Recruiting Apostles

Sigg Town had originally been a gathering place for runaway slaves.

People who could no longer survive in human society fled to this basin and cultivated the land here. It could be considered a medieval Peach Blossom Spring.

But Sigg Town was not a true Peach Blossom Spring, nor did it have that crack leading to the outside world.

As more people gathered, they attracted Grand Duke Armor-Splitting's attention.

In his youth, Grand Duke Armor-Splitting led three War Knights into the place, slaughtered their way through it, claimed the land as his territory, then tossed in an Agricultural Officer and left it alone.

But the trouble had not been completely eradicated.

Or rather, as long as oppression persisted outside, people would flee here to escape the oppression of nobles and royalty.

Farmers and Slaves could be set aside for now. They posed little threat.

But some people were different.

For example, wanted criminals, great bandits, and deserters from the battlefield.

These were all people wanted by the Black Iron Kingdom and the nobles.

Because Sigg Town was surrounded by mountains, hunters had also appeared.

This primitive profession possessed force, knew how to make weapons, and used bows and arrows. Only nobles could make them submit.

Sigg Town had no nobles, only Mol and his thirty guards.

As long as they did not encounter a large-scale peasant uprising, these thirty semi-professional guards—wearing leather armor, carrying iron-tipped spears and shields, and having undergone basic Military Training—were generally enough to maintain order.

In fact, in the heartland of the kingdom, this number of guards was somewhat low. A population of two thousand should be able to raise at least a hundred qualified guards to form a militia. Families with guards could receive tax exemptions of all kinds and held higher status.

But no matter how many guards there were, they would be helpless against the mountains and the hunters.

The cost was too great, and there was no need.

Mol reminded him, "My lord, some people are very dangerous..."

His suggestion was to leave those savages alone. Some of them possessed strength equal to that of War Knights; they were the legendary great bandits and wanted criminals.

A direct confrontation would truly be unwise.

And as long as they stayed out of each other's way, it would be good for everyone.

Romain did not say much, merely telling Mol to continue.

Sigg Town had a little over a hundred Slaves, included within the total population.

The Slaves had all been purchased from outside and belonged to the merchants, Stewards, craftsmen, and others attached to Sigg Town. Only those people had enough spare money to buy slaves.

Though Mol trembled before Romain, he was a genuine Agricultural Officer in Sigg Town. He owned the most slaves, accounting for half of all the slaves, and possessed considerable assets.

Otherwise, he would not have kept himself so fair and clean.

Romain listened quietly for a while and discovered that Sigg Town's population generally increased as age decreased.

That was to say, there were the fewest elderly people over forty, followed by middle-aged people in their thirties. There were more young people around twenty, while minors and children below fifteen were the most numerous.

Sigg Town's population structure took the form of a longevity pyramid. The younger the children, the larger their base number.

Declining physical functions often meant illness and death. Basically, no farmer could live out their natural lifespan.

War and disease could both cause severe population loss. Nobles and kingdoms constantly waged war against one another, preventing the population from growing. Avoiding a decline was already a victory.

By Romain's estimate, the average lifespan in this era was only thirty or forty years.

And this data showed that the place had not experienced unnatural population losses for a long time.

The farmers of Sigg Town lived rather comfortably, comfortably enough to afford having children.

Its slow growth was mainly due to its small population base and insufficient productivity.

With sufficient productivity, the population would explode easily enough.

Humans were just like weeds. As long as there were enough nutrients and not too much pressure to survive, given enough time, they would naturally spring up in vast numbers.

After understanding the situation, Romain sent Mol away.

He continued methodically reclaiming wasteland, preparing to plant cabbages and strawberries on it.

Before coming here, Romain had bought a large quantity of seeds in the grand duke's territory. He had come specifically to farm.

The land north of the manor was quite fertile, with moist soil. One could tell just by seeing the densely packed blades of grass poking from the ground.

Another three days passed like this.

After this period of construction, the manor had begun to take shape. It was no longer just a few empty wooden houses, and Aaron and Green no longer had to squeeze into one room.

Romain had the authority to summon the residents of Sigg Town to serve here, but he felt it was not yet time for major construction.

Today was Romain's seventh day in Sigg Town.

He had spent six days reclaiming ten mu of land and had finally raised his Planting skill to Level 2.

He returned to his room, and the knowledge flooding into his mind left him somewhat dizzy.

After calming down, Romain discovered that the benefits brought by this Planting skill upgrade were considerable.

First, it had unlocked basic agricultural knowledge related to planting, such as manure fertilizer, seed sorting, and deep plowing, along with various farming tool improvements such as the Curved Plow, Heavy Plow, and harnesses.

Level 2 Planting: 1\380

Milestone Unlocked: First Bucket of Soil

First Bucket of Soil: Obtain 500 Origin Stones

Including the 100 Origin Stones he received from daily sign-ins, he had a total of 1,200 Origin Stones. At 160 per draw, he could draw seven times.

Romain had originally planned to do a ten-pull. He only needed to wait another four days; otherwise, he could only convert certain extraordinary resources into Origin Stones.

But Romain felt there was no need. Extraordinary resources were all quite precious.

For now, he also had no idea what Apostles were.

He checked the Recruitment Pool. There was no pity system, no rotating pools, and no previews or explanations.

The interface contained only a dim pool, within which faint starlight flickered. At a glance, countless specks of starlight were densely packed together, impossible to count. There might have been nearly two thousand.

Romain watched for a moment before ultimately choosing to recruit.

After all, recruiting and cultivating Apostles was the main feature of Noah's Ark.

Even if he did not know what would happen, he still had to recruit. He could not stop eating for fear of choking.

Whoosh!

The dim pool rippled slightly, and a faint speck of starlight shot upward like a comet striking the moon.

The starlight stood above the pool and bloomed with dazzling blue light!

For the first time in over a decade, Romain felt genuinely nervous.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Three stars appeared on a card one after another. The blue light faded, revealing the person's true appearance.

Romain focused his gaze, then his eyes bulged as he leaned back tactically!

Green!

Why was it you, brat?

On the interface, above the Recruitment Pool, the image of a free-spirited figure was imprinted upon a floating card. Dressed as a knight without looking stern, he had delicate features, his head slightly tilted, and a frivolous smile curling at the corner of his lips.

Three-Star Green (Apostle Codename Can Be Assigned)

Attack: D+, Defense: E, Speed: D+, Constitution: E+, Energy: E+

Talent: Agility—Increases flexibility

Skill 1: Evasion—Increases the chance of dodging attacks

Skill 2: Quick Attack—Increases attack speed

Romain was genuinely somewhat stunned and did not know what to say.

But it also seemed perfectly reasonable. He had originally thought recruited Apostles would fall from the sky, kneel on one knee, and acknowledge him as their master.

Though he would not need to explain anything to others, he would still have doubts about where the Apostles came from.

He had not expected the recruited Apostles to be people around him.

That made sense, then.

The assassin-like attributes, talents, and skills also matched Romain's understanding of Green's strength. That fellow simply did not have the temperament for frontal combat.

Romain immediately began his second recruitment.

Another streak of starlight shot out of the Recruitment Pool and stood above it.

Four stars shone with purple radiance.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

When the light dispersed, the image of a traditional knight with a solemn face and clad in armor appeared vividly on the card.

Well, damn. Another familiar face!

Four-Star Aaron (Apostle Codename Can Be Assigned)

Attack: E+, Defense: D+, Speed: E, Constitution: D+, Energy: D-

Talent: Tenacity—Increases resistance to abnormal statuses

Skill 1: Shield Bash—Suppresses enemies when attacking with a heavy shield

Skill 2: Unyielding—Physical endurance increases with battle intensity

Romain examined it for a while. Aaron's potential was clearly stronger than Green's.

The two were about the same age and were both household-born children of the Armor-Splitting Family. It had always been difficult to determine a winner when they sparred, but now that he saw the panels...

It seemed Aaron had been holding back during their usual matches.

Aaron had three D-ranks and two E-ranks. Judging from attributes alone, he was clearly stronger than Green's two D-ranks and three E-ranks.

But why were all the Apostles people around him?

With that question in mind, Romain recruited once more.

Thud! Thud!

A streak of starlight emitted a white glow and stood above the Recruitment Pool.

Romain narrowed his eyes as he saw a... stranger appear on the card.

It was a young man with hard facial features, dressed in animal skins and carrying a longbow on his back. His attire resembled that of a hunter.

Who was this?

Two-Star Dota (Apostle Title Can Be Assigned)

Attack: E+, Defense: E, Speed: E+, Constitution: E+, Energy: E

Talent: Keen Eyesight—Increases environmental awareness

Skill 1: Tracking—Detects subtle traces and deduces the movements of whoever left them

Though the five E-rank panel was dreadful to behold, Romain understood.

Green and Aaron were both Tier 1 Knights of the Armored Breaker family. They had received sufficient nutrition, trained their bodies from childhood, and possessed considerable talent.

Aaron in particular would likely advance to become a Tier 2 Knight before long.

Not everyone could compare to War Knights in terms of growth conditions.

This young man named Dota was clearly just an ordinary person. These values were perfectly normal.

So...

Where was this Apostle named Dota whom he had just recruited?