HTLCCBFT Chapter 199

Has The Lord’s Career Chart Been Filled Today? – Chapter 199

When the golden morning light streamed into the lavish bedroom of the Lord of Gregor City, Oliver quietly opened his eyes.

After a brief moment of emptiness, divine light gradually gathered in his sapphire blue pupils.

As memories of that “dream” slowly returned, the confusion in his heart only grew stronger.

Why did that mysterious deity pull him into what seemed to be the divine realm while the cat god was sleeping, yet never show himself?

When he approached the deepest part of the divine temple to glimpse the other’s true appearance, he was instantly knocked unconscious… What could be the purpose behind such a repetitive attitude?

Unfortunately, no matter how much he wanted answers, he could never fathom the intentions of a god.

After some contemplation, Oliver instinctively turned to look at the beautiful deity sleeping peacefully beside him, completely still, and felt somewhat reassured.

It hadn’t been long since Deyth had forcibly taken him away, causing the cat god to become enraged. He truly didn’t want this pure and lovely deity to risk himself or get hurt for his sake again.

Forget it.

Suppressing his confusion, Oliver got up and changed out of his sleepwear.

At least the other party didn’t seem malicious: given the immense power displayed by that magnificent divine temple alone, if that mysterious deity wanted to completely destroy the soul of a mere human like him, it would probably require nothing more than a simple thought.

With such an enormous disparity in power and no means to resist, Oliver instead felt calmer.

If he was forced to return to that temple during his rest tonight… he might as well not waste time and investigate thoroughly.

“I’ll go attend to my duties now.”

After dressing and washing up, Oliver couldn’t resist returning to the bedside before leaving, leaning down to kiss the “sleeping beauty’s” forehead.

The pale golden eyelashes fluttered gently like butterfly wings, casting a charming shadow on the pure white eyelids.

He said with a smile, “I hope you wake up soon, dear cat god.”

Meanwhile, in Fosse’s eyes, the young master appeared much more energetic today than yesterday.

After leisurely finishing breakfast, Oliver glanced toward the north gate where the knights still hadn’t appeared, then said to the butler with a smile:

“I’d like to go to the forest today to cut some trees and gather more lumber… Oh, and have them leave the remaining old city walls and stone pillars for me to dismantle personally tomorrow.

Fosse was slightly taken aback but didn’t question it, instead obediently bowing and replying, “As you wish.”

This even saved Oliver the trouble of explaining that “this is another trial from the great cat god.”

Seeing the young lord in good spirits, Fosse was quite satisfied.

Meeting no discouragement whatsoever, Oliver only needed to take a few attendants and headed to the densest part of the forest, feeling equally satisfied.

As he walked, he surveyed the area for the best spot to begin.

Once selected, he signaled his attendants to step back, then calmly took an axe from his game backpack and swung it at the enormous tree trunk.

Those accompanying the golden-haired lord were all long-serving servants accustomed to his ways.

But other residents of Gregor who happened to witness this strange scene in the forest were utterly stunned on the spot.

Under Oliver’s sweeping reforms, the forest and river resources of the three cities under his governance were fully opened to the people of the territory. As long as resources were used in moderation, no additional fees were required.

To avoid arousing external vigilance and internal noble backlash too quickly, Oliver did not simply and drastically reduce the poll tax. Instead, he continuously increased various benefits, indirectly alleviating the people’s living burdens.

For example, he reduced commercial taxes, lowered the prices of imported goods, encouraged consumption, and boosted trade flow. He also abolished the outdated rule that forced the people to use the mill for grinding flour and pay one-fifteenth of their wheat as a fee. Instead, the castle provided a fixed monthly salary, allowing the mill to operate free of charge for the people. Additionally, serfs were permitted to accept employment from freemen during their free time after completing their daily assigned tasks. By offering high salaries to hire craftsmen for urban reconstruction, freemen applying for ordinary positions were also given short-term technical training to acquire basic entry-level skills. Public hospitals were established to improve medical care, and research funding and generous salaries were provided to scholars with research potential. Furthermore, a divine temple for the cat god was built, urban areas were expanded, and affordable housing of such high quality—beyond the wildest dreams of the impoverished lower class, often regarded as “ants”—was provided, bringing tears to their eyes…

Among these changes, the largest groups, the lower-middle-class freemen and serfs, undoubtedly benefited the most.

Everything that left people dazzled was only the beginning.

When this new city, whose complete blueprint was currently known only to the lord, truly completed its transformation and stood on this land with a brand-new appearance, they would be even more astonished by the public facilities that far surpassed those of any other city in the world.

Even without knowing how fortunate their future would be, most people, who had never lived such a good life, already felt genuinely content.

It was morning, and the serfs were still toiling in the fields. Those who could come to the forest were undoubtedly freemen with no immediate tasks at hand.

Apart from a few carpenters who brought helpers to cut the necessary lumber, the majority were women.

Since the forest might harbor snakes and small predators, they rarely ventured out alone. Instead, they waited until they had four or five companions, then brought handwoven bamboo baskets or small crates to gather wild fruits in the forest.

Of course, before people were allowed to enter, the first two batches of the earliest ripening, largest, and highest-quality fruits in the forest had already been harvested by the castle staff. They were carefully packed into wooden barrels, stored properly, and then transported as quickly as possible to the “Wine City” of Albury to become part of the raw materials for winemaking.

A small portion that was inconvenient to preserve was locally brewed into fruit wine, supplied exclusively to the city’s residents.

Oliver had long decided to retain distilled liquor as a unique specialty of Albury, while the brewing methods for other types of alcohol did not need to be kept secret.

This approach maximized the use of local seasonal wild fruit resources and largely satisfied the local demand for alcohol, a highly popular product.

After all, those who insisted on pursuing luxuries like distilled spirits were only a minority in Gregor City.

Although most freemen had decent incomes, it was considered quite extravagant if they were willing to spend a month’s hard-earned savings to buy just two or three barrels of reprocessed fruit wine.

The happier people’s lives became, the more grateful they felt toward the great God and the lord blessed with divine favor.

But now…

Women wearing stain-resistant gray linen dresses, with sturdy arms carrying bamboo baskets, stared in stunned disbelief.

They exchanged glances, then instinctively made the same movement—rubbing their eyes.

Great cat god, what were they seeing!

When they opened their eyes again, they still saw that noble lord, radiant like sunlight… tirelessly wielding an axe to chop wood while his attendants stood by watching idly. They could no longer remain calm.

“God,” someone gasped, completely unable to accept it, “How can His Highness do such exhausting work!”

What she didn’t dare say aloud was—that lord’s slender, pale arms might only be half as thick as hers!

The scene was so shocking that everyone unconsciously overlooked one thing.

…While the golden-haired lord chopped at the tree trunk without blinking, he not only consistently struck the exact same spot with identical swing angles, but his expression also appeared completely relaxed.

In contrast to his ease and naturalness, the tree trunk receiving the axe blows reacted quite violently.

“Thud, thud, thud.”

The massive trunk, thick enough to require three people to embrace, should not have been easily shaken by a single axe.

Yet with each strike, the entire tree shuddered suddenly, branches shaking and leaves rustling like rainfall, as if a burly man were trembling under a child’s kicks.

After some hushed discussion, the leader gathered her courage and prepared to approach.

Of course, she didn’t dare speak directly to the lord who seemed immersed in his work, but she could ask the servants whether they would permit them to serve His Highness.

Before she could take small steps closer, the attendants who had already noticed their presence cast scrutinizing glances.

Fosse merely gave them a brief glance before indifferently looking away.

Seeing the butler’s unconcerned demeanor, the attendants remained motionless, making no move to drive them away.

“Woman, come no closer.”

As she suddenly approached, the footman Johan frowned and quietly stopped her.

“P-please forgive me.”

She nervously gripped the rough, splintered handle of her wooden basket, whispering, “I just wanted to ask if—”

Before she could finish.

“CRASH”

A sound that seemed earth-shattering to their ears—making them instinctively scream while leaving the attendants unfazed—suddenly erupted beside them.

Her eyes widened in shock.

The wooden basket in her hand fell pitifully to the ground.

Similarly fallen was the large tree that the golden-haired lord had chopped ten times with his seemingly delicate and weak arms.

It could no longer hold on, collapsing thunderously under the women’s bewildered gazes.

The heavy tree crashed to the ground with a resounding thud, stirring up layers of dust formed from centuries of accumulated fallen leaves.

Oliver, long accustomed to this task, paid no mind to the strangers—especially since they were his own subjects observing—nor was he disturbed by their sudden screams.

Almost the instant the tree fell, he took a step back and stored both the dozens of lumber pieces and two oak tree seeds into his system backpack, which had been mostly emptied for this purpose.

Once this fluid, cloud-like motion was complete, he nonchalantly continued swinging his axe at the remaining stump.

Soon, under their numb and bewildered gazes, the massive stump cracked and shattered, vanishing without a trace in an instant.

In place of the former tree stood two peculiar small green saplings on the patch of land.

One must never forget to plant trees after cutting them down.

After collecting the last bits of lumber, Oliver casually planted the two oak seeds he had just obtained.

Then, the lord reliving old memories calmly moved toward the next large tree and once again raised his merciless axe.

It was only then that Johan found a moment to turn his head and coldly inquire of the stunned woman, “What is it?”

She stood frozen for a long time, until Johan was nearly impatient, before mechanically turning her stiff neck and weakly uttering, “…Nothing. I’m very sorry, I… disturbed you.”

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