A Lord Who Doesn't Farm Isn't a Good Lord

The Youweimas Area was not a good place. This had already been mentioned several times before.

There were few creatures here, and the variety of species was limited. The terrain was treacherous everywhere, and if not for another branch of the Blackwater River flowing through the area, it would have been nothing but a barren wasteland.

Most importantly, it belonged to the underground world.

There was no sun here, and naturally, no moon either. Without natural light, the plants that grew freely in the Surface World simply couldn't survive here.

Of course, the underground world had its own unique species, but compared with the Surface World, the richness of its produce was like heaven and earth.

Thus, food had always been a major problem in the underground world, and in the Youweimas Area, this problem was especially serious.

The food shortage had never truly been resolved. The people in the bunker, Landen, and even the Minotaur Butler and Dark Elves had mainly relied on food brought from Solenode City when Landen had first been appointed lord of this place by Matriarch Isis.

Most of it consisted of staple foods that could be stored for a long time, such as rice, flour, and other grains. Apart from that, the bunker's main source of food came from the Minotaur Butler and the Dark Elves going out to hunt.

The Youweimas Area was very barren, but the Blackwater River was rich in resources. Although the Minotaur Butler and the Dark Elves were not good at fishing, they could still obtain enough food from the river to supplement their supplies.

So, at that time, the bunker could still manage to sustain itself.

However, as Landen began subduing the local creatures—especially after he subdued that group of hobgoblins—the food problem became prominent again.

Hobgoblins had never been a diligent species. For them, getting their fill had never been the goal. Their goal was simply not to starve to death. Before Landen subdued them, they had lived rather poorly. Their leader would take them out to forage once, after which they would survive on food that was actually only enough for a single day. Only the hobgoblins who were about to go out foraging again next time could enjoy the luxury of eating their fill.

Now that these hobgoblins had become warriors under Landen, they naturally couldn't continue going hungry one day and eating their fill the next. Moreover, to let them focus entirely on training, Landen obviously couldn't send them out to forage. The remaining old, weak, sick, and disabled hobgoblins had even less ability to forage or hunt.

Thus, Landen had no choice but to rely on Hogg's superb fishing skills, having her lead the Dark Elves in obtaining as much food as possible from the Blackwater River. At the same time, he used the reserve food brought from Solenode City. Only then had they barely managed to hold out until now.

However, this couldn't go on forever.

Landen knew that, of course, and he had been trying to find a solution all along. It was just that this problem was not so easy to solve.

Although most of the Youweimas Area was covered in strange rocks, it was still possible to find some muddy soil suitable for farming. However, the land here had not been nourished by the Blackwater River. Instead, it seemed as if the river had drained away its spiritual energy, leaving it extremely barren. Even if crops were planted, the final harvest would be pitifully small. The effort and reward were completely disproportionate.

That was why, despite having Hogg, who possessed the Advanced Planting Technique, at his side, Landen had merely given the matter some simple thought before turning his attention elsewhere.

This was also one of the reasons he desperately needed the Hobgoblin Knights to grow stronger quickly. In his plans, he did have a way to solve the food problem, but that method required at least one battle—a large-scale battle.

The method was very simple: conquer the group of Lizardfolk living in this area!

Like the Riverclaw Jackalman, these Lizardfolk were aquatic creatures. Their lair was located beside a tributary of the Blackwater River, and every member of their tribe possessed outstanding underwater hunting skills. As long as they could be conquered, they would be able to obtain ample food from the Blackwater River.

However, conquering them would be no easy task. Among all the species in his territory listed by the Lord System, this group of Lizardfolk ranked first in combat power, even above that family of Mind Flayers. The reason was simple: there were a lot of them.

Their tribe had more than a thousand Lizardfolk, and more than half of them were capable of fighting. They were truly not opponents that ordinary people could handle.

Of course, the situation was completely different now. The emergence of the Heart of the City had solved the problem of the Youweimas Area's barren land, making it possible to grow food. With that food, Landen could let the Hobgoblin Knights train in peace for longer periods and make more thorough preparations to conquer the Lizardfolk.

"Do you know how to farm?" Landen asked Mikhail.

She shook her head...

"Do you know how to farm?" Landen continued, asking the Lari Brothers.

They shook their heads again...

"You... Forget it." Landen glanced at the maid standing to one side, then at Lilith, who was leisurely sipping the last of his treasured cellar wine in the distance. He shook his head and gave up.

"Ah, when will Hogg be back? If I'd known this would happen, I wouldn't have let her take the Hobgoblin Knights out to show off." Landen sighed wistfully, missing his Beast-eared Cutie.

"My lord..." Avina's soft voice rang out.

"Huh? Didn't you go cook?" Landen was startled. He had been immersed in his beautiful daydreams, as though the person he had just seen and questioned had been an illusion.

"My lord, it's afternoon. It's been less than two hours since you finished lunch." Avina bit down hard on her teeth and rolled her eyes at Landen speechlessly. This was the greatest retaliation she could manage against him.

"Huh? Oh, sorry. I spaced out. You're dismissed. Go get some rest." Landen froze again, then realized how ridiculous he had been and gave an awkward smile.

"But, my lord, I do know how to farm." Avina tried to make her voice louder, but for some reason, whenever she faced Landen, her voice simply refused to rise—apart from that one time she had screamed.

"Oh, you do... Wait, what did you say?" Landen was startled for the third time.

"I said I know how to farm." Avina spoke seriously.

"Are you sure you know how to farm, not just plant flowers and grass? I mean grow food?" Landen asked hesitantly.

"Yes, farm. I know how to farm, not plant flowers and grass!" Landen's attitude made Avina a little angry despite herself, and her voice unconsciously rose slightly.

"Heh." Landen looked at Avina in front of him and suddenly laughed. He raised his hand and gently patted her on the head. "All right, I understand. You know how to farm. Then help me farm."

Whoosh!

Avina's face instantly turned bright red, all the way up to the slightly pointed ears of the Half-elf.

"Yes, my lord." Her voice became soft and small once again, gentle and sweet. It sounded lovely.

A lord naturally had to farm. A lord who didn't farm wasn't a good lord.

Thus, under the leadership of our lord, everyone in the household, young and old, came out in full force.

They farmed!