The Road Ahead Is Long

With the dust settled, Hudson joined the queue for the land ownership confirmation process. This time, Count Pierce had indeed done a good thing, placing the Governor's Mansion's office directly in Dadir City, eliminating the need to travel all the way to Beda.

Registration was complete, followed by a long waiting period. Hudson belonged to the kingdom's nobility, not a vassal of some high-ranking nobleman.

According to the kingdom's rules, the investiture of a nobleman requires the King's approval to be valid. To be precise, only the King's personal investiture qualifies a person as a true nobleman.

The Alpha Kingdom is vast, with more than twenty provinces covering a total area of several million square kilometers and a population of tens of millions.

In such a vast kingdom, the change of nobles occurred almost daily. If each change required a King investiture, then Caesar III wouldn't have to do anything but hold Investiture Ceremony for nobles every day.

For convenience, the Investiture Ceremony for the kingdom's nobles is held every five years. On that occasion, all nobles who need to be investiture will arrive in the Royal Capital to receive the King's formal investiture.

Prior to this, the inheritance and investiture of titles were still valid, but before the procedures were completed, some of the nobles' rights were missing.

For example, in the Noble Council, they only have the power to listen and make suggestions, but not the power to propose motions or vote.

These are minor issues; for Hudson, proposing or voting in Parliament is a distant concern.

Just look at the Southeast Provincial Noble Council; such a sacred matter as voting is held at a banquet hosted by the Governor, which shows how ineffective this thing is.

After packing his bags, just as he was about to lead his troops to the territory, Baron Redman suddenly brought him a bow.

"I got this from an old friend. It's said to be a bow and arrow exclusive to the Elven race. Although it doesn't have any magical devices, its power is far beyond that of ordinary bows and arrows."

In the hands of an ordinary person, it's a complete waste. Hudson, give it a try; hopefully, it will unleash its true power in your hands.

Baron Redman said with a hint of delight.

If he hadn't mentioned it casually during a conversation with an old friend, he wouldn't have known that his son was the rising star, the "Divine Bow Knight."

Even now, he still feels like he's dreaming. After all, as Hudson's father, he knows his talent all too well.

But facts speak louder than words. When everyone around him started saying the same thing, Baron Redman could only conclude that Hudson was deliberately hiding his true abilities.

After all, Hudson had too many legendary stories to tell. He clearly set out with five hundred serf soldiers, but everyone insisted that he was five hundred elite troops.

Explanations were useless; they not only presented their battle records as evidence but also swore they had personally witnessed their combat. This made Baron Redman somewhat doubtful whether the troops he had sent were truly 500 elite soldiers.

Unfortunately, the camp was filled with familiar faces. Although some strangers had been added, most of them were still his subjects.

If I can't figure it out, I'll just leave it at that. If outsiders consider them elite, then let this beautiful misunderstanding continue.

Moreover, rumors aren't entirely without merit; at the very least, they scared off countless prying eyes and reduced a lot of unnecessary trouble.

The combined strength of several hundred elite soldiers and a Divine Archer wielding the Earth Bear is enough to make countless minor and medium-sized nobles wary.

Upon receiving the bow and arrow, Hudson immediately noticed something unusual. Ordinary bows and arrows were primarily made of hardwood and cowhide, but this specially crafted elven bow and arrow was made mainly of mysterious vines and the sinews of Elves beasts.

When Hudson tried to draw the bow, Hudson was surprised to find that even with almost all his strength, he could not draw it fully.

With a "whoosh," the arrow pierced through a large tree two hundred meters away, then flew another ten meters and embedded itself in a boulder.

The power is indeed formidable, but unfortunately it consumes too much stamina. Even if Hudson were to use cheat codes, he couldn't fire more than a few arrows with such intensity.

"It's indeed a good bow, but unfortunately the arrows aren't very good; otherwise, it could have been even more powerful!"

Hudson sighed, slightly embarrassed. Not drawing the bow fully was definitely the arrow's fault, not his poor performance as the "Divine Bow Knight."

"That's quite good. It seems this bow really suits you. With it by your side, as long as you don't give the enemy a chance to get close, even Great Knight won't be able to withstand more than a few arrows."

Nurture the Earth Bear well; it will be your strongest asset. Once it survives its infancy, its combat power will surpass many Silver Knights; if you are lucky enough to raise it to adulthood, you will be one of the strongest knights on the continent.

If that day ever comes, we can restore our family's glory, return to the ranks of middle nobility, and perhaps even hope to become like the Dalton Family...

After listening to his father's words, Hudson helplessly realized that his father had placed even greater hopes on the Young Bear than on himself.

Theoretically speaking, it seems to make no mistake. Under normal circumstances, it takes more than two hundred years for Earth Bear to reach adulthood, but as long as one is willing to invest heavily, this time can be shortened.

If it weren't for the ability to accelerate growth, given the long growth cycle of magical beasts, no one would contract with young beasts.

It just so happens that the territory Hudson chose is suitable for making quick money in the short term, so it's not surprising that he was misunderstood as someone who wanted to raise Earth Bear.

No one caused trouble because the higher the level of the magical beast, the more difficult it is to accelerate its growth, and many of the things needed cannot be bought with money.

In most people's eyes, Hudson would be dead before the Earth Bear even reached adulthood. A free bear without the constraints of a contract wouldn't continue to serve the Coslo Family.

"Father, let's discuss this issue later! The most urgent thing is for us to get to the territory as soon as possible and resume production at the mine."

Hudson replied calmly.

Compared to other nobles, he had the right to remain calm. Grain production takes a season to yield a harvest, but mining and iron smelting can generate profits within ten days to half a month once production is restored.

Salt, iron, grain, and cloth are all universally recognized hard commodities in mainland China. Their prices may fluctuate, but there is absolutely no problem with them not being able to be sold.

Wright and Hutton Prefectures have been severely affected and will face labor shortages for a long time to come.

If lords want to restore agricultural production, they will inevitably need to purchase more and more advanced production tools to make up for the impact of labor shortages. It is only a matter of time before Ironware farm tools replace traditional farm tools on a large scale.

With a chance to make a fortune right in front of him, Hudson didn't want to miss it.

"Um!"

"As for the territory, you can go there yourself. With your reputation as Divine Bow Knight and the prestige of your family's private army, I doubt anyone will be tempted to do anything rash."

The two unfortunate boys, Berrio and Guarente, were a different story. They lost their parents at a young age, and their family fortune was destroyed by the Rebel Army.

There are quite a few people eyeing them now. If their family doesn't help them out, they'll probably die a violent death soon, and their territory will be swallowed up by others.

We will also need to fund the development of your territory. Our branch is not able to provide them with much financial and food support, but military support is essential.

I'll take some men over to keep an eye on things first. After your two older brothers return, they will be stationed in Whitton County for the next few years.

Other branches of the family would also send people there, and before their private armies were trained, the family would have no fewer than eight resident knights in Whitton County.

If you encounter trouble, you can also seek help there. However, given your reputation in the Southeast Province, the probability of such a thing happening is probably low.

Baron Redman said with a look of satisfaction.

The son is capable; he built his own empire and doesn't need his father to worry about him. However, this has given him a lot of face in front of his old friends.

Despite the large number of eight knights, if they were placed alongside the "Divine Bow Knight" wielding "elite troops," everyone would rather seek out the eight knights for bad luck.

If you can't beat the former, you can run away, but if you encounter the latter, you might be defeated before you even get close.

With things said to this extent, Hudson naturally had no objections. Enjoying the benefits brought by the family naturally comes with corresponding obligations.

Mutual support has been key to the Coslo Family's survival, and now that a member of their clan needs help, they cannot stand idly by.

The fact that the family has invested so much resources here is clearly not to guard against the nobles of the Southeast Province. Everyone is in the same circle, and there are bound to be some familial ties from generations of intermarriage; they won't easily break the rules of the game.

Profits are temporary, but reputation lasts a lifetime. To survive in this small circle, you must be mindful of your behavior.

Everyone can secretly plot and scheme, slowly waiting for the other party to decline or even die out, but they cannot personally go and do something underhanded.

Only outsiders, who are not bound by the rules of the circle, can break the rules with impunity. As long as they don't violate certain taboos, even if their behavior is a bit unseemly, people are more accepting of it.

Newcomers are already ostracized, so they don't care about spending more money. The best way to gain everyone's acceptance is through force; once they've beaten everyone into submission, the problem of being ostracized will naturally disappear.

Looking at the convoy laden with supplies, Hudson was exceptionally pleased. This was after dealing with a large amount of surplus supplies; otherwise, it would have been impossible for a hundred wagons to carry them all.

"War changes destiny"—this is the truest description of the Aslant Continent. A single war to quell a rebellion propelled Hudson from a wandering knight to a noble fiefdom baron.

The bamboo spears and blue shields they used at the start have now been replaced by broadswords and spears, and there are also quite a few soldiers wielding warhammers and battle axes, many of whom also carry a bow.

The force had grown from the initial five hundred serfs to a unit of six hundred and thirty-seven veterans. Just a glimpse of them from afar was enough to send chills down one's spine.

The only thing they had in common was that the team continued its tradition of moving at a snail's pace, showing no trace of the heroic spirit of galloping horses.