Chapter 78: Chapter 78: The Baron Has Been Sidelined

A raven glided through the air.

As expected, he once again saw many unpleasant sights.

The whole mess with the female slaves had only just died down, and now the feces accumulating in the corners of walls near Livestock Village had caught Leech’s attention.

Composting manure took time. It wasn’t planting season, and most of Livestock Village’s residents had no fields to till, so... ’Why would they bother going to the latrine?’

People were just that pragmatic. Even though the Baron had built latrines for them, they were unwilling to take a few extra steps. The problem of them relieving themselves wherever they pleased remained unchanged.

The raven spread its wings, gazing down at the bustling people below.

Overall, Porcupine Territory was developing quite well; it was just that improving the residents’ civility would be a gradual process.

’At least the villagers are hiding now, instead of just dropping their trousers in front of everyone. That’s significant progress, isn’t it?’

"Hm?"

Leech’s eyes snapped open. Far away, the team of corpses exploring the caverns in the cape also came to a halt.

On the main road outside Porcupine Territory, a column of men had appeared.

They carried spiked maces and spears, and wore armor and shields bearing the Porcupine family Emblem. The exhaustion on every man’s face was impossible to hide.

’I thought they were gone for good, yet they actually came back!’ Leech was in disbelief.

When his good-for-nothing father had sent the entire force into the hands of the Golden Thorn Sword Clan, Leech never imagined the soldiers would return. But now they had, albeit with only half the men they’d left with.

He quickly rose to his feet.

"Pitchfork!"

"Yes, my Lord." The personal manservant who had been waiting outside the door came to stand behind Leech, awaiting his orders.

"Tell Mr. Cask to prepare a feast immediately—no! Go to Livestock Village and have them slaughter a pig, plus some chickens and ducks. And bring up a barrel of ale," he said with a smile. With the soldiers back, Porcupine Territory finally had some backbone.

’I can train my own soldiers now!’

Having received his orders, Pitchfork strode quickly toward the kitchen.

The exhausted Porcupine Soldiers had arrived just outside Porcupine Territory. Stepping onto the level road, a soldier shouldering a spiked mace couldn’t help but ask, "Is this Porcupine Territory? We didn’t take a wrong turn, did we?"

"Can’t be... right?" The soldier in the lead was none other than Quickblade, the man Baron Lierde had trusted most in life.

His thick beard couldn’t hide his astonished expression; his mouth hung open like a gaping hole torn in a haystack.

The sound of approaching hooves rang out.

A youth on a swift horse came into view.

"I am Carrot, squire to Lord Leech Clarence!" the youth announced, pulling on his reins. The aura emanating from the battle-hardened soldiers washed over him like a tide of blood. Carrot took a deep breath to keep from shivering and said, "I am under orders to lead you to Porcupine Territory. My Lord has already arranged for a banquet."

The soldiers remained silent, turning as one to look at their leader, Quickblade.

They had long since heard that the Baron of Porcupine Territory had passed away from illness and his eldest son had inherited the title, but this was completely different from what they had imagined.

’Without the powerful Lierde Clarence, Porcupine Territory should have become even more destitute, its people unable to afford grain and reduced to eating white clay.’

’So what was happening now?’

’A squire on a swift horse? Was their young Lord already so rich he could provide a steed for his squire? A swift horse might not be a warhorse, but it was a fine breed that couldn’t live on fodder alone. It needed grain!’

’Is Leech just trying to keep up appearances?’ But as Quickblade and the soldiers racked their brains, the Leech they remembered was quiet and reserved, a young man of only average talent. Besides inheriting his mother’s handsome features, he had none of the qualities befitting a lord.

He was indecisive and lacked courage. He was too polite, not nearly ruthless enough.

’How could a lord without an iron fist possibly develop his territory?’

’He’s probably already been turned into a figurehead.’

"Alright, lead the way," Quickblade said, taking a deep breath. His loyalty to Lierde was beyond question. If someone had truly dared to turn Leech into a figurehead, then even if it cost them their lives, they would... He sighed inwardly, his heart incomparably heavy.

The squire, Carrot, felt a pressure even more intense than before radiating from the dozens of soldiers before him, nearly taking his breath away.

’So these are real soldiers, men who have seen battle. I still have such a long way to go!’

Carrot led his horse, guiding them from the front.

Quickblade and his men remained on high alert, ready for a fight at a moment’s notice. But soon, they began to feel that something was off. The roads in Porcupine Territory were just too smooth!

The road was straight and wide enough to accommodate two or three carts side-by-side.

Looking down, they saw it seemed to be paved with gravel and sand that had been compacted.

"This road...?" Quickblade asked.

"It is!" Carrot replied. "The Lord arranged for people to build it by digging up sand and gravel, and even using crushed stones in some places. My Lord says, ’If you want to prosper, first build a road.’"

Quickblade nodded. The roads in Porcupine Territory, as he remembered them, had been terrible. They certainly needed paving.

’However, for the road to be this smooth for such a long way... that was a bit strange. How much manpower and time would that have wasted! If everyone stopped working to build roads, where would they get the food to eat?’

"How long did it take to build this road?"

"Not long," Carrot said. "With several hundred people working together, it went very quickly."

"Several hundred people?" Quickblade nearly choked. ’Did Porcupine Territory even have that many people?’

He immediately sensed something was wrong. "How many people does Porcupine Territory have now?"

"More than six hundred."

’Just as I thought!’

Quickblade thought to himself. ’So Leech really has been turned into a figurehead. Why else would there suddenly be over four hundred more people?’

When they reached a fork in the road, Carrot stopped.

"What is it?" Quickblade asked.

"My Lord is waiting for you in the castle," Carrot said. "But the road I took to meet you is temporarily blocked. I’m afraid we’ll have to take a detour."

"A detour is fine," Quickblade said nonchalantly.

Carrot nodded and led the dozens of soldiers down the other path.

But as they walked on, Quickblade and his men once again felt that something was off.

It was one thing for the road to remain so wide, but what was the deal with these houses?

It wasn’t that they were built particularly well—they were certainly a step down from the stone-and-brick buildings of a place like Iron Stone City—but they were just so orderly. The doors and windows were perfectly symmetrical, and there were even iron plates with numbers carved on the doorframes.

Neat and clean.

You wouldn’t even see this in the big cities.

Quickblade couldn’t help but ask, "What is this place?"

"Livestock Village."

"Livestock Village?" ’Porcupine Territory has villages now? I thought there was only the territory itself?’

Carrot was quick-witted. Knowing these soldiers hadn’t taken part in the territory’s development, he explained, "The Lord has replanned Porcupine Territory. Now it has three villages: Maitian Village, Livestock Village, and Beekeeping Village."

"Three villages?" Quickblade swallowed hard.

"All with houses like these?"

"No," Carrot said, shaking his head.

Quickblade let out a sigh of relief.

They had only been gone for just over half a year. If he had built three villages in that time, that would be truly terrifying.

But Carrot continued, "Only Livestock Village and Beekeeping Village are newly built. Maitian Village hasn’t changed much."

’So he didn’t build three, he built *two*?!’

’That was still horrifying! In all his years in Porcupine Territory, Lierde hadn’t built a single new house. In fact, plenty of people had starved to death under his rule.’

Quickblade was left speechless.

The villagers on the roadside watched them pass, and Quickblade was surprised to see a few familiar faces. The villagers recognized them as well, and people began calling out greetings.

In an instant, the entire street grew lively.

Quickblade and his men smiled in response, but they still felt something wasn’t right. The villagers were living prosperous lives, had new houses, and walked on level roads free of mud pits. ’Has our Lord really been turned into a figurehead? And even if he has, what should we do?’

He shook his head slightly. ’No matter what, my loyalty is to the Porcupine Clan!’