HTLCCBFT Chapter 170

Has The Lord’s Career Chart Been Filled Today? – Chapter 170

Even as the merchant caravan, laden with wool, came into view, the knights galloping at top speed did not so much as glance their way.

Only a few, incredibly brief words were exchanged.

— “Who are those people ahead?”

— “Wool merchants.”

— “Pay them no mind.”

— “Keep moving forward.”

And so, under the terrified and uneasy gazes of Wul and the others, who were ready to beg for their lives at any moment, this troop of imposing horsemen swept past them like a sharp gust of wind.

Wul: “……” What just happened?

He and his servants stared blankly, their fear gradually fading as they watched the riders continue their swift charge forward.

They showed not a shred of greed for the piled-high goods, nimbly bypassing the group of “obstacles” in a flash and speeding off toward Gregor city.

An unknown amount of time passed before someone in the abruptly halted merchant caravan finally spoke again.

“What in the world just happened?”

“Great Cat God, I was scared to death!”

“I thought I was a goner for sure.”

“Those were definitely no ordinary bandits! Even just brushing past us, their presence was terrifying!”

“You idiot, of course they weren’t some bandit gang.”

“They were soldiers, right? I saw they all had swords at their waists, and more than one!”

“It must be the God’s blessing that we survived!”

As the still-shaken members of the caravan chattered amongst themselves, Wul frowned, lost in thought.

He was a man of considerable experience, and in that brief encounter, he had discerned much more.

Even his servants could guess the men’s military identity from their cold, uniform bearing. What he could see was bound to be even more.

They had to be knights—and high-ranking knights who served the nobility of the royal capital, at that.

From the fine protective plate armor covering their arms and legs, to the riveted breastplates they wore, the gleaming light helmets and matching metal gloves, and the knee armor with its terrifying boot spurs… right, and the swords.

Each knight carried two swords at his waist: a longsword and a two-handed sword.

Though he only had time for a sweeping glance, he had vaguely seen intricate, dazzling totems on their hilts.

How could ordinary knights possibly possess such top-tier equipment?

But what chilled him to the bone and convinced him of the group’s extraordinary origins was their “uniformity.”

Yes, uniformity.

If only one or two knights possessed such expensive gear, it might have drawn a few extra glances and prompted an instinctual avoidance, but it wouldn’t have been considered too unusual.

But for over thirty men to be dressed almost identically, to ride with their eyes fixed forward from start to finish, passing by in perfect order before vanishing into the distance—that was another matter entirely.

Wul hesitated.

Such discipline could only be possessed by the most elite, top-tier knights.

The most important question now was, “Were they dispatched by the king?” or “Was this the Angel Duke’s knightly order, restored?”

If it was the former, it undoubtedly signified the king’s determination to sanction the Duke. In that case, the three southernmost cities of the kingdom, led by Gregor city, would be plunged into a long period of war.

From his perspective, he naturally hoped for the latter.

Should he take a gamble?

Wul deliberated for a long time before deciding to be cautious and return to Riche city first.

There was no need to be too hasty, he thought. He would just wait another fourteen days.

At the speed those knights were traveling, it wouldn’t take them a full seven days to reach Gregor city as it would him.

This way, although he would be delayed by half a month, he would get the answer to the question that had just occurred to him.

The troubled thoughts of an ordinary merchant were, of course, of no concern to the knights.

A taut string seemed to be stretched within each of them, never slackening for a moment. From beginning to end, they had only one goal: to return to His Highness’s side sooner.

As they realized they were drawing closer to Gregor city, their eyes grew brighter with anticipation, and the beating of their hearts quickened uncontrollably.

— “How much longer?”

— “At our current speed, three days at most.”

— “I wish we could go even faster.”

To avoid biting their tongues while galloping at extreme speeds, their conversations remained concise and to the point.

Summer was not a good season for travel. It was either maddeningly hot or plagued by vexing thunderstorms.

For the knights clad in heavy armor, the long journey was a constant burden that ordinary people could hardly imagine.

But not one of them uttered a single word of complaint.

In Gregor city, which they were rapidly approaching, Oliver was unaware of the exact time his former subordinates would arrive. He didn’t even know if any knights would truly be willing to abandon everything and follow him again… but he had decided to wait in Gregor city nonetheless.

According to his original plan, he should have already returned to Laina city by now to preside over its Summer Market.

This was not Fosse’s request. In fact, Fosse always prioritized his wishes and didn’t think the knights who were very likely to answer his summons were so important that the noble Young Highness needed to welcome them personally.

Although Fosse disliked leaving the Young Highness’s side one bit, at the very least, with him holding down the fort in Gregor city, His Highness Oliver could go wherever he pleased.

There was another, hidden reason behind Fosse’s consideration: safety.

After Count McKenna’s death, Calward’s flight to Riche city to seek asylum had undoubtedly made the relationship between Gregor city and Riche city delicate and tense.

Although merchants could still travel freely between the two cities, and Welph, the lord of Riche city, showed no signs of raising an army to attack him, Fosse had secretly raised his guard and strengthened the defensive forces of Gregor’s domain.

Among the three cities that now belonged to Oliver, Laina was actually the safest. It had only two roads leading to the outside world—one connecting to Albury, the other to Gregor.

Gregor’s well-connected transportation network also meant it was dangerously difficult to defend; Albury had to guard against threats from the three mining cities; only Laina, as long as it guarded these two cities that served as its gates, was the most stable source of support.

“While I appreciate the thought,” Oliver said with a slight smile, politely declining Fosse’s kind offer, “welcoming the arrival of the knights who are still unwilling to give up on me and have chosen to continue following me is more important.”

Their loyalty alone, willing to travel a thousand miles to find him, was a treasure he had to cherish and value immensely.

Hearing Oliver’s words, Fosse’s lips moved, but in the end, he did not press the matter.

He could understand, of course.

The Young Highness’s heart, which valued his subordinates so dearly, was precious enough to move and delight his loyal knights.

He, who had monopolized that heart for over a year, should not deprive the other knights of their right to it.

Besides… the more grateful and moved the knights were toward the Young Highness, the more loyal they would be, which would only benefit the Young Highness.

Having successfully persuaded Fosse, Oliver stayed in Gregor city with peace of mind.

Most affairs were handled by the extremely capable Fosse and Spire, but he was by no means idle with nothing to do.

With the intentions of the royal capital and Riche city still unclear, he planned to focus Gregor city’s efforts on road construction—specifically, the road to Laina.

He had previously put the Laina-to-Gregor road on hold, partly because he didn’t want to benefit Gregor’s lord and let McKenna reap the rewards, and partly because he worried McKenna might harbor ill intentions and disrupt his plans.

Now, he could proceed without restraint. If construction started from both ends simultaneously, the time required for the project could be greatly reduced.

Spire was in charge of trade, so he didn’t need to worry much about it. Unlike Albury and Laina, Gregor city, as the largest city in the south, had long since developed a very mature system.

Oliver didn’t even need to gild the lily by ordering the creation of a signature product like Laina’s animal husbandry or Albury’s fine wine.

This was the joy of a lie-flat win.

The hardworking lord, who hadn’t had such a relaxing day since he transmigrated, thought with satisfaction.

This was the first time he could enjoy the fruits of labor so comfortably—which was also why, for the past few hundred years, even someone as useless as McKenna could indulge in pleasure.

Besides its vast farmlands and rich forest resources, the simple fact that the domain was in an excellent geographical location meant a steady stream of merchants would flock to it, creating huge profits for them.

After looking through Gregor city’s tax ledgers, Oliver came to a profound realization: Albury, which had just suffered a devastating catastrophe and was in a special situation, could be set aside for now. But Laina, though steadily on the path to escaping poverty, simply had too few people.

This referred not only to slaves but also to freemen. Of course, the domain’s residents couldn’t be blamed. In the recent years of rampant famine, simply ‘staying alive’ had become the most difficult task.

For slaves, it meant ever-dwindling food rations, ever-heavier farm work, and ever-colder winters.

For commoners, it meant increasingly unbearable taxes, diminishing harvests from their own land, and more and more conscriptions and labor services from the lord.

A slave had only a worthless life to lose, and no one cared when it was gone. Only the steward might complain a little, waiting to buy more cheap new slaves the next year. A commoner would be forced to sell their property piece by piece until they sold their freedom, then, after a desperate struggle to survive, die silently as a slave.

One more mouth to feed meant one less sliver of hope for survival.

If not for the complete lack of contraceptive methods in this era, there probably wouldn’t have been any newborns at all.

In fact, their arrival was rarely welcomed and only brought worried frowns from their parents; a pregnant woman couldn’t do much work.

What’s more, one more person meant one more tax to pay, and food was becoming increasingly scarce…

In such a harsh living environment, for one or two out of ten severely malnourished infants to grow up was already considered lucky.

But after Oliver arrived in Laina, as the famine was resolved and food gradually became plentiful, the residents’ happiness increased dramatically, and the population saw its most vigorous growth in the past fifty years.

Of course, in Oliver’s eyes, this was still far from enough.

“Take the batch of building materials for Laina’s new city wall and use them to expand the town’s residential area first.”

That night, as Oliver dictated, the Cat God moved in perfect sync.

He earnestly directed a small ball of golden mist—one of the new “uses” for the Cat God that the blond lord had recently discovered—making the golden mist nimbly “pinch” a quill pen and begin recording Oliver’s words on paper. “For defense, we have Albury and Gregor. Building the city wall is too slow and not cost-effective, so it can be postponed…”

Laina city was the starting point of all his territories, the place most deeply marked by him, and where the populace’s loyalty was highest.

Even if external conditions limited its development and Laina could never become the richest or most powerful domain, in Oliver’s eyes, it was the perfect testing ground for new policies.

Especially after screening the first batch of divine (grassroots) personnel (cadres), the execution of his new directives was even more deeply guaranteed.

“To encourage childbirth, we must provide more benefits and reduce the burden on working parents.” Oliver thought aloud, muttering to himself as he had the Cat God help him draft his plans. “We need to establish nurseries to take in children under six for free. Slaves’ and freemen’s children should be cared for separately, and female employees should be prioritized. Then, we’ll build an affiliated school in the church area and select teachers from the first batch of Divine Attendants… Hmm, not too fast. Forget it, delete that line. We’ll wait until next year for that, when we have more people and their knowledge base is more solid.”

The cat-eared secretary stared solemnly at the paper, his fluffy, pointed ears twitching slightly.

The ball of golden mist deftly spun around and “erased” that line.

After He, who was in charge of recording, had finished the fourth sheet of paper, the dictating Oliver stopped without any warning.

Huh?

The cat-eared secretary, who had unwittingly become engrossed in this seemingly tedious but actually quite addictive work, couldn’t help but lift his eyes and glance at Oliver with a hint of confusion and prompting.

What’s the next sentence?

He saw the handsome, blond lord smiling, deliberately using a casual tone to speak the last two sentences that needed to be recorded for the night: “The Cat God is the cutest, and, hmm…”

“I will always like the Cat God the most.”

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