King of the North: My Lord's Diary Weekly Summary

Wayne was completely caught off guard by all of this.

Ronald, however, had somehow appeared on the other side of the rabbit behind him like a ghost. With lightning speed, he reached out his left hand and precisely grabbed the rabbit's neck.

This grab, though seemingly simple, was executed with perfect angle and timing, effectively blocking all possible escape routes for the rabbit.

But the rabbit was unusually fierce. It used its hind legs to lift itself up, and its sharp front claws slashed fiercely at Ronald's wrist.

Ronald let out a surprised "Huh?", but he changed his tactics even faster.

With a flick of his wrist, he not only dodged the rabbit's swift claws but also firmly gripped the rabbit's scruff of the neck like an iron clamp, lifting it up completely.

The rabbit struggled and writhed wildly in his hands with astonishing strength, letting out sharp hisses and kicking its limbs erratically.

"Damn it."

Ronald frowned and tightened his grip to subdue the wild, fat creature: "How come this little guy is so strong?"

And this ferocity... are all rabbits in the North this fierce?

Wayne crouched down and examined the rabbit closely, which was clearly abnormal.

He recalled that the scarred bandit had mentioned that "the animals in the southern snowfields have become more ferocious," and it seemed that this was not an exaggeration.

Even the most primitive herbivores have become like this...

Wayne then naturally thought of the unknown "residents" in the cliff cave—those who could kill him under Ronald's protection.

Why is the North so much more dangerous than the Central Region in the same world?!

……

Wayne and Ronald continued riding westward.

Just as the map Wayne had seen before showed, the land beneath their feet gradually revealed itself to be different from the southeastern region as they ventured deeper.

The flat snow-covered grasslands were gradually replaced by undulating hills and exposed rocks, and large areas of land appeared barren and grayish-brown under the snow cover.

Wayne's view was still expansive, but the scene before him was much more desolate.

According to Wayne's own nine-square grid, the southwest area can be roughly divided into the upper three squares and the lower six squares.

The top three squares, the leftmost one is the outpost square containing woodland including the southwest outpost, and to its right, below the hillside, is a small lake and a small plain extending to its east.

However, based on the actual situation, the size of the plain in the upper right corner of the southwest corner needs to be reduced.

The vast six-square land below is divided into two approximately equal parts along a vertical line:

The three squares on the east side can barely be considered grassland—although the grass is sparse and short, it at least resembles a pasture.

The three sections to the west are a complete wasteland of rocks, with almost no signs of life except for stones and a few hardy thorns.

Wayne's purpose for this trip is very clear.

First, he needed to physically assess the terrain of the southwest region, especially the condition of the three grasslands, to see if it was truly suitable for grazing his sheep—he didn't want any pointless property loss.

Second, explore those three stone wastelands to see if there are any mineral veins—there are no mountains around, so Wayne has low expectations for the existence of minerals.

Then, we need to investigate whether this place is suitable for a quarry or only for use as a defensive position.

As for the third...

"My lord, we're almost there."

Ronald's voice interrupted Wayne's thoughts.

He pointed ahead.

The terrain begins to rise gradually here, forming a low hill.

Sparse, hardy coniferous forests came into view, their bare branches appearing particularly desolate in the cold wind.

On a relatively gentle slope in the hills, there stands a wooden and stone watchtower with a similar design to the southeast watchtower.

The tower was gray and dusty, the watchtower was half-collapsed, and there were two wooden houses next to it that looked even more dilapidated than the southeast outpost.

This is the southwestern outpost area marked on the map.

Wayne looked at the watchtower with a calm gaze.

Since the sentries in the far southeast were colluding with the bandits and even tried to sabotage him before leaving, the sentries in the southwest who are about to take over are probably not going to escape responsibility either.

He needed to see the situation for himself. If it was as he imagined, he would immediately exercise his authority as lord and have them leave to avoid leaving any potential problems.

Incidentally, this also serves as a "frontline camp" obtained during the battle with the mountain bandits.

If the battleground with the bandits is in his own production and living area, Wayne will have a big headache.

The two urged their horses forward, their hooves clattering on the gravelly hillside, the sound particularly clear in the silent wilderness.

The watchtower had clearly noticed them long ago.

When the two men approached within about 100 meters, the wooden door at the bottom of the watchtower creaked open, and three soldiers came out.

They wore worn-out leather armor similar to that of the previous Southeastern sentries, and their faces showed obvious signs of fatigue.

Upon glancing at the plump rabbit hanging beside Vinma, their Adam's apples involuntarily bobbed.

The leading soldier looked to be in his thirties, with a recently healed claw-shaped scar on his face.

He saw Wayne, a glimmer of light appearing in his weary eyes.

Seeing that Vinlema had stopped ahead, he told one of the sentries behind him to return to the watchtower, while he and the rest of the men stepped forward and gave a proper military salute in a slightly hoarse voice, his movements crisp and efficient: "Kam, the duty officer of the Southwest Outpost, greets Your Excellency the Baron."

His directness made Wayne raise an eyebrow slightly.

There were no pleasantries, no probing, and not even any inquiry into their purpose.

"Did you expect me to come at this time?"

Wien asked.

"Since you're going to war with the Black Blade Gang, the Southwest Outpost definitely needs to be inspected."

Kam's face remained expressionless, except for the scar, which twitched slightly as he spoke.

"The handover of the southeast outpost was the day before yesterday, and we've heard about what happened in the village yesterday."

"Sir, you are... decisive and efficient."

"Um."

Wayne nodded; that last sentence was a trap.

However, Cam's behavior was surprisingly honest, which helped Wayne remove some of his stereotypes about the Northern Sentinels.

His voice was low, but his expression and words were very sincere: "This land is surrounded by wild forests to the west, mountains to the north, and wasteland to the south. It is not peaceful and is poor."

To be honest, we've been here for almost a year, and we've had enough.

Now that you've arrived, we sincerely hope you can have some mercy and hand over your work to us so we can go back.

He looked into Wayne's eyes: "We will only bring our own weapons and some rations that we can carry with us. The remaining weapons, leather shields, two sets of infantry leather armor, and other food and fuel resources can all be left to you."

Wayne understood.

These sentries were more clear-headed and better at assessing the situation than the group in the southeast.

They must have had some unclear ties with the bandits—otherwise, with their manpower, it would have been difficult for them to live a stable life in this resource-scarce southwestern region, but they clearly did not want to get involved in the impending conflict.

They wanted to leave as soon as possible and avoid getting involved in the mess.

This also proves that the bandits must have contacted them.