Chapter 115: Thorny Serial Missions

Rom had been in high spirits recently. He thought he would end up like Auden and Grey, unable to cultivate Aura and ultimately abandoned by Mr. Marcus.

Being abandoned and becoming a good-for-nothing without Aura was a terrifying consequence.

He, Karl, Auden, and Grey were all born into serfdom and hired as Baron Liszt’s retainer knights. But now, Karl had become an apprentice knight and the defense officer of Flower Town, with a patrol team of twenty men under his command, basking in the limelight.

He had to call Karl “Mr. Karl” when they met.

The change in status put immense pressure on him, creating a suffocating sense of urgency, as if the hand of fate was choking his throat, trying to strangle any hope of progress. He was terrified that he would truly amount to nothing, so not only did he diligently cultivate during Marcus’s lessons, but he also trained relentlessly in private.

Finally, he successfully cultivated Aura, elementary Aura, making him an apprentice knight.

His wish had come true, and his diligent training bore fruit—the lord appointed him captain of the patrol team, assisting Karl in maintaining the town’s security.

His status was inferior to Karl’s, but Rom was already very satisfied. His talent wasn’t as outstanding as Karl’s, and it took him much longer to cultivate Aura.

It was only right that he should be beneath Karl.

The patrol team originally had a captain, who was just an ordinary person and was very不服气of his arrival. But Rom taught him how to behave with just a few easy punches.

"Strength—just with elementary Aura, I possess strength that ordinary people can only dream of. How powerful must a Knight of the Earth, with intermediate Aura, be?"

Before obtaining Aura, he didn’t have a clear understanding of knights. He only knew that knights were very strong, but just how strong they were and how wondrous Aura was, he couldn’t know. Now that he possessed Aura, he finally fully understood the tremendous qualitative change that Aura brought to knights.

"Knight of the Earth… I have no hope of obtaining intermediate Aura in this lifetime. However, the lord has already given me a chance to change my fate, and I, Rom Barrel, will seize this opportunity! In the future, for my son, I will make sure he begins cultivating Aura from a young age!"

He wasn’t married yet, but many girls in the town had already shown interest in him.

An apprentice knight was still quite popular.

"My son will become a Knight of the Earth, just like Mr. Marcus! Then, he will have the chance to climb the ranks of nobility!"

For a brighter tomorrow.

Rom conscientiously did his job every day, never slacking off on his patrol duties. He was particularly content with his position as captain of the patrol team.

But what Rom didn’t know was that his diligence had caught Liszt’s attention.

Liszt disliked mundane affairs; having him worry about the town’s daily livelihood wasn’t his style. He didn’t want to be a Han Xin, skilled at leading soldiers, but rather a Liu Bang, skilled at leading generals. Therefore, he most appreciated subordinates who worked hard.

Rom was one such subordinate.

"Rom, based on your performance, I have a new task for you."

"Please give your orders, sir!"

"Both you and Karl have become apprentice knights and can handle things independently, so I plan to establish the position of ‘Insect Officer’ in Flower Town, with a subordinate ‘Insect Protection Team,’ whose members will be selected from the able-bodied laborers of each village. And you will serve as the Insect Officer, tasked with leading the Insect Protection Team to protect the caterpillar fungus."

After much deliberation, Liszt decided to form a separate Insect Protection Team.

The basic template for this team was akin to a militia organization, serving as a supplement to the patrol squad. With an increasing population expected to flood into Flower Town in the future, relying solely on the patrol squad would not be enough to maintain law and order. The Bug Guardians would form one component of the security forces.

Patrol Squad – Police Station.

Bug Guardians – Militia Battalion.

Knights Squad – Army.

This was roughly the idea,

As an inheritor of pragmatism, Liszt's thoughts always gravitated towards practical solutions. Rom immediately kneeled on one knee, performing a knightly salute: "Rom is honored to follow in your footsteps for life!" His body trembled slightly, a result of his excitement, never daring to dream that opportunities to change his fate would come one after another.

Now, he had officially entered the ranks of officials.

Officialdom wasn't a formal social class, but being appointed as an official indicated that one had stepped into the "noble reserve" echelon.

Leaving the castle, he felt somewhat dazed, as if his body was floating: "Serving you, my lord, is the moment when the glory of knighthood deeply graces me!"

...

Perhaps sensing Liszt's heartfelt care for the fairy bugs,

it wasn't long after the establishment of the Bug Guardians that he noticed the dragonflower mycelium in the dragonflower fields had regained a hint of vitality. The black spots that had covered the leaves had significantly diminished.

"Has it pulled through?"

Liszt hurriedly summoned the long-awaited smoke mission.

As expected, the smoke snake text had changed: "Complete the mission, and you will be rewarded with a dragonflower fairy bug."

"Indeed, the dragonflower harbors fairy bugs. This is my ninth fairy bug, excellent... although I'm still unsure what use dragonflowers have." The berries of the dragonflower could be eaten, but only as a snack. Even with the enhancement from the dragonflower bugs, they wouldn't produce many berries.

Better than nothing, at least it was a fairy bug.

The smoke twisted, issuing a new mission: "A belated heavy rain is about to visit Flower Town. Most of the houses in the territory are already dilapidated and unable to withstand the onslaught of the downpour. As the lord, how can you stand idly by? Please repair the houses in your territory. Reward: Mutant variety of thorns."

"Another reward of mutant thorns?" Liszt's mind stirred, "This is the third mission related to thorns. It must be a series of linked missions! The last linked mission involving the invisible dragon rewarded a space gem. What good things will this linked mission reward?"

He had a vague suspicion – Thorn Fairies!

"Could it be Thorn Fairies?"

Not wanting to get his hopes up, Liszt suppressed this thought. Without expectations, there would be no disappointment, and if it truly came to fruition, it would be a delightful surprise.

For now, he would focus on completing the mission.

"Repairing houses, it seems it's time for another all-out community effort."

He immediately convened all the officials of the town and assigned them the task of repairing the houses in the territory: "There hasn't been much rainfall this summer, which is unusual. I speculate that there may be intense storms arriving in the coming days. Most of the houses in Flower Town are old wooden structures, posing significant safety risks."

"The new houses are already under construction, as for the serfs, they can be left to repair their own wooden huts." Gort couldn't help but look down on the serfs.

Blair, however, seemed to be flattering him, "What should be repaired most urgently is the castle, the place where my lord resides, should be made safer and more beautiful."

"The repairs to the castle will have to wait until after the autumn harvest when labor is idle. For now, you must each distribute your tasks well, ensuring that every damaged wooden hut is properly reinforced. All commoners, whether serfs or freemen, must accept work assignments."

Pausing, Liszt said, "All commoners will receive no pay, they must work for free, repairing their own wooden huts. However, the materials for repairing the wooden huts will be covered by the castle, this is the welfare I bestow upon my subjects."

"You are truly generous, I will arrange it immediately, guaranteeing that all wooden huts will be repaired within a week."