HTLCCBFT Chapter 12

Has The Lord’s Career Chart Been Filled Today? – Chapter 12

After teaching the new prayer song—the “Cat God Song” that never failed to amuse Oliver, the only one who knew the truth—he did not further promote the divine revelation of the God of Wealth.

Instead, he allowed this new faith to slowly ferment in the hearts of the ignorant yet devout serfs.

First, it was unnecessary; second, there were no suitable personnel available; and third… he simply had no time to devise a complete set of commandments.

Most importantly, his current influence was still too weak.

The remoteness and desolation of Laina City, while hindering its development, provided the perfect protection for his sweeping reforms.

Of course, Oliver dared to introduce the name of the God of Wealth so early because the religious background of the kingdom now ruled by King Cameron was not particularly extreme or absolute.

Across nearly fifty territories in the kingdom, there were at least eight different faiths.

Although the followers of the God of Light, ‘Sang,’ held the largest influence, with the most temples and adherents, and even wielded some authority in the royal capital and court, they were far from monopolizing discourse and lacked the power to persecute heretics.

—Even the old king, who had died under mysterious circumstances, had not worshipped the God of Light but instead revered ‘War,’ the legendary deity of battle.

This was likely the political wisdom employed by successive generations of the royal family to balance the influence of various faiths.

In any case, although Laina City had once been included within the sphere of influence of the Temple of Light, it had been completely abandoned by them a year earlier.

Compared to the Temple of Light, which, aside from collecting extra taxes and forcing them to pray at the temple weekly, only offered additional assistance—such as medical care—to the wealthy or nobles who could afford higher prices…

The miracles frequently displayed by the Angel Duke were clearly the ones that could truly bring hope and prosperity to their lives.

“Ah, great Lord of Wealth, benevolent ‘Cat God,'”

Jonathan couldn’t help but sing.

Even without Oliver sending anyone to deliberately guide them, the serfs had firmly memorized the prayer song from that day.

At the end of each day, when families gathered to rest and eat, or before going to sleep, they would spontaneously sing it, firmly believing they drew hope for happiness from it.

What concerned Oliver most at the moment was quickly leveling up his professional skills to unlock advanced tools and more recipes sooner.

Unfortunately, the most crucial “Farmer” skill could only gain experience through harvesting crops. No matter how impatient Oliver was, he had to patiently wait for the first batch of corn to mature in 14 days.

As for basic tasks like clearing weeds and tilling land…

After secretly observing for several days, Oliver concluded that while the serfs’ efficiency couldn’t compare to his with game tools, their numbers made up for it.

Moreover, they were experienced and exceptionally hardworking.

In truth, the serfs were now filled with boundless strength from their newfound faith and deep gratitude toward the lord who continually bestowed boons.

With butler Fosse, following Oliver’s instructions, opening the granary so even serfs could eat until 80% full, people no longer worked with the lifeless sluggishness that even whips could scarcely accelerate. Not only had they become much more proactive and earnest in their actions, but their eyes now brimmed with vibrant vitality.

Although Oliver didn’t understand the deeper implications, seeing them work busily yet orderly and produce decent results, he stopped competing for fieldwork after sowing the last of the corn seeds—after all, it wouldn’t grant him any experience points.

The fact that his beloved young master no longer stubbornly insisted on wielding a hoe in the fields undoubtedly brought a sigh of relief to the steward, Fosse, and unconsciously improved his impression of the slaves.

Of course, Oliver would never remain idle.

In fact, in his eyes, there was no shortage of things in Laina City that he wanted to do—and that only he could accomplish.

From the sixth day of his arrival in Laina City, Oliver’s life settled into a relatively fixed routine: he woke up promptly at dawn, first checking on the cornfield through the window, then washing up, changing clothes, and having breakfast before heading to the river with his familiar entourage.

He typically spent the first half of his day fishing.

When he saw his stamina bar nearing empty, he would have the servants prepare some of the fish right by the river—either grilling them on the spot or making soup. Once his stamina bar recovered past the halfway mark, the remaining fish were loaded onto a carriage and brought back to the castle by the servants. Aside from the two reserved for dinner, the rest were distributed as extra meals for those laboring in the fields.

Oliver spent his afternoons entirely in the woods: the wild fruits on the ground had already been thoroughly gathered by the slaves, but the branches laden with abundant fruit remained untouched, as no one dared to climb for them.

Seeing that most of the fruits were still unripe, Oliver was in no hurry to allow his subordinates to collect them.

As for himself, he no longer felt any envy for the relatively troublesome and inefficient method of gaining experience points through fruit-picking.

Oliver leisurely strolled through the vast woods with Steward Fosse and the others.

He inspected trees of various sizes, thicknesses, and species, much like a king reviewing the soldiers of his army.

Steward Fosse’s gaze never left his relaxed young master, though inwardly, he felt a growing unease.

Perhaps it was because, in recent days, the Duke, who had received divine revelations, had performed so many miracles—always catching him by surprise.

Now, this sudden tranquility… instead made him apprehensive.

Meanwhile, the fully armed knights, led by Noel, remained vigilant from start to finish.[mfn]Raws indicate two different names (诺尔 vs 诺亚/ Noah vs Noel), but in context it seems to be a typo of Noel’s name (this happens a few times).[/mfn]

Even though they were within their own territory, the obstructed view among the trees kept them solemnly scanning their surroundings, ever ready to eliminate any potential danger as if on a battlefield.

“This is the spot.”

Oliver suddenly halted, reached out to touch the sturdy tree trunk, and murmured to himself.

Intermittently, it had taken him three entire afternoons to fully explore the vast woods surrounding the outskirts of Laina City.

The trees on the southeastern side received the most abundant sunlight and rainfall, almost uniformly in their perfect maturity.

Just like the oak tree Oliver was now caressing—it was likely over two hundred years old, in the prime of its life.

Encased in rough, thick bark covered with vertical fissures was a massive trunk so stout it would take two people to wrap their arms around it. Countless branches hung heavy with plump acorns, enough to make the wild boars in the forest drool with envy.

Oak trees are good, Oliver thought to himself. With its moisture-proof, insect-resistant, and sturdy characteristics… large timber is an ideal building material. Even if it would be too extravagant to construct an entire house from such material, it could at least be used to make the main pillars supporting the structure.

As for the smaller pieces, they could be dried and stored to provide firewood for winter heating.

Most importantly, this was a treasure that could provide him with a large amount of “foraging” experience points. Thanks to the level 1 foraging skill, it was guaranteed to drop 1-3 seeds after being chopped down and would regenerate within a month.

Just as the attendants stood frozen, utterly bewildered by their lord’s words, Oliver cheerfully took out a seemingly ordinary iron axe from his game backpack.

“Step back a bit.”

After giving this simple instruction, Oliver gripped the axe with his right hand and swung it forcefully at the tall, imposing oak tree that inspired awe!

Fosse and the others: “!!!”

As usual, Oliver was dressed in the most practical attire for movement, having casually rolled up his sleeves beforehand. A small section of his slender, jade-like arm was exposed, so pale it was dazzling.

Yet it was these seemingly delicate arms and an unremarkable iron axe that, with just one simple swing and a dull “thud,” visibly shook the majestic tree!

Although they logically understood that the suddenly appearing axe must also be a gift from the God of Wealth, witnessing the bizarre scene of this “angelic beauty swinging an axe to chop down a tree” made everyone involuntarily show astonished expressions.

This was even more starkly contrasting than when he had wielded a hoe to till the land.

What just happened?!

While they were gaping in shock, Oliver had already deftly withdrawn the axe that had cleaved a large gash in the tree trunk.

Just as expected.

Oliver smiled with satisfaction.

Just like when he used the hoe to till the land, the axe felt weightless in his hands, and chopping the tree was as easy as slicing through melons and vegetables.

He didn’t even feel the slightest bit of recoil in his palms.

—Chopping trees was probably as addictive as plowing the land had been.

Amid the dead silence of the crowd, only the tree trembled as if shivering, its branches rustling continuously with faint “swishing” sounds.

And this golden-haired angel with a beautiful face but ferocious actions swung the axe without hesitation a second time, a third time, a fourth time…

Each swing of the axe landed precisely on the same gash.

The crack grew larger and deeper, and the seemingly immovable massive oak tree, under the relentless violent strikes, emitted tearing “creaks” and struggled, tilting uncontrollably in the opposite direction.

Oliver maintained a steady rhythm in his axe swings, completely unaffected by its pitiful state.

Finally, after the tenth violent collision between the axe and the tree trunk, the towering oak tree silently lamented and crashed to the ground with a thunderous roar.

Oliver instinctively withdrew the axe.

Then, the next moment, under the awed gazes of everyone, the thick tree trunk that had just been in their sight vanished into thin air! Behind this utterly astonishing scene lay 50 pieces of lumber quietly stored in Oliver’s game backpack, along with 2 oak tree seeds collected through the influence of his “foraging” skill.

As for what remained scattered around the massive oak stump with countless growth rings after the trunk vanished—those were numerous branches of various sizes that the game system didn’t recognize as qualified ‘lumber’.

Oliver only paused briefly before quickly regaining his composure.

He cast an uninterested glance at the pile of branches before fixing his gaze back on the remaining large stump.

—That represented 2% experience points and 10 pieces of lumber, after all.

Of course, Oliver wasn’t about to let that go.

Amid his attendants’ frozen expressions, this Angel Duke so deeply favored by God picked up his axe again without changing his expression and swung it down without the slightest hesitation.

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TL Note: I forgot to mention, I’ll be trying to update daily at minimum.