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

Chapter 319 Let's still ask the Marquis to come back.

……

……

Vinnis also wanted to reorganize the army.

But when he heard Rhodes say that the border town had fallen, Vinnis stopped his horse and stood still.

If what Rhodes said is true, then it means that Vinnis's army has lost its rear supply lines.

If they wanted to retreat, Vinnis could only flee to the west, further away from the border town.

"What should we do, sir?" the adjutant asked in a low voice.

"What to do, what to do? Is this all you ever ask?"

Vinnie's tone was full of frustration.

The key issue is that he doesn't know what to do now.

If the border town really fell, Vinnis felt that there was no hope left.

Because his family was still in the border town.

If Rhodes was lying, then Vinnis must now must organize his army and flee to the border town to send back the news that Rhodes is still alive.

Thinking of this, Vinnie suddenly widened his eyes and sighed deeply.

"Gather your troops and surrender to Baron Rhodes."

"what?"

The adjutant was suddenly stunned, staring intently at Vinnie, wondering why his superior would suddenly make this decision.

Vinnis noticed his adjutant's confusion and asked meaningfully, "Why do you think Baron Rhodes would create the illusion that he was successfully assassinated?"

"Why, why?"

"Because we need to take the border town."

Vinnie said slowly, "We have no way out."

……

……

Rhodes's intimidation only deterred a portion of the soldiers, causing them to kneel down with their hands raised in submission.

The rest had already fled in fear.

However, in the cold, desolate winter wilderness, these soldiers could not go far.

The task of gathering the surrendered soldiers was handed over to Durant.

After Durant wiped out the Knight Assassination Group, he led two hundred hunting party soldiers back to Frostleaf Town to assist in the defense, and equipped them with various defensive equipment.

Frostleaf Town may not have many handicrafts, but it has plenty of massive logs and stones to smash people with.

Frosty Leaf Town also has a militia brigade and reserves.

Unless equipped with catapults, it would be very difficult for these 500 men to break through Frostleaf Town.

When Rhodes returned to Frostleaf Town, he inevitably spent time with Avril.

Of course, the more important thing was to inspect the various workshops in the territory.

The first place was the blacksmith's workshop, where Hamor and Bane reported on the basic situation.

During the war between Eagle Ridge and White Deer Territory, a large number of blacksmiths and blacksmith apprentices were captured. Some were sent to repair equipment with the army, while most were sent back to the blacksmith workshop in Frostleaf Town.

The blacksmith shop can now produce five to eight sets of plate armor every day, enough to arm a legion in less than six months.

If more blacksmith apprentices and stamping machines are added, production will increase further.

This is also the current development direction of the workshop.

The apprentices operated the machinery to create standard prototypes of plate armor, which were then refined by experienced blacksmiths.

It involves not only regular plate armor, but also the crafting of enchanted armor.

On average, one set of enchanted armor can be produced per day.

If we disregard the production of enchanted weapons, we can produce an extra half set every day.

Of course, this is only theoretical.

The production of enchanted armor, especially enchanted armor made of felsteel, is still largely limited by the availability of magical materials.

Therefore, the mining of Seaweed Iron Ore and the establishment of monster breeding farms are of paramount importance.

It's worth mentioning that magical beasts have a larger appetite than ordinary wild animals, and species like the magical rabbit and bison, which were originally herbivores, have also started eating meat after being corrupted.

Rod didn't find it strange, after all, the energy that meat could provide was far greater than that of grass.

However, this would require more wild animals and livestock to provide meat, and also more hay.

Fortunately, with Rhodes's entry providing support, and the vastness of the wasteland, there was no shortage of fodder.

But it was enough for Rhodes to realize that the development of the extraordinary cannot only focus on things related to the extraordinary; basic resources also need to be extremely abundant.

After listening to the two blacksmiths' reports, Rod took a brief look around the blacksmith shop.

The blacksmith shop has been expanded to accommodate more blacksmiths.

It is now divided into a forging area, a rolling mill area, a stamping and forming area, and a precision forging area.

The rune engraving workshop is located at the very back of the blacksmith's shop.

For the sake of confidentiality and to save space, it is divided into two parts: above ground and underground.

"My lord!"

"My lord!"

Upon seeing Rod's arrival, the blacksmiths all stopped their work and bowed.

Rod waved his hand, signaling them to continue working.
"Work hard, everyone. There are no differences in status here, only differences in ability, even if you joined later."

"As long as you do a good job, you will be well rewarded with the Winter Veil prize money."

Rhodes' encouragement brought smiles to the faces of the new blacksmiths, who responded in unison, "Yes, sir!"

Hamo had said similar things to them before.

The words of a supervisor still carry less weight than those of a lord.

After offering words of encouragement, Rod also took a stroll around the blacksmith shop.

As I approached the rune engraving room, I immediately felt an incredibly welcoming spiritual energy.

"Is my statue inside?" Rhodes asked Bane.

Bain nodded repeatedly, "Yes, my lord, it's in the prayer room inside."

“There should be someone praying. If you are going to patrol, I will tell them to come out.”

"Don't disturb their normal work."

Rhodes raised his hand to stop Bain's movement and asked, "Is Saenda busy inside too?"

“No, Master Sendar is at the newly built alchemy workshop,” Bain reported.

"okay."

Rhodes nodded slightly. "Then you can continue with your work."

Without lingering any longer, he turned and left with Vivian.

The so-called alchemy workshop is currently just three wooden huts near the underground warehouse, which serve as Avril and the others' workspace.

There is another underground floor, which leads directly to a basement where various materials are stored.

These alchemy workshops should have been built as brick houses, but with winter approaching, there wasn't enough time, so they were made do with wooden huts.

However, it has all the necessary facilities: workbenches and equipment for rune engraving and alchemy experiments, long tables for research and study, and cabinets and bookshelves for storing various experimental samples, etc.

Unlike blacksmiths who rely on experience, Zhuoya received a good aristocratic education and studied at the Dawn Society for a long time.

Zhuoya was more of a scholar and was used to drawing blueprints like Luo De, which filled the room with all kinds of blueprints.

Rhodes did not give prior notice, nor did he have the guards notify him.

Therefore, Zoya was unaware of Rod's arrival and was still diligently drawing blueprints with her head down.

Until the guard pushed open the door, Rhodes walked into the room.

"Lord Lord."

Zhuo Ya stood up, a smile on her face.

Her attire was casual; she wore a dark robe and her long hair was loosely tied up with a cloth ribbon.

"It seems you've settled in quickly, Miss Zhuoya."

Rhodes smiled as he looked at the blueprints on the table, which depicted some strangely shaped and ferocious armor parts.

"I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you..."

Zhuo Ya looked a little embarrassed. "I've been studying the contents of the Necromancer's Handbook lately, and I just finished researching the prosthetic limb that Miss Avril made before."

"Apart from that, there were no other results."

"It's okay, take your time."

Rhodes smiled warmly. "There's no rushing when it comes to researching and developing new things."

"Sir, I have some questions."

Zhuo Ya hesitated for a moment before slowly saying, "The materials used in this type of prosthesis are quite expensive, and it seems impractical to use it for every amputee..."

"Well, you're right."

Rhodes added without hesitation, "It's only valuable to me if it's used by high-ranking knights like Durant. Your idea is fine."

Zhuoya's idea was somewhat cold, but that's just how reality is.

There weren't enough extraordinary materials to begin with, so it was impossible to provide every disabled person with a prosthetic limb produced by this necromancy.

"Therefore, I think the magic-powered armor you mentioned is the key to the research."

Zhuo Ya frowned slightly, looking at Luo De with a puzzled expression.

"There's something I don't quite understand while I was researching: what's the difference between the enchanted gauntlets you proposed and traditional enchanted gauntlets?"

“There’s no difference between the two starting points,” Rhodes said casually.

Zhuoya was stunned. "No... difference?"

"It's simply adding magical effects to equipment through runes, so there's no difference, but,"

Rod paused, then emphasized, "Traditional enchanted armor is too limiting."

"Most ordinary enchanted equipment has passive effects. Due to the runes, the improvement effect is limited. The more enchantments there are, the more complex they become, and it is difficult to stack them."

"More importantly, it is always an inanimate external force device."

"The enchanted armor, on the other hand, needs to interact and connect with its user, building upon the foundation of ordinary enchanted armor."

As Rod finished speaking, Zhuo Ya's eyes were filled with confusion.

Clearly, they didn't understand a single thing.

Rod knew he had spoken in a roundabout way, so he thought for a moment and continued to explain patiently.
"For example, a regular enchanted gauntlet can increase the strength of the arm by one-tenth, but the gauntlet that Sionda made last time could double the strength under Durant's control."

"Although there are only a dozen or so breaths left, it is enough to easily crush the opponent."

"Ah, I understand!"

Zhuo Ya's eyes lit up slightly. "You mean, the magic armor is a controllable enchanted armor?!"

"That's one way to understand it, but you can't let enchanted armor restrict you."

Rhodes patiently reminded him, "Enchanted armor is only for protection, but I hope that the magic armor can also have offensive capabilities."

"For example, magic impact, freezing breath, fire arrow, and so on."

Rod continued.

"Furthermore, the magic armor must make full use of necromancy to bind it to the user's body."

"This allows the armor to be controlled as freely as the wearer's body, rather than having an adverse effect on the wearer's movements as traditional armor does."

"The most crucial aspect is the driving method."

Rhodes emphasized, "I hope that through your research into necromancy, you can make the armor self-powered, driven by the knight's breath, rather than just by mental energy."

A knight's mental strength is limited; if he relies more on mental strength, he will be unable to use more powerful spells.

In that case, the so-called magic armor would become just ordinary magic equipment.

"Yes, I know!"

Zoya nodded seriously. "Sainda told me that you want the magic armor to be mainly used by knights."

"In addition, I need to remind you that many things can be delegated to other people."

Rod drew a pyramid structure on the paper, pointing to the base of the pyramid.

“The bottom layer is basic manufacturing, such as component processing and armor polishing, which can be done by craftsmen.”

"The middle layer is auxiliary magic; other wizard apprentices can assist with the selection of materials and the creation of the magic."

"And you,"

Rhodes looked at Zoya and said, "You need to focus on the more challenging aspects, such as designing functional runes and optimizing manipulating runes."

"good idea!"

Zhuo Ya's eyes widened, and a look of surprise appeared on her face.
"This will shorten production time and greatly improve research efficiency!"

"Yes, that's the power of division of labor and cooperation."

Rod smiled and nodded.

This is also the prototype of an industrialized assembly line. Whether it is an ordinary workshop or an extraordinary workshop, they must take this path to have a future.

"Then I'll start researching now and design a feasible solution for you as soon as possible!"

Zhuoya couldn't wait to sit back down at the table and list out all of Rod's points, combining them with the gauntlets that Senda had previously made, and began designing a new suit of armor.

Rhodes actually had many ideas in his mind, such as the modular configuration of the armor, its later maintenance, and its specific form.

But Rod was afraid that Zoya wouldn't be able to process it, so he didn't say anything more.

At the same time, Rhodes didn't want to limit Zoya with modern industrial thinking—perhaps she also had innovative ideas?
Therefore, Rhodes did not linger and left the alchemy workshop to inspect the potions workshop.

The potion workshop was relatively peaceful. Yu Lai, as the temporary head, led three other potion apprentices to make potions commonly used in the territory.

Luna is in charge of looking after the herb garden and the magic plant garden.

Rhodes made a final inspection of the Magic Plant Garden, where the best-growing crop in winter was the snow wheat sown in early winter.

Most of the harvest from the two acres was used as seeds, and another thirty acres of snow wheat were sown.

As for the remaining 280 catties of snow wheat, it will be used as a basic material for making potions in the potion workshop.

After inspecting the Magic Plant Garden, Rhodes did not linger and rode his Thunder Dragon back to the border town.

Not long after Rhodes left, Zoya hurriedly ran towards the lord's manor.

Durant, who had just finished reporting on the prisoners, came out of the manor and greeted Zhuoya politely.

"Miss Zhuoya, are you looking for the lord or Lady Avril?"

Durant proactively reminded her, "The lord has just left; Lady Avril has gone to the potions workshop."

"Oh no, I'm still too late!"

Zhuo Ya sighed slightly, somewhat annoyed, and said, "Sir Durant, could you help me find some corpses?"

"Ideally, it should be the corpse of a magical beast, as some spells require it as a material."

Zhuoya added, "Actually, human corpses with superhuman powers would be even better..."

"This one……"

Durant looked troubled.

Warcraft is not under Durant's control, and its corpse is rarely left behind.

After all, monsters are treasures from head to toe; even their meat can improve the physique of the person who eats it.

As for human corpses, they do exist, but Durant finds it hard to accept using them as material.

He thought for a moment and asked, "Is this material important?"

"Very important."

Zhuo Ya said firmly, "My research cannot continue without the bodies."

"OK then."

Durant nodded slightly, frowned, and said in a deep voice, "Leave this to me. I will provide you with a suitable body."

"Many thanks."

Zhuo Ya breathed a sigh of relief, nodded in greeting, and turned to leave.

Durant took a deep breath and turned to look southeast.

……

……

Frosthold.

Meeting hall.

"how so……"

Winnie turned pale after hearing the guard's report.

She gripped the table with both hands to steady her swaying body and asked in a trembling voice,

"Is the news accurate?"

“Accurate, Your Excellency.”

The guard lowered his head, avoiding Winnie's gaze, but his tone was firm.

"Not only has the border town fallen, but the surrounding villages have also been attacked by the Black Pine Ridge army!"

"Our army couldn't hold them off at all; they robbed us of all our people and food!"

Winnie swallowed hard, her pride replaced by panic.

The fall of the border town meant that most of the Coldblade family's territory was now laid bare before Rhodes' army.

It's like a peach with its skin peeled off, offering no protection but leaving only its tempting, tender flesh.

"What about the army that went to Eagle Ridge?"

Winnie suddenly realized something, as if she had grasped at a lifeline, and hurriedly shouted, "Quickly, send them back!"

"The allied forces that attacked Eagle Ridge have been disbanded and recalled by those lords to protect their territories."

The guard whispered, "Our men are on their way back..."

"Urgent military situation!"

The guards' voices were interrupted by shouts, and one of them rushed in, kneeling before Winnie with a panicked expression.
"Lord Grido was ambushed on the pine forest path on the border of Eagle Ridge. Our army was scattered, and Lord Grido has also disappeared!"

"Your Excellency, something terrible has happened! Our horse ranch has been attacked, and all our warhorses have been stolen!"

"The scouts in the west just reported that they saw the Viscount Mil's family sending three cartloads of goods to the border town as a gesture of goodwill!"

"News has come from the wasteland: Lord Vinnis's army has been defeated!"

……

One piece of bad news after another poured down on Winnie's face like a flood bursting its banks, leaving her breathless for a moment.

She stood there, breathing heavily, unable to speak for a long time.

The guard who reported the news knelt on the ground, not daring to speak, for fear that the viscount's wrath would fall upon him.

The council chamber fell into a deathly silence, with only the crackling of the firewood in the fireplace.

But reality doesn't stop just because we're silent; every piece of bad news needs a solution.

After all, the other side was waiting for Frosthold to issue orders.

"My Lord, Lord Viscount..."

After waiting for a long time, the guard who had first come in to report whispered a reminder.

"Perhaps we should ask the Marquis to return?"

(End of this chapter)