Pioneer Lord: A Leisurely Imperial Life

Chapter 231 You Deserve the Best

Once the dust had settled, Lucy rode her Cyclone Eagle onto the back of the Great Fortune.

Looking down at the busy yet orderly molten iron workers and the pool of blood on the ground, she felt a deep sense of emotion.

Earl of the Wolf kills nobles, and his wolf cubs seem to have no qualms about killing them, completely disregarding any noble contracts.

However, these two are not the same concept.

Fortunately, the Iron Baron was not granted a title, and with the plague causing chaos throughout the North, no one should be able to trace it back to Richard.

She looked at Richard.

"It's not easy to attract so many free people in the far north. Normally, even if you exempt people from taxes for two years, not many people would be willing to come."

Winters in the far north are colder than in other places, and people need to burn more firewood to get through them.

With living conditions like these, it's impossible to attract people by exempting them from taxes for a few years.

Richard's gaze swept over the weary yet excited faces of his subjects, and he sighed silently, saying softly:

"In fact, the people at the bottom of society don't ask for much. They just want a stable income, enough to eat, and to be free from being bullied. The development of the Holy See is inseparable from their support for the free people."

Lucy was deeply moved.

Under the system of one clan, one city, it is very difficult for small families to climb up the ranks, so they will treat their territory as a business.

In order to save money and ensure maximum output from the land, they only cared about exploiting their subjects and rarely cared about their lives.

Although she did not believe in the light, she felt that the actions of certain lords needed another force to restrain them.

...

Just then, a Chiffon Guard rode by on a unicorn.

"Richard," Lucy turned her head, her eyes sparkling as she stared at him, "A war mage is one thing, but what's with the unicorn and advanced magical weaponry?"

Richard laughed and said, "That's part of the secret too. Don't worry, I'll tell you everything in the future."

Faced with Richard's old arguments, Lucy pouted, feeling a little cat scratching at her heart, making her feel itchy.

She hugged his arm and shook it gently, saying coquettishly, "You have so many secrets, you always keep me in suspense."

Richard cupped her face in his hands, intending to change the subject, his tone full of doting affection.

"Do you like unicorns? I'll give you one."

Lucy was taken aback, nodded subconsciously, and then quickly shook her head.

"I like it, but it's too valuable. It's a flying war machine, I can't accept it."

She didn't know how much a flying unicorn was worth, but she had heard that Viscount Cold Mountain had sold a hawk with sharp claws for two hundred gold coins, let alone such a noble and elegant legendary creature.

Richard, however, laughed even more heartily.

"Nothing more precious than your word of 'I like you' is worth more than this. My rose deserves the best of everything."

Lucy's heart was instantly filled!

She threw herself into his arms, buried her face in his chest, and mumbled, "Thank you, my wolf."

Richard embraced her, feeling the softness and warmth of the person in his arms, and looked up at Albert, who was standing next to the Cyclops Eagle.

The Frost Knights commander was staring intently at the armor of a Chiffon Guard, his eyes practically bulging with spittle.

"Commander," Richard said.

Albert immediately looked away, coughed lightly, and his face regained its usual composure.

"Lord Richard, what are your orders?"

Richard chuckled.

"To thank the Frost Knights for escorting me on my journey, I'm also giving you a unicorn. I hope you won't find it too shabby."

Albert visibly stiffened, a hint of embarrassment appearing on his face.

He knew perfectly well that Chiffon Territory harbored such a powerful Sky Knight Order that it had no need for the Frost Knight Order to escort them.

"The Frost Knights have not accomplished anything, and we really cannot accept such a generous gift. I appreciate your kindness."

Lucy lifted her head from Richard's embrace, her cheeks still flushed.

"Richard, one is enough. These unicorns must have taken you a lot of effort to obtain. You can keep the rest."

"What, you don't want the Frost Knights to add another powerful flying mount?" Richard raised an eyebrow at her, then turned to Albert and said:

"Since your young lady is sending gifts to my ten soldiers, I must reciprocate. Otherwise, people will think that Chiffon Castle is ignorant of etiquette."

Lucy glanced at Richard, then at Albert's troubled expression, tiptoed and kissed Richard on the cheek before turning to Albert and saying:

"Commander, Richard's offer is very kind; please accept it."

Since his young mistress had spoken, Albert no longer hesitated. He bowed deeply to Richard, his tone sincere:

"Thank you for your kindness, Lord Chiffon. The Frost Knights will always remember this gift."

Richard laughed heartily.

"No problem!"

It's just a unicorn. As long as you have a packhorse, you can convert it into one for eleven gold coins.

The reason for not making large-scale conversions before was mainly due to a lack of materials to make matching horse armor, and using ordinary saddles would be beneath their dignity, so we maintained a quantity of one thousand horses for the time being.

It's only natural to give it to Lucy; there's no reason why everyone in the maid corps should have one, but she, the main wife, shouldn't.

As for Albert, he's Lucy's family member after all, so it's always good to maintain a good relationship with him; we'll need his help later.

...

After a few casual words, Richard changed the subject and said to Albert:

"Commander, I have a favor to ask of you. I would like you to take five Life Apostles to the next territory first."

"After Lucy and I finish dealing with the aftermath of Ironwater Territory, we'll head to other places. It'll be more efficient to split up."

The twenty Life Apostles were divided into several teams, with one team each for the snow deer and the snow fox.

After Paul and Melanie have dealt with the local plague, they will travel to the east and west of the North, respectively, as instructed in his letter.

Those who go to the Benlang branch will receive treatment in the nearby vassal territories of Benlang, such as Shuofeng.

He also split his team into two groups, one led by Albert and the other by himself.

In this way, we can cover all the territories in the North as soon as possible and completely eradicate the Black Serpent Plague.

This is where the advantage of having many friends comes in. Lucy came along because she knew most of the lords.

Otherwise, Richard alone would have spent ages just introducing himself and arguing when others were invaded by the plague.

...

Albert looked at Lucy, and seeing her nod, he agreed.

"No problem, Lord Richard, I'll set off with my men right away."

"Thanks for your hard work."

Richard summoned five apostles of life and instructed them to follow Albert's instructions on the road and to treat the infected as soon as possible.

Watching Albert lead his team away into the distance, Richard breathed a sigh of relief, finally having gotten the important matters settled.

Richard turned to Lucy and smiled, "While we still have some time, let's go inside Ironwater Fortress and see what spoils we have."

Looting the supplies after the battle—that's the real highlight!