After I died, my personal maid rebelled.

Those who never grow up will never grow up.

Upon meeting, Luna jumped into Oswald's arms and cried, wrapping her arms around his neck, as if she had become that spoiled little girl again.

No, she's getting better and better at acting cute.

With a helpless pat on Luna's head, Oswald shouted to the noisy crowd.

"We'll talk about it later. Everyone, go back and do what you need to do. The plague isn't over yet, and gathering together makes it easy to get infected."

After saying this, Oswald handed his cane to someone nearby and strode forward with Luna in his arms.

The crowd parted to make way, and guided by the sound of footsteps nearby, Oswald walked straight and soon entered the city.

Luna probably felt embarrassed too, so she quickly jumped down, wiped her nose, and led her brother into the Duke's mansion.

The crowd followed silently behind, and after witnessing the Duke enter the mansion, their hearts finally settled down, and they soon dispersed in twos and threes.

Sitting back in his familiar seat, Oswald lit his pipe and asked Luna, "Did anything major happen while I was gone?"

Luna thought about it carefully for a moment, then sniffed.

"Brother, nothing's wrong. The demon realm is quiet. However, Count Camaro wrote yesterday that the demons are using various channels and spending a lot of money to investigate the current situation of our human kingdom."

Oswald nodded, a knowing smile playing on his lips. "Ha, they're certainly well-informed."

No one knows what complex expression will appear on the Demon King's face when he hears that he successfully invaded human territory in his previous life, accomplishing a great achievement that none of his predecessors had been able to achieve, only to be easily overthrown by a small stone.

Oswald doesn't yet know how much the Northern Territory can gain from this plague, but as long as he can gain another 300,000 young people, he can raise another army of 10,000.

As for the demon race, simply defending is not enough, even though in the original game, battles mostly involve tower defense.

The goddess envisioned a recurring scenario where the demons defeat humans, and the heroes defeat the demon king. However, Oswald has made a decision: he will completely quell the threat posed by the demons.

Therefore, Oswald planned to build a cavalry force of no less than 12,000 men within two years to fight the demons in open battle and completely reverse the tide of the war.

During this period, he also needed to acquire a large number of dwarf slaves to build a dwarf legion and increase his chances of defeating the demons.

The dwarf kingdom still operates under a slave system, and the reason why the demons have not yet invaded the dwarf kingdom is quite simple: dwarves possess explosive strength, great endurance, and formidable combat power.

The proverb "A hundred men are the best against demons, a thousand men are the best against dwarves" is not without reason.

In addition to military plans, Oswald intends to vigorously develop animal husbandry, provided that the current grain production can provide a stable supply, after this year's bumper harvest gives the people confidence in the livelihood of the people within the Northern Territory.

Under the new land policy in the Northern Territory, farmers were allocated a lot of land, but their energy was limited, and a portion of it was not carefully cultivated.

The reason for giving them so much land was to guide them to gradually develop animal husbandry, so that they could improve their lives while enhancing the overall strength of the Northern Territory.

The south has a well-developed water system, which is suitable for fisheries; the east has vast land and the highest grain production, which is suitable for large-scale farms. Ordinary people can also fence off wasteland and raise livestock.

The western region remains a key focus for livestock farming, and Oswald will likely develop a plan to increase investment and development in the west, with the construction of horse farms being particularly urgent.

As for the northern mountains, that was the new home Oswald had reserved for the dwarven slaves, where they could try to develop livestock such as the iron-horned sheep, which were characteristic of the dwarves.

The focus around Ice City and Kuogu City should remain on military and mining development, expanding the workforce and establishing numerous factories of various types.

Although there aren't many tech trees available right now... at least large-scale construction is possible for steel and cement plants, as well as workshops such as lumber mills, brick factories, glass factories, textile mills, wineries, and sugar refineries.

In this life, their Northern Territory has already secured excellent starting conditions, but Oswald still lacks confidence regarding the goddess's curse.

The problems in the southern kingdoms are far more serious than imagined.

If those female protagonists are all embodiments of a curse, what are the conditions for triggering the curse? Is it triggered at the moment of their death, or automatically when it is time to pray?

Oswald exhaled a puff of smoke, regaining his composure. "Luna, you can go out now. Call the butler in, and also tell everyone to get some rest today. Come to my place for a meeting at nine o'clock tomorrow morning."

"Yes, elder brother."

Luna obediently went out, and a short while later, the old butler pushed open the door and entered.

"Your Grace, do you need to use the restroom? I'm at your service anytime."

Oswald... what does this old man take the undead for? And can't we find another way to get closer to them?

"Could you please prepare something? I'd like to take a bath."

……

Luna left the mansion and walked down the street, feeling somewhat depressed.

She knew that her brother had long ago made up his mind to do everything in his power to eliminate the curse for the sake of the future, but she still couldn't accept that her brother had paid such a high price for it.

And the crucial point is that she didn't offer her brother any real help throughout the entire process...

But the next second, Lisa and Paul from the prison squad appeared in front of her, and Luna immediately shook off the gloom in her heart and ran over excitedly.

"Lisa, Paul!"

The three reunited, and for a moment they were all filled with emotion and reflection, as so many significant events had occurred during this period.

Fortunately, they all survived.

"Hey Paul, I heard you're all better now." Luna patted Paul on the shoulder and smiled mischievously.

"However... I've already bought you a burial plot and ordered a coffin, the really expensive kind. Remember to pay me back when you have the money."

Paul glanced at her helplessly, realizing that Luna had truly been diligently preparing for his funeral after returning to the Northern Territory.

Should he be moved now?

"Let's not talk about that for now, Luna, the hero has also come to the Northern Territory this time..." Lisa's eyes gleamed, she was already rubbing her hands together in anticipation.

Luna gave a cold laugh. "I know, I just saw that kid."

"But that kid's got some skills, Paul. We'll rely on you to take him down. Lisa, punch him in the face with all your might, and I'll kick his culprits. Let's teach him a lesson!"

……

After the Duke returned, Earl Morpheus went to the Duke's mansion and handed over the documents he had been working on during that time.

Although the young lady has made rapid progress, she is still somewhat unfamiliar with political affairs. Even with the help of Red and Jacob, Morphy, who was appointed as the acting secretary, has been exhausted these days.

Just as he was rubbing his aching back, intending to go home and get a good night's sleep, a riot suddenly broke out on the next street, and a series of pig-like screams reached his ears.

The training soldiers surrounding the area were clearly at a loss. Mofi walked over with a stern face. He wanted to see who dared to cause trouble in the street on the first day the Duke returned, and who even the soldiers dared not punish!

The first thing Mofi saw as he walked through the crowd was Luna fighting the hero.

Oh, so you're the young lady... then it's alright.

"Disperse, everyone!" Morphy calmly waved his hand and shouted to the onlookers, "His Excellency the Duke said that the kingdom is ravaged by plague. Although we in the Northern Territory have developed an antidote, the most crucial thing is that we take good care of ourselves to protect ourselves. Only in this way can we completely eradicate the plague!"

Thorne, whose forehead veins bulged from Luna's kick, seemed to see a glimmer of hope in his eyes. Finally... finally someone had come to uphold justice!

After the crowd left, the old count put his hands on his hips and continued to berate the soldiers.

"What are you patrol guards doing? Can't you see there's a fight going on here? Hurry up and drag them all into the alley. Leaving them on the street is such a bad influence on the children."

The embarrassed soldiers quickly obeyed orders, lifted the men up, and led them into an alley, blocking the entrance and letting them continue fighting.

Paul secretly gave the old count a thumbs-up in appreciation, and the old count smiled calmly and returned a knowing gesture.

Thorne: ? ? ?

Thugs! The people of the Northern Territory, including the nobles, are a bunch of thugs!

Paul rushed forward and quickly locked Thorne in a lock from behind again. Thorne was helpless; as long as no weapons were used, he could just endure the pain...

Swish!

Luna's kick hit the bullseye, narrowly missing Thorne's lower body.

"Ah! Whoa! Ah!"

"Still yelling? Do you know how long I've been putting up with you, you stuntman! A man who can't even control his own desires, yet he wants to be a hero!"

Luna unleashed an endless combo of kicks to Thorne's groin, causing Thorne to scream in agony. However, as soon as Luna caught her breath, Lisa suddenly punched him in the face.

"Exactly! Give back the 'Hero' title to our Paul player! Otherwise, we'll beat you every time we see you!"

Thorne couldn't take it anymore and could only grit his teeth and question, "Mr. Paul! What happened to your glorious image as a paladin? Why have you become like this?!"

"Alright, the little stick is for the big stick. The Duke is right. Follow good people and you'll become a pillar; follow foxes and you'll become a vixen. Think about it yourself. You're surrounded by those women all day long. Where is the hero in your life?"

Paul spoke gently, but the force in his hands remained undiminished.

"Now that the curse has been exposed, the Duke has solved it for you this time, but what about next time? Do you want to go and act out a love story with monsters again?"

Thorne lowered his head in shame. "I understand, Mr. Paul. I shouldn't have done that. I'm so sorry about Maria."

Hearing this, Paul smiled. "I've already let it go, but do I need to remind you, the Duke's fiancée..."

"Huh!!!" Thorne was shocked; he had completely forgotten about this!

Luna, having readjusted her breathing, delivered another incredibly fierce kick. With a crack, Thorne's face went from deathly pale to bright red, and he fainted as if his blood had surged.

After whipping the corpse for several more minutes, Luna finally vented her anger a little. Her blood and energy flowed smoothly, and she was in high spirits. She led her two teammates away from the crime scene.

"Go, drag him away, then find a doctor."

He took out a few copper coins and slapped them into the soldiers' hands. The old count followed in their footsteps, but after a few steps, he quickly turned back to remind them.

"This is for your hard work. Use it to drink with your brothers. As for the hero's medical expenses, let him pay for them himself."