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

Chapter 184 A Strange Combination
……

……

"Mountains, giant rocks, and stone forests."

São replied respectfully, "And there are monsters that are as big as rocks."

"I'm sorry, Holy Lord, I failed to defeat those monsters."

Not understanding what was going on, São bowed apologetically to Rhodes.

"It's alright, those are just illusions, don't worry about them."

Finally, someone with the potential and aptitude appeared, and Rhodes felt a little better. He pointed behind him and said, "Go wait there, Sao."

"Yes, Holy Lord."

Sao respectfully turned around and retreated to the back.

"next."

……

After the Salvadoran protests, the same old problems started happening all over again, with everyone failing to meet the standards.

It wasn't until evening that a girl with a mental strength of 10.6 appeared.

The girl's talent leans towards the wind element, which is somewhat in line with the natural background of the Northern Wasteland, where strong winds blow all year round.

"After a busy half-day, there were only two results."

Vivian shook her head helplessly.

"That's already a lot."

Rod stood up with a smile and sighed.

Those with wizarding aptitude are extremely rare; it's considered very lucky for two out of four hundred people to appear.

Rhodes was already very satisfied.

Even if there are none, it's perfectly normal.

All the children were sent back, leaving only São and the girl Yurai in the manor.

Rhodes sent someone to summon Musen, and together with Millie and Franny, brought him to Avril.

"From now on, you will learn meditation from Avril."

Rhodes looked at everyone and announced, "As long as you learn the meditation method and successfully sense the magic, then you will all become my Winter Archon."

"The salary and benefits will be the highest in Frostleaf Town, 20,000 work points per month."

"You will have priority in exchanging rare resources."

"In the future, as long as your children are qualified, they can directly work in any department in Shuangye Town."

"But the prerequisite is that you must become true spellcasters."

"Understand?"

"Yes, my lord!"

Everyone responded in unison, and everyone except São had a smile on their face.

Both Musen and the girl Yulai understood the significance of 20,000 work points, and they also understood how much Rod valued this position.

Franny was happy because her little brother was coming soon, while Millie just smiled blankly at everyone's smiles.

Sao looked serious. From the moment he embarked on the path of knighthood, he had pledged allegiance to the Holy Lord.

Even without any increase in salary or benefits, Sao will still obey the Lord's command.

Rhodes knew a bit about the captain of the knight squad, so he wasn't surprised by Sao's reaction.

"Alright, now it's Avril's turn..."

As soon as Rhodes finished speaking, a guard rushed in to report.
"Lord Lord!"

"Ward sent someone to report that Thunder ran into the stable and lay down next to Night Fury!"

"Fighting again?"

Rhodes paused for a moment, then frowned. "Didn't they stop fighting?"

The guard quickly shook his head, "They didn't fight. Thunder just chased away the other horses in the stable and lay down with Night Fury!"

The people in the hall looked at each other in surprise. Vivian held her chin up with great interest, and even Avril's eyes lit up.

"Come on, let's go take a look!"

Rod was puzzled and immediately hurried toward the stables.

A cold wind swept through the stables, and the air was filled with the smell of hay and horse manure.

Ward, the horse trainer, stood a dozen paces away, his fur coat wrapped tightly around him, staring intently at the stables.

His face was pale, and he gripped the riding whip in his hand, but dared not take a step forward.

The other warhorses in the stable were huddled in a corner, clearly quite frightened.

The one who started all of this was Thunder.

It's worth mentioning that while frost and lightning won't harm the people of Frostleaf Town, that doesn't mean just anyone can get close to them.

Not to mention driving them away.

Ward didn't stay at the manor for long and didn't dare get any closer to Thunder.

Rod strode over, frowning as he asked, "Ward, what's going on?"

When Ward saw Rhodes, he rushed forward as if grasping at a straw.

"My lord, your pet... that wyvern has rushed into the stable and is refusing to leave Night Fury's side!"

Ward swallowed hard, pointed to the stables, and his voice trembled.

Rod squinted and stood outside the wooden door of the stable, watching quietly.

In the dim firelight, the shadows of Night Fury and Thunder, lying on the hay, were stretched long.

Their heads were very close together, occasionally nuzzling each other gently, as if they were whispering secrets.

Night Fury snorted and nudged Thunder's cheek with his thick neck.

Thunder wasn't annoyed; instead, it flicked its tail and made a low growling sound.

Even more outrageous, Night Fury stuck his head under Thunder's belly to take a sniff.

What's happening here?
Rod's mind went blank.

Why do these two guys look so close?

They look like a couple deeply in love.

But these are wyverns and warhorses!
Moreover, Thunder is just an immature bipedal dragon!

Rhodes looked at Ward and asked, "Tell me, does Night Fury's behavior signify anything?"

Ward followed behind, cautiously peeking out: "It looks like intimate behavior before mating..."

Rod frowned and turned to Vivian: "Have your sister investigate."

"I heard you, I'll go back and check now."

Avril had somehow joined the ranks of those behind them.

After saying that, Rod lifted her skirt and ran back to the hall.

A moment later, Vivian whispered a few words in Rhodes' ear.

Ancient texts say that when wyverns make friends, they will frequently rub noses together to familiarize themselves with each other's scent, and may even gently bite each other's necks to show affection.

The female dragon will respond with a low growl or a light flick of her tail, and expose her underbelly.

"But Lei Ting is not yet an adult, is that reasonable?"

Rod looked at Vivian in disbelief.

Vivian nodded and explained in a low voice, "Dragons are inherently lustful. They may not be able to now, but their nature drives them to seek out suitable males."

"hiss……"

Rod smacked his lips in exasperation.

Night Fury and Thunder really did get together.

Vivian stood to the side, arms crossed, and said with a smile, "Baron, don't worry, maybe we'll give birth to some special magical beasts."

Rhodes nodded, but still couldn't help but sigh.

Rhodes is not incapable of accepting it.

If a dragon horse or other variant magical beast is born, Rhodes can also do so.

Yes, Rod felt a bit confused.

In this world, there is no reproductive isolation between monsters, and strange combinations always occur.

Rhodes is now wondering, if Night Fury and Thunder really get together, will they be born from a live birth or an oviparous birth?

Forget it.

Rhodes felt that he couldn't figure out this profound question either, so he decided to look it up when he had time.

As for Night Fury and Thunderfury, let nature take its course.

Anyway, I wouldn't do something like breaking up a couple.

Fortunately, the frost was aloof and didn't follow.

Rod sighed and turned to Ward: "Keep an eye on them, don't let them cause any trouble."

Ward nodded with a pained expression: "Yes, my lord... I'll try my best."

"If those mares successfully conceive, send them back to the stables."

Rod looked at Thunder, "If those two really get together, Thunder could easily attack these mares."

"Okay, okay, I'll take these mares away right away."

Ward responded and quickly got his men to work.

Rod patted him on the shoulder and left the stable without lingering, a hint of emotion in his eyes.

……

...On a cliff face in Ice Peak Valley, Renn held his breath.

A young eagle perched on a rock not far away, its sharp eyes scanning its surroundings.

The wild rabbit, which had just lost its life, lay across the snow, its blood still warm.

Down the distant hillside, Renn stared intently at the eagle, his hand gripping the end of the rope.

Eagles are incredibly fast; a single misstep can lead to failure.

Everyone else kept their distance from Renn, not daring to approach or make any noise.

The eagle watched for a long time, then suddenly flapped its wings and took off, flying into the distance.

An ordinary hunter would probably have already left by now.

But Raine remained motionless, lying steadily in the snowdrift.

As Renn had predicted, the young eagle returned shortly afterward.

This time it did not hesitate, swooping down from the sky and heading straight for the wild rabbit in the snow!

Raine held his breath and pulled the rope taut just as the eagle was about to fall!
A large net instantly sprang up from the snow, completely trapping the eagle!
The eagle realized it was a trap and began to struggle violently. Rein immediately pounced on it and pinned it to the ground!

"You're still very young, little one."

Renn smiled calmly.

This eagle is clever; it knows how to probe before launching a surprise attack.

Unfortunately, it wasn't the only clever one; other eagles were clever too.

Rennes had already learned his lesson elsewhere.

The other hunters rushed forward and took the falcon in Ryan's place.

The savages of the Eagle Feather tribe, who had awakened the Crimson Feather Mark, rushed forward and immediately began taming the hunting eagles.

Renn took a breath and asked his deputy, "Let's go, next one."

Before the deputy could respond, a circling eagle suddenly appeared in the sky.

"Is it the mate of this eagle?" the second-in-command asked.

"No, they are our people."

Not long after Ryan finished speaking, the eagle circled down and landed.

Sure enough, there was a cloth bag tied to its paw.

Renn removed the bag from the eagle's talons.

"Go, give it that rabbit."

Ryan gave an order before opening the bag and taking out the letter.

After a while.

After reading the letter, Ryan lit a pine branch and burned it to ashes.

"Tell everyone to pack their things; it's time for us to move."

Raine instructed his deputy, "The lord orders us to proceed immediately to the border outpost at Blackpine Ridge and rendezvous with Gunle."

"what?"

The deputy hesitated for a moment, then reported, "Sakura's eagles have spotted another one to the east. Should we go and catch it before we leave?"

"It's too late, Lord Gunle is already waiting for us at the sentry post."

Renn looked at his deputy, who seemed to feel sorry for him, and offered a word of comfort.
"It's alright, there should be plenty of falcons in Razor Plains for us to catch."

……

……

The border post was recently built and is hidden in a dense pine forest.

In front of the sentry post was a high ground; by climbing up and lying on the ground, one could see the troops coming from the direction of Ice Peak Valley and Razor Plain.

The border outposts are still made of wooden walls and watchtowers, and the houses are thatched huts and underground dwellings, which look rather rudimentary.

But it's very practical.

Especially for teams trekking long distances in winter, having a warm shelter and a cellar for warmth is a very fortunate thing.

Moreover, the border outposts can watch over each other with the Black Stone Village, and can provide timely support in case of any incident.

Gunle was organizing the team as usual, while Aleya led the hunting party in making some simple arrows.

Raine led his team into the sentry post, and Aleya and the hunters from the hunting party all stood up.

Gunle grinned and stepped forward to give Ryan a big hug.

"Have you received the lord's orders?"

After letting go, Gunther asked.

"Yes, we can fight together again."

Renn nodded, his gaze sweeping over the crowded sentry post. "Including the hunting party, there are over a hundred people. It seems it's not just hunting."

"Hahaha, killing alien races is also a form of hunting."

Gonler grinned and whispered, "The lord also gave us five falconers from the Eagle Feather tribe to be in charge of aerial reconnaissance."

"To be honest, it's really great to fight with falconers. We have a clear understanding of the enemy's movements!"

"Yes, so do we when we hunt."

Ryan laughed and said, "A lot of the experience in hunting prey is no longer useful."

"But the lord forbids it from being abandoned."

Gunle cautioned, "The lord specifically instructed that we cannot be careless just because we have falconers, but that's not entirely accurate. There might be something that can evade the eagle's eyes."

"Ok, I know."

Ryan nodded knowingly.

It wasn't that Renn doubted the falconer's abilities, but he felt there would always be a situation where the falconer was not following along.
Hunters must have solid hunting skills.

When do we set off?

Ryan asked.

"It's too late today, we'll freeze before we get to our destination."

Gonle glanced at the sky. "Get some rest. We'll set off at daybreak tomorrow."

"Aim to reach the edge of Razor Plains by noon; a place to stay is readily available."

"it is good."

Renn agreed with Gunle's idea, chatted with his daughter for a few minutes, and then let the hunting party rest.

……

……

The terrain in the middle of the razor plain is open.

Eagles soared through the sky, and on the boundless snowfield, animals such as wild deer and bison could be clearly seen foraging for food.

The hunting party was ecstatic; they had never had such a lucrative hunt before.

Renn led his hunting party into the plains and easily hunted nearly fifteen tons of game on the first day.

Eleven bison and nineteen deer—the soldiers responsible for transporting them didn't have a moment's rest all day.

Of course, pure meat only accounts for a little over 40%, but if you include the internal organs, it exceeds half.

These hunting teams are not being considered at the moment.

In any case, the prey won't spoil in this kind of weather, so there's no need for the hunting team to break it down; the soldiers will transport the whole prey back.

The savages of Frostleaf Town were responsible for dismembering the animals, while the hunting party only needed to hunt them.

Razor Plains is rich in game, so hunting parties don't even look at hares, focusing instead on hunting large prey.

Wild buffalo and wild boars suffered terribly.

The caravan also continuously transported prey to Frostleaf Town.

Gonle and the soldiers' lives also improved.

Every day there was fresh roasted meat sandwiched in dry bread, along with some frozen wild fruit. Apart from the lack of alcohol, life was pretty good.

However, the lack of any sign of the lizardmen made Gunle feel uneasy.

While leading his soldiers to transport goods, he also had falconers search for traces of the lizardmen.

However, before Gungle's falconers could find any trace of the lizardmen, the falconers beside Renn discovered their presence first.

Sakura quickly ran to Renn's side and reported everything she had seen to him.

"A group of humans are running away, pursued by four ten-man reptilians!"

Raine, who was ambushing the deer herd, was startled and immediately asked, "How many humans are there? Is the leader a knight?"

Sakura nodded and replied, "More than ten people!"

"It should be Chris!"

Renn immediately took the map and asked Sakura, "Which location?"

Sakura pondered for a moment, then pointed northeast.

"here!"

"Less than two kilometers left."

Raine immediately shouted, "Notify all hunting parties to store their prey and prepare for battle!"

After saying that, Ryan took out a charcoal pencil and drew a few lines in the northeast direction of the map, then wrote a few simple words.

He then handed the map to Sakura and gave the order.
"Give this to Gunther!"

"Yes, Lord Renn."

Sakura responded and immediately summoned his hawk, then put the map into his leather bag and returned it to his lodging.

Ryan then had his deputy take his map and begin studying the location to meet Chris.

(End of this chapter)