Chapter 789: The Dark Lord’s March (Patreon)

Angie listened to Caleb and Theron report on the humans displaced by the latest orc attack.

Families came first, preferably ones with young children. Only those who met her requirements would be brought to her lord’s village. Angie never explained her reasoning because she didn’t need to. People were easier to keep loyal when they had something to lose. And if they ever became a threat, she’d know exactly what to threaten.

They wouldn’t be allowed into the main village anytime soon. The newcomers would stay in separate areas, in clearings prepared ahead of time with tents already set up.

“Set up a curfew. And follow the feeding schedule I sent you exactly.”

Never too much food. Never too little.

“Don’t give them anything to eat until they identify themselves. Name, class, profession, hobby, and favorite food.”

Five simple pieces of information, but enough for Angie to start building a psychological profile and spot anyone useful. People revealed far more than they realized when answering harmless questions.

“In one week, begin the work program.”

Humans got used to comfort quickly, but they were more satisfied when they had to work for something first. The reward felt better when they believed they’d earned it, even if that sense of accomplishment had been carefully manufactured.

So Angie would give everyone simple ways to contribute. Production was secondary. The real point was getting them to cooperate, lowering stress, and building stronger bonds. Give humans enough of that and they started calling it a community. The work itself would be easy: some women peeling potatoes, others washing clothes, even children helping pick apples.

Caleb and Theron nodded in unison. “Yes, Lady Angie.”

Angie dismissed them. Give people food, work, safety, and a place they could call their own, and eventually they stopped thinking of themselves as refugees. They started thinking of themselves as citizens.

***

Inside Baron Edrien’s manor, Luke sipped tea and wondered how this society would react once he introduced coffee. They’d probably get addicted to it. That sounded profitable.

“My family seal is quite valuable, Mr. Baumann,” the baron said.

“And you have my thanks for lending it to me, Lord Vossel. I hope one day I’ll be successful enough for my own family to have a seal like this.”

“Don’t forget your friends when that happens,” Edrien replied with a modest smile Luke didn’t believe for a second.

Luke needed his support to do business in Veyra. Getting his village’s goods into the hands of local merchants wasn’t as simple as showing up with a cart and offering to sell. He needed someone established to vouch for him, especially if he wanted access to the more exclusive markets. That was where he could buy striders.

“I hope my products do as well there as they did here.”

“With the Vossel family name behind you, you’ll have access to customers you’d struggle to reach on your own, Mr. Baumann. Consider it my way of returning the favor for Lord Moon’s introduction.”

He wouldn’t have an actual store. At most, he would supply businesses owned by the Vossels and a few merchants they recommended. Edrien tried not to show it, but he liked the goods enough to have already sent a shipment straight to Rosemark.

When Luke left the manor, he found a woman standing near the estate gate. She was a knight wearing light armor beneath an emerald-green cloak.

“Lady Maeve,” he greeted.

“Wait, Lord James.”

“Something wrong?”

“Can I ask you something personal?”

“Sure. Depending on the question, though, I might not answer.”

Maeve stepped closer without taking her eyes off him. “That day at the guild, when you were with that little boy and hit one of the adventurers... did you see me?”

“Hmm. I’m pretty sure I didn’t. I don’t usually get into fights, but that one was necessary.”

“I see.” She considered his answer for a moment. “And Lord Moon? Do you know where he is?”

“The baron asked me the same thing. Sorry, but that man’s a free spirit. I’m about as close to him as I am to you. He always acts like we’ve been traveling together for years, but that’s just how he is.”

“No one’s seen him since the party.”

“Why the interest?”

“He’s an excellent warrior. I’d like to cross blades with him.”

“You mean spar?”

“Yes. I think I could learn something from him.”

Luke made up an excuse and left as the sky darkened. Maeve was paying way too much attention to Lord Moon. He’d remember that.

Later, he slipped back onto the estate unseen. With his stealth skill active, his body dissolved into shadow, and he glided across the ground until he reached the baron’s office. Inside, he found several interesting documents, including letters exchanged with nobles in Veyra. Some mentioned him directly, praising the incredible fruits and vegetables James Baumann was selling and describing failed attempts to grow them on other farms.

Nothing had sprouted.

And nothing ever will.

Everything had been altered by [Botanical Transmutation]. The fruits and vegetables had no seeds, so no one could steal his produce, grow their own, and start competing with him. Edrien could make money reselling Luke’s goods if he wanted. The monopoly was still his, and once his name was established in the market, he wouldn’t need middlemen anymore.

Then he found what he was looking for. One of the letters mentioned Rosemark and had been sent by the military.

Still nothing about my kingdom. Not even rumors of a new one.

The rest was correspondence between Edrien and various women in the city. In a few letters, he even bragged about battles he’d never been anywhere near. Once it became clear there was nothing else useful, Luke left the office and dissolved back into the shadows.

***

Luke was in the underworld, in the region known as the Illuminated Forest. Ancient, overgrown ruins stood among pine-like trees. A massive ant charged him, but a volley of arrows stopped it short. Pip lowered his bow as Ribbo rushed in and slammed a fist into the creature. The other goblins piled on a moment later and finished it off.

A skeleton carrying a knife emerged from the ruins. Mivi sprinted past Luke, leaped, and knocked its knife hand aside with her tail. In the same motion, she wrapped herself around its neck, twisted her body, and hurled it to the ground. She landed on top of it and tore off its skull.

Luke barely had to move. A week ago, he would’ve needed to step in. Now the others barely needed him, and by the time the fighting was over, the group celebrated like they had just won a war.

Luke studied the skill granted by the Kingdom Core. Even this far from the kingdom, it still worked thanks to his Dark Lord title.

[Dark Lord’s March]: Members of the Dark Lord’s Army gain a 10% increase in power and a 10% bonus to experience gained while fighting near the Dark Lord. Within the Kingdom’s zone of influence, this bonus remains active even when the Monarch is absent, allowing his forces to defend the territory with greater strength during invasions, sieges, or attacks against the Kingdom Core.

They’ve gotten pretty damn strong in just one week.

Skeletons always seemed to crawl out of those ruins, some humanoid, others shaped like beasts. It made the place a good training ground.

“I really do feel stronger, Lord Moon,” Mivi said.

Kren clicked his tongue. He hadn’t been converted into a soldier, and he had refused Angie’s offer to heal his tail, but he still followed the group everywhere.

“We’re just holding him back,” Kren said. “He’s stronger than us. He’s only here because he feels sorry for us.”

The celebration quieted, and a few of them looked away.

Luke stared at them without changing his expression. “I’m investing in all of you. Even you, Kren.”

Kren looked away and stopped clicking his tongue. Luke’s gaze returned to the ruins. This part of the underworld was safer than the dinosaur-controlled mountains. According to the village beetles, a few tribes lived nearby, but they stayed hidden deep in the forest.

“We should head back.”

On the way, he talked with the five goblins about their classes. They’d unlocked new skills as they leveled, and none of them could hide their excitement.

“Can I keep this?” Mivi asked.

She held up a rusty dagger that had belonged to one of the skeletons. Luke had no idea how weapons like that even existed down here. Maybe mana created them. Maybe they had appeared during the Integration.

“You can, but it’s not going to be very effective.”

Mivi swung the dagger a few times, testing its weight. “I like it.”

Better than nothing, Luke supposed.

After helping them climb back up near Norn’s cave, they stopped to examine the ore scattered throughout the caverns. There was so much exposed ore that they didn’t even need to dig into the walls to reach a vein.

“The dwarves could make good use of this,” someone said.

“Yeah, but we’re not bringing them anything.”

“Why?” Pip asked.

“I don’t want them knowing about this place. Not yet.”

Not until he decided whether the dwarves could be trusted. Kobi and Rheera had been mistreated by them, or at least by their leaders.

When they returned to the village, several of the goblins still had enough energy to go train in the practice area the dwarves had built. Near the farmland, the ratfolk king and Boggy were gesturing between the fields as they discussed plans for larger chicken coops. The ratfolk had already brought their chickens over.

As Luke walked past, he sensed a spider nearby, watching him.

“Hello.”

“How did you know I was here?” the spider asked.

“I told you I’d look after all of you. But answer something for me, Nana. Does your mother know you’re wandering this far from her again?”

“I’m not exploring dangerous places. I only come here.”

“Right. And what are you doing here?”

“Where’s the little goblin?”

“Little goblin? There are plenty of those around.”

“The little explorer goblin who gave me the good fruit.”

“Pip? He’s probably shooting arrows. I just got back from somewhere with him, and apparently he still wanted to keep shooting things.”

Luke told her where Pip usually trained.

“Thank you for the information, Lord Tricks-Mothers,” Nana said before disappearing back into the woods.

Lord Tricks-Mothers?

Later, back at the castle, Angie was healing more ratfolk, handing out a new [Citizen Card] after each successful treatment.

[Citizens: 800/800]

[Your Kingdom Core has advanced to Level 9!]

[Your Kingdom Core has unlocked a new skill!]

Excellent.

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