The fisherman druid is in another world

Chapter 369: Baron's Reward
Pastor Luo soon discovered that the werewolves in this world were also quite cute. To be specific, their fur color and appearance were more majestic and beautiful. The difference between them and traditional werewolves was like the difference between a local dog and a sled dog.

Of course, if Pastor Luo had the memory of Harry Potter, he would understand that there is no ugliest, only uglier, and understand the shame of the werewolf who is skinny and has few hairs.

The werewolves in Rotten Orchard are not like this. They are all muscular, with smooth curves and very stylish.

So they can also eat gold pebbles from the soil like ogres? Otherwise, what did they use to get this muscular body? Brains?

No, magic.

Fallen Night and Shadow Weaver, the former is a dog for the dark forces, and the latter is a spellcaster based on being a dog, above the level of warlock but less than wizard.

Warlocks are sensory, while wizards also need some knowledge of rituals, herbalism, and even psychology and biology to be competent. Therefore, at low levels, warlocks are even more ignorant than wizards.

But these are just footnotes to Pastor Luo and have no effect on his actions at all.

Then, Priest Luo appeared, Priest Luo A went up, and Priest Luo won.

Or vice versa, the werewolves discovered Priest Luo, and they thought they had the advantage, so they rushed up to beat him up, and the werewolves knelt down in groups.

This time, Pastor Luo had an audience, an intelligence officer directly under the Lord of Night City, who was responsible for temporarily playing the role of clerk and recording how Pastor Luo worked, so that they could produce a detailed and credible report afterwards, and make those who made random guesses out of reluctance to pay shut up.

"Ah... So this is how the boss works. Release hatred, pull the monsters together, and then attack the group. It's not ice rain or fire rain, but mind explosion, advanced enchantment, turning everyone from wolves into dogs! Hiss... This ability works just as well when the target is changed to humans. It's terrifying when you think about it!"

"Wow, there is also his own demiplane. This explains why those ogres are nowhere to be found alive or dead. No wonder they say their time is valuable. He is also a leader with a big family and a lot of people rely on him for their livelihood! Thank you for your hard work, lord!"

We set out at noon and returned in the afternoon.

Godfrey thought things were not going smoothly, so he decided to act in steps. Once he understood, he realized that he could settle the matter in a few minutes, and the time was mainly spent on the journey back and forth.

"Are you so brave?"

"To answer your question, sir, when those werewolves saw Mr. Hugo, they seemed to be under the spell of idiocy. No matter how they manipulated them, they looked like idiots. They gathered together easily, but as soon as they started to show their fangs and claws, they were harvested in droves!"

"It's not difficult for those who know how to do it, and it looks easy! This is a great master!"

"Well, it's really awe-inspiring..." The clerk mentioned the more sensitive mass control and the possible existence of the demiplane.

Godfrey couldn't help but gasp. His eyes rolled around, and he felt that he understood a little bit. Pastor Luo was trying to get more out of one thing. He knew that there were monsters in the Dark Forest, and it was not in his style to do good deeds without leaving a name. So he found an excuse to interact with Night City, harvest large animals, and get money. You still have to remember their kindness and thank them. This is a way of getting more out of one thing.

Please! Come in!
Sit down! Please take a seat!
Serve tea! Serve good tea!

Wait! Priest Luo said, have you seen my outfit? This is not a disguise, but an attitude. There is no high-level dialogue, no long-term cooperation. I just came to investigate what happened in the funeral town, and by the way, I will hunt in the wild, make some extra money, and make up for the loss of this trip.

When Godfrey heard what Pastor Luo said, he felt mixed emotions.

The good news is that if such a dangerous person has any intentions towards Night City, then Night City will be in danger.

What worries me is, how can I take advantage of the big guys' support?
As we all know, if a deserted village is not inhabited, it may become a den of thieves and monsters over time.

This means that no matter whether it is Kelley Castle or the Rotten Orchard, only by sending the team in as soon as possible can the results of the cleanup be maximized. Otherwise, who knows what will happen after a while, it will be occupied by some random person.

The problem is that Pastor Luo's cleaning speed was too fast, and the subsequent arrangements were obviously lagging behind and could not keep up with others.

Let Elder Luo take his magic power and rest? Haven't you heard that people repeatedly emphasize that time is precious?

So this is because you are not capable enough and you are useless even when I give you opportunities. What can I do?

After a moment of worry, Godfrey came up with a quick idea. What if he could not trouble two people for the same matter? Let this big man who called himself Javier Hugo take care of the aftermath?
What? Losing everything?

If we can really get the land back completely, we would be willing to be poor for a few years, because it will soon become a cash cow that generates continuous profits.

When Priest Luo heard that Godfrey wanted both, he said frankly: "Two points. First, the actual situation in the Dark Forest area is that it is shrouded in forbidden spells, so that negative factors are more likely to breed, the land is corrupted, the vegetation is distorted, monsters are easy to breed, and people are prone to sorrow, fear, and anger, and the maintenance cost remains high.

Secondly, it is easier to invite a deity than to send it away. We just met by chance, and you let me do everything. Are you sure the rest of your family can trust me?"

Godfrey flattered him: "Just by listening to your frank words, I know that you are a noble person. And what you emphasize is reasonable. We can't be blinded by interests and make decisions on the spur of the moment. I naturally want to go back and discuss it, but your time is too precious..."

"I'm sorry, I have my own schedule. If there is no more good work, please prepare the reward before I leave tomorrow."

"Understood!" Godfrey bowed and went out.

He originally wanted to buy some time from Pastor Luo, but there was also a temptation in his intention.

If Pastor Luo really tried to act easy to talk to, he would become suspicious, wondering if Pastor Luo said one thing and did another, and whether his intentions were impure.

After all, he is already killing two birds with one stone. For someone who is so smart and capable, it is completely reasonable for him to have bigger ambitions.

Now that Pastor Luo has refused, the pressure seems to be completely back on Godfrey, but in fact it is not difficult to get the job done. After all, it is not a question of whether it is done or not, but a question of how well it is done.

Of course you can earn more by continuing to take advantage of the big guys' strong power, but if you just stay at the current level of income, you will also earn a lot.

You know, a werewolf, an ogre, one east and one west of the North-South Avenue, are very threatening. Night Town may not care about the eastern section of Silent Avenue, which is the section of Funeral Road mentioned by Pedro, but the western section, and even the North-South Avenue, must be protected. It is the lifeline connecting the fertile land of the kingdom and even the capital.

Moreover, this road is also an important supply route to the front line. If there is a problem, the Lord of Night City will be held responsible.

This is also the reason why a garrison was set up at Sanchakou.

Unfortunately, the garrison can only deter small thieves, but they have no effect on ogres, werewolves and the like.

Send in a large army to suppress them? Werewolves are dark creatures with a good sense of smell and the ability to cast spells. The wolf pack tactics are good at harassment and consumption. They can fight fiercely, but can also be taken for a walk. A large army will just be like punching cotton. They are very difficult to deal with and cannot be wasted.

The ogres don't have so many tricks, but the problem is that the individual combat power of the ogres is too high, and the threat of joint operations increases the cost. The ogres have also occupied Kelleburg and the mines. Neither of them is suitable for the use of long-range weapons such as crossbows. A head-on battle will be very bloody. Night City has no way of guaranteeing victory. If it can win, it will be a miserable victory. Can't it win later?
All I can say is that in the eyes of the weak, there are so many different mountains, none of which is easy to move, otherwise they would not be so melancholy until now. After all, it is difficult to reverse a bad situation, and big troubles are often built up bit by bit.

As a result, now a strong man passes by, and he sweeps away the accumulated evils with a wave of his hand, and plays a broken version of the bull beep.

Naturally, he kept trying to get more, but he was also afraid that the boss had other intentions. Just like Pastor Luo himself said, it is easy to invite a god but difficult to send him away, so he was very conflicted.

The Lord of Night City, a high-ranking official, and a marquis of a place, had an extraordinary demeanor. After learning about the situation through Godfrey's pigeon, he quickly gave a reply:
As long as Priest Luo helps to eliminate all the werewolves in the Dark Forest, Eagle's Nest Castle will be given to Priest Luo. There is no need to be a vassal in reality, just a nominal one.

The Eyrie Castle is a barony, and even though it is not as geographically advantageous as the Clay Castle, it still has its own value. For example, it guards an important road and can collect tolls. Another example is that it is easy to defend but difficult to attack. Although it is not as impressive as the Eyrie Castle in the Vale of Arryn in Westeros, it is still high above and can overlook many other castles.

If there is a problem, this castle and even the barony are now in the hands of the werewolves...

After hearing Godfrey's explanation, Pastor Luo did not laugh at the Marquis for being so cowardly and barely surviving. He said he was the lord of the entire Dark Forest, but in fact he could only guard the Night City and its surroundings and live a hard life. If the road was not of great importance, he would have given up on the bad situation of the fork in the road.

No wonder it’s useless even if given the chance. In the current Dark Forest, not only are the monsters powerful, but Night City itself is weak and can’t afford much money and food to support the full-time professional army, which is also a big problem.

Especially in tough battles, even for professional soldiers with high enough discipline, casualties are inevitable, and the pensions may bankrupt the lord.

Let alone a battle that we cannot afford to lose, we cannot even afford to fight a few battles that we cannot win.

That's why it's important to have both for him.

The Night City Lord naturally knew that he was a hypocrite, but what if he didn't? Was there any normal chance to break the current situation? Obviously not!
It is impossible for the King's Knights and the masters of the Mage Academy to wipe out the Bull-Evil Snake God in such a cheap and neat way.

"Well, although you can return to my territory at any time, I don't mind leaving some properties in various parts of the continent. Tell me about the werewolves. Be careful, tell the truth. More enemies are just a matter of a few more slaps, but if you try to beautify the problem to deceive me, you must be prepared to bear my wrath."

Godfrey's heart skipped a beat.

He was indeed prepared to lie in order to make the deal seem like a great value.

But now that Pastor Luo has made it clear, if he violates the rules again, he will be asking for trouble.

Clearing his throat to organize his thoughts, Godfrey began his statement: "You know, the biggest problem with werewolves is the lack of humanity and the emergence of animal nature. Wolves live in groups, led by an alpha wolf..."

As Godfrey told the story, the entire story of the wolf disaster in the Dark Forest revealed its ugly veil to Pastor Luo.

Curses, mutations, bullying, tragedy, revenge, accountability, resistance, oppression, riots... things get bigger and bigger in the repeated struggles, and eventually become out of control.

Fortunately, most werewolves have their bestiality taking over and cannot turn back into humans. Otherwise, with human wisdom and the infection of wolf poison, the Dark Forest would have long been the territory of werewolves, and there would be no place for humans.

However, Marquis Matteo was facing more than just the wolf disaster.

Sir Godfrey began to complain.

Priest Luo was also well aware that the influence of the eleventh-level dark forbidden spell was far-reaching.

Combined with the cemetery, ghouls, zombies, and skeletons will naturally spawn. And there is a certain probability of mutation, for example, a skeleton will spawn a skeleton wizard, a zombie will spawn a corpse demon, and a ghoul will spawn a white ghost.

And if there are professionals like necromancers, psychics, liches and the like, the situation will suddenly become much worse.

Take, for example, the great cemetery to which he had recently dedicated sacrifices.

Salazar created giant skeleton executioners, titan zombies, siege beasts, corpse eaters, and even stitched abominations, tomb stone gargoyles, and burial pythons...

Just by hearing the name, you know that this is an undead supernatural force. Even if the number is small, with spells such as resurrection of the dead, it is enough to capture cities and destroy lives, and expand like a snowball.

Then why didn't Salazar start his dark cause, but instead focused on research?

On the one hand, an important research project is about to achieve a breakthrough.

On the other hand, this world hides a deeper and more terrifying darkness.

These two reasons make even a strong man like Salazar willing to lie dormant for a while until the key technology is broken through and he can use it to break the legend before thinking about other things.

It can be said that after searching Salazar's memory, Pastor Luo thought he had done the right thing.

If he didn't play that trick, even if he could win, it wouldn't be a quiet victory, but a big one, with a bang. That would add a lot of variables and change the future direction.

Therefore, regarding the dangers of this world, Father Luo believed that although he was an outsider, he already understood it much more deeply than Godfrey.

Godfrey's complaints are like a child complaining to his parents: "This question is too difficult, I can't do it!"

He could understand the other person's feelings, but he really couldn't take those things so seriously like Godfrey did.

Of course, attentive listening is a virtue, and Pastor Luo often possesses it.

Therefore, he listened patiently to Godfrey's chatter, which was another way to collect information.

Combined with his confession, he realized that some of his previous extended analysis was valid.

For example, the impact of the dark forbidden spell on Night City.

There is birth, aging, sickness and death in Night City, and funerals also need to be handled with great fanfare. Where is the cemetery? In the northwest corner of the Dark Forest, in the Quiet Garden.

Now it is also invaded by darkness, with ghosts running around and zombies dancing everywhere.

There really wasn't another Salazar there, but that made it all the more terrifying.

Because there is no supreme will to restrain the behavior of the low-level undead for a greater goal, the disaster continues to overflow like boiling water.

Most of the spellcasters in Night City were distracted by that place.

In addition, there are animals and plants affected by the dark forbidden spell, such as the night howling wolves, widow spiders, and man-eating thorns.

Why does Priest Luo have blood thorns and nightmare apple trees?

It was twisted in the first place, and then he added some strength to guide it into shape, thus creating a new usable variety.

Naturally, these two kinds of dark extraordinary economic crops were not destroyed along with the funeral town, but were transplanted to the Star-Moon Pure Land, waiting for the completion of civil construction, to be resettled, and then contribute value to the development of the territory.

This is getting off topic. The impact of the dark forbidden spell on the Giant Tree Forest is comprehensive and far-reaching, and all things are affected by it.

Marquis Matteo did not just stand by and watch, he mobilized his connections and invited a team of priests from the kingdom's cathedral.

These clergymen who worshipped the Holy Light itself rather than any particular god, had only managed to preserve the environment around Night City, calling it the Sunshine Zone, so that crops could be grown normally.

However, there was no way to free Night City from the influence.

It is said that it is because people’s hearts are polluted that new pollution is constantly formed.

To be honest, Father Luo scoffed at this. Although he always speculated about others with malicious intent, he also knew that ordinary people lived very unhappy lives in the context of the Middle Ages.

But he didn't believe that the negative emotions of ordinary people could be so great that the darkness in the area could not be dispersed. Salazar's undead warband didn't have such ability, let alone a group of living people.

All I can say is that the waters here are very deep, and the believers and spokesmen of the Holy Light may not necessarily have bright and clear minds.

A self-aware god does have selfish desires, but his consciousness and thoughts must also be consistent with his priesthood, and even the laws and divinity behind his priesthood.

For example, as a god of justice, you can play tricks and word games to obscure your unjust behavior to a certain extent, but on the surface, even if you are pretending, you have to pretend to be righteous to conform to the concept of justice. Because the influence is mutual, gods can play tricks, but believers define the basic meaning of justice.

It is precisely because of the promotion of rules and the mutual opposition and cooperation that belief in gods can generally ensure that its name is consistent with its reality, rather than being a false pretense.

Also, because God is conscious and selfish, He will not allow clergy to enrich themselves in His name, or rather, He will assess the contributions of each clergy member and give them a certain margin of tolerance, just like a company leader treats his own sales champion.

And these are almost meaningless to the clergy who believe in "things".

Does the Holy Light itself require the power of faith from the clergy? No.

Just like the sun, even if you don't worship it, it will still shine and emit heat, and it will flare without hesitation when it is time to do so.

So how do we judge whether one’s faith is sincere or not?
Generally speaking, it depends on the affinity with the power of Holy Light.

The more devout the faith, the higher the affinity, and the stronger and more powerful the power of holy light that can be used.

But in the view of Pastor Luo, this is a false theory.

Just like the sophistry that 'poverty is not noble'.

Poverty is not the opposite of nobility. How inevitable is the connection between the two?
If poverty is not noble, does that mean being rich is noble?

The concept of supernatural affinity, understood from a scientific perspective, is like which materials are conductive, which materials are more conductive, and which materials are insulating. The reasons are analyzed from the perspective of the properties and characteristics of matter and energy.

Some extraordinary talents simply indicate an affinity with a certain element, which has nothing to do with whether or not one believes in this element.

Of course, belief and disbelief are still useful, because in the supernatural world, the power of belief is more powerful and intuitive, and it can itself have an impact and is a means of strengthening or weakening.

The question is, is there any necessary connection between believing that it has certain properties and that it is closely related to you and whether you are just and kind?

Medicine can cure diseases and remove toxins, and surgery can save lives and heal the wounded, so it represents justice and kindness?
There is no match at all.

Also, if an "object" has no heart, it can become a mascot and can be used as a pseudonym.

Is it just like the indulgences that people on Earth played in the Middle Ages? If you give God some money, God will ignore your sins and allow you to go to heaven in the future?
Who is using the name of God to commit such vile and blasphemous acts? Those who understand will understand, so there is no need to elaborate.

Because of this, Pastor Luo didn't believe in the Holy Light Sect at all. He thought to himself, "Even if it's just an ordinary person, he can get some spotlights and fill lights from the cyber world and show off his power in front of people. His appearance can be better than yours. What a bunch of liars..."

Holy light is a tool, deception is the livelihood, it is clear at a glance which one is the real professional skill.

In short, the current predicament of the Dark Forest was not formed overnight, nor is it as simple as black or white.

Moreover, Pastor Luo also believes in the saying: In an avalanche, no snowflake is innocent.

This resulted in Pastor Luo being unable to empathize, whether it was the pathetic lower classes or the overwhelmed dignitaries. But this did not affect his actions.

He is not the kind of person who would not give a penny even if it would benefit the world.

He knew that humans did not actually need supermen. They should and could only rely on themselves, and bear the consequences regardless of right or wrong. Being independent was the minimum decency of a civilization.

But theory is theory, reality is reality, he has no intention to be a crutches of civilization, but he might as well play a little bit of luck, just like a leaf falling by, attracting someone's attention, so that his eyes follow to the ground, thus avoiding stepping on a pile of dog shit.

This is true for civilization, and it can also be true for a territory.

Pain makes memory deep, and being beaten makes people remember. That's true, but a lot of pain is just pain. After all, the cause of pain is often not a bad memory, but a lack of ability.

Pastor Luo believes that he is quite capable, so the more capable one is, the more he works, the more he gets.

Therefore, he may not care about a barony, but Marquis Matteo's reward of Eagle's Nest Castle is the attitude and behavior he should have.

(End of this chapter)