Lord: Stripped of My Inheritance from the Start

Chapter 204: Chapter 203: New Life in Mountain Forest Town

While Ronin was speaking with Anthony, Wilson had already announced the Lord’s merciful policy to the slaves, alleviating much of their fear and unease.

He had also arranged for an assistant to register the slaves who had been transported to Swamp Town, recording their names, ages, and any special skills.

That evening, when Ronin received the registration roster, the “Siege and Conquest” achievement, which had been dormant, finally triggered.

[“Siege and Conquest” achievement completed. Attribute Points +200, Energy Essence +400]

Checking the achievement interface, the next tier of the Siege and Conquest achievement had also been updated: Possess two cities. Reward: Attribute Points +400, Energy Essence +800.

Ronin analyzed the situation. He had completed the achievement only after receiving the registration roster, so the key must have been the change in population.

He had previously guessed that only a territory with a certain population could be called a “city.” Based on this new development, he estimated that this “certain number” must be ten thousand.

In other words, he would complete the second tier of the “Siege and Conquest” achievement once he possessed another town with a population of ten thousand.

’Swamp Town can be renamed Swamp City now.’

Ronin looked at his Attribute Panel with great satisfaction. He now had 270 Attribute Points and 1,630 Energy Essence.

The short-term gains from achievements were substantial.

The next morning, after seeing Anthony off, Ronin mounted his Cloud Stepper and set off on his return journey to Mountain Forest Town.

He had stayed in Swamp Town for ten days. His work there, from stabilizing morale to using Magic to aid in the extraction of swamp fertilizer, was now at a good stopping point. It was time to return and check on Mountain Forest Town.

However, while he left, he only took Joffrey with him.

Macken remained to train the Guards, while Ridder and the other Knights continued their clearing missions.

The dangerous areas around Swamp Town should be swept clean in no more than two days. Afterward, Ridder would also take his men and leave to clear out other locations.

Ronin had already made arrangements for Jenny to stay behind in Swamp Castle. As a Water Attribute Mage, she had a natural Affinity for the Swamp Town environment.

In addition to Jenny, Rogner and Krami would also remain. They would be responsible for maintaining order and for overseeing the future procurement of three hundred thousand catties of grain.

Of course, the role of the Transcendents was merely to provide high-level oversight; the town’s day-to-day administrative affairs would be handled by Wilson and his staff.

Although Wilson, as the Civil Affairs Chief, would be traveling between various locations, the local Political Clerk, Sailin, and several new assistants were already in place. Teams of local leaders, such as Village Chiefs and group leaders, were also being assembled. Pushing forward with agricultural tasks like fertilizing the fields and spring planting would be no problem at all.

People like Wilson and Jenny were like Civil Servants and military officers, each responsible for their own domain.

Instead of taking the direct route back to Mountain Forest Town through the outer Forest Land, Ronin had Joffrey lead him along a small path starting from the northwest corner of Swamp Town. They passed through the swamp and the Stone Forest, eventually arriving at Black Earth Village.

The “Wildmen” of Black Earth Village were stunned to see their chief, Joffrey, return. They had never imagined their leader would become a follower of the new Lord.

Their former chief’s presence helped put the residents of Black Earth Village at ease, which was precisely why Ronin had brought Joffrey along.

Ronin stayed in Black Earth Village for the next two days, primarily to inspect the local land.

As expected, the soil was not only very fertile, but the expanse of black earth was also quite large. As long as it was properly cultivated, the grain yield would be high.

In the future, Black Earth Village would become one of the main grain-producing regions in the Wubei Territory.

After his two-day stay, Ronin traveled through Grey Soil Village, Purple Fruit Village, and Cyan Bamboo Village in turn, inspecting the progress of their spring farming.

Although there were no Knights stationed in these villages, Ridder had left behind Guards to maintain order. The leaders of these detachments were some of the original Wushan Castle Guards who had followed Ronin from the beginning, so their loyalty was unquestionable.

Ronin appropriately raised their pay to ensure they would perform their duties with peace of mind. To prevent any abuse of power, he also arranged for them to be supervised.

For example, in Purple Fruit Village, Jenny and Horn’s steward were responsible for administrative matters; the steward would supervise and report on the Guards’ activities. The same structure was in place for Cyan Bamboo Village and Grey Soil Village.

Later, once Wilson appointed people to roles like Village Chief, the system would become more structured.

Traveling at a leisurely pace, Ronin finally returned to Mountain Forest Castle seven days later.

“WOOF~”

Before Ronin could even step into the castle, a loud, not-quite-canine bark echoed from within.

The sound was seven parts dog’s bark and three parts wolf’s howl. He knew it was Black Tiger without even needing to look.

Sure enough, a black figure shot out from the Inner Castle and bounded toward Ronin, rubbing against him enthusiastically like a dog.

’Black Tiger has gotten this big?’ Ronin was very surprised.

It had only been three months since he acquired Black Tiger, yet the creature had already grown to be sixty centimeters long, nearly the size and weight of a golden retriever from Ronin’s memories.

’When he gets a little bigger, I should be able to ride him, right?’

Ronin wanted to see which would be faster, an adult Black Tiger or a Cloud Stepper. He guessed that Black Tiger would have more explosive speed, but the Cloud Stepper would have greater endurance.

“Good boy. You haven’t forgotten your master after a month apart. You haven’t let me down.”

Ronin affectionately stroked Black Tiger’s head and gently squeezed its soft ears. They felt wonderful to the touch.

Erin came running up to the Inner Castle gate, panting for breath.

She had just been playing with Black Tiger when the normally docile creature suddenly howled and bolted. She had guessed that Ronin must be back.

One look confirmed her suspicion.

A delighted smile spread across her face as she, just like Black Tiger, threw herself enthusiastically into Ronin’s arms.

“Ronin, you’re finally back!”

Ronin stroked the dog’s head with one hand and patted the little girl’s head with the other. Both felt equally pleasant.

“It’s been a while, Erin. Look what I brought for you.”

He withdrew his hand and took out a large pile of books from his Space Ring.

“I picked these out especially for you. There are novels about Knights, all sorts of educational books… oh, and a necklace.”

Ronin was very fond of Erin, the only young girl in the castle, so he had picked up some gifts for her while shopping in Wushan City.

Erin giggled as she accepted the gifts, but there were so many heavy books that she could barely hold them all.

“My Lord, welcome back!”

The servants, Gallon and Bella, ran out of the castle as well, happily helping to take the books.

The two of them had been extremely worried these past few days.

It wasn’t Ronin’s safety they were worried about, but whether they would lose their jobs.

After all, they knew Ronin had become the Viscount of Wubei and had conquered Swamp Town.

’The Lord only had Chahar and Wilson go with him, but not his two personal servants. What if he found new people to replace us over there?’

The thought had made them both lose their appetites for days.

’If the Lord never returned to Mountain Forest Castle, what would become of them?’

Thankfully, the Lord had finally returned, and they could breathe a sigh of relief.

Ronin greeted them and put the necklace on Erin. “Is Elron in the castle?” he asked.

“Teacher went out.”

Erin replied, “Village Chief Hahn’s wife from Jingye Village is giving birth today. I heard it’s not going well, so the Village Chief had no choice but to ask Teacher to go and see if he could help.”

Ronin was taken aback. “Elron can help deliver babies?”

He never knew the Light Attribute Mage had such a skill.

“Several babies have been born in town over the past month, and Teacher went to check on them a few times. Once, he even used Magic to save a mother who was bleeding to death!”

Ronin praised him with genuine admiration. “Let’s go. We’ll head to Village Chief Hahn’s house and see.”

The arrival of a new life was a joyous occasion.