Territory Construction 2

At dawn, morning sunlight spilled across the land.

In the cleared area, the serfs had gathered. Compared to when they had first been purchased, there was now some color in their faces. After more than ten days of steady food supplies, their bodies had visibly grown stronger, though only their bodies.

Most still looked numb, their eyes vacant.

The moment they became serfs, they had lost everything. Naturally, hope was beyond them.

Nor could they see any future.

They moved numbly, knowing only to obey orders.

This day was no exception.

Amid the gathered crowd,

Thor appeared before all the serfs.

Even so, their expressions did not change much.

But amidst their numbness,

Thor waved a hand.

The next moment, several knights carried over a brazier.

At the same time, one knight came before them carrying a wooden box.

The box opened, revealing parchment scrolls.

When they saw the parchment scrolls, the serfs' expressions finally shifted.

Because those were their Slave Contracts.

At the sight of those Slave Contracts, the five hundred people stirred restlessly.

Thor ignored them.

He waved his hand.

The next moment, a knight quickly stepped forward and presented several parchment scrolls.

"Sabina, Bones, Linus, Somerset, Serard, Sebefia."

Thor's low voice rang out.

Every time he called a name, unrest spread through the crowd of slaves below, especially among those whose names had been called.

"Those whose names were just called, step forward!"

Steve spoke.

The next moment, several serfs emerged from the crowd in panic.

"My lord!"

"My lord!"

The moment they came out, they dropped to the ground. Their numb expressions were tinged with fear.

"There is no need to be nervous!"

"Because of your outstanding performance these past days, I have decided that from today onward, you will no longer be serfs. You will be free citizens beneath the radiance of the Goddess of Life!"

"May the Goddess of Life be with you!"

Looking at the panicked crowd, Thor smiled and raised his voice.

His words were loud.

Loud enough for everyone to hear.

And precisely because they heard him, everyone's eyes widened in disbelief.

Especially the slaves whose names had been called. Still trembling, they wondered if they were hallucinating.

"M-My lord, what... what did you say?"

One slave spoke shakily, his gaze instantly lifting toward Thor on the raised platform.

"Of course it is true!"

"Under the witness of the Goddess of Life, from today onward, you are free!"

Thor spoke solemnly. The next moment, he tossed out his right hand.

The Slave Contracts in his hand flew directly into the fire before them.

Whoosh!

The flames surged upward in an instant.

As the flames swept forth,

red light suddenly spread over the bodies of those who had stepped out. The invisible force binding them swiftly faded away, and they felt their bodies grow lighter.

But at that moment, none of them could spare attention for that. Their eyes were wide as they stared in disbelief into the distance, at that figure.

And at the roaring blaze burning before him.

Their minds could not process it.

Only after a moment

did the entire crowd erupt into chaos.

"Heavens, w-what is he doing?"

"My goddess, this... this...!"

"The contracts! H-He burned their Slave Contracts!"

"W-We...!"

Voices rose one after another.

The countless numb serfs were now filled only with shock, astonishment, horror, and disbelief. Those whose Slave Contracts had been lifted felt even greater turmoil in their hearts.

The moment they became slaves, their lives had been destroyed. There was no future, and they had nothing left.

They would have to work for their masters until death. The Slave Contracts made even escape impossible.

Yet what had they just seen? No, what had they just experienced?

That young Pioneer Knight before them had burned their contracts himself.

That meant that from this moment onward, they were no longer slaves. They were free people.

Color instantly rushed into their faces.

Joy and excitement spilled forth uncontrollably.

Someone suddenly came to their senses, dropping to the ground and speaking respectfully to Thor.

"Thank you, my master!"

"May the Goddess of Life be with you!"

"Your radiance shines as brightly as the sun!"

Following that voice, the other serfs quickly came to their senses as well.

Their eyes held longing, hope, and gratitude.

"Thank you, my master!"

"May the Goddess of Life be with you!"

"Thank you, my master!"

"May the Goddess of Life be with you!"

Voices rang out one after another. The few who had stepped forward now had a fervent light in their eyes.

Even the remaining four hundred or so had completely shed their numbness.

Their expressions held anticipation and yearning.

Thor smiled at the sight.

This was exactly what he needed.

Freeing the serfs.

In this world, perhaps ninety-nine percent of nobles would never do such a thing.

After all, serfs could be exploited without limit.

Once serfs were freed and became free citizens, they would no longer be so easy to exploit.

But as a transmigrator, Thor understood that the productivity unleashed by freeing serfs was incomparable to what came before.

For the initial construction of his territory, this was exactly the productive power he needed.

Five hundred serfs were worth only fifty gold coins, a price he could fully afford.

The reason he had not freed them all at once was simply to give everyone motivation.

And judging from the current results, the effect was indeed excellent.

Amid the cries of praise, Thor raised his hand.

The entire crowd instantly fell silent.

"May the Goddess of Life be with you as well. From today onward, you are the people of Eagle Territory!"

"There is land here that belongs to you. For the next half year, I will provide you with food, seeds, and farming tools, and teach you how to farm. You need only pay a certain amount of tax to the territory regularly. Everything left over will belong to you, my people."

"As for everyone else, land will be assigned to you as well. For now, however, that land belongs to me, your master. But I promise that if you perform outstandingly in this year's planting, every one of you will have hope of becoming free citizens of Eagle Ridge and owning land that belongs to you."

"I await the day when all of you become my subjects."

Thor spoke, then waved his hand.

Several knights quickly stepped forward.

They distributed wooden plaques one after another.

Each plaque was marked with a number, and every number corresponded to a plot of land.

Of course, aside from the few whose slave status had been lifted, the land assigned to the others still did not belong to them.

It was Thor's property.

But Thor had also dangled a tempting promise before every slave.

And the effect was undoubtedly immediate.

The expressions of the more than four hundred slaves held only excitement, anticipation, and exhilaration.

As for the few who had received land, there was even less need to say.

They had never imagined that their lord would not only free them from slavery, but also give them land, seeds, farming tools, and food.

Such things were beyond anything they could have imagined even in their dreams.

Yet at this moment, they had become reality.