Lord of Rot

Leech, who was considered a "brute," led his troops on a forced march for several days and finally reached Longship Castle.

Rotting, dead birds flew overhead, scouting the situation for him.

Unfortunately, he was a step too late. Wado Eighteen’s army had already scattered the day before.

Upon discovering they had no food, Wado Eighteen immediately attacked Longship Castle. But how could a fortress so easy to defend and difficult to assault be taken by a mob of serfs who couldn’t even fill their own stomachs? They probably wouldn’t have had the strength to climb a ladder even if one was handed to them.

At first, the mob still had some fight in them. They believed that if they took Longship Castle, they could eat their fill, be given land, and finally leave behind this life where people died every day.

But Longship Castle’s defense was not as weak as they had imagined. Soldiers on the battlements fired at will, each shot taking a life. Moreover, the battlements were equipped with catapults and large ballistae, and people died in droves.

As they got closer, the defenders threw stones and poured flaming oil.

People died, one wave after another.

Corpses filled the moat.

Fear shocked the mob back to their senses. Someone started to run, and one person fleeing led to ten, and ten led to a whole group. Wado Eighteen’s already loose-knit army instantly fell apart like a plate of loose sand.

At that point, any possibility of victory was lost.

The army scattered, followed by internal strife.

Leech watched "with his own eyes" as Wado Eighteen clashed with his former brothers-in-arms and was then hanged from a tree by them. That group then fled. Perhaps they would go back to being bandits, or maybe they would prop up a "Wado Nineteen." They could even transform themselves into wealthy merchants; the money they’d made from this war was enough for them to become rich men somewhere else.

Baron Porcupine, who in the eyes of others was marching to his death, charged straight ahead with his troops.

They encountered the first group of deserters, numbering around eight hundred.

There was no exchange of words between the two sides. The chaotic din from the deserters drowned out any sound from Leech’s men, and they charged forward on their own accord.

Leech drew his sword.

’Kill them!’

A young Porcupine Soldier charged forward, following in the footsteps of a veteran. He swung the flail in his hands, smashing it down on an enemy’s head. The blow punched a hole in the man’s skull, from which blood gushed forth.

The serf’s eyes bulged. He coughed up blood and collapsed.

The recruit’s heart pounded in panic. It was his first time killing someone. But seeing another serf charge at him like a madman, his body instinctively reacted as it had in training. He raised his shield, pushed forward to knock the charging serf down, and then swung his flail to smash him.

The sound of breaking bones was sickeningly clear.

Leech casually cut down a charging serf with a single swing of his sword. For a formally trained, able-bodied young man, fighting these serfs was practically a slaughter.

The fleeing serfs were no longer able to fight back, but the new recruits still hadn’t stopped their assault.

"Surrender and you will be spared!" Leech shouted immediately.

Hearing that they would be spared if they surrendered, the serfs immediately dropped their weapons and kowtowed on the ground, willingly becoming captives. They had never seen such savage men.

The new recruits finally snapped out of their first life-or-death battle. Looking at the mangled corpses covering the ground, each man wore a different expression.

By killing some and capturing others, Leech soon had a column of over five hundred prisoners with their hands bound trailing behind him. They had been forced to tear their own clothes into strips to make two long ropes—one binding their hands, the other their feet—making them look like a long, segmented line of ants.

In their first battle, a dozen or so of the new recruits suffered minor injuries.

The dead birds led Leech onward. He had arrived too late; otherwise, the column of prisoners behind him could have been five hundred people longer.

At last, Leech stopped in front of a crooked tree.

Wado Eighteen’s noble robes had been stripped from him, leaving him in just his breeches. He had been hanged from the crooked tree, his eyes bulging, his mouth agape, his tongue lolling far out.

Perhaps even in death, he couldn’t understand why victory had seemed within his grasp just one day before, only for him to be hanged by his own men the next, abandoned by all his followers.

Leech looked at Wado Eighteen hanging from the crooked tree. "If you were truly one of the Wados, you should have known your family’s maxim. The water that bears the boat..." he paused, "...is the same that swallows it up."

’Wado Eighteen quickly gained the support of a huge number of commoners, but unfortunately, he didn’t stick to his convictions. He was blinded by wealth and power. Not that it would have mattered even if he had,’ Leech thought. Having watched the whole thing "live" through his birds, he knew this army never stood a chance of taking Longship Castle.

’It was a complete farce. A rebellion of bandits.’

Leech drew his sword and threw it. The blade spun through the air, slicing through Wado Eighteen’s neck.

THUD... thud. One heavy, one light.

The heavy sound was the headless corpse hitting the ground; the lighter one was Wado Eighteen’s head bouncing on the dirt.

The sword embedded itself in the tree trunk, quivering gently.

At Longship Castle, the soldiers were resting against the walls after the grueling battle. But they soon spotted an approaching column of troops and immediately went on high alert.

When Leech arrived at the drawbridge of Longship Castle with his troops and the long line of prisoners, the Baroness, Lady Jie Lin, who had already received word, came up to the battlements with her sister, Yi Lin. She cradled her slightly swollen belly.

"It’s Baron Porcupine! He actually did it," Yi Lin said, recognizing Leech at a glance.

’How did he do it?’ Yi Lin wondered. ’How could a hundred men make an army of tens of thousands throw down their arms and flee in terror?’

They had only been hiding inside Longship Castle, hunkered down and fighting back, completely unaware of what had happened outside.

"He has black hair?" Jie Lin noted with surprise.

Black-haired nobles were uncommon.

But her attention was quickly drawn to the head mounted on a spear. "That head... is it?"

Yi Lin nodded. "I’ve seen his self-portrait. It’s Wado Eighteen."

Jie Lin didn’t have time to correct her sister’s disrespectful way of addressing him. After all, the name "Wado Eighteen" was inherently mocking.

"Lower the drawbridge," Jie Lin ordered. "Go and welcome our hero!"

The drawbridge was lowered.

The first person to walk out was a woman in a long robe, her long, somewhat messy hair not having been meticulously styled.

Her face bore some resemblance to Yi Lin, the messenger who had once delivered a letter to Porcupine Territory, but she possessed an air of nobility that her sister lacked.

Leech swung himself off his horse and handed the reins to an attendant.

"Longship Castle thanks you for your aid!" Lady Jie Lin said, looking at Leech with great emotion.

This handsome young man before her had truly resolved their desperate crisis.

"No, my lady," Leech said, shaking his head. "Their army had already routed. Even if I hadn’t intervened, their rebellion would have ended here."

"But you were the one who brought back his head," Lady Jie Lin said, glancing at the head impaled on the spear.

"It’s a pleasure to finally meet you," Leech said to Lady Jie Lin. "This is a gift for you. I hope you like it."

"It’s the most romantic gift I have ever received," she said, her voice filled with emotion.

Longship Castle held a banquet that very evening.

A handsome young lord dining with a beautiful baroness—the affair was sure to be filled with flirtatious ambiguity.

But the reality was disappointing.

Leech showed no interest in eating. He stared at Lady Jie Lin and said, "I hope to recruit some people here: sailors, shipwrights skilled in boat building, more sailors, and also some fish farmers and fishermen."

’Flirt with the Baroness? She’s already pregnant. What’s the point of all this nonsense?’

’Better to press my advantage now.’

"Also, the five hundred slaves you promised to supply me with. I trust you haven’t forgotten."

’Wado Eighteen’s army has scattered,’ he thought. ’Those men all escaped and can easily go back to being farmers. In the end, I only captured five hundred of them, and those five hundred will be my slaves. If I hadn’t been late, I might have caught a thousand. I’m ambitious enough; I can take on as many slaves as I can get.’

’Slaves only rebel because they’re oppressed. And Porcupine Territory is the best place for slaves on the entire continent of Lu Leiyi. Some free farmers probably don’t live as well as the slaves in my domain.’

’Everyone just wants to live a good life. Who would waste their time rebelling if they didn’t have to?’

’I don’t need to worry about rebellion. We can all just join hands and live happily ever after.’

Lady Jie Lin nodded. "Of course. That is what we agreed upon, Lord Leech."

The cuisine at Longship Castle wasn’t very impressive. It was almost all fish—pan-fried fish, grilled fish, fish stew—and the flavors were rather bland.

If these resources were at Porcupine Castle, he could be eating delicacies like spicy boiled fish, fish with pickled greens, steamed fish head with chopped chilies, or sweet and sour fish. The reason Leech wanted fish farmers was to expand his cookbook and satisfy his own gourmet desires.

"The grilled fish isn’t bad," Leech said, and began to eat in earnest. After several exhausting days on the road without a proper meal, he wasn’t about to let this one go to waste.

As he ate, Leech was still pondering a problem. On long military campaigns, like back when his old man Lieder was alive, it was normal for an army to march through mountains and across ranges for months. The problem of grain could be solved, but the problem of vitamins could not.

Vegetables were extremely difficult to preserve, which made portable canned goods a necessity.

’It’s a shame Little Green-Eyes isn’t here with me.’

Leech felt a pang of regret. His new idea couldn’t be recorded, and he just had to hope he wouldn’t get distracted by other matters and forget it.

Lady Jie Lin sat across from him, watching as Leech, mid-bite, suddenly became lost in thought. Sensing the quiet and awkward atmosphere at the table, she felt she had to say something.

"Lord Leech," Lady Jie Lin began, "I mentioned before that you could choose anything you like from the treasury of Longship Castle."

Leech looked up. He recalled her saying that, but he hadn’t paid it any mind. ’There’s probably nothing valuable in the treasury,’ he thought.

’Otherwise, Lady Jie Lin would have already used it to fund the war effort.’

"I’m already more than satisfied with what was promised."

Leech politely declined, having no desire to go rummaging through a pile of junk.

"It’s true the treasury doesn’t hold much of monetary value," Lady Jie Lin said, clearly understanding Leech’s implication, but she still tried to persuade him. "However, it contains many strange and curious collectibles. Things like the claw of a Giant Dragon, or the scale of a Chimera. They are all fine collector’s items."

She gently stroked her cheek with a finger, hoping to draw Leech’s gaze.

Leech had seen many top-tier beauties, but the Baroness possessed a charm completely different from Red Rose, Miss Ivory Tower, Charming, or the female general. It was the unique allure of a mature woman.

"I’m full," Leech said, wiping his mouth. He looked at her with an eager gaze and asked, "Lady Jie Lin, when shall we go see this treasury?"

A smile bloomed on Lady Jie Lin’s face. ’Of course,’ she thought. ’How could a young Knight, fresh from a victorious battle, possibly pass up such an important celebratory ritual?’

"We can go right now," she said, rising to her feet.

The two of them left the dining hall. Seeing this, Yi Lin immediately walked over.

"I am taking Lord Leech to the treasury," Lady Jie Lin announced.

Yi Lin glanced at her sister, then nodded. "Understood. Please follow me."

The three of them headed for the underground treasury.

The castle’s architectural style was different from Porcupine Castle’s. The walls had a special moisture-proof and waterproof construction, and the passageways were extremely narrow, descending via a spiral staircase. Anyone entering for the first time would likely become disoriented.

Soldiers stood guard at the entrance.

"I will stand guard here," Yi Lin told the soldier.

"Yes, milady," the soldier nodded. He bowed to Lady Jie Lin and Leech before turning to leave.

The most high-ranking people in all of Longship Castle were present. Whatever happened next had nothing to do with a mere soldier.

A key turned in the lock, and the heavy door was pushed open.

Lady Jie Lin, holding a torch, stood in the doorway. She turned to Leech with a smile and gestured invitingly. "After you, my lord."

Leech was already eager and stepped inside after Lady Jie Lin.

The treasury door closed. Yi Lin stood guard outside, her sister’s words from earlier today echoing in her mind: "I want to give birth to an heir for the Wado family. I *must*. Otherwise, we’ll still be driven out of Longship Castle."

’Yi Lin had to admit that Leech Clarence was a suitable candidate. He was a lord himself and could provide aid to Longship Castle.’

’And besides, he has black hair.’