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

Chapter 356 The Results of Necromantic Alchemy
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Many matters in the territory were confidential, and Rhodes listened to their reports one by one in the lord's reception room.

Although the head of agriculture and the head of the foundry were transferred, their work did not suffer at all.

The foundry was taken over by Bard, who was responsible for managing weapon forging, routine item repairs, and cooperation with the Sionda.

The agricultural sector was the foundation of the territory, overseen by Lawrence and executed by Outo's eldest son.

"Is there only 800,000 mu of arable land this year?"

After hearing Lawrence's report, Rhodes wiped his mouth, leaned back in his chair, and asked, "This is a bit far from my goal."

Lawrence reported 800,300 acres, most of which were newly reclaimed land in the summer and autumn, to be cultivated next year.

Only 150,000 mu were cultivated in the spring, with a yield of 98.3 million jin, which is an improvement over the previous year.

But Rod's goal was to cultivate a million acres of farmland.

“Master, since your Dragon Ridge left, our reclamation speed is still too slow.”

Lawrence explained with a bitter face, "For the reclamation of these 800,000 acres of farmland, I also borrowed 3,000 slaves and 100 oxen from Biancheng and Xiongyingling... I've kept all the accounts!"

A million acres of farmland is a piece of cake for Rock Ridge, but a huge undertaking for the slaves.

Rod knew they hadn't been slacking off, and nodded slightly.

“I understand your predicament, Lawrence. Let’s leave it at that for now.”

Rhodes wasn't too harsh, and slowly said, "The land must continue to be cultivated, and the entire northern wasteland will eventually become farmland."

"In addition, build me several granaries underground and in the nearby mountains to store up grain."

The northern wilderness is dry and cold in winter and not humid in summer, making it ideal for building granaries.

Moreover, with only one outlet to the sea on the west side, there is no need to worry about it being seized by outsiders.

The biggest drawback is that the population is too small.

Originally, he could have "sucked blood" from the other three provinces, but now that Rhodes is in charge of the entire empire, he has to deal with both of them, and he can no longer recklessly mobilize them.

All we can do is advocate for more births and take things from the smaller Western Allied nations.

Rod suddenly remembered Sherry and asked, "Where did Sherry go?"

"She led her people to build watchtowers while also searching for herbs with the apprentices from the potions workshop."

Lawrence reported, "Sherry is quite familiar with both Razor Plains and Ice Peak Valley."

"And when they have nothing to do, the snow rabbit people also like to wander around in the forest."

"Well, then you can discuss the matter of building the granary with her."

"Okay sir."

Lawrence nodded in agreement, then asked, "So how much farmland will we cultivate next?"

"First, we will complete the cultivation of one million mu of farmland, and strive to plant them all in the spring."

Rod thought for a moment and said, "Then we will cultivate another million acres of farmland. If we don't have enough land, we can continue to expand westward."

“There is more than enough land, sir.”

Lawrence said with a smile, "If you don't preserve some of the forests, I think we can cultivate three million acres of farmland in Black Pine Ridge."

“It’s not that bad now.” Rhodes waved his hand slightly.

Razor Plains and Ice Peak Valley have more suitable land for cultivation, so there's no need to exploit Black Pine Ridge to its fullest extent.

More importantly, for a long time to come, the development of the magical field will have to rely on natural resources, such as magical plants and magical beasts.

The mountains and forests can provide them with a better living environment.

"Ok."

Lawrence nodded in agreement and cautiously asked, "Then shall I give you a report on the expenditures of the territory these days?"

"You don't need to report those things. I'll check those records when I have time."

Rhodes said that, but he didn't actually intend to check it at all.

Just like the homework during winter and summer vacations in my previous life, it was handed in, but no one had the time to look at it carefully.

At most, it will only be a random check.

Moreover, given Lawrence's stingy nature, Rod didn't believe anyone could squeeze much out of him.

“Go and call Till,” Rhodes instructed.

"Okay, sir."

Lawrence bowed and beckoned Thiel into the drawing room.

Thiel gave a briefing on the situation at the farm.

Rhodes seized a lot of livestock when he reclaimed the North, and his ranch is now growing rapidly.

There are 20,000 goats and about 3,000 cattle, of which 500 are draft cattle.

The number of pigs is about three thousand, and the number of various chickens and ducks is around twenty thousand.

Excluding the mutated magical rabbits, Rhode was concerned about having 145 magical beasts, which was already the limit.

It's now rare to see mutated magical beasts in the Northern Wasteland, except for newborn cubs.

However, Rhodes' current territory is the entire empire, which is not a problem for him.

"We should raise these 145 magical beasts well, and we don't need to capture any more magical beasts here for the time being."

Rhodes instructed, "Next, I will have people capture more magical beasts from other parts of the northern province and send them here for you to raise."

“In addition to magical beasts, I will also send people over to you so that Silia can help train them into beast tamers.”

The monster breeding farm will inevitably be expanded, and three beast tamers are definitely not enough; Rhode must train more.

The beast tamer, Silia, was the first to awaken and is now in charge of taming all magical beasts. She can easily mentor a few newcomers.

“No problem, my lord,” Til replied respectfully.

“Say a few more words, Thiel.”

Rod looked at Til and said gently, "Whether it's you or Celia, as managers, you should cultivate more capable subordinates and not do everything yourself."

"Only in this way can the aquaculture sector develop."

"As you can see, I've transferred Otto and Hamo away."

Rod looked at Til seriously. "Although you are just an ordinary woman, I hope you will not stop here, do you understand?"

“I understand what you mean, my lord.”

Till knelt down, bowed his head, and promised, "Thank you for your recognition. I will definitely work hard and live up to your expectations!"

"Well, I believe you."

Rhodes gestured for Til to stand up. "Alright, go and call Bard in."

"Yes, my lord."

Till bowed and quickly walked out.

After Bard came in, he gave a brief report on some of the work at the blacksmith shop.

Nowadays, blacksmith shops mainly forge high-quality items, and work with Sendar to create enchanted armor.

The rest are weapons reserves, with only about five hundred per month.

Arrows are consumables, and about 20,000 are forged each month.

This also includes training blacksmith apprentices.

Bard finished his report quickly, and Zoya and Sainda came in.

Before the two could speak, Avril knocked on the door and came in.

"Honey, shouldn't you rest now?"

Avril looked at Rhodes gently, "You haven't had a proper rest these past few days of traveling. Perhaps we can continue tomorrow?"

Rhodes hesitated.

Even riding on the dragon's back, one gets tired from constantly traveling.

But when he saw the box that Senda was holding, Rhodes shook his head slightly.

"You should rest first. I'll rest after I finish talking with Zoya and Master Sainda," Rhodes said.

"Ok."

Avril nodded slightly, "Then I'll go keep Millie company and ask Yurai about the potion workshop."

"it is good."

Rhodes nodded in response.

Avril turned and left, while Rod's gaze fell on Zoya and Senna.

"Then let's finish this quickly."

"Yes, Your Grace."

Zhuoya and Sainda nodded.

Senda placed the wooden box on the table, opened it, and began to explain.

“We’ve completed our first prototype.” Inside the box, an arm guard lay quietly on animal hide.

This arm armor extends from the forearm to the hand, completely covering the entire area of ​​the forearm.

The surface of the arm armor gleamed with a soft silver-gray sheen in the firelight.

It's not that harsh metallic sheen, but rather a warm, moonlit hue.

Rhode reached out and touched the arm armor, but it still felt cold and metallic.

"What kind of material is this?"

Rhodes asked, somewhat puzzled, "I don't think I've ever seen this before."

"This is something we made using metal and corpses through necromancy; it can be called Bloodsteel."

After Zhuoya finished speaking, she took a few steps closer and pointed to the inside of the arm armor, "Look inside."

Rhodes flips his arm armor.

The view inside made him open his eyes slightly.

It's not a typical metal inner wall, but a layer of soft-looking leather tissue.

The surface is covered with fine patterns, which appear to be magical runes.

Rod reached out and touched it; it was still somewhat elastic.

"The outer layer of Bloodsteel is as hard as iron, while the inner layer is as soft as leather."

Zhuoya explained, "It will automatically adjust its shape to a certain extent according to the wearer's body contours, thus fitting the skin."

"So magical?"

Rod looked at Zhuoya with some surprise, "It seems that giving you those corpses wasn't a waste."

"You know?"

Zhuo Ya was clearly taken aback for a moment, then murmured softly, "That Knight Durant wouldn't even let us mention it to you..."

“I’ve always known that, but I didn’t stop it.”

Rod smiled and said, "How could I let Durant bear the blame for such an evil deed?"

Necromancy is considered dirty and unclean by many, and is a forbidden art.

Especially after the emergence of undead legions like the Western Alliance.

But as long as he could develop the technology, Rhodes didn't care.

"Let them curse me!"

Sainda stated without hesitation, "I don't care about being insulted if I can create great works!"

"Don't worry, no one will dare to scold you."

Rhodes changed the subject and focused his attention on the arm armor. "But the name Bloodsteel doesn't sound good. Let's call it Living Steel instead."

"Since this arm armor is a complete piece, what abilities does it possess?"

Zoya took the arm armor from Rhodes.
"Please allow me to demonstrate for you."

Then Zoya gestured for Rhodes to extend his right arm, and she put the arm armor on Rhodes' arm.

The moment the gauntlet touched his skin, Rhode felt a strange sensation.

The lining seemed to come alive; it truly flowed like flesh and blood, clinging tightly to his arm.

There was no sense of oppression, and no gaps.

"Please try moving your fingers and wrists."

Rod tried clenching his fist, opening it, bending his wrist, rotating his forearm, and so on.

"Slightly better than ordinary armor..."

Rod frowned slightly. "But it's still a bit stiff. What's wrong?"

“Stiffness is normal, Your Grace.”

Zhuoya smiled and said, "Because it is not yet connected to your mind, you can try to contact it."

Following Zoya's instructions, Rhodes communicated with the arm armor using his mind.

This time, there were no delays or obstacles in getting things moving again.

"This"

Rhodes looked down at the arm armor on his arm. "It follows my will."

"You're right. Activated steel can be directly controlled by mind. It was originally made to create undead puppets."

Zhuo Ya proactively explained, "Of course, constantly trying to control it with your mind is very energy-consuming."

"And you said you wanted it for a knight to use, so when a knight uses it, they only need to establish a fixed mental connection to control it at will."

“Just like how Lady Avril drew magic runes on Knight Durant’s arm before,” Zoya said with a smile.

"very nice."

Rhodes nodded in satisfaction. "And the effects? What runes are included?"

“Strength runes, resilience runes, magic resistance runes, and balance runes,” Zoya explained simply.

"Balance runes?"

Rod asked curiously.

Strength increases arm strength, resilience increases the strength of the gauntlets themselves, and magic resistance naturally resists magic.

What are balance runes?
"The Balance Rune can help you offset some of the force of an impact."

Zhuoya explained, "For example, if you hit a table with your hand, your hand will hurt."

"This arm armor will help reduce some of this force, preventing you from being injured as a result."

"Ah, you mean reaction force."

Rod immediately understood.

"Reaction force... that's a very apt term." Zhuo Ya nodded thoughtfully.

Senda also stroked his chin and began to savor the word.

Rod didn't want to waste time on terms already established in his previous life, so he changed the subject and asked,

"How much does this power increase?"

“Our tests show it’s about double,” Zhuo Ya said.

"Double?"

Rod shook his head slightly and tried to lift his solid wood table with one hand.
"I don't think there are that many."

"Your strength is too great, possibly exceeding the limits of basic runes."

Zhuoya explained, "We've only tested Baron Bronn so far; we haven't tested the advanced and top-tier knights yet."

"If I wear this arm armor, I can lift this table with just a little effort," Zhuo Ya said confidently.

"Yes, you do lack test subjects."

Rhodes nodded in agreement with Zoya's explanation and praised, "Well done, Zoya, and faster than I expected."

"This thing is much more valuable than enchanted armor."

“This is just the first step.”

Senda, who was standing nearby, said, "Let's first forge this arm armor, observe its capabilities, and then start designing the full-body armor."

Full-body armor is highly complex and requires addressing many issues, such as the range of motion of the joints, the balance of the center of gravity, and the coordination between magical runes.

It is far more complex than a single piece.

"The idea is correct, but pay attention to the weight of the lower arm armor."

Rhodes cautioned, "This weight is nothing to me, but for a mid-level knight, full-body armor is still a bit heavy."

"Don't worry, we will equip you with weight reduction runes later."

Zhuoya chimed in, saying, "The weight will be reduced by about half."

"very good."

Rhodes happily moved his arms again, feeling the power boost from the arm armor.

If you can complete the full set of equipment, it will not only be a piece of equipment, but also the beginning of a whole new era.

If the prototype of the exoskeleton armor could be deployed to the military, ordinary spellcasters would be crushed.

This is still the initial version. If it can achieve the magic armor envisioned by Rhodes, with magic missiles cast in the left hand and a magic steel sword in the right, it will be a great success.

Anyone who comes has to lie down immediately.

"Continue to study."

Rhodes said, "There are two directions: one is to design a full-body armor according to this idea, and the other is to improve and enhance the capabilities of this arm armor."

Rhodes raised his arm armor and gave a hint.

"For example, add a freezing breath or fire blast spell to this gauntlet."

(End of this chapter)