"Perfect. We can take some wine to sell. I'll label them as rare treasures—though they truly are—and with a mysterious story attached, they'll sell like hotcakes."
"Just like a dragon's hoard?" Ashina asked, half understanding.
Phield snapped his fingers. "Exactly, Ashina. Even if it's just a boot, if it's picked up in a dragon's lair, it's a boot guarded by a dragon."
"And we're not really lying. Those fine wines were indeed guarded by powerful corrupted creatures—though the creatures had no interest in the wine whatsoever." Ashina covered her mouth, laughing uncontrollably.
"No rush finding a carpenter for now. First, clear out all the junk from the grand winery: the rotting equipment and the stones from the cave-ins. Haul everything out and clean the place thoroughly. I estimate it'll take three days. Once it's done, I'll reward each of you with 20 copper coins."
"My lord, you are truly generous!"
Phield's generosity had already become common knowledge throughout the territory.
Outside the Nightfall Domain, even freemen might not earn 20 copper coins in a full month's work.
To Phield, the coins he scattered would soon flow back into his own purse. It was nothing to him.
He even wanted the slaves to quickly become freemen, for only freemen could marry and have children. Likewise, freemen had to fulfill important duties—such as paying taxes.
As he pondered this, Phield felt an invisible force surge into his body.
There was no increase in raw power, but he immediately sensed the difference: he had advanced to a Tier 1 Lord!
In truth, signing a contract with a Divine Chosen granted the potential to become a lord.
Phield had already possessed the lord talent; this was all within expectations.
In this world, there were not only extraordinary knights, mages, or Divine Chosen—lords could possess levels as well.
Though they offered little direct combat strength.
Lords could view the general status of their territory.
Name: Phield
Class: Lord
Territory: Starnight Grand Winery and surrounding farmlands
Contracted Divine Chosen: Ashina
Population: 217
Development: 1 (utterly destitute)
Happiness: -32 (despair and oppression)
Environment: -89 (filled with corruption, uninhabitable)
Divine Chosen Appearance Probability: One in a hundred billion
Lord Talents: Mini-Map (detects nearby creatures, exclusive talent), Panel (visualizes creature attributes, exclusive talent)
Prosperity Domain (dispels the mist of death within the territory, accelerates the dissolution of corruption's effects)
Divine Chosen Additional Talents: Ferocious Beast Taming (easier to breed war beasts within the territory, provided by Ashina)
Enfeoffment (advances 50 wolf cavalry to Tier 1, provided by Ashina)
Phield's eyes lit up. He could not suppress the upward curl of his lips, laughing with unrestrained delight.
"My lord, what are you laughing about?"
Ashina scratched her head, curiosity written across her face.
"Nothing. I just thought of something amusing."
Phield ordered the territory's mist-dispelling lamp extinguished, which startled everyone—they thought he had lost his mind.
"Alright, I won't tease you anymore." He spread his hands and smiled. "I've mastered the lord talent. Even without the mist-dispelling lamp, I can ensure the territory remains untouched by corruption."
The people were skeptical but dared not object. Only when Phield extinguished the lamp and not a wisp of mist penetrated did they finally relax.
What followed was wild joy. Almost everyone plunged into joyous celebration.
After all, the mist-dispelling lamp could only last about a month. If the lord ran out of money to buy more from the church, they could die at any moment.
But with the lord's mist-dispelling ability, they had finally driven a true stake into the Nightfall Domain.
"Tonight we're having an extra meal—everyone gets meat soup and two loaves of bread!" Phield announced in a ringing voice.
Saving one mist-dispelling lamp meant 25 gold coins. This windfall was worth 250,000 black loaves.
"Thank you, Lord!"
The crowd cheered wildly.
Maid Nina shouted, "This is the best news ever! No wonder I dreamed last night of my grandmother smiling at me. Lord Phield, you were born a noble—lord's blood truly flows in your veins."
Phield felt a little embarrassed by the praise and immediately turned to Kaor. "Add a honey cake for my maids, manservant, and the cook."
"Good heavens, Master! We don't have many honey cakes left!" Kaor replied in his usual offensive style, exclaiming dramatically. "The maids can eat the leftovers from you and Lady Ashina—that's already the best food in the entire territory. No need for extras."
"You annoying man!" Nina gritted her teeth so hard they nearly shattered, itching to pounce and claw his face.
Maid Meg rarely spoke, but she was equally furious.
"Enough. It's a rare happy day for everyone. Nina, what are you standing there for? Go to the storeroom and distribute cakes to all." Phield was never stingy with such small rewards.
"The Lord is wise!" The two sweet-toothed maids cheered loudly, hopping like a pair of sparrows as they bounced toward the storeroom.
Kaor merely sighed and quietly calculated the territory's supplies.
To the southeast of the Northern Province lay the Morning Breeze Province, where Phield's father resided. To the southwest was High Castle Province—a mountainous region containing five earldoms.
Phield decided to make a trip to High Castle Province.
Seated at the wooden table, Phield furrowed his brow, striving to remain calm as he carefully opened a book titled Gray Mist and Death. Valued at 10 silver coins, it was written by the renowned imperial scholar and explorer Hyin.
"September 1, Year 147. Today should have been the empire-wide celebration of Awakening Day, but for the future of the empire, I resolutely entered the abandoned and cursed land—the Northern Province. Fortunately, I was not alone; two royal Divine Chosen accompanied me, along with a fallen noble and his Divine Chosen daughter."
Phield leisurely picked up a slice of apple from the plate in front of him and popped it into his mouth, chewing slowly.
The sweet juice stimulated his taste buds, refreshing him as he continued reading.
"With three stunning beauties for company, this journey is sure to be full of pleasure. Though the royal Divine Chosen are terrifying Tier 5 existences, that doesn't stop me from enjoying the view. The three outer baronies of the North—Cloud Veil, Nightfall, and Dawnfall—were places I visited in my youth, full of fine wine and beautiful women. Now they are overrun with corruption. Among the creatures that frequently attacked us were hideous bat-women. I believe they were once maids, as their bodies still bore distinctive tattoos and jewelry. I captured a few bat-women and let them… communicate with each other physically. What a fearless and exploratory fellow he was! May the Goddess bless him."
"Pfft!"
Phield spat out the half-chewed apple slice and burst into laughter.
Someone had actually dared to touch those hideous female monsters. Absolutely outrageous.
Just like modern tastes—as long as it's female, someone would be into it.
Wiping away the tears squeezed out from laughing too hard, Phield grew curious.
Would corruption cause reproductive isolation between people?
"What a pity for his manhood. In the end, he died of genital rot—his organ turned into a disgusting tumor, and he suffered greatly in his final moments. Corruption is the devil's curse; his manhood probably won't make it to heaven. Aside from the Divine Chosen, I believe no creature can resist the curse."
Phield closed the book. Its outrageous content made him unwilling to read further for now.
"Hyin can only be considered an adventurer or explorer. As a scholar, he lacks rigor. Not all creatures are incapable of resisting corruption—at least plants can."
Phield recalled the green plants he had collected in Rum Village; they were neither fleshy masses nor tentacles.
"Ah!"
A sharp scream came from outside the window. Phield's hand jerked, nearly knocking over the teacup he was raising to his lips. The steaming tea splashed out—not only scalding him but also soaking his clothes, which would be hard to dry.
Phield glanced at the mini-map. There were no skull markers.
"Probably another idiot who can't control his lower half." Phield rubbed his forehead. With the slaves all mixed together, violence and assaults were bound to happen occasionally.
Even the whip couldn't fully change their nature.