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

Chapter 142 The House is Empty
……

……

Emina handed the child back to her mother.

She looked around, carefully observing the surroundings.

After finding nothing amiss, they headed straight for the woodshed where firewood was stored during the winter.

Pushing open the door, I searched the woodshed for the figure I longed for, using the faint light filtering through the crack.

"it's here."

A calm, resonant male voice rang out.

Emina quickly turned her head to look at the corner, and her eyes immediately lit up.

She quickly closed the door to the woodshed, then bowed to the young man in the corner.

"Good day, esteemed Baron Harren."

Emina's etiquette was somewhat rushed.

But it wasn't that she disrespected Baron Harlan; rather, she was anxious.

Looking at the young man before her, her heart pounding, she couldn't help but ask, "Is what you said in your letter true?"

Baron Harlan nodded calmly.

Emina's eyes widened instantly. "My husband Chris is really not dead?!"

Her voice trembled as she couldn't help but ask again.

"Calm down, Emina."

Baron Harlan cautioned, "You'll be discovered if you shout like that. You don't want Chris to never see you again, do you?"

Emina instinctively covered her mouth, nodded repeatedly, and tears immediately streamed down her face.

Baron Harlan waited for her to calm down before slowly telling her everything he had seen about Chris at Blackpine Ridge.

"Actually, you can think about it carefully. How could a knight be executed so easily?"

"More often than not, they will die on the battlefield."

Unless the knight is directly assassinated or betrayed, the victor will not execute him directly, especially a minor nobleman.

After all, training a knight requires a lot of effort and resources, which makes the knight himself a resource.

"But why did Earl Falcon tell me he was dead?"

Overwhelmed with excitement, Emina couldn't help but ask the question that had been bothering her.

Why would he deceive us?

"Because we want you to feel at ease staying here."

Baron Harlan sneered, “As long as you stay in Eagle Ridge, Chris will worry about your safety and will never submit to Baron Rhodes.”

Emina suddenly realized.

Chris's wife and children are the leverage that Earl Falcon uses to control Chris.

Then Emina hesitated a bit, "But Earl Falcon gave us compensation..."

"That was just a way to appease you; a few gold coins are far less valuable than Chris."

Baron Harlan interrupted her, his voice firm and strong, "Otherwise, Baron Rhodes of Blackpine Ridge will let him go."

"In fact, Earl Falcon doesn't trust you as much as he seems."

"Do you know those two soldiers who escorted you? They were also watching you."

Baron Harlan's lips curled up slightly.

“They haven’t left. My men report that they’re currently in that run-down tavern to the south, keeping a close watch on your movements.”

Emina nodded slightly.

These were all in the letters that Baron Harlan had given her before.

Emina had also secretly investigated and found that there were indeed some unfamiliar figures around her home.

"So, was his time at Black Pine Ridge very difficult...?"

Baron Harlan nodded.
"It was extremely difficult."

"Of course, Baron Rhodes did not torture him, but he did not submit to Baron Rhodes. To Baron Rhodes, he was just an ordinary slave."

Baron Harlan's voice suddenly turned heavy.

"Chris was like a serf, doing the lowest jobs. Every day before dawn, he had to do the hardest and dirtiest work, such as emptying manure, cleaning the stables, plowing the fields, and turning the soil."

He never touched a sword again.

Baron Harlan sighed deeply. "I learned swordsmanship from him. He was excellent. This shouldn't be his destiny."

"My God..."

Upon hearing Baron Harlan's description, tears welled up in Amina's eyes, and she squatted on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.
“My dear husband, he didn’t even know how to use a hoe before!”

"Your Excellency, the esteemed Baron!"

Emina grabbed Baron Harlan's sleeve. "Please help him! I'm willing to pay any price!"

"I can't help him."

Harlan shook his head helplessly.

Emina let go, her face full of disappointment, and tears welled up in her eyes again.

"But you can help him."

Harlan's words instantly rekindled Emina's hope.

Baron Harlan didn't mince words, but explained,
“If you go to Blackpine Ridge and stay there, Chris will have a new opportunity.”

"Only Baron Rhodes will have the opportunity to reuse Chris, and only then will he have a new life."

Baron Harlan's voice carried a hint of seduction as he looked at Emina meaningfully.
"Do you get me?"

Emina nodded slightly.

She lowered her head in thought.

"But there are still many things I haven't brought with me, and if I leave, my mother and brother will definitely be captured by Earl Falcon..."

As the wife of Knight Chris, Amina was not as short-sighted as the average woman of her time.

She knew very well that if she left, it would be a complete betrayal of Earl Falcon.

The other party won't be so merciful as to let it go.

“Things are not important, but I will make arrangements for your mother and brother.”

Baron Harlan looked at Emina and said solemnly, "I can help you with anything you want."

……

……

Rhodes sat by the fireplace, watching Renn demonstrate the bow-making process to the hunters.

Seven carpentry apprentices followed beside him, and Rhodes ordered them to learn how to make bows and arrows.

Raine, who used to live in Blackrock Mountain Village, made all his bows and arrows by hand, and his skills were even better than those of a carpenter.

However, Raine couldn't keep wasting his time on this, so Rhodes asked him to pass on the technology.

Everyone formed a semi-circle, watching as Renn took turns using a short knife and a hand axe to trim the dried wooden strips to 1.6 meters, with the center of the strips slightly thicker and the ends tapering towards the top.

He was very patient, constantly polishing both ends with a scraper to create a streamlined curve.

To prevent the wood from cracking, he hung the wooden blanks next to the stove and continuously baked them with charcoal at a low temperature, gradually heating and softening them so that the bow could gradually adapt to bending.

When it feels about right, place the wood on the bow-shaped frame and slowly pull it to the standard bending arc.

Ryan was very careful during the process, even stopping his explanation to focus on bending the wood.

Everyone held their breath, because they all knew that if the log broke, the entire structure would be ruined.

Fortunately, Ryan was skilled and successfully bent and secured the wood.

The fixed wood needs to be left to set completely for three days before the first step of bow body making can be completed.

Then, Renn began to explain how to make the bowstring.

Renn's bowstring was made of bison sinew.

This tendon material mainly comes from the fascia of the thighs or backs of bison, and about fifteen bowstrings can be made from the tendons of each bison.

If you weave flax thread and sinew together, you can make at least twenty bowstrings from each bison.

In addition, the large tendons of wild deer, wild boar, black bear, and other animals can be made into bowstrings.

Rhodes never sold these materials; he kept them all, enough to make thousands of longbows.

Ryan had a pre-processed bowstring, but for the demonstration he started from scratch, using a knife to split the dry sinew along the fibers into thin strands, soaking them in water to soften them until they were pliable. He smoothed the sinew strands with pine resin to prevent moisture, twisted them counterclockwise into a single strand, and then rolled them into a thick bowstring.

The finished bowstring is about 1.5 meters long, with both ends tied with linen thread to make bow ear loops.

The on-site production process was lengthy. After explaining, Ryan took out the bow body and bowstring that he had prepared beforehand and assembled them together.

Hook both ends of the bowstring into the bow ears and pull it taut until the bow core bends about 35 centimeters.

If the bow does not make a piercing cracking sound and there are no cracks on the surface, then the longbow is basically finished.

"Have you memorized everything?"

Rod looked at Avril beside him.

Rhodes listened with great interest, while Avril, sitting next to him, was writing frantically.

"It's still a bit short; many of the earlier sections are just marked."

Avril answered without looking up, her hands moving quickly.

Rod laughed.

"It's alright. If you need more information, just ask Renn. There's no rush. You still need to add illustrations to it."

"Uh-huh."

Avril responded softly, still looking down as she took notes.

Rhodes stepped forward, ignoring Raine who was still explaining how to make arrows, picked up the newly made bow and arrows, casually drew an arrow, and walked to the shooting range outside.

Without hesitation, he raised his bow and arrow and shot an arrow at the target a hundred meters away.

Boom!
The arrow struck the bullseye with pinpoint accuracy!
"Good arrow!"

Exclamations of admiration came from outside, and Durant strode up.

Rod casually set the bow aside, showing no excitement at Durant's praise.

Since his mental strength improved, Rod felt that his archery accuracy had also improved a lot. The 100-meter dash was no challenge for him, and hitting the bullseye was already commonplace.

"My lord, there is new information."

Durant strode over, a hint of excitement on his face.

Rhodes was somewhat surprised, after all, his knights rarely showed such obvious expressions.

Durant lowered his voice and reported, "It came from Baron Harlan's side."

Rod immediately perked up.

It wasn't easy for Baron Harlan to send a message to Rhodes, so his message was naturally concise and to the point.

"Bring it here."

Durant presented the letter with both hands.

Rod took the letter from Durant, walked to the corner, opened it, and quickly scanned each line of text.

The contents of the letter made Rod's lips curl into a slight smile.

"It seems we owe Baron Harlan a favor."

Durant seemed to have guessed the contents of the message, and his smile widened.

"Chris's wife and children are now under his surveillance."

Rhodes sighed softly and handed the letter to Durant.
“He can send people over whenever he wants, and we just need to meet them at the edge of the territory.”

"Great!"

Durant became even more excited after reading the letter.

Chris will only have a chance to join Blackpine Ridge if his family comes.

Rod looked at Durant with surprise, "Don't you need to be so excited? Aren't you afraid Chris will steal your power?"

"That's not important, Your Excellency. I am very lonely."

Durant stated without hesitation, "I crave teammates, but I crave opponents even more; that makes things more interesting."

The only true knight of Black Pine Ridge is Durant himself.

Many times, Durant had no one to talk to about his training and military management.

Only Rhodes understands him now, but after all, there is a difference between master and servant, and Durant cannot bother Rhodes with everything.

Durant also needs people in his social circle to talk to.

Although Chris is a bit arrogant, he is the most suitable candidate in terms of background and experience.

Rod nodded as if he understood, but didn't delve into it further.

"only……"

Rhodes put down the letter and immediately fell into thought, his brows furrowing slightly.

Seeing Rod's serious expression, Durant asked with some confusion, "Do you have any concerns?"

After a moment's thought, Rod explained, "If we really take in Chris's wife and children, then our feud with Earl Falcon will be over."

"I think you're right."

Durant nodded slightly and said, "But judging from his previous actions and the way you treated him, the feud between us and Earl Falcon is irreversible."

"But... never mind, we've already trampled on Earl Falcon's dignity anyway."

After a moment's thought, Rhodes couldn't help but smile: "Since we've already provoked them, let's not hold back. It won't make a difference if we do it again."

With a determined look in his eyes, Rhodes immediately ordered, "Reply to Baron Harlan, and immediately assemble the entire elite squad to gather near White Rock Canyon and await news from Baron Harlan."

"Yes, Your Excellency."

Durant bowed to receive the order and immediately went to make arrangements.

……

……

In a dilapidated tavern in a village on the edge of a verdant forest.

The two soldiers monitoring Emina sat by the fireplace baking bread.

“That woman, Emina, has been staying at her mother’s house there for a week.”

Flo flipped the bread over so it wouldn't burn.

Then he placed his hands near the fire in the stove and rubbed them incessantly, wondering, "How much longer will this lousy job take?"

His companion shook his head. "Who knows?"

His companion, munching on his bread, said, "Lord Baron said it could be half a month, or it could be a month; nobody knows exactly how long it will take."

"However, after Emina arrived at her mother's house, she behaved herself and never came out again."

What are you doing out in this freezing weather?

Flo chuckled and sighed, “Staying at home, sitting by the fireplace, having a drink and some nuts, that’s the best life.”

The companion nodded.
"It's getting colder and colder these days. If it weren't for this incident, I wouldn't want to come out at all."

"If I had a choice, I would definitely stay inside and not move at all."

Flo said, "It's because Lord Baron gave such a large reward."

"Hehe, you'll need a lot of firewood that day, so you'd better prepare plenty."

As soon as his companion finished speaking, Flo immediately stopped what he was doing, a hint of alertness flashing in his eyes.

"Wait a minute, it seems like they haven't come out to get firewood for three days?"

Flo's voice suddenly became tense.

“They probably don’t keep that much firewood in their house, do they?” Flo’s companion also realized the crux of the problem.

"Oops!"

Suddenly realizing something, Flo disregarded his hat and gloves, grabbed his longsword, and ran outside.

The two rushed to Emina's mother's house, and their hearts turned cold as they got closer.

There was no smoke coming out of the chimney of Emina's mother's house at all!

This is absolutely impossible in this cold weather!
Unless, no one lives in this house at all!

"It's over!"

Flo shouted, "I'll go inside and check! You hurry and get this message to Lord Baron!"

Without a moment's hesitation, Flo ran quickly toward Amina's mother's yard!

He searched inside carefully twice, and his heart sank into an icy abyss!

This place is now completely deserted!

Even the grain sacks are empty!
(End of this chapter)