I Want It All! / Call Me the New-Generation Lord of the Royal Court!

"Get up and get to work. What employee gets up later than the boss?"

"I've never hated Victoria's system this much!" Warfarin said through gritted teeth.

Regardless, Warfarin's formerly carefree attitude as a drifter couldn't make her a good assistant.

Huang Cao had already seen through her intentions. This Blood Demon planned to follow him to the end because he had piqued the Immortal's interest.

He could pretend to be an old hand, but his disguise would probably be exposed before long because of his lack of social experience.

Warfarin walked up to the general store counter and found that her room was ready. A small sign hung beside it, reading: basic wound treatment.

Some simple medicines had also been placed nearby, though they were all basic herbs. After all, modern medicines like pills and capsules had yet to appear in this era.

It was also possible that they already existed. Technology in this world relied somewhat on archaeology, so perhaps such things could be found in some ruin. But the supply certainly couldn't be considered abundant.

"When you have nothing else to do, help keep the books. Give the people here whatever they need. As long as they can pay, they can have anything in the warehouse."

Huang Cao slapped a thick ledger down on the table.

The future relocation would certainly require all kinds of tools. Silver coins were merely a means of conducting transactions, while gold coins were the budget for purchasing land.

He had to make plans for his future territory. He couldn't possibly build the castle by personally digging stones out of the mountains.

And digging stone required neither money nor effort, did it? Nor did clearing the land?

It was better to use cheap labor to get these things done now. The town didn't have many people, but as long as he was willing to pay, nothing was impossible.

You could always trust the physical fitness of Super Terrans.

With that in mind, Warfarin spent the most well-supplied six months of her life under the exploitation of a certain unscrupulous boss.

Having completed her probation, Warfarin was now thoroughly in league with a certain piece of grass.

Someone had this to say: Once you've boarded this pirate ship, you think you can get off?

Not a chance!

Of course, the most important thing was that both sides got what they needed. Once her worries about survival were gone, Warfarin could devote herself more fully to considering her future and studying medicine.

But silver coins would eventually run out. After half a year, the silver coins in the warehouse had grown fewer and fewer, while the number of newly minted gold coins had steadily increased.

Naturally, Huang Cao had refined those gold coins from the gold mine. Building a castle was a major undertaking, but it wasn't quite that major...

The past six months had gone fairly well. Through his arrangements, his identity here and his identity in the River Valley had become completely interconnected.

Only the Banshees of the River Valley knew the name Huang Cao. Fortunately, his brain's dual-threaded operation had gone smoothly enough that Lamian hadn't noticed anything amiss.

But why did Lamian's tone sound so much like his own mother's?

There was a distinctly maternal quality to her words.

Warfarin, who had long since learned their true identities, almost laughed out loud as she secretly watched from the side.

That's right. Warfarin also knew what this man's plan was.

Otherwise, why would she have said earlier that they were in league with each other?

Huang Cao's idea was simple. Constant vigilance and suspicion couldn't cultivate trust. If he wanted others to trust him, he had to trust them first.

Another year passed.

At the end of that year, a sudden heavy snowfall struck Kazdel.

Many refugees suddenly poured into the area outside the town. Strangely, the Kazdel authorities offered them no relief whatsoever, as though a disaster was simply a disaster—something that shouldn't be resisted, only escaped.

Huang Cao chose to accept them all and have them sign loan agreements, trading their labor for the next three years in exchange for a relatively low price and the grace of having their lives saved.

After this event, Huang Cao's current identity instantly became the backbone of the entire town.

Kazdel's order had been devastated by the allied forces of many nations, so the town had few rules, and laws were completely out of the question.

But if they had to choose a town administrator or mayor, there was no doubt that Huang Cao was the only one qualified for the role.

The town's population also grew from small to large, becoming the only area amid the snow disaster whose population was still increasing.

Thanks to the Sarkaz people's special circumstances and someone's advanced management, the newcomers didn't come into conflict with the town's original residents.

But such a major movement of people couldn't possibly go unnoticed.

At the very least, Theresia once again turned her gaze toward the town she had visited before.

There'll be another update this afternoon 2

Chapter 17: I Want It All!

"Good day, Your Highness. How may I help you?"

Huang Cao's black robe, floating in midair, folded slightly into a bowing posture. His identity was still that of a Sarkaz, and disrespecting the Demon King was an act of treason.

Huang Cao's foundation was still here. No matter what Theresia was like, she was ultimately the light in the hearts of the Sarkaz people.

His prestige and achievements had not yet grown enough to overshadow this Demon King.

"Mr. Undead Spirit, perhaps I may address you that way." Theresia also inclined herself in a slight bow, her tone gentle.

"Of course, Your Highness."

Amid the sidelong glances of the nearby residents, the two entered the general store together, now two or three times larger than before.

"I came here several years ago. This little shop wasn't nearly as large then, and the walls were made of wood. I didn't expect it to develop so quickly."

"I have Your Highness to thank for that. Without a safe environment, I couldn't do business. This is a small gift from me. I hope you won't disdain it."

Huang Cao glanced at Warfarin, who respectfully took a large bag of gold coins from the cabinet.

"Thank you both, Your Highnesses, for protecting us all these years."

Theresia didn't look at the bag of gold coins, even though it represented a considerable fortune to her.

But what use were gold coins that couldn't be spent or eaten?

Trade blockades, rare natural disasters, and calamities both natural and man-made took turns tormenting the Sarkaz people. Forget blessings—being alive was already fortunate enough.

The shopkeeper before her was a key capable of establishing contact with the outside world.

At present, Theresia didn't want to investigate where this Undead Spirit's food had come from.

Questions and suspicion couldn't feed her people.

"I need food. A great deal of food. I'll gather the payment and give it to you when spring arrives next year. I swear this in the name of the Demon King Sarkaz..."

"Please, Your Highness, there's no need for that. Besides, I'm not short of money. In the current environment, transporting this stuff here is truly difficult. I have to sell a kilogram of wheat for seven silver coins now. The people here are almost starving..."

Huang Cao was telling the truth. He had indeed raised the price of grain.

But there was one thing he hadn't mentioned: because of his plans, the town's average wages and employment rate far exceeded those of other regions.

Two years ago, a price of seven silver coins would probably have made the residents here smash his shop to pieces.

Now, they would only curse the unscrupulousness of a certain someone before obediently paying for their purchases.

Theresia's expression also lost its earlier respect, and the aura around her gradually emerged. She looked very much like she was preparing to force him into submission.

Yes, she was still the Demon King after all. Huang Cao was currently on her territory. Gentleness and kindness didn't mean she couldn't be decisive and ruthless.

Huang Cao fully understood this. It was precisely the goal he wanted to achieve.

If she had treated him with excessive respect, that would have been the real problem.

"Your Highness, may I ask whether you carefully read the letter I sent to your desk through Lamian several years ago?"

"You want that barren stretch of land? But there's nothing on it..." Theresia asked in confusion.

"So can you give me a more favorable price?"

Seeing the other party's expression soften slightly, Huang Cao pressed his advantage and stated his thoughts bluntly.

It was precisely because of that trace of hesitation that he wanted to take even greater advantage of the situation.

His original plan had been to give Theresia the food for free and pay her every coin owed for the land. But now he had changed his mind.

I won't give you the food for free. I'll still buy the land, but you have to use the money for the land to buy my food.

I can't let you take advantage twice!

I won't let you owe me a favor, and I won't willingly owe you one either!

Everything has to be laid out in the open. Words are meaningless. Only mutual benefit can guarantee equality between us.

After respectfully conveying his thoughts to the Demon King, Huang Cao floated above the counter and waited patiently for her reply.

After a long while, Theresia spoke slowly, but the aura of the Demon King around her hadn't weakened in the slightest.

An overwhelming force seemed to transform into countless sharp blades. Even Warfarin, who had been watching the show, couldn't help shrinking her neck.

Good grief, is this the Demon King's pressure?

Warfarin wanted to turn and run, but seeing how calm Huang Cao remained, the heavy stone in her heart finally fell.

Her Highness shouldn't be that brutal, right?

After roughly twenty minutes, the aura around Theresia suddenly contracted, and her tone became somewhat weaker than before.

"Very well, but this isn't something that can be resolved overnight."

"Likewise, hunger is the same. The land will remain there, but people may not stay alive forever."

"Your Highness, if the land is lost, it can still be reclaimed. But once people leave, they'll never come back."

"I understand."

"A wise decision. Name your price. I want permanent ownership of that land."

Huang Cao didn't ask for ninety-nine years or several hundred years. He wanted permanent ownership, because people on this continent lived far too long.

A hundred years passed in the blink of an eye, especially for the Sarkaz. Every one of them was astonishingly long-lived.

If he couldn't guarantee permanent sovereignty, his territory would eventually be taken away, and all his efforts would amount to nothing.

Although a stronger fist could let him ignore Theresia, it was still better to avoid trouble whenever possible.

What happened next followed naturally. To demonstrate his goodwill, Huang Cao took the initiative to provide a batch of grain for Theresia to use in an emergency, though it was only enough for that emergency.

He believed in exchanging money for goods. Without announcing it across the entire nation, he couldn't—and absolutely wouldn't—put all his trump cards on the table.

A month later, Theresia personally issued an announcement, selling the selected land to Huang Cao. However, she didn't grant him an actual title, only the title of Honorary Duke.

The sale price was five hundred thousand gold coins, an extremely high price.

If the land had belonged to a Victoria noble, that noble would probably have been eager to lower the price and get rid of it as quickly as possible. There was truly nothing on that land, and apart from frequent natural disasters, it was completely unsuitable for human habitation.

Only a monarch who treasured national sovereignty above all else would care about such things.

For the next half a year or so, Huang Cao devoted all his attention to two things: developing the land and gathering food.

Although Huang Cao could use Originium to produce food, he was still only one person. His production speed was limited, and he could barely keep up with demand.

"After fumbling around for more than half a year, I've finally made some progress."

Even while busy, Huang Cao hadn't forgotten to continue exploring the mysteries of Originium. Today, he had finally made a breakthrough.

In fact, a month earlier, Huang Cao in the Banshee River Valley had already bid farewell to Lamian and the others.

The instant he left the River Valley, the body Huang Cao had constructed from his soul instantly dispersed into smoke.

At the same time, his mind also felt suddenly clear.

Chapter 18: Call Me the New-Generation Lord of the Royal Court!

"Finally! The dual-threaded work is over. These past few years sure weren't easy."

Huang Cao sighed inwardly in relief. After laying plans for so many years, he finally had a piece of land of his own.

The Banshees were beautiful, but constantly splitting his mind had placed immense mental pressure on him.

Fortunately, this identity had ultimately achieved its purpose, successfully establishing a connection with Theresia.

Next, he had to rebuild his body and use a year to prepare everything.

No wonder the Undead Spirit in the story who could eat normal food had a body. Without a way to interact with the world, things really were abnormal.

"Warfarin, for the next six months, I'll leave this shop's business and all subsequent arrangements in your hands."

"You've been in league with me for nearly a year. I'm sure you can keep this shop running. There are gold bars buried underground. If we suffer a major loss, make sure to fix it in time."