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

Chapter 340 You Will Surely Be King

……

……

As the entry hints appeared, information about the divine object gradually surfaced in Rhodes' mind.

So-called divine objects are items related to deities, involving faith, the soul, or a particular realm.

It could be fragments of divine implements, the remains of saints, the bones of martyrs, or crystals of divine magic.

Divine objects may have originally been very ordinary items, but they have always been by the side of the gods and have become incredibly powerful due to the influence of divine power.

There are also some divine objects that are born from the laws of nature, but the conditions for their appearance are extremely harsh, making them virtually impossible to appear.

Therefore, to obtain divine artifacts, one must either slaughter gods or excavate from the ruins of gods.

Complete divine artifacts are hard to obtain, but if it's just a fragment, you can make some targeted plans.

"As expected of a divine artifact, collecting five fragments will unlock a purple attribute."

Rod couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

The effect of the Blasphemous Child is also straightforward, directly boosting mental strength.

Rhodes snapped out of his daze and looked at Lucien, asking, "Have you found out what this thing is?"

"I happen to recognize this."

Lu Sen straightened his chest and introduced earnestly, "This is a small part of the Wheel of Light, the Core of Light."

"The Core of Light only sounds nice, but it is actually the core of a monster called a vampire."

"Legend has it that on his path to godhood, the Lord of Dawn slaughtered countless vampire monsters and used their cores to forge the Core of Light."

As Lu Sen continued, he added, "Of course, this information comes from the church, and I can't determine its authenticity at the moment."

Looking at the blood bead in his hand, Rhodes asked, "The effect of the Core of Light is to absorb the life force of others and convert it into energy?"

"Yes, its main function is to absorb life force to recharge the Wheel of Light Erosion."

Lu Sen nodded slightly and continued, "It is said that this Core of Light has thirty-five secondary cores, seven main cores, and one divine core."

Rhodes was somewhat surprised, picked up the blood bead and asked, "So this is the secondary verification?"

“You are very wise; it is indeed a secondary core,” Luxen replied.

In fact, Rhodes's judgment was based on a simple premise: the main core could not have been given to a bishop like Salido, and its power could not have been limited to this.

"It seems the Church of Dawn has quite a deep foundation."

Rhodes played with the blood bead and said leisurely, "I wonder what the power of the main core will be like, and that Wheel of Light should be a legendary artifact, right?"

"Yes, but rest assured, the Church of Dawn does not possess the Wheel of Light, and its core is not something ordinary people can use."

After Lusen finished speaking, he added, "In addition, after you left yesterday, with Falfolk's assistance, the Shadow Guard arrested twenty-one church members."

"Thirteen of them are from the Church of Dawn, and the other eight are from the Church of Courage, the Church of Wealth, the Church of Agriculture, and the Church of Black."

"Why are there so many random people?"

Rhodes frowned slightly and turned to look at Sao. "Sao, convey my order: from now on, no church is allowed in my territory. Anyone found there will be treated as a spy."

“Yes, Holy Lord,” Sao nodded respectfully.

Upon hearing this, Luxen's face lit up with joy, and he bowed to Rhodes.

The fact that the church was not allowed to exist naturally made the Dawn Church the happiest.

"Also, write a poem about Salido's sacrifice of the common people today and give it to the bards here."

Rhodes instructed, “Inform them to spread this poem, teach it to other bards, and let it be sung throughout the empire.”

"Three months from now, I want everyone in the empire to know about this, including three-year-old children."

"Yes, Holy Lord!"

Sao nodded in greeting and turned to deliver the order.

Currently, they have only taken over the defense and security of Boulder City; they do not yet have anyone in charge of the city.

To find a bard, you need to find a guide, or even just go to the tavern and catch one; it's not something that can be solved with just a few words.

After São stepped down, Luxen showed Rhodes some of Salido's belongings.

Salido possesses seven magical items: four magic rings, two magic scrolls, and a magic necklace.

The magic rings are the Thorn Ring, which casts Thorn Entanglement;

The Holy Seal Ring, capable of casting the offensive spell Holy Retribution;
The Ring of Sacrifice consumes the life force of a creature to instantly restore the body's energy, and the Ring of Faith increases the efficiency of prayer.

The magic necklace is a sacred protective pendant specifically designed to ward off curses.

Aside from the Holy Seal Ring, the remaining four magical trinkets were all valuable, and Rhode kept them all for the time being.

As for magic scrolls, they are all products of the church, specifically purification and healing scrolls.

The Healing Scroll needs no introduction; Purification is used to remove abnormal statuses from a target's body, somewhat similar to the White Frost Prophet's Purifying Flame.

After Lusen finished his report, the Winter Guard led Falfolk to the council hall.

After Faffok entered, Luxembourg voluntarily withdrew.

It wasn't that Luxen wanted to avoid Falfolk, but rather that besides working for Rhodes, he was also a wizard apprentice who needed time for meditation and practice.

"Lord Rhodes."

Falfolk bowed deeply, his movements exceptionally precise.

Falfolk looked down on the nobility at heart, and even when facing the Duke of the Flowers, he showed little respect.

But Rhodes is not just a nobleman; he is a spellcaster nobleman who can transform into a dragon.

"No need for formalities, Fafok."

Rhodes gestured for Falfolk to sit down and said with a faint smile, "Your information helped me a lot. You deserve the most credit for dealing with Salido, and I want to thank you properly."

"You don't have to be polite."

Falfolk nodded again in response, saying, "As fellow members of the Secret Law Council, we share common enemies and goals."

"And even if you hadn't received my message beforehand, Salido wouldn't be a match for you."

"In the face of overwhelming power, conspiracies are worthless."

Falfolk speaks very directly, just like Linda, but pays more attention to etiquette than Linda.

“You’re right, Falfolk.”

Rod smiled and said, "But your information gives me more confidence to deal with Salido, and I like to do things I'm confident about."

"And I cannot let those who help me go unrewarded; I must reward you."

Rod paused, then continued, "But as a spellcaster, I know you wouldn't like ordinary items like gold coins and jewelry, and I don't have anything here worth giving you."

"So, I plan to give you 10,000 work points."

"Work points?"

Rhodes's words made Falfolk pause for a moment.

In that brief moment, Falfolk thought of all sorts of things Rhodes would reward him with.

Gold, jewelry, servants, women, even magical ornaments.

But I never expected it would be work points.

“You mean…” Falfolk suddenly became interested.

Whatever this powerful duke mentioned must be something extraordinary.

"Work points can be considered a currency similar to gold coins, but they can only be exchanged for items with me."

Without further explanation, Rhodes pulled a parchment scroll from his pocket and handed it to Falfolk.
"This is a list of items that can be redeemed temporarily."

This was something Rhodes had planned long ago.

As the territory expands, the work points system will become increasingly difficult to control.

Quantitative statistics will also become extremely difficult.

More importantly, it's just data recorded in a notebook, which is very easy to falsify.

There is currently no mature system to support paper money, so it is best to continue using the system of gold, silver, and copper coins.

However, within a small scope, the work point system is very effective and is a powerful tool for governance and maintaining cohesion.

Therefore, Rhodes decided to apply the work point system exclusively to spellcasters.

Unlike the previous work points system, this one is used exclusively to redeem extraordinary items.

Falfolk, unaware of these things, took the parchment scroll with both hands and carefully opened it to examine it.

The page is divided into three columns: item name, item price, and item description.

The items listed inside are all extraordinary items, such as monster blood, spell models, meditation techniques, monster hides, and sea-patterned magic iron ore.

At the very top are potions and dragon blood, with prices ranging from five thousand to several million.

"Is this true?"

Looking at the items on the list, Falfolk cautiously asked, "Can all of these be exchanged for those work points?" "Yes, as long as you have them in stock, you can exchange them."

Rhodes said with a smile, "But you should know that sometimes extraordinary items just disappear."

"Of course, that's common sense."

Falfolk nodded repeatedly, then lowered his head to look at the list again.

After watching for a while, Falfolk shook his head helplessly, "It seems my 10,000 work points can only buy two bottles of monster blood..."

Falfolk asked cautiously, "Lord Rhodes, how can I earn more work points?"

Rhodes was waiting for Falfolk's words.

“Work for me, and your monthly salary can be settled in work points.”

Rhodes patiently explained, "In addition, I will assign some extra tasks, and you can earn work points if you complete them well."

"In the future, some extraordinary items can also be exchanged for work points."

"At the same time, they are rated according to the length of time they work for me and the total number of work points, from level one to level ten."

"Each level offers a corresponding discount on the items you can redeem. The higher the level, the greater the discount. At level 10, you can redeem items at half price."

After Rhodes finished his introduction, Falfolk couldn't help but fall into thought.

Falfolk knew perfectly well that this work-point system was the way Rhodes used to win over spellcasters.

Moreover, once this system is established, Rhodes will have the power to determine the pricing of extraordinary items, and his position will be unshakeable.

Because everyone wants to protect their work points, they naturally need to maintain this system, and consequently, maintain Rhodes's rule.

Even knowing this, Falfolk still wanted what was on it.

Especially the blood of the dragon, which only Rhodes possesses.

"By the way, is there anything else you'd like to add?"

Looking at the hesitant Falfolk, Rhodes smiled and said, "I hope you and the Wise Man can help me refine this list and set the prices together."

"I will pay you an additional work points salary and a level 5 title, and the price of items will be reduced by 20% when you exchange them."

"That's wonderful!"

Without further hesitation, Falfolk nodded in gratitude.

Even knowing that Rhodes was tempting her, Falfolk couldn't resist.

Falfolk knew very well that if he didn't accept the toast at this moment, the drink would be poured on his head.

"Then may I ask, Lord Rhodes?"

Falfolk pointed to the exchange items below the Dragon Blood and asked, "What is this Seed of Nature worth ten million? It looks like it can enhance talents?"

"This is my extraordinary creation, which can help with meditation and breathing exercises."

Rhodes patiently explained, "It's special; only those who are loyal to me or possess a title of level four or higher can redeem it."

"But you can borrow money to exchange for it. For example, if you only have 100,000 work points, you can exchange them in advance, and pay me back the remaining 9.9 million work points slowly later."

Rhodes explained the details of the loan redemption to Fawkes in detail.

It's actually the same as taking out a mortgage to buy a house, with monthly repayments.

However, this type of loan is unsecured, so only those with a title of level four or higher can redeem it.

—In fact, the Seed of Nature was exchanged, and no collateral was required.

"Thank you for your detailed explanation. You are very attentive."

Falfolk said seriously, "I will inform the wise man about this and think carefully about what to change..."

"If you want to know the effects of the Seed of Nature, you can ask Linda."

Rhodes nodded slightly and prompted, "I've already given her one."

"She's already redeemed it?"

Falfolk was somewhat surprised. "Then I'll consult her first... Of course, I'll drain the knight's energy first."

"Yes, thank you for your hard work," Rod said with a smile.

"It's not hard work, after all, you've already paid the work points."

Falfolk stood up, bowed, and withdrew.

After he left, Vivian stepped forward and exclaimed, "The attitude is completely different when you get work points versus when you don't."

"Of course, no one will work for you for free."

Rhodes smiled and said, "People aren't puppets that can be manipulated at will."

"me."

Vivian crossed her arms in front of her chest. "I've been working for you for free all this time."

"Ok?"

Rod slapped Vivian's buttocks hard and pulled her into his arms. "What do you want that I haven't given you?"

"Besides, most of the time I'm the one doing the work, you don't contribute anything at all."

"makes sense."

Vivian nodded seriously, then changed the subject and reported, "Sister also looked up some information about the divine object, and what Lucien said is basically correct."

"However, the Wheel of Light did not disappear, but was destroyed, so we don't need to worry."

"That's good news."

Rhodes was genuinely worried that the churches might suddenly produce some kind of divine artifact, something that even a dragon wouldn't be able to defeat.

"But divine objects are quite nice."

Rhodes put one arm around Vivian's slender waist and picked up the Core of Light with the other. "For example, this is an energy core. We might be able to make something different based on it."

"Have your sister check the records and see if there's any information about temple ruins," Rhodes said casually.

"okay."

Vivian nodded, then added, "However, I think the Dawn Society might know more about this kind of thing?"

"We need to investigate all aspects."

Rhodes seemed to be deep in thought when he suddenly remembered the ruins of the Sea Abyss Wizard Tower.

My mental strength is now over 25 points. With the addition of the mental amplifier, perhaps I can unlock the next level?
Let's finish dealing with the affairs of the Empire first.

Rhodes thought to himself, then looked at Vivian, "Have your sister come here; I'll need her to help me with many things in the future."

……

……

The border between the Shattered Rock Empire and the Western Alliance.

Wind-singing hills.

Here, the mountains rise and fall, and the wind howls, like some kind of mournful song.

Inside the spacious hall of the underground ruins, runes emitted a faint glow.

The main hall has a ten-meter-high dome and is surrounded by a forest of stone pillars.

In the center of the main hall stood an altar made of black stone, covered with intricate runes drawn in blood.

The runes were layered and intertwined, as complex as a spider web.

Thirteen stone pillars stood around the altar, each with a strong man suspended by chains.

Their faces were ashen, their eyes vacant, their hands bound above their heads, their bodies suspended in mid-air, their severed ankles dripping blood that fell continuously into the grooves of the altar.

In front of the altar stood a huge humanoid statue, resembling a skull, holding a giant bone staff.

However, the statue is incomplete; only half of its head remains, as if it had been chopped off.

Only one eye socket remained, inlaid with a dark red gemstone that shimmered with an eerie light.

On the altar, there was a stone coffin.

Prince Golden Hammer was lying inside, with Romisa standing beside him.

"Can I really obtain the power to slay a dragon?"

Prince Golden Hammer asked in a hoarse voice.

Prince Golden Hammer has been lying in this coffin for three days.

For three days, he felt his life force slipping away, and he could hear wails from time to time, which was maddening.

If it weren't for the need to gain power, he would have given up long ago.

“Of course, I swear to my lord, you will surely gain great power.”

Lomisa, holding onto the edge of the coffin, said with utmost seriousness, "You will receive the inheritance of my lord and possess the power to control countless undead."

"This time, you will surely be king."

(End of this chapter)