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

Chapter 3 The Commander's Presence

Rhodes's voice made the guards carrying the corpse freeze in place, and the mercenaries binding the thugs also stopped what they were doing.

Gunle's eyes lit up, he spat out the grass stalk in his mouth, and shouted,
"Damn, that makes a lot of sense!"

Durant lowered his head, rubbing his chin with his wrist as he thought.

—What the lord said seems to make sense!
At that moment, Durant suddenly realized what was going on.

It turns out that their lord's intention was not only to weaken the Jinsha caravan's power and increase their bargaining chips.

Instead, they let the rioters rob the Sands caravan directly, and then they confiscated the rioters' supplies!

Although the supplies are still the same goods from the caravan, after this transfer, Rhodes, as the lord of Blackpine Ridge, can legally and legitimately take all the supplies for himself!

Even if Durant were to thoroughly study the laws of the empire, he couldn't find any fault with it.

Lawrence, unaware of Rhodes's identity, covered his face and loudly retorted.
"You have no right to do this!"

"right?"

Rhodes' expression instantly turned serious and solemn.

“Let me tell you, I am Rod Tulip, the fourth son of Earl Tulip, a hereditary baron granted by the Empire and the new lord of Blackpine Ridge in the Northern Wastes.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the guard beside him immediately took out the certificate of conferment and showed it to him.

This time, Lawrence saw the Imperial Seal and the Tulip Family Emblem, and was instantly speechless.

They even bowed respectfully.

"As a lord, I have the responsibility and obligation to eliminate the bandits in my territory."

"All the robbers' property must be confiscated to compensate for the losses in my territory."

"I don't care where these goods came from; they are all spoils of war that I, as the lord, obtained after eliminating bandits!"

Rhodes's gaze swept over the caravan members, his voice booming and full of energy.

"And all of you are my prisoners, my spoils of war!"

Upon hearing this, the caravan guards who were sitting on the ground bandaging their wounds realized something was wrong and stood up.

Durant was the first to react, drawing his longsword and pointing it at the caravan guards.

"Don't even move!"

In an instant, the sound of longswords being drawn rang out, and the guards swiftly held their swords to the necks of the caravan's protectors.

Gunther tilted his head, raised his axe, and shouted.

"Anyone who moves will be cut down!"

Rod gave Durant an approving look.

As expected of an experienced knight, his reaction was faster than anyone else's.

"I don't want to kill anyone, and I can live without resisting."

Luo De's tone softened a bit, and he said leisurely, "Don't worry, I won't turn you into slaves. As long as you pay the ransom, you can become free."

But do not use your possessions to pay the ransom, because if you are captured by the bandits, you will be stripped naked, and your possessions will become my spoils.

"But, Baron, does not having money mean one has to become a slave?"

A caravan guard voiced everyone's question, and all eyes turned to Rhodes.

Rhodes had been waiting for this statement, and he shouted, "If you have no money, you can do things for me to pay the ransom. You only need five years."

"During this period, I will provide you with food and lodging. During festivals, you can drink and play with women. If the harvest is good at the end of the year, I will also give you some bonuses."

"Five years from now, you can either leave or choose to stay and continue working for me as ordinary citizens. I will pay you a salary."

The caravan guards exchanged glances, their hostility lessening somewhat after hearing that they wouldn't become slaves.

"Sounds pretty good..."

"Five years is not a short time, but wherever I work, all I do is eat, drink, and play with women."

"Following the nobles might give me a chance... I'll do it."

A caravan guard with an injured arm planted his sword in the ground and sat back down.

"I'll do it too!"

"Willing to serve you."

……

Once someone started it, others gradually laid down their weapons and stopped resisting.

Those willing to risk their lives in the northern wilderness generally have no families and are accustomed to wandering.

Only one tall figure remained standing. All eyes were on him, and then he spoke, saying, "Sir, I like playing with men!"

Rod paused for a moment, then looked closer and realized that the person standing there was a short-haired woman, but the filth on her face made her unrecognizable.

Those who can make a living in the Northern Wasteland are no pushovers, regardless of gender, and Rhode did not look down on them because of their gender.

"Men are everywhere, no need to wait for holidays, just have fun."

"Hahaha……"

Rhodes' words caused the guards to burst into laughter, and everyone else joined in, instantly easing the tense atmosphere.

The short-haired woman smiled and bent down to bandage her wound.

Since the caravan guards did not resist, the other laborers naturally resigned themselves to their fate and ceased their resistance.

Only the leader, Lawrence, stepped forward and said somewhat timidly, "Your Excellency, please allow me to write to my family and ask them to pay the ransom."

"can."

Rhodes smiled and gave Lawrence a meaningful look.

"But we'll write it after we get to Frostleaf Town. For now, please prepare a list of the goods for me as soon as possible."

"Very well, Your Excellency."

Lawrence sighed deeply at the mention of the goods, but he had no choice but to accept his fate.

Rod didn't waste any more words and instructed Durant to arrange for the caravan laborers to load the scattered goods onto the wagons and prepare to depart as soon as possible.

As for those who died, their numbers were tallied, they were buried in pits, and at the end of the year, they were reported to the empire as a merit.

Durant quickly arranged everything, returned to Rod's side to report, and then whispered,
"Sir, please tell me your plans in advance next time so that I can make arrangements accordingly."

Durant originally thought Rhodes only wanted the goods, but he didn't expect that he would also detain the people.

Goods are easy to dispose of if they have no owner, but people have free will.

If the caravan guards had been any more forceful, a conflict could very well have broken out.

"Well, I will."

After all, it was his first time being a lord, so Rhodes took the advice seriously and knew that it would be better to plan these things in advance.

In fact, Rhodes made the decision to take the caravan after seeing that the caravan guards were all injured, so it wasn't exactly a risky move.

Thank you for your understanding.

Durant gave a slight bow and stood aside to supervise the others' work.

At this moment, a text prompt suddenly appeared in front of Rhodes' eyes.

[First time leading soldiers to defeat territorial bandits, unlocking the attribute: Commander's Might]

[Commander's Might (White): When commanding in battle, soldier morale increases by 20%, and soldiers will trust you more after each victory]

"There was an unexpected bonus."

The term "Commander's Aura" is related to territory events and is not explicitly displayed in the system; it is considered a hidden term.

Morale mainly refers to the overall mental state of the team, which relates to the soldiers' emotions and fighting will, and directly affects their strength.

Especially in large-scale military operations, the difference in morale among equal forces directly affects the outcome of the war.

When the morale gap is too large, it is not uncommon for the outnumbered to win.

Therefore, the Commander's Might is extremely useful for both external expansion and city defense.

Rhodes is now somewhat looking forward to the bandits.

Because after the first attribute, "Commander's Might," is unlocked, the conditions for the next attribute also appear—

In the next campaign to wipe out the bandits, personally kill more than ten bandits at once.

That's not difficult; there are still bandits in the wasteland.

"Your Excellency!"

Just as Rhodes was deep in thought, a notorious bandit from Durandra was brought before him.

"This robber revealed some information; we should be careful."

"Oh?"

Rod looked down at the bandit kneeling on the ground with a puzzled expression.

The robber's body trembled slightly, and he stammered as he spoke.
“Someone told us about this trade route, so we… we left our noble lord on the wasteland.”

(End of this chapter)