After I died, my personal maid rebelled.

Patton immediately hugged and kissed Oswald, his eyes reddening and his lips moist.

"You were doing so well, how did things get like this? What about Red and the others? Couldn't they have shared some of the burden?"

Oswald wiped the drool from his face; he still couldn't get used to the customs of the western pastoral areas.

"I can't blame anyone else; it was my own carelessness. Life is full of disappointments, and no one could have imagined that the curse would strike this time."

"You..." Barton's voice choked with sobs as he wiped away his unstoppable tears. "It's alright, it's alright, it's time to take a good rest for a while."

After exchanging pleasantries, Barton led Oswald to a group of gaunt dwarves. As agreed, he purchased these slaves in the dwarf kingdom and personally escorted them to the city of Broadvalley.

There were only a few thousand dwarves.

Although dwarves are short in stature, they are known for their strength. Oswald activated his psychic vision skill and discovered that these dwarves, who were tightly huddled together, had the stereotypical long beards, were thin, and were warily observing everything around them.

The goddess rewarded them with clay that could heal physical deformities, but those dwarves who were healed all became slaves to the powerful.

When miracles are monopolized, dwarves do the most dangerous work but can barely make ends meet. If they are injured, they either starve to death or become slaves in order to heal themselves, and are eventually exploited to death.

As this system continued to operate generation after generation, the slave system in the Dwarf Kingdom became frighteningly stable.

In human kingdoms, there's a tradition of bandits who can't survive, but in dwarf kingdoms, the powerful just laugh when they hear about slaves rebelling.

Because their wounded soldiers could be instantly healed simply by being thrown into the mud, their fighting strength was naturally much higher than that of the rebels.

This is why countless dwarf civilians dream of joining the army, and they become even more loyal, thus creating a vicious cycle from which there is no hope of ever turning the tide.

"Marquis Barton, you say I'm suffering? I'm not suffering as much as they are."

Oswald sighed deeply. Indeed, the goddess favored humans more. The immortal elves had become incomprehensible beings; the demons still suffered the pain of child loss in the snowfields; and among the dwarves, only a few enjoyed divine miracles, while the majority bore the curse…

Compared to them, human curses, though more destructive, are only short-lived pains, far less torturous than long-lasting curses.

Barton shook his head, saying worriedly, "My lord, if I may be so bold, I'm afraid they won't truly join the Northern Territory."

"Hearts warm each other; we cannot only take without giving." Oswald felt a pang of sadness upon seeing these emaciated dwarves.

You can be angry at the lack of resistance and pity the misfortune of some races, but to be honest, if he were a dwarf slave, without his own strength, it would be difficult for him to break through this social system.

That's outrageous! A miracle of living flesh and blood, able to revive someone just by giving them a breath...

Even with the best gear at level 18, you still can't lane against an opponent standing in the fountain.

Oswald strongly suspected that the goddess was doing this on purpose. The goddess of the Butter World, who held the power of life, must have wanted the number of living beings in the world to increase. As a result, these races either desired immortality and freedom from disease and disaster, or they wanted to be more powerful than other races and exterminate them.

Don't want to be timid, huh? Don't want to have more children, huh? Then go live with the curse! God will just have to rely on obedient humans to have more babies from now on.

God allows and guides you to have a silver party.

(Damn it, System Master, we're in the wrong place. Where's the "Many Children, Many Blessings" system? Help us!)

[......]

After teasing the little boy, Oswald returned to his business. "Call them all over, let's have a meal together."

"Okay, I'll arrange it right away."

Today, Kuogucheng has once again witnessed the grand occasion it had at the beginning of the year.

With 300,000 new residents, over 100,000 construction workers, and dwarves who just arrived today, plus mountains of supplies, not only were the dwarves dumbfounded, but even Oswald couldn't help but sigh in amazement.

That vibrant, flourishing state of life, where all things thrive...

During this special period, Oswald also ate communal meals with everyone else.

Rondo was already extremely busy. When he saw the Duke arrive, he simply greeted him and then ran off to receive the newly arrived timber.

"Your Grace, just how much did you loot in the Central District?" After letting the dwarves sit down to rest in the open space, Barton sat on a log with Oswald, watching the large amount of supplies constantly coming and going. The two of them pulled out their pipes at the same time.

Oswald lit his pipe and chuckled. "There was no other way. We were terrified of poverty. The young men tore down the whole house, not leaving a single brick behind."

"Then they are quite efficient at their work."

Oswald patted his thigh and exhaled a smoke ring. "What about your work efficiency? I've told you, the army is short of horses, I need a lot of cavalry."

Patton scratched the wrinkles on his face. "Soon, soon. Once the foals are all grown up next year, our warhorse supply will be stable."

Oswald remained silent upon hearing this, but simply took another drag of his cigarette.

Preparation is key to success; lack of preparation leads to failure. Next spring, the south will be embroiled in war; and in March, we may face a new curse.

Once these two issues are resolved, the Northern Territory can focus on improving its military capabilities and preparing for a counterattack against the Demon Clan two years from now.

Besides, information about the two new gods needs to be gathered. And I also need to find a way to restore my own body.

Each and every one of these tasks is difficult, but as long as he can build a powerful cavalry force, which can overcome any obstacle, most of the problems will be solved.

It seems we can't rely solely on Barton's western horse farms; it's time to plan for the dwarves' iron ram cavalry as well.

"Continue to acquire dwarves and their iron-gray sheep. If you don't have enough money, ask the Duke's mansion for more. Acquire as many as you can."

Oswald patted Barton's thigh again, stood up, and walked into the dwarf's ranks.

When it was time to eat, the dwarves received their food, but still dared not get too close to Oswald, the strange human lord.

Humans are generally taller than dwarves, and Oswald's figure appeared extremely majestic to the dwarves.

He wore strange black glasses, exuded a cold aura, had a cruel smile, but his words were as warm as a gentle breeze.

"Are you full? Dwarves have big appetites. If you're not full, just ask for another serving. Don't worry, I can feed you."

"Does anyone know how to raise iron plate sheep? It pays well. If you know how, remember to sign up with me."

The dwarves didn't know what he was up to, but they did get a full meal. The soldiers who cooked for them even gave them extra bread when they saw that they were dwarves.

And even now, no one forces them to work.

"My goodness, there are more and more people here!" One of the dwarves noticed something was wrong and panicked.

Because the Duke was sitting there, the soldiers noticed and slowly surrounded him, quickly enveloping the dwarves.

"Alright, I don't have any embarrassing stories about bishops today. It just so happens that our new members from the Northern Territory have arrived, so everyone can share their own stories."

Oswald clapped his hands, signaling them to be quiet.

"Let me start," Oswald said, setting down his bowl amidst the puzzled looks of the crowd. "Those who have come here today are all beings who have suffered greatly. Ladies and gentlemen, have you ever considered that this world shouldn't be like this?"

"In the military camp in Kuogu City, there is a newly established Fourth Regiment. There is a young man in the regiment who was introduced by my sister."

"He had no name. His mother's skin was peeled off by the nobles back home and made into an exhibit. He was also the first person to join our army in the East! Count Rondo told me that although he was thin, he was the hardest-working one in training."

Oswald stood up, pointed at them, and continued shouting angrily, "On my first day here, I went to ask him, 'You've already taken your revenge, why are you still working so hard?'"

"He shouted to me in perfect military posture that he wanted to gain power to kill all the nobles who oppressed and tormented the common people!"

"I think he's absolutely right, he's absolutely right! This is the kind of world we need to change!"

His words abruptly stopped. Oswald looked around at the silent crowd, slowly sat down, and relit his pipe.

"good!"

Suddenly, a middle-aged cook stood up from the crowd, clutching his scarf, and briefly summarized his story in one sentence.

"My son was run over and killed by a nobleman's carriage while playing in the street, and they won't even return his body to me! After the young lady killed that nobleman with a single sword strike, I made up my mind that I would follow the Duke and kill all those bastards!"

After the cook sat down, a young man dressed as a worker stood up angrily.

"Me too! My mother was raped and killed by those noble young masters, and their body was thrown into the pigsty! The Duke avenged me, and I will avenge those who suffered the same fate as me!"

……

One story after another was passed around among the people, and the suffering seemed to have no end. Oswald looked at their reddened eyes, just smoking and sighing quietly.

People cannot forget hatred, but in addition to hatred, they also need the courage to fight for others. As long as they have this belief, the army they build will be invincible.

Even if Oswald is no longer around, they can still continue on their path.

Finally, the dwarves, who shared the same feelings, broke their silence. A dwarf with a brown beard stood up, about to say something, but the curious gazes cast at him made him flustered, and he stammered, becoming extremely nervous.

"Relax."

Oswald appeared beside the dwarf at some point and, to the dwarf's astonishment, handed him his pipe.

After the dwarf realized what was happening, he leaned forward, took a drag of his cigarette, and exhaled the smoke, his expression immediately relaxing.

"My name is Kindem. I wasn't a slave before... I used to be in the army, and my job was to patrol the city every day. The salary I earned was enough to support my family..."

His voice gradually turned tearful as he took one drag of his cigarette after another, speaking haltingly: "But one day, when I came home from get off work, I saw my seven-year-old...seven-year-old daughter! Being...held down, held down..." by an army officer.

Kim couldn't continue, but everyone understood his story. However, the more people looked at him with pity, the more Kim couldn't stop crying.

Oswald crouched down and hugged him. Kindrum couldn't hold back any longer and threw himself into Oswald's arms, bursting into tears like a child.