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

Chapter 245 Evolutionary Direction (6K)

……

……

In April, Frostleaf Town was bathed in the spring sunshine of the wilderness.

Rhodes sat on the Night Fury's back, swaying so much that he felt sleepy.

He only came to his senses when he saw the nascent city walls of Frostleaf Town.

Because of the segmented rolling construction method, the western section of the city wall is now towering, while the eastern section gradually decreases, making the whole wall look like a huge sloping trapezoid.

The stones were stacked neatly and orderly, with the highest point reaching six meters and the lowest point two meters high.

Although it was still a bit far from the originally planned ten meters, it had already made Frostleaf Town appear much more imposing.

At the foot of the city wall, layers of wooden frames were stacked tightly against the wall, forming a simple scaffolding to provide a working platform for the slaves.

Most notably, Rhodes designed a machine that was simple yet highly practical.

A sturdy wooden pole stands upright on the ground, with an iron pulley mounted at the top.

The rope passed through a pulley, with a wooden basket full of bricks and stones attached to one end, and was pulled up to the top of the city wall by several slaves at the other end.

Snow hare people and bricklayers moved back and forth on the scaffolding, smearing the walls with a mixture of lime and snow hare body fluids, and then laying the bricks one by one.

The city wall was built up layer by layer. After building up about two meters, the lime had to be allowed to dry and solidify for a week before the construction could continue.

Therefore, everyone gathered on a section of the city wall.

"It seems that the watchtower will also need to be put on the agenda..."

Just as Rod was talking to himself, a shout broke the noise of the construction site!
Rod looked up abruptly, his gaze quickly following the sound.

A raised patch of land was seen, upon which lay a man. The slaves below quickly surrounded him and used a ladder to lower him down.

After the man went down, the raised ground collapsed and disappeared completely.

"magic?"

Rod squinted, his gaze sweeping across the construction site, searching for the source of all this.

On the scaffolding, a short snow rabbit-man stood with his left hand on his hip and his right hand patting his chest, looking quite frightened.

……

……

Tatara breathed a sigh of relief as she looked at the figure below the scaffolding, who was unharmed.

He then looked down at his wet pants and felt a surge of anger.

She stood with her hands on her hips, her eyes burning with anger, pointing at the bricklayer who was climbing up the mound.

"Fuck, what are you doing?!"

Her voice was clear yet stern, "Where's your safety rope? Why isn't it fastened?!"

The bricklayer, Fak, stopped what he was doing, lowered his head, and said in a trembling voice, "I...I'm sorry, Lady Tatara, I wasn't paying attention..."

"Didn't you notice?"

Tatara, hands on her hips, flicked her ears and loudly reprimanded:
"I've said it so many times, safety is the most important thing!"

"You're apologizing to me now, but when you're crippled or even killed in the accident, that's when I'll be apologizing to your wife, Lord Sherry, and the lord!"

"If I don't keep a close eye on you, I'll be the one who killed you!"

Tatara grabbed a piece of burlap and wrapped it around her waist. "You just stand there and wait. I'll give you a good scolding when I get down here!"

Tatara nimbly climbed down the ladder and descended the scaffolding with her short legs.

Just as he was about to continue his reprimand, the surrounding slaves quickly made way for him.

"My lord!"

The slaves knelt down to pay their respects, and Rhodes casually raised his hand to signal them to stand up.

Rod looked Tatara up and down and asked, "Did you make that mound of dirt just now?"

Tatara, who had never seen her before, was still in a daze when she heard Rod's words and quickly bowed.

"It's the mound of earth that caught this person just now."

Rod, worried that Tatara might not have understood, added another sentence.

"I……"

Tatara muttered to herself, then suddenly remembered the scene and hurriedly said:

"When I saw him fall, I panicked and just wanted to catch him..."

Tatara's tone was full of uncertainty, "It should be me, right?"

"It's okay, we'll know once we take a test."

Rod smiled and said, "By the way, what's your name?"

"Excuse me, my lord, my name is Tatara Whiteclaw!"

Rod nodded slightly, looking at the man who had just fallen from the scaffolding.

"Half of your work points for this month will be deducted and given to Tatara."

Luo De's tone was calm and even, "She saved you, you have no objection, right?"

"No, no, it's only right, it's only right."

The bricklayer, Fak, dared not look directly at Rod, and could only lower his head and repeatedly respond.
"I will obey your orders, my lord."

Without wasting any more words, Rod withdrew his gaze and scanned the crowd.
“I believe Sherry has told you this countless times.”

"But I'll say it again today."

Rhodes' voice was loud and clear, without any anger, yet it exuded a suffocating pressure that made everyone feel suffocated.

"Safety must be taken seriously during construction. If you violate the regulations and cause death or disability, there will be no compensation."

"Your family will suffer, and you won't die in peace."

"Do you understand?"

"Yes, my lord!"

Everyone answered in unison, their voices trembling.

I don't know why, but even though I didn't do anything wrong, I was still incredibly nervous.

Rod didn't say anything more, turned around and looked at Tatara.

"Come on, come with me to the lord's manor."

"Yes, my lord."

Tatara quickly caught up with Rhodes with small, quick steps, hesitated for a moment, and whispered:

"My lord, could you please let me go change my trousers first?"

……

……

Before Rhodes even arrived at the manor, Avril, lifting her skirt, hurriedly went to greet him.

The moment she reached Rhodes, she pounced on him without hesitation, clinging to him like a sloth.

Completely devoid of her previous elegance, and disregarding the other people around, she forcefully kissed Rod.

Rhodes was still bewildered and could only passively accept it.

After a long while, when Rod was almost suffocating, he finally managed to push Avril away.

"Okay, you've already bitten me."

Rod let out a long sigh, reached out to smooth the messy hair from Avril's forehead, his eyes full of tenderness.

"It's only been a little over a month since I last saw you, how did you change like this?"

If Vivian hadn't been right next to him, Rhodes would have thought Vivian was wearing a dress.

"And you even said I almost thought I was going to lose you!"

Avril clung to Rhodes' neck, staring at him intently, her gaze lingering on him.

"It's alright, haven't you already seen it?"

Rhodes joked, "The gods of the old era can't take the lives of the lords of the new era, so you don't need to worry."

"I definitely want to go with you next time."

Avril looked at Rhodes earnestly, her tone pleading.

"talk later."

Rod changed the subject immediately and wrapped his arms tightly around Avril's waist.

If you don't want to answer a question, just avoid it.

"Alright, let's go. We still have important business to attend to."

Rod forcibly pulled Avril away and returned to the manor.

The passion that had been simmering for so long subsided somewhat after the deep kiss, and Avril gradually calmed down, regaining her original dignified and elegant aristocratic demeanor.

As Rod walked, he told Avril about what he had seen at the door.

Hearing that she might have another partner, Avril was very happy and waved to Tatara with a smile.

Upon returning to the manor, Avril immediately retrieved the crystal ball used for testing and patiently taught Tatara how to use it.

After Tatara removed her hand from the crystal ball, eleven and a half bright spots appeared on it.

"Tartara's mental strength has actually reached 11.5, almost 11.6!"

Avril's bright eyes sparkled with delight.
"That's even taller than Musen!"

"But we just started testing it a few months ago, how could someone suddenly have such high mental strength?"

Rod smiled without saying a word, and Avril immediately took out her previous notebook and started looking through it.

The record shows those whose mental strength reached nine points or above during their first test.

Avril checked it carefully.

Tatara's mental strength was 9.7 in the last test.

"It rose by almost two points at once."

Avril was even more surprised and stared at Rhodes, asking, "This is unbelievable, what's going on?"

Rod knew exactly what was going on.

The effect of the "Natural Overlord" attribute is to cause mutations in the inhabitants of the territory.

Of course, Rhodes cannot explain it that way.

"Who knows."

Rhodes chuckled casually, "The Snow Rabbits are, after all, a different race; they might have undergone a special awakening."

"This world holds many secrets beyond our imagination."

Upon hearing this, Avril gave Rhodes a meaningful look, but said nothing more.

"So Tatara is mine?" Avril asked with a smile.

"Alright, she's in your hands now. Remember to send someone to let Xue Rui know."

Rhodes added, "By the way, organize another mental test tomorrow."

“Okay, no problem.” Avril nodded.

Rod immediately stood up to leave, but Avril grabbed him.

"Where are you going?"

"Go take care of some important business."

Rod looked at Avril in surprise. "Is something the matter?"

"You haven't been back for so long..."

Avril tilted her head and looked at Rhodes, "Don't you miss me?"

After saying that, Avril quietly pointed towards the bedroom with her other hand under the table.

Rhodes was extremely frustrated.

Perhaps it was because they had experienced life and death.

Avril suddenly felt a bit like Vivian—she would never have been so direct in front of strangers before.

"Don't worry, I'll be back soon."

Rod looked at Avril seriously. "It's a very important matter."

Rod patted Avril's hand to comfort her.

"Ok."

Avril released Rod's hand.

Rod didn't stop, and went straight to the yard next door.

Thunder and Frost are already over two meters long, not counting their tails.

Their enormous size made them unsuitable for living in the manor, so they had long since moved outside.

As soon as Rod pushed open the door, Frost and Thunder, who were fighting, immediately separated by several meters and lay down under the shack.

When Rod came forward, she immediately obediently leaned closer.

The two of them would fight and play together, and Rod was used to it, so he usually didn't interfere.

"Now it's your turn."

Rhodes stroked Thunder's head, smiling as he murmured to himself.

"I left all those other attractive women to come here for you two, so don't let me down."

Thunder didn't quite understand Rhodes's meaning, and just kept flapping its wings vigorously, its deep blue vertical pupils filled with longing.

"Ready?"

Rod Rod took out a dagger and slashed his fingers.

"Then come on."

A surge of scorching energy coursed through his body. He placed his hands on Thunder's head, applying slight pressure, and his slender fingers began to glow faintly. It was an indescribable light, not the crimson of the flames within Rhodes' body, but rather a mixture of many colors.

It resembled the legendary multicolored black.

Light surged from Rhodes' palm, writhing like a living thing and covering Thunder's entire body.

Thunder sensed something, and its massive body began to tremble.

But Thunder showed no fear; his azure vertical pupils flickered with confusion.

"Ugh..."

Thunder's voice became hoarse, and light, like thin snakes, burrowed into Thunder's body through the gaps in its scales!

Strange ripples appeared on the surface of the thunder's scales, as if something was breaking free from its restraints from within.

"Click——"

His bones were creaking, and the muscles in Thunder's body were constantly contracting and pulsating.

"Ow—"

A deep dragon roar emanated from the depths of Thunder's throat.

That was no longer the roar of a wyvern, but a more majestic and ancient sound.

The light continued to surge, but it was no longer under Rhode's control.

Rhodes withdrew his hand.

Activating the true dragon bloodline was merely the trigger for Rhodes' actions; in fact, he only used a tiny fraction of his scorching energy.

Seeing Thunder's pained expression, Rod couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

Soon, Thunder's scales began to fall off, scattering in the air like withered autumn leaves, revealing its delicate skin underneath.

Complex patterns appeared on the skin, shimmering with a deep blue light.

Immediately afterwards, new scales began to grow.

These scales are larger and thicker than before.

Each of the new scales was grayish-white, like dark clouds on a rainy day.

The scales have fine textures on their surface, shimmering with a metallic luster in the sunlight.

The Thunder's head is also changing.

The dragon horns, which were originally somewhat rough, became longer and more slender, and the wings began to extend, completely enveloping Thunder's body.

Immediately afterwards, a semi-transparent substance began to seep from Lei Ting's body, flowing slowly like wax and covering his entire body.

"This is……"

Rod's eyes widened.

The translucent substance grew thicker and thicker, gradually solidifying to form a giant egg.

The egg surface has a milky grayish-white metallic luster, and soon layers of fine scales grow on it.

"Is this... a white dragon's egg?"

Rhodes frowned as he looked at the two-meter-long giant egg in front of him.

The True Dragon bloodline has nothing to do with the white dragon that Rhodes hunted; it comes entirely from the bloodline within Thunder's body.

Does the current grayish-white metallic sheen signify an uncertain direction of mutation?
"Never mind, just sleep peacefully."

Rhodes murmured, "Once you wake up, you'll know the direction of evolution."

After speaking, Rhodes turned to look at Frost.
"Now it's your turn."

……

……

Before evening, the frost had turned into a huge gray-white dragon egg.

In fact, awakening the true dragon bloodline is a very rapid process that takes only a few minutes.

Before awakening his bloodline, Rhode first planted the Seed of Nature in Frost's body, which took more time.

"Keep a close watch and don't allow anyone to come near."

Rhodes, who had stepped out of the courtyard, ordered the Winter Iron Guards, "Report any unusual activity to me immediately."

"Yes, Lord Lord!"

The Winter Guard nodded solemnly in response.

Rhodes glanced back twice, then returned to the manor.

The courtyard of the manor was already bustling with people.

Durant, Gunn, Ryan, Aleia, Saul, Sejuani, and others gathered around the long table that had been put together, and the campfire crackled and popped.

"Your Excellency, Baron!" "Your Excellency, Lord!"

Upon seeing Rhodes, everyone stood up and bowed.

Rhodes waved his hand, gesturing for everyone to sit down.

"I had some things to take care of, which made you wait a bit longer."

With a smile, Rhodes glanced at everyone and turned to Lawrence, instructing, "Let's begin the banquet."

"Yes, sir."

Lawrence nodded respectfully and turned gracefully to go to the kitchen.

“Your Excellency, it is our honor that you have invited us to dine with you.”

Durant said with a smile, "It's worth it for us to wait as long as it takes."

Gunther nudged Durant with his shoulder. "Durant, what are you talking about? Don't you always come here to freeload off the master?"

"Just shut up, Gunther."

Durant wasn't annoyed, and smiled back at Gunle, "Save your energy for tonight to deal with your lover who's been starving for a month."

"Hahaha……"

The crowd erupted in laughter and chatter, and soon they began to gossip amongst themselves.

Rod ignored it, smiling as he watched everyone, occasionally chiming in with a comment.

This is also the main reason why Rhodes hosted these trusted confidants for today's banquet.

Tomorrow will be the real victory celebration, but with all the soldiers around, everyone will inevitably be a bit reserved and just putting on a show.

Today, Rhodes treats it as a lord's banquet, a chance to get closer to everyone.

Rhodes didn't want to become a widow so soon.

Leah laid a linen tablecloth on the long table, and then the servants began to serve the food.

Roasted wild boar, roasted sea bass, a rich seafood platter, scallion venison hot pot, wild vegetable salad, bright red steamed crab... a variety of delicious dishes are served on the table.

There's an even wider variety of drinks, from regular ale to various fruit liqueurs specially made by Katie, with barrels of them displayed on the side.

To enhance the flavor, ice cubes were specially prepared.

Gunle's Adam's apple bobbed as he watched, while the white wolf uncontrollably drooled from the corner of his mouth.

Rod didn't keep everyone in suspense. As soon as he heard Leah say that all the dishes had been served, he stood up with his wine glass in hand.

A sound of chairs scraping against the floor rang out, and everyone stood up in unison, raising their glasses.

"I never expected to have such brave warriors under my command. I didn't prepare a large restaurant, so you'll have to make do with eating out."

Rhodes's gaze swept over everyone. "The next victory will surely be held in a spacious and bright hall."

"For the next victory!"

Rod shouted, "Cheers!"

"For the next victory! To our Lord!"

Everyone shouted in unison and drank the wine in their glasses in one gulp.

"Come on, let's begin the feast!"

At Rhodes's command, the sound of clashing knives and forks instantly rang out.

Without any regard for appearances, Gunther reached out and grabbed a large crab onto his plate, reminding Durant that the crab was delicious.

Apart from Sao and Wolf Hoof, everyone at the table knew that the sea crabs were delicious, and they were all gone in the blink of an eye.

Fortunately, the kitchen staff had anticipated this, and Leah immediately arranged for the servants to bring out two more dishes.

When Durant saw that Talbot and others didn't know how to eat it, he took the initiative to go up and teach them how to peel the shell and braise the meat.

It must be said that these people ate the crabs very cleanly; even though Rod warned them that the crab gills were inedible, they still swallowed them.

More than a month of living in the wilderness had left everyone's stomachs quite empty, so Rod did not disturb them while they ate.

After seeing that everyone had almost finished eating, Rod pulled Avril's hand and gave her a meaningful look.

"I, can I do it?"

Avril asked in a low voice.

Although Rod had given instructions before the dinner to let the hostess speak.

But when it really came down to it, Avril couldn't help but hesitate.

"Row."

Rod nodded encouragingly without hesitation and filled her glass.

Avril clenched her fist, picked up her wine glass, and slowly stood up.

Upon seeing this, Durant's eyes lit up with surprise, and he immediately turned his head.

"Quiet, Madam has something to say!"

Everyone put down their cutlery, and even Sejuani, who didn't understand Common Tongue, sat down at Kyle's prompting.

Avril Lavigne took off her robe today and wore a dark blue dress with a tight corset that perfectly showed off her slender waist.

The long dress was perfectly tailored, maintaining the dignity expected of a noblewoman without concealing her innate elegance.

Her long, golden hair cascaded down her shoulders like a waterfall, with a few strands gently brushing against her fair cheeks.

In the firelight, every strand of hair shimmered with a warm glow.

"Brave warriors."

Avril Lavigne's voice is gentle and clear.

"Thank you for your heroic fight for this land, for our home."

"Without your courage and sacrifice, there would be no victory celebration tonight."

Avril bowed slightly, greeting everyone.

"Thank you for bringing my man back safe and sound."

"Homage to all warriors."

"Madam Jing!"

Everyone followed Avril's lead and drank it all in one gulp.

But this was not the end; Avril, along with Leah, personally poured drinks for everyone.

This action made everyone stand up nervously, their faces full of tension.

Gunther was so excited he almost jumped out of his chair, holding his wine glass in both hands, head bowed, avoiding Avril's gaze.

"Madam, you're too kind!"

With a flushed face, Gunle shouted, "Don't worry, whoever tries to harm the lord or you will have to step over my dead body!"

“I’m glad you said that, Gunther, but I think Baron Rhodes would have preferred you to be alive.”

Upon hearing this, Gunle became even more excited and downed the entire glass of wine.

Avril Lavigne poured Sejuani a drink as well, still with a smile on her face.
“Your bravery is admirable; Vivian told me all about it.”

When Sejuani heard Avril speak in a foreign language, she looked surprised and immediately bowed her head in greeting.

Avril's smile remained unchanged, her voice soft.
"Welcome to Blackpine Ridge, Miss Sejuani, leader of the Ice Clan."

"This will be your home from now on. Let me know if you need anything."

Avril gently took Sejuani's hand, noticing the calluses and scars on it. "I have some scar removal ointment. I'll send someone to deliver some to you tomorrow."

"Thank you for your generosity and kindness, madam."

Sejuani tried to lower her voice, making it less loud and rough.

"Your beauty and elegance are so stunning that they make the stars in the night sky pale in comparison."

Even when talking to Rhodes, Sejuani had never been this nervous.

After Avril finished listening, she patted her big hand.

"You are like the glaciers of the Icefield Mountains, beautiful and resilient."

After Avril finished speaking, she left with Leah and moved on to the next person.

Sejuani breathed a sigh of relief and couldn't help wiping the sweat from her forehead.

Rhodes watched all this from the main seat, in high spirits, a slight smile creeping onto his lips.

"Hey Lawrence, you brought back quite a few crabs?"

Rod asked, "Did you bring them all back using the refrigerator?"

"Yes, sir."

Lawrence excitedly reported, "It's amazing! The seafood was still alive when we brought it back from the refrigerator!"

"Oh?"

Rhodes was somewhat surprised, "It didn't freeze into an ice cube?"

“Some have them, some don’t. Musen made two kinds of refrigerators!” Lawrence replied in a low voice.

"Ah, yes, refrigeration and freezing."

Rhodes nodded, his eyes shining.
"It was just my idea originally, but I didn't expect Musen to actually make it happen."

Rhodes stood up.
"Come on, take me to see the refrigerator."

(End of this chapter)