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

Chapter 160 Night Talk

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"The Night Whisper Society you instructed has begun to be established."

Durant responded immediately.

The important thing Rhodes mentioned was establishing his own intelligence organization.

No matter when or what you do, information is always the most important thing.

Intelligence is like a beacon in the darkness, allowing Rhodes to see where the road lies.

The value of intelligence lies not only in understanding the enemy's movements, but also in discovering potential threats and opportunities.

It can be used not only in war, but also in the business field.

But now, Rhodes is very isolated from information and has no idea what is happening outside.

This passive situation made Rhodes feel very insecure.

This was also the main reason why Chris was sent to Razor Plains to establish an outpost.

In fact, nobles have a habit of establishing intelligence organizations, which was also part of Rhodes's plan.

The situation in Eagle Territory is currently quite chaotic, and everything will be reshuffled. Rhodes naturally cannot miss this good opportunity.

"Night Talks?"

“Night Whisper is the name Gunle applied for; you can change it if you don’t like it,” Durant offered.

"Just use this."

Rhodes hadn't originally planned to name his intelligence organization.

It doesn't seem very useful, since they're all working for themselves, not as information brokers.

Thinking about it now, having a name is actually quite convenient.

Perhaps in the future, if things really develop, Rhodes will only need to manage the core members of the organization, while the peripheral members will only need to know that they are members of the Night Whisper Society.

The name doesn't sound like a legitimate organization.

Durant took two parchments from his pocket and unfolded them on the table.

"As you instructed, this is the list of soldiers we left at Eagle Ridge."

Durant pointed to another sheet of paper and explained, "This one records some people who are willing to come and join us. They stay in Eagle Ridge, while their families come to Frostleaf Town to settle down."

Rod nodded in satisfaction.

This was the original plan.

After all, the soldiers under Rhodes' command were all unfamiliar faces, and even in the chaos of Eagle Ridge, strangers would stand out.

It's better to select people directly at Eagle Ridge.

Rod promised a life of plenty to those who were suffering.

All they needed to do was stay at Eagle Ridge, organize the information they heard, and send it to Black Pine Ridge.

"Tell those who have been dispersed not to rush, and to calm down first."

Rhodes folded the list and put it away, instructing, "Their most important task now is to live well and integrate into Eagle Ridge. They don't need to do anything else."

Gathering information is an ongoing process, not a one-off assassination.

The most important thing at the beginning is to save your life.

“Those who are willing to do things for us should be treated well by their families.”

"Have Lawrence assign those people some high-point jobs."

Rhodes frowned, thought for a moment, and added, "But it's still best not to tell Lawrence who those people are."

"You... suspect Lawrence?" Durant asked, somewhat surprised.

Rod smiled and waved his hand, "No, that's not it."

"But this kind of thing has little to do with him, and it's a very secretive matter, the fewer people who know about it, the better."

Rod explained.

In addition, Rhodes wanted to gradually separate military and logistics, establishing separate departments instead of mixing them together as they were now.

"You're right."

Durant nodded in agreement.

As soon as Durant finished speaking, a guard rushed in to report.

"My lord, Wolfhoof has captured two more half-breed scouts."

Rhodes nodded. "Durant, you're in charge of the interrogation."

The top three mixed-race individuals have already said everything that needed to be said, so there's nothing new to add.

Rhodes wasn't interested, but the interrogation still had to proceed.

"Yes, Your Excellency."

Durant then excused himself.

After he left, Vivian, who had been pretending to sleep, stretched and yawned.

During the day she would look for opportunities to rest, but at night she would stay awake and watch over Rhodes.

Rhodes looked at Vivian, whose face was full of sleepiness, and frowned slightly.

Rhodes offered, “You don’t need to follow me around the manor all day. You can go and rest if you get sleepy.”

Vivian waved her slender hand.

"I'm fine, I just need a short nap."

As she spoke, Vivian pulled a lollipop from her purse, put it in her mouth, and then spoke again.
"My sister said that the Baron has a ring, which seems to be some kind of magical artifact,"

"My sister just found a book that describes knowledge about various magical equipment. It talks about alchemy and the techniques for making various magical items."

"Do you need your sister's help?"

"it is good."

Rhodes nodded slightly, took out the ring he had found in the Sea Abyss Wizard Tower from a hidden compartment in his pocket, and handed it to Vivian.

Vivian took the ring with both hands, held it in her palms, and walked to the window.

In the sunlight, she squinted and carefully examined the ring on her hand by the light, memorizing every detail and edge.

Actually, it wasn't Vivian who wanted to see it.

Instead, she wanted to remember these details and then share this information with Avril in her mind.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Avril was perusing ancient texts, searching for all sorts of possible clues.

Rhodes did not disturb him and waited quietly.

After looking at it for a while, Vivian finally finished and returned the ring to Rhodes.

"Hold on."

She took a big sip of the candy in her mouth and added, "My sister is still investigating."

Rhodes accepted the ring, smiling and nodding.

This long process felt very familiar to Rhodes.

He suddenly remembered the old computer from his previous life, which also took a while to respond when searching for files.

Vivian snapped back to reality after Rhodes' momentary lapse in concentration.

She spoke up first, saying, "This should be the Frost Ring."

"A fairly standard low-level magical accessory."

Vivian explained:

"It can automatically absorb free magic and store it as frost energy."

"Then the user can control that energy with their mind and turn it into an attack or defense barrier of frost energy."

Vivian frowned slightly, as if recalling the message Avril had conveyed to her.

"However, it seems it will take three days to recharge."

Vivian added.

Rod's eyes lit up, and his fingers unconsciously traced the intricate patterns on the ring's surface.
How is it triggered?

“Communicate using mental power,” Vivian replied without hesitation.

Rhodes frowned slightly, then shook his head.
"wrong."

"I tried using my mental power, but it had no effect at all."

Rhodes knew that mental power was fundamental to wizards, so after obtaining the ring, he immediately tried to communicate using his mental power.

But it had no effect.

"That……"

Vivian hesitated for a moment,
"Wait a moment, let me ask again."

After she finished speaking, she closed her eyes.

Rod looked at Vivian expectantly, and the hall fell silent, with only the occasional barking of dogs coming from outside the window.

After a while, Vivian opened her eyes and spoke again: "My sister said that there might be the mark of the previous user on it."

"What mark?"

"Many magical equipment leaves the mental imprint of the previous user after use, thus binding it to the user and allowing it to be activated quickly next time."

Vivian explained slowly, word by word, as if reading an instruction manual.

Rod was not in a hurry and listened attentively.

"Don't worry, this mental imprint can be erased."

"Keep trying to communicate using your mental power; perhaps this will bring back previous memories,"

"Then you can fight it, deplete the energy of the mental imprint, and then you can erase it."

Vivian paused, narrowed her eyes slightly, thought for a moment, and then added,
"My sister said that since this ring has been stored for so long, the spiritual imprint on it should be very weak by now."

After listening, Rhodes nodded.

"Okay, I'll try again."

Rhodes slipped the ring onto his little finger, feeling the cool metallic touch, closed his eyes, and tried to communicate with the ring again.

The mental energy coiled around the ring like tiny tentacles, then launched a continuous attack.

Soon, fine beads of sweat began to appear on Rod's forehead.

Spiritual communication is very energy-consuming.

Rhodes opened his eyes, took a breath, and rested for a while before trying again.

This time, as soon as Rhode's mental energy enveloped the ring, he sensed something amiss. Just as Vivian had said, a faint fluctuation appeared on the ring, resisting his mental penetration.

It's like waking up on a cold morning and feeling like you need to pee. You want to get up and go to the toilet, but your body is resisting.

Rhodes did not back down and responded with a tough stance.

His mental energy washed over the mental energy that was resisting him like a tidal wave.

Snapped--

In that instant, as if something had shattered, Rhodes felt an unparalleled sense of exhilaration.

The next second, he felt an unusual coolness on the ring.

"It's done."

Rhodes smiled, opened his eyes, looked at Vivian, and asked, "What should we do next?"

"Try to communicate with and draw upon the energy in the ring."

Vivian answered without hesitation: "Then, once you successfully release that energy, your mark will remain on it."

"Now it belongs to you."

"it is good."

Rhodes rested for a while, then used his mental power to sense the flow of energy within his body again, and then drew upon that energy.

Suddenly, a burst of azure light shot out from the ring!

The important thing is that Rhodes lost control the first time and headed straight for Vivian!

Vivian instinctively lifted her foot, and energy instantly shot onto the floor!

In an instant, countless ice crystals appeared on the floor, spreading outwards like locusts!

In the brief moment of catching her breath, a large section of the floor beneath Vivian was frozen solid, the crystal-clear ice crystals shimmering with a cold light in the sunlight!
Even while Vivian was sitting in the chair, she could feel the chill emanating from it!
"Your Excellency!"

Vivian cried out, her breath coming in ragged gasps, "You almost ejaculated on my foot!"

"Sorry, this is my first time, I didn't control the direction well."

Rod shrugged helplessly.

Everything happened so fast that he didn't even have time to react before he shot out.

In fact, Rhodes could have been controlled by mind control just now.

"Ok."

Vivian breathed a sigh of relief. "Then next time you're going to shoot, just let me know in advance so I can stay away."

"It's okay, I'll practice better next time."

Rhodes stood up and looked at the glittering ice crystals on the ground. "The power is greater than I imagined."

The floor is fine, but if it were a human body, it would freeze to death instantly, right?
Given the medical level of this era, without extraordinary abilities, being shot would mean amputation, right?

"interesting!"

Rhodes' eyes were filled with excitement.

"The runes on a low-level Frost Ring can only accumulate a stream of Frost Energy, and do not contain any specific spell runes."

Vivian explained, "It can be transformed into not only offensive spells but also defensive spells, all depending on your mental abilities to control it."

"However, because it lacks specific spell runes, its power is very small."

"And the more advanced Frost Rings will directly store spells, which are triggered by mental power."

Rhodes nodded.

He understood that.

Simply put, wizards manipulate energy through mental power, and spells are the methods, or formulas, for manipulating energy.

With the help of runic spells, the way energy is released is optimized, and its power is also stronger.

It's like spending one gold coin to get the effect of spending two gold coins.

"If even a low-level Frost Ring is this powerful, it's hard to imagine how ruthless the high-level ones must be."

Rhodes stroked the ice crystals on the ground and couldn't help but sigh.

Of course, Rhodes is content with having this Frost Ring.

He now has another ability to deal with those strange superhumans.

Rhodes quickly returned to his workshop and began familiarizing himself with the ring to avoid another incident where he accidentally shot Vivian.

……

……

The remaining two mixed-race individuals did not provide any valuable information.

Bloom did bring some useful information, which Durant immediately delivered to the lobby.

According to reports from spies sent by Bloom, the Lizardmen captured some refugees in Razorfen Downs and began to cultivate the abandoned farmland.

And the message Chris sent back proved this.

Upon hearing this news, even Durant couldn't help but laugh.

Lawrence happened to hear the news as well, and he mocked it even more blatantly.

"In winter, even a hoe as sharp as an axe can't break through the frozen soil, right?"

"What a bunch of stupid reptilians!"

Lawrence didn't know anything about farming, but he had knowledge of everything else.

The frozen soil in the deep winter is as hard as stone, and the Snow Rabbit people have to use all their strength to dig holes, let alone turn over large areas of farmland.

Rhodes couldn't help but chuckle, then said calmly, "Perhaps those lizardmen don't care whether the ground is hard or not, since they're not the ones doing the work anyway."

"They don't care if the slaves are tired or not."

This statement stunned Lawrence and the others.

Lawrence retorted, "Then, wouldn't we freeze to death working in this kind of weather?"

So what if you freeze to death?

Rhodes scoffed. "Do you think they care?"

"Yeah, they're frozen to death, so it's perfect to just throw them in the pot and boil them."

Durant added a comment.

These words sent a chill down Lawrence's spine.

Rhodes asked curiously, "You used to be a merchant, didn't you ever come into contact with those alien races?"

"No, no."

"I've been to Ice Peak Valley, Longwinter Town, and Frozen Bone Wasteland, and then I circled back to Border Town..."

Lawrence stammered.

Rod knew the places he was talking about.

According to Rhodes, the Northern Wastes were divided among eight lords.

Besides those Rhodes has already encountered, there are also the Shieldbreaker family's Longwinter Town, the Hammer family's Frozen Bone Wasteland, the Moonlake family's Ice Breath Hills, the Darkwood family's Frost Town, and the Highmountain family's Howling Town.

Of these, Changdong Town in the northwest is closest to Heisongling, but it is separated by Bingfeng Valley, and the others are completely unrelated.

"You're quite clever, always choosing relatively peaceful places."

Rhodes patted Lawrence on the shoulder. "You've had good luck too."

"Of course, meeting you means I'm really lucky."

Lawrence responded respectfully.

Vivian, who was squinting and pretending to be asleep next to him, couldn't help but purse her lips when she heard this.

Rod ignored Lawrence's flattery and gave instructions to Durant.
"This news proves that the lizardmen may be running out of food because they have developed too quickly."

Rhodes speculated, "To be precise, they might not have enough food in the future."

The fact that he was able to send out spies to investigate in advance suggests that the lizardman leader was a person who planned ahead.

Farming is a long process, far slower than seizing opportunities.

Since they've chosen to farm, it means they won't be easy to rob them.

This forced them to start farming, which was their least favorite activity.

Rod smiled.

Since that's the case, we can't let them live comfortably.

“Write to Bronn and suggest that he cause some trouble for those lizardmen.”

Rhodes frowned and thought for a while.
"Also, have Chris find out which tribes those lizardmen are fighting against."

"what do you mean……"

Durant's eyes lit up, and he looked at Rod with surprise.

"Could we unite with other alien races?"

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

Rod said calmly, "Although joining forces is a bit of an exaggeration, we can do some simple business with them."

Let them fight a bit more, wear each other down, and maybe we can even earn some gold coins.

"Understood, I'll get on it right now!"

Durant readily agreed and immediately turned to act.

Rhodes also breathed a sigh of relief.

He didn't know much about the lizard people, so these things about the alien races always felt like a stone weighing on his chest.

Now that we have a preliminary solution, it allows him to catch his breath a little longer.

Even if we don't know if it will be effective, it's better than doing nothing.

After seeing Durant off, Rod turned to look at Lawrence.

Is there anything else you haven't reported?

The population of Frostleaf Town has exceeded 2,500. Lawrence manages all aspects of their lives, including food, clothing, housing, and transportation. He now has countless things to deal with every day.

The fact that Lawrence is willing to listen to gossip for so long means he really has something to say.

"Yes sir."

Lawrence asked cautiously, "The winter fishing season is approaching, when would you like to start?"

"I almost forgot about that."

Rhodes nodded. "If you're ready, let's pick a date to begin."

(End of this chapter)