Chapter 177: The Flourishing Beifeng City

The arrival of Princess Ailin Campbell boosted the morale of Lei Ming City and also stabilized the public sentiment that had been fluctuating due to the successive arrivals of Chaos corruption.

For the evil forces lurking in the dark, the existence of the Light of Eulogy was undoubtedly a huge deterrent.

However, Jack, the Godfather of the Brotherhood who was watching the Campbell family's convoy enter the city in the dark, was not afraid.

Even on the contrary, an expression of unexpectedness appeared on that contemplative face.

Others didn't know the identity of the Flame King, but he, who had offered his soul to the Demon King, was clear about it.

And since even a rat like himself, who was active in the gutter, knew about this, he didn't believe the upper echelons of the Principality were completely ignorant of it.

Unless it was intentional indulgence...

"... Has the corruption of the Necropolis spread to the court of the Campbell Principality?"

Thinking of this, Jack, while shocked in his heart, couldn't help but have a touch of luck and awe.

It seemed he had bet on the right treasure this time.

At this very moment, he felt incomparably lucky in his heart; relying on the Demon King Majesty was indeed the right choice...

At this very moment, the naive Miss Princess Ailin didn't realize that because food with the royal emblem appeared in the porridge shop where the Flame King provided relief to disaster victims, her unintentional good deed added another legend to the Flame King.

Soon, voices came out from the refugee camp that the Flame King who provided relief to disaster victims had received the support of the Campbell Principality's court.

This rumor was no small matter.

The guards who originally didn't like the porridge shops that provided relief to disaster victims didn't dare to find trouble with the former anymore.

Not only that.

That image, which was already tall in the hearts of the refugees, was now plated with a layer of sacred light!

At this very moment, Luo Yan, who was far away in the Necropolis, didn't know what had happened in Lei Ming City at all, but just woke up and suddenly discovered that his faith power had risen by another notch.

Confused, he instinctively attributed this credit to the believers in Beifeng City.

Actually, thinking this way wasn't wrong either.

It was just that the logic in the middle had to take a few turns...

Just as the citizens of Lei Ming City were cheering the name of Princess Ailin Campbell, Beifeng City, far away in the northern part of Yinsong Forest, also opened its sleepy eyes in the light of dawn.

In the early morning, the thin mist hadn't dispersed, and a ray of golden light passed through the treetops and sprinkled on the newly repaired cement road.

Bidding farewell to his wife and children, Xie Pu, wearing a fur coat, carried his tools and stepped on the compacted snow to go to the pasture not far away.

That was the pasture he had built with his own hands.

Crooked wooden sticks were inserted to form a fence, circling a piece of land three or four hundred meters long and wide at the edge of the forest.

And in the center of that pasture was a cow shed made of regular wooden boards nailed together.

Compared to this brand-new pasture, the place where he had worked in Holy Oak Village before was simply like a garbage dump.

That was the property of the Lord, and none of the cows he raised belonged to him; no matter how well he did the work, there wouldn't be an extra egg in his instant noodles, so naturally, there was no motivation to work hard.

Moreover, the place where he lived at that time was as sloppy as a dog's nest, so naturally, he wouldn't have the mood to improve the living environment of the livestock.

However, it was different here.

The owner of this pasture, 【Beast Senior】, not only gave him and his family a place to live but also promised him that he could independently decide the management of the pasture, including purchasing livestock and hiring apprentices, and obtain one-third of the profit as remuneration for his labor when it was profitable.

Such generous conditions made him not even dare to believe his own ears.

It wasn't until a contract in black and white was placed in front of him that he was sure that "Player Lord" wasn't joking, but was seriously handing this pasture over to him to manage.

"... Work hard; this is not just my pasture, it is also yours!" After throwing down this sentence, that player lord completely threw this place to him and then turned to tinker with some "vegetable greenhouse."

In order not to live up to the trust of the Lord who took him in, and for a better tomorrow, Xie Pu, moved, poured almost all his heart and blood into this brand-new pasture.

Every design here was improved by him based on the experience summarized from past farming.

He not only considered the convenience of the livestock's drinking and eating by distinguishing the functions of the troughs but also optimized ventilation, lighting, insulation, and all other aspects.

In this, he also referred to some suggestions from the pasture owner, basically taking care of every place he could think of.

Everything here was good.

Except there were no cows.

However, with the livestock purchased earlier finally arriving, this problem had been solved.

When Xie Pu arrived at the pasture, a few little demons were flapping their wings, flying over the herd of cows.

They seemed to have startled each other.

Those dairy cows were pacing their hooves uneasily, and they were also at a loss as to what to do when facing these livestock that were several times their size.

Seeing the human herdsman walking from afar, a few little demons' eyes lit up, and they rushed toward him, chattering.

"Oh! Human!"

"You're here?"

"Too slow!"

"Hurry, hurry, hurry! Drive the Demon King's livestock into the shed! Don't let them freeze to death!"

"Damn it! It's really cold outside the labyrinth!"

Looking at those chattering guys who wouldn't stop, Xie Pu reached out and pulled open the fence gate, carrying his tools and walking in.

"Don't worry, they won't freeze to death in such a short while; take advantage of the fact that it's not snowing yet to let them get familiar with the environment here... You guys don't worry about them, just leave it to me."

If it were a month ago, let alone this herd of dairy cows, he himself would have been scared to death by these little demons.

However, after a period of getting along, he found that these guys weren't that scary; at least they wouldn't attack him, who was also a servant of the Demon King.

By the way, these little demons were also said to be herdsmen, and they came from the noble Demon Capital.

It was just that they used to herd Hell Goats and had never seen this kind of guy that went "moo-moo."

That player called Beast Senior told him that some work that wasn't too worried about being messed up could be handed over to these little demons, and then he threw the translation crystal to him.

That thing could translate Hell language into Aus Continent language.

Although Xie Pu couldn't figure out what the so-called "work that wasn't too worried about being messed up" was, he still accepted the crystal.

In short, experienced helpers were always better than inexperienced ones.

Additionally, he was also curious about what Hell Goats were and how they differed from surface goats.

If there was a chance, he must buy two to take a look.

Ever since coming to Beifeng City, he felt that he could encounter fresh and interesting things every day.

To get back to the point, Xie Pu, who stepped into the pasture, soon entered the daily work state.

He first checked the health of the herd, got familiar with these livestock, and then used his method to tell these guys who was the master here, before driving them into the cow shed.

Among them, a few cows were probably just after giving birth, and their bodies were relatively weak.

This kind of cow, although it could produce milk as soon as it was bought, was generally difficult to survive the winter; the vendor who sold the cows to them definitely didn't have good intentions.

Xie Pu cursed inwardly and decided that he must personally go to select them next time he made a purchase.

But it was too late to complain now.

He ordered the little demons following behind him to take some bran from the nearby warehouse, then set up a large pot, poured the bran in, mixed it with sugar beets and root vegetables, and boiled it until everything in the pot turned into a paste.

The little demons floating nearby were all swallowing their saliva, looking longingly at the pot.

"So fragrant!"

"Is it time to eat?"

"Isn't it too early?"

Although they said so, they didn't have the slightest bit of politeness; if it weren't for seeing that the stuff in the pot was too hot, they would have probably swarmed up.

"This stuff isn't for you to eat; it's for feeding the cows! Look at your greed, go and pour the feed into the trough first; I'll prepare lunch for you later... wait until noon."

Xie Pu shouted, driving these guys flapping their wings away to the side, then carried the boiled paste to the side of those few cows, feeding them spoonful by spoonful with a wooden spoon.

At first, those cows wouldn't eat, stiffening their necks, looking like they had no appetite.

Until one of them tried licking a mouthful, perhaps finding the taste unexpectedly not bad, and then they obediently started eating.

On the other side, the little demons swallowing their saliva, under the temptation of lunch, also started working one after another, taking feed from the warehouse on the side and filling it into the trough of the cow shed.

Xie Pu found that these little guys were unexpectedly useful in moving things.

The only drawback was that their wings might fan straw everywhere.

However, it was fine as long as they were forbidden from flying indoors.

Out of awe for the Demon King himself, they were still relatively obedient to him, at least they wouldn't attack him, who was also a servant of the Demon King, in front of his face.

For example, when he needed them to do something, as long as it was their duty, they would do it even if they were reluctant. After feeding those few weak cows, Xie Pu touched their heads, then took the iron bucket from the storeroom.

According to his experience, this kind of highland cow would enter a lactation period lasting as long as nine to twelve months after giving birth, and there was a risk of blockage if it wasn't milked for more than two days during this period.

Although they looked weak, in fact, that place was already swollen to the point of being about to burst.

Relying on the good trust relationship just established, Xie Pu skillfully emptied the accumulated milk for them and placed the iron bucket full of fresh milk on the stove where the charcoal fire hadn't gone out yet to boil.

It was winter now, and the boiled milk wouldn't go bad immediately; it wouldn't be a problem to leave it for two or three days.

He boiled a portion of the milk, canned it, and placed it in the snow, while the remaining majority was left for making dairy products like cheese, cream, and butter.

Busy for the whole morning, until noon, Xie Pu finally finished all the work, and then hurried to prepare lunch for himself and the little demons who helped.

Although lunch was very sloppy, just sliced black bread spread with some berry jam, a specialty of the Night Elves, these little guys who hadn't seen the world were wolfing it down, wishing they could stuff their fingers into their mouths.

"Oh oh oh oh! What is this?! It's actually so delicious!"

"Damn it! Is this the surface world?! It's simply too wealthy!"

"Wuwuwu... if I had followed the Demon King's footsteps ten years earlier, it would have been great!"

=9+Shu_ba

"You guy wasn't even born ten years ago?!"

Can this stuff learn so much nonsense in less than ten years?

Looking at that group of chattering little demons, Xie Pu, who was eating with them, had a look of astonishment on his face, biting into a piece of dry bread.

Perhaps because he had worked for the whole morning, perhaps because the way these little demons wolfed down their food was too appetizing, he felt today's lunch was exceptionally fragrant, and he finished it in less than half the usual time.

There was still a while before the lunch break, so he didn't rush back to work, but went around the pasture to inspect the terrain, planning to see where to circle the next piece of land.

Just at this time, he suddenly heard a familiar voice coming from behind.

"Hey! Xie Pu! What are you busy with?"

Xie Pu, who stopped his steps, turned his head and saw a man with a beard smiling and waving at him.

That person's name was Jimmy, a refugee who wandered here from Holy Oak Village like him, and also one of the first "living" residents of Beifeng City, currently working as a construction worker in the construction team of Beifeng City.

If he remembered correctly, he vaguely remembered that the construction team was recently building some "Youth Apartment."

That was a six-story building with many rooms; the footprint alone was larger than the main building of the manor of his former Lord, but each room was only twenty or thirty square meters.

It was said that such a building could solve the accommodation problem for two or three hundred households, and every floor of the whole building was equipped with public toilets and bathrooms at fixed locations.

At first, all of them thought that was a place for young guys to live, but later they found that it actually had nothing to do with whether they were young or not.

That thing was mainly used to accommodate outsiders who were homeless like them and temporarily had no empty rooms to arrange, equivalent to a substitute for the abandoned hotel before.

Praise the Demon King!

That benevolent Lord had even considered the "decency" problem of poor people like them.

Xie Pu felt more and more that the whole world seemed to have turned upside down; was Hell actually more like Heaven?

Actually, if he had to say it, toilets and bathrooms were redundant; after all, he hadn't necessarily been able to take a bath once in two months before, and as for defecation, he just found a place to solve it.

"Is your work finished?"

"Ah, it's finished!" Jimmy grinned and walked in front of him, saying in a chatty tone, "Thanks to those stone men, one big guy can move things that five or six people can't move. The work that was originally supposed to be finished next month was finished by us in less than two weeks. Before deciding what house to build next, the Demon King's servant gave us a holiday. I plan to go to town to take a look in a while; I heard there are many good things there. Do you want to go together?"

The so-called town referred to Mist Town.

Unlike Beifeng City, which was still a large construction site, that place not only had more people living there but also a market with a rich variety of goods.

It was said that it was a safe zone formed by the Demon King and nearby human rulers in a tacit understanding, where not only humans lived but also some undead and demons from the labyrinth.

Although he couldn't figure out why the Demon King wanted to set up a place to provide supplies and equipment for adventurers on his own turf, he heard that the place seemed to be developing quite well.

He planned to go over to take a look, and while purchasing daily necessities, it could also be considered satisfying his curiosity.

By the way, starting from last month, the workers of the construction team had already received their remuneration for their work.

Just looking at the face value of the salary, their income for this month was equal to the income of the past year!

Hearing Jimmy's suggestion, Xie Pu was somewhat tempted.

He hadn't tasted wine for a long time; maybe he could buy beer there.

Not only that.

He also wanted to buy new clothes for his wife and children.

It was said that starting from last month, one Nether Coin could be used as one Copper Coin in Mist Town; calculating it this way, the salary in his pocket was enough anyway.

However, thinking that there were still a pile of things waiting for him to do in the pasture, he ultimately shook his head and declined painfully.

"I won't go; I just got busy here, and I guess I'll be free next month... let's go together another day."

Although Jimmy was somewhat regretful, he didn't force it, smiling heartily and patting him on the shoulder.

"Haha, then I won't wait for you, but you also don't work too hard; you still need to rest at the appropriate time... using the words of those player lords, it's called work-life balance."

When he said this, he suddenly smelled something, sniffed, and looked toward the pasture.

"I wanted to ask just now, what is that smell? What delicious food are you making?"

Xie Pu looked toward the pasture along his line of sight, saw that the little demons had actually gone back into the house to work, and smiled.

"Just boiling milk, not making anything delicious. But I did make some cheese, and maybe I'll take it to Mist Town to sell."

Jimmy swallowed his saliva when he heard this and asked excitedly.

"How much do you plan to sell it for?"

Xie Pu counted on his fingers and said.

"Look at the market conditions; about twenty or thirty Nether Coins per jin, we don't plan to sell it very expensive."

A jin of bread is about five Nether Coins; the price of cheese of equal weight is about five times that of bread.

But this is the market condition of the Twilight Province; he couldn't say what the situation was here.

Jimmy rubbed his hands embarrassedly, laughing and saying.

"That's really not expensive, remember to leave some for me."

Although the construction team had enough instant noodles, he couldn't eat that stuff at every meal.

Moreover, he still had a family.

Just recently, he received his remuneration, and he planned to buy some to improve the food for his wife and children.

Looking at this guy's useless smile, Xie Pu patted him on the shoulder.

"Rest assured, not only will I leave some for you, but I'll also give you a cheaper price."

Hearing this, a look of joy appeared on Jimmy's face, and he held his shoulders with both hands.

"Thank you so much! I really don't know how to thank you... if you have anything you need my help with, just order me; it just so happens that I'm relatively free these few days!"

Xie Pu's heart moved, thinking that those little demons didn't have a place to live yet, so he wasn't polite and said.

"I plan to build staff dormitories in the pasture, not the complicated kind, just ordinary wooden board houses; if you have time tomorrow, come and help me."

"Rest assured, you just prepare the materials, and leave the rest to me." Jimmy patted his chest and smiled.

Ever since he got familiar with the new tools of the Necropolis, that kind of wooden board house was simply not too easy for him.

It was no exaggeration to say that he could build it with his eyes closed.

Having agreed on the time to meet tomorrow, Jimmy didn't continue to exchange pleasantries, waved his hand, and said goodbye, turning back to meet with the fellow workers who planned to go to Mist Town together.

Watching his fellow villager's back disappear at the end of the road, the corner of Xie Pu's mouth couldn't help but curl into a smile.

Still remembering a few months ago, when they hadn't moved away from Holy Oak Village, the Lord, in order to escape disaster, even sold the grain that hadn't been harvested in the fields cheaply to merchants in nearby Twilight City.

From that time on, they lived a life of not knowing if they would see the next day, and in order to survive, they had to leave their homes.

The past few months were simply like a dream.

As for now, not only could they eat bread spread with jam, but they could also receive remuneration for their work, and they could even go to the market in town to pick the things they liked, instead of looking forward to the charity of those treacherous merchants who colluded with the Lord and enduring the latter's exploitation in the monopolized market...

Such a life, he couldn't even imagine before.

Life was really getting better day by day...

Just as Xie Pu was thinking this, a cheer came from the cave not far from the pasture.

I saw that under the illumination of those magic crystal lamps, a touch of emerald green tender sprout emerged from the black soil filled with petri dishes.

Listening to the cheers of the skeletons around, the Night Elf in charge of casting spells couldn't help but reveal an expression of surprise on her face.

She originally thought that planting crops in winter was a joke, but she didn't expect that the dormant seeds had actually sprouted.

These unremarkable skeletons had actually succeeded!

What surprised her even more was that these undead actually understood nature better than she, a Night Elf...

The sun was really rising from the west!

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 178 =====