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

……

……

Ancient wooden fortress, evening.

An empty basement.

Romisa walked on the stone steps beneath the castle, her footsteps echoing in the narrow passageway.

She closed her eyes and felt the flow of air around her.

It was the breath of life, so obvious that it could not be ignored.

"It seems that a treasure full of life was once hidden here."

Lomisa opened her eyes, her gaze sweeping over the walls covered with rune patterns.

"It seems they are still alive."

Lomisa reached out and touched the runes on the wall; it was clear that the runes had a life-conducting effect.

However, Lomisa quickly withdrew her hand.

She shook her head and turned away.

The treasure has already been taken away; there's no point in thinking about it anymore.

Time shouldn't be wasted on things like this.

As Romisa walked, she gave instructions to her subordinate, Orcas.

"The corpses of ghouls cannot be wasted; they should all be collected and used as raw materials."

Lomisa's voice was cold.

"Accelerate the refining of the corpses of those knights and members of the Church of Dawn."

Orcas nodded, a glint of excitement flashing in his eyes.

Creating liches is the favorite job of necromancer apprentices, especially those created from the corpses of church members, who are all powerful undead servants.

"How's the forging of the Corpse Bone Arrows going?"

Lomisa continued to ask.

Orcas lowered his head, his voice tinged with nervousness: "One-third is complete, sir."

"too slow."

Lomisa narrowed her eyes. "Speed ​​up the process. If we don't have enough energy, kill some ghouls!"

"We need bone arrows to deal with Rhodes' dragon!"

Lomisa had no good way to deal with the dragon.

Unless the necromancer himself takes the stage.

Even a necromancer's attacks could be easily dodged by a dragon's agile movements.

The city overrun by ghouls does indeed have some suitable weapons.

For example, the giant crossbow.

If equipped with a giant bone arrow forged from wood, it could also deal with Rhodes' dragon.

The key problem is that no one can operate those weapons.

Ordinary ghouls have no intelligence; they only bite and attack based on instinct.

They can even go crazy at the drop of a hat.

They cannot control machines like giant crossbows, even if the operation steps have been simplified to the extreme.

As for the Black Knights who were previously trained by knights, most of them were recruited by the god of Lomissa.

Only two squads of guards remained around Lomissa.

Lomisa could only rely on the rich necromantic aura of the ancient wooden fortress to refine it anew.

The church members all undergo rigorous training.

Their will is relatively strong.

To forge them, more necromantic power is needed to suppress the resistance within their souls.

However, once successfully refined, these church members will not only retain their intelligence from when they were alive, but also some of their combat skills.

They will become a truly valuable fighting force.

"If I had known this would happen, I should have preserved some human troops."

Lomisa thought to herself, "At least leave behind those who operate the giant crossbows."

That's what she thought, but Lomisa still didn't trust human armies.

Even though I was once a human being.

After a brief inspection of the castle, Romisa turned and returned to the main castle building.

"Don't forget to send out bat-winged ghouls to scout the area," Lomisa instructed Ocas as she went upstairs.

"Be alert to any approaching noises."

Although Lomisa did not receive systematic military training.

But she also knew that vigilance was the foundation of survival.

Losing a city is no big deal.

It doesn't matter how many ghouls die.

Those things can all be remanufactured.

Even giant ghouls and bat-winged ghouls can be crafted from a maximum of one hundred ghouls.

But the corpses of those church clergy and knights are what truly have value.

"Yes, my lord."

Orcas responded respectfully and turned to make the arrangements.

Lomisa stood on the third-floor corridor, watching the setting sun gradually sink.

Lomisa actually preferred living in a castle like this.

Especially at night.

Sitting in the castle's study, I admired the night sky outside the window.

Holding a wine glass, he tasted the blood of a monster.

Feeling the deathly silence around me.

If only there were a handsome vampire butler to serve him, that would be even more perfect.

But at this moment——

There was no blood of monsters.

There was no handsome vampire butler either.

Only filthy ghouls howling incessantly.

"It's so disgusting."

……

……

Lomisa enjoyed the ghoul howls all night in her meditation.

As the sun rose higher, Lomitsa ended her meditation and prepared to rest.

Even necromancers need a mental pause to maintain their energy.

However, reality did not allow Lomisa to rest.

Orcas rushed in, looking nervous.

"Lomitsa-sama!"

Ocas gasped for breath, "I just discovered that all the winged ghouls on guard have lost contact!"

"They must all be dead!"

The air solidified instantly.

A glint of light flashed in Lomisa's eyes.

Is Rhodes about to take the initiative?
Or did those two-winged ghouls cross the boundary he set?

Before Lomisa could think further...

Another necromancer apprentice rushed in.

"grown ups!"

"Rhodes' army has appeared in the southeast and is approaching us!"

"They actually came on their own initiative."

Romisa squinted, turned and walked out of the castle, heading straight for the city walls.

After a long time, in the dark tower near the city wall.

Lomisa stared ahead, her eyes filled with doubt.

"What are they doing?"

Rhodes' army stopped a hundred meters from Ancient Wood City, forming battle formations, but showed no sign of attacking.

They didn't even see the basic siege ladder, Lomissa.

The army remained motionless until noon.

Lomisa was exhausted.

"They can leave it there if they want."

Romisa waved her hand. "Keep an eye on things."

Her tone was full of indifferent contempt.

Ghouls do not need food.

When they are extremely hungry, they will eat each other.

Human armies are different.

Those soldiers need to eat every day, which consumes a lot of rations.

Orcas didn't think so. After hesitating for a moment, he spoke.

"Sir, could they be plotting something?"

All of Orcas's previous spies have been captured, and there is no information available now.

Orcas believed that Rhodes wouldn't do anything meaningless.

"It doesn't matter."

Romisa didn't care at all, and gave a light snort.
"Once we successfully create the lich, it doesn't matter if we give these ghouls to them."

Orcas nodded, but still felt somewhat uneasy.

"My lord, should we ask our master to send more ghouls over?"

“In that case, we can attack Rhodes’ army from both sides?” Ocas suggested.

"It's up to you, go if you want."

Lomisa said nonchalantly, "If you end up being absorbed as nourishment by the Godless Ones, I can't control that."

Ocas immediately shut his mouth and dared not say another word.

That great god is currently repairing himself and needs a massive amount of necromantic energy.

The god probably doesn't care about those ten or twenty thousand ghoul materials.

But if you rashly disturb it and anger that person, their soul may be completely destroyed.

"Since you're worried, then we'll deploy all our ghouls on the city walls."

Lomisa added, "Let the giant ghouls block the city gates."

“Send bat-winged ghouls to find their grain convoy and contaminate all the grain.”

"That's it for now."

Romisa stood up. "I need to rest. Don't disturb me unless it's something important."

"Okay, my lord."

Ocas had no choice but to respectfully respond.

Lomisa didn't dwell on it, put on her cloak, and walked out of the tower.

At that moment, giant eagles descended from the sky.

Immediately afterwards, dozens of pottery jars, trailing flames, fell one after another from the sky.

The moment it hit the city wall, flames shot into the sky.

In the blink of an eye, more than a dozen fires broke out on the southeast city wall and in the houses inside the city. "It's those guys again."

Before Lomisa's voice had even faded, the giant eagle had already flapped its wings and swiftly flown away from the city.

"He ran really fast."

Lomisa had seen these giant eagles that could hurl flames.

But Romissa didn't care.

These dozen or so bonfires could kill at most a few hundred ghouls, so the losses were negligible.

Only if those giant eagles kept dropping fire from the sky could they pose a threat to Lomissa.

Otherwise, this small fire would not pose a significant threat.

"It's so boring."

Lomisa shook her head, withdrew her gaze, and walked towards the castle along the shadows under the eaves.

But just then, a series of whistling sounds suddenly rang out in the sky.

Lomisa looked up as countless black dots streaked across the sky.

"Clap clap clap!"

The sound of earthenware jars breaking echoed one after another.

What are they throwing now?

Romissa squinted.

Not far away, Ocas sensed the pungent smell in the air and frowned.

At this moment, the giant eagle reappeared.

The pottery jar, still trailing flames, fell from the sky again.

Snapped!
A crisp sound!
The flames on the city wall, which were almost extinguished, suddenly surged again!

The flames spread rapidly across the city walls, creating seas of fire!

The ghouls on the city wall were completely engulfed in flames!

They struggled in the flames, screaming and scattering in all directions!

Stepping over the spots where the pottery jars had struck, the flames reignited!
"wrong!"

Romisa's expression changed drastically as she watched the flames spread rapidly. "Those clay pots contain wood tar!"

"damn it!"

Lomisa suddenly understood Rhodes's intention.

They are not going to attack the city.

They're going to turn the whole city into a sea of ​​fire!
Burn everything!
"Stop them!"

Lomisa turned around and roared at Orcas, "All ghouls, attack Rhodes' army!"

"Send out all the giant ghouls and bat-winged ghouls!"

"Send out our Black Knights!"

"The fire must not be allowed to spread!"

Romissa doesn't care about ghouls!
I don't care about the ancient wooden city!

But those church corpses that haven't been refined yet cannot be destroyed!
Ancient Wood City can be turned into a sea of ​​fire, but only after the corpses of those church members are completely refined!

Without taking a break, Lomisa rushed back to the tower to watch the flames on the city walls.

The orange-red firelight reflected on her pale face, making her expression appear particularly distorted.

At that moment, a ceramic pot flew through the air and shot straight toward the observation window of the tower!

Lomisa's expression suddenly turned cold, and a burst of icy energy appeared, swiftly reaching the earthenware pot.

Snapped!
With a crisp sound, the earthenware pot exploded in mid-air!

Fragments and tar scattered everywhere, landing outside the tower and making the flames even more intense!
Even the stones of the tower were ablaze!

"Damn it!"

Lomisa gritted her teeth and muttered the incantation in a low voice.

Gray necromantic energy surged from his hand, and a dark cloud quickly gathered in mid-air.

Then countless raindrops fell from the dark clouds and crashed into the flames.

But the flames showed no sign of going out.

"Rod!"

A chilling voice escaped from Romisa's lips, and she raised her head to stare at the battle formation outside the city, her eyes filled with hatred.

……

……

On a hillside behind the 7th to 23rd Legions of the Flame Dragon Empire's Breath of the Dragon.

"They're getting anxious, they're getting anxious."

Gala stood beside Rhodes and shouted excitedly.

He then opened his eyes and reported, "Your Majesty, the ghouls in the city have stopped their defenses and are all swarming towards us!"

"They've surrounded us not only from the northwest, but also from the west and north!"

"There were not only ordinary ghouls inside, but also thousands of giant ghouls!"

"Ah."

Rhodes nodded, stood on the high platform, and looked down at the ancient wooden city burning in the distance.

Orange-red flames danced on the horizon.

Siege?

joke.

What value does a city have that has been overrun and ravaged by countless ghouls?
The land, goods, houses, and even the flowers and plants were all contaminated by the aura of death, making them uninhabitable even if conquered.

Rhodes would never want such a run-down city.

Burning it is the best choice.

Once the flames have purified everything, the ashes of the hordes of ghouls will cultivate fertile soil.

Perhaps, in the future, this place can become a fertile land for magical plants.

"Notify the slinging brigade and tell them to smash all the jars out of the ground."

"That stuff isn't worth much; we can have as much as we want in the future."

He paused, his voice becoming even sterner.

"And the Skyfire Legion, empty all the Skyfire Jars you're carrying and create a fire defense line!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

The messenger immediately took the order and ran off to deliver it.

"Send the order!"

Rhodes commanded, "Order the Bear's Roar and the Golden Knights to hold their ground and trap the ghouls on both sides in the ravine. The archers and javelin throwers will take care of them!"

"Understood, Your Majesty!" the other two messengers replied simultaneously.

"Sao!"

Rhodes's voice echoed in the air, and São immediately knelt on one knee.

"Order the Winter Knights and the Legion Reserve Officer Knights to prepare and be on the lookout for those giant ghouls!"

“Tell those guys in the Legion Reserve Officers’ Order that this is a war for promotion.”

Rhodes' voice was serious, "Whether they can obtain the Seed of Nature and the Knight's Roar Potion depends on how many they can kill."

"The Knights obey!"

Sao nodded vigorously and quickly stood up to relay the order.

The Legion Reserve Officer Knights are composed of knights under the command of various lords.

They came from different territories and had served different nobles.

Rhodes didn't have the extra time to discern their loyalty and abilities, so he could only let the battlefield test these mid-level knights.

The messengers and officers received their orders and left one after another.

Rhodes's gaze fell on Lucien.

"Is the Imperial Royal Wizarding Corps ready?"

Rod asked.

The Royal Wizarding Order is an additional wizarding force established by Rhodes and directly managed by Emperor Rhodes.

Compared to the Imperial Arcane Guild, the Wizarding Order is more militarized and acts on orders at any time.

Every member of the Wizarding Guild belongs to the Arcane Guild, possesses a Seed of Nature, and receives a fixed amount of points and cultivation resources each month.

There were only fifteen people, but they were all intermediate wizard apprentices, equipped with Legion-standard magical gear.

Five magical trinkets, a staff, thirty units of magic crystals, five bottles of magic potions, and three bottles of potent life potions as tactical reserves.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Luxem responded respectfully, "They all want to prove themselves in this war."

"Let them support the Knights."

Rhodes said slowly, "Work together to minimize casualties."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Luxem nodded and turned to leave.

But just then, Mai Aokai appeared at the bottom of the hillside and was stopped by the guards.

"Let him come over."

Rhodes said to the guard.

The guard nodded and quickly stepped forward to bring Mai Aokai over.

"Your Majesty the Emperor."

Mai Aokai bowed respectfully, holding a staff inlaid with a life gem in his hand.

"Your Majesty, please allow us to do our part."

Mai Aokai's voice carried a hint of earnestness.

"In addition, we also hope to join your Imperial Magic Association."

"I hope to have the opportunity to earn contribution points and exchange them for the essence of nature."

"Ah, no, the seed of nature."

After the people of the Church of Life and Nature were rescued, Rod did not pay much attention to them.

Originally, I planned to establish a place in the empire specifically for cultivating seedlings of the Tree of Life.

However, due to the magic network, Rhode plans to keep it with him for the time being.

I replaced the Life Gem in the flowerpot and fed it a Seed of Nature from time to time, so it didn't wither again.

"can."

Rhodes nodded slightly.

Since Mike O'Kee volunteered, Rod had no reason to refuse.

"You are responsible for the main battlefield and restoring the energy and stamina of the frontline troops."

"To prevent their lines from being breached."

"As for the Seed of Nature that you mentioned, I will consider it on a case-by-case basis."

"Thank you for your generosity, Your Majesty."

Mai Aokai bowed respectfully, a hint of joy appearing on his face.

Then, Rod looked at Chris.

"You are in charge of this matter. Make sure to send people to protect us spellcasters."

"Do not let any enemy get close to them."

Chris nodded solemnly: "I will have the bodyguards take care of their safety."

McAukai and Chris exchanged a glance, bowed to Rhodes, and withdrew to arrange their respective legions.

A moment later, the howl of a ghoul came from afar.

War broke out. (End of Chapter)