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

Chapter 312 The Cold Blade Family's Response (Supplement)
……

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"We've lost another town."

An elderly nobleman, dressed in a black fur coat and sporting a gray beard, spoke in a deep voice.
"The Black Pine Ridge army's offensive momentum is too fierce."

"In just nine days, the Bailu family was completely overthrown."

Another tall nobleman chimed in, "Our situation here is relatively good."

"To be precise, it only took two days; the rest of the time was spent traveling."

Viscount Winnie, daughter of Marquis Coldblade, said in a deep voice, "The survivors reported that because Viscount White Deer refused to surrender, Rhodes rode a dragon and burned the soldiers on the city wall to ashes."

"A strange noise came from the ground beneath the castle gate, and then, with a piercing sound, the gate suddenly cracked open."

"The army of Black Pine Ridge stormed into the castle without any resistance. Viscount White Deer was killed, and the whereabouts of the rest of the White Deer family are unknown."

Upon hearing Viscount Winnie's words, all the nobles gasped and turned pale.

We're all in the same boat now, and Viscount Winnie wouldn't spread false information to deceive everyone.

But Viscount Winnie's words were beyond everyone's comprehension.

The war in the noble castle lasted only one day.

This is something no one would have dared to imagine before.

Dragons, on the other hand, are legendary creatures with the power to destroy the world.

"I never expected he actually had a dragon."

The old nobleman's face was solemn. "I didn't take the news from the southeast seriously before. I thought it was just a rumor. I really didn't expect this."

"Not only dragons, but Rhodes' army is also terrifying."

"The soldiers of Black Pine Ridge are well-equipped, exceptionally strong, have great endurance, and are exceptionally fierce in battle."

Winnie looked at the old nobleman and added, "With just twenty men, the White Deer family's Stone Hill Town was breached."

After these words, the entire council chamber fell silent.

"If that's really the case, what's the point of fighting? We have no chance of winning at all."

The tall nobleman said irritably, leaned back in his chair, and shrugged.

"Let's just kneel down and surrender to that Lord Rhodes."

“Shut up, Dark. Saying such discouraging things will only make people more annoyed,” another nobleman said.

“We must do something; we can’t just wait for Black Pine Ridge to swallow up our land.”

"We must find a way to curb the momentum of Black Pine Ridge."

“We can unite with other families, gather all available forces, and launch a large-scale attack,” a nobleman suggested.

But it was quickly rejected by another nobleman.
"Given the current state of the empire, we have no idea who the other major noble families in the north are loyal to. Do you dare to cooperate with them?"

"Moreover, although the army of Black Pine Ridge is small in number, its combat power far exceeds ours."

"Not to mention the threat of that dragon."

The old nobleman chimed in, "The army's movements are too great. If Baron Rhodes retreats with his troops to Frostleaf, we still won't be able to deal with them."

The lord who made the suggestion asked anxiously, "Then what can we do?"

"We can't just do nothing, can we?"

"We can strengthen our defenses and concentrate our forces in Frosthold, relying on the sturdy walls and the terrain to our advantage."

"That would only buy us time; holding on would only make our situation more and more passive."

……

Inside the council chamber, several nobles were engaged in heated debate, their faces flushed with embarrassment.

Everyone was racking their brains, but every suggestion was found to have fatal flaws.

Time ticked by, and the candlelight flickered erratically amidst the flying saliva.

Just like people's anxious hearts.

After a long time.

Winnie slowly began, “Perhaps… we shouldn’t be thinking about how to defend, but rather about taking the initiative.”

All eyes turned to her.

"Waiting will only lead us to our demise."

A cold glint flashed in Winnie's eyes. "Assemble an elite team to assassinate Rhodes."

"No matter how powerful Black Pine Ridge is, it will fall apart without Rod."

A glint flashed in the old nobleman's eyes. "What kind of elite squad? Continue."

"It consists of top-tier knights and high-ranking knights, and then each of us takes out our treasured extraordinary items to assist us."

"Arm them all, then look for an opportunity to strike when Rhodes is completely unprepared."

After Winnie finished speaking, the nobles nodded thoughtfully.

By concentrating all the high-end combat power of the Hanren family and several other lords, the success rate of this plan is bound to be very high.

“I can provide Shadow Potion, which will allow those knights to infiltrate Rhodes’ side silently.”

The old nobleman spoke first, which was considered as agreeing to the plan.

“My family has a family-inherited enchanted longsword that can easily cut through plate armor.”

"I can provide the Scroll of Flames, which is said to unleash a burst of flames when torn open."

"My ring can improve the wearer's physical flexibility."

……

Other nobles also expressed their opinions, and hope gradually appeared in their eyes.

Winnie nodded emphatically, her eyes revealing determination.
"That's settled then. Everyone, go back and assemble the troops."

"As soon as Baron Rhodes dies, we will immediately launch a counterattack. We will not only take back all the lost territories, but also Eagle Ridge and the Wasteland will belong to us."

"For the Cold Blade Clan!"

Everyone stood up and responded in unison.
"For the Cold Blade Clan!"

"For the glory of the North!"

……

……

The streets of the border town were shrouded in wind and snow.

Snowflakes fell like goose feathers, accumulating in the cracks of the stone pavement.

The cold wind howled, swirling up snowflakes that stung people's cheeks.

A middle-aged man wearing a heavy black fur cloak stood in the snow in a narrow alley behind the tavern.

A wool scarf covered half of the man's face, revealing only a pair of cold, sharp eyes that scanned the rabble before him.

Thugs, beggars, peddlers, hooligans, and all sorts of rats huddled together, their tattered clothes shivering in the wind and snow.

The man gripped the sword hilt, his voice low and deep.

"Go and call Skinny Mouse over."

The mice glanced at each other, ignored each other, and closed their eyes.

"You'd better go and find the skinny rat quickly."

The man drew his sword halfway out, saying, "Otherwise, I'll turn you all into corpses."

"Alright, Your Excellency, please don't make things difficult for my people."

A tall, thin figure emerged from the back door of the tavern; it was none other than the leader of the underground rats of the border town, the Skinny Rat King.

"Speak, my lord, what are Viscount Winnie's orders?" the skinny mouse asked casually.

The middle-aged man turned around and looked at the skinny rat. "Find out the whereabouts of Lord Rod Tulip of Blackpine Ridge."

The skinny mouse lazily stomped its foot, splashing up a small patch of snow.

"Rhodes Tulip? This is no easy task."

The skinny rat shook his head slightly. "Things in Frostleaf Town are very complicated. Nobody knows the inside story."

“He is currently active in Eagle Ridge, and his whereabouts are not difficult to find.”

The middle-aged man's tone was as cold as ice, "He might be in White Deer Territory. In any case, you must find his trail."

“This place is too big; it might take me a month to find it,” the skinny mouse replied.

"Seven days."

The middle-aged man glared at the skinny rat, his words firm, "We only have seven days. We must find Rod's trail."

"Seven days is too short. If I go to Eagle Ridge, I won't be able to come back."

The skinny mouse pouted and shook his head, refusing the man's request. "You should find someone else."

The middle-aged man did not respond. He took out a leather bag from under his cloak, the sound of metal clashing was particularly clear, and casually tossed it to the skinny rat.

"This is just a deposit; the remaining amount will be half after everything is settled."

The middle-aged man warned, "But if you mess this up, you'll lose your head."

"Remember, Lady Winnie is not consulting you."

"You're just a mouse, you have no choice."

"If you can't do it, then there's no need for you to exist."

The man snorted coldly, turned around, and walked into the snowstorm.

The skinny man stood there, watching the middle-aged man leave, a smile gradually appearing on his face. His fingers rubbed against the leather bag, as if he were thinking about something.

A beggar approached and whispered, "Boss, are we really going to work for Viscount Winnie? They treat the lady terribly."

The skinny rat glanced at him sideways, a cold smile creeping onto his lips. "This isn't something you or I can decide."

The skinny rat shoved aside the beggar beside him, opened his money bag, paused slightly when he saw the copper coins inside, and let out a sneer.
"A big family, indeed. Stingy."

The skinny rat casually tossed the money pouch to his subordinate.

"Distribute the materials and get ready to work."

……

……

In a secluded ravine on the northwestern border of Eagle Ridge.

This used to be a small village with about thirty households, but it has been abandoned due to the merger of villages.

However, because of its secluded location, it was able to enter Frost Territory at any time to monitor and raid the border town, thus becoming a temporary camp and command post for the army.

Throughout this war, Rhodes did not pay much attention to the gains or losses of territory.

Because of the limited number of troops, Rhodes did not intend to divide his forces to garrison troops, thereby weakening his army's strength.

Since the northern wastelands behind him could accommodate them all, Rhodes consistently advocated for the plundering of resources and people.

But the border town is different.

The border town is the gateway to the eastern wilderness.

Although it is not situated at a break in a mountain range like a military fortress, it blocks the only road leading to the wasteland.

Once the border town is occupied, outposts and traps are set up in the surrounding mountains and valleys, no army will be able to enter the wilderness from the east.

For Rhodes, the border town was a fortress that could be attacked or defended at will.

Rhodes knew that the Coldblade family wasn't stupid either; there were at least eight hundred soldiers guarding the border city.

The military discipline in this era was not as good as in Rhodes' previous life. If they lived with the residents, they would often bully civilians and commit robbery, making them very difficult to manage.

Eight hundred people is the limit of the border town's capacity; a typical town only has three to five hundred.

As for the remaining soldiers, they were all in a military camp between the border town and Frostholdt, and these three places could quickly support each other.

Rhodes did not intend to let his elite troops fight a war of attrition, but instead concentrated all his forces to besiege the stronghold and intercept reinforcements.

Chris and Gunther were gathering deserters and surrendered soldiers from various places, and they estimated that there were about a thousand of them.

Those people will form the main force in the siege.

Sejuani, along with the Wolfhooves cavalry, used their mobility to harass the villages southeast of the Coldblade family, diverting the Coldblade nobles' attention.

Of course, Rhodes didn't just stay in the camp and enjoy himself.

After arranging military affairs, Rod also had to arrange the political affairs of Eagle Ridge.

The most important thing is the members of the deliberation committee; these people must be loyal to Rhodes.

After much deliberation, Rhodes sent men to summon Us, Love, Aleia, and the White Frost Prophet to his side.

The four men braved the wind and snow to make their way to the camp, where their fur coats were covered in snowflakes.

"My lord!" "Holy Lord!"

The four men stood at the entrance of the tent and bowed respectfully.

"You've worked hard, making you travel such a long way in this cold weather."

Rhodes, sitting by the brazier, beckoned, "Come in quickly and warm yourself by the fire."

"Yes, Your Excellency/Holy Lord."

After the four nodded in agreement, they sat down around the brazier in turn.

Rhodes waved his hand, signaling his fox-woman assistant to make tea for the four of them, and said at the same time:
"Durant should have already told you about the main business he came here for, so I won't go into details."

"I'll mainly assign the specific tasks."

Rhodes looked at Us first, "You are mainly responsible for the daily affairs of Eagle Ridge, such as town construction, summarizing all income and expenditure, judging the guilt of the people, and so on."

The savages of Black Pine Ridge have long been integrated into the community; they are all the most loyal servants of Lord Rhodes and require no additional management.

Even those wild children in the school will become the main force of Black Pine Ridge in the future.

Meanwhile, Us had been studying for over a year, handling all the affairs of Blade's Edge Village, and he was very familiar with the daily affairs of the people.

Handling the affairs of Eagle Ridge should not be a problem now.

“Yes, Holy Lord.” Us nodded heavily in response.

Rhodes then turned to Aleya and instructed her, "You are in charge of the guard training, town defense, wild animal control, and assisting Us in enforcing the law."

"This is also part of your previous job, so you should be able to handle it, right?"

"No problem, my lord."

Alaya straightened her chest and solemnly replied, "I will make Eagle Ridge as peaceful and tranquil as Black Pine Ridge."

"Okay, I believe you."

Rod smiled and looked at Love, "I've always been very satisfied with your work at Black Pine Ridge, Love. Now you're going to be in charge on your own."

"You are responsible for supervising the farmland and wild gathering in Eagle Ridge. You will also assist Us in collecting taxes and cooperate with Aleya to organize regular hunts."

"I...I know, my lord!"

Lov's voice trembled slightly as he stood up with a look of fear on his face.

Having worked his way up from a night soil collector, Love never imagined he would one day manage the farmland of an earldom, and he couldn't help but feel a little excited.

However, his attitude doesn't mean that Lof is incompetent. He has always been in charge of farming in Blade's Edge Village, and there has never been a mistake.

Rod waved his hand, gesturing for Love to sit down.

"Work hard, and you and your children will have a brighter future."

"understand!"

Love nodded vigorously.

After speaking, Rhodes's gaze swept over the three of them.
"When the three of you are working, pay attention to mentoring some young people, and don't try to do everything yourself."

"You are the first review panel, but not the last."

Rhodes solemnly instructed, "You must train more people for me, and we also need a new review panel in the future."

"Yes, my lord!" the three replied in unison.

"Alright, you three must be tired from the journey. Go and rest first," Rod waved his hand.

The three immediately stood up, bowed to Rhodes, and withdrew.

After the three left, Rhodes turned his gaze to the White Frost Prophet.

"Holy Lord, is there anything I can do to help you?"

The White Frost Prophet wore a fawning smile.

For the past few months, the White Frost Prophet had been living a very leisurely life in the Blade's Edge Mountains.

But for Black Pine Ridge, which is developing every day, a leisurely life is not a good thing for White Frost Prophet.

"You are in charge of propaganda, praising my achievements, just like you usually tell your people, portraying me as a holy lord."

Rod asked with a smile, "This should be what you're best at, right?"

The White Frost Prophet nodded repeatedly.

"No problem, Holy Lord!"

"Your great deeds are all there; just add a few words and it becomes an epic of heroism!"

"I don't care what you do or what you call me."

Rhodes reminded them, "The ultimate goal is to let them know that all the good things in life come from me, to make them loyal to me, and to make them revere me."

"Only in this way can Eagle Ridge remain stable and prevent it from being incited by other lords to revolt."

"So never neglect the task I've given you; it's the most important thing on the deliberation panel."

"Rest assured, Holy Lord, I will let everyone know your greatness, your benevolence, and your generosity!"

The White Frost Prophet's face was now filled with reverence, her eyes fixed fervently on Rhodes.

"I will make sure everyone knows that you are the light of this world!"

"..."

Looking at the White Frost Prophet's ecstatic expression, Rhodes couldn't help but think to himself that he hadn't made the wrong choice.

This guy gets into character really fast.

"Like Us and the others, don't forget to nurture your own students."

Rhodes specifically instructed.

Faith needs to be cultivated (brainwashing) from a young age, otherwise it is difficult to make people truly believe.

"Alright, you can think about the publicity later."

Rhodes waved his hand to interrupt the White Frost Prophet's reverie and asked, "You must have other things to report to me, right?"

"Ah, yes, Holy Lord!"

The White Frost Prophet quickly lifted his fur coat, took out a black cloth bag from his bosom, and carefully placed it on the ground.

Then he peeled off the layers of black cloth covering the statue, revealing a human-shaped sculpture about thirty centimeters tall.

The White Frost Prophet carefully grasped the base of the statue and gently presented it to Rhodes.
"Holy Lord, this is the work of Master Senda."

　I underestimated the workload of cultivating seven acres of cornfields... Sorry, I broke my promise and have to catch up on last night's work first...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)