Chapter 24: Awakening the Lord’s Talent

"Great, we can take some wine to sell. I'll label them as rare treasures, which they indeed are. Plus, with an intriguing story, they'll sell like hotcakes."

"Like the dragon's treasure?" Asheena asked, half understanding.

Field snapped his fingers. "Exactly, Asheena. Even if it's just a boot, if it's picked up in a dragon's lair, it's still a dragon-guarded boot."

"And we're not really lying. Those wines are indeed guarded by powerful corrupted creatures, even though they have no interest in the wine." Asheena couldn't stop giggling.

"Woodworking can wait. First, clean out all the garbage in the grand winery, the rotting equipment, and the stones from the collapse. Clear everything out and tidy up. I estimate it will take three days. Once it's done, I'll reward each of you with 20 copper coins."

"My lord, you are so generous!"

Field's generosity was already known to everyone in the domain. Outside the Nightfall Domain, even free men might not earn 20 copper coins in a month.

For Field, the money he spent would quickly return to his pocket, so it didn't really matter. He even hoped that the slaves would quickly become free men, as only free men could marry and have children. Likewise, free men had to fulfill many important duties, like paying taxes.

As he was thinking, Field felt an invisible force flow into his body. There was no increase in strength, but he immediately noticed a difference. He had advanced to a first-rank lord!

In fact, signing a contract with The Chosen made it possible to become a lord. Field already had the talent of a lord, so this was a natural progression.

In this world, not only extraordinary knights, mages, or The Chosen could have levels, but lords could too, though they didn't have much combat power.

A lord could see the general state of his domain.

**Name:** Field 

**Occupation:** Lord 

**Domain:** Nightfall Grand Winery and surrounding farmlands 

**Contracted with The Chosen:** Asheena 

**Population:** 217 

**Development Level:** 1 (nothing) 

**Happiness Level:** -32 (despondent and depressed) 

**Environment Value:** -89 (full of corruption, uninhabitable) 

**The Chosen Appearance Probability:** One in a trillion 

**Lord's Talents:** Minimap (can detect surrounding creatures, exclusive talent), Interface (visualize creature attributes, exclusive talent) 

**Prosperity Domain:** Dispel the fog of death within the domain and accelerate the dissolution of corruption 

**The Chosen's Additional Talents:** Beast Taming (easier to breed war beasts within the domain, provided by Asheena), Enfeoffment (upgrade 50 Wolf Cavalry to first-rank, provided by Asheena)

Field's eyes lit up, and he couldn't suppress a smile.

"My lord, why are you smiling?" Asheena asked, scratching her head with curiosity.

"It's nothing, just thought of something funny."

Field ordered the fog-dispelling lamps to be extinguished, which frightened everyone. They thought Field had lost his mind.

"Alright, I'm not scaring you." Field spread his hands and smiled. "I've mastered the lord's talent. I can ensure the domain isn't invaded by corruption without the fog-dispelling lamps."

Everyone was skeptical but didn't dare to argue. When Field extinguished the lamps and no fog seeped in, they finally relaxed.

Then came the joy. Almost everyone started celebrating happily. After all, the fog-dispelling lamps only lasted for about a month. Without money to buy new ones from the church, they could die at any time.

But with the lord's fog-dispelling ability, they could truly anchor themselves in the Nightfall Domain.

"Extra rations tonight. Everyone gets meat soup and two loaves of bread," Field announced in a high-spirited tone.

Saving a fog-dispelling lamp meant saving 25 gold coins, which could buy 250,000 black loaves of bread.

"Hooray!"

Everyone cheered and rejoiced.

The maid Jazz shouted loudly, "This is fantastic news. No wonder I dreamed of my grandmother smiling at me last night. Lord Field, you are truly born noble, with the blood of a lord flowing in your veins."

Field was flattered and embarrassed, so he said to Kaa, "Give my maids, servants, and cooks an extra portion of honey cake."

"Oh my, sir! We don't have much honey cake left!" Kaa, always one to irritate, exclaimed. "The maids can eat the leftovers from you and Lady Asheena. That's already the best food in the domain, no need for extra portions."

"Grrr~" The maid Scissors was gnashing her teeth, almost wanting to scratch Kaa's face.

The usually quiet maid Sparrow was also furious.

"Alright, it's a rare occasion for everyone to be happy. Jazz, why are you still standing there? Go to the storage room and get the cake," Field said, never stingy with such small benefits.

"Long live the lord!" The two maids who loved sweets cheered loudly, happily bouncing towards the storage room like little birds.

Kaa sighed and quietly calculated the domain's supplies.

To the southeast of the northern province was the Morning Wind Province, where Field's cheap father resided. To the southwest was the High Fort Province. North of the northern province was the homeland of the orcs.

Field decided to visit the High Fort Province, which had five earldoms and was mostly mountainous.

Sitting at a wooden table, the creaky windows made him frown slightly. Field tried to maintain inner calm as he carefully opened a book titled "Mist and Death," a book worth 10 silver coins, written by the famous imperial scholar and explorer, Lucas.

"Twin Star Calendar, Year 147, September 1st. Today should have been a national celebration day, but for the future of the empire, I, Lucas, resolutely entered the abandoned and cursed land, the northern province. Fortunately, I was not alone; two royal The Chosen accompanied me, along with the fallen noble Darren and his The Chosen daughter."

Field 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, revitalizing Field's spirit as he continued reading.

"With the company of three peerless beauties, this journey is bound to be enjoyable, even though the royal The Chosen are terrifying fifth-rank beings. The three outer baronies of the northern province, Cloudveil, Nightfall Domain, and Dawnveil, were places I visited in my youth, known for their wine and women. Now they are rife with corruption. One frequently attacking us was the ugly bat-woman, likely former courtesans turned corrupted, as they still bore distinctive tattoos and jewelry. My guard Steelfork captured a bat-woman and tested her depth, a truly brave and exploratory fellow! May the goddess bless him."

"Pfft~"