I was a lord farming, how did I become an emperor?

Chapter 118 The Gem Collector

The leader of the Harlan family was Harlan's wife, Olaya.

Aurelia was not a delicate aristocratic lady.

She was dressed in women's armor and stood tall and straight.

Rod remembered that Harlan had mentioned that his wife was a female knight.

She was adopted by Harlan's father and grew up with Harlan.

Harlan was devastated by his father's death, and Aurelia stayed by his side, leading to their marriage.

"Thank you for your kindness in giving me the opportunity to get my husband back."

Aurelia nodded slightly in greeting and said softly to Rhodes, "May I see my husband first?"

"of course."

Rhodes nodded.

Rhodes had already promised Baron Harlan that he could leave at any time; Aurelia was only there to exchange for the captured soldiers.

Aurelia also brought a group of slaves, showing great sincerity, and naturally granted their small request to visit her in prison.

Rhodes had Aurelia's party follow Lawrence to the inn, and then he took Aurelia to find Harlan.

Harlan was treated quite well. Rhodes gave him a separate cabin and a separate meal every day, providing him with ample aristocratic treatment.

Apart from lacking freedom, Baron Harren could do whatever he wanted.

—This is still to protect Baron Harlan's personal safety and prevent him from getting into trouble with Rhodes.

Rhodes even allowed Harlan to take care of some of her physical needs at her own expense.

When the guards opened the door, Harun was at the table reading imperial history. His eyes lit up when he saw his wife, Aurelia.

"Aurelia!"

"Your Excellency!"

Without saying a word, the two embraced tightly.

"You two should have a good talk first."

A little farewell is better than a wedding.

Rhodes voluntarily withdrew and asked the guards to close the door.

Before long, suggestive sounds emanated from inside the house.

The guards couldn't help but smirk.

Rhodes gave Baron and his wife the entire afternoon.

It wasn't until the dinner party that Rod, along with Durant and others, invited Baron and Baron Harlan to dine together.

During the meal, Aurelia thanked Rhodes again for taking care of Baron Harlan, and then reported to Rhodes on the number of slaves she had brought.

"Sixteen elite soldiers were exchanged for ninety-six slaves, ordinary soldiers for one hundred and eighteen slaves, and fifty-eight militiamen for one hundred and sixteen slaves, for a total of three hundred and thirty people."

Aurelia explained, "There are 103 adult men inside, and the rest are women."

"I'm sorry, there aren't enough suitable male slaves, so there are slightly more women. I specially bought a stonemason and a blacksmith as compensation."

Harlan's facial muscles twitched uncontrollably after hearing this—this time, there was a massive hemorrhage.

But he had no choice; he couldn't refuse the task the Earl of Falcon had given him.

Despite his passive resistance and lack of concern about losing the battle, he never expected to fall into a trap.

These ransoms can only be paid by themselves.

Baron Harlan can't afford to make enemies now, or all his previous efforts will be in vain.

At this point, Baron Harlan could only blame all his grievances on Earl Falcon.

"okay, I get it."

Rhodes nodded.

"We can make the switch tomorrow. Your guys are all in good shape and their injuries are almost healed."

Rhodes casually remarked, "But Harlen, aren't you planning to use that extraordinary gem to mitigate the losses?"

Rhodes had no expectations of the extraordinary gem that could see darkness.

Krod is looking forward to unlocking his own descriptive effects.

Harlan glanced at Aurelia, who understood and took out a wooden box with exquisite carvings from her pocket.

Harlen took the wooden box, opened it, and placed it in front of Rod.

Beneath the fair fur pad lay a dull, black gem.

"This is the extraordinary gem I was talking about."

Harlan held it in his hand and demonstrated.
"You can see the darkness as long as you hold it in your hand."

Rhodes nodded and took the extraordinary gem from Harlan's hand.

A chilling sensation suddenly washed over him, somewhat similar to the feeling of the Spirit Gem, but Rhodes felt a slight stinging sensation when holding it.

Harlan's "seeing darkness" is not complete darkness, but rather a gradual loss of color and darkness in the field of vision, as if stained with ink.

[Obtained a transcendent gem; Gem Collector progress: 5/5]

[Five different types of extraordinary gems have been collected, unlocking the entry: Gem Collector]

Rhodes remained calm upon seeing the notification, but was inwardly delighted.

Just as I imagined, once I got it, I considered it a collectible.

[Gem Collector (Purple): You can absorb the energy from extraordinary gems to improve your body and soul, gaining the ability to manipulate energy (but only absorb energies that are suitable for you)]

[Next entry: Obtain one hundred extraordinary gems and absorb their energy to unlock the entry: Extraordinary Lord]

……

The term "Gem Collector" greatly pleased Rhodes, and he couldn't wait to find out what effects absorbing energy would have on him.

However, Rhodes remained patient and smiled as he put the extraordinary gem back into the box.

While unlocking the entry, Rhode also learned that the gem was called the Shadow Gem, which contained the power of shadow.

“A very magical gem,”

Rhodes turned his gaze to Baron Harlan, "But it seems to be of little use. If the price is right, I'd be willing to add it to my collection."

The next entry is too far off, and Rhodes doesn't want to spend too many gold coins on it for now.

I currently have three extraordinary gems. After testing the abilities of the [Gem Collector], there's still time to allocate resources accordingly.

"Baron Rhodes, do you remember what I said?"

Baron Harlan smiled and said in a light tone, "We can be very good friends."

Baron Harlan pushed the wooden box toward Rhodes.
"If you are willing to form an alliance with me, this gem will be given to you as a gift."

Rhodes glanced at the extraordinary gem and replied with a smile, "I am happy to deal with kind people and I am also willing to reciprocate with kindness."

“We can do business and have a pleasant working relationship, but I don’t want to get involved in anything else.”

Rhodes vaguely understood what Baron Harlan meant.

His words these days have frequently revealed his disgust for Earl Falcon.

Rhodes speculated that Baron Harlan wanted to remove Earl Falcon from his hereditary title in the future.

Baron Harlan is now looking for help.

But rebellion is never an easy thing.

Rhodes isn't stupid; Harlan's current strength isn't enough to threaten Earl Falcon.

If given the chance, Rod would tear off a piece of meat and swallow it.

But should we make Rod the main striker?
No way. Rhodes just wants to protect his territory and focus on developing his territory.

“Baron Rhodes, I have not only goodwill, but also sincerity.”

When Baron Harlan heard that Rhodes hadn't given a definitive answer, he pushed the wooden box towards Rhodes again.

"This extraordinary gem is just the beginning; next time I will show you even more sincerity."

Harlan's smile deepened. "If I can't do it, the gem is yours, and you don't need to make any promises."

Rod looked at Harlen with some surprise.

It seems this guy is determined to deal with his superior lord.

"In that case, I'll accept it for now."

Rod closed the wooden box and casually placed it aside.

The other people at the banquet couldn't understand what the two were talking about at all, so they could only lower their heads and eat in silence.

Fortunately, the two didn't have anything else important to discuss, so they started chatting casually.
"This is a new fruit wine blended by my winemaker, called White Moonlight. You can try it."

"The taste is very unique, very sweet, but with a sharp sourness. It's the first time I've ever tasted this kind of wine."

"It not only has a unique flavor, but also a long and rich history..."

……

……

The following day, Rhodes exchanged prisoners with Baron Harlan.

Baron and Baron Harlan did not linger and set off on their journey home with the released prisoners.

Rodten left his workspace and began researching his new entry, "Gem Collector."

Which one should we test first?

Rhodes currently possesses four gems: the Life Gem, the Spirit Gem, the Shadow Gem, and the Fire Gem.

Rhodes glanced at the entry for Gem Collector once more.

Both Shadow Gem and Fire Gem should be considered energy gems, but Rhodes doesn't know which one suits him best.

Just to be on the safe side, let's put these two gems aside for now.

Compared to the Spirit Gem, the Life Gem is more useful to Rhodes.

"Let's absorb the Life Gem first."

Rhodes took out the Life Gem and held it tightly in his hand. Following the method in the entry, he focused his attention on the gem and began to feel the energy within it.

Rhodes felt a warm energy gradually flowing into his body, first flowing to his heart.

Immediately afterward, Rhodes' heart pounded violently, and then the warm current spread throughout his body.

This energy is very gentle, flowing softly.

His entire body felt as comfortable as if he were soaking in a hot spring, so Rhodes couldn't help but close his eyes and savor the wonderful energy.

As this energy merged into his body, the Qi that Rhodes had accumulated through his breathing techniques was also awakened.

The two energies met in his body and began to merge together, circulating endlessly within him.

Rhodes felt the power within him growing stronger, and crackling sounds echoed all over his body, but he felt no discomfort whatsoever.

After a long while, the energy slowly dissipated.

[Absorbing a small amount of life force increases the body's basic vitality by 10% (estimated to increase lifespan by five years)]

As the notification flashed, Rhodes slowly opened his eyes, feeling his body brimming with power, and couldn't help but swing his fists at the air twice.

The enhancement of vitality will have many effects, and Rhodes' physical attributes will be fundamentally improved.

Wound healing speed, disease resistance, impact resistance, and strength will all be improved simultaneously.

With the previous boost to the Life Force attribute, Rhodes now has a 30% increase in base life force.

This is still the effect of a Life Gem.

If I absorb a hundred life gems, wouldn't I become an immortal being like those in cultivation novels?

Moreover, if one were to absorb one hundred Life Gems, wouldn't one's healing ability become abnormally powerful?

For a moment, Rhodes felt that his cognition was limiting his imagination.

However, Rhodes looked down at the Life Gem in his hand.

The gemstone, which had originally shimmered with a bright green light like jade, had now become dull and lifeless.

He carefully sensed the gemstone and could vaguely detect some residual energy within it, but it was so weak that it was almost imperceptible.

That's why energy absorption was interrupted.

"This shouldn't be enough to increase my cultivation speed, right?"

Rod couldn't help but sigh.

I don't know if it can be restored.

Rhodes couldn't care less about those things; improving his own strength was his top priority.

As your strength increases, you will obtain more extraordinary gems in the future.

Even with ten years of self-cultivation, one cannot achieve such results.

Direct absorption is faster.

Rhodes immediately took out another purple spirit gem.

Following the same method as before, Rhode began to feel the energy within.

This time, however, a chilling sensation crept up the back of my neck.

At the same time, a sharp pain shot through Rhodes' temple, causing him to involuntarily loosen his grip.

"Ok?"

Could it be that the energy of the Spirit Gem is incompatible with me?

Rhodes was filled with doubt.

For a moment, I didn't know if this reaction was normal.

Rhodes hesitated for a moment, but ultimately decided to put the Spirit Stone aside for the time being.

Since I don't have much knowledge of the extraordinary, I should consult with Lu Sen of the Dawn Society first.

With the gem in hand, Rhodes wasn't in a hurry.

The coal mine is under steady development.

It was an unnamed mountain valley, so Rod gave it a name: Fire Bear Valley.

These coals are from open-pit mines, so they can be mined directly in the early stages.

Wearing dust masks is necessary when mining in coal mines, as the dust content in coal mines is extremely high and poses a significant health risk to miners.

Rhodes didn't want them to be unable to work due to occupational diseases at such a young age, but without dust masks, Rhodes could only have them wet cloths to cover their mouths and noses for the time being.

In response, Rhodes designed a crude version of the protective mask, using a wet cloth, charcoal, and an outer dry cloth to create a filter layer, specifically for miners.

It just takes some time for the women to make them.

To ensure the safety of the coal mine, the hunting team began to quickly clear out the wild animals in the vicinity.

After four or five busy days, the Dawn Caravan that Rhodes had been looking forward to finally appeared outside the town.

Winter came, and Rod thought they weren't coming.

To Rod's surprise, it wasn't Lucien who came this time, but Linda.

(End of this chapter)