155: Chapter 155 Rusna Everina

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"Many thanks, noble Lord! Your generosity fills this lowly one with infinite admiration!"

The merchant Walker thanked and praised Lister incessantly, his face filled with pleasant surprise.

Since the proclamation of the new western frontier pioneer order, more and more Baron lords had come to develop the Western Frontier.

Among them, lords like Lister who purchased so many Slaves at once were not non-existent, but they could be counted on one's fingers.

Walker used to listen to his peers brag, but now it was finally his turn to encounter a major benefactor. For a moment, he couldn't wait to go back and show off to those colleagues.

However, out of professional conduct, he still thoughtfully completed all services for Lister first, leading people to deliver all the Slaves to the inn where Lister was temporarily staying.

After Walker left with a joyful smile on his face, Lister took all the Slaves to the large open space behind the inn.

This time, Lister had purchased over three hundred Slaves in total, and almost all of them were human.

For his newly acquired Pioneer Territory, the number wasn't considered large, but the quality was very good.

Compared to Slaves sold by other Slave merchants, the ones Walker sold not only possessed skills but were also more spirited and had better physical fitness.

However, Lister had come to Walker specifically to buy Slaves not just for those with skills, but more so for one particular cat-eared girl.

According to the divination information from a few days ago, besides her extraordinary status as the little princess of a Cat-ear Tribe patriarch beyond the Western Frontier whose tribe had just been destroyed...

More importantly, her magic talent was very high; she could become a High Mage in the future.

A High Mage corresponded to the realm of a Golden Knight, and compared to a Golden Knight, they were even rarer and more precious.

If Lister were to take her for a walk through the church branch in Coridinglo now, she would definitely be fiercely contested by those church administrators.

Standing on the steps, Lister scanned the crowd and quickly found the cat-eared girl shrinking back among the people.

With a gentle smile, Lister walked up to the cat-eared girl, Rustina Evelina, and asked, "What is your name?"

"Re—reporting, Lord... My, my name is Rustina Evelina."

Looking at Lister's handsome face, which was as warm as sunlight, Lucina somehow felt the fear in her heart dissipate significantly for a moment.

Nodding, Lister said softly, "Lucina, from now on you will be the personal maid of my sister, Christina. Come with me."

Hearing that she had suddenly become the maid of the Lord's sister, Lucina's emotions surged; she didn't know whether to be happy or afraid.

After all, she was once the little princess of a tribe and knew very well that some noble girls had more or less some personality flaws.

If Christina had a good personality, she naturally wouldn't have to worry, but if her personality was foul, then her future days would be hard to endure.

Lister was unaware of Lucina's inner thoughts. After giving Odinton a few instructions, he took Lucina to Flora's room.

Accompanied by Flora, Lucina quickly washed away the filth from her body and changed into a maid's outfit.

Seeing Lucina walk out of the room, Lister's eyes couldn't help but brighten. He thought to himself that it was no wonder those noble scions liked to buy cat-eared girls as maids.

It truly gave one a heart-racing feeling, especially that sense of fragility that made one instinctively want to protect her.

After a brief look, Lister took Lucina to Christina's room.

Pushing open the door, Lister immediately saw Christina playing and laughing with Bai Ze and the other little ones.

After spending a long time together, Christina's personality had gradually become cheerful, or rather, it had returned to her original disposition.

Seeing Lister walk in, Christina quickly ran to him and called out "Brother" in a crisp voice.

Bai Ze and the other little ones also followed her, clamoring as if they were her left and right guardians.

Only after her greeting did Christina notice Lucina behind Lister. While observing her, she showed a look of curiosity.

Like Christina, Lucina was also observing her imperceptibly. After all, this was her future master; her goodness or badness would determine Lucina's future life.

However, just at the first sight of Christina, a very close feeling arose in Lucina's heart, which surprised her greatly.

Patting Christina's head, Lister said with a smile, "Christina, this is Rustina Evelina. She will be your personal maid from now on."

"Personal maid?" Christina looked surprised and immediately wanted to decline politely.

After all, she was once just an ordinary human girl from a small tribe in the Western Frontier and felt she had no nobility at all.

Even though she was now Lister's sister, she knew very well that all of this was given by Lister, so she didn't want to cause him any trouble.

Seeing through her thoughts, Lister spoke first: "Christina, you are my sister now. Don't be afraid of troubling me."

"As a brother, isn't it normal to improve my sister's life? Be good."

Hearing Lister's soft voice, Christina was touched and nodded heavily, swallowing the words of refusal that were at the tip of her tongue.

To the side, Lucina, hearing their conversation, felt envious and a bit strange at the same time.

What does 'you are my sister now' mean?

"Alright, I have matters to attend to. Christina, you and Lucina get to know each other well."

After saying that, amidst Christina's obedient response and Lucina's respectful bow, Lister quickly left the room and closed the door.

Watching Lister's back disappear, Christina looked at Lucina and gave a sweet smile. "My name is Christina. Can I call you Sister Lucina from now on?"

"Sister?" Lucina looked panicked and flustered. "That... that won't do! Miss Christina, you are the Lord's sister."

Christina naturally took Lucina's hand and said softly, "Sister Lucina, it's okay. Actually—"

Early the next morning, outside the heavy city gates of Coridinglo, a team of nearly five hundred people was ready to set off.

On horseback, Lister glanced at this magnificent city, then turned his head toward the horizon illuminated by the newly risen sun without any lingering attachment.

"Everyone, move out!"

—

With the order given, the team moved out grandly, heading toward the southwest direction outside the Western Frontier.

The territory Lister chose this time was named by him as the Iron Thorn Territory Branch.

Originally, he wanted to choose a nice and domineering name, but unfortunately, he had difficulty naming things. In the end, he could only use this simple and easy-to-understand name.

According to the large map he had purchased at a high price, Lister's team would have to pass through five territories in a straight line.

Although there were many forces in the southwest of the Western Frontier, most were very loose small countries and tribes; the large forces were concentrated in the northwest.

Therefore, the kingdom had not conquered many territories in the southwest, which happened to reduce the travel time for Lister's team.

However, though the territories were few, each was quite large. For instance, the Iron Thorn Territory Branch Lister chose was a full fifty thousand danmu in size (200 square kilometers).

It was more than three times larger than the original Ironthorn Territory. For a pioneer lord, it allowed for more freedom in development.

On this trip, Lister brought along the new type of carriage produced by the Workshop. Its speed and stability were incomparable to the original carriages.

Thus, after nearly ten days of rapid travel, Lister's team arrived at the third territory on their route, the territory of Lister's friend, Kelvin.

That's right, Kelvin's territory was right here.

As soon as the team stepped onto this land, Lister could feel that the soil quality was very good; it was a land suitable for planting crops.

After marching for a short while, several Soldiers dressed in black armor appeared before Lister and the others.

At the signal of the leading Soldier, Lister's convoy slowly stopped. Several Soldiers maintained a vigilant distance from the convoy while signaling the person in charge to declare their origin.

Receiving Lister's signal, Red rode his horse quickly to a spot not far from the Soldiers.

Seeing that familiar face, the leading Soldier opposite immediately showed a look of surprise and asked, "May I ask if you are the Knight Captain of Lord Howard of the Ironthorn Territory, Lord Red?"

Several new recruits nearby couldn't help but show puzzled looks, not knowing why the sergeant was so happy.

"It is I," Red responded in a deep voice.

Hearing Red's firm response, the leading Soldier hurriedly rode his horse forward. After a few words, he led the Soldiers to Lister and gave a respectful greeting.

Afterward, under the lead of the Soldier squad, Lister's convoy slowly arrived at the core station of the territory.

Just like what he had seen in the previous two territories, Kelvin's core station had already formed a significant scale.

Although it still looked a bit crude overall, it was gradually approaching the form of a small town.

Along the way, Serfs could be seen busy with their own tasks: building houses, fishing,

planting crops, and so on.

On the other side, Kelvin, who was currently idling—no, who was currently focusing on governing his territory at the lord's residence—showed a look of pleasant surprise upon hearing the Soldier's report.

Hurriedly putting on a thick coat, Kelvin walked quickly out of the house. After a few steps, he saw Lister appearing before him with Red and Odinton.

"Haha, Lister, my dear friend!"

Kelvin laughed loudly and wanted to give Lister a big hug, but he was skillfully evaded by Lister.

You're not a great beauty, what's with the hugging?

After coughing twice to hide his embarrassment, Kelvin asked in surprise, "Lister, why have you come to the Western Frontier Pioneer Territory? It couldn't be that you really failed to make it, just like I said last time?"

Looking at the corners of his mouth that he couldn't stop from curling upward, Lister suddenly felt an urge to punch him.

Seeing that Lister didn't respond, Kelvin laughed even louder. "Haha, Lister, you didn't really lose even the Ironthorn Territory, did you?"

"Oh, my poor brother, it seems Lord Kelvin will have to give you some proper comfort."

Despite his comforting tone, Kelvin's smile was almost reaching the sky.

I've chosen my friends poorly!

Lister shook his head speechlessly but didn't slap his face on the spot. After all, in a place like the Western Frontier Pioneer Territory, he figured this was probably Kelvin's only source of fun.

At nightfall.

The swaying bonfire flickered with bright light, warming everyone around.

To celebrate the arrival of Lister and his party, Kelvin specially held a welcome banquet.

After learning in the afternoon that Lister hadn't come to suffer but to gain experience, Kelvin was sad for quite a while.

Especially when Kelvin saw those twenty Full Knights, the envy in his eyes almost condensed into water.

One must know that since he arrived at the Western Frontier Pioneer Territory, he only had twelve Full Knights, and the strongest among them was only the Knight Captain Gregory, who was at Bronze Rank 8.

Actually, given his status and initial team, having twelve Full Knights so quickly was considered very good development.

But people fear comparison. Compared to Lister, his territory's development speed was completely incomparable.

And the reason he developed so fast was because he had obtained this good territory with three resource points.

Even so, he was still far inferior to Lister. He truly admired Lister's governance ability from the bottom of his heart.

But if it were just that, it would be fine; Lister himself had actually advanced to become a Silver Knight.

When they found out, it gave him, Gregory, and the other knights a huge shock, and they repeatedly marveled at Lister's formidable talent.

Picking up a skewer of roasted beast meat, Kelvin handed it to Lister.

"Lister, although coming to develop in the Western Frontier Pioneer Territory has infinite potential, as your brother, I still have to remind you."

"Recently, some of those forces in the southwest haven't been very peaceful. As far as I know, some territories have already been harassed multiple times, suffering significant losses in all aspects."

"The territory you chose is close by, so you must be extra careful."

Taking a bite of the meat, Lister nodded and said, "Don't worry, I already scouted before coming. I'll try to avoid them as much as possible."

"But that's on the premise that they don't provoke me. Otherwise, I won't be polite either."

Seeing Lister so confident, Kelvin didn't say anything more. After all, except for looks, he had to admit that Lister was indeed much stronger than him in every aspect.

Picking up another skewer of roasted meat, Kelvin smilingly handed it to Christina.

"Thank you, Brother Kelvin," Christina thanked him obediently as she took the meat.

Kelvin chuckled, very satisfied with how Christina addressed him.

Regarding this new sister Lister had taken in, Kelvin had been incredibly surprised when he first met her today.

But after the surprise, an unbidden feeling of affection, like an elder for a junior, naturally welled up in his heart.

If Lister weren't here, he would have wanted to poach her and make Christina his own sister.

Just as everyone was enjoying the banquet and chatting happily, several daunting roars came from the distance—

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