The soldiers who received rewards were filled with joy, and their loyalty to Zong Shen deepened even further.
As for those who did not receive rewards, the vast majority were new recruits. A sense of longing grew within them, and they secretly resolved to fight bravely so they could earn the Lord’s appreciation.
Watching the soldiers' morale climb steadily, Zong Shen felt quite satisfied.
After pacifying the soldiers, Zong Shen waved his hand to dismiss them.
He turned his gaze toward the farmers.
"San Pang, come here."
Among the farmers, San Pang had the best aptitude, possessing a natural "Blue" Excellent-grade potential.
He was highly efficient in his daily work, never lazy, and quite clever.
San Pang was true to his name, being sturdier than the other farmers.
Standing about 1.7 meters tall, he was a head shorter than Zong Shen, with broad shoulders, a thick waist, sturdy limbs, and a round face that made him look honest and intelligent.
"Lord!"
San Pang bowed, bending almost ninety degrees.
"San Pang, from now on, you are responsible for managing the farmers in the territory. If you have any suggestions regarding the daily development of the territory, you can bring them to me."
"In addition, you are responsible for supervising the farmers during their daily labor."
"As long as you work hard, I will give you priority when opportunities for job transfers arise in the future."
Zong Shen said with a calm expression.
Upon hearing this, a look of joy appeared on San Pang’s face, and he bowed again.
"Thank you for your cultivation, Lord!"
"San Pang will certainly not fail your expectations!"
Zong Shen nodded with satisfaction and took out an [Aessala Standard Shortsword], handing it to San Pang.
"I bestow this shortsword upon you for self-defense. Keep up the good work."
San Pang solemnly tucked the shortsword into his waistband, his face full of pride.
This was a tremendous honor!
He had become the leader of the farmers!
Having gained the Lord’s appreciation, he might even have the chance to transfer into a powerful professional warrior in the future.
Bowing, he slowly retreated back into the group of farmers.
There were currently 15 farmers in the territory.
However, there were 20 warriors.
The grass sheds and civilian houses could only accommodate 28 people.
This meant that seven people would temporarily need to move into the Lord’s Manor with Zong Shen.
"Mapel, Madeline, Luna, Tasia, Favid, Colby, Tie Zhu, you seven will move into the Lord’s Manor with me."
Zong Shen called out the seven names.
He led the way into the small courtyard.
The Lord’s Manor was much higher-end and more spacious than the original dilapidated shack.
Walking inside, the most eye-catching feature was a large hall with a sand table placed in the center.
This sand table was a replica of Zong Shen’s territory; the courtyard, civilian houses, and arrow towers were all recreated.
This gave Zong Shen a more intuitive understanding of the entire layout of his territory.
In addition, the first floor had four spacious rooms and a staircase leading to the second floor.
The second floor had a terrace and two rooms. Standing on the terrace, one could overlook the low-lying buildings of the territory from a commanding height.
Inside the rooms were large beds with complete bedding, a wooden table, and a large bathing tub—infinitely better than the wooden planks in the previous shack.
It seemed the changes after upgrading the City Lord’s Mansion were quite intuitive.
Zong Shen assigned rooms to everyone.
He kept the second floor all to himself.
After everyone had rested, he went straight downstairs and came to the [Market] next to the courtyard to begin his daily search.
This time, his three portions of [Moonlight Holy Water] had all sold out.
It was incredibly easy to sell!
From this wave, he harvested 10 Primary Wood Runes, 200 Wood, 80 Iron, 50 Stone, and 50 Hemp.
The importance of the Moon God Spring Water was self-evident, so Zong Shen was in no hurry to list new items.
He prepared to open the [Channel] to check today’s private messages.
It was then that he noticed unread messages in the [Friends and Family Channel].
"Brother, how was your day?"
"I already have six soldiers: two Troll Hunters and three Orc Warriors."
Zong Shen had great confidence in his younger brother.
That guy was a lucky charm.
This message came from 3 hours ago, when Zong Shen was out on a night hunt with his soldiers, so he hadn't noticed the [Channel] notification.
"A-Ze, are you asleep?"
"My development is going very smoothly; I already have nineteen soldiers."
"By the way, do you need this?"
Zong Shen casually pushed the information for [Moon God Spring Water] over.
"Brother! You actually have so many soldiers!"
"I’m not asleep yet. I just finished today’s hunt. Those beasts that suddenly spawned at night were basically just here to be slaughtered."
"Eh? What a magical spring water!"
"But, I can't get it either!"
Zong Ze wasn't asleep yet and replied quickly.
The two brothers had similar personalities; Zong Ze had also been night hunting.
Any lord with some strength and foresight would not give up the rare opportunity to farm monsters at night.
"You guy, have you still not obtained the [Market Construction Blueprint]?"
"As long as you build a [Market], we can trade remotely through the market."
Zong Shen hadn't expected that Zong Ze still didn't have a market.
"I did open two treasure chests today, but unfortunately, neither had a [Market] blueprint. However, I picked this thing up while I was digging for bird eggs this afternoon."
Immediately, Zong Ze sent over an item detail page.
In appearance, it was a ring decorated with a massive ruby.
[Count Bliss’s Beloved Ring]
[This is Count Bliss’s most beloved ring, lost in the wild during a hunting trip.]
[Count Bliss is the most powerful person in the entire Great City of Beluda and a hereditary count of the Rhodok Kingdom. If you can deliver this ring to Count Bliss’s mansion in the Great City of Beluda, you will gain the friendship of Count Bliss.]
"You’re quite lucky, A-Ze."
"With this ring, won't you be able to build a relationship with a big shot from the native factions? This is very beneficial for your development!"
Zong Shen exclaimed in wonder.
"Beneficial my foot..."
"I’ve always remembered you telling me that there is a Great City of Beluda 2,100 kilometers away from me..."
Zong Ze was not very happy.
"Right, that Great City of Beluda is 2,100 kilometers away from you!"
Zong Shen still hadn't caught on.
"Brother... you also said it’s 2,100 kilometers, hey!"
"That’s not 2,100 meters..."
"Although I know this world is huge, calling a distance of over two thousand kilometers 'nearby' is a bit too reckless!"
"With my old horse, it would probably take forever to reach the Great City of Beluda."
Zong Ze complained frantically.
Zong Shen suddenly realized...
My bad... my bad...
I accidentally became a brother-trolling demon.
"Don't be discouraged, A-Ze! Believe in yourself. Once you have a faster mount in the future, you'll be able to go to the Great City of Beluda!"
"In any case, stay safe, get that [Market] blueprint as soon as possible, and I'll have your back!"
"Alright, talk later. Leave me a message if anything comes up."
"..."
(End of chapter)