Lord of Rot

A gust of wind blew past.

On the walls of Iron Wall Castle, the banners snapped and fluttered in the wind.

The porcupine stitched onto the flag seemed to come alive, twitching and running with the wind.

Leech, on horseback, glanced back. A contingent of Soldiers and a convoy of carriages followed him.

He had to make a trip back to Porcupine Territory. After all, he had been away for over a month, and there were resources to be exchanged.

Iron Wall Castle was now more or less on the right track. Construction was the main priority, so no major issues were likely to arise in the short term.

’Connecting the cliffside coast to Iron Wall Castle is urgent. If there’s no other way, I’ll just have to get Betty to prepare more explosives.’

Blasting a road into existence was better than having no road at all.

Traveling by boat from Porcupine Territory to Iron Valley took only a few days. The overland detour, however, would take at least ten to fifteen days, and as many as twenty or more. Baron Leech couldn’t afford to waste that kind of time.

He also brought back some valuable goods, such as herbs from Beech Mountain Village, mushrooms from Lilac Village, and fire oil from Hazelnut Village.

After leaving Iron Valley, they took the ferry at Waterfall Land and headed north.

The journey was quiet, with no strange incidents.

As soon as they arrived at the docks, he gazed toward Longship Castle in the distance.

”Lord, someone is here to see you,” Rob’s voice came from the side. Leech turned his head to look.

The visitor was wrapped in a cloak, but their figure suggested a woman.

Not until the person pulled back their hood did Leech recognize her. ”Miss Yi Lin?”

”Good day, Lord,” Yi Lin said with a bow. ”I’ve brought you a letter from the Lady.”

The perceptive Rob dismounted, trotted over to take the letter, and brought it to Leech.

Leech unrolled the letter.

It contained only a single line of text: ”See you in a month.”

According to Leech’s calculations, Lady Jie Lin was due to give birth in about a month as well.

He had arrived at Longship Castle, yet she was stopping him from entering.

”I understand,” Leech nodded, then asked Yi Lin, ”Have people from the Monkey Clan come to Longship Castle?”

”Yes,” Yi Lin confirmed with a nod.

Because of the great distance, Leech had lost his connection to the two Corpse Ghosts in Longship Castle. He had no idea what had happened in the interim.

He quickly connected his consciousness to Guy and swiftly learned the whole story from him.

La Bill had come to Longship Castle, claiming he would help Guy secure the position of Baron of Longship Castle. In return, Guy would have to lead all of Longship Castle in pledging allegiance to La, consolidating his power.

’Something doesn’t feel right,’ Leech thought to himself.

La was already the heir to the Monkey Clan. As long as he didn’t die, no one could take his place as the Monkey Lord Baron.

But no matter what, he definitely couldn’t go to Longship Castle himself now.

Leech said to Yi Lin, ”Tell Lady Jie Lin I will be there without fail.”

”Yes!” Yi Lin nodded.

The convoy disembarked and continued toward Porcupine Territory.

Yi Lin pulled her hood back up, watching Leech’s party recede into the distance before turning back toward Longship Castle...

After several days of forced marching, they finally returned to Porcupine Territory.

The Porcupine Banners were met with the cheers of the people.

Riding his horse, Leech looked at the residents lining the road, his mood exceptionally light.

Porcupine Territory was his starting point, his home.

Only by returning here did he feel a sense of familiarity and relaxation.

Even without a report from Gelan and the others, Leech could see the vast, boundless fields and the growing number of houses, and he knew that Porcupine Territory had not stopped developing in the month-plus he had been away.

Upon arriving at Porcupine Castle, the Soldiers could finally relax and get some rest.

All the high-level managers of Porcupine Territory were at the gate to welcome him, with the maids and manservants lined up in the distance.

”Lord!” Gelan said. ”You must have won a great victory!”

”I only fight battles I can win,” Leech replied with a smile.

The convoy Leech brought back parked in the spacious courtyard of Porcupine Castle. After dismounting, he couldn’t relax just yet. He called over to the manservants, ”Take those mushrooms and herbs to Vic. I imagine he’ll need to research some new things.”

The herbalist apprentice was a specialist in this field.

”Those barrels of fire oil... wait a bit, then bring them with me to the alchemy workshop.”

”Lord...” Gelan took a step forward.

Leech said to him, ”Gelan, I know you must have a lot to report, but right now, all I want is to take a bath.”

Gelan nodded helplessly. ”Of course, my Lord.”

Manager Hay’s methods were unscrupulous, even a bit despicable at times. He never aimed for perfection, only to complete Leech’s orders. But he was fast and didn’t require Leech’s supervision. Gelan was the complete opposite. He was extremely meticulous, but his efficiency was much lower, and he constantly had to ask Leech for instructions on many matters. Leech really wished he could combine the strengths of the two.

After his bath, his body felt relaxed. Refreshed and invigorated, Leech sat in the council hall. There were quite a few people who had to report to him today.

Gelan reported, ”The watchtowers will be completed in a few days, Lord.”

”So soon?” Leech was surprised.

”The team of masons and builders has become more and more skilled,” Gelan said. ”And a few craftsmen have invented little gadgets that have sped up the work.”

For the next while, it was almost entirely Gelan reporting on the events of the past month.

New housing was under construction. By the end of April, they could definitely build large dormitories capable of housing four thousand people.

Don’t expect anything exquisite. If every single person were to get a new house, everyone in Porcupine Territory could do nothing else and still likely not build that many houses in such a short time.

”The potatoes you requested have been planted.”

Leech nodded. ”When the new batch of slaves arrives, we must ensure we have sufficient food.”

As long as their bellies were full, that was enough. Leech wasn’t one of those rigid, old-fashioned nobles.

”And the corn,” Leech said. ”The batch of corn I acquired before, it’s about time to plant it now.”

”We are already preparing to sow it, Lord.”

”Mm, very good,” Leech nodded.

Once the potatoes, corn, and winter wheat were harvested, Porcupine Territory wouldn’t face a major food crisis.

Corn was also the king of fodder, so the scale of animal husbandry in Porcupine Territory could be expanded accordingly.

Everything was looking up.

”Also, Lord, two giant moths emerged from the cocoons you left behind.”

Leech leaned forward slightly. ”Moths? They didn’t cause any major trouble, did they?”

”No,” Gelan shook his head. ”Trevor killed them before any trouble could start. No one was injured. However, before that, they laid three hundred fist-sized eggs.”

Three hundred eggs meant three hundred giant silkworms in the future.

”Go deep into the dense forest,” Leech ordered. ”Build a Silkworm Village there. Find some strong people to go in and raise them. Keep it separate from the textile operations.”

He didn’t have that many Transcendents to stand guard. Keeping the silkworms away from the populace was the only way to prevent a major disaster.

”Yes!”

After Gelan finished his report, it was ’Lucky Dog’ Joe’s turn. He was mainly responsible for matters of commerce.

”Lord, no merchant caravans came from East Port last month. However, there’s a group of merchants with a talent for arithmetic, and I’m planning to support them in starting their businesses.”

Commercial shipping wasn’t that frequent; Pigtail Bay only had a small dock.

Leech said, ”Supporting the merchants is the right move. I trust you in this regard.”

There were some other minor commercial details, which Joe mostly explained while Leech just listened and gave the final nod.

A Lord only needs to know when to nod.

After resting for the morning and having a simple lunch, Leech first went to find Betty.

He described the effects of the explosion, including his own theories, to help Betty improve the future development of the Alchemy Bombs.

The last explosion had convinced Leech of one thing: high-yield weapons were a must!

The power of firearms was very limited, their effectiveness greatly diminished especially when facing Extraordinary-class enemies.

But high-powered weapons were different. After blowing up someone above the Extraordinary level last time, Leech had gained a much deeper appreciation for the idea that ”all men are created equal.”