Lord: Starting with Summoning the Regular Army of Earth

When Professor Zhou Zhe heard Chen Fei's earth-shattering words, even with his rich life experience, his heart skipped a beat.

He suppressed his turbulent emotions and gestured for the medical experts to examine the three men's physical condition first. At the same time, he asked in as calm a tone as possible, "Another world? My friends, tell me slowly, tell me everything you've experienced in detail."

His assistant, Xiao Li, had already turned on the high-precision audio and video recording equipment behind him.

Chen Fei took a sip of the mineral water handed to him by a staff member. Looking at the group of researchers around him with expectant eyes, eagerly waiting for him to answer their questions, he felt excited and proud.

This feeling of being the center of attention secretly pleased him.

He took a deep breath and began to recount the entire experience, with Liu Bin and Zhang Ziheng beside him occasionally adding details.

They described how they suddenly lost consciousness in the classroom, how they transformed into a green-skinned creature called a "goblin," how they met their true friend Matthew, who had traveled to another world, in a dilapidated medieval-style room, and the crucial information Matthew entrusted to them to bring back.

"Matthew said that the world he lives in is a world with magic and various fantastical races, but the overall level of technology is roughly equivalent to our medieval Europe. He is currently a down-on-his-luck prince who has been exiled to the borderlands of the Emberlands, and his territory is called Emberstone, where he is facing a severe survival crisis..." Chen Fei tried hard to recall the key points that Matthew emphasized.

"Time travel? Magic? Goblins? Another world?" Although the experts around them were mentally prepared, they were still incredibly shocked and absurd to hear these words, which only existed in fantasy, come out of the mouth of the person involved.

However, the consistent descriptions of the three individuals, the matching details, and the strange state of their connection to the magic circle before they woke up all pointed to an incredible conclusion—their consciousness had indeed entered another world.

The real magic circle before them, composed of unknown energy, seemed to confirm all of this.

"Matthew said that world might pose a potential threat to our planet, but it also presents tremendous opportunities. He hopes the nation can provide him with support and assistance so he can survive in that world. All technical and scientific personnel can enter that world to explore and research through a magic circle and through consciousness transfer. Perhaps one day in the future, that magic circle will not only be able to transfer consciousness, but may also be able to transfer matter..."

Chen Fei's words were incredibly informative, and each point was enough to overturn conventional understanding, causing Zhou Zhe and the others' hearts to pound. Their gazes involuntarily fell back on the magic circle, only to discover that it connected to a completely new and unknown world—a world that might be full of threats, but also held immense opportunities.

Humanity has always been searching for extraterrestrial civilizations, but we never expected to come into contact with another world in this way.

After a brief silence, Professor Zhou Zhe realized that the matter was far beyond his authority.

While ordering the medical team to conduct the most comprehensive examination and isolation observation of Chen Fei and the other two, he reported directly to the higher-ups using encrypted communication.

Within just one hour, a silent storm swept through the nation's top decision-making body.

An urgent report marked "Top Secret" was sent to the central office.

……

As for Matthew, the meager food made him miss the delicacies of Earth even more, but he knew that he could not go back now. Running away would not solve the problem. Since fate had thrown him to this land, the only choice was to face reality and then find a way to change it.

After filling his stomach, Matthew felt his weak body regain some strength, and his chaotic thoughts gradually cleared up.

He quickly recalled Will's previous report and mentally categorized the problems facing Emberstone Ridge according to their urgency and importance.

For example, the most urgent problem to be solved right now is the drinking water issue, which is also a problem that he is currently capable of trying to solve.

Of course, as a lord, one cannot simply stay in the lord's manor and talk about strategy all day long upon arriving in the territory. One must still tour the territory and personally understand the current situation so that one can better cooperate with the staff sent by the state to comprehensively solve the problems here.

At the same time, he also wanted to let his people get to know him, even though they didn't currently like him as their lord.

When Matthew arrived at the council chamber, Conrad and Will were talking to Old Sam about the current situation at Ember Ridge, and their expressions were very serious.

"Conrad, Will, and Mr. Sam," Matthew said calmly but with an undeniable determination, "I want to see my territory for myself. Show me around, and I want to know Emberstone Ridge as well as I know myself."

This was the first time he had issued a clear order as a lord.

A hint of relief flashed in Conrad's eyes, and he immediately rose and bowed, placing his hand on his chest: "Yes, Your Highness."

Will nodded quickly, a smile appearing on his lips. It seemed His Highness had cheered up.

Although Old Sam maintained a stern expression, his opinion of the prince had changed somewhat, and he stood up, which could be considered a form of acquiescence.

Soon after, the group walked out of the dilapidated "Lord's Mansion".

The midday sun was a bit dazzling. The sky was cloudless and a clear, deep blue. The celestial body, more than three times the size of the moon and the planet Earth, left a clear outline against the blue sky, looking quite dreamlike.

The distant, misty mountain ranges are not scary at all; on the contrary, they are lush and green, giving people a sense of vitality. The vegetation on the nearby hillsides is colorful and layered, as if a filter has been applied.

From this perspective, the scene gave Matthew, who grew up in a concrete jungle, a feeling of poetry and distant lands, like a paradise.

However, the collapsed stone walls around him, the overgrown streets, and the elderly, women, and children on the roadside who were dressed in rags, looked emaciated, and curiously stared at him constantly reminded him of his current dire situation.

Matthew walked silently, listening to Conrad and Will's more detailed reports. Old Sam would occasionally chime in with a few words, his tone harsh, but he always pointed out the most realistic and pointed issues.

For example, there is no army to protect this place, nor are there any decent city walls or defensive facilities. Every once in a while, it is raided by goblin tribes, and the original livestock have all died tragically in the mouths of blue-haired wolves.

The farmland was cursed, resulting in several years of crop failure, and now the water source is also cursed, causing many people to fall ill as a result.

Young and strong people can travel long distances down to the turbulent, weeping blood river to fetch water, but the elderly, weak, women, and children in the town cannot.

"Let's take a look at the water source problem first," Ma Zheng said solemnly, as this was the first urgent problem to be solved in his plan.

The four of them traveled all the way to "Teardrop Creek" on the edge of the town.

Just as Old Sam had said, the stream was indeed murky and yellowish, with a faint, fishy odor.

Several emaciated women were carefully drawing water with wooden buckets. When they saw Matthew and his group, they only glanced at them curiously, but their expressions were numb. Apart from the resentment and despair of being tormented by the realities of life, there was almost no respect in their eyes.

Matthew crouched down, carefully observed the water flow, and then scooped up some water with his hands and smelled it. As a student of the Blue Star Transmigration Course, he felt that the claim of a curse still needed to be verified.

He recalled learning in high school geography and biology that turbid water could be caused by silt or an excess of microorganisms.

That fishy smell might indicate pollution from the decay of organic matter.

Recalling what Will had said earlier, he had a general idea in mind and looked at Will, asking, "Have the people who have recently fallen ill due to the water problem been experiencing symptoms like diarrhea and fever?"

Will looked at Matthew in surprise. He hadn't explained the specific symptoms in detail when he reported the situation earlier, but Matthew had guessed it.

"As you said, Your Highness, there are indeed several people with these symptoms, especially children."

It seems that's the reason.

Matthew was almost certain that this was a typical case of intestinal disease caused by water pollution.

In the medieval environment where medicine was scarce, it could be fatal.

He stood up, his gaze sweeping over the crowd, and said in a clear and firm voice, "This is not a curse, it's that the water is polluted. Drinking unclean water will make you sick."

Old Sam frowned, clearly skeptical of the claim.

Conrad and Will looked thoughtful.

"There are a few solutions," Matthew began, drawing on his limited knowledge to devise a plan. "First, and most importantly, all drinking water must be boiled before drinking. You must inform everyone of this; it's an order!"

"Secondly, we need to find cleaner water sources. For example, we could try digging wells to extract groundwater, but this is not an easy task and probably cannot be solved in the short term."

"So we can consider the third method first..."

He looked at the stream, paused, and continued, "We can make a simple filtration pond. Find some clean sand, gravel, and charcoal, and layer them in a wooden bucket or a dug pit. Let the stream flow over these materials, and it will remove a lot of dirt."

These methods are common sense on Earth, but in the Emberlands at this moment, they were like a thunderclap, leaving Old Sam completely bewildered.

Can cursed water be purified with sand, gravel, and charcoal?

Will was the first to react, his chubby face beaming with excitement: "Your Highness is right. I've read in some travelogues that sailors on long voyages would boil water to drink, and the filtration methods... although the records differ, the principle seems to be the same."

Although Conrad didn't understand the principles, he trusted Matthew's judgment and immediately said in a deep voice, "Mr. Sam, I need your cooperation to immediately convey the orders and organize people to collect filter materials and make filter pools."

Old Sam looked at Matthew, and for the first time, something other than hatred and indifference appeared in his cloudy eyes—surprise and a barely perceptible wavering.

This young lord seems to be quite different from those incompetent noblemen.

Although he didn't know if these methods could really solve the water problem, it was better than waiting to die.

So he didn't argue, and said in a low voice, "Okay, I'll take care of this."

However, Matthew turned his head and looked down the stream towards a vast, low-lying plain downstream.

The flat terrain was covered with waist-high weeds, and the soil looked fertile and close to a water source.

"Why hasn't that land been cultivated?" Matthew asked, pointing into the distance with a puzzled look.

……