Wasteland Lord: Starting from Thirty Days to Live

"Impossible! This is the gateway to our territory. It's impossible that no one is guarding it. Where are all the soldiers?" Isolde asked.

Vittorio pursed his lips and shrugged.

"It has been thirteen years since my father left here, and they have hardly had any communication during that time."

"Even the letters sent here a couple of years ago disappeared without a trace, so it's not surprising what happened inside."

"But we can't stop here. Let's think of a way to get this damn door open!"

John stepped forward and made the suggestion.

"We have more than twenty young men here, why don't we go and push it aside?"

Isolde looked at John as if he were an idiot.

"There's no way you can move it. The weight of this city gate is far beyond your imagination, not to mention there might be crossbars inside. Unless you're a giant, you can't budge it."

Vittorio thought to himself, "She's right. A door like this, encased in iron and made of solid wood, would easily weigh ten tons. Even the guards inside would need levers and pulleys to open it; trying to open it by brute force is simply a pipe dream."

Vittorio's gaze swept around, noticing a towering pile of stones on the right side of the city gate, which looked like a landslide and was about one-third the height of the city wall.

And coincidentally, on that gravel slope, several tenacious tree roots grew from the cracks in the city wall.

Vittorio pointed there.

"What do you guys think of that place?"

Isolde stepped forward.

"I'll do it."

As she spoke, she removed her iron armor and headed towards the scree slope.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, she began to climb.

At first it was easy, like rock climbing, just keep looking for a foothold to pull yourself up, and then you just climb up. But as the height increases and the slope becomes steeper, she needs explosive power.

She looked up at the reach that seemed too far away, and a thought struck her.

Suddenly, starting from her ankles, a faint silver-red light began to flicker, its shape resembling a rose—these were the marks etched onto her body.

The moment the lines lit up, she felt a surge of power in her legs, and with a burst of strength, she easily grabbed the next rock.

Soon, she reached the top of the rubble.

Looking up, she saw a tree root growing out from a crack in the wall, becoming her only stepping stone forward.

She took two steps back, inhaled, sprinted, and jumped!

The engravings lit up simultaneously from her ankles to her waist, propelling her to an impossible height as she reached for the lowest, thickest branch.

Almost there.

Just as the fingertip was about to slip away—silver-red lines appeared on the back of the hand.

She clung tightly to the tree trunk!

At this moment, she hangs between the city wall and the earth.

"call out--"

Vittorio whistled in approval from below.

Although I've seen her fight monsters, I never get tired of watching such beautiful and explosive scenes.

Isolde glanced down when she heard the whistle, but without pausing, she used her core strength to lightly lift herself onto the branch.

Soon, with a flip, she arrived on the top of the city wall, from where she could overlook the entire canyon.

"Lower the rope! Quickly!"

Isolde found ropes on the city wall and pulled the people up one by one.

As the troops regrouped atop the city wall, they began to descend the spiral staircase.

The scene before us confirmed the worst-case scenario.

The fortress was littered with the skeletal remains of soldiers, some still in fighting poses, others leaning against the walls.

Most of them were missing limbs, clearly fighting a fierce battle in their final moments.

The wooden structures in the fortress had long since decayed, and only the stone buildings remained standing.

There was no trace of recent life—no embers of a fire, no fresh footprints, no supplies.

Everything here seems to have been frozen in time ten years ago, with signs of weathering everywhere and a thick layer of dust covering everything.

Eileen finds a rotting logbook in the command room, revealing everything that has happened there.

The log entry is dated eleven years ago.

The faintly discernible handwriting mentioned phrases such as "strange activity in the western valley," "scouts have not returned," and "attack," followed by large patches of unrecognizable mold.

"Therefore, the conclusion is clear: this place has been attacked by monsters."

"At first they tried to hold out, but they quickly realized it wasn't going to work, so they either died there or hastily retreated."

"From then on, this place became a stone cemetery."

Vittorio's summary.

A somber expression appeared on Isolde's face.

"This place should be the most heavily guarded area in the entire territory. If this place falls, what will the situation be like inside the territory?"

Vittorio's suppressed, low voice came from behind her.

"You can tell this just by looking at it."

She turned around and saw Vittorio standing at the window of the commander's room on the side closest to the territory.

That spot happened to be a lookout point, overlooking the entire river bend.

When Vittorio looked westward, he saw the entirety of the "territory" he had inherited.

What lay before him was a piece of land that seemed to have been ruthlessly plowed by an invisible plow.

Nearby, the meandering river, like a weary, dark silver python, breaks free from the canyon at its feet and lazily meanders into a vast, dystopian plain.

The river water was not as clear as I remembered; instead, it shimmered with an ominous, metallic, dull luster.

As the gaze shifted westward, the scene became increasingly horrifying.

On the north bank of the river, about a few kilometers away, a huge cluster of ruins lies lifelessly at the largest bend in the river—the former pearl of "Shangbu Town," now only ruins remain.

The broken roof, like the ribs of a giant beast, pierced the gray sky, and the wooden piles on the dock were crooked like tombstones.

Further away, the land on the north bank of the river presents a sickly gray-green and charred patches, traces of pollution and repeated burning, with no sign of any agricultural life.

And the source of all these calamities seems to be felt at the edge of the horizon.

In the far west, a layer of murky, dark haze that never dissipates hangs between heaven and earth, shrouding the outline of the ring-shaped mountain walls.

That is the entrance to "Broken Ridge Canyon," the source of all terror.

Even from this vantage point, one can feel an unsettling sense of oppression emanating from here.

The only scene that could be called "territory" is huddled on the south bank of the river.

A gray stone castle—Riverbourne Castle—stands alone on a raised hill, backed by a sparse old oak forest.

It appeared so small, sturdy yet weary, with several obvious breaches in the walls that had not yet been repaired.

Throughout the entire field of vision, there was no smoke from cooking fires, no pedestrians, no livestock; only the mournful sound of the wind whistling through the ruins and withered trees.

This is the river bend.

It is no longer a fertile river bend flowing with gold coins and waves of wheat, but a ruin left behind after being devoured by disaster, slowly rotting in despair.

The black fissure not only tore the valley apart, but also seemed to drain all the color, sound and hope from this land.

At that moment, any illusions Vittorio had about taxation, power struggles, or revival were shattered!

He was facing not just a mess, but an abyss that was sliding into complete annihilation.

Are there any survivors here?

Even if they could endure ten years on the edge of hell, their attitude towards any outsider—especially the Earl family who had "abandoned them for thirteen years"—is almost self-evident.

Before coming here, he had imagined the situation to be terrible, but the reality was a thousand times worse than he had imagined.

Because this land and its people—if they have any—should no longer believe any promises from "outside".

Isolde's brow furrowed deeply.

"How could this happen?"

Eileen closed her eyes, gripped the triangular holy symbol tightly, and began to pray without ceasing.

…………

……

Inside the main hall at Raven Pass, the group took turns resting around the campfire.

It was already nearly dark when we reached the pass, and given the current situation within our territory, we couldn't proceed rashly.

Vittorio then ordered his men to set up camp and rest there.

Before setting up camp, the group opened the gate from the inside, brought in the two horses and a carriage that had been left outside, and then closed the gate.

A campfire was lit, and everyone felt at ease.

Vittorio used the excuse of taking a break to go to the commander's office alone.

Seeing that no one was around, he had an idea.

"Activate".

The parchment appeared silently before him.

Since entering the River Reef, the Lord System has undergone new changes.

Vittorio examined the parchment, and a line of text appeared on it.

The acting lord of Kornalon has returned to his loyal Reach.

The "Territory and Construction" module is now unlocked.

Welcome home, Your Excellency the Acting Earl.

With a thought, Vittorio quietly revealed the second module he had just unlocked on the parchment.

The main element of this module is a three-dimensional map occupying the center of the parchment.

The map has irregular edges, with towering mountains and canyons on both sides, a central river valley, and a river that runs through the area.

This is clearly a panoramic view of the Reach.

However, the map is not yet fully available to him.

The map was mostly covered by a constantly churning black fog.

Only the "Raven Pass" where he was standing at that moment, and the very small area around it, were freed from the fog, revealing a clear miniature three-dimensional topographic map.

"So, the second module is a holographic map of the territory?"

"Does that dense fog represent unexplored areas?"

"It's as simple as playing a game."

Vittorio started playing with the map.

It has to be said that this map is incredibly detailed.

The cracks in the rocks and the ruins of the buildings were almost indistinguishable from reality.

Vittorio watched, shaking his head in amazement.

"If we used this kind of thing to develop games for game companies in the old world, wouldn't they make a fortune?"

With a slight thought, he ordered, "Look down."

The map zoomed out instantly, revealing an aerial view of the pass.

"Investigate thoroughly."

The map zoomed in instantly, revealing every tiny detail, even the fine cracks and marks on the bricks of the city wall.

Even when he zoomed in, he could clearly see the corpse of the dead messenger that had been discovered during the day.

He also took in the sight of his men gathered in the hall, sitting around the fire exchanging food and talking in hushed tones.

"It seems to be more than just model reproduction; it's even real-time monitoring. It's practically cutting-edge technology," Vittorio exclaimed.

While he was studying the map, something caught his attention.

He noticed some damage at the bottom of the castle during the day.

As he focused his gaze on the damaged parts of the castle, a system-generated text label suddenly appeared beside him.

[Status: Moderate damage (structural strength < 60%), Function: Partially lost.]

Recommendation: Complete renovation or reinforcement.

At the same time, a faint, ghostly silhouette of an intact castle appeared over the damaged area, with options appearing beside it.

[Analyze the "Raven's Pass Gate Tower" building to obtain the complete blueprint? (Requires 1500 Lord Points)]

Lord's Point?

At the time, I did not know its purpose after acquiring it, so I put it aside for the time being.

I never knew it was used like this.

Lord points can be used to obtain building blueprints?

Row.

"It takes 1500 points to analyze Raven Pass. How many points do I have now? Let me see..."

A thought flashed through his mind, and a number appeared before his eyes.

Current Lord Points: 290

It wasn't enough, but it was also much more than he had imagined.

If you focus your mind on the Lord Points, you can see the Lord Point acquisition log.

As can be seen in the log, increasing the loyalty of six guards gave him 30 points, and increasing Isolde's loyalty gave him 50 points.

Recruiting 15 guards in Stonemill Town gave him 150 points, and Eileen's joining him added another 50 points.

Finally, he received another 10 points for entering and developing Raven Pass, with the system noting "[Developing Normal Area: +10 points/square kilometer]" next to it.

That makes a total of 290 points.

"It seems that increasing the loyalty of subordinates, recruiting new people, and expanding territory will all give the lord points."

"But the lord points needed to recruit Eileen alone are almost equivalent to those needed for fifteen guards in Stonemill Town."

"It seems the same principle still applies: the system will determine the value of the target. As a novice nun, Eileen is more valuable than them."

Vittorio gave a smug smile.

"Luckily, I had the foresight to bring her here."

After that, there wasn't much left to explore.

Although the system will provide explanations when you focus your attention on a specific detail on the map, these are mostly irrelevant information for now.

Vittorio looked up at the sky; the red blood moon had shifted to the center of the night sky.

It's March now, which is the planting month.

Moreover, it was the beginning of the month, a waxing crescent moon, a blood moon hanging only slightly in the sky.

This celestial phenomenon was quite peculiar; the right side was silvery-white, while the left side was dark red.

He had never seen such a sight in his previous life, but he didn't have time to study astronomy, and now he was only at the stage of curiosity and appreciation.

In short, the weather is warming up now, but the monsters are not at their most active yet, making it a perfect time for travel.

Vittorio stretched.

"Ugh, it's time to sleep. Tomorrow I have countless awful things to deal with."

Just as he laid out his sleeping bag and was about to go to sleep, the parchment suddenly began to vibrate violently!

Vittorio frowned as he examined the parchment.

At the edge of the unlocked map, a dozen or so scarlet dots were heading straight toward Raven Pass!

On the parchment, the blood-red characters exploded like splashes of ink!

[WARNING: Territory under attack!]

Threat Level Assessment: Medium (Based on a comparison of territorial defense capabilities and the energy strength of the threatening units)

[Recommendation: Prepare for battle immediately!]