98: Full of good luck

[Divination 1: Due to unknown reasons, the heavy rain that suddenly descended upon most of the northwestern territories of the Pedan Kingdom caused a great impact on many barren territories, resulting in heavy civilian casualties. However, thanks to your timely coordination and arrangements in Ironthorn Territory, there were no casualties, aside from some damage to houses and cultivated fields. After two days of continuous weakening, the rain will completely cease on the morning two days from now.]

[Divination 2: Recently, due to a lack of resources, the bandit gang known as 'Running into Bandits Outside,' which is entrenched in the eastern border area of Emerald Territory and previously attacked you, specifically came to the border area of Baron Jonathan Steven's Territory to rob and plunder. However, due to the sudden heavy rain, they are looking for a place to stay and plan to enter Ironthorn Territory tomorrow noon to rest and wait to ambush lone travelers.]

[Divination 3: Late tomorrow night, an ownerless Yellow Sprite appeared at the border between Baron Ferguson's Territory and the Mist Forest. Soldiers patrolling the territory happened to discover it and reported it to Baron Ferguson. At the same time, a Shadow Leopard that had come out of the Mist Forest to roam and forage, possessing the strength equivalent to High-Rank Bronze, also discovered the Yellow Sprite. Baron Ferguson and the Shadow Leopard engaged in a fierce battle to contest its ownership.]

After reading the first Divination message, Lister's concerns about the heavy rain invasion immediately eased.

Fortunately, when he returned from the Hengduan Mountains, he immediately went to Ironthorn Town to arrange countermeasures. If he had been any later, the situation would certainly have been completely different.

After all, it is completely normal for this kind of torrential downpour—which is rarely seen even once a year or every few years—to cause casualties in any territory.

For Ironthorn Territory, only some houses and cultivated fields were damaged, and there were no casualties, which was a blessing in misfortune.

For a moment, he felt a little smug about his brilliant arrangements, but unfortunately, there was no one around to flatter him, leaving him slightly disappointed.

He took a sip of the hot milk Thomas had prepared for him and continued reading the second Divination message.

A few seconds later, he showed a look of surprise.

Good heavens, what a small world!

He hadn't expected the bandit gang that had previously attacked him to brazenly run straight into his territory.

Did they not know that he was the lord of Ironthorn Territory?

Or were they simply not afraid?

But how is it that even bandits are struggling these days? Is it because the Pedan Kingdom's development is poor, or is their own professional competence lacking?

While complaining internally, he somehow felt a tiny bit of sympathy for this group of bandits.

But looking at their bizarre title, he couldn't help but curl his lip.

They call themselves 'Running into Bandits Outside,' why not 'Running into Bandits Around the Corner'?

Thinking of this, his gaze suddenly sharpened. He had always been bothered by the motive behind the bandit gang's last attack.

Since they delivered themselves right to his doorstep this time, he would have to interrogate them thoroughly to verify if his previous suspicions were correct.

No longer dwelling on it, he looked at the third Divination message.

As his gaze quickly swept over the text, his expression changed from calm to pleasantly surprised.

Is the area around Ironthorn Territory really this lucky?

Another ownerless Pixie has appeared, and it's a Yellow Sprite that can detect metal ore veins.

One must know that less than a month has passed since he acquired Lianna and Livia after arriving in the territory.

The drop rate for these Pixies is much higher than the gacha system of a certain god in his previous life.

Since there were no professionals for mineral exploration in the territory, and such talent is extremely hard to acquire, he had never been able to ascertain whether there were any ore veins within Ironthorn Territory.

Although, based on the actual conditions of Ironthorn Territory, it was unlikely that any ore veins existed, who could guarantee it without an investigation?

Compared to professional exploration personnel, the Yellow Sprite's detection ability is completely overwhelming, with no possibility of error, so he had been looking forward to this for a long time.

Since it has appeared now, and in a nearby territory, there is no way he can miss this opportunity.

As for the conflict between Baron Ferguson and the Shadow Leopard, that is their own business and has nothing to do with him.

If they are unwise enough to insist on coveting his Yellow Sprite, then he will have to have a serious talk with them.

Feeling good after the Divination, he continued to consolidate his practice of 'Magic Shield'.

Because his Spiritual Power had strengthened again, the release of the 'Magic Shield' was wider, more solid, and thicker than before, clearly increasing its defensive strength significantly.

To verify his idea, he once again had Baize launch a full-power magic attack against the 'Magic Shield'.

The result was exactly as he expected: besides a strong sense of vibration, the 'Magic Shield' suffered no damage, as if Baize's magic attack had struck cotton.

It must be known that during the previous test, Baize was Bronze Tier 3, but now it is already Bronze Tier 4.

Even after significantly increasing its strength, it still couldn't damage the 'Magic Shield,' showing that his Wizardry has truly improved quite a bit... Early the next morning, the dazzling 'Golden Threads' that usually streamed into the room were gone, replaced by scattered raindrops drifting in through the window cracks.

In the room where only weak light penetrated, the rumbling sound of heavy rain hitting the windows continuously echoed, but Lister's figure had long since disappeared from the bed.

After having breakfast early, he returned to his room to listen to Brutus's report on the execution results of the orders he had issued following yesterday's heavy rain.

According to Brutus's report, comprehensive and detailed safety inspections were carried out in Ironthorn Town yesterday under the leadership of various supervisors.

Since the houses had been renovated and reinforced earlier when dealing with the Cold Wave, there was not much damage to the houses now; most damage was limited to overly old structures.

Hearing this, Lister nodded secretly. Brutus's statement currently aligned perfectly with the Divination message.

However, he would not truly relax his guard just because the Divination information suggested everything was fine, as the predicted results of Divination messages have been known to change.

Therefore, in his view, the Divination message was like a reassurance pill, allowing him to know the general situation while also serving as a form of supervision for him.

Otherwise, if handled poorly, Ironthorn Town would certainly suffer major losses this time, a result he absolutely did not want to see.

After Brutus finished his report, Lister relayed some preventive measures he had carefully considered the previous night.

Brutus then took his leave quickly to continue implementing the Ironthorn Territory's heavy rain prevention work.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~"

Accompanied by the sound of rain outside the window, which seemed to cleanse the soul, Lister continued to handle the complex public affairs of the territory from the main seat in the dimly lit room.

He only stopped working when it was nearly noon.

After lunch, he led the team that Red had already assembled, slowly emerging from the Castle grounds despite the heavy rain.