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

Chapter 278 Impossible! Absolutely impossible!
……

……

Deep in the mine.

A place where miners take a temporary rest.

"Calm down! Calm down!"

The short, stocky old man glared at the boy sitting on the straw in front of him, and fiercely berated him.

"It's so quiet here, yet you still can't even learn how to meditate!"

"You stupid stone!"

The old man's eyes burned with fanaticism as he roared loudly.

The boy nodded repeatedly, his eyes closed, attempting to meditate as instructed by the old man.

However, his inner fear prevented him from entering the state the old man had described.

"I can't feel anything, there's nothing but darkness..."

The boy reluctantly opened his eyes, his neck hunched, a look of pain on his handsome face.

"Teacher, I've done my best..."

"not enough!"

The old man sternly rebuked, "You must learn to meditate to possess magic!"

"You're already quite old, you need to hurry!"

“Perhaps you could try looking for someone else…” the boy said cautiously.

"Shut up, you idiot!"

The old man grabbed the boy by the collar, "You're wasting your talent for engraving! You..."

The old man's voice stopped abruptly, and he loosened his grip on the boy's collar, slowly turning around to look outside.

"Someone actually broke my seal."

The old man muttered to himself, pointed at the boy, and commanded, "Stay here obediently and continue meditating. Don't worry about anything else."

The old man turned and walked out of the cave.

……

……

Rhodes's mental tentacles extended forward and quickly located Senda's position.

Before they had gone far, a short, stocky old man appeared at the end of the cave, holding a hammer.

Vivian also spotted the figure in the darkness and warned, "Baron, he's here."

Rhodes nodded and waved to São, "Get Brando's men out."

"Yes, Holy Lord."

Sao responded respectfully.

He then turned to the knight Cullen and said, "No one is allowed to disturb the Holy Lord when he is doing his work. You may leave and report back."

"But……"

Before Cullen could say anything more, the Winter Knights all turned around and stared intently at him.

Seeing this, Kulun nodded, took two steps back, waved to the soldiers, and left.

Rhodes kept his eyes fixed on the figure ahead, and looking at the indistinct silhouette, asked, "Seanda?"

"You actually know my name?"

Sainda frowned and asked, "Where are you from? You look very young, yet you managed to break through the restrictions I set up?"

“I am Lord Roderick Tulip, the Baron of Blackpine Ridge.”

Without wasting words, Rhodes said directly, "I'm here to take Brando's son away. He shouldn't be locked up here."

"No, he's learning meditation; no one can take him away!"

Senna gripped a hammer tightly. "He also needs to study forging, metal fusion, and rune forging!"

"So, you arrested him just to train a student?" Rod pressed.

"Or else?"

Sainda raised her voice: "I don't have that much time to waste on ordinary people!"

Senda pulled out a dagger and threw it to Rhodes.
"Look at the patterns on this, how smoothly the lines are engraved!"

Rod stepped forward and looked at the dagger on the ground.

In the firelight, the patterns decorating the dagger flowed smoothly like water, exquisite and beautiful.

He does have some talent.

"His mental strength has reached 10.9, which is enough to become a wizard apprentice!"

"But he's already nineteen! There's no time to waste! He must seize the time to learn meditation!"

Before Rhodes arrived, he had a vague idea that this Senda wanted to find a student.

Wizards are happy to take on students, partly to recruit assistants for themselves, and partly to show off.

Of course, it cannot be ruled out that some evil wizards take in students in order to cultivate materials.

This is especially true for extraordinary craftsmen such as enchanters and alchemists, who will vie for any talented student they see.

"Talent is not a reason for you to lock him in a cave."

Rhodes shook his head slightly and advised, "You can teach him in a different way. For example, you can explain to Baron Brando that with your status as an extraordinary blacksmith, Baron Brando should not refuse."

"That way, once you have permission, you can teach the child safely in the castle."

"Why change the method? That's how my teacher taught me!"

Sainda scratched his messy hair, a hint of annoyance flashing in his eyes.
Why should I need an ordinary person's permission?

He gestured towards the depths of the cave.
"And only here can you communicate with metal up close and hear its rhythm!"

Hearing the ravings of Senda, Rhodes frowned.

Is this person's brain made of stone?

There's absolutely no way to communicate!

They could have communicated properly, but instead they chose this extreme method. Are they crazy?
Rod couldn't help but complain in his mind.

But after thinking about it, he finally sighed silently.

Cynda's behavior is somewhat similar to that of wizards in history.

Arrogant, stubborn, obsessive, and eccentric.

Especially for extraordinary craftsmen like Senda who are obsessed with their craft, negative emotional intelligence is often the norm.

Fortunately, some alchemists, like Senda, are willing to communicate, while others will simply tell someone to get lost if they don't like them.

Some even use robot-like golems to greet visitors, so you can't even see the person in person.

Rhodes thought for a moment and decided to try a different approach to the conversation.

"So you're a master blacksmith," Rod exclaimed in praise.

"No, I'm just a novice blacksmith!"

Senda retorted, "I've never forged a magic item of tier three or higher, I'm not even a mid-level blacksmith!"

"..."

Rhodes was speechless, but he understood Sainda's straightforwardness.

"So what good things did you forge?"

Rhodes softened his tone, "If you're interested, you can share it with me, a fellow wizarding apprentice."

Sainda's eyes lit up, as if his passion had been ignited.

He immediately grabbed an item from his pocket and held it in front of him.
"This! It can stabilize the wearer's mental energy and improve the efficiency of meditation!"

Sainda puffed out his chest, picked up the ring, and showed it off, saying, "This is my latest masterpiece!"

The firelight was dim and the distance was too great for Rhodes to see clearly, so he instinctively took a few steps forward.

Senda immediately gripped the hammer more tightly, becoming alert.

"Don't worry, if I wanted to do it, I would have done it already."

Rhodes looked at Sainda and said, “I am patiently communicating with you here out of respect for a blacksmith.”

Sainda nodded in agreement and took a few steps forward.

In the firelight, Rhodes could see that it was a ring on Sainda's hand, set with tiny purple gemstones.

Alchemist?
Rhodes' pupils contracted slightly, and he couldn't help but look at Senda again.

Engraving runes on jewelry is not nearly as difficult as engraving them on weapons and armor.

Moreover, it is inlaid with extraordinary gems, which involves even more knowledge about the flow of magical energy.

However, Rhodes quickly recovered from his surprise and nodded in agreement.
"It is indeed a good item, and it is a breakthrough for a novice blacksmith."

"But why don't you give this ring to your student?"

Rhodes suggested, "Perhaps this will help him enter meditation more quickly."

As soon as he finished speaking, Senda stared intently at Rhodes.

A deafening silence fell over the mine.

Sainda scratched his head and asked, "Is this okay?"

"Why not?" Rod asked back.

"My teacher said that I must rely on myself!"

"My teacher didn't give me that kind of help either," Senda exclaimed. "He just let me feel the rhythm of metal life!"

Rhodes nodded silently, already understanding that this Senda was imparting knowledge entirely according to his teacher's methods.

It's like a primary school student copying homework; they also copy the name in the top left corner and the crossed-out wrong answers.

"Do you want to improve even more than your teacher?"

Rod asked again, "Do you want your students to surpass his students?"

"Yes!" Senda answered without hesitation.

"Then give this magic ring to your student to use."

Rhodes suggested, "This way he can meditate more quickly and catch up with your teacher's students faster."

"Yeah! That makes sense!"

Sainda stared at Rhodes, "But I still can't let you take him away!"

“You can’t stay here forever, or you and he will starve to death.”

Rod smiled and advised, "We can have a better plan."

"will not!"

Without hesitation, Senda said, "I'll steal the soldiers' rations tonight. They're sleeping like logs and won't even notice me!"

Rhodes also admired Senda's thought process.

Without further ado, he drew Ashbringer and swung it at the wall to the side.

The crimson flames instantly illuminated the cave, and as the blade drew an arc through the cave, Senda was so frightened that he retreated repeatedly!

"What do you want to do?!"

"Let me show you my masterpiece."

As he spoke, Rhodes lifted Ashbringer and casually plunged it into the rock wall, as if cutting a block of tofu.

"What a sword!"

Sainda's eyes gleamed with excitement. "Can I take a look?"

"I told you, if I wanted to hurt you, I would have done it already."

Rhodes looked at Senda seriously and said, "I know you don't want to hurt anyone else either, and the two restrictions you set up are just to scare people away."

"Of course, I have other, even more powerful restrictions."

Sainda stood tall with pride on his face.

Rhodes nodded. "So, we can have a friendly exchange."

As he spoke, Rhodes drew Ashbringer and handed it to Senda from a distance.

"I believe you!"

Senda carried the hammer and walked toward Rhodes.

As he approached Rhodes, he put down the hammer and took the Ashbringer to examine it carefully.

Senda tapped the blade with his hand, then pondered for a moment with a crooked mouth.
"Seaweed Magic Steel? It looks pretty good."

“However, these flame runes don’t seem to be engraved; there’s no shaking at all. It’s more like some kind of enchantment…” “And there’s no ‘sharp’ or anything like that enchantment on them. How can they penetrate the stone so easily?”

Sainda looked up at Rhodes and asked, "Baron Rhodes, right? You forged this sword?"

Rod didn't explain, and waved to the people behind him without turning his head.

"Sao, bring me your sword."

"Yes, Holy Lord."

Sao responded respectfully, quickly stepped forward, and handed his sword to Saenda.

Senda took it, his eyes filled with surprise.

"This sword is also made of Lapis Lazuli, but the runes on it are engraved, the craftsmanship is very skillful!"

Senda couldn't help but ask, "Do you have blacksmiths under your command?"

"These are all works by yak people."

Rod explained with a smile, "There is a yak tribe in my territory, and I helped them rediscover some of their traditions."

"Yak people?"

Senda suddenly raised his head, his eyes burning with fervor.

"The legendary born blacksmith?"

"Yes."

Rhodes nodded in confirmation, "Yak people possess innate talent for forging, and some even awaken the ability to engrave runes."

"I'm lucky; I have three yak people under my command who have already awakened the ability to inscribe runes."

"You can talk to them if you want."

Rhodes said, word by word, "If you don't have racial prejudice, you can also take them as students."

Senda's breathing became rapid.

People need to communicate.

But here, all the blacksmiths are just a bunch of ignorant, big, dumb fools.

At best, they could only forge a few sharp weapons and a few beautiful suits of armor; they had absolutely no understanding of the art of metalworking.

Senda had no chance to communicate with anyone.

Because of this, Senda really hopes to have people like him around him.

Before Cynda could think further, Rhodes took out the metal box that Brando had given him from his pocket.

He casually opened it and showed it to Senda; the silvery-white metal gleamed in the torchlight.

"You should know that this is mithril."

Rhodes said slowly, "The most suitable precious metal material for making magical items."

Sainda's eyes widened even more.

He reached out his trembling hand to touch it, but Rhodes closed the box and put it back in his arms.

"and this."

Rhodes then took out a blue gem the size of a thumbnail, a Frost Transcendent Gem.

"As a blacksmith who creates magical ornaments, you should know the value of this thing."

"Baron Rhodes, what do you want?"

Sainda's voice suddenly softened, revealing a cautious tone.

“I know you wouldn’t show these treasures to me for no reason.”

"Instead of wasting your time among these ordinary people, I think you should find a place that suits you better."

Rod's tone was sincere and persuasive.

“In my territory, there are wizard apprentices who specialize in studying runes, yak artisans who have mastered ancient techniques, and all sorts of magical materials.”

"We can study runes together and explore forging techniques. I can also provide you with any materials you need."

Rhodes looked at Sainda and said slowly:
"Therefore, I suggest you come and live in my territory."

……

……

Outside the mine, the sun was gradually setting in the west.

Baron Brando paced back and forth outside the cave entrance.

His face was filled with anxiety, his hands were constantly rubbing together, and sweat kept seeping from his forehead.

"Damn it, why is there still no news?"

Brando muttered to himself, his eyes filled with worry.

Kulun stood to the side, equally nervous as he stared at the cave entrance.

"My lord, Baron Rhodes will surely be able to rescue the young master."

Cullen reassured him, "There's only one short guy in the mine; he shouldn't be a match for Baron Rhodes."

Brando nodded, but the worry in his eyes did not lessen.

"Kos is my only son."

"If something happens to him, what's the point of my life?"

Brando's voice trembled.

Just then, Rod appeared at the cave entrance.

Following closely behind Rhodes was the figure of a young boy.

Her delicate face was covered in dirt and grime, and her fine clothes were stained with mud and straw.

However, although it looked a bit disheveled, it was not damaged.

"Koss!"

Brando's eyes widened, and he shouted as he rushed forward!
"Father!"

Koss also shouted as he came forward!

The father and son embraced tightly, and Brando was so moved that tears streamed down his face.

"Thank God, you're alright! You're really alright!"

Brando stroked his son's face, his hands trembling.

Did that weirdo hurt you?

"No, no, Father."

Koss shook his head and said, "I'm hungry, Father..."

"Food! Bring me the prepared food!"

Brando shouted loudly, and his guards quickly ran over with roast meat and white bread.

Without any hesitation, Kos grabbed it and stuffed it into his mouth.

They looked extremely hungry.

"My poor child."

Brando sighed, then turned to Rhodes and knelt down with a thud.

"Baron Rhodes, you are my benefactor! The benefactor of my family!"

"Without you, I would never have seen Kos again!"

Brando's voice choked with emotion.

"As agreed, I am willing to offer half of my family's wealth!"

Brando took a scroll of contracts from his robes and presented it with both hands.

"This is a list of assets. Please take a look!"

Rhodes took the contract and casually flipped through a few pages.

It contains detailed records of the Brando family's various assets.

The quantity of weapons, armor, gold coins, livestock, gold and silver utensils, etc., was indeed considerable.

“If I were to take away half of the family’s wealth at once, it would be a huge blow to the Iron Hammer family. I will not do anything that would harm the interests of the Red Griffin family.”

Rhodes said in a flat tone, "How about this, you can pay gradually, using special magical ores and slaves."

To be honest, Rhodes doesn't think much of the weapons and armor produced elsewhere. Even if he brings some back, it's only for temporary use by reserve soldiers and new recruits.

Once productivity catches up, all equipment will need to be replaced with equipment produced within the territory itself.

"Thank you for your kindness and wisdom."

Brando bowed respectfully again, "From now on, the Iron Hammer family will unconditionally support your decisions, no matter what!"

"Alright, get up, Brando."

Rhodes nodded and said, "If the Iron Hammer family needs anything, you can come to me. I will do my best to help you."

Thank you again.

Brando stood up, a flash of anger in his eyes, and searched through the crowd.
"Where is that damned old man? Please hand him over to me!"

Brando was trembling all over. "He dared to kidnap my son, I will never let him get away with this!"

"Brando."

Rhodes' voice turned cold: "The matter has been resolved. Do not pursue any further issues."

Brando sensed the intimidating power in Rhodes' words and was visibly taken aback.

"But, but he kidnapped Kos!"

"It has plunged my mine into complete chaos!"

"If we don't teach him a lesson, others will look down on the Brando family!"

Brando's voice grew increasingly agitated.

Rhodes took a step forward, saying nothing, but using only his eyes to gradually calm Brando down.

"With me here, no one will dare to underestimate the Brando family."

Rhodes said calmly, "And without me, neither you nor your knight would be a match for that person."

"I...I understand."

Brando swallowed hard, his voice becoming cautious.
"As you wish, I will not pursue this matter any further."

"But... what if he kidnaps Kos again..."

"He won't."

Rod's tone softened, and he patted Brando on the shoulder.

“He has left here and will no longer cause trouble for anyone.”

Brando sighed and nodded in acceptance.

The two terrifying monsters in the sky had served as a constant warning to Brando not to challenge Rhodes' authority.

"And one more thing."

Rhodes glanced at Kos, who was eating, and said leisurely, "Your child is very talented, even though he's a bit older."

"But he still has the potential to become a blacksmith, not just an ordinary blacksmith."

Rod patted Brando on the shoulder.

“If you are interested, you can send him to my territory to study.”

……

……

Rhodes did not stay at the Red Griffin for long.

Two weeks later, after arranging the affairs of the delivery caravan, everything else was handed over to Sao.

With twenty Winter Knights, fifty elite soldiers dispatched by Earl Red Griffin for escort, the covert assistance of the Night Whisperers, and the caravan's original guards, such defenses should prevent any major incidents.

Rhodes originally wanted to travel with the caravan, but the journey was too time-consuming, so he ultimately left with Vivian first.

Not long after he left, news of what had happened at Red Griffin Castle was quickly spread by spies and reached the nobility.

There aren't many details, but there are all sorts of legends surrounding it.

These events were also recorded in letters sent to the Tulip Castle study.

"Impossible, this is absolutely impossible!"

Lord Tulip, Rhodes' father, threw the letter on the table.

"That Rod must be an imposter!"

(End of this chapter)