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

Chapter 257 Conspiracy
……

……

night.

Silver moonlight spilled into the valley outside Blood Raven Keep, adding an eerie beauty to the desolate battlefield.

The terrifying and hideous skeletons of the day have lost their vitality, and their skulls, once wreathed in necromantic flames, are now empty and scattered everywhere.

The area around them was piled with all sorts of bones, some of which were emitting a faint silvery glow.

The soldiers' footsteps crunched on the ground as they carried the corpses out.

More than two thousand silver skeleton monsters were all killed here.

The noble alliance also paid a heavy price.

These silver skeletons are completely different from ordinary skeletons; the difference is even greater than the difference between an ordinary person and a knight.

They are not only unafraid of death, but also possess considerable combat experience and awareness.

The hastily assembled 400-man knightly order lost over 130 men, while the legion that attracted the skeleton monster's attention suffered losses exceeding 1,000.

If it weren't for the presence of thirty-five high-ranking knights, the losses might have been even greater.

Leon dragged his weary body toward the campfire.

The armor, illuminated by the firelight, was riddled with cracks, the badge on his chest was obscured by blood, and his once clean and tidy face was now covered in sweat.

Leon sat heavily on a wooden stake in front of the fire, casually sticking his longsword into the ground beside him.

"it is finally over."

Leon breathed a sigh of relief. "Damn those skeleton monsters are really vicious. If any other army had encountered them, they would have lost at least half their forces!"

Lu Sen, who had been resting with his eyes closed beside the fire, slowly opened them.
"Ordinary people simply cannot fight against these guys."

Especially in this day and age.

Luxem sighed inwardly.

In ancient times, a single group of wizard followers could easily kill these skeleton monsters.

The wizard's stamina potion grants the knights an exceptionally long combat duration, and combined with their sharp, enchanted longswords, they can easily shatter the bones of these skeleton monsters.

Unfortunately, such a team is extremely rare in this era.

Of course, these skeleton monsters shouldn't be from this era either.

"Commander-in-Chief, I think you should be on your guard."

Luxem's voice was low and solemn.
"These should only be a part of it."

Leon looked up, his tired eyes filled with confusion and shock.

"What do you mean?"

What do you mean by "only a part"?

Leon frowned.

Luxem sighed and explained:

"A necromancer who can enhance a skeleton must be quite powerful, at least a high-level necromancer apprentice."

"Such a powerful being could build an extremely strong legion, given enough corpses and souls."

"Although there are many of these skeletons, given time, that necromancer will definitely have many more, and perhaps even more powerful, undead monsters."

Luxem's voice became more serious.
"A true army of the undead is terrifying."

“Thousands upon thousands of skeletons, rotting corpses, stitched-together giants, and even the Black Knight.”

Leon's expression turned serious, and his previous relaxed mood vanished instantly.

"You mean tonight is just dessert?"

Luxem nodded.

"A probing attack to test our strength and reaction."

The firelight flickered on their faces, and an uneasy silence fell over the camp.

Soldiers were bandaging their wounds and taking stock of the losses; the air was thick with the smell of blood and death.

"So what do you suggest we do?"

Leon lowered his head and rubbed his temples.

"My army has already suffered heavy losses. If there really is a large-scale undead army..."

"We should take this seriously and report this information to the Empire as soon as possible."

Lu Sen said in a low voice with utmost seriousness, "We need to organize a powerful army as soon as possible to deal with these undead monsters."

We can also join forces with our Dawn Society.

The following sentence reflects Luxembourg's true feelings.

I wanted to say something, but then I remembered that I was just an executor and not a decision-maker, so I held back.

“You’re right, there should indeed be such an army.”

Leon turned his head, his eyes full of approval, and slowly said, "Lucen, you are very capable, and the spell you just cast was also amazing."

“A person like you should serve the empire, where you can have a brighter future and even become a nobleman.”

"This……"

Luxen was clearly taken aback, not expecting Leon to recruit him so directly.

Before Luxem could react, hurried footsteps sounded.

Leon turned his head, and there came his adjutant rushing over again.
"Commander, our scouts in the east have just sent word!"

The adjutant, panting heavily, knelt down on one knee. "We've found a lot more skeletons over there!"

Leon suddenly stood up, his tired eyes instantly replaced by a sharp glint.

"How much? Where?"

“Scattered in various villages.”

The adjutant swallowed hard. "The number is still unclear... preliminary estimates suggest at least several hundred!"

Leon looked at Lucien with a gloomy face.
You were absolutely right.

"I'm most afraid this is just the beginning."

Even though his prediction came true, Luxembourg's expression was equally grim.

He desperately wished he had spoken wrongly, "I will immediately send a message to the prophet."

"Okay, hard work."

Without hesitation, Leon ordered, "Assemble the remaining knights and set off immediately. We cannot allow them to regroup!"

"Yes, Commander!"

The adjutant immediately got up and ran towards the military camp, and the sound of bugles soon resounded through the night sky.

The knights and army quickly assembled and marched eastward without stopping.

Only a few ordinary soldiers were left to deal with the corpses on the battlefield.

As Luxem followed Leon eastward, a sense of foreboding crept into his heart.

"I have a bad feeling; there might be an ambush to the east."

Lucien didn't hide anything and spoke his mind, "But I have no evidence."

Leon did not delay and immediately instructed his adjutant: "Notify the allied forces south of Bloodraven Keep to move closer to me."

"Yes, Commander!"

The adjutant quickly relayed the order.

However, Lucien remained uneasy, gazing languidly ahead.

The sound of horses' hooves faded into the distance.

The soldiers who remained behind began to move the bodies.

The soldiers' bodies were thrown into a ditch next to the valley and burned together.

The knight's body was then loaded onto a carriage and taken back to await the disposal of their lord.

Unfortunately, knights were important assets of the lord, and even though Leon was the commander, he couldn't make decisions about them arbitrarily.

"Alas, it's a pity that I could never go home before I died."

A young soldier, Tim, dragged his comrade's body to the edge of the ditch and then pushed it in.

"I guess this will be my fate when I die."

"Stop talking nonsense and get to work!"

Tim's captain urged, "We need to go back to sleep after we finish burning it."

"Kacha kacha——"

A chilling sound came from the dark jungle.

"who!"

"Who's there?"

Tim's voice trembled, and the firelight illuminated his pale face.

He hastily drew his longsword from his waist, pointing it tremblingly into the darkness.

"come out!"

Tim shouted loudly, immediately alerting his companions.

The others dropped the corpses they were holding, drew their swords, and rushed over.

Just then, a tall figure rushed out!

Before Tim could react, his head flew off!
The next instant, the dark figure rushed into the soldiers and began a frenzied slaughter!

"Enemy attack!"

The soldiers' roars echoed through the valley, and all the soldiers dropped what they were doing and rushed over!

Only in the firelight could one see that the dark figure was extremely muscular, completely covered in black armor, with even its head hidden inside the armor!

Without uttering a word, he wielded his longsword with fluid grace, slaughtering the soldiers like wild dogs!

The soldiers couldn't stop him at all!

Even more terrifying, four more shadowy figures, just like him, quickly emerged from the darkness and charged into the ranks of the soldiers, slaughtering them!

In the blink of an eye, all one hundred soldiers who remained behind fell to the ground and became corpses!
The five black-armored warriors remained silent throughout the entire ordeal. After the last soldier fell, they stood obediently in place, swords in hand.

Then, two figures in black robes slowly emerged from the jungle.

A murmured male voice rang out, and the soldiers who had just fallen got up one by one, then walked to the cart carrying the knights and carried the corpses on their backs.

"Lord Romissa, your plan is brilliant!"

Orcas bowed to the tall woman beside him, "Those fools really were led to the east!"

Oscar's voice was obsequious, brimming with barely suppressed excitement.

"If there weren't so few Silver Skulls, I wouldn't have to go through all this trouble."

Romisa's voice was icy, "I didn't expect that little guy from the Dawn Society to be here too."

"It's alright, sir, he's very weak."

Oscar's voice carried a hint of disdain: "I can handle that guy."

"Never underestimate any wizard apprentice, fool, even the lowest one."

Lomisa's gaze was cold. "Why don't you go and kill those twenty-odd high-ranking knights and Leon as well?"

Oscar lowered his head and dared not utter a sound.

"If I can awaken, then the Shattered Rock Empire and Dawn will definitely be more difficult to deal with than imagined. Recklessness will come at a price."

Romisa issued a stern warning.

"Yes, sir, I will be more careful." Oscar lowered his head even further.

"Alright, enough with the nonsense."

Lomisa coldly ordered, "Quickly transport all these knight corpses back. Once they've all been forged into Black Knights, we'll have more confidence."

……

……

In the early morning, a light mist danced outside the town of Heisongling.

The morning light, like gold, spilled through the pine forest, and dewdrops shimmered on the blades of grass.

Rhodes stood on a flat rock, with Thunder and Frost on his left and right sides, respectively.

The earth dragon ridge lay prostrate before Rhodes, head bowed, not daring to breathe.

Rhodes was already terrifying in Rockridge's eyes, not to mention Frost and Thunder were nearby. He didn't dare to move at all.

Rod could sense the rock ridge's fear and gently stroked its head.

"It's okay, they're both very friendly."

Rhodes comforted him, "Work hard, and I'll make you soar through the skies just like them."

Rock Ridge let out a low growl, looked up at Rhodes, and looked at him with a puzzled expression in his golden vertical pupils.

It seems to be asking, how could it become like that?
Without saying much, Rod waved his hand to signal Thunder to bend down, then flipped over and jumped onto Thunder's back.

Then Rhodes turned to look at Frost.

Han Shuang understood and immediately bent down to let Vivian ride on top of him.

Proud dragons don't allow anyone to ride them casually, but with Rhodes's coercion, Frost and Thunder have to obey.

Of course, Rhodes also promised Frost and Thunder that he would not easily allow others to ride them.

"Remember to hold on tight, no one can help you if you fall."

Rhodes reminded Vivian.

"Uh-huh!"

Vivian suddenly became quiet, clearly indicating that she was somewhat nervous.

Although you can be resurrected after you die, falling from the sky is still a pretty scary thing.

Vivian clumsily climbed onto Frost's back, mimicking Rod's actions by supporting Frost's neck on both sides.

"Are you ready?" Rod asked.

Vivian nodded vigorously.

"set off!"

At Rod's command, the two dragons flapped their wings and took off one after another, while the Earth Dragon Rock Ridge swiftly traversed the ground.

Frost and thunder broke through the thin mist and flew into the sky, gradually revealing the blurry outline of Black Pine Ridge in the field of vision.

Rhodes looked down at the earth, his eyes reflecting the vitality of early spring.

The neatly arranged, plowed fields pleased Rod.

In the middle, there are small patches of haphazardly twisted farmland, which, together with the irrigation ditches, add a touch of chaotic vitality to this otherwise orderly landscape.

Indistinct figures moved slowly across the fields, the hardworking farmers toiling away.

Beyond the vast fields of farmland lies a continuous stretch of pine forest.

As frost and thunder swept by, they stirred up flocks of birds like sparrows.

In the distance, on the barren plains, herds of deer roam the grasslands, while hunting parties approach one after another.

For some reason, seeing these scenes made Rhodes feel exceptionally happy and cheerful, even better than when he received gold coins.

Frost and Thunder were very fast, and the Earth Dragon also traveled in a straight line through the wilderness, completely ignoring any good main roads.

In just two days, Rhodes arrived at Blade's Edge Mountains—and that was even with Rhodes feeling sorry for Frost and Thunder.

With a good view from the air and a map, Rhodes quickly located the Blade's Edge stronghold.

But Rod didn't go to the mountain stronghold; instead, he went directly to the wasteland that was being cultivated.

The sudden appearance of frost and thunder caused a commotion, with the guards even taking out their hunting bows and aiming them at the figures in the sky.

Rhodes naturally wouldn't let the two actually fight, so he commanded Frost and Thunder to land in the nearby valley.

Before Rhodes could even leave the valley, the patrol rushed over menacingly.

Upon seeing Rhodes and Vivian, the patrol members were visibly startled, then knelt on one knee in salute.

"I'm sorry, my lord, we didn't know it was you!"

The captain said, head bowed.

"It's alright, you all did a great job, get up now."

Rhodes praised, "It seems that the leisurely years have not diminished your courage."

There was no movement in the east, and the southeast direction remained quiet as well.

Rhodes thought the patrol would be lax, but he didn't expect them to follow him as soon as he landed.

"Thank you for the compliment."

The patrol captain kept his head down, appearing somewhat reserved.

But she couldn't help but steal glances at Frost and Thunder behind her, and cautiously asked,
"My lord, where did you get these two big guys?"

“Those two are Frost and Thunder,” Rhodes said with a smile.

"what?"

All the patrolmen stared wide-eyed at the two enormous creatures in disbelief.
"They...have grown so fast?"

The soldiers of Frostleaf Town had all seen the two wyverns before, and they never expected that the two little guys would turn out like this.

"What do you feed it?"

"This is the evolution of the monster, it has nothing to do with feeding."

Rod smiled and waved his hand.
"Let's go, we still have important things to do."

"Yes, Lord Lord."

The patrol captain suppressed his curiosity, immediately ran ahead to lead the way, and sent someone to notify the team ahead.

Doron and Love quickly received the news and rushed over.

Duolong previously managed the salt mines and is now in charge of guarding the entire Blade's Edge stronghold.

Love was assigned to oversee the reclamation of the new farmland.

Both of them were very nervous when they saw Rhodes, completely unlike their previous composure.

Others may not know, but the two of them understood that Rhodes was now a great lord of at least four thousand men, and the lizardmen of the Icefield Mountains had been completely wiped out.

Given Black Pine Ridge's current strength, it was not surprising to Doron and Love that Rhodes ordered his army to attack Falcon Territory.

"Alright, we're all acquaintances now."

Rhodes didn't stand on ceremony; he casually waved his hand, signaling the two to stand up.

"Lov, how's the newly cultivated land going?"

"Reporting to Your Lordship, the progress is not going very smoothly..."

Love lowered his head, his voice trembling slightly.

“There are many rocks and old tree roots around here. Everyone is worried about the plow and can only dig slowly, so it’s a bit slow.”

"Oto patted his chest and guaranteed it to me."

Rod said with a stern face, "If you don't finish, you'll get whipped."

Luo Fu was so frightened that he knelt on the ground again. "I'll go back right away and have them speed things up. If they work day and night, it should be possible!"

"Okay, I was just kidding."

Rod quickly told Doron to help Love up.
"You rascal, why are you so much more timid than when you're shoveling manure?"

Rod shook his head helplessly, realizing he couldn't joke around with these guys anymore.

"I'm here today to help you solve your problems."

Rhodes turned around. "Rockridge, time to get to work!"

As soon as he finished speaking, heavy footsteps sounded, and Yanji dragged his heavy body out.

The crowd was somewhat surprised to see this enormous creature, but they weren't particularly afraid.

Having seen frost and thunder, a dragon without wings, though peculiar, is not frightening.

Rod didn't give them time to waste and asked, "Which piece of land are you cultivating? Lead the way."

"Yes, Lord Lord."

Completely bewildered, Lov dared not delay and jogged down to guide the reclamation of the farmland.

The busy farmers were so frightened by the sight of three enormous creatures slowly approaching that they froze on the spot, too afraid to move.

Upon hearing the soldiers beside them call him "Lord," they collapsed and knelt before Rhodes.

Rhodes did not demand that his subjects and slaves kneel in worship; they were mostly terrified by the frost and thunder at the moment.

"Make them all stand up and back off."

Rod casually gave the order, and Love quickly stepped forward to shoo it away.

"Back up! Back up! Back up now!"

Lov urged them on, and the peasant slaves quickly got up and hurriedly retreated.

Rhodes also stepped aside, pointing to the overgrown land ahead.

"As I instructed before, turn over this land a layer, not too deep, half a meter will do."

For tilling, a depth of 40 to 50 centimeters is usually sufficient; anything deeper is just a waste of effort.

The rock ridge nodded.

"Okay, start your show."

At Rhodes's command, Rock Ridge walked to the open ground, its claws outstretched in front of it, and its dragon head suddenly plunged downwards into the ground.

The wasteland was torn apart like a piece of linen, and the soil rolled to both sides like waves.

With most of its body exposed, the rocky ridge moved swiftly and smoothly across the land, like a fish swimming on the surface of water.

The dark yellow earth, carrying pebbles and grass roots, flew everywhere, and the strong smell of soil instantly filled the air.

In the blink of an eye, they were only tens of meters away!
Love's eyes widened, and the whip slipped from his hand and hit his foot!

"My lord, this is way too fast!"

The farmers were completely dumbfounded, staring incredulously at the turned-up earth before them.

"This guy is faster than ten oxen!"

"Ten cows? Twenty cows can't compare to this!"

"This guy can do a month's worth of work in one day, right?"

"I don't know, but at this speed, I think even a hundred of me couldn't beat it..."

……

The farmers were buzzing with discussion, and Rhodes himself was astonished by the earth dragon's efficiency.

Why would a farmer need to till the land?
The rocky ridge is dry, and thousands of acres of land can be plowed in a single day!
This is even more amazing than the modern machinery of my previous life!
The key is that this frees up the manpower of these farmers, who can then focus on more detailed tasks such as farming, construction, and animal husbandry!

No!

Rhodes was instantly smitten.

We must find a mate for the rock ridge and start breeding!
"Holy crap, something's not right!"

As Rhodes pondered his next move, he glanced at the rocky ridge leading straight down to the foot of the mountain and suddenly cursed under his breath.
"We forgot to let the rock ridge turn!"

Rod quickly jumped onto Thunder's back.

"Catch up with him!"

……

……

After half a day of getting acquainted, Rod handed over the task of turning the soil to Love and Rock Ridge.

Rhodes then headed straight for Blade's Edge Stronghold to implant the Seed of Nature into Doron and the guards who had initially followed him.

This isn't a restriction on them; it's more of a reward.

Rhodes also gave them the Knight's Roar Potion, helping them break through and successfully become junior knights.

However, before Rhodes had even spent a few days in Blade's Edge Mountains, Vivian reported the message Durant had sent.

A caravan from the Red Griffin family delivered ten cartloads of supplies to Longwinter Town.

This news gave Rhodes a bad feeling, and he immediately ordered Durant to begin investigating all information about Longwinter Town and its lord.

Rhodes left Rock Ridge behind and flew back to Frostleaf with Vivian.

　Thank you everyone for helping me find the typos...

　　I've seen people complaining that I haven't changed...

　　It's not that I don't want to change it, it's that I don't have the authority to change it...

　　The chapter will be locked very quickly after it's posted...

　　I need to ask the editor for permission, but doing it too frequently isn't good... I can only save it up and edit it at a time...

　　However, if everyone uses the error correction function, then I can fix it directly.
　　Kneel down
　　
　
(End of this chapter)