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

Chapter 225 Underground River
(The right-hand side is east, this has been corrected)
……

……

Frostleaf Town, military training ground.

A gentle breeze brushed against my cheek, finally bringing a touch of warmth.

Beneath the fence, tender green shoots quietly sprouted.

Just like the rows of new recruits on the training field.

Ryan stood at the front of the line, hands behind his back, his face serious.

"Today is the final archery test. It will determine whether you join the regular army, the reserves, the militia, or go back to farming."

Ryan's voice echoed across the empty field, his gaze sweeping over the soldiers' youthful faces.
"Five arrows each."

"More than four misses result in a failing grade!"

"First team, begin the assessment. Second team, get ready!"

At Renn's command, the soldiers stepped forward one by one and picked up their bows and arrows.

After testing that the bowstring was working properly, the arrow was nocked onto the bowstring.

"Prepare!"

Renn shouted, "Release!"

The sound of bowstrings vibrating rose and fell as ten arrows pierced the air.

"Dang Dang Dang..."

All ten arrows hit the target.

Renn glanced at it with some surprise.

This first round looks pretty good.

Ren smiled.

It seems that not only has his archery skills improved, but these kids have also made a lot of progress.

High-intensity training does have its benefits.

Renn nodded in satisfaction and waited quietly for the soldiers to fire all five arrows.

"Reporting the results!"

Ryan walked toward the target.

"Target number one, Emmy Spoon, all three shots hit the bullseye, excellent!"

"Pretty!"

The boy whose name was called beamed with joy and excitedly high-fived his companion.

"Quiet!"

Renn gave a cold, low shout.

Normally, he might have already cracked the whip, but at this moment, because of his good performance, Ryan was also very happy.

"Target number two, Zachd Willow, all three shots hit the bullseye, excellent!"

"Target number three, Dewey Barrel, all hits, two bullseye shots..."

……

"Target number 10, Orlanda Black Snakeskin, all hits, five bullseye shots, excellent!"

"Wow!"

The first group of soldiers couldn't help but cheer loudly, and the other soldiers looked ahead in shock.

Raine was immediately startled and quickly walked towards the target.

Although it was only a distance of fifty meters, these people were all complete recruits who had only been training for two months!
At this time, if a new recruit hits the target more than four times at a distance of fifty meters, Ryan would consider him qualified!
Is it possible to hit the bullseye five times in a row?
Therefore, Renn couldn't believe it either, and questioned the soldier who was checking, "Are you sure?"

"Confirmed, Lord Renn!"

The soldier conducting the inspection replied earnestly, "I looked at it three times before I dared to write it down."

Renn frowned, sensing that something was amiss.

But the assessment couldn't be delayed, so Raine instructed, "Write it down. We'll retest Orlanda later."

"Yes, Lord Renn."

Ryan nodded, returned to his position, and gave the order loudly.

"Continue the assessment."

The first group of recruits put down their bows and arrows and quickly moved to the side to make room for the next group.

The new recruits themselves were quite surprised after the assessment, and couldn't help but murmur happily after lining up.
"Okay, Orlanda!"

New recruit Du Wei craned his neck and whispered his praise: "You were so good today, you must have been training extra hard, right?"

"Practice my ass! Didn't we play 'Siege' together yesterday?"

Orlanda replied, "I would have been lucky to pass, but I had such a good game today that I got an excellent grade!"

"Dewey, don't talk about me. You're only good at farming, but you still got an excellent grade today, didn't you?"

"I do not know either."

Dewey looked bewildered. "The bow feels especially good to hold today. It feels so comfortable as soon as I hold it!"

"Hey, me too! Me too!"

"Yes, it feels as smooth and delicate as a noble lady's hand when you hold that bow!"

"Pah! You think you've even touched a noble lady's hand?"

……

The chatter among the first group of recruits grew louder and louder, and only quieted down after Ryan turned around and glared at them.

But their words only made Renn more confused.
—I feel the same way.

At this time, the scores of the second team of new recruits were also announced.

Out of ten people, only one missed the target with one arrow; all of them passed.

Two other recruits hit the bullseye five times, drawing cheers from the new recruits once again.

This series of good results made Renn increasingly confused.

He knew very well the soldiers' usual skill level.

Normally, it's considered good if you can hit the target every time.

Why is everyone acting like a sharpshooter today?

Renn shook his head helplessly.

But this is a good thing, there's no need to worry.

Ryan was probably dreaming; when he woke up, these kids would all be a mess again.

"Next team, please continue!"

……

……

Sunlight streamed through the skylight into the commander's single barracks.

Durant, all smiles, ate his barbecue while reading the report.

Just as he was leaning back in his chair, feeling smug, footsteps came from outside the door.

Ryan turned to the side and knocked on the door.

"Good afternoon, Renn, come in."

Durant smiled and waved his hand.

"sit."

"You've come at the right time; here's the wild boar meat you gave me yesterday."

He got up and walked to the rack next to the stove, where he used his dagger to cut off a piece of sizzling, oily roasted meat.

"Taste this."

Durant placed the plate in front of Ryan.

Ryan said thank you and sighed softly.

"Judging from your expression, did the test results this morning not go well?" Durant asked.

Renn shook his head.

No, quite the opposite.

Ryan looked at Durant and frowned slightly.

"The result is really great."

"I've never had such a good time."

Ryan handed the report to Durant and continued,

"Whether it's from when I started practicing archery as a child until now, or later when I trained the army for Lord Rhodes, I have never seen such a good result."

Durant took the report and glanced at the numbers on it.

"Yes, it is indeed excellent!"

Durant nodded emphatically.

The worst performance on the report was that only two arrows missed the target, and there were only three such cases.

For new recruits who have been training for two months, this is a perfectly acceptable result.

"Those kids seem to be born archery prodigies."

Ryan continued:

"People who couldn't even hit the target at 50 meters before are hitting the bullseye with every shot today, some even hitting the bullseye nine times out of ten."

Ryan stood up, somewhat agitated. "Do you think this is normal?"

Durant shook his head. "Something's not right."

"Yes!"

Renn paced back and forth in the room somewhat uneasily.
"I also feel something's not right. My touch has been really good since yesterday."

"It was dusk, and the target in front of me was so dark that I could barely see it. I just casually shot an arrow and hit the bullseye."

"It was right in the center; even I was startled."

Durant nodded, his smile slightly mysterious.
"It seems that it's not just our regular army that has changed."

"What do you mean?"

Ryan stared at Durant and asked, "Among the soldiers I trained this morning, there were quite a few young guys who are also very good riders."

Durant said with a smile, "Those warhorses seem to have known them for a long time; they can coordinate perfectly."

"Then, what should we do?" Renn asked anxiously.

"What do you mean, what should we do? This is a joyful thing!"

Durant looked at Ryan with a puzzled expression.

Why do you look so troubled?

"I'm afraid I might miss out on this great opportunity."

Renn let out a long sigh and stopped in his tracks.
"What if today is unexpectedly good, but another day it suddenly becomes very bad?"

"How can we feel at ease sending them to the battlefield like this!"

"Raine, you really are cautious!"

Durant understood Ryan's feelings. "Don't worry about that. I can guarantee they'll be fine."

Durant stepped forward and said in a low voice,
"You still don't understand where this sudden increase comes from?"

Ryan blinked, waiting for Durant to continue.

"Do you remember when our physiques suddenly became stronger, the White Frost Prophet spoke of 'the Lord's grace'? It's exactly the same as now."

Durant continued, "And the changes in the Baron after the war with the lizard monsters."

"Don't you understand yet?"

Raine's pupils contracted slightly. "You mean... these are all blessings from the Holy Lord, and they will always exist?"

Durant nodded.

"Holy Lord is a term used by savages."

Durant's tone became serious.

"I think we should call him the Emperor of Destiny."

……

……

Blade's Edge Mountains.

Rhodes instructed Aleya and the others to prepare ample supplies.

Dry rations, water bags, torches, ropes, and medicine for emergencies.

These items were not meant for Aleya's exploration team to bring, but rather for the logistics team to establish a supply station in the middle of the cave.

This divides the long cave in two, reducing the travel time for Aleya and the others.

These supply stations are not only for current cave exploration, but will also be needed for future sea-patterned iron ore mining.

Rhodes also gave another, more important instruction.

Rhodes instructed Aleya to select hunters with a good sense of direction, who would then use ropes to measure distances within the cave and map out the route forward.

Rhodes wanted to try to determine the approximate location of the mine from the ground.

When Rhodes arrives at the target point on the ground, he can then use the mineral vein detection to find the approximate location of the Seaweed Iron.

After Aleya and the others entered the cave again, Rhode did not leave because he wanted to verify his conjecture, and waited.

But the work outside had to continue, and Rhodes sent someone to deliver the new orders.

First, the newly discovered ordinary iron and copper mines will not be mined for the time being.

The mining site for the second mine in the territory has been cleared, and future iron ore production is sufficient.

The next focus is on ribbed iron ore.

This metal, which can directly boost military strength, must be mined at an accelerated pace.

To establish a mining base, basic supplies such as food, grain, torches, and daily necessities must be prepared.

In addition, manpower is needed for cutting down trees, building fences, and constructing wooden houses.

The road to the entrance also needs to be built, at least enough to allow oxcarts to pass.

Fortunately, it's not winter now, so as long as they are careful of mosquito bites, the slaves can work with all their might.

Secondly, Rhodes instructed Lawrence to send more manpower to the two iron mines to speed up the mining process.

The Mineral Lord is the last one; it only needs sixteen tons of metal to unlock.

Rhodes specifically instructed Lawrence to keep an eye on spring planting.

With more people engaged in farming, agricultural tools such as plows, hoes, and sickles need to be forged more quickly, and other matters can be postponed.

Seed selection can begin. All seeds that were moldy or spoiled last year must be discarded; we cannot be careless.

He gave instructions on a series of trivial matters, such as preparing manure, dredging irrigation ditches, etc.

If there is a shortage of manpower, militia members and reservists can also take time to join the spring plowing team.

For Frostleaf Town, spring plowing is the most important thing; everything else must give way to it.

After writing two pages of densely packed text, Rhodes handed the letter to Vivian.

Vivian took it with both hands, placed it in an envelope, and sealed it with wax.

“Your Excellency, you can actually relax and enjoy your vacation here.”

Vivian said softly, "They should be able to handle it."

"There's no need to gamble on this kind of thing. Giving a few more instructions won't be tiring."

Rod waved his hand. "Send it over."

"Yes, Your Excellency."

Vivian lifted the tent flap and went outside, delivering the letter to the guard, Cerf, and arranging for a messenger to return it to the village.

Rod also stepped out of the tent.

"It's almost time. Aleya and the others should have already passed the exploration point from last time."

Rhodes ordered, "Take a batch of supplies and we'll go into the cave to the supply point to wait for them."

"Yes, Your Excellency."

The guards immediately arranged for men to roll up the prepared dried meat, torches, animal hides, and other items together and carry them on their backs, then they went into the cave to clear the way.

Besides the hunting party and the Winter Guard, Vika the Lynx was also leading the way.

The cave is very spacious, at least four or five meters wide and more than two meters high, so there is no feeling of claustrophobia at all.

This made Rod very happy.

After clearing away the rubble and laying tracks, the minecarts can run inside without any obstruction.

Before long, Rhodes saw the spot where the Cave Spider Demon had once landed.

Once cleaned up, this spacious area can serve as a rest area for the miners.

Continuing onward, there was nothing special left but deep darkness.

However, since the area had already been explored and others had scouted ahead, all that was left for Rhodes was boredom.

After using up about two torches, Rhodes arrived at the supply station and saw the shimmering sea-patterned mafia ore on the rock wall.

"It's so beautiful..."

Rod personally held a torch and shone it on the rock wall, unable to resist gently stroking it with his hand.

The ore was cold, rough, and somewhat sharp, but Rod didn't care.

Even if you cut your hand while playing with gold, it's still a happy thing.

The white wolf understood Rhodes' feelings, but couldn't empathize, and listlessly licked the fur on its paws.

It did start shedding after staying in a hot place for a long time.

Just as Rhodes was savoring the wonders of the sea-patterned magic iron ore, the sound of light footsteps came from the cave below.

"your name!"

The guard stood at the corner and shouted into the room.

"Hunting Team Wolf!"

The person who came in was panting heavily and shouted.
"Quickly, go and report to the lord! We've discovered an underground river!"

……

……

"Crash..."

Before even reaching their destination, Rod heard the sound of flowing water.

A distinct dampness wafted over, carrying with it the rotten, sweet, and fishy smell of moss.

"My lord, please be careful, it's a bit slippery here."

Alaya whispered a reminder.

"It's alright, I'm not some pampered young nobleman."

Rhodes laughed and jumped off the stone platform. By the firelight, he saw the underground river.

Winding through the cave
The firelight cast shimmering reflections on the river, like countless ghosts swimming in the water.
The river was as black as ink, and you couldn't see very far. You could only see the reflection of the firelight swaying on the surface of the river, and the shadows of some fish.

How wide is this river?

Rod asked.

"About ten meters."

Alaya replied.

Then she pulled out a rocket, lit it, and shot it directly to the other side.

By the faint light of the fire, Rhodes was able to make out the general shape of the underground river.

It was like a giant sword ten meters wide, cleaving the cave in half.

"This underground river flows eastward, right?"

Rod turned his head with a smile.

Aleya nodded. "Yes, my lord."

Rhodes' smile widened. "Then it seems I was right."

"What are you guessing?" Aleya asked curiously.

Rhodes didn't say much, but ordered, "Continue exploring eastward, and you'll understand in a moment."

Just as Rod finished speaking, a loud noise suddenly came from the east.

　This part isn't finished; it wasn't intentionally left unfinished!
　　I checked the information on underground rivers carefully, but it's too late!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)