Wasteland Lord: Starting from Thirty Days to Live

Vittorio did not get angry; instead, he asked a question.

"It seems you're in charge here. What's your name?"

"Edmund Ironrock".

"Mr. Edmund, you don't need to be so hostile towards me."

"I did not come here to oppose you; I came here to revitalize this land."

"I know my father betrayed you, but he is him, and I am me. I don't condone his actions, so I came back."

"I've returned, and I won't leave again. I will rebuild the Reach, restore its riches, and drive out every last monster!"

"But that's on the condition that we sit down and have a proper talk. I don't think anything is off-limits for discussion, don't you think?"

Vittorio spoke at length, while Edmund only uttered one word.

"roll."

"It seems there's no room for negotiation."

Vittorio's gaze gradually turned cold.

Negotiations require both sides to want to resolve the issue, but for stubborn individuals who refuse to communicate, perhaps the only option is to demonstrate strength.

"Isolde, it seems we need to 'negotiate' with this Mr. Edmund Ironrock first before he'll be willing to sit down and negotiate, what do you say?"

Vittorio retreated behind Isolde.

Isolde moved, taking a step forward and drawing her rapier as she went.

"Isolde Fitzroy, Captain of the Guard of Lord Vittorio, please enlighten me, Mr. Edmund."

A hint of disdain, and a touch of desire for battle, flashed in Edmund's eyes.

He strode forward and drew the somewhat worn and ill-fitting sword from behind his back.

"Very well, then let's solve this in a chivalrous way."

"Let me see what kind of knights a family that only knows how to run away and hide in a safe place can produce."

Without further ado, Isolde made her move.

She was so fast that the fallen leaves beneath her feet didn't even have time to float up the moment she started moving.

Like I said before, it's because she's too fast.

Suddenly, a rose-thorn-like light appeared on Isolde's legs, and with this light, her body left a blur in the air as she headed straight for Edmund!

In an instant, she was right in front of Edmund and drew her sword to take his head!

Edmund's movements were noticeably slower than hers; he only raised his hand to block the attack the instant her sword came at him.

Then came Isolde's relentless, storm-like attack.

To put it another way, almost in a second, in the blink of an eye, Isolde had already unleashed more than a dozen sword strikes!

The sword was so fast that it left afterimages of both her arm and the sword.

Edmund appeared to be merely on the defensive, and the two swords clashed, producing a continuous clanging sound.

None of the onlookers dared to step forward; they simply watched the fight from a distance.

This is a battle for the extraordinary—they have no right to interfere.

Vittorio, who was not far away, was also deeply shocked by what he saw.

Although he had seen Isolde in action, he had never seen her use her full strength, and what he was seeing before him was clearly the result of her going all out.

I initially thought she had only slightly enhanced the basics of an ordinary human, but now it seems that she has enhanced more than just "slightly".

Isolde is too fast!

To put it another way, this wooden bridge, from one end to the other, is about 50 meters long by visual estimation.

If you sprint at full speed, it would take an average person about 7 to 8 seconds.

If it's a world sprint champion, then it's probably around 5 seconds.

But Isolde just did it in just 2 seconds.

Her speed far surpasses that of the world champion.

As for drawing a sword, an untrained ordinary person needs 1 second, a well-trained enthusiast only needs 0.5 seconds, while a true sword master can draw a sword once every 0.25 seconds.

But just now, Isolde unleashed 13 sword strikes in a single second!

This wasn't something Vittorio saw clearly, but rather something he calculated by counting the sounds of swords clashing.

Vittorio couldn't see her movements at all with the naked eye!

Like a torrential rain, like a fierce wind.

You can withstand a sword, but you cannot withstand a downpour, for the downpour is everywhere!

Under such a fierce attack, Vittorio thought Edmund wouldn't even last ten seconds.

To his surprise, Edmund's movements, though slow, were consistently able to withstand Isolde's attacks.

No...that's not right!

Perhaps it wasn't resistance, but rather that he hadn't exerted his full strength yet.

Isolde's series of attacks were ineffective, and Edmund defended against them all.

Then, lines lit up on Edmund's body.

However, unlike Isolde's silver and red intertwined colors, Edmund's light was bluish-black, the color of iron and stone.

As expected, he was also a cultivator with an imprinted body.

As Edmund's body shone with light, he gripped the hilt of his sword tightly and, before Isolde's next attack could arrive, suddenly thrust it upwards.

Edmund's arms were so thick that they couldn't be completely concealed by his slightly tattered plate armor.

And his movements were so heavy, like a storm crashing against a reef.

The sword in his hand was long and large enough for an ordinary person, but in his hands it seemed like an awkward, lightweight toy.

As Edmund struck, a resounding clang of metal, far exceeding expectations, erupted.

Isolde felt a jolt in her arm, and her entire wrist went numb, as if she had struck a stone with a sword!

Isolde couldn't help but take a half step back, and her whirlwind attack had to stop.

Isolde began to look the man in front of her in the eye.

Edmund maintained the same posture as before, seemingly simple, even a bit clumsy, but his immense strength and honed stability perfectly complemented his "simple" swordsmanship.

"It seems you're the type who excels in strength, the exact opposite of my speed."

Isolde muttered to herself.

"Then let me see whether your strength is greater or my speed is faster!"

Isolde felt a tingling sensation on the marks on her body, which was proof that her power was being fully mobilized.

Isolde's competitive spirit was also stirred.

It can also be said that every knight has a competitive spirit, because knights are born for battle and honor!

Isolde switched tactics, no longer attacking one side, but instead moving around Edmund like the wind, observing and harassing him, always looking for an opening.

Edmund's response was also very simple.

Immovable as a mountain.

Faced with each swift attack, Edmund simply turned slightly, raised his hand to sweep, slash, and chop, using absolute power to meet the attack.

In the blink of an eye, the battle between the two had already lasted for more than a dozen rounds.

Isolde moved like a ghost, her sword flashing, launching attacks from all sorts of tricky and unpredictable angles, her movements swift and elegant to the extreme.

But Edmund merely followed her like a fluttering butterfly, unable to shake the tree in the slightest.

As Isolde made a mistake in her attack, Edmund's powerful downward slash nearly struck her, forcing her to take the blow head-on.

This sudden force caused Isolde's arms to tremble, and she nearly dropped her sword.

Isolde leaped and dodged out of Edmund's attack range, but her arm trembled slightly, and upon closer inspection, bloodstains could be seen on the hilt of her sword—her hand was split open.

With this strike, Edmund no longer passively countered, but instead actively sought an opportunity to strike.

His attacks are completely different from Isolde's. If Isolde is a gust of wind, then he is a tornado; if Isolde is a downpour, then he is a flood!

His attacks seemed capable of splitting mountains and shattering rocks. If at the beginning Isolde could use his speed advantage to constantly maneuver around,

But after that attack, Isolde's sword was a little unsteady, and her stamina was also slightly reduced, making it much more difficult for her to maneuver.

It's obvious to anyone with eyes that Isolde has switched from offense to defense.

She has gradually fallen into a disadvantageous position!

"Clang! Clang! Clang!" Amidst the continuous loud noises, Isolde's living space was constantly compressed by the seemingly simple yet all-encompassing sword aura.

Edmund saw that Isolde's old strength was exhausted and her new strength had not yet been generated. His eyes flashed with a fierce light. His longsword, with the power to cut through everything, was exquisite and domineering. It completely blocked all of Isolde's angles of evasion and went straight for Isolde's neck!

This sword strike carries the intent to kill; it is not mere posturing!

Isolde's pupils contracted sharply, her entire body screaming for danger, but it was too late for her to react.

Just as the blade was about to strike her—

Edmund's movements abruptly halted for a moment.

It wasn't that they were pulling back; it was more like they encountered some kind of obstacle.

His seemingly certain strike suddenly lost three-tenths of its power, and his hand wielding the sword trembled almost imperceptibly, revealing a hint of awkward stiffness.

It was this seemingly insignificant pause that gave Isolde a glimmer of hope.

Her entire body was covered in shimmering markings as she desperately tried to turn to the side, the blade barely grazing his shoulder armor, sending sparks flying.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, he slammed his sword into the ground and leaped backward, escaping Edmund's attack range and returning to the other side of the bridge.

She was breathing rapidly, her face was pale, and a deep sword wound on her shoulder armor was shocking.

Edmund did not give chase, but looked at his hand holding the sword, clenched it twice, as if he was thinking.

Isolde returned to Vittorio's side, looking rather grim.

Isolde whispered, "I am no match for him. I can sense that he is already on the verge of the Mind Forging Realm... no, perhaps he has already crossed it."

"That last sword strike was strange. He could have killed me, he probably wanted to kill me, but for some reason he didn't."

"Perhaps he is unwell, or perhaps his sword is not working well."

Upon hearing Isolde's words, a cold wind swept past Vittorio, pulling him out of the intense battle he had just been engaged in.

Many people present were like this; they had been watching the fight between the two without blinking, and only now did they remember to breathe.

Vittorio looked at Isolde's slightly pale face and did not criticize her too harshly.

She has done her best.

No wonder Edmund was able to become the leader of the survivors, and no wonder he was able to survive for thirteen years in such circumstances.

He's very strong!

He is an indispensable element if one wants to establish a foothold in the river bend.

Negotiations based on strength are no longer effective. Besides military subjugation, are there any other methods?

Vittorio's eyes gleamed as he recalled what he had noticed from the beginning: the survivors' sallow complexions, overly thin physiques, and obviously tattered equipment.

They lack resources.

Food, clothing, weapons, and anything else necessary for survival.

Perhaps this can be used as a bargaining chip.

Before Vittorio could speak, Edmund spoke first from the other side of the bridge.

"To my surprise, Knight. You are young, but you are not weak. You must have never slacked off in training, not even for a single day."

Edmund's eyes were fixed on Isolde, revealing admiration, but he didn't bother to spare a single glance for Vittorio, her superior.

"Out of respect for this knight's efforts and strength, I agree to give you a chance to negotiate."

Surprisingly, Edmund opened up and was no longer the person who refused to communicate!

Vittorio was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when Edmund's next request made him frown again.

"My condition is simple: you complete a 'test' that will convince all of us, and I will let bygones be bygones."

"What kind of test?" Vittorio asked.

"It's simple. Prove you're not here to take advantage of others, or to die. Over there—"

Edmund suddenly raised his hand and pointed to the village that was faintly visible in the distance below the mountain, a village that seemed to be lying there lifeless.

"Go there and clear out the monsters that are lurking there."

Upon hearing Edmund's request, all the members of the lord's squad looked indignant.

The village Edmund was referring to was the one they had deliberately avoided on their way here.

There's definitely a huge thing lurking inside!

Furthermore, Edmund couldn't handle it on his own; otherwise, he could have taken care of it himself, so why would he need their help?

However, it's highly likely that their small team won't be able to solve it.

Putting aside the fact that they only numbered a mere twenty-odd, even Isolde, their most elite fighter, was weaker than Edmund.

What Edmund couldn't do, Isolde certainly couldn't.

Therefore, this request is simply a pipe dream.

Eileen spoke calmly.

"Mr. Edmund, as far as I know, making demands that the other party cannot meet is not negotiation, it's creating difficulties."

Edmund sneered.

"You can refuse, I'll just stand here. If you want to get past me, you'll have to fulfill my demands, or... step over my dead body."

Eileen took a step forward, as if to say something, but Vittorio pressed down on her shoulder.

Vittorio stated bluntly, "I cannot fulfill Mr. Edmund's request."

Edmund laughed heartily.

"You may be incompetent, but at least you are honest. However, honesty cannot impress me."

Vittorio then changed the subject.

"But what if I propose another solution?"

"What I mean is, while clearing out the monsters might be useful to you, all you'll gain is a polluted piece of land and a village devoid of any resources."

"If we change our approach and provide you with clean water and food, I think that's what you need more urgently."

Edmund didn't deny it, but he also dismissed it dismissively.

They definitely needed food, but how much food did this small team have?

Their team traveled light, without any baggage.

In this godforsaken place, there was nowhere to buy or obtain food.

"Okay, but don't try to fool me with a few portions of dry rations. There are over a hundred of us here, so you need to give us at least enough to last us half a month."

Vittorio simply smiled with narrowed eyes and loudly proclaimed to the other side of the bridge.

"Of course, you'll just have to wait and see."