Two weeks passed since then. Every day in the territory was spent busily and without pause. From the moment Lena met Ella, she began her training. I once glimpsed her in passing, undergoing an intense regimen that made hellish training seem mild. What was frightening was that, while Lena demonstrated her pain, Chloe performed the same training without breaking a sweat.
Ella was undoubtedly a true professional. The day after we paid her an advance and formalized the contract, she presented me with a curriculum for Lena’s development. From a brief test with Lena in the morning, Ella had already pinpointed all her strengths and weaknesses.
"I assure you, whoever taught Lena before could maybe only handle a centurion's level of swordsmanship. I could kill someone like that in less than five seconds," she declared boldly. Although Lena was momentarily offended, having grown attached to Lachis, she concealed her feelings as Ella was now her new mentor.
"Lena is more skilled in defense than offense. For now, she won’t be training in swordsmanship. We’ll focus on defense techniques. In that regard, the magical device installed in the training ground is truly remarkable. How did you find the perfect training tool for Lena?" Ella praised the magical device I had installed without holding back.
Despite not having the inner sight or previous knowledge like me, Ella accurately assessed Lena’s traits. I felt confident placing Lena under Ella’s care and no longer worried about her lessons. My only concern was whether Lena could actually endure it.
During these two weeks, I too did not neglect my training. My magical power increased by 84 and my magical defense by 14. As always, my magic training combined the diet process using Disintegration Needles, and I trained magical defense with Isabel.
Isabel, apart from the time we trained together at night, buried herself in her room, engrossed in her occult research. So, when we met in the basement, there was an awkwardness, but we never skipped our training.
Meanwhile, I was observing the farmland visible from my room. "Indeed, a lot’s changed. The once barren fields now have a considerable number of crops growing."
The crops were standing tall and vibrant; they were the emergency crops, Rettria, which Oberon was eager to sprout. Given our territory’s climate, rice cultivation was impossible, and the next best challenge was cultivating emergency food crops.
The problem was that the process of cultivating Rettria attracted swarms of pests, causing trouble. Existing pesticides worked reasonably well for pests on rice or corn but were entirely ineffective on Rettria. This left Oberon and the farmers in despair until two weeks ago, with no means to deal with the pests except manually catching or driving them away.
But I personally turned the tide. "Deluc’s Artifact played a major role in this." I looked at the pesticide bottle I held with satisfaction. This was no ordinary pesticide but a special one created using an artifact imbued with a curse.
[Pesticide - Curse of Annihilation]
[This liquid does not affect crops but causes decay to any small animal that comes into contact with it, resulting in death. In humans, there may be rashes depending on the contact amount, but these settle within six hours. The effect lasts for one day, after which the curse naturally dissipates, losing its effect.]
To make this pesticide, I used a curse artifact retrieved from Deluc’s room.
[Curse of Annihilation - Ring]
[Classification Grade: 1 Star]
[Option 1: Instantly converts magical power into vicious demonic energy, oxidizing everything it touches.]
[Option 2: For Option 1 to activate, complete contact with the opponent is necessary, requiring a maintenance process of at least one minute.]
For combat purposes, it was a virtually useless artifact, reflected in its lowest classification grade. Unless the opponent was dead or severely injured, who would stand still for a whole minute in combat? And if they were injured enough not to resist for a minute, they could be killed by other means without the ring.
So, while seeking a use for it, I discovered a way to combine it with water. By designing it like the process for making magic potions, I succeeded in infusing water with the curse’s energy instead of magic.
There were a few trial and error moments. A liquid with too strong demonic energy oxidized not only pests but the Rettria crops too, rendering it unusable. Conversely, a liquid with insufficient demonic energy lacked the firepower needed to kill pests.
After some repeated failures, I found the optimal golden ratio and produced the Rettria-specific pesticide that I held in my hand. Producing the best synergistic effect with an unnoticed low-grade 1-star artifact!
"Mixing the liquid, contact-type curse magic, and potion-making know-how resulted in the ultimate trick." Thanks to this, another product was added for sale at Aki's merchant band. Although the demand might be less compared to remedies or magic potions, territories in the northern part of the continent where Rettria is commonly grown would surely take interest.
"As long as we stock emergency crops well, it ensures our territory’s people never go hungry. We should continue promoting agriculture. Now that we have reliable pesticides in our grasp."
Though rice farming remained challenging, being able to push forward with cultivating emergency crops was satisfying. It would surely be a great boon to our territory.
At that time, Oberon was touring the farmlands scattered across the territory. His purpose was to check the growth of Rettria and listen to any complaints or requests from the farmers firsthand. This was something Jared had directly instructed Oberon to do, and he was so moved that he repeatedly expressed his gratitude to Jared.
Since Jared had changed, he proactively increased his contact with retainers and the territory’s residents. Oberon was thrilled to be able to wholeheartedly pursue what he wanted to do. And when he managed to create a pesticide he couldn’t develop for over 10 years in just one day, he almost believed the deity of agriculture and abundance, Pastus, had descended upon the Crebia domain.
"Oberon, welcome!"
"Ah, it's Lord Oberon!"
When Oberon appeared, the farmers spraying pesticide in protective suits rushed over to warmly greet him.
"Hello, how are things going? I'm on an inspection tour. How’s the farming these days?"
"Oh, don't mention it! I'm completely at peace now that the pests are eradicated!"
"I received a letter from a friend in the Ronella territory. They have failed their Rettria harvest because they couldn’t control the pests and were asking how we succeeded!"
"And what did you say? Of course, you credited the Lord, didn't you?"
"Is there any doubt! We’ll never forget this precious pesticide given by our Lord!"
"Indeed! We farm every day with gratitude to our Lord and Lord Oberon!"
"No matter what happens, I swear I’ll never leave our beloved territory!"
The farmers were thoroughly encouraged.
"This is wonderful! Bountiful harvests, bountiful harvests. Oh, Pastus, bless our territory!"
"The precious pesticide granted by our Lord! A poison to the vile pests! Our blessed territory is taking a great leap forward!"
Just two weeks ago, the farmers were despondent over the seemingly insurmountable pest problem, but now they were so exuberant they even danced joyfully, throwing in a peculiar chant - a rap, as a bonus.
“This is quite heartening.”
“It truly feels worth living. Knowing our Lord will buy all of the Rettria above the market price has really eased our minds.”
“We just need to work hard! That’s how we can repay our Lord and Lord Oberon!”
“That's right!”
“In every farm I visited today, hearing praises for our Lord made me not know what to do with myself. Thank you, everyone. Thank you.”
“Please convey to the Lord our resolve to work hard and increase the production!”
“Will do! Thank you!”
Oberon beamed with a broad smile. Such a turn of events was unprecedented. Until recently, a farmer from Crebia territory was considered to hold a cursed profession, with many seriously contemplating emigration to other lands. However, the situation had now changed, with even those previously apathetic to farming vying to participate eagerly.
There was still much uncultivated land in Crebia, and Jared was renting it all at a very low tenancy rate. As a result, the area under cultivation had more than doubled. And it was projected to double again in a month. It was a remarkable advancement in the agricultural sector, akin to an unstoppable drive!
[All the farmers in the territory unanimously praise the benevolence of the Lord!]
[Quest ‘Unwavering Loyalty’ has been completed. Loyalty of the people in the territory has increased by 50!]
[Achieved Loyalty of 200! A Golden Age has dawned upon the territory!]
[During the Golden Age, the production capability of the entire territory increases by 100% for one month.]
[Administration - Loyalty: 200 / 200]
“Great, the Golden Age is here again!”
I cheered as I reviewed the message that popped up unexpectedly. The quest 'Unwavering Loyalty' was completed when more than 100 people, all working in the same field, expressed a unanimous opinion with no dissent. Of course, the alignment of opinions needn’t strictly be positive. Even if 100 people unanimously criticized, the quest would be fulfilled. However, if a Golden Age ensues from negative synergy, its benefits become chaotic.
It had been a while since I last checked the information window of our territory. I opened it, opting to 'fold' the long texts describing special conditions for a clearer view.
[Territory Information – Crebia Territory]
[Rank / Affiliated Nation: F / None]
[Administration - Agriculture: 050 / 050]
[Administration - Commerce: 096 / 100]
[Administration - Public Order: 188 / 200]
[Administration - Science: 075 / 100]
[Administration - Loyalty: 200 / 200]
[Military - Total Personnel: Currently 300]
"Things are on the right path."
All the figures were on a rising trajectory. Particularly commerce, public order, and loyalty had already reached the previous maximum limit, continuing to progress to a newly unsealed higher maximum as a second phase. If these numbers steadily increase and the maximum limits ascend alongside, soon the grade of the territory will be reassessed.
At the current pace, it's likely that within one to two months, ascending to an E-grade territory will be feasible. Of course, only achieving D-grade would qualify it as a small to medium territory, but moving beyond the long-time F-grade status was no longer an unattainable dream.
"Given that the actual number of soldiers in the territory exceeds the recorded 300, it appears the unofficial training plan is proceeding successfully."
I focused on the military personnel count in the information window. Following the initial interaction with the Red Goblins, I had instructed Lachis to recruit as many new soldiers as possible, using all available resources. I insisted on one critical point: the training of new recruits was to be conducted secretly. Despite the territory's modest size, it lay in the northern continent, known for its rugged terrain, where nature provided several natural fortresses. Among these were several small secluded valleys known only to me, the lord, or core retainers.
I had given orders to train new soldiers in these locations. This strategic concealment of forces involved my strong intent to ensure our territory's military build-up remained undisclosed to the outside world.
“They will surely reveal their claws eventually. They’ll soon start eyeing our territory with greed.”
I was already looking ahead to the future, diligently preparing for what was to come.
Chapter 35