I was a lord farming, how did I become an emperor?

Chapter 104 The Brotherhood, a Place Full of Talent
“I am Rhodes Tulip, Baron of Blackpine Ridge and Dragon Slayer. Welcome to my territory.”

Rhodes stood on the high stone platform, looking at the trapped band of bandits ahead, his voice leisurely.

"Who is your leader? Come out."

Luo De's tone was calm, but his voice carried an undeniable authority.
"Don't worry, if I wanted your lives, you would all be lying on the ground by now."

“I am Dis Blade, leader of the Brotherhood of Blades.”

A deep voice came from the crowd, and Dis took the initiative to step forward.

He knew perfectly well that Rod was right, so he had no fear whatsoever.

"Are you the lord of this place? I thought you were a devil from hell who devised such a treacherous scheme to hunt us down."

Dis's voice was filled with anger, but also a hint of guilt.

"insidious?"

Rhodes looked at him and retorted, "You, a bandit, are talking to me about treachery? Has the autumn winds of the Northern Wilderness blown your brain away?"

Upon hearing such ridiculous language, Rhodes couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Why would a bandit like you say such a foolish thing? Is this your first day as a bandit in the wasteland?"

"But you are a nobleman, shouldn't you act like a bandit?"

"That's perfectly reasonable," Dis said.

"Should nobles be bullied by you bandits?"

Rhodes rejected the other party's "noble moral blackmail" and sarcastically remarked, "In my opinion, nobles are more likely to use such tricks, because only foolish robbers would fall for them."

"you!"

Dis glared and reached for his sword, but a sharp arrow shot out at his feet, startling him so much that he retreated repeatedly.

Raine raised his longbow, his eyes fixed on Dis.

"You unreasonable fool, the next arrow will kill you!"

"I don't want to be with you, nonsense. Now I'm giving you two choices."

“First, I will have my spearmen advance ten paces, and then I will shoot all of you dead, or leave a few alive lying on the ground.”

Rod stared at Dis and said coldly:

"Or you can throw away all your weapons, take off your armor, kneel down and surrender as slaves."

Rhodes held his palm up in mid-air.
"I'll only give you five breaths to consider. Five, four, three."

"We can surrender!"

"Dis shouted hurriedly."

The change in attitude surprised everyone.

Judging from his sharp words just now, Rod thought he would be very tough.

Dis was also feeling bitter. He had just tried to take advantage of the nobles' emphasis on face to find some hope for the Brotherhood of Blades.

Unexpectedly, the lord didn't care at all and even retorted strongly.

As a bandit, Dis was slaughtered like a dog and driven to the brink of despair. Those arrogant words he just uttered were his last bit of courage.

“But what will you do with us?” Dis asked.

Rod looked at Dis and understood what he meant.

Robbers, of course, should be hanged, especially their leader.

“If I wanted your lives, I wouldn’t be wasting my breath talking to you here.”

Rod said calmly, his face expressionless.

"Your job is to work. As long as you work honestly for me every day, I won't make things difficult for you. Your meals and daily life will be normal."

"In addition, I heard that some people are still staying in Luanshi Village."

Rod squinted. "You need to tell me all their information. And all your food supplies should belong to me now."

"Okay, I will answer all your questions."

Dis breathed a sigh of relief and turned to shout to everyone, "Those who want to live, drop your weapons, come out and kneel on the ground. Those who want to fight to the death, don't drag me down with you."

Dis is not stupid; there is no chance of turning the tide in this situation.

He could only get everyone to lay down their weapons and accept their fate of being captured.

Rhodes waved his hand, and the soldiers quickly stepped forward to gather the prisoners and clean up the battlefield.

Dis was also forced to the ground, face down, eating dirt.

This time, Rhodes captured seventy-six bandits.

In fact, there were many more, but all nineteen seriously wounded and crippled prisoners were executed by Rhodes one by one, his sword flashing without the slightest hesitation.

The captured and living bandits were destined to do hard labor.

Among them were many prisoners with rich combat experience.

But having just been arrested, Rhodes is not trustworthy.

These people need to endure hardship in their work and erase their old habits before they can become usable soldiers in the future.

Now all they're fit for is work.

Dis's fate was similar to Chris's; he was destined to do hard labor.

Rhodes knows nothing about Dis, so naturally he has no chance to give him the opportunity to work for him.

However, Rod believes that Disby Chris has a chance to turn things around.

After all, Dis had no family and had not sworn allegiance to anyone.

We'll talk about these things later.

Rhodes now has more pressing matters to attend to.

He ordered his guards to bring Dis before him for questioning.

"But I'm a little curious,"

Rhodes scrutinized Dis, who was kneeling before him.
"Your so-called Brotherhood of Blades is nothing but a band of outlaws. How come you have so many horses?"

Warhorses and riding horses are much more difficult to raise than ordinary livestock.

As far as warhorses are concerned, they must be well-fed and carefully cared for to maintain their health, strength, and muscular stamina.

At the same time, warhorses must be disciplined, but not cowardly, and not afraid of the noisy and chaotic battlefield.

Otherwise, the soldiers on horseback would be easily killed.

"Will you let me go if I tell you?" Dis asked tentatively.

"You don't have to say it,"

Rhodes' smile remained, but his eyes suddenly sharpened.
“But let me tell you, the last stubborn knight was named Chris, and he couldn’t even last two fingers under the torture of my guards.”

Dis remained silent.

Is this guy really an aristocrat?

Their words were always filled with bloodshed and cruelty, leaving no room for negotiation.

“Very well, my lord,”

Dis honestly confessed, "I have a guy who's good at raising horses, his name is Ward, and all my horses are raised by him."

Rhodes nodded slightly, just as he had expected.

Only professional grooms can maintain so many horses.

"Tell me anything else,"

Rhodes narrowed his eyes slightly. "Those with special talents, don't wait for me to ask them one by one."

“I also have a blacksmith, Dota, who is in charge of repairing all kinds of equipment and weapons.”

Dis replied, "And there's Li Si, he's our herbalist, and we rely on him whenever any of our brothers get hurt."

“Pierre is a winemaker.”

“Gale is…”

Dis hesitated for a moment, "Gail is the prettiest among us."

If we haven't had a woman in a long time, the brothers will look for him, and he really enjoys hanging out with everyone.

"You don't need to tell me about those peculiar fetishes."

Rhodes waved his hand, showing no interest whatsoever in Gale's actions.

Rhodes was somewhat surprised by all the information Dis gave, and couldn't help but marvel at how complete this Brotherhood was.

Thinking about it carefully, it makes sense. If such a bandit group didn't have a diverse range of talented people, it would be difficult for them to maintain their position for long.

Dis then reported on many other developments, including the situation in Luanshi Village.

Rhodes entrusted the clearing of Luanshi Village to Gunle, and had Rein lead a hunting party to assist him.

There were also thirty fully armed soldiers.

There were no defensive facilities in Luanshi Village, and Dis had also revealed all their sentry positions, so forty men would be enough to take Luanshi Village.

Of course, Rhodes told Gunther to rest tomorrow before setting off.

The soldiers are exhausted now, and Rhodes will not make them travel overnight.

Rhodes' biggest gain this time was the stable boy that Dis had entrusted to him.

Dis's thirty-six horses were of average pedigree, but they all looked very healthy and energetic.

These horses all look very strong and would be perfectly capable of being used for short-range raids.

Rhodes immediately had Ryan call Mafward to his side and asked, "Your name is Ward, right? Dis said you're very good at raising horses. Where did you learn that?"

“My lord, my father was a groom,”

Ward lowered his head slightly, his voice trembling a little, "He used to raise horses for Lord Doc of the Great Bear family."

"To raise horses for nobles?"

Rod looked at him and asked, "So how did you end up here as a bandit?"

Rod didn't know Doc, but he knew that the Bear Clan lived in the Northern Province, which was quite far from here, at least a two-week journey away.

“My father likes to drink,”

Ward's voice lowered, a flicker of pain crossing his eyes.
"He would always beat me and my mother when he was drunk. Once, I had to push him down to protect my mother."

I hurt him, which made him even angrier.

I was afraid he would hurt me and my mother, so I took her and fled to Razor Plains in the Northern Wilderness, where we joined Razor Town.

After my mother passed away, I joined the Brotherhood of Blades and began tending horses for Lord Dis.

"Ward, do you enjoy being a robber?"

After listening to Ward's account, Rod suddenly stared at him and asked a question.

"Nobody likes being a robber, sir,"

Ward smiled wryly, his eyes filled with helplessness, "I was arrested at the time, and I had to do something to survive."

After listening, Rhodes nodded slightly and said calmly, "It seems you are different from others. You don't have to do hard labor, and you have the opportunity to become a free man."

Ward's face lit up with joy, his eyes gleaming with hope: "Thank you for your kindness, I'll do whatever you want!"

Free citizens are just like normal people!

Ward was somewhat excited, thinking that this would allow him to marry a wife, have children, and live a stable life.

“I need you to do what you did for Dis, I need you to raise horses for me and build a horse farm,”

Rhodes' tone softened somewhat.
"If you can do all of this well, I can make you a free man in five years, so you can get married and have children in Frostleaf Town."

"do not worry!"

Upon hearing Rhodes' words, Ward immediately knelt down in excitement.

"I will definitely take good care of your horse!"

Ward knew very well that being able to raise horses for nobles was a very good job.

From now on, he would belong to a nobleman, a status that ordinary people could not compare to!
More importantly, with such a stable and reliable job, Ward felt that even if he were a slave, he could still find an excellent wife!
“Very good. Starting tomorrow, I will send someone with you to find a suitable location nearby to build a horse farm.”

Rod nodded in satisfaction and instructed, "You should know more about this than I do: it needs to be suitable for the horses' growth, it needs to be hidden and safe, and you need to prepare winter feed."

"You can choose some of the thirty-six horses that were captured to breed in captivity, or you can choose from the horses that are currently in Frostleaf Town."

Rhodes' eyes gleamed with anticipation.

"I hope you can breed excellent warhorses for me so that I can have my own cavalry as soon as possible."

"I will also buy some high-quality warhorses for you to raise. In short, I need you to arrange these things as soon as possible."

"Understood, Your Excellency, I will make all the arrangements!"

Ward solemnly assured him, his eyes resolute.

(End of this chapter)