Wasteland Lord: Starting from Thirty Days to Live

I only have thirty days left to live.

Vittorio Cornaron stared at the wound on his arm from the monster's bite and gave a pale smile.

Just as he was staring blankly at his wound, someone knocked on the window of his carriage from the outside.

Vittorio quickly pulled down his sleeve and carefully covered the wound.

The carriage curtain was lifted, revealing a beautiful and haughty face, still bearing drops of blood from a beheading.

Isolde Fitzroy, his captain of the guard, a rare female knight.

"I have already executed the three people who were bitten by the monster."

Vittorio smiled.

"Well done, my captain of the guard!"

"I have a question: if you're bitten by a monster, does it mean you're doomed?"

Isolde raised her rapier, carefully wiping away the bloodstains with a handkerchief embroidered with roses, her tone cold and resolute.

"People bitten by monsters will eventually become monsters themselves."

"Rather than turning them into trash, it's better for me to kill them; that way, I can preserve their honor."

Vittorio smiled approvingly and nodded.

"Well said. I'd like to ask, what if... I mean, what if?"

"What would you do if I got bitten by a monster?"

Isolde merely gave him a cold look before sheathing her sword.

The crisp sound of the sword being sheathed sent shivers down Vittorio's spine.

Although she didn't speak, she had already used her actions to communicate.

Were you bitten?

dead!

Vittorio lowered the carriage curtain and muttered to himself.

"Great! As long as the protected person is killed beforehand, they won't be harmed!"

"This is the chivalry of the Captain of the Guard; I feel very safe under your protection!"

Isolde's cold voice came from outside the carriage.

Please refrain from making sarcastic or cynical remarks.

Vittorio's smile vanished the moment he straightened up in the carriage.

But I'm not being sarcastic; I'm just stating a fact.

Fifteen days ago, he traveled through time.

He transmigrated into the body of the son of a count named Vittorio Connaron.

The Earl's son?

That sounds pretty good.

But what if he has a stepmother, a stepbrother, and a biological father who doesn't care about him at all?

A family of four, and three of them wished he were dead?

He's practically a male version of Cinderella.

When Vittorio arrived, everything was already set in stone.

The Earl had long been fed up with his eldest son due to his stepmother's constant whispers in his ear.

Using his poor health as an excuse, he sent his eldest son, as acting count, back to the frontier to manage the family business.

But that territory had long since become a wasteland due to the invasion of the demonic tide.

His clever father abandoned his people early on, moving to live near the capital, and sent him back to his death.

He is now on his way back to his territory.

He was protected by the female knight Isolde.

In addition, there were thirteen salaried professional guards and a coachman who also served as a guard.

There were a total of fifteen guards.

This is the current state of Vittorio.

"Even if no one notices I was bitten now, it will be discovered in thirty days!"

Vittorio thought to himself.

The cycle from infection to mutation typically takes thirty days.

That's why he said he only had thirty days left to live.

If nothing is done soon, he will be found to be infected due to his persistent high fever and delirious talking.

He was then tied up, and finally his head was chopped off with a sword!

This was his short life in this world.

Damn it!

We have to do something!

If I can't come here for fifteen days, I might as well just die a pathetic death!

The carriage creaked and groaned as it moved forward, and no one paid any attention to his silent sorrow.

"Now we can only go to the next town to find a church and see if the clergy can handle this infection."

"If even the clergy can't do it, then things will get complicated..."

Just as he was feeling a sense of despair, the air in front of him suddenly began to vibrate.

In the reflection of his wide-open eyes, a roll of parchment appeared out of thin air.

A roll of... suddenly appeared... parchment?

The parchment floated silently in the air, moving forward with the carriage.

The parchment remained at a height that Vittorio could easily see, without shifting in the slightest.

Vittorio was initially surprised, then tentatively touched the parchment.

As you touch it, words written in ink gradually appear on it.

[The power of sovereignty awakens here.]

Lord?

Vittorio, who had been completely despondent, immediately became interested.

The moment he touched the parchment, a strange flow of knowledge entered his mind, and he immediately understood everything.

This is a lord system.

Vittorio, who had read many novels, was immediately thrilled.

Fifteen days after his transmigration, when he was on the verge of despair, his special ability finally arrived!

He began to study this "Lord System" very carefully.

[Character module unlocked]

"Character module?"

With a thought, Vittorio displayed the [Characters] module on the parchment.

The background of the parchment turned dark red, and nine circular portraits appeared on the parchment.

Vittorio checked them one by one and found that they were indeed his nine men.

On a whim, he clicked on Isolde's profile picture.

Suddenly, Isolde's portrait was enlarged, and around Isolde's portrait were four modules.

These are [Occupation], [Status], [Mood], and [Loyalty].

There's not much to say about the first two; the key is the latter two.

【Feeling】

[Desire: To escape the tedious job of escorting.]

Fear: Feeling lost and uncertain about the road ahead.

Loyalty

[Loyalty: 29 (Undecided) (Side note: Observing the situation, indecisive. She will carry out your orders, but lacks genuine identification and passion. Loyalty is based on duty and contract, not trust or admiration.)]

Recent events: None.

Loyalty level is only 29?

That makes sense, though, since I don't remember having any interaction with her.

She was forced to do this arduous task, so she naturally couldn't be considered loyal to herself.

After closing Isolde's avatar, another person's avatar caught his attention.

[Grey's Dawn]

This person's profile picture is redder than the others, seemingly foreshadowing something ominous.

Vittorio had a sudden thought and clicked on [Gray]'s avatar.

Everything else about this person was fine, but his mood and loyalty aroused Vittorio's suspicion.

[Desire: Gray is tired of escorting nobles; in his view, the risk of death far outweighs the reward. He yearns for change!]

Loyalty: 7 (Disloyal) (Side note: Fearful and disloyal; a rebellion is brewing. It is best to respond promptly.)

Loyalty level is only 7?

A traitor?

As if to confirm his idea, Isolde knocked on his car window from the outside.

"Acting Earl, something seems amiss with the guards."

What is the situation with the guard?

Since the attack, Vittorio had been focused on his wounds in the carriage and had no interest in observing the situation of the guards.

However, after being reminded by the system and Isolde, he also realized that the loyalty of these guards was extremely questionable.

He opened the carriage door, and the cold wind from the wilderness outside made him cough. His body was extremely weak due to lack of exercise.

As soon as you open the carriage door, you can see ten guards sitting around it.

They stared at him with hostility, especially the oldest and largest one among them.

Gray, a red-haired, stubble-bearded man in his thirties, is one of Vittorio's bodyguards.

As soon as Gray saw Vittorio emerge from the carriage, he stood up from the fire.

He walked up to Vittorio and shouted at him in front of everyone.

"We're quitting!"

Vittorio stared coldly at Gray in front of him.

Sure enough, just as the system showed.

This guy has a loyalty rating of only 7, and now his betrayal is undeniable.

Gray was still there, babbling on and on.

"We've walked all the way from the capital to here, and we'll be almost at Stone Mill Town!"

"On the third day of our journey, two people were dragged away by monsters from the black miasma!"

"Later, there was another one whose leg was bitten off, and we had to leave him in Crossroads."

"Damn it, there aren't any proper pastors there. He probably couldn't have survived the infection and has already been killed!"

"And just now! In broad daylight, a monster attacked us and bit three people!"

"The widespread destruction caused them to mutate rapidly, making them virtually incurable. We had no choice but to execute them on the spot!"

"Six of us have already died, and we've only gone halfway!"

"The road ahead will only get harder; we nine remaining might not even make it to the river bend before we're all wiped out!"

Gray paused for a moment, a calm despair settling on his face.

"We can't reach it, so we're quitting."

Vittorio watched his desperate cries, his expression remaining largely unchanged.

Fear was his reason for rebelling.

Although it wasn't very loyal, it's understandable.

But Vittorio could not forgive.

Because Vittorio was the lord he betrayed.

Forgiveness means losing power.

Losing power means death.

Therefore, Vittorio must deal with Gray quickly and very carefully.

Although he has a system, it's useless in this situation, and he can only rely on himself.

Fortunately, after a little thought, he had a solution.

Vittorio coughed and spoke softly.

The voice was very soft, but everyone present could hear it clearly.

"Can I interpret what you just said as a rebellion?"

Gray's face flushed red, but the thought of all the guards watching him from behind made it impossible for him to say no.

He had no choice but to answer, even though he was embarrassed.

"Yes."

Vittorio nodded.

"Then I'm relieved."

"What?"

Just as Gray was puzzled, Vittorio stepped forward without making a sound.

He swiftly drew a short dagger from his sleeve, aiming it at Gray's unprotected neck.

Before Gray could even react, Vittorio had already raised his hand sharply, and the sharp, thin blade lightly sliced ​​towards the carotid artery.

Instantly, a large amount of blood gushed out.

Gray's eyes widened instantly, and he immediately clutched his neck as a large amount of blood gushed out.

For the first two seconds, he could still make breathing sounds.

Five seconds later, he collapsed to the ground due to lack of oxygen to the brain and twitched slightly on the ground.

After about ten seconds, he stopped moving.

In the next sixty seconds, his brain will suffer irreversible damage.

He will die from excessive blood loss in three minutes.

In this situation, Gray would have no chance of receiving any effective assistance.

He is already dead.

Vittorio ignored Gray, whom he had already declared dead in his mind.

Ignore the large amount of blood splattered on his body and chin from being too close to Gray.

Ignore the gazes of the guards who are speechless with shock.

He wiped the dagger clean with a silk scarf and put it back into its jeweled scabbard.

Then, without making a sound, he steadied his hand, which was trembling slightly from killing for the first time.

After doing all this, Vittorio cleared his throat and began his performance.

"Don't be too surprised; he publicly insulted nobles and incited rebellion. According to the laws of the duchy, he should be executed."

"I just couldn't resist doing it myself, is there a problem?"

The guards looked at each other, speechless.

"Very good, it seems his problem is solved. Now it's time to discuss your problem."

Vittorio maintained his aggressive, slightly flamboyant, and somewhat sarcastic body language and tone throughout.

Normally, the guards would laugh at such a flashy but impractical thing.

But at this moment, Vittorio's actions seemed to have a particularly "aristocratic" intimidating power in their eyes.

"If I heard you correctly, you want to leave."

"I have no objection to that; I mean, I don't want to restrict your freedom."

"But I highly doubt whether your decision was made after careful personal consideration, or... simply incited by some kind of group fanaticism."

Vittorio's red eyes scrutinized them sharply.

"Do you really understand what breaking away from the Conaron family means in this situation?"

No one spoke.

Vittorio smiled, pleased to feel that everything was going according to plan.

"Don't understand? Okay, then I'll trouble you to analyze it for you."

Vittorio's gaze slowly swept over each of the surprised and uncertain faces.

When he spoke again, his voice carried an undeniable authority.

"First, there are the direct consequences of your departure."

"You have entered into an employment contract with my father, Count Cornallon, which is protected by the Law on Employment of Nobles."

"The Employment Law stipulates that nobles can expel their employed guards, but employed guards cannot unilaterally break their contracts."

"In other words, if you leave, it can be considered a unilateral breach of contract. This is not an irresponsible departure, but rather... an escape."

The word "escape" caused a small commotion among the guards.

They just wanted to get out of this deadly job; they never imagined that running away would be even more dangerous.

Vittorio looked at their expressions and was pleased with their fear.

He decided to press on and break through that already flimsy psychological defense.

"Where were we?... Escape... Right! Let's continue talking about the escape."

"After you fled, you went from being free citizens to fugitives!"

"That means that when you enter or leave any town or city, you will no longer dare to provide identification to the interrogating officer, otherwise you will face imprisonment!"

"Or the interrogator could simply take the easy way out and hang you with a rope."

"Let's assume you're 'lucky' enough to evade the interrogators, but without any legal identification, you can't do any decent work."

"You'll only be able to do the lowest and hardest manual labor—mines, docks, maybe even brothels, who knows?"

Vittorio shrugged nonchalantly, indicating his concern for their future.

"Even if you don't care about these things, even if you're determined to leave, look over there."

Vittorio stretched out his pale hand and pointed to the wilderness before him, which stretched endlessly towards the horizon. The twilight tinged that horizon with yellow, foreshadowing the coming darkness.

"It's another half-day's journey from here to the next settlement."

"Without Isolde's protection, guess... who will be dragged into darkness next?"

He asked softly.

"Is it the slowest one on the legs? Or the one who gets sleepy first during the night watch?"

Vittorio spoke softly, as if describing a gentle night that was close at hand, and his tone sent a chill down everyone's spine.

At this point, Vittorio's tone suddenly shifted, his voice suddenly infused with an extremely seductive, flowing honey-like quality.

"But... there's another option!"

He spread his arms out as if to unveil an unseen, beautiful painting.

"Follow me to the Reach! In the name of the Cornelon family, I promise—everyone who arrives alive will be rewarded with one hundred gold shields!"

One hundred gold shields!

The gold shield is the most valuable currency in the current monetary system of the Principality of New Augustus; one gold shield can be exchanged for ten silver coins or one hundred copper coins.

Of course, it doesn't need to be explained in such a complicated way.

The simplest understanding—gold!

Whispers broke out among the guards.

One hundred gold shields—that's enough to buy a small house with a garden on the outskirts of the capital.

Vittorio was pleased to see that the guards' morale had been raised.

Whether these gold coins can actually be issued is one thing, and whether they are merely empty promises is another.

In short, first make empty promises.

In order to achieve his goal, he continued to increase the stakes.

"Furthermore! If you protect me and bring me back to the Reach alive, I will exceptionally grant you the right to practice the Inscribed Body!"

The Body of Imprints—a transcendent path that only true knights can learn—is the most realistic way for commoners to transcend class and ascend to the noble knight class.

However, in the Duchy of Neo-Augustus, the right to practice the Body Imprint was monopolized by the nobility.

Nobles can cultivate themselves, and they can also decide who can and cannot cultivate.

For example, Isolde is a knight who has mastered the "Body of Imprints".

But her training was completely hijacked by Vittorio's father, Count Cornalon—but that's another story.

In short, Vittorio's last words caused a huge uproar among them.

Although some people questioned whether Vittorio had the ability to help them cultivate the imprinted body—after all, that was very expensive—most people were immediately captivated by the dream.

Become a knight with extraordinary power.

"Think about it, rotting away in a mine as a fugitive? Or take a gamble and become a knight in the future?"

In short, Vittorio finished speaking and stood quietly.

The light of dusk danced on his blood-stained robes, casting a half-light, half-shadow on his pale, smiling face.

He didn't urge them, he just waited—letting fear and greed fight each other in their hearts.

But he knew that his prey would eventually fall into the trap. All he needed now was a little more patience.

A young man was the first to step forward.

He put down his sword, stepped forward, knelt on the ground, and kissed Vittorio's blood-stained shoes.

"Sir, it's all Gray's fault!"

"It was him constantly bewitching and seducing us!"

"We only believed his slander, we did not truly betray you! Please accept my confession."

Others echoed in hushed tones.

"Yes." "Right."

It's not surprising, and it's also realistic. Blaming everything on the dead is pointless; the dead can't speak.

But at this point, Vittorio has no intention of pursuing the matter further.

His killing of Gray was intended as a warning to others, a sacrifice to intimidate the rest.

Now it wouldn't be better if they blamed everything on Gray and confessed their mistakes.

As for how much of this repentance is genuine and how much is fake?

Vittorio didn't care; he was confident he could make it all a reality in the days to come.

So Vittorio looked down at the courageous young man, who at least had been the first to step forward.

"What's your name?"

"John, sir."

"John, your courage deserves a better future. Rise and use your eyes to warn me of the darkness."

This represents forgiveness and acceptance.

The guards all breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Vittorio's actions.

Once the first person did, a second followed, and the remaining eight guards successively pledged their loyalty to Vittorio, which he accepted one by one.

Meanwhile, to Vittorio's surprise, Isolde, who had been standing motionless to the side, suddenly made a move.

She stepped forward, slowly drew her sword, and pointed it at the crowd.

"Lord Vittorio has forgiven your disrespect, but I will not."

"It would be my dereliction of duty to allow this rebellion to continue. If it happens again, I will cut off your head along with your treacherous tongue!"

No one dared to look up; they remained silent.

Vittorio watched Isolde's actions and wondered if this was a tacit approval.

But what will she do if she fails to handle this upheaval today?

Shaking his head to put those things that hadn't happened behind him, Vittorio smiled and clapped his hands to ease the tension.

"Alright, burn his body. I don't want to see a newborn monster after nightfall."

"Then, shall we hit the road?"

The guards sprang into action, some burning the corpses, others packing their belongings, and soon they were all assembled.

After all, they had already wasted too much time due to the monster attack and the little incident just now.

If you cannot reach the next village or town before dark, you must proceed in the dark.

But traveling in the dark is not a good thing.

Vittorio sat back in the carriage, and before getting in, a hand reached out and handed him a towel and a clean shirt.

Vittorio looked up and saw it was Isolde.

"A good speech, very persuasive, even better than the Earl's."

Is it better than that fat pig indulging in pleasure? That's hardly a compliment.

Having successfully quelled a rebellion, Vittorio felt a sense of pride and elation.

However, the next second, Isolde's words made him feel as if he had fallen into an ice cave.

"But I have a question I'm very curious about, and I have to ask it."

"Were you just bitten by a monster?"