Chapter 203: New Life in Forest Town

As Ronin spoke with Anthony, Wilson had already announced to the slaves the lord’s benevolent policies, somewhat alleviating their fear and unease.

He also arranged for assistants to register the information of the slaves transported to Marsh Town—recording their names, ages, and any special skills they possessed.

That evening, as Ronin received the registration roster, the long-silent [Conquer Territory] achievement finally responded.

[“Conquer Territory” achievement completed. Attribute points +200, Energy Essence +400.]

Upon checking the achievement interface, the new Conquer Territory milestone had already updated—owning two cities: reward, attribute points +400, energy essence +800.

Ronin analyzed it: he had only completed this achievement after receiving the roster—the key lay in the shift of population.

Earlier, he had suspected that only territories reaching a certain population could be called “cities.” Coupled with this instance, he estimated that “certain number” meant ten thousand.

In other words, he needed just one more town with a population of ten thousand to unlock the second tier of the [Conquer Territory] achievement.

“Marsh Town can now be renamed Marsh City.”

Ronin gazed contentedly at his current attribute panel: he now had 270 attribute points and 1,630 energy essence.

The short-term gains from achievements were still immense.

The next morning, after seeing Anthony off, Ronin mounted his Stepping Cloud Steed and set out on the journey back to Forest Town.

He had stayed in Marsh Town for ten days—stabilizing morale, using magic to aid in the extraction of marsh fertilizer—all these tasks could now be concluded. It was time to return to Forest Town.

Yet though he departed, he took only Jeffrey with him.

Macken remained to train the guards; Ridal continued with the other knights on their purge missions.

Within two days, the dangerous zones in Marsh Town would be cleared, after which Ridal would lead his men elsewhere.

Ronin had made arrangements: Jennie would remain at Marsh Keep. As a water-element mage, she was deeply attuned to the marsh’s environment.

Besides Jennie, Rogner and Krami would stay behind to maintain order and oversee the procurement of three hundred thousand catties of grain.

Of course, the role of the transcendentals was merely to hold the ground—the day-to-day governance would be handled by Wilson and his team.

Though Wilson, as chief administrator, would shuttle between locations, the local marsh town clerks and newly hired assistants were already in place; village heads and group leaders were being assembled. The promotion of land fertilization and spring plowing posed no issue.

Wilson and Jennie were like civil and military officials, each responsible for their own domain.

Ronin did not return directly to Forest Town by cutting through the forest. Instead, guided by Jeffrey, he took a narrow path from the northwest corner of Marsh Town, traversing marshes and stone forests until he reached Black Soil Village.

The “savages” of Black Soil Village were stunned to see their chieftain return. They had never imagined their leader would become a follower of the new lord.

His presence alone had brought the villagers a sense of stability—this was precisely why Ronin had brought Jeffrey along.

For the next two days, Ronin lingered in Black Soil Village, inspecting the land.

As expected, the soil here was not only exceptionally fertile, but the expanse of black earth was vast. Once cultivated, its grain yield would be substantial.

Black Soil Village would become one of the primary grain-producing regions of the Northern U District.

After two days, Ronin proceeded through Gray Soil Village, Purple Berry Village, and Green Bamboo Village, inspecting the progress of spring plowing.

Though no knights were stationed in these places, Ridal had left guards to maintain order. The leaders were all early followers from Wu Mountain Fortress—loyalty was unquestioned.

Ronin had also raised their wages appropriately, ensuring their diligence, and to prevent abuse of power, he arranged for oversight.

In Purple Berry Village, Jennie and Horn’s steward managed affairs and reported on the guards’ conduct; the same arrangement applied to Green Bamboo Village and Gray Soil Village.

Once Wilson appointed village heads, the system would become even more rigorous.

Traveling slowly, stopping often, Ronin returned to Forest Fortress seven days later.

“Woof!”

Before Ronin even stepped into the castle, a loud, hybrid bark—part dog, part wolf—echoed from within.

Without looking, he knew it was Heihu.

True to form, a black shadow burst from the inner keep and lunged at Ronin, nuzzling him with doglike fervor.

“Heihu has grown so large?” Ronin was astonished.

It had been only three months since he acquired Heihu, yet the beast’s body length had reached sixty centimeters—nearly matching the size and weight of a golden retriever in Ronin’s memory.

“Once he grows a bit more, can I ride him?”

Ronin wondered whether the fully grown Heihu or the Stepping Cloud Steed would be faster—he suspected Heihu had greater burst speed, but the steed possessed superior endurance.

“Good. You still remember me after a month. You haven’t disappointed me.”

Ronin affectionately stroked Heihu’s head, pinching his soft ears—the texture was delightful.

At the inner keep’s gate, Ellyn arrived, panting.

She had been playing with Heihu moments before and hadn’t expected the usually docile beast to howl and dash out. She had guessed Ronin had returned.

And indeed—he had.

Her face lit with delighted joy as she rushed into Ronin’s arms, just as enthusiastically as Heihu.

“Brother Ronin, you’re finally back!”

Ronin patted the dog’s head with one hand and the little girl’s with the other—both textures were equally wonderful.

“It’s been a long time, Ellyn. Look what I brought you.”

He withdrew his hand and pulled forth a stack of books from his spatial ring.

“These are carefully selected—knightly romances, various knowledge texts. Oh, and a necklace.”

As the only little girl in the castle, Ronin held her dear. During his shopping trip in Wu Mountain City, he had bought her several gifts.

Ellyn beamed as she accepted the gifts, though the books were too many and too heavy to carry.

“Master, welcome home!”

The servants Garen and Bella rushed out of the castle, delighted to help carry the books.

These past days, they had been deeply anxious.

Not for Ronin’s safety—but for their own jobs.

They knew Ronin had become Viscount of Northern U and seized Marsh Town.

Yet the lord had taken only Chahar and Wilson with him—neither of them, his personal servants, had been invited.

Would he have hired new attendants there?

The thought had left them unable to eat.

If the lord never returned to Forest Fortress, where would they go?

Thankfully, he had returned. Their hearts settled.

Ronin greeted them, then gently fastened the necklace around Ellyn’s neck. “Is Elron in the castle?”

“Teacher went out,” Ellyn replied. “The wife of Chief Han from Jingye Village just gave birth—apparently, it’s going badly. Chief Han had no choice but to ask Teacher to come.”

Ronin paused. “Elron can assist in childbirth?”

He had no idea this light-element mage possessed such a skill.

“In the past month, several families in town have had babies. Teacher has visited multiple times—he even used magic to save a woman who was hemorrhaging!”

Ronin nodded in deep admiration. “Let’s go to Chief Han’s house.”

A new life has arrived, and this is a cause for joy. (End of chapter)