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

Chapter 309 I can talk too!
……

……

The patrolling soldiers raised the alarm with shouts, but this also made them easy targets.

A short axe flashed through the air, striking him precisely in the chest with tremendous force, sending him flying instantly!

This moment of clarity left the patrolling soldier, who had just drawn his sword, frozen in place!
But Gunle, the owner of the short axe, didn't care about any of that. He suddenly raised his battle axe.

"kill!"

"kill!"

A thunderous roar echoed through the night sky as the soldiers, no longer hiding, tore off their black robes and charged into Stone Road Town!
Before the patrol's five soldiers could react, they were engulfed by the silver torrent and fell to the ground screaming in agony!
The militiamen who rushed out from the alley next door were equally powerless to resist and were casually stabbed to death by the attacking soldiers, unable to stop the invasion at all!

However, these invaders, clad in silver armor, did not rush into houses and shops to plunder like other noble armies. Instead, they headed straight for the camp of the soldiers guarding the town.

By this time, all the guards had woken up and rushed out of the courtyard, swords in hand.

I had just run to the door when I saw the full-body armor rushing towards me, so I quickly retreated into the yard!

"Close the door! Close the door now!"

The guards shouted loudly as they slammed the wooden gate to the courtyard shut and blocked it with their bodies.

"Damn it! Is that the Imperial army?!"

Where did they come from??

"Oh!"

Before the guard could finish speaking, the wooden door was suddenly kicked open, and the two soldiers blocking the door fell to the ground in a sorry state!
A giant bear-like figure charged in, brandishing a battle axe and roaring, "Kneel down and surrender, or I'll smash your heads in!"

The guards exchanged glances, hesitated for a moment, then raised their longswords and slashed at Gunle!

"That does take some courage."

Gunle snorted, kicked away the charging guard, and then chopped down another guard!
The other guards were so frightened that they retreated one after another. Gunle laughed twice and ignored them, waving his hand and the soldiers behind him rushed forward!

Gunther went straight to the house at the very back of the yard, kicked open the door, and rushed inside.

However, Gunle couldn't find anyone in the house.

Gunther frowned, stormed out of the house, and grabbed a guard lying on the ground.

"Where is Knight El?"

El is a mid-level knight in the Falcon family, responsible for guarding Stone Road Town, and is the most powerful person besides the tax collector.

The guard panicked at Gunle's terrifying size, his voice trembling, "Lord El, he won't be here tonight..."

"Pah, the intelligence is wrong."

Gunle spat, pressing his battle axe against the guard's neck.

"Where is he? Take me there!"

"he……"

"I'm here!"

The guard's words were interrupted by a middle-aged man's voice, followed by a sharp whooshing sound as it cut through the air!
Gunle instinctively grabbed the guard in his hand and successfully blocked the arrow that came flying through the air!
However, the guard was not so lucky; he was pierced through the chest by an arrow.

Without a word, Gunle forcefully shoved the guard toward El!

El quickly dodged, but Gunle had already swung his battle axe at the spot where El had dodged!

El didn't panic. He calmly raised his sword to parry, but heard a clang as his sword was snapped in two!

This startled El, who quickly abandoned his prepared combo and rolled on the ground in a sorry state to dodge!

El's entourage tried to help, but were blocked by other soldiers and could only watch helplessly as Knight El was chased.

Knight El picked up the swords dropped by the other guards and, with his more agile movements, quickly dodged and weaved, repeatedly thrusting at Gunle, but he couldn't pierce Gunle's plate armor at all.

The sword in El's hand would chip or break if it was struck by the battle axe.

This made it clear to El that he couldn't kill the "giant bear" in front of him, which was covered by a metal barrel. He threw away his broken sword and ran quickly toward the gate.

"Stay here!"

Gunther was not as agile as El, and could only desperately throw his short axe at the fleeing figure!
El dodged the short axe swiftly and ran outside!

"Stop him!"

Gunther roared and chased after El at full speed!

Just then, a whooshing sound came from the sky, and a huge black shadow fell from the sky and landed in front of him, startling El into standing still.

—It is a dragon with a ferocious face and eyes that flash with purple light.

“You’re too slow, Gunther.”

A clear, youthful voice rang out, and only then did El realize that a very young man was sitting on the dragon's back.

"Baron Rhodes?"

By the firelight, El could clearly see the face of the dragon-backed figure, which looked very similar to the portrait he had seen in Eagle Castle.

Black Pine Ridge and the Falcon Family have always had a complicated relationship, so all the knights of the Falcon Family know what Rhodes looks like.

Rhodes ignored El and stared at Gunle, asking, "Hurricane Town and Deep Earth Town have already been captured by Christa and Jenny, and the spoils have already been counted. Why are you still dawdling?"

“My lord, Chris is a high-ranking knight, I can’t compare to him!” Gunle said helplessly.

Chris? A high-ranking knight?!
El was shocked when he heard Gunle's explanation. Was Chris the Chris he knew?
But he's clearly a mid-level knight!

"And I'll take this town right away!"

Gunle quickly responded, raising his battle axe and pointing it at the stunned El, "I've got this Knight El down with me!"

At this moment, Rod turned to look at El.

El felt Rod's gaze and immediately became nervous. He swallowed hard and instinctively nodded in greeting.

However, Rhodes only glanced at El before looking away and commanding Gunle:
Don't waste too much time on unimportant people.

"Our goal is to advance rapidly, to gather wealth and food, slaves, and nothing else matters."

"Hurry up and go to the tax collector's yard and the armory to take stock of the spoils!"

"Yes, my lord!"

Gunle nodded vigorously in acceptance, and then turned and left.

"Seriously? You're really abandoning me?"

El stared wide-eyed at Gunle's retreating figure.

Then, glancing at Rod, who hadn't been paying any attention to him, he couldn't help but think...
"Am I, a mid-level knight, an insignificant person?"

El sensed something was wrong and immediately ran towards Rhodes.

“Baron!” El shouted.

Rhodes, who was already planning to leave, patted the lightning beneath him, turned around, and frowned slightly.
"Why aren't you running for your life?"

"what?"

El was stunned again, and asked cautiously, "Are you really not going to take care of me? I'm a mid-level knight!"

"I know."

Rhodes nodded slightly and said casually, "But he is no match for my subordinate, the junior knight Gunle."

"That's different!"

Elben instinctively retorted, "That's because your men are too well-equipped!"

"If I had his sturdy armor and longsword, I would definitely be stronger than him!"

"Maybe, but what does that have to do with me?"

Rhodes asked calmly, "Gunler's loyalty to me is the most important thing."

“I don’t care about your strength, because I have eighty knights like Gunle.”

"Eighty?"

El exclaimed in surprise, his voice filled with disbelief.

Ignoring El's surprise, Rhodes casually waved his hand: "Go home. As long as you stay with your family, you won't be killed."

Rod's words contained no hint of recruitment or retention, which made El feel a little disappointed.

But what Rhodes said was true; loyalty was the most important thing for a lord.

At that moment, El suddenly remembered Chris.

"Baron Rhodes, is the Chris you're talking about Chris Wooden Bridge?"

"El asked cautiously."

"Well, that's him."

Rhodes casually remarked, "He's a high-ranking knight now, and he just led his army to conquer Hurricane Town."

"Are you friends with him?"

"Yes, we drank together."

El nodded slightly, then couldn't help but ask again, "Is his armor and weapon the same as your Knight Gunle's?"

"of course."

Rod didn't hide anything and said directly, "I've already talked to Chris, and he's sworn to me that he's loyal."

"Then why don't you talk to me?"

El blurted out, his gaze fixed intently on Rhodes.

"I have not pledged allegiance to any lord since the death of Earl Falcon, and I am open to negotiation!"

It can freely bestow excellent equipment upon novice knights, show no concern for intermediate knights, provide methods for intermediate knights to advance quickly, and possess a legendary dragon.

El knew very well that Luris couldn't stop Baron Rhodes like this.

Now that the emperor has fallen and the empire is in turmoil, the royal family will no longer concern themselves with trivial matters in remote areas like the north.

Instead of making futile struggles, it's better to choose a new path.

“But your identity is still that of a knight of the Falcon family, and I don’t trust you.”

Rhodes frowned slightly, looking El up and down. "How about this, I'll give you a chance to try."

"Baron Ruta of Red Feather Ridge is my next target,"

Rhodes said, “If you can help me take over his territory, or persuade him to surrender to me as a pledge of loyalty, I can accept you.”

Upon hearing about this task, El fell into deep thought.

Baron Ruta was a lower-ranking lord of the Falcon family. He wasn't particularly wealthy, but he could still muster a hundred soldiers.

Taking over his territory will not be an easy task for El.

“If it doesn’t work out, go back and rest early. I won’t make things difficult for you.” Rhodes remained calm and casually said, “My army will conquer the Crimson Feather Manor.”

"I can!"

El gritted his teeth, looked up at Rhodes, and said, "But please allow me to take a few of my trusted men with me. I will do my best to accomplish this!"

"Then you choose."

Rhodes waved to the soldier not far away, "Take him to choose."

"Yes, Lord Lord!"

The soldier bowed respectfully and then looked at El.

After El nodded to Rhodes, he quickly left with the soldiers.

At this moment, Gunle, having finished tallying the harvest, came out of the yard and asked with a face full of curiosity,

"That Knight El seems to be following your orders?"

"Ah."

Rhodes responded softly and casually said, "I'll have him hold off Baron Crimson Feather so we can attack Eagle Town directly."

Small lords like the Falcon family aren't worth wasting too much time and energy on.

We must quickly seize the accumulated strength to deal with behemoths like the Duke of Flowers, or even the Western Alliance and the Necromancers.

Since the other side was willing to sacrifice the life of a necromancer to deal with the emperor, there must be other powerful necromancers.

For these people, the Falcon family is just a side dish.

"He's really going?"

Gunle looked at his lord in disbelief. "What did you promise him? He submitted so quickly?"

“I didn’t make any promises, I just demonstrated.”

Rod looked at Gunle and said in a meaningful low voice, "If you promise him, he'll feel like he deserves those things."

"But if you show them to him, then those things become what he envies and desires."

"This way, he will be more willing to make sacrifices to achieve his goals."

What Rod didn't say was that he also had to adopt the posture of a superior, making El look up to him and respect him.

This makes it easier for El to listen to Rhodes.

"Actually, it's just like how you pursue those women."

"Make them look up to you, instead of you trying to please them."

"How can this be related to women?"

Gunle scratched his head, somewhat puzzled.

"Alright, enough with the nonsense?"

Rhodes changed the subject and asked, "What did you gain?"

"Seventy sets of cotton armor, thirty-eight sets of leather armor, and only twenty sets of chainmail."

"Fifty longswords and shortswords, two hundred and thirty spears, and one hundred and fifty wooden shields."

While thinking, Gunle reported, "There are plenty of crossbows. I asked the armory manager and he said there are six thousand of them, and seventy longbows."

"Gather all weapons and equipment together, keep them safe, and wait for Us to come and take them over," Rhodes ordered.

Rhodes' territory has no shortage of longswords and shortswords; they can be transported back and melted down into iron for reforging.

As for cotton armor and leather armor, these are temporarily the equipment of the militia, while chainmail and arrows are reserved for reserve.

While Rhodes led his army to expand territory at the front, the development of the rear territories could not be neglected.

The reserves and militia were to maintain stability, watch over the slaves to ensure they worked well, continued farming, hunting, mining, and iron smelting.

"Where's the food?"

Rhodes pressed further, "How much grain and gold coins do you have?"

"There were 100,000 jin of reserve grain in the granary, but the rest have been taken away."

Suddenly remembering something, Gunle said, "We also found 20,000 catties of grain, three sets of chainmail and ten sets of leather armor, plus a large box of silver coins, about 20,000 to 30,000!"

"This guy is quite wealthy; it seems he's embezzled quite a bit over the years."

Rod smiled and didn't pay much attention.

Tax embezzlement was very common among the nobility.

Many nobles would deliberately enrich their tax officials, allowing them to plunder the people at will, and then kill them when the time was right.

This way, the lord's treasury and granary can be replenished, and a good reputation can be earned at the same time.

Rhodes didn't know if Luris thought the same way, but now the tax collector's property belonged to Rhodes and was being transported back to Blackpine Ridge.

Only by keeping the grain to make military rations can we avoid the need to transport grain from the rear.

"In addition, make a record of all your gains, and Us will take stock of them."

Rhodes instructed, "Once the quantities you two have tallied are correct, one-third of these supplies will be converted into work points and distributed to everyone."

According to the rules of this era, one-sixth to one-tenth of the grain was usually distributed to the soldiers, but Rhodes gave a very high percentage.

However, in that case, lords would usually allow their soldiers to plunder the conquered territories for a day or two, as that was the best way for the soldiers to make money.

Rhodes forbade his soldiers from looting the town or taking prisoners, because these were resources and the foundation for future development.

Therefore, Rhodes gave a higher percentage of the spoils to the knights and soldiers.

As for those soldiers and prisoners, they were all Rhodes' property. Those who were willing to submit were incorporated into the new army, while those who were unwilling were sent back to Black Pine Ridge to mine.

In fact, Rhodes didn't lose out at all by converting the allocated materials into work points.

This is equivalent to the soldiers' savings being held by Rhodes, and unless they withdraw them all at once, they all belong to Rhodes.

Of course, Rhodes wouldn't restrict the soldiers from exchanging supplies, since Black Pine Ridge currently has more than enough resources.

"No problem, my lord!"

Gunle, beaming with excitement, shouted, "I'm going to tell everyone right now, those guys are going to go crazy with joy!"

Rhodes nodded slightly. "Let everyone rest as soon as possible. The war has only just begun."

Gunther bowed, turned and rushed into the courtyard to announce his orders, which immediately erupted into excited cheers, followed by shouts of "Long live the lord!"

Rhodes ignored it, because at that moment the system displayed a message:
[The territory creates its first undead, unlocking the attribute: Undead Embrace (Green)]

[Necromantic Embrace (Green): Necromantic energy reduces damage to you by 10%.]

[Next entry: Create 1,000 undead in your territory, or craft 30 necromancy-related items (magic or enchantment) to unlock the entry: Necromancer's Dance (Blue)]

"This……"

Rod looked at the information on the system and felt a little helpless.

I hadn't originally intended to get involved in this field, but I ended up unlocking the entry anyway.

But this is good, at least when facing a necromancer, the body will have some resistance.

"Create a thousand undead..."

Rhodes was reluctant to desecrate the corpses of his soldiers and subjects; if he were to create undead, he would have to use the corpses of his enemies.

However, compared to creating undead, crafting items related to necromancy is more valuable, such as death spell scrolls.

Regardless, Rhodes has to train a wizard apprentice who specializes in necromancy.

Avril Lavigne can't always do those dirty and tiring jobs.

As Rhodes pondered, Vivian emerged from the shadows and whispered, "Baron, my sister has already crafted Count Aura."

"Ah."

Rhodes snapped out of his daze and nodded slightly.

The system entry suggests it refers to Count Aura.

"Have Durant send someone to secretly deliver Count Ola over."

……

……

In just ten days, the army of Black Pine Ridge swept across the entire Eagle Ridge.

The Dragon's Breath Legion was well-equipped and moved swiftly, making it impossible for any town to stop them.

Most of the time was wasted on counting the spoils and traveling.

By the time the news reached Eagle Keep, the Dragon's Breath had already reached the outskirts of Eagle Town.

Baron Luris kept the gates of Eagle Town tightly shut. The city walls were covered with various defensive weapons, boulders, logs, oil drums, and other defensive equipment, including giant arrows, which were essentially the simplest crossbows.

Ruth also sent a letter condemning Rhodes—but Rhodes didn't read it.

Since Eagle Town was prepared, Rhodes did not order his army to attack immediately, but instead surrounded Eagle Town.

The soldiers were exhausted from days of fighting and traveling, so Rhodes ordered the army to rest for a day.

During this day of rest, Rhodes also met the person he had been waiting for—Count Aura.

"It looks just like the real thing."

Inside the tent, Rhodes carefully examined the handsome man riding on the back of the white wolf.

The man had fair skin, a tall and straight figure, and wore exquisite armor with a golden shield badge on his chest.

Coupled with his serious expression, the man exuded an air of nobility and majesty.

Because of proper handling and wearing a sachet, the man did not have any unpleasant odor.

What do you mean by "truly the same"?

Count Aura's voice was hoarse, "I am the real one."

"It's true, but the sound is awful, like two stones rubbing against each other."

Rhodes shook his head slightly. "And your movements are still a bit stiff. You need to practice your control more."

An unpleasant voice can be attributed to illness, such as excessive grief over the death of an emperor.

But the stiffness in the movements is harder to explain.

"They're practicing!"

This time the voice came from the white wolf's mouth, and then a shove from behind sent "himself" flying.

"Haha, don't worry, this is enough for now."

As Rod spoke, he turned to look at Vivian beside him.
“Send someone to send a letter to Luris in Eagle Hold, and tell her that I have something to discuss with her.”

(End of this chapter)