Lord of Rot

Vic, the apprentice herbalist, stared at the thing before him and asked in disbelief, "My lord, is this really a chicken that’s less than a month old?"

He looked at the massive fowl before him, which had a wingspan of a full six feet. If it didn’t have a cockscomb and cry "COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO," Vic would have sworn an eagle was standing before him.

"That’s right."

Leech nodded seriously and said, "It is indeed a one-month-old chicken. I know each and every one of them; there’s absolutely no mistake."

"But, this... could it be a magical beast?" Vic was bewildered; this was completely beyond his scope of knowledge.

"Probably not a magical beast."

Leech wasn’t sure either. He held out the herbs from Maoshan Beech Village and said, "The chickens ate this. I want you to study it. Find out why it makes chickens and ducks grow so large in such a short time, whether it has any harmful side effects, and if not, whether it’s safe for humans to eat."

The look in Vic’s eyes changed instantly.

He was no expert in animal husbandry, but when it came to herbalism, that was his specialty.

"Oh, and the Purple Clove Mushrooms," Leech said. "See what’s special about them, whether they’re most valuable eaten raw, and how potent the toxins are."

"Yes, my lord. You can rest assured."

Once Vic had the herbs, he immediately began his research. Leech didn’t disturb him, instead taking a look around his small laboratory. He saw small, sealed jars labeled "Penicillin (1)," "Penicillin (2)," and so on. It seemed the penicillin research was underway.

It just goes to show, you need a professional. When Leech had previously given this task to the Alchemists, that group had made no progress at all, spending all their time thinking about bloodletting this person or that person.

He had someone put the one-month-old chicken into a cage. There was no need to take it away; leaving it here would make it convenient for Vic to observe.

Leech then paid a visit to the small textile mill. The women in charge of spinning had little work left to do. The cocoons had been reeled and spun into silk, and the output was still considerable. Moreover, he could clearly see that their craftsmanship improved with each later batch.

"For now, make a few sets of silk stockings in a standard size. I’ll take them with me to East Port in a couple of days."

As for skirts, he still needed to contact the noble ladies’ tailors and buy the measurements from them.

He had to go. He had completely taken over Iron Valley, but the Duke still hadn’t officially granted him the land, leaving him feeling unsettled.

He swung by the blacksmith’s shop to assign tasks to the blacksmiths. The armor for the 300 Iron Valley Soldiers needed to be put on the schedule, as well as muskets, ammunition, and so on.

...

Life was getting better and better, and you could clearly see the little maid’s face getting a bit chubbier.

Leech was a firm believer in mature aesthetics: bigger was better, and better was bigger.

Scrawny little girls weren’t his type; slightly plump was true love.

When Leech returned to the castle, he saw Pitz making "pici, pici" sounds. A moment later, a few birds descended from the sky.

"You don’t have to imitate bird calls anymore? They can understand you just by you talking?" Leech asked as he walked over.

"My lord!" Pitz heard Leech’s voice and nodded happily. "Yes, my lord. I feel like my animal friends can understand what I’m saying now. I can even command some of the dumber ones, but the grumpy ones still don’t really listen..."

Leech listened to Pitz’s stories about her and her animal friends.

For instance, she had recently encountered some strange creatures: armadillos that could burrow into the ground.

"Wait, you’re saying you found armadillos in the dense forest?"

"Yes."

Pitz nodded. "Yes, the little guys are very timid."

In the natural world, pangolins are famous for digging quickly. Besides them, there are the armadillos, which look very similar and are also armored.

They can burrow into the ground in the blink of an eye.

Of course, what left the deepest impression on Leech was a news story he’d seen on Earth about someone shooting at an armadillo, only for the bullet to ricochet.

Whether it was true or not, Leech couldn’t exactly test it with a gun. It would be a pointless exercise. However, the appearance of the armadillos gave him a new idea.

’If I can bring a group of armadillos back to Iron Valley, maybe they can dig the tunnel I need!’

’Just feed the armadillos the herbs from Maoshan Beech Village, and they’ll grow to an enormous size in a very short time. Won’t they be living excavators? This plan could work!’

"Can you take me to see them?" Leech asked.

"They’re right here."

Pitz lowered her head and made a "pici, pici" sound. Soon, a hole broke through the ground, and a small, armored creature poked its head out and emerged.

One after another, a total of seven or eight of them scurried out.

Armadillos, also known as armored mice.

Leech walked over and had just crouched down when the little creatures all curled into balls to protect themselves.

Seeing this, Pitz chirped "pici, pici" a couple more times. They uncurled, but still couldn’t help but tremble as Leech extended his hand toward them.

Fortunately, Leech didn’t feel the need to actually touch them, so he stopped.

"They listen to your commands?" Leech asked.

Pitz nodded repeatedly. "They’re very well-behaved."

"When the time comes, bring a group of armadillos with you and follow me to Iron Valley," Leech said.

’Good. As long as she can control them.’

Pitz’s eyes widened slightly in pleasant surprise. "Yes, my lord!"

Turning his head and seeing Arkke standing in the distance, Leech beckoned her over.

She immediately trotted over. "Good day, my lord."

"Have you felt your abilities improving lately?" Leech asked.

’Compared to Pitz, Arkke was definitely the talented one. When she was tested, she already had 16 units of Spiritual Power.’

Arkke said, "Teacher Toma says my Spiritual Power is at 30 units now."

"Thirty?"

’Leech was taken aback. His own Spiritual Power had struggled to reach 45, and he’d thought he was exceptionally gifted. He hadn’t expected Arkke to be on the verge of surpassing him already.’

’By the time she reaches my age, won’t she be able to conjure up spiritual storms with ease?’

’Don’t tell me she’ll be beyond Extraordinary the moment she becomes an adult.’

"Tomorrow, you’ll come with me to the island," Leech said. "The flowers on the island should be blooming soon. I want you to see if you can cultivate Extraordinary bees."

"Yes!" Arkke nodded eagerly, as if afraid Leech would change his mind.

Leech then turned and said, "Pitz, you should come along and see it too."

Life was uneventful for the next two days. Leech temporarily left Arkke on the High Magic Land island, where she would try to control and cultivate the Extraordinary bees.

He also received a letter from Linta Bay, saying that Stacy and her companions were already on their way to Porcupine Territory to attend his birthday party.

’Should I invite more people to the birthday party?’

Leech was undecided, so he had to ask Lacy.

Lacy said, "A banquet can showcase the prosperity of Porcupine Territory and your own strength. Some of the invited Knights might choose to pledge their service to you."

"But I don’t know enough nobles. It’s hard to say who to invite," Leech said, feeling conflicted.

’At most, he could invite Baron Spark from Iron Stone City, and the Hawke Wood family from Three-fork River Castle.’

’Lady Jie Lin of Longship Castle certainly couldn’t come. The journey was long and arduous, and her health wasn’t suitable for it.’

’After thinking it over, he realized that everyone he could invite was a lord, and a lord would naturally not pledge service to him.’

"Since you’re going back to East Port this time, help me invite a few more Knights," Leech said.

He didn’t plan on heading to East Port for the time being. It wasn’t that he was anxious about the official documents for his territory, but Sidor Sea Water had sent a letter. He was now the legal lord of Iron Valley; the official decree was just still on its way, and he had to wait for someone from House Leopold to arrive and bestow the title.

Having received his orders, Lacy Sith nodded very seriously. "Yes!"

’The smooth development of both territories depended entirely on whether he could poach more talented people.’

’Using the birthday banquet as a pretext, there should be no shortage of attendees.’

Leech was also quite confident. ’After all, I’m the lord of two territories; there ought to be plenty of people willing to seek refuge with me.’

As Lacy was sailing for East Port, Leech received news from the apprentice herbalist about his research.

The research on the Maoshan Beech Village herbs had already borne fruit.

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