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

Olena was in charge of external diplomacy, while Ellie was in charge of intelligence.

In terms of diplomacy, there were only the Black Brown Territory and the River Source Territory in the southwest. The River Source Territory was not affected by the army of the Kingdom of Lunsa and was relatively stable at this time.

Originally, there was no communication between Heyuan Territory and Crescent Moon Territory, and Baron Heyuan disdained to engage in diplomacy with outlaws. However, since the war between Earl Black Brown and Marquis Green Leaf began, Baron Heyuan has become aware of the situation.

Olena stood up from her seat and said, "I am in charge of diplomacy with Baron Kawara, mainly in trade. The profits from making fruit juice tea bags are decent."

"I am also in charge of trade with towns in the Black Brown Earl's territory," Olena continued. "It mainly consists of farm products, linen goods, and game. Thanks to the reduced taxes and trade, the villagers' living standards and economic situation have improved, and far fewer people should freeze to death this winter."

That brings us to the next question.

After waiting for Olena to sit down, Rand said, "I have decided to grant logging rights in Crescent Moon Territory for the winter only."

Most countries in the world practice manor law, which means that all property on the land belongs to the lord, including roadside stones, dead trees in the forest, fruit trees, and wild animals.

Everything, including the people, belonged to the lord, which is why many people freeze to death in winter.

“I disagree.” Ellie stood up, her political acumen probably the highest of everyone present: “Now that we’ve essentially joined the Second Prince’s camp, what you’re doing is undoubtedly a provocation against the Manor Law.”

Now, at least the Baron of Heyuan must be paying close attention to this place, after all, the people here can be said to have single-handedly changed the outcome of the battle between Earl Blackbrown and Marquis Greenleaf.

“Population, population is our only support, the source of everything.” Rand disagreed: “I cannot accept watching them freeze to death.”

Ellie rolled her eyes dramatically. How come she didn't know Rand used to be so clueless? "Who said they'd freeze to death? You can conscript them to cut down trees and then give them some of the firewood as fuel for the winter."

Recently, quite a few mid-to-high-level adventurers have arrived, and there is a great demand for luxury villas in the resort. It's a good opportunity to recruit some free labor to cut down trees for building materials.

Rand nodded as if he understood. Wasn't this just a work relief program?

Now it seems that Ellie is a qualified administrator. It feels like there is probably no administrator in the world more suitable than her.

The thought that Ellie and Olena might leave after obtaining the artifact from the lowest level of the ruins was something Rand found hard to accept.

Rand couldn't even imagine what his life would be like if he lost Ellie and Olenna. He was reluctant to let go, but he couldn't stop the exploration of the ruins. It was something that had been agreed upon from the beginning, and he would never do something so despicable.

Moreover, he was certain that doing so would truly cause him to lose them; he wasn't some oddball from a romance drama.

However, although Rand knew he had been exploiting Ellie and Olena, he also provided them with generous benefits, from the initial private bathhouse to the current large public bathhouse, as well as profit sharing.

And although his actions were despicable at first, their relationship shouldn't be too bad now, so there might be a chance to persuade them to stay.

Tanl was in charge of the military matters, which was fine, but he kept hesitating to speak, and didn't say anything when Rand looked at him, so it was unclear what he was thinking.

However, Rand didn't care much. Tanl was one of the earliest people to join the hideout, and Rand trusted Tanl almost completely. Since Tanl didn't want to talk about it, Rand didn't force him. In any case, there was no way Tanl would betray the hideout.

Finally, she looked at Lysa, who blinked, her gaze wandering, and said nothing.

Rand's heart skipped a beat. He sensed that Lysa was up to something again. It seemed he had to be careful lately, or he might be in serious trouble at any moment.

...

Elsa was resting her chin on her hand, looking somewhat tired, both mentally and physically.

We're now on the second level of the ruins. The second level seems to be an experimental zone, filled with all sorts of monsters that have been captured, such as centaurs and minotaurs, but they're all locked up. The layout is somewhat like the zoo in Rand's previous life.

Elsa joined another adventurer party, and the members seemed to idolize her, especially the thief girl, who kept chattering, "Elsa, Elsa, how did you become so strong?"

With a practiced, polite smile, Elsa rested her chin on her hand and parted her lips slightly: "Through repeated struggles in the trials of life and death, one will naturally improve. Of course, talent is also indispensable."

In this world, it is extremely difficult for professionals to level up.

Ordinary people in this world are no different from ordinary people in Rand's previous life. However, to gain superhuman strength, physical professions require physical training, and spellcasters require endurance of magic power. Both require unimaginable sacrifices.

Becoming a high-level professional is the pinnacle that ordinary people can reach; becoming the highest-level professional is virtually impossible.

However, Elsa is actually not that far from that level.

As if recalling her past, Elsa's once gentle demeanor turned cold. Her past was like a nightmare, and this nightmare could come back to haunt her at any moment.

Chapter 73: The person who is often saved by a beauty can occasionally be a hero and save a beauty.

Elsa skipped along the path to her hideout. It was much more pleasant here than the resort down the mountain; at least here, not many people would come up to her to talk.

She's now in a state of social anxiety and doesn't want to be talked to by anyone.

While adventuring in the ruins today, I found the perfect mount option, so I caught one and brought it to Rand.

A centaur kept speaking a language she couldn't understand, but that didn't matter, as long as she could ride it, she had already handed it over to Seres.

When I came to the hideout to report on my work before, I could always hear Rand muttering to himself. It seemed that he really wanted to form a cavalry, but he couldn't find a suitable mount.

Warhorses are too expensive, and while it's possible to buy a small number, it's impossible to buy a large number. Even if you only have fifty men, there will definitely be wear and tear on the mounts when you try to build a cavalry unit.

To put it bluntly, human lives are not as valuable as warhorses these days. A dead person can be replaced, but a dead or lame warhorse is not so easy to replace.

The warhorses that the hideout bought from Ellie and Olenna were all used by the scouts. When the number of warhorses is severely insufficient, allocating them to the scouts is the most cost-effective way to reduce their numbers.

In this era without drones or satellites, intelligence transmission mostly relies on scouts.

There might be mages, but the only high-level spellcaster Rand knew was Ellie, who was also a warlock. According to Ellie, even mages couldn't transmit information very efficiently; magic carrier pigeons were already the limit.

Ellie and the White King corresponded using magical carrier pigeons.

Elsa walked to the front of the lord's hall. The bloodstains on the giant snake bone had dried and revealed a ferocious look. Every time she came here, she wondered if Rand was really as weak as she thought.

None of the others in the hideout seemed capable of defeating such an exaggeratedly powerful serpent. If it wasn't Rand, it meant there were even more terrifyingly powerful individuals lurking in the hideout.

Elsa didn't think too much about it, nor did she care much about whether so many powerful people were gathered in this small mountain valley and whether there was some earth-shattering conspiracy. She just wanted to work honestly for three years and then gain her freedom.

Although if she could, she wouldn't want to leave this place after gaining her freedom.

Elsa suddenly appeared in the lord's hall, knelt on one knee like a secret agent, and whispered, "My lady."

Just as Rand was about to reply, his expression changed.

“Oleena!” Rand roared. Since the solitary confinement incident, Olena and Lysa had been taking turns guarding Rand day and night.

Olena was guarding her at that moment.

As a top-tier professional, Olena naturally spotted the enemy faster than Rand, but her first priority was protecting Rand.

Rand meant exactly that; he asked Olena to protect Elsa.

Although he didn't believe that Elsa, as one of the main characters in the game "Deep Moon," would meet her end here, it was absolutely impossible for him to sit idly by.

Six advanced professionals—Rand had never seen so many advanced professionals at once, and all of them were the most extreme assassins among thieves.

They emerged from the shadows, and as Elsa met Rand, she knelt on one knee, and at her most relaxed moment, attacked Elsa from six directions simultaneously.

Elsa's reaction was quick; she realized what was happening the moment the six dark figures appeared.

She had been prepared for this day ever since she rebelled against fate; in fact, she had encountered similar situations many times before.

She hid, was discovered, was hunted down, fought back, or escaped; she traveled to almost every city in the human kingdom.

She has traveled a long way on the road of exile, and the nightmares of her past seem to be forever inescapable, like a shadow that follows her everywhere.

Although she never regretted that act of defiance, she always felt exhausted, and perhaps one day she would die in some unknown corner during a chase.

But definitely not now!

Her honed skills, combined with the rest and recuperation she had enjoyed during this period, enabled her to move at speeds beyond imagination.

He bent his back leg slightly, then exerted force, propelling himself forward a distance. He grabbed the pursuer's dagger, twisted it backward, and stabbed it into the pursuer's chest.

He then snatched the dagger, preparing to turn around and parry the attack from behind.

This time, there were actually six of them. Six advanced professionals launched an attack from six directions at the same time. Even the most advanced professionals would be in trouble. If they were caught off guard, they might even perish.

It's worth noting that Elsa lowered her guard once she reached the hideout above the resort, perhaps because it made her feel more at ease.

Facing six opponents at once, she was basically doomed. The reason she resisted was simply because she didn't like to wait to die.

I could already feel a faint stinging sensation behind me.

At that moment, from the lord's chair at the back of the hall, came the sound of Rand calling out to Olenna and roaring.

Olena, who had been keeping watch around Rand, vanished almost abruptly, leaving a trail of afterimages as she rushed to Elsa's side in an instant, her swift sword thrust disrupting the assassins' formation.

Then came a flash of silver light.

In the blink of an eye, as the assassins' formation was disrupted, two of them had their hearts pierced by Olenna's swift sword.

Of the remaining three, two were parried by Elsa's dagger, and one, thanks to Elsa's agility, twisted his waist to avoid a fatal wound, only suffering a long cut on his body, but without damaging his internal organs.

However, there were not only six assassins who came to kill Elsa; there was a seventh person present.

At that moment, a white shadow flashed a deadly glint in Elsa's eyes, aiming for her heart.

There were not just six, but seven people who came to complete the mission. After Elsa managed to shake them off during the previous chases, the family decided to send out sufficiently powerful assassins to avoid any unforeseen complications.

Sending people who were not much stronger than the pursuers one by one was a foolish choice. After several attempts, they found that Elsa was constantly improving, so the family decisively sent out their top-level assassins.

Just then, the most deadly blade was thrust out, aimed straight for Elsa's heart.

"I'm doomed," Elsa thought, surprised that even a white-robed assassin from her family had personally intervened.

Such assassins usually carry out missions to assassinate royalty and nobles, yet they came to end her life themselves.

She was already close to the top, and she had already seen what the life she wanted would be like.

The white-robed assassin moved so fast that by the time Rand reacted, the dagger was almost already stabbing Elsa.

However, Blessing 2 doesn't require snapping his fingers to activate; he usually only snaps his fingers to pretend and show off.

In such an emergency, Rand certainly wouldn't waste time by snapping his fingers; Blessing 2 is actually instantaneous!

Just as he was about to thrust in, a thirst filled the white-robed assassin's entire body.

In fact, if it's a one-on-one fight, Blessing 2 is a very dangerous ability, because in a one-on-one situation, Rand is very likely to be defeated.

But in this situation, it is a very strong form of control.

The changes within her body slowed down the white-robed assassin, giving Elsa time to react.

Olena killed the nearest, superior assassin who tried to stop her and charged toward the white-robed assassin.

Then it was discovered that the white-robed assassin had been affected by Rand's "cool" ability, which enhanced his physical abilities and recovery capabilities. However, no matter how much his physical abilities were enhanced, he could not withstand the strength of metal.

However, when reason fades, it becomes fatal in battles at the highest level of professionals.

Chapter 74 Oxen, Horses, and Mounts

All the assassins were killed, except for the top-tier assassin who was hit by Blessing 2.