You were made to farm, and now you're the emperor of an empire?

Chapter 436 The Journey is Imminent
Tahithina swiftly subdued all her opponents.

Roman didn't pay attention to this.

He was making intensive preparations for the subsequent war plans.

Although Lion Territory is in dire need of rebuilding, like dark soil that has just been deeply plowed, it still requires sowing, watering, and patient cultivation.

But Roman ran out of time; he could only manage to understand the most basic parts of Lion's Territory, no matter how hard he tried.

But he cannot stop now; he must continue to forge ahead.

Now he has the space to showcase his talents; the whole land is his stage, instead of being confined to a corner as before.

As agreed by Roman and Tashina.

One is heading north, the other west.

Tashina chose to head west, towards Blackburg and Sinnoh.

Roman was the northern invader, conquering the lands of northern nobles and pirates.

They will set out to conquer the land and sweep away their respective enemies.

……

The sky is bright.

The horse galloped swiftly along the country lanes, heading straight for the village of Ai.

Edmund arrived upon hearing the news. His eyes were dark and his face was somber. He didn't have the grogginess of someone who had just woken up; instead, he looked like he had stayed up half the night.

He asked hesitantly, "Do we have to complete the assembly today?"

The messenger pulled hard on the reins at the village entrance, the horse snorted, and a small flag with thorns and iron rings was raised diagonally on the saddle.

The messenger said in a clear and firm voice, "His Highness has given the order. He has arrived at Lion Territory and wants us to assemble as soon as possible and march north. Sergeant, do you have any doubts?"

“No, no…” Edmund frowned, his face haggard, “It was just too sudden.”

"This is not surprising at all, Sergeant. Do not linger here for too long. Stay alert and keep your eyes on the road ahead!" the messenger replied.

“I understand. Since Your Highness has given the order, we will obey without hesitation!” Edmund replied firmly.

Looking ahead at the road, does that mean we shouldn't care about what's under our feet? He thought to himself, feeling quite troubled.

They hadn't done anything in the village of wormwood, only half-done everything, and now they were leaving, abandoning so many messes. For a professional soldier burdened with forced labor, this was a liberation, meaning escape from endless, arduous farm work. But he was a sergeant; the valley sergeant should have had a higher level of awareness.

Edmund harbored some resentment, but he couldn't voice it, otherwise he would be questioning Roman's decision.

"That's good! Sergeant, if you have any difficulties, then overcome them. The assembly must be completed today!" After saying this, the messenger spurred his horse and rode off to the next location.

Edmund looked back at the village of Wormwood in the morning light. The roofs were half-repaired, a lot of timber was still unprocessed in the open space, manure piled up some time ago, the kitchen foundation had just been laid, and the road at the entrance of the village was not yet leveled...

This village, simple and impoverished, scarred and battered, now exudes tranquility and peace, where everyone sleeps soundly, their wounds healing in their dreams.

Should he personally break this atmosphere?

Edmund felt a pang of pity, but he had no other choice.

"call out……"

The resounding bugle call echoed through the quiet village.

The villagers didn't react much, but the sleeping soldiers suddenly jolted awake from their slumber.

"Emergency assembly! Emergency assembly!!" The five squad leaders roared instinctively as they opened their eyes.

All the soldiers were thrown into chaos. Hearing the death knell, they all felt a chill run down their spines and hurriedly got to their feet.

The soldiers who were slow to get up were still rummaging through their belongings, getting dressed and fastening their belts, while the first batch of soldiers who had been awakened had already gone to the temporary armory to collect their weapons.

Before long, urged by their squad leaders, all the soldiers went to the open space at the entrance of the village to assemble.

In addition, the clerks assigned to the village of Wormwood were also drawn by the commotion. After a month of living together, this was the first time they had witnessed soldiers assembling in such an emergency. Edmund looked at the fully assembled ranks and said succinctly, "His Highness has ordered the entire army to assemble. We need to join the other companies. Everyone is here now. Go to the kitchen and get some rations. Time is limited; we must depart immediately!"

Each battalion was split up in Lion Territory and stationed in place. The uneven distribution made it difficult for the five companies to assemble.

“Sergeant Edmund, you’re about to depart…” After the soldiers dispersed, the clerk Frit walked over with a surprised look. He knew that this squadron wouldn’t stay in Absinthe Village for long, that was a consensus, but he didn’t expect it to be so sudden.

A somber expression settled over Edmund's face as he said, "His Highness Roman has given the order."

“I understand, I understand,” Fried said, nodding.

The people of the valley had a deep understanding of their king's decisive and efficient style; once their master gave an order, it would never be easily changed.

Another clerk, Grole, said, "But the stones in the field haven't been cleared away yet..."

Fritt sighed, "Grol, they're going to war."

They had already heard rumors that Prince Roman was about to launch a northern expedition, and both Origin and Abundance would provide maximum logistical support for the upcoming campaign. No one could stay here any longer.

Groer was well aware of this, but he couldn't accept the current situation where four-fifths of the workforce in Absinthe Village had left.

This means that the village of Wormwood, which was already struggling to function, has fallen into a state of near collapse, and all plans have to be scrapped and started over.

For these office workers who would discuss with Edmond until midnight whether or not to build a public toilet the next day, it was tantamount to falling into hell.

"Sergeant..." Some villagers were also awakened by the noise. A villager named Bena walked over, twisting the hem of her clothes, and looked uneasily at the soldiers lining up to receive their rations.

“Just call me Edmund,” the sergeant said, turning to her.

“Sergeant Edmund, where are you headed?” she asked, uttering a long string of prefixes.

Edmund stared intently at the villager before him, carefully examining the trust, trepidation, and pleading deep in her eyes, as well as the sliver of hope swaying like wild grass, and the equally heavy hearts of the villagers behind her.

“We are about to embark on a long journey,” Edmund finally said truthfully.

He had an extremely thick beard, a sharp-edged face, dark and deep-set eyes, and a strong physique. Despite his unremarkable appearance, he was seen by the villagers as a towering guardian deity.

Bella was taken aback at first, then seemed to understand, and nodded blankly: "Oh, you're leaving."

"Yes."

"That place called the toilet... isn't finished yet."

"Ah."

"Yesterday, the lame uncle was slacking off again, complaining that his leg hurt."

"Ah."

“I also saw Los eating beans from the stable.”

"Ah."

Bella spoke incoherently and incoherently, mostly about her recent experiences, as if trying to salvage something.

To this day, this squadron has forged a deep bond with the people of this village.

Edmund gently promised, "I know what you're talking about. We'll be back someday."

All the soldiers received their rations and stood not far away, waiting for his orders as the company commander.

They worked like oxen and horses, toiling and simple in the fields, doing all the arduous labor, but now, when they come together, they are so serious and cold.

Groll sighed, "We haven't finished picking up all the stones in the ground yet..."

Without these able-bodied men, heaven knows what a huge workload this would be.

“Sir, Madam, this is up to you,” Edmund said to Groll. “I hope that when I return, this place will have been developed into something as beautiful as the valley.”

(End of this chapter)