Lord of Rot

Leech had no particular requirements for Quickblade, the newly-dubbed Knight. With his formidable combat skills and fiery personality, he wasn’t the type to be constrained by noble etiquette. He just needed to be told what not to do.

Take Lieder, for example. His reputation among the nobility wasn’t great either. Though his illustrious military achievements earned him the name Baron Porcupine, people said behind his back that it was his mind that was truly like a porcupine’s—crude and barbaric.

’That’s a stereotype. Porcupines aren’t crude at all; they’re actually very timid.’

With a true Knight in the territory, almost everyone was inspired.

The Warriors knew that even commoners like them could become Knights and transcend their social class.

The young squires also knew that they, too, would one day surely become Knights.

The commoners knew that even if their children couldn’t become squires, they could still achieve greatness and earn merit if they had the chance to join the army in the future.

The knighting of just one man had plunged the entire Porcupine Territory into a state of unspoken joy.

Good news came one after another.

The Griffin Grass in the dense forest had sprouted! 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

He counted them carefully several times and confirmed there were five sprouts. This meant he could cultivate five Corpse Ghosts.

’Or, five red-haired, muscular Warriors. If they all become Extraordinary Knights, shining with golden light, Porcupine Territory will have a much stronger foundation.’

’Five Extraordinary Knights should have no problem facing down a charge from dozens of regular Knights.’

’A protected cultivation base for the Griffin Grass must be established at once. I need to mark off the largest possible area with the five sprouts at its center, protect it, post guards, and strictly forbid entry.’

Hearing Leech’s order, Gelan and Quickblade were not confused, but accepted the command readily.

Gelan had witnessed his Lord’s miraculous abilities countless times, while Quickblade possessed such boundless loyalty to Leech that he would never dream of questioning him.

It didn’t matter if it was protecting red weeds or establishing a conservation area; they just had to obey and get it done.

The next piece of good news was that the farm in Livestock Village needed to be expanded. Thanks to the effects of the Grass of Life, every newborn animal was healthy and free of disease. With almost no deaths from illness or premature birth, the number of chickens, ducks, and pigs in the pens was doubling and redoubling.

Even the dogs and foxes, which normally just stole a few bites of chicken feed, were having litter after litter of pups.

Many children in Porcupine Territory had their own dogs. A newcomer might think they had stumbled into some kind of beast-taming tribe.

Leech finished his inspection tour of Livestock Village on horseback and said to Gelan, who was beside him, "First, open a temporary shop to sell chickens and ducks to the villagers. Once that new area is built up and a proper market is constructed, we’ll move the butcher shop there."

"Yes," Gelan noted it down.

The pigs weren’t ready for slaughter yet, but at this rate, every household should be able to eat pork by this Lily.

’Just relying on internal consumption isn’t enough,’ Leech thought. ’I need merchant caravans to come to Porcupine Territory, not just have my own caravans ship goods out. It’s too slow and inefficient.’

Next, Leech went to the tavern. It was almost finished. ’It’s a shame we couldn’t get any lime in time, or it would’ve been even more beautiful.’

Even so, the tavern could hold several dozen people, making it no smaller than the taverns in Iron Stone City.

’We still need a brewer.’

’What were the transmigrator’s essentials again? Brewing, perfume, and soap.’

The people of the Lu Leiyi Continent knew how to enjoy life; they already had all sorts of ways to make wine. They knew drinking raw water could make them sick, but they had no habit of drinking hot water. As a result, people drank alcohol to quench their thirst in daily life. Where demand is high, progress is swift.

’Perfume is still an indispensable high-end luxury item, always favored by the nobles. As for the main reason... after visiting Iron Stone City, I have a pretty good idea. Streets full of crap, people relieving themselves wherever they please... the smell is... unique.’

The art of making perfume was in the hands of scholars, who gave it the fancy name of "Alchemy Creation."

’Probably just a way to scam research funding.’

’Highly intelligent people are rarely simple-minded.’

Porcupine Territory was short on manpower, and even shorter on talent, so research was impossible for now.

"We must get a brewer, and it would be best to build a winery, too." Leech looked out at the large, undeveloped swaths of Porcupine Territory. "If a tavern can’t keep the wine flowing, can you even call it a tavern?"

But it came back to the same old problem: a lack of talent. So, it was shelved.

His list of shelved projects was already long: a winery, a port, distillation, soap, perfume, and canned goods. There were also projects stalled due to a lack of talent, such as the self-heating tech that relied solely on a man called "Little Limper," and leatherworking which had no skilled artisans. Other shelved ideas included mass production of oyster sauce and related seafood products, which was impossible without a large fishing fleet; cotton cultivation; loom development; kiln-fired bricks; heavy plow research; windmill research; and so on.

Projects currently underway included initial housing construction, honey production, agriculture, animal husbandry, and Magic Gunpowder. He couldn’t handle any more. And for Magic Gunpowder, he had to rely solely on Betty.

’Being a lord is exhausting.’

"My Lord!" Someone came running back, stopping before Leech’s horse and bowing with a hand on his chest. "Lord Qiao has returned."

Leech smiled. "Qiao’s back? That’s about when I expected him."

’It really is one piece of good news after another. Just when I was worrying about not having anyone I could use, Qiao—the man who can buy slaves for me—shows up.’

Qiao’s caravan returned travel-worn and dusty, but their numbers were much smaller than when they had left.

"My Lord!"

The moment he set foot in Porcupine Territory and saw his Lord coming to greet him, Qiao bowed deeply, thrilled by the feeling of being so highly valued.

"Welcome home. I imagine you have many stories to tell from your journey."

"Yes, my Lord!" Qiao nodded emphatically. ’That’s right,’ he thought, ’I’m home.’

"Let the caravan members go and rest," Leech said. "I can’t wait to hear what happened."

"Yes!"

Back in the castle, Qiao gulped down two mouthfuls of iced beer.

"My Lord, what is this?" The icy chill made him shiver.

Leech just smiled without explaining.

’That’s right, this is Magic. Does Magic need an explanation?’

’But Qiao already had an answer in his heart. For a Divine Favored, wasn’t it perfectly normal to create ice in hot weather? The answer, then, was the Lord’s wisdom!’

"On our way to Green Forest Castle, we encountered a group of rioting farmers when passing through Waterfall Land," Qiao began to recount his journey. He hesitated, unsure if he should be gossiping about nobles, especially since he wasn’t one himself.

"Waterfall Land?"

Leech, however, was very interested. "That would be the Wados, right?"

His knowledge of the continent came from books he had recently read. The Wados, for example, thrived by relying on Waterfall Land.

It was a river that flowed freely from north to south. While not comparable to the "Mother River," it was more than enough to serve as the foundation for a territory’s prosperity.

The Wado family made their living in the boat trade, focusing mainly on shipping, while their commoners farmed and fished. If Iron Stone City’s reliance on an iron ore vein was a "cheater’s" god-tier start, then the Wados were playing on "easy mode." As for his grandfather’s Linta Bay, its resource-rich swampland made it the equivalent of a "story mode" for first-time players.

Porcupine Territory, on the other hand, was "hard mode"—only slightly better than the "hell mode" of some harsh Desert Areas.

The people of Waterfall Land were natural swimmers with long arms and legs, making them excellent sailors.

’I don’t get it,’ Leech thought. ’It’s a place where people are well-fed and well-clothed, so why would the farmers be rioting?’