Lord: Stripped of My Inheritance from the Start

Chapter 280: Chapter 279: Resuming Production

When Ronin first arrived in Mountain Forest Town, he had almost nothing.

Back then, his standards weren’t high. He only hoped to have a single Advanced Level Knight under his command, which would have been enough to contend with Baron Reisen of Swamp Town.

Now, he had not only a Sixth-level Mage but also two Silver Knights under his command, yet he still felt it wasn’t enough.

Especially after witnessing how tenacious and powerful Amicus was, he felt more strongly than ever that his territory needed a Meteor Knight.

However, limited by the panel’s upper limits, Ridder and the others couldn’t break through ahead of schedule. If he wanted Wubei Territory to have a Meteor Level powerhouse, Ronin first had to break through himself.

On Carlos’s back, Ronin consumed 1,510 Attribute Points, increasing his strength by a large margin.

[Level]: 5 – Silver Knight (1500/1500); 5 – Chief Mage (1586/2000)

He was still 414 Attribute Points short of breaking through to the Golden Level, let alone the Meteor Level.

For now, aside from the routine check-ins, his only hope for shortening the time needed to break through was the achievement panel.

Among the five achievements—Famous Throughout the World, King of Slaughter, Population Prosperity, Siege and Conquest, and Prosperous Fortune—the King of Slaughter one was now going to be very difficult to complete.

’To this day, I haven’t seen a Silver Moon Knight or a Magic Master. Where am I supposed to go to kill an Eighth-level Extraordinary Unit?’

’Besides, if I did run into one, it’s not even certain who would be killing whom.’

So, he could only focus his efforts on the other four.

’Become a Count…’

An idea struck Ronin. ’With the merits I’ve earned this time, it shouldn’t be a problem to ask Lurans to confer the title of Count within a Marquis’ Domain, right?’

’Once I become a Count, my check-in rewards will be tripled at the base rate.’

’At that rate, it would only take a month to gather the 414 Attribute Points.’

After allocating his own points, Ronin prepared to use up the Energy Essence as well.

This time, he had accumulated a full 3,000 points of Energy Essence, enough to significantly boost the strength of Macken and the other two.

First was Ridder. His progress was at Silver Level (1005/1500). Ronin directly invested 495 points, raising him to the Golden Level (0/2500).

With that, Wubei Territory now had two Sixth-level Transcendents.

Next was Macken. Ronin invested 400 points, raising his progress to the middle of the Silver Level (500/1500) and giving him a solid foothold within that stage.

As for the final 2,065 points of Energy Essence, Ronin infused all of it into Elron, bringing his progress to Mage (2067/3500).

In any case, it would be a while before Ronin could break through to the Meteor Level. There was no need to max out Elron’s progress immediately, since he could also progress through his own Cultivation.

Of the four followers he could allocate points to, only Carlos didn’t get a single point of Energy Essence.

It wasn’t that Ronin didn’t have high hopes for Carlos; it was just that his experience bar was far too long.

Every time he saw the numbers (17/12500), Ronin couldn’t muster any enthusiasm to give him points.

After returning to Chishan Town, Ronin began preparing for what came next.

As for the Chishan Iron Mine, Toru, Marvin, and the other nobles had completely given up on it. It had clearly fallen into Ronin’s hands.

As for the profits from the mine… during their conversation at Wushan Castle, Wiggin had demanded thirty percent. In exchange for doing absolutely nothing all year, Ronin was expected to give him Six Thousand Gold Coins.

’At the time, I thought thirty percent was a bit steep. But if I had truly just been along for the ride in this war—building my reputation and making my presence known—then I might have considered sharing the mine’s profits with Wiggin.’

’But now, the war was won because of me, and it was also because of me that Wushan Castle was spared a terrible disaster.’

’With such war contributions, I should have no problem asking Lurans for Chishan Town as an exclave. I don’t need Wiggin’s unnecessary persuasion or counsel at all.’

As such, there was no longer any need for Ronin to discuss splitting the mine’s profits with him.

Since he was already treating Chishan Town as his own territory, restoring the iron mine’s production capacity was now of the utmost importance.

War often causes a territory’s populace to flee.

However, thanks to a timely lockdown by Macken and his men, not many residents from Casier Town and Chishan Town had managed to escape.

After Ronin had his men spread the word about his identity and benevolent policies, and after he distributed Black Bread in the town, public morale stabilized somewhat, and even fewer people wanted to flee.

After all, unless they truly couldn’t survive, who would be willing to abandon their homeland?

After stabilizing morale, Ronin began recruiting miners.

Prioritizing experience, Ronin selected from those who had previously worked in the mine. He offered a wage of Three Copper Coins per day and provided food and drink, quickly assembling a workforce of 150—the same scale as before.

In addition, Ronin recruited another one hundred and thirty people for jobs like hauling and processing. Their food and drink were also provided, but their daily wage was only two copper coins.

Although it might sound a bit harsh, compared to the methods of Coren and Amicus—who either paid little or paid nothing at all while not even providing enough food—not only did no one object to Ronin’s arrangement, but quite a few people signed up.

Casier Town and Chishan Town didn’t have much farmland. Many families relied on the Chishan Iron Mine to live. As long as the mine owner put food on the table and allowed them to support their families, they didn’t mind a little hardship.

To motivate the workers, Ronin implemented the same system he used in Wubei Territory.

The total weight of ore mined by each worker would be tallied monthly. The top three performers each month would receive rewards of money and grain, while anyone who ranked last for three consecutive months would be dismissed.

’I believe that with this incentive,’ Ronin thought, ’once someone reaps the rewards, it will definitely boost everyone’s motivation.’

Besides restoring the mine’s production, there were several other matters Ronin began to handle.

First were the spoils of war. The Polante Thief Gang had been completely annihilated, and the Weapons, Armor, and warhorses they left behind were all considered loot. The Noble Alliance Army’s logistics personnel were currently taking inventory, and Ronin needed to handle the distribution.

Second, he had Macken take some men to recruit artisans in Giant Stone Territory, Chishan Town, Casier Town, and even as far as Quicksand Town and Shore City.

Whether they were Blacksmiths, Carpenters, or Masons, as long as they were skilled, he would recruit them all.

If they were willing to follow him back to Wubei Territory to develop their careers, he would not only offer considerable pay, but the territory’s policies for attracting new residents would also apply to them.

Even with Chishan Town as an exclave, Wubei Territory was Ronin’s main strategic rear.

Only with a stable rear base could he operate on the front lines in the future without any worries.

As for Chishan Town, for now, he would treat it as a production base.

When he had time, Ronin considered moving Carlos and the others from Wubei Territory to Chishan Town. They could build blast furnaces on-site and process Weapons and farming tools. Once his own needs were met, he could start selling the surplus.

Selling raw iron ore was a low-value business. Processing the ore into finished goods before selling them would yield much higher profits.

In the future, an ironworks would be established here.

“My Lord, an Artisan named Feng Si wishes to see you.”

David came in and reported, “He hopes to serve you, but he would like to ask for a favor.”

’An Artisan?’

Ronin’s eyes lit up. “What’s his trade?”

“He’s a Blacksmith.”

David said, “According to him, he can forge exceptionally high-quality Knight’s Swords and armor.”

’This was a rare talent.’

Ronin smiled and said, “Quick, bring him to me!”