The victory of a religion in another world is so easy?

"Go ahead and try! You little rat who only knows how to dig holes!"

Still utterly harmless, Rand continued to mock, "It's a pity that you, a high-ranking noble, have to beg from me. If I don't give it to you, it seems you can't even snatch it."

This undoubtedly struck a nerve with Baron Lakesource, who was so angry that his face turned as red as a tomato, but he could only curse in a way that Rand couldn't understand.

His horses were clearly better than his men's, but obviously not so fine as to be able to overcome the obstacles that Rand had deliberately dug deep and wide.

In other words, you can't hit it!

Just then, Baron Lakesource took out a small bow, nocked an arrow with lightning speed, and shot it at Rand.

Just as the arrow was about to strike Rand's face, it was deflected by a swift sword made of an unknown material.

Baron Lake Source's martial arts skills were surprisingly good; his movements were fluid and graceful. Unfortunately, the reason Rand dared to step out of the crowd's protection was naturally because Olena was watching over him.

The morning breeze was still gently blowing through Olena's hair, but her face now revealed a coldness that Rand had never seen before.

Olena stared coldly at Baron Lakesource, who stood on the other side of the road holding a small bow.

Baron Lake Source felt a chill run down his spine under the cold gaze of this beautiful woman, and his anger seemed to dissipate. He spurred his horse around and quickly returned to his formation.

Clearly, Baron Lakesource was now completely helpless against Crescent Territory.

However, since the road was completely blocked, Rand had no way to pursue them, and in fact, he couldn't pursue them at all. If he caught up, these recruits would have no chance of maintaining their formation. It was estimated that they would break apart after chasing for a short distance, and then be overwhelmed by the remaining cavalry.

Seeing Baron Lakesource retreat, Rand breathed a sigh of relief. He was really afraid that his hastily recruited soldiers would desert him in the face of battle. To be honest, seeing the Baron's twelve heavily armed knights and their squires, Rand himself felt uneasy.

The rugged mountain road was praised, which allowed Rand's plan to cut off the road to be implemented.

Now that Baron Lakesource has withdrawn his troops...

Rand cleared his throat and ordered, "Get ready, we're going to dig the pits in the road deeper and wider!"

He planned to stay here for a while in case the baron returned with a surprise attack.

As for the road that was dug up, it can be filled in again if needed in the future. For now, the wider and deeper the better.

……

Tanl had recently gained the favor of Earl Blackbrown, and at the same time, he also received a military report from the Frostmoon Kingdom.

Two kingdoms in the South have gone to war over a newly discovered gold mine. One of them is Lenza. This was originally a good opportunity for the North to unite and launch a counterattack and seek revenge, but unfortunately, the timing is not good now.

With the autumn harvest approaching, the orcs and trolls in the far north have begun to stir again, increasing the pressure on the northern border. The Northern Alliance has had to continuously send troops to garrison the northern frontier.

Meanwhile, the internal strife within the Frostmoon Kingdom was escalating, with localized conflicts emerging.

By this time, many people had realized that a civil war might really be brewing.

The minor nobles who initially thought it was none of their business suddenly became active, trying to join one side in order to prevent both sides from attacking the neutral party first if a real war broke out.

As for the fourth prince, who was theoretically supposed to win, he still had no support.

Tanl's current task is to participate in the confrontation between the Earl of Blackbrown and his neighbor, the Marquis of Greenleaf.

The Marquis of Greenleaf is a staunch supporter of the Third Prince, although he seems to be more powerful in terms of title.

In reality, this is not the case. The Marquis of Greenleaf's territory has poor production, especially in grain, which is not even self-sufficient. As a result, its economic development has been slow for many years, and its strength is weaker than that of the Earl of Blackbrown, who is located in fertile land.

The two sides are now locked in a military standoff.

Small groups of troops have even begun fighting each other on the border, but both sides are still trying to restrain themselves and not escalate the situation immediately. After all, with autumn approaching, the threat from orcs and trolls is looming, and starting a fight now would have a significant impact on the overall situation.

Compared to the struggle for the throne, the nobles of the Frostmoon Kingdom are still able to maintain their rationality and distinguish between what is important and what is not.

At the same time, the White King Calant officially issued a circular, claiming that within the Frostmoon Kingdom, in a place called Crescent Moon Territory, there are ruins where his family has buried treasures for generations. Now, the White King officially authorizes the lord of Crescent Moon Territory, Rand, to manage these ruins on his behalf.

Furthermore, the White King grants adventurers special permission to explore the ruins, requiring only the recording of their family history. Adventurers who find written history can sell it to the administrators in Crescent Moon Territory. As for treasures, the White King allows adventurers to take them for themselves.

Chapter 51 Post-War Celebration

The White King's announcement was, to some extent, an infringement on the sovereignty of the Frostmoon Kingdom, but at this critical juncture, not a single noble of the Frostmoon Kingdom stepped forward to question the legitimacy of the White King's announcement.

Although Rand already knew that the White King Calant had agreed to support the development of the ruins, he did not expect the level of support to be so great, directly bringing the family to the forefront and issuing a public announcement.

In this way, the pressure on Rand from Baron Lake Source will be greatly reduced, because a minor baron would probably not dare to offend the White King's development agent.

After seeing the White King's official announcement, Rand began to order a withdrawal of troops.

These new recruits were of quite good quality; they had just been drafted and faced an enemy force five times their size, yet they still managed to win.

This is a good start. With more training and time, this unit may very well become a formidable force that strikes fear into the hearts of its soldiers.

Although several new recruits already have their underwear soaked.

This is understandable. With gleaming arrows aimed at them, and without understanding the defensive capabilities of their armor, it was already a great feat of courage that they did not flee.

The road to Lakesource Territory remains dug up, and Rand has no interest in filling it in. If Baron Lakesource were to launch another sneak attack, he could at least annoy him.

However, if there are no troops stationed here, the road that has been dug up is meaningless. With no one to bother them, Baron Lakesource can simply fill in the soil or climb over from the nearby mountain.

But after running into the slingers, and with the White King's support, Rand felt that the probability of another attack was very low, unless he could gather some nobles who also wanted to kick the sling.

Back at the hideout, they saw Ellie with messy hair and dark circles under her eyes, looking like she was on the verge of sudden death. It was indeed too much for her to handle all the affairs of the hideout by herself.

Seeing Rand and Olenna return was like seeing a savior for Ellie; her previously dull, resentful blue eyes suddenly brightened.

She quickly handed the documents to Olena and said, "I'm going to get some sleep first. I'll leave this to you. I've kept records of all the document processing over this period, so you can refer to those records."

Olena nodded, gently patting Ellie's head with a touch of tenderness, urging her to go and rest.

Then he turned to look at Rand, asking him with his eyes if he wanted to work together.

Rand glanced at the mountain of tasks and then at Ellie's notebook, and could only nod. If he didn't help, Olenna would probably have dark circles under her eyes too.

The two worked together until midnight.

Just then, Ellie seemed to have had enough sleep and came to the office rubbing her eyes.

The office was a brick and stone structure, with several wooden tables and chairs, as well as some filing cabinets.

This is where Ellie and Olenna work, and sometimes it's also where Rand works. It's bright enough to be lit by oil lamps at night, and there's a fireplace that was installed in advance so it won't be too cold in winter.

The office desk is by the window, which is currently closed. If it were daytime, opening the window would allow one to see the busy worshippers outside.

There's a small green plant by the window. Even though there are mountains and fields outside, they still put a small green plant by the window. Maybe working people all have this hobby.

However, it did add a touch of life to the stone house.

The backlog of work had been mostly cleared up, so when Ellie arrived, Rand didn't let her join the work. Ellie found a place to sit down, propped her chin up, and waited for a while. Rand and Olena then finished up the work.

Rand stood up, stretched, and said, "Want to celebrate?"

"Celebrate what?" Ellie paused for a moment, then guessed, "Celebrate your defeat of Baron Lakesource?"

Rand shook his head: "Then we should celebrate with the soldiers, after all, they are the ones who risked their lives."

"What are we celebrating?" Ellie asked curiously.

“We’re celebrating the upcoming launch of our project. Once the adventurers arrive, we’ll probably be even busier, so this is a time to steal a moment of leisure,” Rand explained.

Ellie blinked her eyelashes, her bright eyes looking at Rand, waiting for him to continue.

Rand returned to the inner room of the sacrificial chamber, then took out some fruit, three cups, and some powdery substance and withered plant-like things that he didn't know what they were.

Then there are the alchemical tools Ellie uses when making potions.

Not knowing what Rand was planning, Ellie and Olena stepped aside and watched curiously.

Rand lined the funnel opening with a thin piece of cotton cloth, added spices and sprinkled some sugar, then placed the apple on it and violently squeezed the juice with one hand while adding water with the other.

After juicing, Rand added a little more sugar to the cup and then put the lid on.

He looked at Ellie and asked, "Can you make ice?"

Ellie shook her head, indicating that she only knew some combat and research magic and couldn't make ice.

"That's a bit of a shame." Rand knew that saltpeter could be used to make ice, but the problem was that he had never found any saltpeter.

That's fine, though. When Rand was a college student in his previous life, he worked part-time as a bartender. Even though there's no alcohol now, he can just mix juices.

After opening the lid and shaking the cup to filter out the foam and some impurities, Rand poured it into another cup.

After carefully taking a spoonful and tasting it, I made three more cups in the same way.

Then I made a cup for Ellie and Olena each. I had also prepared a portion for Lysa, but Ellie sent her out on patrol these past few days and she probably won't be back for another couple of days.

"Want to try some?" Rand picked up the glass himself, took a sip, and found it a pity there was no ice, but the taste was still quite good.

Ellie and Olena also took a sip, and then their eyes widened. They had certainly tasted freshly squeezed juice before, but the juice made by Rand tasted much better than freshly squeezed juice.

It was clearly made up of only water and what appeared to be sugar powder, and at most, some withered plant that looked like a spice.

"How does it taste?" Rand took another sip and then asked.

Ellie and Olena both nodded: "Very good."

“Cheers!” Rand raised his glass.

Ellie and Olena looked at Rand raising his glass with a puzzled expression, then hesitantly followed suit, raising their glasses together. Their glasses collided, causing the clear juice inside to slosh around.

Rand then took a big gulp, while Ellie and Olena, still very ladylike, took a small sip.

This kind of celebration seems nice, Ellie and Olena thought at the same time.

Rand finished the whole glass of juice and felt as if his tongue had finally come back to life.

Keep the apples that have been juiced safe; the pulp can be used to make dried fruit, so nothing goes to waste.

Furthermore, Rand has prepared portions for Lysa and Tanl, so that they can both taste his cooking.

While packing up, Rand asked, "Is the bathhouse almost finished?"

Ellie nodded; she was also very excited about it. Although the small bath that Rand had built for them was nice, the large bath, designed by Rand, was clearly more appealing to her.

The large bathhouse was only the first phase of construction; it wasn't the kind of place Ellie imagined where everyone could soak together. Instead, according to Rand, it was a combination of a bathhouse and a bathhouse.

I can try it out tomorrow.

Chapter 52 Bathing Together, Back Scrubbing

In fact, Rand originally wanted to build a large bath where everyone could bathe together, but then he thought that wouldn't work because it would be easy to spread diseases. Therefore, he divided it into multiple baths, strictly distinguishing between classes, and built a bathhouse in front of each bath.

Before soaking in the bathhouse, you must take a proper bath at the bathhouse. Only after you are clean can you soak in the bath, and those who are not qualified cannot soak.