Lord of Rot

Black Pig collapsed to the ground. Blood stained his face, half-buried in the mud, and pooled on the earth beneath him.

His heavy breaths stirred the pool, creating a small dip. When his breathing stopped, the blood settled, filling it in.

The distant slaves watched the scene unfold. Seeing Ark holding the blood-red rock, they froze in fear.

”Gather everyone here,” Leech said.

Ark’s two sons scurried away, trembling. Soon, all the slaves had gathered. They stared fearfully at the Baron’s boots, as if trying to count the specks of dust on them. The weight of their station, of ”class,” pressed down on their heads, preventing them from looking up.

Black Pig’s body lay prone, the blood slowly turning black.

Everyone was silent. Death was a stark reminder of fear, and now that they had full bellies, no one wanted to die.

”In Porcupine Territory, a slave does not have to be a person with nothing. Although you are slaves, I will permit the top three producers from next year’s harvest to own private property!” Riding high on his horse, his gaze swept over faces where even mud couldn’t conceal their fear. ”Here, even slaves can have their own grain! I, Leech Clarence, Baron Porcupine, promise you this: next year, the three with the largest harvests will receive one-tenth of what they produce!”

The slaves began to whisper among themselves. The murmurs grew louder, swelling into a clamor.

Ark, still holding the bloodstained boulder, watched with a wry smile. He understood it was time for him to play the part of the overseer. ”Silence!”

The bloody rock lent his breathless shout an undeniable authority.

’I will play the part of a vicious and cruel overseer. Under the benevolent Baron’s leadership, the slaves will despise me, which will only make them more loyal to their master, Leech.’

’Ark now also understood Leech’s earlier words. Perhaps the Baron really had intended to prop up Black Pig as the overseer. To a nobleman, it didn’t matter who took the role.’

’It was only Ark’s own ferocity, and the farmers’ misjudgment, that led to him striking the first blow and killing Black Pig.’

’A nobleman needs a dog that barks.’

Facing the slaves, their eyes now burning with fervor, Leech said, ”So, get to reclaiming the fields. You will live better lives here.”

He squeezed his legs against his horse’s belly. ”Giddy-up!”

The fiery-maned horse trotted away, leaving behind the impassioned slaves and the cold corpse on the ground.

...

A black raven spread its wings, darting swiftly through the forest.

The yellowing leaves created a natural flight-training course.

After flying for some time, it landed on a branch, lifted its left wing, and began to preen.

「Inside Porcupine Castle」

Baron Leech’s consciousness returned to his body.

He had deliberately released a free-ranging raven and cast the ’Eagle Eye’ Magic on it. Unfortunately, the raven’s untamable nature meant Baron Leech often saw things he’d rather not, like the bird eating insects.

The mental strain from ’Eagle Eye’ wasn’t severe. It was roughly equivalent to holding his breath and concentrating on reading a geography book about Lu Leiyi, forcing himself to memorize most of the tongue-twisting place names. This level of exhaustion could be recovered from with just a sip of strong tea and a short nap.

His steward, Simon, knocked and entered.

”Forgive my interruption, my lord.” Simon’s expression showed not the slightest hint of apology.

”What is it?”

”You are the most generous lord I have ever met.”

Simon continued, ”Although I am merely your steward, I still feel I must remind you that the grain you had me purchase has almost all been snatched—ah, that is to say, *borrowed*—by the farmers of Porcupine Territory.”

He chose his words carefully, but Leech could still detect the deliberate slip of the tongue—the initial, wrong word left in to express his disapproval.

”Did you do as I instructed?” Leech asked, lifting his teacup. Ever since a young maid had been praised for discovering a wild chrysanthemum plant, the castle servants had all learned of their lord’s peculiar habit of drinking tea brewed from strange flowers and herbs. After their relentless searching, a new type of tea now sat on Leech’s desk.

This one tasted similar to jasmine but was a vibrant red. It was perfect for cleansing a greasy gut.

”Of course. I had my men follow your instructions to the letter,” Simon nodded. ”There was a limit on the amount each person could borrow, and families with more people could borrow more grain. But because of that, they even counted nursing infants as part of their household... Your grain has now been transformed into stacks of paper IOUs.”

”Well, at least we saved ourselves the trouble of a census,” Leech said, half-joking, but the stern-faced steward’s expression remained unchanged.

”Alright,” Leech said. ”We lend them grain now, and next year they will repay us 1.3 times the amount. Besides, every person in Porcupine Territory is my private property. If this makes money and helps them survive the winter, why wouldn’t I do it?”

”That’s assuming they actually have a good harvest next year,” the steward hesitated for a moment before continuing. ”Porcupine Territory might have been forsaken by the Four Gods. Not much grain can be grown here. The farmers know this, which is why they came to the castle to borrow as much as they could. They’re banking on your kindness.”

”They will have a good harvest,” Leech said with absolute certainty.

’If he didn’t want a portion of the population to starve to death this year, he had to find a solution. The commoners of Porcupine Territory were his property, even in death. He had to weigh the trade-offs between grain and population. The initial stages of development are always fraught with problems, and the ’benevolent Baron’ didn’t want anyone to starve—they were all his labor force.’

’Advances in farming methods, along with fertilizer, would make a huge difference.’

’Of course, the most important factor was that the Baron currently looked down on the meager income from tenant rents in Porcupine Territory. If his research into the ’Pill of Life Grass’ was successful, he would have a massive new source of revenue.’

’The research was nearing its final stages. He just needed to keep weakening the pill’s potency until it was just strong enough to ’pitch a tent.’’

Seeing that the steward was about to say more, Leech raised a hand to cut him off. ”Those plows. How are the slaves managing with them?”

”Your wisdom is enough to make the Celestial Father himself marvel!” Simon exclaimed with genuine admiration. ”That miraculous device is so much faster than digging holes by hand. Two slaves working together can do the work of ten! Those slaves are even asking for permission to clear more wasteland.”

”While I’m pleased to see their enthusiasm, we’ll hold off on clearing more land for now.” Leech shook his head, denying the slaves’ request. ”They’re trying to win by clearing as much land as possible. What I want is for them to take good care of the existing farmland—meticulous care, not wasted land. Tell Ark. He’ll know what to do.”

’It wasn’t possible to use all the land for crops. According to Leech’s plans, Porcupine Territory would need further development and planning down the line, not just farming.’

’With too much land, they wouldn’t have enough people to manage it all. In the end, they’d just plant the seeds and let the fields grow wild, and the result would be no better than this year’s autumn harvest.’

’Besides, in their desperation to come in first, the slaves might resort to drastic measures.’

’If they can’t be first, they might make sure no one else can be first either. Stealing, sabotaging, or worse... He needed to give Ark a heads-up so he could take precautions early on.’

’Death could control the slaves, but it would also stifle development. There had to be proper guidance, a way to inspire vigor while not forgetting punishment and discipline.’

”Yes, my lord,” the steward nodded.

Ever since the new Baron had woken from his coma, the steward had noticed he seemed like a completely different person. His thinking was more unconventional, more dynamic, and he had an endless supply of new ideas.

Of course, there were also some unwelcome changes, such as his increased tolerance for the servants’ mistakes and his excessive benevolence. If he hadn’t heard that the Baron had executed a slave who led a strike, he would have worried Porcupine Castle wouldn’t survive a second winter. A ruthless lord might not make his territory rich, but an overly kind and weak lord would surely be unable to hold onto his land.

The appearance of the plow was destined to accelerate agricultural development. Of course, the design would likely be copied by others soon enough, but that wasn’t important.

Leech had discovered that the soil in Porcupine Territory was heavy and damp. A light plow couldn’t break deep enough into the earth, requiring several passes to turn the soil. In some areas, a person even had to stand on the plow, using their body weight to force it into the ground. A heavy plow would be more suitable than a light one, but everything had to be done in stages. For now, Porcupine Territory lacked the animal draft power to use heavy plows.