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Chapter 2 - 2.The Ruined Barony

📖 Chapter 2

The Ruined Barony

The journey from the capital to the frontier took twelve days.

Twelve days of mud, silence, and quiet mockery.

By the time Sidharth's carriage crossed into the northern frontier, the paved imperial roads had long disappeared. What remained were broken paths cutting through forests and marshland — territory that technically belonged to the Westonia Empire, but in truth answered to no one.

Ahead stood his new domain.

Greywatch Barony.

A crumbling stone keep sat atop a low hill, its walls cracked, its banners torn by wind.

Below it, a struggling settlement leaned beneath years of neglect.

Smoke rose thinly from chimneys — not from prosperity, but survival.

This was not exile.

This was abandonment.

The escort captain smirked.

"Your domain, my lord… Baron Goldenheart."

The title was spoken like a joke.

Sidharth stepped down without responding.

His eyes moved carefully.

Unmanned watchtowers.

Undisciplined gate guards.

A cold blacksmith forge.

Starving peasants.

No order.

No structure.

No future.

Perfect.

Broken systems were easier to rebuild than stable ones.

A translucent panel appeared before his eyes.

[Daily Login – Day 2]

Reward: Basic Agricultural Optimization Manual

Bonus: +5% Crop Yield for Controlled Territory

Food meant stability.

Stability meant manpower.

Manpower meant soldiers.

Inside the keep, remaining officials waited.

The steward.

The captain of the guard.

Two minor knights.

The steward bowed shallowly.

"My lord, the treasury is nearly empty. Bandits raid the southern road weekly. Tax revenue has fallen by forty percent. We lack manpower to patrol effectively."

Translation:

You have inherited a corpse.

Sidharth sat in the high seat.

"Bring me the ledgers."

The steward blinked.

That night, Sidharth studied everything.

Tax inefficiencies.

Corruption.

Unused farmland.

Abandoned plots.

This was not misfortune.

It was incompetence.

And incompetence would be punished.

The next morning, he gathered everyone in the courtyard.

Villagers watched nervously.

"From this day forward," Sidharth declared,

"Tax will be reduced for increased productivity. Idle land will be reassigned. Corruption will be met with execution."

He turned toward the steward.

"Missing funds were discovered."

The steward collapsed in panic.

"My lord, mercy—"

Sidharth nodded once.

The blade fell swiftly.

Gasps filled the courtyard.

Blood stained stone.

Brutality was not chaos.

It was demonstration.

A pouch of gold was handed to the most productive farmer.

"I reward loyalty."

"I punish theft."

Fear settled.

But so did order.

That night—

[Mission Completed: Restore Administrative Authority]

Reward: 50 Trained Militia (Tier I)

Bonus: Basic Military Drill Protocol

Fifty organized soldiers assembled outside the keep.

The captain stared in disbelief.

"My lord… where did these men come from?"

Sidharth looked toward the dark horizon.

"From necessity."

Greywatch had begun to change.

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