Lord blessed by the elves

Chapter 29 is not activated.

footprint!

Lots of messy footprints!
The varying shades and sizes clearly indicate that they came from more than one person.

Judging from the clarity of the traces and the way the soil was turned over, these people lingered and stayed here for a long time, leaving the slope in a mess.

Rezal's heart sank.

He subconsciously raised his head, his gaze following the direction in which the most densely packed footprints were pointing.

That's the outline of Lion's Tooth Castle and the surrounding farmland!

A chilling coldness instantly shot up his spine!

At this time of year... the summer harvest is almost here!
The meaning of these furtive, probing footprints is self-evident!

Someone has their eyes on the soon-to-be-ripened grain in Lion's Tooth Territory!
Meanwhile, inside a room in the castle.

Kruze had just locked the door and calmed his breathing. He was about to concentrate on summoning the new spirit insect that represented the vitality of the land from the system space.

【Ding! 】

A sudden, even urgent, system notification sound rang in his mind like an alarm bell!
A blood-red virtual interface, seemingly emblazoned with an exclamation mark, suddenly popped up, obscuring his view:

[Triggering the beginner side quest: Defend the Territory (Combat)]

[Mission Description: With the summer harvest approaching, some unscrupulous neighbors, whose harvests are now in jeopardy due to natural disasters and man-made calamities, have set their sights on the seemingly weak but actually burgeoning Lion's Tooth Territory! Crisis lurks, and the threat of conflict is hidden!]

[Quest Reward: Energy Crystal x10]

"what?!"

Kruse's outstretched hand froze in mid-air, his anticipation and joy instantly replaced by immense shock and a sudden surge of vigilance!

Kruse's astonishment lasted only a moment before it was replaced by a cold understanding.

Yes, how could he forget this most brutal logic of reality?

In this dog-eat-dog world, poverty and weakness are themselves a kind of original sin, a piece of fat meat that exudes an enticing aroma.

Even if this piece of meat is actually so thin that it's just skin and bones.

After deducting the expenses of the lord and soldiers, as well as the seeds that must be preserved, the output of Lion's Tooth Territory was indeed only enough to keep the serfs struggling to survive on the verge of starvation and barely keep the territory from collapsing.

This meager gain might be insignificant in the eyes of those respectable noblemen.

But for those who were also struggling with famine, or for villains who made a living by plundering, Lion's Tooth Territory was an undefended granary!
They didn't care whether the serfs of Lion's Tooth Territory would starve to death after they stole the grain, nor whether a small territory would collapse completely. Their greedy eyes were only fixed on the grain that was about to ripen, which could immediately fill their bellies or be exchanged for money!
"After I die, I care not for the deluge!"

This is the only creed of the raiders.

Weakness is an invitation to disaster.

This was also the key reason why his father kept Wilstone, the Silver Knight, in the territory. "The battle... is it finally coming..." Kruze took a deep breath and subconsciously gripped the hilt of his sword.

Since his transmigration, he has experienced the hardships of cultivation, the tediousness of management, and the anxiety of resource scarcity, but he has never truly experienced a life-or-death battle with swords drawn.

The thought of cold metal piercing his warm body, the potential splatter of blood, and the dying screams sent a primal tension and unease through him.

This tension was quickly overshadowed by another, stronger emotion.

His gaze was fixed on the line of system task rewards—10 energy crystals!

Energy crystallization!

He knew all too well the value of this thing!

His stagnant energy vortex, which had been stagnant for a long time and almost hopeless, was finally able to condense successfully after absorbing four energy crystals, allowing him to step into the threshold of becoming a trainee knight!
The pure energy contained in this thing is a more tempting form of hard currency to him than gold coins; it is the foundation that can be directly converted into his own strength!
Ten! A full ten energy crystals!
If I could obtain them, to what extent could my battle qi cultivation improve?
Is it possible to reach the threshold of becoming a formal rider?
In an instant, all the unease and tension were swallowed up by this burning desire.

Threat? No, this is more of an opportunity!
One is to test one's own knowledge, another is to hone one's skills against an enemy, and the third is to seize valuable resources for oneself!
The greedy hyenas viewed Lion Tooth as prey to be torn apart at will.

But they may have forgotten that even the weakest lion, when cornered, will bare its fangs, and this lion's fangs have just been sharpened and are eager to drink blood!
Kruze quickly calmed down and temporarily suppressed his surging fighting spirit.

"Since the enemy's goal is to seize the summer harvest, the best time to attack must be in the few days when the grain is ripe, about to be harvested, or has just been harvested. There are still at least ten days until the summer harvest, which means that I am not without preparation time."

This precious window of opportunity is his and Lion's Tooth's greatest advantage!

His gaze hardened again, fixed on the halo of infinite possibilities in the system space—the unactivated sprite insect.

With a thought, the warm ball of energy appeared in his palm.

It has no fixed shape; it is more like a soft, constantly flowing liquid sunlight, with a brighter core pulsating slightly in its center, like a sleeping heart.

【Unactivated Variety Fairy Insect】: Can come into contact with specific plant samples, absorb their original information, and transform into the corresponding variety of fairy insect.

The system's explanation made Kruse's heart race!
"An inactive variety...free choice?" A bold and chilling thought instantly struck him, "Could it be...that I can decide which crop's spirit insect it becomes?"

This hypothesis almost took his breath away. He immediately began the experiment.

He carefully placed the ball of light near a potted ornamental fern on the windowsill.

The sphere of light rippled slightly, and a faint green shadow seemed to flash across its surface, but it quickly returned to its original state without any fundamental change.

"Is it because ferns aren't a food crop? Or are they not valuable enough?" Kruze pondered.

He immediately took the orb of light and hurried to the castle kitchen, placing it near a pile of oatmeal for dinner.

The light sphere reacted noticeably more strongly, with light flowing inside, vaguely changing into the shape of oats, but it still seemed to be missing a crucial "catalyst".

In an instant, a flash of inspiration struck!

Kruse understands!

Ordinary mature crops may only trigger a sense, but to truly complete a "directional transformation," a more vital part may be needed—such as a seed or a seedling!
Without any hesitation, he immediately retrieved the ten most precious sections of [South China No. 9 Cassava Stem Seedlings] from another world from his system space!
(End of this chapter)