Subdue the Subjects

Vader lowered his head in silent mourning.

Then, he turned around and walked towards Jiang Chen.

He knelt down on one knee, one hand holding a fist to his heart, and the other holding a staff to the ground.

"In the name of the God of Fire!"

"Fire mage, Vader reporting for duty!"

"Recruitment successful, default loyalty 70."

After Vader swore fealty, a system notification immediately appeared.

Jiang Chen nodded and patted his shoulder.

"Stand up, Vader. You're welcome to join us."

Vader nodded and stood up, but he suddenly seemed to have made a decision. He knelt down to Jiang Chen once more and said,

"Sir, I have a presumptuous request. I hope that you will grant it!"

Jiang Chen glanced at Vader in puzzlement and said,

"Tell me about it."

Vader continued, "There's still a group of subjects in my old lord's territory. They're all a bunch of unarmed farmers who probably can't survive on their own. They'll need your help very much."

Jiang Chen pondered after hearing this. He'd planned to build a few more unions and recruit more people according to his plans.

Now that he'd met them, Jiang Chen was very willing to be a good samaritan.

"Bring me back to your old lord's territory. I'll settle the rest of the people in the territory properly."

Jiang Chen had taken a fancy to the farmer in this unlucky bastard's territory.

Now was the time for the territory to develop greatly.

The farmer and soldiers were of the utmost importance.

Vader stood up and nodded, standing silently to the side.

At this time, Jiang Chen had once again come to the side of the unlucky bastard's burning corpse.

The lamp of death was extinguished.

No matter how many resources you had, no matter how many treasures you had, if you were to die by accident, then everything would be for the benefit of others.

Jiang Chen deeply agreed with this.

Although he often took action personally, in comparison, Jiang Chen never did anything he wasn't confident in.

Jiang Chen instructed Parker to lead Vader to rest and set off at noon.

At noon, Jiang Chen looked at the fire mage, Vader, and said,

"Vader, take me to your old lord's territory now. Let us take in those poor farmers."

Vader nodded and bowed.

"My Lord, please follow me."

"When I encountered a crisis earlier, I found a simple and crude entrance in the ruins and found this place. Please follow me."

His attitude was very respectful.

After this short period of contact, Vader saw a scene full of vitality and potential within his territory.

There was no need for others to say anything.

Jiang Chen had already used his own strength to gain Vader's approval.

Compared to his old master who had already cooled down. This person's ability was indeed much stronger.

He might really be able to lead him back to his lost glory.

Jiang Chen nodded and led the group to follow Vader.

After walking for more than twenty minutes, they finally saw a tunnel with a diameter of about two meters.

This tunnel wound upwards, barely enough for the group to pass in a single line.

There were clearly traces of the tunnel being re-excavated.

It was obvious that the previous Lord had also spent some effort to re-open this tunnel after discovering it.

After carefully passing through the passage.

Everyone stood in a pile of ruins.

The surroundings were still mountainous forests, but the terrain was a little smoother.

It looked like this was a flat piece of land on the mountainside.

The ground beneath their feet was all scattered and piled up with the remains of buildings. In the gaps between them, there were some dense shrubs and weeds.

"My lord, the old Lord's territory is over there."

Vader raised his hand and pointed in a direction. He could see the dilapidated courtyard that was the lord's standard.

There were a few farmers outside who were diligently gathering.

They didn't seem to know that their lord had already died outside.

The courtyard was less than two Li away from their current location. It would only take them a few minutes to walk.

About five or six minutes later, Jiang Chen and the others arrived outside the manor.

Jiang Chen was surprised to discover that the unlucky lord actually had thirty-five farmers.

Apart from the initial ten farmers, he'd found another twenty or so from God knows where.

The farmers who were gathering also saw them and immediately stopped gathering. They stood up nervously and immediately fled back into the small courtyard.

Jiang Chen and the others looked menacing.

Especially Parker. The giant wolf beneath him bared its fangs and brandished its claws. It was obvious that he wasn't someone to be trifled with.

Until they saw Vader.

A slightly bolder farmer stood at the door and took the initiative to call out.

"Lord Vader, why are you with a stranger?"

"Where's our Lord?"

Vader took a step forward and began to explain.

"The old lord was killed by the monsters in the underground cave. Even I almost died at the hands of the monsters."

"Fortunately, I met Lord Jiang Chen."

"These are all Lord Jiang Chen's soldiers. The Lord has come to save you this time."

"Without the Lord's protection, it will be difficult for you to survive in this wilderness."

Vader spoke quickly.

A few farmers looked at each other in dismay in the small courtyard, but no one took the first step.

"The suzerain is dead?"

They seemed to still have some misgivings.

Jiang Chen smiled at this moment and walked straight into the small courtyard.

The farmers were greatly shocked when they saw this scene. They all cried out in alarm and curled up in a corner.

In their eyes, no outsiders were allowed to set foot in the small courtyard. But now, this rule seemed to have changed.

After the unlucky suzerain died, this small courtyard was no longer protected by the rules of newbie protection!

They looked at the farmers who were somewhat alarmed because they'd stepped into the small courtyard.

The corners of Jiang Chen's mouth curled up into an amiable smile.

"Your suzerain is indeed dead, or else I wouldn't have been able to set foot in the small courtyard."

"Right now, your only choice is to submit to me and join my territory."

"I have many powerful soldiers and sufficient food. I can protect your safety and provide the most suitable accommodation in my territory."

Jiang Chen's voice was very calm, but his words were full of temptation.

He was already able to accurately grasp the core needs of these farmers.

It was nothing more than satiety and safety.

These were the farmers' core needs.

As expected, after hearing the unfamiliar Liege's words,.

These farmers all wavered.

It was a pity that the unlucky liege's corpse had already been cremated by Vader, otherwise, it would have been more convincing.

Jiang Chen wasn't in a hurry either.

These farmers needed some time.

To let them think about it.

He himself had already arrived at the warehouse of the territory.

A prompt immediately appeared beside his hand.

"A territory without an owner, do you wish to claim it?"

"Yes!"

There was nothing to hesitate about.

The warehouse was fully opened in the next moment.

"Wood × 87, stone × 65, iron × 21, hay × 32, copper × 3, complete forest wolf skin × 1, complete young wild boar skin × 1, coarse roasted wolf meat × 3, coarse roasted wild boar meat × 6."

There was nothing good in the storage box, only a lot of basic resources and some simple roasted food.

It seemed that this guy had killed wolves and wild boars before.

It was not a problem to maintain the basic operation of the territory.

Two thatched huts had been built within the small courtyard.

There was a level one stove and a level one blacksmith's shop.

The level of construction was quite ordinary in Jiang Chen's eyes.

Apart from that, there was also a parcel in the warehouse.

"Zhang Chi's belongings."

Jiang Chen didn't intend to open the belongings of their old lord in front of the farmers. He decided to bring them back to the territory for further inspection.

He put the parcel away.