Lord of Rot

In the early morning, the sun crested Pig Spine Valley, peeking its bright red head out from the mountaintop.

As the morning light spilled down, two carriages, one behind the other and escorted by a dozen soldiers, made their way out of Porcupine Territory.

The residents lined the road to see them off.

It was Baron Leech’s carriage.

Strangely, however, a massive Corpse Demon Giant Lizard with yellow and red scales lay sprawled across the carriage, gently swaying its head, yet not a single person seemed to notice its presence.

The occasional person who glanced at it would immediately look away.

Amidst this bizarrely enthusiastic atmosphere, the convoy departed into the distance.

”My Lord is the most benevolent lord I have ever met,”

Gelan remarked, watching Leech’s carriage depart. ”He never seeks pleasure. Instead, he spends his nights deep in thought, inventing so many wondrous things for Porcupine Territory.”

”Yes,” agreed Joe, who stood beside him, also watching the procession with reverence. He nodded emphatically.

For other nobles, small gatherings every three days and a large party every five were perfectly normal.

Banquets, balls, catching up, making small talk—there was always some reason.

Just look at Kro Camel, drinking and bragging all day, every day.

Nobles were already the upper crust of society. All they had to do each day was think about how to enjoy themselves.

But Baron Leech was completely different. He never held any banquets. The one or two celebrations he did have were for the entire Porcupine Territory. In their eyes, Leech was like an ascetic from a monastery, concerned only with building houses, paving roads, planting crops, and raising pigs.

He cared about grains and vegetables, the work of the blacksmiths, the brickyard, and the carpenters. He paid attention to the market’s operations, to brewing, honey, soap... and so on.

No noble would enjoy doing such things.

Some knights lording over small villages would rather let everyone in their territory starve, or even launch a ”righteous plunder” of their own, than ever stoop to caring about the lowly task of planting crops.

To work the land was to be baseborn.

There had even been multiple instances in history of a lord ordering his knights to farm the land, only for the furious knights to rebel and kill him.

Just as nobles would only eat food that grew above ground, they would never eat anything that grew beneath it.

A few farmers might secretly plant potatoes, but it was officially forbidden. Every plot of land belonged to a noble. You planted what you were told to plant. If the crops failed, you starved. It was that simple.

Leech, however, had no such scruples. He was an avid foodie with a head full of recipes.

’Aren’t mashed potatoes delicious? And a side of fries, sprinkled with salt and pepper, can bring a whole afternoon of joy.’

That was why Gelan and the others were so surprised when they saw Leech finally decide to leave Porcupine Territory.

’The lord is finally going out to do what a proper nobleman should? What a relief.’

The carriage swayed onward.

Leech had no idea that in his subordinates’ eyes, he was such a ”noble” person.

’Parties?’

’What’s the fun in a bunch of nobles having an orgy?’

’I know my own weaknesses. After testing my limits, I understood that I’d probably fail when faced with a beautiful woman. Better to just avoid the situation entirely.’

’Besides, farming and infrastructure are way more interesting. A year ago, Porcupine Territory had 200 people who couldn’t get enough to eat or properly clothe themselves. Now, it’s a territory of over 2,000. Everyone has food, everyone has a job, the people are prosperous, and the territory is strong. Isn’t the joy you get from that kind of harvest much more interesting than some orgy?’

In Baron Leech’s eyes, the sense of accomplishment from watching his territory grow stronger step by step was unparalleled.

His destination this time was Burning City, the great metropolis built upon a volcano.

From Guy’s memories of his life, Leech had long since developed a keen interest in the Roundtable. A dozen or so Transcendents gathered there, and perhaps each one was backed by a power comparable to Shanzhang Castle.

’Are these people lawful evil, like Guy, or chaotic evil?’

Unfortunately, Guy had only attended one meeting of the Roundtable, so he didn’t know much about the gathering itself.

Leech had made ample preparations for this trip.

He brought only a small retinue of soldiers with him, along with two carriages.

Sprawled atop one of the carriages was the Corpse Demon Giant Lizard.

However, an artifact called the Pot of Invisibility was placed upside down on its head. After many attempts, Leech had managed to make the Corpse Demon Giant Lizard ”disappear” completely. He also had to use his Spiritual Power to maintain control over the Corpse Ghost; otherwise, he himself would forget the creature was even there.

A monster that massive was sprawled on the carriage, yet no one sensed anything amiss.

Artifacts were just that magical and captivating. Leech was fascinated by their existence, but there were no detailed records of their origins. The occasional vague text he found was of no real value.

Back at Longship Castle, he had left the ”Stoneman,” Corpse Ghost Nils, to handle things as they arose. Meanwhile, the Transcendent Corpse Ghosts, Aina and Guy, had also received his orders and were heading to the rendezvous point.

They would take a ferry south from Waterfall Land. It seemed like a detour, but traveling by boat would save a great deal of time.

...

The docks.

A large ferry was moored at the pier.

The Corpse Demon Giant Lizard lifted a claw onto the ferry, trying to climb aboard.

But the boat was already laden with people, carriages, and cargo. With the added weight of the massive creature, it began to sink, unable to bear the load. The people on board thought it was strange but couldn’t figure out why the boat was taking on water as it looked ready to go under.

Leech had no choice but to quickly command the Corpse Demon Giant Lizard to slip into the water. The boat immediately bobbed back up.

”My Lord, this...”

”AHEM.” Leech cleared his throat. ”Quick, help bail out the water,” he ordered.

After a flurry of activity, the ferry finally got moving. Beneath it, the Corpse Demon Giant Lizard followed closely along the hull, just like a sea monster.

Their voyage would take several more days.

During that time, Leech had to split his focus, constantly controlling the Corpse Demon Giant Lizard swimming below.

After all, Baron Leech never fought a battle he wasn’t prepared to win. He didn’t know much about the Roundtable, but he suspected conflict was not only possible, but probable.

That being the case, he needed to gather all the Extraordinary power he could muster.

...

「Longship Castle. The study.」

Lady Jie Lin caressed her gently rounded belly.

Without the Monkey Clan causing trouble behind the scenes, Waterfall Land had gained a rare peace, and everything was recovering in an orderly fashion.

Furthermore, with money from Shanzhang Castle and the ”selfless help” of its craftsmen, the speed of recovery was visible to the naked eye.

Waterfall Land was not a barren place like Porcupine Territory. With just a little management, it could generate immense wealth.

Guy had informed Lady Jie Lin a couple of days ago that he had to leave for a while.

With that eyesore gone, her mood had improved considerably.

Looking at the latest reports on Waterfall Land, Lady Jie Lin moved her hand from her belly.

It read: ”Baron Porcupine boarded a ship at the Waterfall Land docks, preparing to head to Burning City.”

Their relationship, ultimately, was one that could not see the light of day. It was hard to say if there were any real feelings involved.

It was transactional, each getting what they needed. But Leech’s subsequent actions had given Lady Jie Lin a great sense of security.

He had never treated it as just a night of pleasure.

’He must have been worried about me, so he took a detour to come here.’ She rationalized Leech’s ”deliberate detour to Waterfall Land.”

Shanzhang Castle’s recent aggressive moves had been truly frightening. She figured Leech didn’t fully trust Guy either and felt he had to come see things for himself. But he feared their relationship would arouse suspicion, so he took a roundabout path.

Her sister, Yi Lin, had warned her many times. But both times she had faced a crisis, Leech had been the one to extend a helping hand. How could she not fall for him?

Knowing he had come to Waterfall Land, even without seeing him, felt like a tacit ”meeting.”

It was their little secret, she supposed.

Lady Jie Lin’s mood brightened even more.

She picked up another report. ”In the last two days, a water monster has appeared in the waterways of Waterfall Land. Many ships have been bumped and nearly capsized.”