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

Chapter 250 Flowers in Full Bloom with Magic

……

……

In the flickering firelight, the Seed of Nature, shimmering with emerald light, drifted toward the Stone Dragon.

The little stone dragon flapped its wings, circling back and forth around the Seed of Nature, examining it closely.

"Hurry up, maintaining its existence will consume my energy."

Rod urged, "If you don't want it, I'll take it back. Don't waste my time."

As he spoke, the Seed of Nature floated back toward Rhodes.

"Yes, I want it!"

Little Stone Dragon shouted, "Of course I want it!"

Rhodes glanced at the Stonebreaker Dragon, then activated the Seed of Nature to approach it.

"Accept it, don't resist, otherwise I won't have a second one for you."

"Ok, I know!"

The Stone Dragon met the Seed of Nature, and the moment they touched, the light of the Seed of Nature disappeared into the Stone Dragon's body.

The little dragon's body trembled slightly, but it returned to normal in an instant.

"It feels... strange..."

The little dragon's voice sounded somewhat confused.
"It nourishes me and makes me feel relaxed, but it also seems to be absorbing my energy..."

"Ok?"

Rhodes was also somewhat puzzled.

At this moment, Rhodes clearly felt a strange energy flowing into his body, stimulating his mind.

It feels like the sensation during meditation.

"This feeling is normal,"

Rhodes looked at the little stone dragon, "But it will only be as obvious as you said during cultivation."

"Practice?"

The Stone Dragon raised its voice, "We dragons don't need to cultivate; sleeping is the greatest form of cultivation!"

Rhodes suddenly realized.

The true strength of a dragon increases naturally with age.

You don't have to do anything; as long as you live long enough, a fledgling dragon can grow from the fourth tier to the eighth or ninth tier, or even become a legendary dragon.

The legendary dragons of ancient times are worlds apart from the legendary knights of today.

The latter is at most a general who can take the head of an enemy general from among ten thousand troops, but the former can destroy ten thousand troops with a single breath.

Although the Stonebreaker Dragon is now a "Bound Earth Dragon," it is still fundamentally a dragon soul with a deep foundation, which is why Rhodes felt a significant mental fluctuation.

"Then you should rest well here, get plenty of sleep, and recharge your energy."

Rhodes said to the Stone Dragon, "When I get back, I'll look for other ways to help you."

"Lord Rhodes, you are truly a kind human being!"

The Stone Dragon loudly praised Rhodes, "You are the best human I have ever met, apart from my old companion."

"Thank you for the compliment."

Rhodes waved his hand casually; a compliment from an amnesiac dragon soul wouldn't bring much sense of accomplishment.

Rhodes did not linger and led his team away from the cave.

……

……

The next morning, the sun was shining brightly.

Rhodes led his team back to Frostleaf Town.

Considering the earth dragon's habitat, Rhode decided to leave it outside the town for a few days.

As soon as he returned to the lord's manor, Lawrence came up to him and asked about the victory celebration banquet.

Since the ingredients couldn't be left out for too long, Rhodes asked Lawrence to schedule it for tonight.

After settling Lawrence's affairs, he went straight to the manor hall.

"My dear, you're back just in time!"

Rhodes walked to the center of the courtyard, and Avril hurriedly ran over, lifting her skirt.
"I have something to show you."

Excitement gleamed in her eyes as she grabbed Rod's hand and ran toward her studio.

What's making you so excited?

Rhodes was somewhat curious.

You'll see it soon!

Avril dragged Rod into the house and closed the door behind her.

Unlike Rod's studio, Avril's room was filled with a faint fragrance of flowers and plants.

Various ancient books were neatly arranged on the wooden table, and the quill pen was still dipped in ink.

It's obvious that Avril was just studying something.

"look at this."

Avril pointed to a wooden box next to the wooden table.

The box was very large, about half a person's height, and filled with all sorts of odds and ends.

Animal hides, bone ornaments, and oddly shaped stones.

"Isn't this something I collected from the great shaman?"

Rod walked forward with some curiosity and examined it closely.

Since Rod didn't recognize anything inside, he left it all to Avril to handle.

Rod put his arm around Avril's slender waist.
"Have you discovered anything that will broaden my horizons?"

Avril crouched down and picked up an irregularly shaped polyhedron carved from bone from the surface of the box.

The polyhedron was about the size of a peach, old and whitish, with several strange runes carved on it and some cracks.

"Guess what this is?"

"How am I supposed to guess? I don't recognize any of the symbols on this."

Rod gently pinched Avril's lower back, looking into her bright eyes, and suddenly understood.
"Wait a minute, if you're going to let me guess, it must be something I'm looking for, not just some wild guess..."

Rod squinted and the corners of his mouth turned up.
"Is this the ancestral sarcophagus of the Lynx people?"

"You're so smart, darling!"

Avril held up the polyhedron in her hand. "That's it!"

"You asked me to organize these items, and this is the first thing I took out."

"It took me half a day to find the meaning of the runes in the magic array's text."

She pointed to the twisted lines carved on the surface of the box.
"These are runes for preserving the soul."

Rhodes nodded slightly and took the multifaceted object. "If you hadn't discovered the runes, who would have known this was an ancestral casket?"

"This isn't a box; it can't hold anything."

Rod couldn't help but make a sarcastic remark.

Rhodes, Kyle, and Vika all searched through the pile of items, but none of them realized that it was the so-called Ancestral Casket.

Everyone assumed it was at least a box.

I didn't expect it to be just a bone.

"how to use?"

Rhodes held up the ancestral casket and asked Avril.

Since Avril is certain that this is the ancestral shrine of the Lynx people, it must have been used before.

"Mental communication is sufficient; the restrictions above have long since disappeared."

Avril thoughtfully reminded him:
"But be gentle when you go in, don't be too rough, it's very delicate inside."

"I wouldn't dare try any of what you've suggested."

Rod smiled helplessly.

This involves the legacy of the Lynx people, so Rhodes dared not be careless.

"It's okay, you're very gentle."

Avril encouraged him, "You are the gentlest man!"

"You will coax me."

Rhodes shook his head helplessly, closed his eyes, and carefully mobilized his spiritual energy, probing towards the ancestral spirit box little by little.

A chilling coldness gradually crept in, and strange mist slowly appeared in Rhodes's field of vision.

Immediately afterwards, a series of images flashed through my mind.

A lynx cub crouched in the grass, its amber eyes fixed on the rabbit ahead.

“Stay still, Sasu,”

The old lynx man said in a low voice, "The wind will tell you the location of your prey."

The cub's nostrils trembled slightly.

It captures the scents in the air.

Suddenly, he shot out like an arrow, his claws precisely pressing down on the rabbit's nape, killing it instantly.

Screen transition.

As dusk fell, the lynx-man, now grown up, lurked behind a boulder, watching the approaching giant bear.

"Pay close attention to everything around you and try to blend in with it."

The lynx-man took a deep breath, his body began to blur, and his fur gradually turned into a grayish-brown like the boulder before disappearing completely.

The giant bear searched carefully beside the boulder, but found no trace of the lynx-man. It scratched its head in confusion and turned to leave.

Just as the giant bear turned around, the lynx-man pounced on its hindquarters.

The dagger traced a perfect arc and plunged deep into the giant bear's neck.

Blood splattered, and the giant bear roared madly.

The lynx-man leaped onto the boulder again, his figure quickly disappearing into the darkness.

The giant bear searched frantically, but still couldn't find any trace of the lynx-man.

The lynx man jumped out again when it lowered its guard.

After several repetitions, the giant bear finally collapsed to the ground.

The screen flickered again.

The lynx man is middle-aged now...

……

In a brief moment, the life of a Lynx assassin unfolded before Rhodes' eyes.

To be precise, it was the life of a lynx hunter.

From infancy to old age, life, learning, cultivation, and battles—all sorts of scenes.

It contains various combat experiences, survival skills, talent awakening experiences, and so on.

Rhodes slowly opened his eyes and exclaimed, "No wonder Vika wanted this Ancestral Spirit Box so much. With it, the Lynx people's strength will soon take a big leap forward!" More importantly, with the Ancestral Spirit Box, the Seed of Nature in Vika's body can truly take effect.

"Oh, right!"

Rod suddenly remembered something and pressed Avril down into a chair.

"What's wrong?" Avril asked curiously.

Rhodes smiled mysteriously.
"I'll plant a seed for you."

……

……

After all that fuss, Avril leaned against the table, slowly straightening her clothes.

Rhodes sat in his chair and asked leisurely, "You should feel a noticeable improvement when you meditate."

"Ok, I know."

Avril smiled and nodded, "These memories are in Vivian's mind, but not in the later parts."

"I was too tired when I was in the Icefield Mountains, I didn't have the energy to concentrate."

Rod smiled casually, then asked, "By the way, how did the retest go?"

"Excellent! We've picked out thirteen children with mental strength exceeding ten points!" Avril's face was full of joy.

"so much?"

Rod was somewhat surprised, but upon further reflection, it seemed normal.

The territory currently has nearly four thousand people, which, considering the influence of the "Natural Great Lord" attribute, is not a large number based on probability.

"No one with a strong spirit has been selected from among the Snow Rabbits."

Avril sighed, "We've discovered another snow rabbit who can manipulate earth elements, but his mental strength is less than ten points."

"Furthermore, I discovered that despite her hard work, Franny's meditation efficiency was very low."

“I did some research, and it seems that people like Frani, who are of a different race, should focus on stimulating and enhancing their bloodline power rather than simply learning.”

"Yes, I know. You can arrange these things."

Rhodes agreed without hesitation: "What materials do you need? I'll send someone to collect them for you."

While other races may have the advantage of bloodline, they are far inferior to humans in terms of acquired cultivation, meditation, and learning.

They rely more on mutations.

However, it's still unknown how difficult it is to improve one's bloodline.

"Also, those three girls at the farm you told me about, they really are witches,"

Avril said, "But only one person has a mental strength exceeding ten points."

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it."

Although he was a little disappointed, Rod understood that this was normal.

A witch's mental strength is not necessarily strong; it's just that the probability of her having strong mental strength is far greater than that of an ordinary person.

Avril continued, "I did some research, and it turns out that Celia's ability is a kind of enchantment. Animals that eat her enchanted food will have a much stronger affinity for her."

"There's also Ora who sings; her voice has a bewitching quality, and her mental strength is 10.7."

"The last one, Lutherine, had a natural fragrance that attracted animals."

Rhodes nodded thoughtfully. "This Ora sounds like a pretty good witch."

Ora's mental strength is not low, and her seductive singing voice is likely a direct mental attack.

Enhancing one's mental strength could potentially be used to charm more intelligent groups—such as humans.

That would be a terrifying area-of-effect attack.

"Hmm, I'll look for some information; perhaps we can give him special training."

Avril immediately understood Rhodes's intention, and changed the subject, saying in a low voice...

"I just feel that there are a bit too many witches in our Black Pine Ridge."

"We were lucky, weren't we?"

Rhodes casually remarked, "After all, we still have Millie as our lucky charm."

Rod remained calm and casually placed the hat on Millie's head.

"Okay, that sounds reasonable."

Avril looked at Rod and nodded helplessly.

Rod didn't want Avril to delve too deeply into this topic, so he quickly changed the subject.
"By the way, why are there only witches?"

Why are there no male wizards among humans?

"There really is one."

Avril's eyes lit up, and a smug smile appeared on her face as she introduced:

"I've looked into this problem!"

Avril sat naturally on Rod's lap and explained earnestly:

"I specifically looked up historical records beforehand. Legend has it that male witches possess powerful energy and strange abilities, and their appearance will trigger huge changes in the world!"

Rhodes raised an eyebrow. "Was there really a male wizard?"

"Of course, the most famous one recorded in the books is the rise of that male wizard who led the entire wizarding era."

"He fought against the gods and once caused the fall of more than a dozen gods."

"So exaggerated?"

Rhodes was taken aback. "Wasn't the rise of wizards supposed to be an enlightenment of knowledge?"

Avril nodded. "Most of the ancient texts do indeed record it that way; wizards used knowledge to change the times."

"But knowledge is only at the theoretical level; true strength requires practice, and practice requires a lot of resources and energy."

"That male wizard is powerful and possesses abundant resources and energy materials."

"He funded wizards through the witches, enabling them to explore uncharted territories, learn powerful spells, and then rapidly rise to prominence."

Rhodes listened intently, "And then?"

"Then came the familiar War of the Gods,"

Avril's voice turned low, "It is said that he secretly slaughtered many gods, arousing the gods' vigilance."

"The gods used the god of war as bait to lure the sorcerer into a trap, and ultimately killed him."

"However, the gods also paid a heavy price. The goddess of magic, the goddess of courage, the goddess of vengeance, the goddess of dawn, and the goddess of forging all perished."

Avril sighed helplessly, "Just reading about it makes me imagine how terrible that war was."

"That sounds like an exaggeration."

Rhodes couldn't help but sigh and asked, "Such a powerful male wizard should have a name, right...? Why have I never heard of him?"

Avril shook her head.

"That's the strange thing, his name is never mentioned in the book."

"But the thirteen most powerful witch council members were all his women, and he was known as the 'male witch behind the witches'."

Rod couldn't help but laugh.

The story sounds a bit far-fetched.

If it's true, how cunning must that male wizard be?
The being capable of slaughtering gods at will actually hide behind his thirteen women, unwilling to even reveal their names.

Of course, Rhodes wasn't entirely skeptical—who can really say for sure what's going on in history?
Maybe there really are such people.

Avril wrapped her arms around Rhodes' neck, a strange light flickering in her eyes.
“I feel, darling, that you’re like a male witch.”

"No, no, no, I'm not!"

Rhodes quickly waved his hand, "I don't want to be surrounded and killed by the gods."

Avril was amused by Rhodes and couldn't help but give him a light kiss.

Rod was about to respond when there was a knock on the door.

"Your Excellency, are you finished with your work?"

Vivian's voice came from outside the door, "Durant, Otto, and Gala are all here. They say they have something to report to you."

Rod looked at Avril. "Your sister is really something. She knows exactly what happened inside, but she still pretends to ask."

As he spoke, Rhodes stood up and straightened his clothes.
"Let's go."

He then walked out of the room and returned to the hall.

Durant and the others were waiting, and when they saw Rhodes, they all bowed in greeting.

"Why are you in such a hurry? What's so important?"

Rhodes looked at the three of them and sat down in the main seat.
"Which of you will speak first?"

Otto took the initiative to step forward.
“Your Excellency, I think my matter is more important. Let me speak first.”

Rhodes nodded.
"Go ahead."

"Three farmers discovered something unusual while clearing land."

Otto reported, "Glowing plants have grown in the soil. They are all different plants, and they are also different colors."

“In different places, some are grass, and some look like saplings.”

Rhodes' eyes lit up. "It seems this matter is indeed quite important."

Without a doubt, this must be a magical plant.

Rhodes turned to Avril and said, "This is yours. You take Luna and the others to handle it."

Avril nodded. "Okay."

Rhodes was in a good mood and said to Otto, "Well done, Otto. You and the three farmers will be rewarded."

"It is our honor to serve you."

Otto bowed in greeting and then stepped back.

"From this perspective, my affairs are also very important, Holy Lord."

Gala stepped forward first and reported, "Two more patrols have spotted monsters."

"However, they are not powerful species; one is a mutated wild deer, and the other is a giant frog."

"Yes, that's very good news too,"

Rhodes turned to Vivian,
"Make a note of the location, then let Ryan and Till handle it."

"Also, tell Raine to double the manpower to search for glowing plants and mutated magical beasts in the territory, and report them immediately upon discovery."

“Yes, Your Excellency,” Vivian replied immediately.

After Gala finished reporting, he bowed and stepped back.

Durant then took a step forward.
"As you instructed, I carefully examined the soldiers' physical condition."

"After repeated testing, everyone has improved, and at least half of them are able to practice breathing techniques."

Durant couldn't suppress the smile on his face. "I hope you can prepare more Cavaliers Roar potions."

"no problem!"

Rhodes was in high spirits and agreed without hesitation: "I'll personally lead a team to speed up production tomorrow!"

More than a month has passed, and the effects of the Natural Grand Lord are finally beginning to show!
Importantly, Black Pine Ridge is just the beginning.

Next up are Razorfen Downs and Ice Peak Valley!
There will be frozen wastelands in the future!

All of Rhodes' territories will eventually bloom with magical flowers!

(End of this chapter)