Boundless Family Upgrades For The Deadbeat Lord

The crystalline chimes inside Raymond’s mind didn’t just ring; they practically orchestrated a full symphony of digital absolute triumph.

[ Ding! ]

[ Congratulations Host! You have successfully completed a Hidden Milestone Mission: ’The Art of the Devil’s Tongue’! ]

[ Mission Description: Successfully suppress a life-threatening armed mutiny through pure psychological manipulation and gaslighting without losing a single unit of your starting population force. ]

[ Mission Evaluation: S-Rank! ]

[ Calculating Hidden Rewards... ]

[ Congratulations! You have received: x20 Bronze Summoning Tickets, x5 Silver Summoning Tickets, Tier II variant agricultural seeds, x1 Time Acceleration Card, 100,000 System Points, and 50,000 Gold Coins. ]

Raymond stood completely rooted to the spot, his mind blown away by the avalanche of system rewards. The cold, mechanical notifications kept hammering his eardrums like heavenly music. He had to forcibly clamp his jaw shut, swallowing hard to suppress the wild, frantic beating of his heart.

The raw excitement pulsing through his veins was almost overwhelming. What surprised him the absolute most wasn’t just the sheer volume of the loot, but the bizarre fact that he had triggered an entire S-rank hidden mission just by standing there and spinning a web of weaponized guilt to a bunch of uneducated mercenaries.

He hadn’t expected the system to reward manipulative acting so generously.

A slow, brilliant light filled his eyes as a profound realization dawned on him."It seems like Hidden Missions are the real cash cows."

He cleared his throat slightly, pulling himself back into his elegant, pious lord persona before his facial muscles could betray his internal greed. He looked toward Captain Boris and the remaining mercenaries who were still kneeling on the stone floor, staring up at him with teary, fanatical eyes.

"Very well," Raymond said, giving them a gentle, dismissing wave. "You men have seen a long, difficult day, and your injuries require attention. You may leave for now. I will call for a formal meeting to discuss our logistical restructuring later. For now, return to your quarters, tend to your wounds, and go watch over the town walls for me."

Captain Boris straightened his dented posture immediately, slamming his fist against his chest armor. "Understood, my Lord! House Althoff shall stand!"

With that final, booming salute, the thirty-plus mercenaries slowly began to file out of the ruined doorway. They walked exceptionally slowly, limping heavily, clutching their broken ribs, and groaning in agony from the thorough pummeling they had received from the summoned knight.

Yet, despite the deep physical pain, their eyes were literally radiating a bizarre, unyielding joy. The stark contradiction of severe bruising and fanatical happiness made them look incredibly ridiculous as they shuffled down the corridor.

Raymond watched their receding backs until the last swollen face disappeared around the corner of the stone hallway. The moment they were gone, he let out a massive, exhausted sigh that seemed to drain the remaining tension from his bones. His legs buckled slightly, and he slumped heavily back onto the tattered velvet mattress of his canopy bed.

Though he had appeared completely calm, dangerous, and collected on the surface while gaslighting the guards, he had been incredibly nervous. One wrong word, one slip of his tongue, and those thirty desperate men might have ignored the knights and lunged to slit his throat.

He took a ragged breath and looked toward the three towering, silent figures clad in sleek, dark armor who were still standing inside his room like absolute monuments of death.

"You three," Raymond commanded, gesturing toward the entrance. "Guard the door for me. Do not let a single soul inside without my explicit permission."

"By your command, Sire," the middle knight responded in a deep baritone.

The three giants turned and marched to the doorway, establishing an impenetrable wall of steel between Raymond and the rest of the castle.

With that final security measure in place, Raymond finally had a moment of peace and quiet. He rubbed his sweaty palms together, his heart rate spiking with pure anticipation. "Now then... let’s see what this system really is."

With that thought running rapidly through his mind, he spoke clearly into the empty air of his bedroom. "Status."

Instantly, a massive, vibrant blue holographic screen popped up directly in front of his eyes, casting a cool light across his face.

-----

[ Status Panel ]

Host: [ Raymond von Althoff ]

Age: [ 20 ]

Race: [ Human ]

Title: [ The Deadbeat Lord / Head of House Althoff.]

Noble Rank: [ Disgraced Baron ]

Personal Strength Tier: [ None (Void Water Poison In Effect)

[ Host Attributes ]

• Strength: 10

• Agility: 7

• Stamina: 8

• Endurance: 8

[System Note: Your current physical state is simply too pathetic and weak. Even a moderately aggressive chicken in the local courtyard possesses a higher combat efficacy than you. Get a life, Host.]

[ Family Core Metrics ]

Family Grade: Tier-1 (Barony) [Upgrade Progress: 12%]

Family Funds:[ 50,200 Gold Coins (50,000 from System) ]

Total Population: 1,200 / 5,000

Total Land Mass: 150 Square Kilometers (Barren / Frozen)

System Points (SP): 110,000 SP

System Missions: None Active

Inventory: [x20 Bronze Summoning Tickets, x5 Silver Summoning Tickets, Tier II Variant Seeds (Assorted), x1 Time Acceleration Card,Divine Grade Mana Heart, x1 Tier 1 Land Upgrade Card ]

[ Household Subordinates ]

• Active Summons: 3 ( 5-Star Silver Knights )

• Bloodline Successors: None

• Loyal Subordinates: 35 (35 newly converted Guard Units)

------

Raymond rubbed his chin slowly as he parsed through the lines of text, a look of deep, analytical interest gleaming in his eyes. He didn’t find the numbers or the brackets confusing at all.

He understood perfectly what every single one of these metrics meant. After all, back on Earth, spending thousands of hours reading webnovels, light novels, and tracking complex LitRPG manhwa stats wasn’t a hobby for the weak.

In fact, if there were a literal cosmic cultivation ranking for reading webnovels online, Raymond was absolutely certain he would already be an ascendant master sitting comfortably at the Apex Ancient God Realm. Compared to the poor saps who might skim Chapters and get confused by simple numbers, Raymond’s veteran eyes could read a status interface like a pro.

He bypassed the rude system note entirely, ignoring the insult about the aggressive chicken, and focused heavily on the main limitation. His eyes narrowed on the personal strength line: Void Water Poison In Effect.

That explained why the original Raymond had been such an absolute wreck, dying of apparent liver failure and alcohol poisoning. He hadn’t just been a deadbeat; someone had been actively slipping poison into his cups.

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