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

Chapter 344 Imperial Arcane Guild
……

……

Celine hadn't expected Rhodes's goals to be so ambitious.

In comparison, I realize that I am rather narrow-minded.

After a long silence, Celine took a deep breath to calm herself down.

"Please forgive me, your words are truly shocking."

Celinesa straightened up and asked, "What does Dawn need to do?"

"First, the wizard apprentices are militarized."

Rhodes made no attempt to conceal his intentions, stating, "We will draw out spellcasters from the Dawn Society who are suited for combat to assist the army in battle."

"Only strong military power can make people fear us."

“Moreover, only spellcasters can deal with those charlatans in the church,” Rhodes emphasized.

Celine nodded. "The Church's divine magic is no weaker than our magic, and they even possess abilities that we don't have."

"At the same time, I will train an extraordinary coordinated army to fight in conjunction with the wizard apprentices."

Rhodes continued, “When necessary, the Legion will go on expeditions to collect various materials for spellcasters, allowing scholar wizards like Lusen to focus on their research.”

"This is a very good idea."

Celine said with a hint of excitement, "This will greatly improve efficiency."

The path to becoming a wizard is fraught with difficulties, and to overcome these difficulties, one must create extraordinary items.

Often, it's not difficult to make, but because of the lack of suitable materials, it can take months of hard work.

Now, if the army helps with the collection, or even just the search, and the wizard apprentices ultimately solve the problem themselves, it will save a lot of time.

"And the second point?" Celine asked expectantly.

"Secondly, standardized magical equipment has become widespread."

Rhodes frowned slightly and said, "I know this sounds a bit delusional right now, but we at least need to establish such a super knight squad."

“Spellcasters aren’t good at charging, so let the knights be the ones to charge ahead.”

Rhodes explained, "And with magical equipment, they can also fight against charlatans and supernatural beings."

Celine nodded thoughtfully. "I understand you mean the followers trained by spellcasters in ancient times, only now they've been turned into a military force."

“That’s one way to understand it,” Rhodes said.

"In that case, how should the work be allocated and distributed?"

After asking the question, Celinesa added, "What I mean is, even though I am the chief councilor of the Dawn Society, I can't expect everyone to spend a lot of time making magical equipment."

"Moreover, not just anyone can make magical equipment; many spellcasters have never been exposed to alchemy."

Celine's tone carried a hint of helplessness.

Rhodes understood what Celinesa meant: she was asking what benefits the spellcasters who created magical equipment would receive.

“I’ll answer your two questions after I finish speaking,” Rhodes said.

"Feel sorry,"

Celine said somewhat apologetically, "Please continue."

"If the entire empire is to rise, then there needs to be a constant stream of new wizard apprentices."

Rod paused for a moment, then said, "Therefore, the third point is that I will establish wizard and witch academies and continuously recruit new students."

"I hope that some of the scholars from the Dawn Society can become mentors at the academy, teaching the newcomers the basics."

"No problem, this is a good thing, I believe everyone is happy to do so."

Celine said casually, "That's also the Dawn Society's goal. I'll ask five knowledgeable wizard apprentices to teach the newcomers."

“Five isn’t enough,” Rhodes said.

"enough."

Celine said with certainty, "They can take on hundreds of new trainees."

“What I mean is, it’s impossible to have only a few dozen new trainees.”

Rod smiled and said, "I can't guarantee a thousand new students, but there will definitely be eight hundred."

Celine looked at Rhodes with a puzzled expression.

Based on her past experience, even if the entire empire recruited new students, there could only be a maximum of eighty talented children.

In the Western Alliance, at most two out of ten thousand children will succeed, while the Empire has approximately four hundred thousand children aged eleven to seventeen.

According to Rod, then there would be two out of a thousand children.

But Celine knew that Rhodes wouldn't joke about something like this.

“I know you don’t believe me, but you’ll see when the time comes.” Rhodes smiled, offering no further explanation.

Luxen has already put this into practice, and even if Celinesa doesn't believe it now, she will in the future.

"As for the issue of compensation you mentioned, it's the work point management method I mentioned to you in my previous letter."

Rhodes took out the list he had shown Falfolk earlier and spread it out on the table in front of Celinesa.

Celine immediately looked down to examine it closely.

Rhodes continued, "I will post tasks here, and every spellcaster who completes a task will earn points, which can then be exchanged for materials."

Rhodes described to Celinesa what he had told Falfolk.

"As for the spellcasters who join the army, in addition to ensuring their basic living, they also receive work points as a salary every month."

“Spellcasters can also sell us materials and magical trinkets in exchange for work points.”

"In this way, all materials and results can be quantified, and spellcasters and the military can complement each other and develop together."

After Rod finished speaking, Celinesa sighed deeply.

"I must say, your management style is very effective, and it has gotten everyone to cooperate perfectly."

Celine chuckled and exclaimed, "But this kind of management work is enormous..."

"So I need your help, wise lady."

Rod paused for a moment, then explained his idea.
"Could the Dawn Society help you craft a magical item that can record work points?"

"Supports recording the addition, reduction, deletion, and searching of each person's work points."

"It would be best to also record some reasons, such as what tasks were completed that increased the points."

Rhodes' ideas all came from the computer data tables of his previous life, and they were all very simple operations.

But in this world, Rhode didn't know if magic could do these things.

Upon hearing Rhodes's request, Celine fell into thought, murmuring softly, "If it's about recording a lot of people, it seems a bit difficult to do..."

"Then one for each person?"

Rhodes pressed further: "Everyone leaves me with an item to record their work points, and they keep a badge to record their work points themselves."

“The badge serves as their identification. When they come with the badge, they can accept missions and have their points adjusted,” Rhodes added.

"That doesn't sound difficult; memory crystals can do it."

Celine nodded slightly, then added, "However, it will take some time to make."

“It’s okay. When there are fewer people in the early stages, we can record the data manually,” Rhodes said.

Managing data from fewer than a thousand people isn't too much of a challenge, but it becomes quite troublesome when the number exceeds a thousand.

Especially when records are frequently modified, at least dozens of people are needed to manage them.

The key is to assign people to supervise each other to prevent fraud.

Therefore, two-way verification is necessary, just like a bank card in a previous life.

"no problem."

Celine readily agreed, and casually asked, "So what's the name of the organization you mentioned? Have you thought of a name yet?"

This problem immediately stumped Rhodes.

Naming a child is his lifelong nemesis.

"Let's call it the Imperial Arcane Guild. There are still many details to be made, and it will involve various subordinate organizations in the future."

Rhodes waved his hand, ignoring the issue, and continued, "As for the difficulty in crafting magical equipment, that's a problem in Frostleaf Town as well."

"My solution is to divide the work and break down the production process into different steps."

“Most spellcasters do the easy work, leaving the final difficult and crucial parts to those who truly master alchemy.” Division of labor was just the beginning; Rhodes never forgot about the assembly line.

It's just too early to think about those things now.

"Yes, that is indeed a good idea..."

Celinesa seemed thoughtful, then said, "But some spell runes cannot be separated; they must be completed in one go."

"Such spell runes should be optimized, replaced, or even eliminated."

Rhodes patiently explained, "What we need is efficiency, not to delve into a particular spell rune."

"Knights don't care which rune they use, but whether their shields can block the enemy's spells and whether their swords can penetrate the enemy's armor."

Celine nodded slightly. "Yes, you're right. I was too stubborn."

The spellcasters of the Dawn Order, especially the wizarding apprentices, always like to delve deeper into a particular question in search of the truth.

Rhodes liked people like that, because the progress of civilization needed scholars.

Rhodes, on the other hand, is more interested in how to use this knowledge; as long as the goal is achieved, regardless of the planning and design, it's fine.

“So, I’ll disband Dawn?” Celinesa asked cautiously.

“Wise lady, you don’t need to test me; these things are not important.”

Rhodes smiled and shook his head. "The Dawn Society arose from the spellcasters' self-salvation, mainly due to the suppression by the church and some nobles."

"As long as I give spellcasters enough space to survive, the dawn will slowly disappear."

"On the contrary, if I insult or persecute the spellcasters, even if I forcefully demand that you disband the Dawn Society, there will still be the Illuminati and the Justice Society in the future."

"There is no other way but to kill all the spellcasters."

Ruling an empire and ruling a baronial state are completely different approaches; one cannot do everything personally, but must rely on a system.

We strive to ensure a fair and just system so that people can live in peace and security.

By continuously enhancing his reputation and prestige, and gaining more trust, he will naturally attract followers.

More importantly, Rhodes himself is strong enough to control the core forces, so he doesn't have to worry about anyone being foolish enough to rebel against him.

“Your wisdom is admirable, Duke Rhodes.”

After hearing Rod's words, Celinesa breathed a sigh of relief, and her mind immediately relaxed.

All the plans are in the best interests of both the Empire and the spellcasters, and as Rhodes said, Dawn will be completely integrated into the Empire.

With her worries gone, Celinesha began to carefully examine the list of work points to be redeemed.

Upon seeing the top, Celine's expression turned serious, and she asked, "Is this Seed of Nature... real?"

"Given your status, I can give you one if you want."

Rod smiled mysteriously. "As for whether it's true or not, you can ask Linda. She's already taken out a loan to redeem one."

……

……

The training grounds of the manor.

"Hoohoo!"

A sharp whistling sound rang out, and three orange-red fireballs the size of pumpkins flashed through the air!
"boom!"

A deafening sound rang out, and the thick wooden block instantly shattered into pieces!
Linda lowered her arm, looked at her masterpiece, and couldn't help but smile.

"It's been months, Linda, and you can already cast three fireballs at the same time."

A soft voice sounded from behind.

Linda immediately turned around, her eyes lighting up. "Wise Teacher!"

Linda rushed over and excitedly hugged Celine.

"I didn't know you were coming, otherwise I would have definitely come to pick you up!" Linda said apologetically.

“I didn’t tell anyone when I came out this time, not even Lucien.”

Celine sized up Linda and asked softly, "Your magic seems to have increased a lot. Is it the effect of the Seed of Nature?"

"Yes!"

Linda confirmed without hesitation, and continued, "The speed at which I can absorb the energy of the Flame Gem has doubled, and more importantly, I can control the Seed of Nature."

"As long as it spins, it can slowly absorb magic, just like the meditation of wizarding apprentices."

"I've said it countless times, a wizard's apprentice draws magic with his mind, not by absorbing it."

Celine offered a brief reminder without delving deeper, asking, "Don't you feel anything unusual?"

“No.” Linda shook her head.

"That's good."

Celine nodded thoughtfully.

Just then, a Winter Knight strode over and bowed respectfully to Linda.
"Lady Linda, the knight squad is ready and we can set off at any time."

Linda's expression was serious as she commanded, "Yes, sir, assemble the troops at the east gate."

"Yes, Lady Linda."

The Winter Knight nodded in salutation and quickly retreated.

"Sigh, this Seed of Nature isn't easy to obtain either; the tasks are piling up."

Linda turned to Celinesa and said helplessly, "A pack of mutated wolves has appeared nearby. I need to deal with it. I'll come see you after I'm done."

“Okay, go ahead.” Celinesa nodded with a smile.

Linda nodded in greeting, then turned and strode away.

Watching Linda's departing figure, Celinesha suddenly realized something and asked:

"Wright, Linda just said 'another pack of mutated wolves has appeared,' right?"

“Yes.” The tall, thin Lai nodded.

"It's really amazing...why are there always these strange things happening around him?"

Celine couldn't help but look towards the main building, murmuring softly, "The Seed of Nature... Could it be that he has obtained the inheritance of the God of Nature?"

……

……

One after another, the lower lords of the Flower Duke arrived in Stone City.

Young and beautiful women, rare gems, brand-new gold coins, and mysterious antiques—all sorts of gifts were delivered to the lord's manor.

Even so, Rhodes remained unmoved.

All the land was reclaimed, and the lords kept one-third of their property, handing over the rest.

Most people dared not resist, because everyone knew that Rhodes possessed power they could not withstand.

But several counts were unwilling to accept this and secretly joined forces to rebel.

Unfortunately, all the waiters in the city's taverns had been bribed by Rhodes, and their information was being sent to him.

This made Rod very happy.

The sooner these grievances surfaced, the sooner they could be resolved, and Rhodes also had a reason to confiscate the remaining third of the property.

Of course, Rhodes did not simply suppress the nobles.

Rhodes was willing to offer jobs to any nobleman with some education.

Recorder, teacher, or even mayoral position assisting the deliberation panel, etc., all with generous salaries.

The collapse of the old order harmed some interests, but the new order established also benefited others.

Therefore, those families were not monolithic, especially some of the second sons and collateral relatives, who were all very willing to serve Rhodes.

Meanwhile, the eldest princess's letter had already been sent back to Riftrock City.

Before the royal family could even make a statement, nearly half of the nobles submitted to Rhodes.

The lords, especially those near the southwestern border, have long been defunct, their territories in ruins.

They were exceptionally respectful to Rhodes, hoping to find a place in the new order.

For Rhodes, who needed talent, this was a good thing, so he gladly accepted.

To Rhodes's even greater surprise, the legendary knight Carlos also requested an audience with him.

(End of this chapter)