“Father, I’m fine.”

Richard recovered from the shock of his golden finger.

Seeing that Richard didn’t appear to be injured, Viscount Souter also relaxed. “Please keep my promotion to knighthood a secret for now, Father.”

In these chaotic times, it was necessary to keep one’s cards close to one’s chest. The fact that he had become a knight was something best kept hidden.

Viscount Souter nodded, agreeing to keep Richard’s promotion a secret, though he wished dearly to boast about it to the outside world.

He knew his strengths and weaknesses. When it came to riding a horse and slaying enemies, he was a master of his craft. However, when it came to sitting down to manage a territory or engage in political intrigue, his very scalp would explode in frustration.

Thus, when Richard displayed an aptitude for administration at the age of twelve, Viscount Souter happily handed over the day-to-day management of the territory to him.

He wasn’t afraid that Richard would screw up too badly, because even the most serious trouble in the Hunter Territory couldn’t surpass the reach of his knight’s sword.

The results proved Richard’s administrative prowess far exceeded his father’s expectations. The territory flourished under his rule, and what’s more, the castle could now afford to let its residents eat meat to their heart’s content, with plenty left over.

And so Viscount Souter handed even more authority to Richard, spending more time each day drinking, practicing martial arts, and watching circuses. He never cared much for exercising power, nor did he harbor any suspicion toward his son.

Richard returned to his room, preoccupied with thoughts of the day. The room, spacious and bright, was prepared for his arrival by the chambermaids, the beds warmed.

If Richard so desired, the chambermaids, who were not unattractive, could have performed duties beyond warming his bed, but after two lifetimes of tempering, Richard was no uncivilized beast driven by hunger; he disappointed these long-starved maidens instead.

Ah, the evils of feudalism!

With his newfound power, Richard could finally begin to carry out certain plans.

After a brief contemplation, Richard drifted off to sleep.

The cold nights in the northern lands were exceptionally silent, the occasional chirping of insects piercing to the ears.

A ray of sunlight pierced through the window. Richard, who had slept soundly, had already risen early.

To the soldiers of Wooden Iron Castle, Young Master Richard’s decision to forego training at the practice field that morning was a first. Instead, he rode his horse out toward the city gates.

However, Richard’s influence in Tie Mu City was unparalleled, and no patrolling soldier questioned his decision to leave the city.

After exiting Tie Mu City, Richard rode straight toward the lumberyard outside town.

The soldiers guarding the lumberyard and the workers laboring there were surprised by Richard’s arrival, but they quickly saluted him nonetheless.

Nodding, Richard handed his horse over to a nearby soldier and walked toward the lumber storage warehouse.

Wood sales had always been one of the important sources of income for the Hunter family. They relied on the mountains for ironwood, as people everywhere relied on their natural resources for sustenance.

In this northern region, the Hunter family’s territory possessed an inexhaustible supply of ironwood, and each year, they could earn over a hundred gold nars by selling rough-cut lumber alone.

To put things into perspective, the entire territory’s annual tax revenue under Richard’s administration was no more than 500 gold nars, with agricultural taxes accounting for only 300. The 300 or so soldiers who served full-time under Richard’s supervision cost more than 100 gold nars per year, which highlighted the importance of these lumberyards to the Hunt family.

“Young Master Richard, how may I assist you?” The manager of the lumberyard had received word and rushed over.

“Nothing, I’m just going to take a look inside the warehouse. You can wait outside.”

“Of course. I’ll be waiting right outside. Please feel free to call on me if you need anything.”

Richard’s influence and authority in the territory was nearly on par with his father Viscount Souter’s, and had already begun to surpass it. The managers of the various estates throughout the family’s territories all treated Richard with utmost respect and never dared to cut corners on anything he set his mind to.

Those who did were either working as hard laborers or had become victims of Richard’s two uncles’ blades.

Inside the crude wooden warehouse, logs of ironwood were stacked neatly into a pile, each one already processed and ready to be used.

Richard walked over and placed his hand on a pile of wood.

“Discovering wood. Shall it be harvested?”

The System’s interface once again appeared within his consciousness.

Richard silently responded with a “yes.”

The entire pile of wood disappeared.

“Congratulations! You have harvested one unit of wood.”

Richard did some mental math and estimated that the value of the wood that just disappeared was nearly a single gold nars.

Based on his recollection, the resource consumption in Heroes of Might and Magic was also measured in small whole numbers, so this depletion was not unacceptable.

Next, Richard harvested all the remaining wood in the warehouse, which yielded ten units of wood altogether.

Then, Richard called the manager of the lumberyard into the warehouse.

Upon entering, the manager saw the empty warehouse and was so frightened that he fell to his knees, his legs giving out beneath him.

“M-my hands are clean,” he muttered repeatedly, “my hands are clean.”

It was no wonder the manager was anxious; Richard was extremely strict with those under him, and if he were to be accused of embezzling from the warehouse, he would likely lose his life.

“I know. It’s not your fault.”

“Let nothing of this day leave your lips. Report this wood as a loss, and I will notify the chief steward.”

With that, Richard turned and walked out of the warehouse.

Once he left, the manager finally recovered his senses. He simply couldn’t fathom how Young Master Richard had made an entire warehouse of wood disappear, and his awe for this young master deepened.

The Hunting family owned several lumberyards like this, but Richard didn’t continue to scour for timber. It would be one thing to take from a single location, but if he were to take from all of them, it would disrupt the Hunting family’s timber trade.

Even though no one would question his actions, doing so would not benefit the long-term development of the Hunting family’s territory, and Richard understood this very clearly.

After employing the same method to obtain ten units of stone from a quarry, Richard felt he had grasped the situation at hand.

He now had a means to acquire the two most important resources for the development of human settlements, and gold could be converted directly from gold nars. As for the rare resources needed later on, he would cross that bridge when he came to it.

Richard rode his horse into the wilderness, then silently recited:

“Obtain initial castle garrison.”

After a few seconds, a group of powerful-looking soldiers marched from the nearby ironwood forest to stand before Richard.

“Sir Chosen.” The soldiers respectfully bowed to Richard as they approached.

However, Richard did not respond immediately, as upon claiming his initial garrison, the System presented him with another choice: between additional resources or more troops.

After some thought, Richard chose more troops, as his plans required a stronger garrison to execute.

As soon as he made his choice, another small group of soldiers emerged from the ironwood forest in the same manner as the first and came to stand before him, awaiting orders.

Race: Human

Strength: 5.9

Stamina: 6.1

Agility: 6.5

Mind: 2.8

Skills: Beast Breathing Technique (Master Rank), Universal Qi Guiding Technique (Elementary Rank)

Units: Spearman (18), Archer (10), Swordsman (3), Crusader (1)

Young, talented successor of the Hunter family.

Upon opening his character profile, he noticed a new column for “units.” Richard took the time to converse with each soldier, discovering that every one of them had their own names and independent thoughts. Other than being implanted with the idea of serving the Chosen, they were living people, no different from the men who had been with him since the beginning.

However, no matter how Richard asked, they couldn’t explain how they came to this place, only ever saying it was “the will of God.”

After conversing with them, Richard began to assess these System soldiers’ capabilities. These burly men, all over six feet tall, certainly didn’t disappoint. Their most basic spearman were comparable to his long-term professional soldiers, while their archers’ skills were even slightly above those of his professional hunters-turned-soldiers.

Unfortunately, there were no griffins in this group, but the handful of knights, especially the Crusader, came as a pleasant surprise.

The three System knights had the power of peak quasi-knight level, with combat abilities on par with Richard’s two uncles.

The Crusader was even more impressive. During sparring with Richard, he ignited a similar green energy, nearly blinding Richard’s eyes.

This Crusader was likely a freshly knighted soldier, with a similar energy capacity as the System’s Qi Drawing technique. His physical foundation was even slightly inferior to Richard’s, yet he held his own against Richard with his exceptional swordsmanship.

Richard sheathed his sword, reminding the soldiers to address him as Young Master Richard and to never reveal his origins to anyone.

Then, Richard set off with this group of soldiers on the journey back to Tie Mu City, humming a light-hearted tune as he rode.