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

Chapter 244 Knight Squad? The Knight Order!

……

……

In late spring, Black Pine Ridge finally shed the lingering chill and embraced the delicate hand of the spring breeze.

In this most comfortable season, Makuru took off his heavy bearskin coat, sat on horseback, and surveyed the vast procession.

The caravan stretched for hundreds of meters like a giant dragon.

More than a dozen horse-drawn carriages rolled across the muddy dirt road, their low creaking sounds echoing as they crossed the border between the border town and Black Pine Ridge.

The truck was loaded with food, seeds, and all sorts of daily necessities, followed by hundreds of ragged refugees.

The convoy was followed by fifty well-equipped soldiers, and behind them was a guard selected from the refugees, who nervously watched everything around them with spears in hand.

Just then, dozens of figures appeared in front of the caravan.

Makuru reined in his arms, his eyes fixed on the flags in the procession ahead, then he looked up at the eagles circling in the sky.

"It's the patrol team from Black Pine Ridge."

Only the patrol team from Black Pine Ridge, each member of the patrol team, wore fine chainmail and carried a longbow.

Sure enough, the young, burly man rode forward, then took out his badge and shouted.
"Which one of you is Lord Makuru Wheel?"

"I'm."

Makuru spurred his horse forward with a slight push of his feet, displaying the insignia and seal of the caravan manager.

"Good morning, Lord Makuru."

The burly man nodded slightly in greeting.

“I am Hack Giantwood, the captain of the first patrol team in the south. I am now in charge of escorting the caravan until we reach Frostleaf Town.”

"Thank you, Captain Hack."

With a smile on his face, Makuru said, "With you and your teammates around, I feel at ease now."

Without exchanging pleasantries, the patrol captain nodded slightly in response and then turned to wave to the team.

The patrol soldiers quickly dispersed to both sides of the caravan.

Not long after the patrol took over the defense, a bearded captain rode up to Makuru on his horse.
"Since it's Lord Baron Rhodes's team that's here to meet us, then we should leave."

"Captain Uluntu, is there no need to be in such a hurry?"

Makuru was slightly taken aback, then invited, "You must have had a hard time escorting me all this way. Why don't you rest for a couple of days in Frostleaf Town and give me a chance to properly thank you?"

"No need, we are just carrying out the task assigned by our Viscount."

Uluntu smiled and said, "The mission is complete, so we should head back. There are still many things to take care of."

"Alright, then I won't delay your schedule any longer."

Makuru dismounted and took a heavy money bag from his bundle.

"Thank you for protecting me along the way."

Makuru's voice boomed as he handed the money bag to Uluntu with both hands, saying, "This is a reward for the brothers' hard work."

Uluntu waved his hand, his tone firm: "The Viscount has ordered that we will not accept the reward."

He looked directly at Makuru, his eyes revealing a hint of sincerity.

"The Viscount wishes to establish a friendship with Lord Baron Rhodes, and this escort is a gesture of goodwill from our Viscount."

Makuru nodded.

"I will convey the goodwill of Viscount Giant Bear, but please accept these meager copper coins as well."

Makuru pushed the money bag forward.
"Don't be shy, this is for the brothers to drink."

"Everyone is welcome to come to Frostleaf Town anytime. I'll join you all for a good drink then!"

Uluntu hesitated for a moment, then took the money bag, a slight smile playing on his lips: "Okay, thanks."

"I am the one who should be thanking you."

Makuru said with a smile, "I look forward to seeing you again."

"See you."

Uluntu then turned and waved, and the twenty soldiers turned their horses around and galloped toward the distant wasteland.

Makuru watched Uluntu and the others leave, then, regaining his senses, glanced at the refugees and trucks behind him.

Then Makuru and the patrol captain exchanged a smile. "Let's go, Captain Hack."

"Ok."

The patrol captain waved his hand and shouted, "Let's go back to Frostleaf Town!"

The caravan restarted, its wheels rolling over the muddy ground, slowly making its way towards Frostleaf Town.

Behind a pine forest a few miles behind the caravan, a man in tattered clothes stopped and watched the caravan leave.

"There must be at least eight hundred refugees... Can Black Pine Ridge afford to support them?"

He murmured to himself, his eyes filled with shock.

"Forget it, it has nothing to do with me. These are issues for men to think about."

The man lay on the ground and slowly backed away.

Several days later, in the basement of Rose Manor.

"Madam, it really was Gray Rat who saw it with his own eyes."

The gaunt man knelt before Lady Rose.
"There are at least eight hundred refugees, or even more!"

"Yes, I believe that everyone in the border town knows that Baron Black Pine Ridge is collecting slaves."

Lady Rose gently touched the ruby ​​ring on her finger, a look of doubt in her eyes.
"But can Frostleaf Town support so many people?"

The gaunt man bowed his head, his voice respectful: "Madam, their caravan has a lot of grain, perhaps for these refugees?"

"Frostleaf Town recently received six or seven hundred refugees, and even ten more truckloads of food wouldn't be enough."

Lady Rose frowned. "Frostleaf Town is truly a mystery... Is there no other news?"

"No further news recently..."

The gaunt man swallowed hard, his hands trembling slightly beneath his cloak.
"The defenses at Black Pine Ridge are too tight; our men were captured as soon as they entered the wilderness."

"And what about the spies you sent out?" Lady Rose asked, somewhat displeased.

"Ivan... no one knows where he is. Some say he died of exhaustion, others say he was taken away."

"Where did you take it?" Lady Rose asked, squinting her eyes.

"No, I don't know, we haven't found him in so long..."

"You guys are really useless; you can't even bring back a single piece of information."

Lady Rose stroked her chin and said calmly, "If it weren't for the fact that you do so well in other towns, we would have hired you to grow roses long ago."

"Yes, yes, you're right,"

The gaunt man trembled uncontrollably. "Thank you for your mercy!"

"Since you can't get into Black Pine Ridge, then just leave it alone for now."

Lady Rose pondered for a moment, then ordered, "Keep a close eye on the lords in the west first."

"No problem, madam!"

The gaunt man breathed a sigh of relief, then suddenly remembered something and asked, "By the way, madam, what about Ivan's family...? Did you bring them some roses?"

"Forget it, let's just sell it."

Lady Rose added, "Sell them to the south."

"Yes, ma'am."

The gaunt man responded, bowed, and slowly withdrew.

“Rhodes…”

Lady Rose murmured softly, her smile growing increasingly cold.

"Little one, what secret are you hiding?"

Looking at the flickering lamplight on the table, Lady Rose sighed softly.

"It seems I'll have to spend some gold coins to figure this out."

……

……

"Ah! Ahh!"

Rhodes, who was holding three blue gems, sneezed several times.

The cold touch in his hands made Rod feel a little uncomfortable.

Frost Gem, this isn't suitable for me, I'll keep it as material for now.

Rhodes looked at Durant and asked, "Is this the only green Life Stone?"

Durant nodded and replied.

"Yes, Your Excellency, there is only one."

"Ok."

Rhodes felt somewhat helpless.

It takes at least five Life Gems to fully restore.

Of course, if given enough time, eating, exercising, and getting nutrition every day can also restore Rhodes' vitality.

But it will be very, very slow; you still need to collect life gems and life potions.

If all else fails, spend some money.

“Your Excellency, we have also found a mirror.”

Durant reported, "This should be the one you're looking for."

Rhodes' eyes lit up slightly.
"Bring it over here quickly."

"Yes, my lord!"

Durant quickly ran back and had someone bring over a leather bag that was about half his height.

A metal mirror about half a person's height, covered with fine patterns.

Its design is simple and rustic, revealing a primitive and wild style.

It is very similar to the illustrations in classical texts.

"The Mirror of Truth..."

Rhodes originally thought it was buried underground, but he never expected it to be in the lizardmen's treasure cave.

That makes sense, though; useless treasures should be kept in a treasure cave.

Rhode circled around, examining the Mirror of True Sight, and then attempted to communicate with it using his mental power.

Immediately, a feeling of resistance arose.

There is a spiritual imprint on it that Rhodes finds extremely irritating—it should be the spiritual imprint of a great shaman.

The great shaman is dead, and his spiritual imprint is insignificant.

Rhodes once again mobilized his mental energy and launched a fierce attack on the mark.

With a cracking sound, an invisible shattering occurred, and the gray mirror suddenly rippled before turning blank.

At this moment, Rhodes was also able to communicate with the mirror.

Next, as long as Rhodes leaves his own mental imprint and then places another person's imprint on it, he can monitor that person.

Rod suddenly remembered something, turned to Vivian and said:

"Have Lawrence send someone to tell Chris to stop hiding in the mountains and growing flowers."

"His vacation is over, he needs to come back and get back to work!"

“Yes, Your Excellency.” Vivian nodded repeatedly.

Suddenly having another useful person, Rod was in high spirits. He turned to Durant and gave the order:
"Keep this Mirror of Truth safe for now, and we'll study how to use it when we get back to the manor."

"Yes, Your Excellency."

Durant waved his hand, and the soldiers picked up the Mirror of True Sight and carried it away.

Then Durant had someone bring over the remaining materials for Rod to see.

The rest were mostly common items found in the tribe, such as ores, animal hides, and herbs; there were no special items.

"We've also located the mineral vein."

Durant handed over the map with both hands, saying, "Everything is marked on the map."

"it is good."

Rhodes waved his hand, signaling Vivian to put the map away.

"Alright, Durant," Rhodes instructed Durant.
"Next, you will carry out what I just told you and eliminate all the alien races as soon as possible."

"No problem, Your Excellency."

Durant nodded vigorously, then turned and left with great enthusiasm.

After finishing all that, Rhodes stretched, got up, and returned to his tent to begin his cultivation.

After arranging other matters, Rhodes' main task now is to practice meditation.

Then, one by one, the Seeds of Nature were planted into the bodies of the loyal Winter Guards.

The more Rhodes planted, the greater the profit.

Not only can it slowly restore the burning energy, but it also makes cultivation more efficient.

As for the improvement in mental strength, I haven't felt it yet.

It's probably because there are too few natural seeds being planted now.

Rhodes' goal is to completely eliminate the need for his own cultivation, relying solely on the Seed of Nature to collect "interest" from others.

So now that he has enough energy, Rod begins to plant the Seeds of Nature.

Of course, the seeds of nature should not be sown in vain.

Now all the Winter Guardians have planted the Seed of Nature.

Rod asked Durant to teach them the breathing techniques.

With the bonus to constitution from Rhodes's stats, plus the talent boost from Seed of Nature, and the Knight's Roar Potion after returning to Frostleaf Town, he can further enhance his abilities.

Rhodes believed he could achieve this, mass-producing knights.

In the future, Black Pine Ridge will no longer have small cavalry squads, but rather a large cavalry force of a hundred men.

This is just the smallest goal at present.

The bigger goal is a thousand-strong knightly order.

This is not a dream.

In ancient times, the mere aid of wizard potions could make knights as numerous as dogs throughout the world.

Now that Rhodes has not only potions, but also entries and the Seed of Nature, he can definitely do it.

Once the Knights arrive, no one can stop them.

Currently, Rhodes is still 991 men short of his legion.

……

……

Rhodes continued his practice until nightfall.

After dinner, we started "remote work" and listened to Vivian's report.

“My Lord, the foundations for our town have been dug, and most of the city walls have been built. The rest has been handed over to the bricklayers and slaves.”

Vivian opened her notebook and reported the details one by one.

Many Snow Rabbits can be mobilized. Sheri asks, "What project are you going to handle next?"

"The second thing is that Makuru has returned with a group of 813 refugees."

"Lawrence requests that you arrange these people."

"Thirdly, Musen has already made the refrigerator, just as you instructed."

Rhodes nodded and instructed without hesitation, "Tell Sherry that the construction team will have a three-day holiday after the city wall is completed."

A ten-meter-high city wall cannot be built all at once; it must be built in batches, with the lower layer of lime mortar solidifying and drying before continuing.

Rod wanted to take a week off, but he had too much work to do right now and couldn't afford too much vacation.

"The slaves will rest for a day, and then Sherry will need to repair the lord's manor."

"The current lord's manor is too small. Expand it according to the plan I gave before."

"Have your sister bring the blueprints to him; they're in my studio."

"Ok."

Vivian quickly wrote it down.

"As for those refugees."

Rhodes thought for a moment before speaking again.
“Land reclamation should not be finished yet. Send all the experienced farmers to Otto.”

"Then two hundred men were assigned to follow Chris to Razor Plains to establish a new settlement."

"I've already found that spot."

"Razor Plains is not a threat now; it's just a large area of ​​fertile land waiting to be developed. We need to deal with it as soon as possible."

"Another two hundred men were assigned to Bronn to manage the farmland in Icewind Town."

Ice Peak Valley has a lot of arable land, and it shouldn't be left to waste just because there's no one there. Rhode should plant it all.

“If he can’t do it himself, have him mark the locations of all the farmland in Ice Peak Valley on a map for me.”

"Send Musen's refrigerator directly to Blade's Edge Mountains and let them transport seafood to test the effect."

Rod was still unsure about Musen's refrigerator, what its specific effects were, and he needed to go back and see for himself to see if it would work.

"Yes, Your Excellency."

Vivian wrote everything down and tried her best to remember it so that Avril on the other side could know.

"Sir, Lawrence said that more than 800 people have arrived, and it seems that we do not have enough room for them to live."

Vivian relayed this.

"Those slave dormitories expanded underground, digging basements, and that was the second thing assigned to Sherry."

Rhodes had already planned out his own ideas.

"From now on, all prisoners of war who do not listen to advice or are not obedient will be sent to live in the underground dormitory."

"Also, tell Sherry..."

Rhodes thought for a while.

"Forget it, this matter doesn't belong to Sherry, let's leave it to Lawrence."

"Have Lawrence clear the land outside Frostleaf Town, cut down all the trees in that area, and then build a drainage ditch."

"And while you're at it, prepare a large quantity of timber for me."

The town is not big enough, so villages need to be built around it.

When war breaks out, the people inside will be released into the town.

As for the future, the goal is to build an outer city.

Vivian nodded, and upon hearing Rhodes mention timber, she suddenly remembered something and spoke up.

"Oh, by the way, sir, on the day you hunted the white dragon, many trees in the manor withered and died."

"We initially thought it was a minor issue, but today the patrol team discovered that many pine forests had withered and died..."

"fine."

Rod knew what was going on, and smiled indifferently, "Chop them all down if there's nothing wrong, take them back to town as firewood."

"But remember to level the land."

Rhodes instructed, "Have Lawrence send people to cultivate some more saplings."

"We can't keep cutting down trees; we still need to plant trees in some places."

As the saying goes, it takes ten years to grow a tree.

Although there are countless trees in Black Pine Ridge, it is necessary to prepare in advance for planting trees.

Who knows how many trees will be sacrificed next time?

Rhodes suddenly remembered something important and gave the order:

"By the way, have Avril and Bloom write me a territory transfer agreement."

"After they finished writing it, they sent someone to deliver it to me directly."

Based on the experience in Icebreath Hills, once an agreement is reached, the territory can be incorporated into the Rhodes territory.

How do we calculate the Frozen Wasteland?

With the lord's fate unknown, wouldn't this land be considered unclaimed territory?
In principle, his family could take over.

Rhodes was somewhat perplexed.

After thinking for a moment, Rhodes instructed, "Send someone to the Frozen Bone Wasteland to build me a simple mountain stronghold, just big enough for people to live in."

"Yes, Your Excellency."

Vivian took out her pen and wrote down everything Rod said.

Her wrists were already a little sore, but she still meticulously recorded every detail.

Seeing her focused expression, Rod reached out and pulled Vivian into his arms.
"You must be exhausted these past few days."

"It's okay, it's just that my hand hurts from writing."

Vivian laughed and flicked her wrist.

Even a tiny piece of flesh from the white dragon's body was worth a fortune, and Vivian had to keep a close eye on it and record everything to prevent any omissions.

On the other hand, he also needs to communicate with Avril to arrange the use of various parts of the white dragon's body.

"Then you don't need to keep watch tonight, leave it to Vika and the others."

Rod lifted Vivian up in his arms.

"As a reward for you, you don't need to move; I'll personally help you relax."

……

……

Rhodes spent two weeks in the Icefield Mountains.

The white dragon's corpse was transformed into boxes of chilling materials.

There were too many of them, so the giant wolves, who had only recently awakened, became pack animals and carried the dragon away piece by piece.

It's worth mentioning that the giant wolf, once it regained consciousness, became even smarter, its fur began to turn white, and its breath carried a chill.

Their bodies exhibit distinct energy fluctuations, eliminating the need for frost resistance potions and enabling them to withstand the frigid conditions of the Icefield Mountains.

The white wolf felt that they already had the roots of magical beasts within them, and began to try to teach them to use frost energy to release spells.

After the white dragon's corpse was decomposed, a large portion of it was transported to the Sea Abyss Wizard Tower for storage.

Those in charge of transportation all possess the Seed of Nature bestowed upon them by Rhodes.

The white dragon's corpse was simply too large, and the material quality was far too extraordinary; Rhodes couldn't use it for the time being.

Forcing its use would be a waste of its potential.

Only a small portion of the dragon's blood and organs were valuable, and they were taken out of the Icefield Mountains and loaded onto the carriage.

However, apart from the army, no one knew what these things covered with animal skins were.

The army was also given a strict order that no one was allowed to leak the news.

Otherwise, Black Pine Ridge would become the target of everyone's criticism.

Even the title of Rhodes Dragon Slayer cannot be revealed for the time being.

"What a pity, such an imposing dragon head cannot be displayed in the lord's manor."

In the underground warehouse of the Abyss Wizard Tower, Rhode looked at everything before him and couldn't help but sigh.

Rhodes also wanted to show off his great achievements, but the situation was unclear, so he could only play it safe.

"And this dragon crystal."

Rhodes turned to look to the side.

Inside the frost-covered box, an irregularly shaped crystal the size of a fist lay quietly.

A beautiful crystal blending ice blue and silvery white, with a surface as smooth as ice.

It was filled with white silk threads, and deep within its center, a faint, cold white mist was slowly swirling, as if there were living things inside.

If this thing were made into a magic staff, it could probably be called a divine artifact.

But now, it can only lie quietly in the dark and cold underground.

Let alone use it, no one can even touch it with their hands.

Because it can instantly freeze flesh and blood into ice sculptures.

Even the white wolf, who had taken a frost resistance potion, dared not hold it for too long.

"Forget it, let this thing that's ahead of its time just stay here for now."

Rhodes sighed, "Perhaps only by conquering the empire can I conquer you."

(End of this chapter)