Chapter 1403

But I can rest for a bit first.

Those blacksmiths had never worked like this before; their exhaustion was plain to see.

Then let them rest for a few hours; we'll talk later.

It happens that there's some information I need to deal with these few days.

Zhuang Ya stood nearby, Wensheng asked: "Zhao Chi, are you going to rest for a while? If you're free now, I'm going to Chaoge Village to check, to see if those captives are behaving."

Zhao Chi nodded: "Right, rest for a few hours. Gu Qing said Chaoge Village has had another bumper harvest, and I happen to need to go too. Let's go together."

"Of course, let's go."

Chaoge Village was a scene of bustling activity.

Everywhere was golden and gleaming.

The female farmers of Gu Yan's team were swamped with work.

Yang Lu's hunting squad had already become their standing helpers.

The Flower Fairies' wings were nearly worn out from flying, yet the experience fruits couldn't be picked no matter how hard they tried.

The nearly 4,000 slaves, whose original job was reclaiming land, had also been temporarily pulled in to help with the harvest.

Combat Captain Wei Leng, upon seeing Zhao Chi and Zhuang Ya, immediately greeted them.

Zhuang Ya nodded: "Good evening. How is it here? Is public order still alright? Anyone causing trouble?"

Wei Leng nodded: "Yes, last night there was just an incident. The 7 ringleaders have already been executed, and over 100 more are locked in the prison, undergoing re-education."

"Take me to see."

Zhuang Ya's face was cold and stern, utterly unlike the part-time version of herself she showed before Zhao Chi.

"Yes, follow me." Wei Leng pointed to the prison ahead.

Zhuang Ya said gently: "Zhao Chi, I'll head to the prison first then. When it's time to craft later, come find me, alright?"

"Sure, go ahead."

Zhuang Ya turned and strode quickly toward the prison with Wei Leng.

Before they even reached the prison, they heard wave after wave of wailing.

The female soldiers were re-educating yesterday's accomplices.

The prison gate was opened.

Inside was a straight corridor, with cells lining both sides.

The smell inside was truly unpleasant.

Only when the patrolling female guards passed by would a brief trace of fragrance linger.

Wei Leng pointed to the cells ahead: "The 10 innermost cells in this row are all holding yesterday's accomplices in the disturbance. But their obedience is still at 2-3 points, so they can still be reformed, and they've all been kept alive."

Zhuang Ya nodded: "Mm, after all, they're all my lord's property, so not killing them is fine. How is their obedience rising?"

Wei Leng shook her head: "Right after punishment they can rise to over 4 points, but after a few hours of work outside, within no more than 2 days, they quickly drop back to 2-3 points."

Zhuang Ya flexed her hands: "Which one has the lowest obedience?"

Wei Leng said: "Still Zhaka and Geba and a few others."

"Good, let's see how long they can last this time."

Among these slaves, some had decent stats; they had originally served as squad captains or officials under other lords.

But after being captured, Zhao Chi treated them all equally and put them all to reclaiming wasteland.

This made them feel their talents were being wasted, breeding resentment, and their obedience dropped fast.

And those with good stats, Zhao Chi also wanted to leave for Su Qin as frontline soldiers, so most were dealt with through punishment.

Zhuang Ya followed Wei Leng all the way inside.

As they passed, captives in other cells spotted them, causing a stir.

"Look, Zhuang Ya's back."

"No worries, same as ever. Even if she's back, she'll just burn us a bit more. As long as we scream loud enough, she'll stop."

"No, that's how it was before. She's not that easy to fool now."

"Relax, she doesn't dare kill us. We're on loan from another lord; we have to be returned eventually."

"Stop dreaming. How much are we even worth? Even if she killed us it'd only be a matter of one or two gold coins."

"One or two gold coins? You're talking about those beastmen with good stats, right? We're only worth 70 silver coins each."

"That's you. I'm worth at least 80."

"Stop comforting yourselves. Which lord would care about a few dozen silver coins?"

"One might not care, but there are over a thousand captives in this territory — over a thousand portions of ten-odd silver coins."

"Over a thousand portions? This lord only needs to kill off the disobedient ones. What's there to do with the obedient ones?"

"Stop talking, Zhuang Ya and Wei Leng are entering that beastman's cell."

"Hehe, this is gonna be good."

Zhuang Ya followed Wei Leng into the innermost area.

"Open the door."

Wei Leng said to the guarding female soldier.

"Yes, Captain Wei."

Creak—

The cell door swung open.