Lord of Rot

Even though Leech had demolished Hawke Wood's mine, Hawke Wood wasn't angry at all. In fact, he thanked Leech profusely.

Leech waved his hands dismissively. "We're friends. It was nothing, I was just helping out."

"Hahaha, yes, friends!"

Leech was invited to stay for a banquet that evening.

The family of the Baron of Three-fork River consisted of the father, his son and daughter-in-law, and his daughter—two married couples in all.

'Lively,' was Leech's assessment.

The last time Leech had rescued Agnes, she had been so full of fear and unease that she'd wanted their relationship to become more than just friendship.

Now, however, it was as if nothing had happened, and she was wholeheartedly fulfilling her duties as a fiancée.

'This is for the best.'

After the banquet, Leech returned to his room to rest.

He still hadn't finished reading the Rune experiment log. Tonight was destined to be a sleepless one.

Leech sat at his desk and stretched as dawn broke.

He had finally finished reading the Rune experiment log.

'Runes communicate with souls. I'll need to experiment to see if they can be used on corpses and Corpse Ghosts.'

If it worked, the power at his command would obviously grow once more.

The log also recorded the method for creating Runes.

While the characters themselves could grant power, it wasn't as simple as just carving them onto a body. The process involved a number of rather complicated steps.

'Maybe I can tell Scholar Toma how to create Runes. He might be able to draw some parallels and finally figure out how to make his Magic Scrolls... probably.'

Leech had always been skeptical of Scholar Toma's innovative abilities. The man was certainly learned, but the things he created... were always difficult to put into words.

After getting up, Leech quickly washed his face and headed to the dining hall.

During breakfast with the Hawke Wood family, Leech brought up the apprentice again and easily secured himself an herbalist's apprentice.

As long as the apprentice was willing to leave with Leech, there was nothing Hawke Wood could do to stop him.

"Yah!"

A fast horse carried Leech away from Three-fork River Castle.

The herbalist's apprentice, Vic, clearly didn't know how to ride. He was hugging the horse's neck and screaming, "AAAHHH!"

"Relax, Vic!" Leech said with a laugh as he loosened the reins. "If you keep gripping its neck so tightly, it'll get sore and throw you off."

Vic asked, "M-My Lord, what should I do then?"

"First step, open your eyes."

Gaining a new apprentice put Leech in a great mood, not to mention that he would now have priority in purchasing Magic Alchemy Materials from Three-fork River Castle.

"AAAAHHHH!"

"Hahaha," Leech laughed. "Second step, don't piss your pants."

After Vic the herbalist's apprentice was rushed into learning how to ride, he was finally able to relax enough to chat with Leech.

This was mainly because his horse automatically followed Leech's, so all he had to do was be careful not to get thrown off.

Leech asked, "Do you know how to make Magic Potions?"

Being an herbalist's apprentice implied he had some experience brewing Magic Potions.

"I know a little," Vic nodded.

"Can you make Lucky Potions?"

'If he had people who could mass-produce Lucky Potions, he could totally go full-on overpowered protagonist—oozing charisma, having beautiful women fall into his arms, and famous generals begging to serve him.'

"I can't," Vic shook his head.

"It's fine if you don't know how. You can learn later." Leech wasn't worried. "Do you have much experience with herbal research? For ordinary medicine."

Vic nodded. "That's what I primarily studied under my master."

"Good. I happen to have a research project for you. I previously gave it to those Alchemists, but they were completely baffled and couldn't figure anything out."

"What kind of research?" Vic knew Leech was powerful. He had even avenged Vic's own master.

'But a lord can't possibly know everything, can he?'

"Penicillin," Leech said. "When we get back, I'll have you liaise directly with the Alchemists."

Magic Potions could save lives, but a single bottle easily cost a dozen Silver Moons, or even a dozen Jinri. Even minor nobles couldn't afford that, let alone the common folk.

Besides, brewing Magic Potions was too difficult and the yield was extremely low, making mass production impossible.

Leech had always wanted to produce penicillin but lacked the knowledge to replicate it himself. Now that he had an herbalist's apprentice, he could finally fill that gap in his medical capabilities.

In the seemingly peaceful Porcupine Territory, someone would get sick every two or three days on average.

Despite Leech's repeated warnings, illnesses like tetanus and various infections were still common. Fortunately, the symptoms were usually not severe. People could pull through by just toughing it out and taking some medicine.

But Leech believed the reason there hadn't been large-scale deaths was because he had strictly forbidden bloodletting.

...

「Back in Porcupine Territory.」

Leech immediately arranged for the herbalist's apprentice Vic to meet with the Alchemists. He planned to form a medical team centered around Vic in the future.

Perhaps they could even develop it into a hospital in the future.

Someone had to treat the illnesses of thousands of people.

But first, he had to see if Vic had any real substance. Otherwise, the whole plan would be a joke.

Leech then gave the *Rune Experiment Log* to Scholar Toma, hoping he could gain some inspiration from it by drawing parallels to his own work.

'Trust those you use, and don't use those you distrust.'

'Besides, I'll be watching him, so it's impossible for Scholar Toma to conduct any human experiments.'

In the blink of an eye, it was mid-February. The weather was warming up, and Porcupine Territory was finally operating at full capacity.

The brick kilns began belching thick smoke once more. There was another rush of work ahead to build housing for the more than four thousand slaves who would be arriving.

A few days ago, a raven had arrived from Three-fork River Castle. It brought a message that a batch of slaves had been secured. The quantity Leech requested would cost around 400 Jinri, and he would have to pay in full as long as no more than twenty percent died en route.

'Gaoxue City sure is tyrannical. What's so great about having half a million slaves?'

Leech sent a letter in reply confirming that the terms were acceptable and they should just come.

'They won't arrive until April or May?' Leech mused, looking at the raven's reply.

'Not counting children, that's four thousand people. They'll most likely be transported by ship.'

Take the Porcupine, for example. In theory, it can only carry 100 people. But if you really crammed them in, you could fit a thousand. And with some real, next-level packing, you could probably squeeze in all four thousand, with another row hanging off the gunwales.

If they left now, it would be a two-month voyage from the desert to the East Gorge, crossing half of the Lu Leiyi Continent.

"My Lord!"

Just as Leech was pondering where he would be in April, a shout brought him back to his senses.

"What is it?" He looked up at Pitz, who was walking in.

Lately, Pitz's ability to communicate with animals had been steadily improving, and she'd also hit a second growth spurt.

Perhaps it was the good nutrition, but she seemed to have gained a certain vibrant energy.

"A noble Knight is heading towards Porcupine Territory."

"A noble Knight? Alright, I understand. You did well."

Leech casually picked up the cake plate from his desk and handed it to Pitz. "When you're done, take the plate to the kitchen."

"Yes, sir!" Pitz happily took the plate.

He hadn't taken a single bite of the cake; it was all hers now.

This kind of precious cake couldn't be bought even with money. It was specially made on Leech's orders using Extraordinary Honey.

It wasn't that Leech had suddenly become extravagant. Once the weather warmed, he planned to take Arkke to an island to start cultivating Extraordinary bees. There wasn't much point in saving the current supply of Extraordinary Honey. Its effects were weaker than Giant Crab Flesh, and its revitalizing properties were negligible anyway.

Soon, the Knight Pitz had mentioned arrived in Porcupine Territory.

Unexpectedly, it was an acquaintance: Lacy Sith, the Extraordinary Knight who had lost to Leech in the tournament.

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