. Tomorrow, we start digging new water channels."