The Demon King is unfathomable

Chapter 442 The Laws of the Ranch

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Handsome Enough to Sleep: "Brothers! Breaking news! A swordsman carrying a greatsword has arrived in Wheat Field Village! And he's with a boy who looks about fourteen or fifteen!"

The player, who had no name, said: "Get lost. It's just a mercenary. We've had weirdos sneaking in every day before. What kind of news is this?"

Lighter: "+1, if you're out of work, you can bite the lighter."

Handsome to the point of sleeplessness: "Damn! I'm serious! That guy is awesome, he chopped down more than twenty logs with one sword! But he didn't know how to build a house, he didn't even know to lay a foundation first! In the end, I had to guide him to get it done, hehe."

The tree-climbing pig: "And then?"

So handsome he couldn't sleep: "Then he probably felt bad for taking advantage of me, so he taught me the wood-whittling technique! I think it was called something like sword energy! It's different from the 'energy' of the Dragon God Sect. His sword energy is not only sharper but also more precise! It's just that I'm a bit slow and didn't learn it."

Gou Shi: "Holy crap?!"

The gourd child: "He's a master???"

Upon hearing that this NPC also possessed martial arts secrets, the group of silly players couldn't sit still any longer. They immediately changed their arrogant demeanor and began begging for a strategy guide.

The player named "Handsome Enough to Sleep" didn't keep the audience in suspense, vividly describing how he encountered the strange man carrying the greatsword, how he triggered the hidden quest, and how he received the NPC's thanks.

This handsome guy who couldn't sleep also mentioned that the swordsman carrying the greatsword seemed to be planning to build a hotel, a project that obviously couldn't be completed in a day.

In other words——

This task is still doable!

Upon hearing this, the players were overjoyed and flocked into the game to put their knowledge into practice in Wheat Field Village.

Unfortunately, the swordsman was too aloof and ignored everyone, leaving most people disappointed.

His apprentice, Euryn, was more talkative and could chat with anyone who spoke human language. However, this young man was a novice himself, unable to trigger hidden quests or impart any so-called "martial arts manuals," and was quickly abandoned by the real-world players.

The vast majority of players are going for the swordsman named Gaunt!

"Damn it, I specifically took the teleportation array to fly there, why didn't he respond to me?"

"Are you a spirit? He doesn't talk to spirits!"

"Damn it! Racism! Thumbs down!"

"What kind of race are you, the undead...you're a corpse!"

"I suggest you just help him with the work! This guy seems to be very socially awkward and doesn't like owing favors! If you just start helping him, he might teach you!"

"That's too much trouble. I'm not a professional gamer and I'm not interested in that stuff. Can I just give him ghost money instead?"

"You can try it and see if he beats you up!"

"..."

While the hesitant newbies are still complaining on the forums, the hardworking veterans are already practicing in the game.

First, they cleared away all the stones and tree roots from the ground, then leveled the ground. This work had to be done very carefully; if the foundation wasn't level, the house would be built crookedly.

Then came the felling of trees.

Twenty logs were clearly not enough; they needed to cut down more trees and haul the timber to the sawmill by the river to be processed into suitable shapes.

In any case, it's obviously not feasible to chop with a sword. Even with the most precise control over the power, the person using the sword must fully understand what shape the chop should be.

Clearly, that greatswordsman didn't have this concept.

Incidentally, in the past, if the villagers of Wheatfield wanted to do this work, they had to bribe the lord's forester with some dried meat and wine, or promise to help him repair the fence, in order to persuade him to turn a blind eye.

But now, all they need to do is tell the Salvation Army what they're going to do with the wood, not sell it, and they can go into the forest with their axes and get to work.

All of the above is just the first step. Next, they have to go to the river to dig up clay, then get some licorice or straw, mix them into the clay, add water, and stomp on it with their feet or rub it with their hands until it becomes sticky and thick... into a paste that can be used to plaster walls.

After all the preparations are completed, you can start building the foundation with stones, constructing load-bearing columns with thick timber, and building the main frame of the house.

According to players' aesthetic preferences, a medieval inn should have at least two floors: the first floor is a tavern for adventurers, and the second floor is where they stay.

In addition to that, there are stables and warehouses, and even cellars for storing wine... Whether the person planning to open an inn thought of this or not, they all thought of this for that NPC!

Meanwhile, on the edge of Wheat Field Village.

Gunther, carrying his greatsword, stared at the undead—no, the holy spirits—busily tending to his inn, and for a moment, he was speechless with astonishment.

What are they doing?
Unlike his master's bewilderment, Yurien, standing to the side, excitedly said something.

"It looks like they're building a hotel for us!"

Gunter knew, of course, that they were building a hotel, but he didn't know why they were doing it.

He had previously inquired about the steps of building a house from a "highlander," and he originally planned to do the work himself.

Luckily, I didn't do it.

Seeing these guys made him realize that what sounded easy was actually incredibly difficult to do!

This is not a project that one person could complete.

In comparison, it would be easier for him to carve a huge rock into the shape of a house...

Just then, a farmer walked over.

Gunter remembered that his name was Old Hank and that he also lived in the neighborhood. Because they had talked before, the two were fairly familiar with each other.

Before the farmer could speak, Gunter pointed to the skeletons working on the construction site not far away and couldn't help but ask.

"Excuse me... what are they trying to do?"

“Ah, them, I was just about to say that,” Old Hank smiled sheepishly, looking at the Holy Spirits not far away, “Our ancestors welcomed you very much…that’s how they expressed their enthusiasm.”

How to express enthusiasm?
Gunter paused for a moment.

He had been to countless places, but this was the first time he had ever met someone who would express passion in this way... uh, the Holy Spirit?
He has recently begun to accept this premise—the "Holy Spirit" of Wheatfield Village is different from those soulless wandering ghosts and puppets manipulated by necromancers.

They have souls!
Seeing that Gunter hadn't spoken for a long time, Old Hank scratched the back of his head and said somewhat embarrassedly.

"By the way, my ancestor said he wanted to learn swordsmanship."

Gaunt: "...Learn swordsmanship?"

Old Hank grinned.

"Yes! They said that once they learn swordsmanship, they can protect us... If it's not too much trouble, please teach them when you have time. If it is, then forget it!"

Gaunt glanced at the hotel that was being built at a visible speed not far away, and then at Euryn, whose face was full of expectation, but couldn't bring himself to refuse.

Teaching one person is the same as teaching two people, so there's not much difference to him. Besides, these Holy Spirits don't seem like the kind of people who would use his swordsmanship to do evil.

They are all kind-hearted souls.

Compared to the Dragon God School sword techniques, which have many practitioners, the Sword Saint School he founded is a niche and emerging school with few practitioners.

He was actually very happy that someone was willing to learn.

Gunther nodded and agreed to Old Hank's request.

"It's not troublesome... but which one is your ancestor?"

Old Hank was taken aback when he heard this, as he hadn't thought about this question before, and it took him a long time to speak.

"This... I don't know either. How about you teach me while you're at it? Anyway, my ancestors are definitely in there!"

Gaunt: "..."

Things seem to be getting a little complicated...

……

As May drew to a close, the thriving village of Wheatfield added a small inn with stables and a wine cellar, following its logging camp and brick kiln.

The inn was run by a man carrying a greatsword, but he really didn't know how to run a business and was always flustered when doing accounts.

Fortunately, the kind-hearted "ancestral spirits" helped him, and even taught his adopted son Euryn arithmetic and many other things besides swordsmanship.

In exchange, he would instruct the ancestors of Wheatfield Village in swordsmanship in his spare time, and the backyard of the inn became his "sword school".

Later, not only the "ancestors," but also mercenaries or adventurers passing by would occasionally peek and learn a few moves.

The swordsman named Gaunt never interfered.

Incidentally, the "ancestors" of Wheatfield Village can also speak, but they need to use a crystal ball imbued with language magic to convey their messages...

At first, Gaunt frowned and pondered the mystery behind it, but as time went on, he realized that although the saintess and her followers were strange, they were not bad people, and he was relieved.

Cognition is built up little by little.

Once this consensus is formed and spreads, every traveler passing through Wheatfield Village will assume that the Holy Spirit in Wheatfield Village is different from the spirits of the dead in other places.

Over time, the entire Sparrowwood Territory will become the territory for players from the Great Cemetery.

Of course, this isn't necessarily a bad thing for the locals, since the spirits in the Great Cemetery are far more benevolent than those in other cemeteries.

Not only will they not harm anyone, but they will also go deep into the Duskwood to clear out monster lairs or bandit strongholds when they receive missions from friendly forces, doing high-risk jobs that adventurers are reluctant to take on.

The greatswordsman named Gaunt was just a passing episode in the daily lives of the villagers of Wheatfield Village. Apart from this mercenary carrying a greatsword, people with all sorts of stories written on their faces wandered over from other parts of the Twilight Province every day.

According to the news brought by the refugees, Griffin Cliff Castle eventually fell, and the entire Weaver family fulfilled their oath, becoming the first earl family to be wiped out in this catastrophe.

The despicable jumped off the sinking ship early on, while the loyal were ultimately buried at sea.

For the Kingdom of Ryan, the "Land of Knights" has forever lost a legacy called loyalty. As for what will grow next, that depends on the fate of the people living on this land.

At least for now, the situation is not optimistic.

To appease the "Claw of Eternal Hunger" in the void, it's not enough to just cut off a few thousand heads; "Executioner" Akka must kill even more.

Not only does he have to kill, he also has to find ways to incite one group of people to kill another group of people, so that he can become stronger!

He had a hunger for power that seemed to come from the depths of his soul, as if only in this way could his ugly soul rise above the mortal world.

After capturing Griffin Cliff, the Green Forest Army had completed the blockade of Twilight City, completely extinguishing the hopes of Earl Theron Gard and his cowards to escape to the capital.

Calling them cowards isn't entirely accurate, since the real cowards ran away much earlier; they were actually the ones who ran slower.

However, it's pointless to talk about this now.

Only God can decide their fate.

Just as the Green Forest Army marched in a mighty force toward Twilight City, which was shrouded in the setting sun, the army of the Duchy of Campbell was also advancing toward Twilight City.

The rebel bandits who tried to stop them along the way were no match for these well-equipped and well-supplied militiamen!

However, when Eileen's army advanced to the area around Stillwater Beach, they still encountered trouble.

According to the refugees from there, a clan of ratmen who fled from the Ten Thousand Mountains to the Dusk Province has taken over the area, led by the chosen one, "Gluttonous Rat" Gellow.

Although those ratmen were weak in combat, three of them combined couldn't defeat a single Ryan, let alone fight the fierce Campbellians.

However, their numbers were simply too great; when millions of slave rats ran, the entire forest would tremble with fear.

Not only that, they also dig tunnels, set traps, and even use explosives and cannons stolen from the dwarves!
Campbell's militia finally met their match, and the high-spirited Northern Rescue Army finally began to suffer casualties.

However, this setback could not stop the Duchy's progress, as the vigorous land-grabbing campaign in the rear provided a steady stream of soldiers for the front lines. A few factories simply could not consume so many displaced peasants, not to mention the influx of people from the Kingdom of Ryan and even the coast of the Whirlpool Sea.

The security situation outside Thunder City was almost immediately alleviated!
After all, nowadays, people who cause trouble don't need to be sent to prison; they're sent directly to recruit camps and then shipped to the front lines two weeks later.

Thanks to this, the guards' stress has been greatly reduced, as the army's recruiting officers are now happy to serve them.

The happiest person was undoubtedly Horace, the owner of the textile factory.

He had only survived by the kindness of Erin Campbell in the past, but now, if anyone dared to interfere with his business, his loyal soldiers would pull away those consumables like cattle, so that these guys could use their energy on something more worthwhile.

In addition to the guarantee of manpower, another piece of good news for the Northern Rescue Army came from the diplomatic front.

Archduke Edward, far behind, used his excellent diplomatic skills to invite the dwarves from the Ten Thousand Mountains.

When his messenger arrived at Hatred Keep in the High Mountain Kingdom with the tail of the Skaven, and explained to the Justa family, who ruled there, the interdependent relationship between the Dusk Province and the Brass Pass, the Justa family, after a moment's thought, signed a military agreement with the Duchy of Campbell.

The High Mountain Kingdom will send 20,000 dwarven warriors to support Campbell's northern relief force.

Of course, they abide by the ancient covenant and do not intervene in human wars. They only provide the dwarves with artillery and use the dwarven tunnels and minecarts to supply the Campbellians, as well as to deal with rat-man guerrillas who attack supply lines.

As the nemesis of the ratmen, the dwarves are undoubtedly experts in "rat extermination." In order to efficiently eliminate these creatures that reproduce at an extremely fast rate, they have invented a series of highly efficient killing machines, including but not limited to flamethrowers, organ cannons, and so on.

The Campbellians, having acquired this equipment, certainly wouldn't only use it on the Skaven. The dwarves, who had no fondness for Chaos to begin with, would find dealing with those green-turbaned creatures a piece of cake.

famine?

Oppression by the nobility?
Perhaps their uprising was forced, but what does that have to do with the dwarves?

Dwarves wouldn't break their oath over something so trivial... Of course, hell dwarves don't count as dwarves.

In short, they had long disliked the guys who destroyed Graystone Town!

With the support of the dwarves, the Northern Rescue Army, which had been stalled due to the intervention of the ratmen, regained its fierce fighting power and beat the ratmen and green-turbaned bastards to a pulp!
Of course, it's true that they have a lot of teeth, so it remains to be seen who will ultimately fall into the hands of Twilight City...

……

Twilight City.

In stark contrast to the orderly prosperity of the capital city of Ryan, the capital of Twilight Province is now shrouded in an atmosphere of oppression and despair.

Beneath the city walls, countless refugees huddled together, their faces sallow and emaciated, their eyes numb, like withered grass forgotten by the world.

The soldiers on the city wall watched them indifferently, prohibiting anyone from entering the city for any reason, citing the need to prevent spies from the Green Forest Army from infiltrating.

Apart from the nobles they couldn't afford to offend.

The air was filled with a stench of death and decay.

Some of it emanated from the dead, and some from the living...

It's hard to say which side has the upper hand.

“This is hell…” Lyon stood by a simple carriage for a long time, and said blankly.

Not long ago, Lyon, an apprentice of the great sage Dolrich of the School of Learning, arrived in the Kingdom of Laine to warn King Theodore de Vallout that the corruption of Chaos was spreading through the province.

However, the wisdom of the great sage was met with ridicule and skepticism from the king and his courtiers.

The king ordered him to find concrete evidence, or he would be punished for insulting the royal family. Thus, accompanied by his old butler, Sclair, Lyon traveled a long and arduous journey, finally arriving at this city on the front lines of war and famine.

According to the travelers he met along the way, it was the closest place in the entire kingdom to hell. And when he arrived there, the scene before his eyes confirmed what the travelers had said... and perhaps they were even being too conservative.

Lyon was completely shocked.

He was a scholar who grew up in a tower. Under the careful tutelage of a great sage, even as an apprentice, he had already come into contact with many kinds of magic that a magician could never have the chance to touch in his entire life.

That's why he couldn't imagine such a thing happening.

They have already communicated with the virtual world outside the real world, and can even use magic to make bread fly to everyone's table automatically, so why are there still people who are not full?
The Academy is part of the Empire, and the Kingdom of Ryan is of course part of the Empire as well. Why doesn't the Emperor come and do something about it?

Even if the emperor can't see it, what about the king?
He turned to the old butler beside him, his voice trembling uncontrollably.

"Lord Skeller, open your eyes and see! Isn't this enough evidence that the corruption of chaos is eroding this land?"

From a scholar's perspective, he believed that famine was unacceptable in an empire, and there was only one logical explanation—

That was done by Chaos!
However, after hearing Lyon's accusations, the old butler Sclere's expression did not change at all.

He simply gazed calmly at the crowds struggling to survive outside the city, and sighed as if he couldn't bear it, before speaking slowly.

“Sir Lyon. Famine or rebellion can happen in any kingdom. There could be many reasons for it: perhaps the governor is incompetent, perhaps the weather is bad, perhaps the farmers are lazy... It doesn’t prove that any of it is related to Chaos.”

Leon's eyes widened in disbelief. Was this still the Imperial Common Language he knew?

What is he talking about?!

“Unbelievable… Do you think life is so cheap? What’s the difference between your indifference and that of the Chaos Apostles!” He pointed at a emaciated child by the roadside, his gaze then falling on a patch of trees in the distance whose bark had been scraped clean, and roared angrily.

This is a rather serious accusation.

Skelle could have ignored him, or even retorted, but looking at the young boy, he couldn't bring himself to say anything too harsh.

Perhaps, as he said, the world shouldn't be like this, but the real world doesn't operate according to the logic that students in ivory towers imagine.

He paused, then spoke in a gentle tone.

“Mr. Lyon, please forgive my bluntness. His Majesty has no intention of punishing you. Even if you may not understand, he is actually a very benevolent monarch, especially towards you.”

Before the angry young man could speak, he continued.

"As long as you admit that you have spoken wrongly and stop insisting on that vague and unfounded argument, His Majesty will not only forgive your offense, but will also escort you out of the country with courtesy... I think that is why you have come here."

If the Great Sage truly believed that there was corruption of chaos here, why didn't he come himself, but instead sent a magic apprentice to deliver the message?

It wasn't that he couldn't leave the tower; in fact, he had just recently visited the Bronze Pass, but halfway there he remembered the neighboring Kingdom of Ryan.

Is this reasonable?

There is only one explanation: the great sage simply wanted to train his disciple, but this young man, who had been in the ivory tower for too long, simply didn't know how to be tactful.

If he had simply used a different approach, he would have already gone back to report, and wouldn't have had to drag me along.

Skelle couldn't help but wonder, how did the Great Sage choose this guy?

Does Xuebang have no other talented people?
The old steward's explanation was not wrong, and the king did indeed think so, but unfortunately, a certain magic apprentice did not think so.

Enraged, he practically spat out those words through clenched teeth.

“Mr. Skeller, you must have misunderstood something. I’m not here to complete a mission, but to save our world!”

Looking at the stunned Skelle, he said, word by word.

"Compared to my safety, isn't what truly deserves our attention... the suffering citizens of the kingdom right now?!"

The deafening sound silenced the surrounding guards, leaving them speechless.

The same goes for Skelle.

However, the experienced butler remained silent for only two seconds before responding to Lyon's anger.

"So, esteemed savior, did you bring food, an army, or... just a mouth to feed?"

Leon was stunned.

However, he was not just a person filled with anger and without any sense of reason. On the contrary, he was quite quick-witted and found the loophole in the statement in an instant.

“You’re just making excuses… We’re clearly talking about your indifference! I will tell the Great Sage and the garrison at Bronze Pass about the situation here! But this is your king’s directly controlled territory, and your Majesty should take action first!”

“Then I’ll trouble you to inform the Great Sage. I doubt he foresaw what’s happening here, heh,” Skelle chuckled nonchalantly, speaking in a soft voice. “But I have something else to say… Mr. Lyon, is it possible that all we’re seeing is 'preventing' chaos?”

Lyon was stunned, completely baffled by the meaning of those words.

Skelle stopped looking at him and offered no explanation, instead casting her gaze toward the people struggling to survive in the distance, as if she were looking at cattle and sheep in a pasture.

His Majesty is well aware of this.

On the contrary, he knows everything.

In the distant First Age, the people of this land often died because of religious and territorial disputes, but this problem no longer exists after the First Age... In its place came plague and famine.

Is the lord not capable enough?

No.

Is it because people are lazy?

Nor is it.

Was it because of the Battle of Huangtong Pass?
That's even more impossible.

The reason people died was not for any other reason than that the farmland here could no longer support so many people.

The people here refer not only to the farmers in the fields, but also to the vassals who are constantly encroaching on His Majesty's directly controlled territories, and the priests who are constantly expanding the parish lands in the name of Saint Sis.

It's time for a massive uprising.

They needed to let the desperate peasants kill their lords, and then let the nobles and priests who still had some sense of honor kill the rebellious peasants.

If nine out of ten people die, the land of Twilight Province will be enough for everyone to share, and the royal family will naturally be able to reclaim its share.

With the empire around, can a bunch of heretics really turn the world upside down?

This is why the king tacitly allowed the nobles to leave his castle, and even permitted those useless people to hide in his palace.

That lord had already made a list of these good-for-nothings. Once this farce is over, all the nobles, regardless of whether they are His Majesty's vassals or not, will suffer greatly!

This is not the first time in the history of the Kingdom of Ryan, and it is even a lesson learned from the separation of the royal family from the Duchy of Campbell.

A weak Twilight Province is more beneficial to the kingdom, and only a weak Twilight Province truly belongs to the royal family.

This is why, despite possessing vast resources, the Twilight Province has not become the "Twilight Duchy".

The only exception was the invasion of the Duchy of Campbell, which had never happened before, since the Demon King of Thunder County had dealt with them in the past.

However, Skelle didn't think it was a big problem; His Majesty must have already come up with a solution.

"...A wise rancher will set fire to his pasture at the right time. The grass that grows back will not only be tastier, but it will also be more conducive to the continued prosperity of the pasture."

Lyon clenched his fists tightly.

"I can not understand……"

If this wasn't enough to serve as evidence of the Chaos invasion, he couldn't think of any other way to prove it to the king who was pretending to be asleep.

Perhaps he needs to find the messenger of chaos...

Or, he might have to fabricate "evidence" himself.

Seeing that Leon seemed to have calmed down, Skelle nodded slightly, ending the pointless discussion.

The young man is actually not a bad person, otherwise he wouldn't have patiently helped him.

"So you are a scholar, not a king."

(End of this chapter)