30: Earl of Evans

With the furniture issue resolved, the remaining problem of hardening the ground was something Renn could certainly handle himself within a month; there was no longer any need to hire labor to cut and transport stone slabs for paving.

By exhausting his mana once to cast Mud to Stone, Renn could petrify one or two hundred square meters of ground. At his current mana recovery rate, he could use the Mud to Stone spell three times a day.

However, he had other things to do every day and couldn't spend all his time recovering mana to use Mud to Stone; basically, he could use the spell once or twice a day.

The area of the school that needed hardening was only a few thousand square meters. Even if Renn only petrified a section once a day, it would be finished in about half a month.

Watching the sizable school rise from the ground, Renn calculated what the next project would be after the school and the toilets were completed.

"Road construction!"

Renn quickly decided on the content of the next major project.

Red River Town currently only had one paved road. The stone road was five meters wide, starting from Red River Fortress and running through Red River Town all the way to the stone bridge outside the town.

The rest of the roads in the territory were all dirt roads. They were fine when it didn't rain, but as soon as it did, they became a muddy mess, stinking to high heaven with a mixture of human and animal waste.

To improve environmental hygiene, Renn had already built toilets. According to his layout, eight collective toilets were built across the eight directions of Red River Town, and from now on, subjects would not be allowed to relieve themselves anywhere they pleased.

With toilets, the sanitary conditions in Red River Town would be much better in the future.

Once Renn paved the roads with stone, it would be much more convenient for people to travel and work, efficiency would increase, and it would also prevent the occurrence of diseases.

"And no one will have rotting feet anymore."

Thinking of the many elderly people in the territory he had seen with rotting feet, Renn's desire to renovate the territory became increasingly urgent.

Ordinary subjects didn't have a decent pair of shoes. With their feet soaked in mud and sewage year after year, it was hard for them not to develop infections.

Renn still had to marvel at the powerful physical constitution of the people on the Noah Continent; they could survive tenaciously despite being hungry, cold, and living in such harsh conditions.

"The population is still too small. I can only start one major project at a time. Otherwise, I could operate on multiple lines and renovate the entire Red River Town before the end of the year."

While Renn was planning the territory's construction and lamenting the sparse population, a good show was currently playing out in Rage Bear Fortress, thousands of miles away.

Inside a luxurious manor in Rage Bear City.

Two swordsmen were engaged in a fierce swordsmanship duel in the arena.

On the other side, Count Evans lay leisurely on a reclining chair covered in Silver Rank magical beast fur, eating specialty fruits from the Southern Border fed to him by a maid while watching the duel with great interest.

Several middle-aged men stood stiffly not far behind him, waiting for Count Evans to speak, accompanied by a young man.

However, Count Evans ignored them, continuing to eat fruit and focus intently on the duel as if the brilliant swordsmanship of the two swordsmen had captured all his attention.

No one dared to make a sound, let alone speak. Aside from the clashing of longswords, only the sound of Count Evans chewing fruit remained.

Of the two swordsmen, one wore white and the other wore black, clearly distinguished. Both sides' swordsmanship was extremely superb; as the swords flashed, phantoms flew and the sword light was dazzlingly beautiful.

As time passed, the white-clad swordsman suddenly turned and threw his longsword at an extremely tricky angle, striking the black-clad swordsman's right hand and knocking the sword from his grip.

Then, utilizing his agile and swift movement, the white-clad swordsman reclaimed the thrown sword the moment it hit the ground. With a flick of the blade, it pointed directly at the black-clad swordsman's throat.

The match was decided!

"Good!"

"As expected of the White Ghost. Your swordsmanship is indeed eerie, varied, and unpredictable. The title of Ghost Swordsman is well-deserved."

Evans clapped and praised the white-clad swordsman's superb skill, and the middle-aged men behind him immediately followed suit with their own praise.

"Yes, yes. They say Ghost Swordsman Jael's swordsmanship is powerful and eerie, and seeing it now, it's certainly true."

"Only a man of your stature, Lord Evans, could take such a talent under his wing."

"Lord Count..."

"Enough!" Evans bluntly interrupted the compliments of the men behind him.

Jael, the victorious white-clad swordsman in the arena, bowed to Evans.

Evans lightly flicked his hand and threw two potion bottles, which fell into the hands of Jael and the black-clad swordsman respectively.

"You both have good swordsmanship. One bottle of High-grade Magic Potion and one bottle of Mid-grade Magic Potion as a reward. Serving me in the future will not leave you at a loss."

"Thank you for your generosity, Lord Count! We will serve you unto death!"

After Jael and the black-clad swordsman pledged their loyalty, they were led away by servants to heal and recover.

Evans slightly shifted his somewhat obese body on the reclining chair. The servants nearby immediately understood and stepped forward to turn the luxurious chair in another direction.

Glancing at the people in front of him, Evans said nonchalantly, "I have already done what you asked of me. Why have you come to see me again?"

"Lord Evans, we have come to thank you for your help. If you hadn't pleaded for us before His Highness, we would have been completely finished."

"Yes, yes, thank you for your help, Lord Evans."

Evans corrected them, "You should thank the Archduke's mercy."

"In the face of the Fel Orcs invasion, you dared to offer no resistance and abandoned your territory and subjects to become deserters. You are simply the shame of the Rage Bear Territory."

"According to the Noble Code, nobles who abandon their territory and subjects, causing damage to the kingdom's interests, are to be executed by hanging."

As he spoke, Evans glared at them with a cold light in his eyes. The men before him lowered their heads, not daring to look Evans in the eye.

"You should also thank Baron Luke and Baron Bode. If they hadn't held back the Fel Orcs so that the Duchy's interests were not damaged, you wouldn't have been able to save your lives no matter how much tribute you paid."

"This time the Archduke has shown mercy, only stripping you of your titles and territories while allowing you to keep your Knight titles. You should be secretly rejoicing!"

The men nodded repeatedly in agreement.

"Yes! Yes! Yes!"

"Lord Evans, you are right. It was all our fault."

As they spoke, several of them knelt down and began to kowtow to Evans, admitting their mistakes.

"Father, Uncle Charlie and the others already know they were wrong. Please don't reproach them anymore."

Carter, who had been standing silently to the side from the beginning, now spoke up to plead for them.

"Besides, Uncle Charlie and the others' flight was also a matter of necessity. The sudden attack of the Fel Orcs caught them off guard, and they made mistakes in their panic; it is somewhat excusable."

Evans waved his hand after hearing this. "Fine, get up then. Don't make a scene."

"The Archduke has already finished with your punishment. Now, why have you come to see me?"

"Be honest. Don't give me any more of that nonsense. I don't have time to play house with you."

Charlie and the others stood up and looked at each other. Then Charlie stepped forward and said, "Lord Evans, we wish to atone for our crimes by returning to Red River Valley to fight the Fel Orcs and restore our family's glory."

"Heh!"

Hearing the request from Charlie and the others, Evans gave a cold laugh and then said, "Return to the Red River Valley to fight Fel Orcs and restore family glory?"

"You actually have the nerve to say that?"

"The Fel Orcs in the Red River Valley have been completely crushed by Sena leading the Border Defense Army. What Fel Orcs are left for you to fight?"

"Restore family glory?"

"Stop thinking about the territories in the Red River Valley. Do you have any idea how many people are eyeing those four Baronies?"

"You fellows who abandoned your lands actually want to return to the Red River Valley?"

"Stop dreaming."

Evans continued to mock them with extremely biting words.