There were people inside the tent.
Living, breathing people.
There were men and women, seven or eight in all. Their hands and feet were bound with hemp rope, and their mouths were stuffed with rags.
Unlike the marauders, their eyes weren't dull and lifeless. Fear showed in their lively gazes.
Zong Shen narrowed his eyes slightly.
The golden Strategy Guide prompt appeared as expected.
(These are unfortunate natives who were captured by marauders. If you're willing to save them and provide food, they'll pledge their loyalty to you. Your territory is in dire need of manpower.)
So they were ordinary natives, with much the same background as the three foolish farmers.
Zong Shen breathed a sigh of relief and lowered the Kite Shield.
By then, Luna had already tossed the corpse into the bonfire.
Let it turn to ash, free at last from desecration and suffering.
She had also noticed the poor captives inside the tent and spoke up of her own accord.
"My lord, our territory needs more people."
"Save them and bring them under your benevolent protection, so they can help build your territory."
Zong Shen nodded in agreement.
He put away the Kite Shield and dismounted.
One by one, he cut through the hemp rope binding their hands and feet.
The natives were free again and immediately pulled the rags from their mouths.
"I'm a lord from this area, and this is my soldier."
"I rescued you."
"Are you willing to serve me and join me in building a great territory?"
Holding his sword in one hand, Zong Shen spoke solemnly.
The natives looked at one another, then glanced around, unsure of where they were.
But the vicious, despicable marauders had indeed been wiped out.
After hesitating for a moment,
they all bowed to Zong Shen.
"Great lord, it is our honor to serve you."
"Please treat us kindly and provide us with shelter and food."
Zong Shen nodded, agreeing.
"Very good. You've made a wise choice!"
There were eight natives in all: five men and three women.
They were all dressed in coarse hemp clothes.
Their skin was dark and rough.
They looked sturdy.
Zong Shen surveyed them.
[Farmer: Er Hua] [Potential: Common] [Level: Lv. 3] [Attributes: (Click to expand)] [Hunger: 33] [Loyalty: 60] ... [Farmer: San Pang] [Potential: Excellent] [Level: Lv. 5] [Attributes: (Click to expand)] [Hunger: 36] [Loyalty: 60] ... [Farmer: Zhuang Zhuang] [Potential: Common] [Level: Lv. 5] [Attributes: (Click to expand)] [Hunger: 31] [Loyalty: 60] ...
After taking a look at them, Zong Shen was quite pleased with these newly recruited farmers.
None of them had dull potential. The worst were of common potential, and one farmer named San Pang even had excellent potential.
This batch of farmers was high quality!
They were far better than the three foolish farmers he'd started with!
Their loyalty was a little low, but with a bit of guidance, it would rise quickly.
With these eight farmers, the efficiency of developing his territory would increase greatly.
As the saying went, farmers were productivity.
Productivity was strength.
Strength was justice.
It was a simple principle.
"Very good, Luna! Take them back to our territory."
Zong Shen turned and instructed her. The journey was over thirty miles, and on foot it would take at least two and a half to three hours.
If they set out now, they could make it back to the territory before sunset.
But the farmers were rubbing their stomachs, looking troubled.
"My lord, we haven't eaten or had any water for several days. Could you give us some food first?"
"Otherwise, I don't think we'll make it to your territory."
The farmer named San Pang spoke up.
He was the one with excellent potential, and he was already something of a leader among the eight.
"You have a point."
Zong Shen nodded. Luckily, he was carrying the Unknown Dried Meat he'd looted from the marauders' tents earlier. He had quite a lot—twenty-three pieces.
So he gave each of them one.
Water was easy to deal with, too.
The marauders had carried leather waterskins with them.
Zong Shen had thought they were filthy, so he hadn't picked them up.
Now they would come in handy to quench the farmers' thirst.
And so, the eight filthy farmers each clutched a piece of dried meat of unknown origin, taking turns drinking from the waterskin.
They wolfed down their first meal.
"Luna, take them back under your protection. I'll catch up with you."
Once they had finished their meat and drunk some water, they'd regained a little strength.
Zong Shen spoke to Luna seriously.
"My lord, but what about your safety...?"
Luna's loyalty was as high as 83, and she had begun to worry about Zong Shen's safety on her own.
But Zong Shen simply smiled, waved a hand, and brandished his rusty One-handed Sword.
"It's fine. I can protect myself. Take them and get going. Make sure you reach the territory before dark."
Hearing him say that, Luna didn't insist. She nodded, mounted the Black Panther, and set off back with the eight farmers.
Zong Shen stayed behind at the camp and continued exploring.
The marauders had dropped a few things, too.
They were all shabby-quality weapons, their names displayed in gray text.
Items of different quality were displayed in different colors.
So far, Zong Shen had found only five grades:
Damaged (gray), Common (white), Fine (green), Rare (purple), and Legendary (orange).
He didn't yet know whether there were any higher grades.
He stowed all the junk weapons dropped by the marauders in the Kodo Beast Leather Backpack, leaving nothing behind, in keeping with the principle of making the most of every scrap.
No matter how terrible the weapons were, even if Zong Shen wouldn't use them, they could still be used to arm the farmers in a pinch.
There were still two tents in the marauders' camp.
Zong Shen cut open one of them.
It contained supplies as well, mostly wood.
[Wood ×30]
[Stone ×13]
[Iron ×6]
[Flax ×27]
[Hemp Rope ×5]
[Iron Axe ×6]
[Iron Pickaxe ×6]
Zong Shen collected another haul of supplies.
Clearly, the marauders had planned to set up camp here.
Hunting monsters and treasure hunting paid off far better than gathering resources.
With the Strategy Module, gathering like a farmer would be a waste of his talents.
Zong Shen didn't care much about these resources.
What really caught his attention was what lay inside the last tent.
It was not far from where he stood.
A treasure chest, made entirely of metal, with a rough finish and a pitch-black surface.
Zong Shen focused on it.
[Black Iron Treasure Chest] [An unknown Black Iron Treasure Chest. No one knows what it might contain.] (The treasure chest is safe. You can open it without worry.)
"I found a treasure chest?"
Zong Shen's eyes lit up.
Opening a treasure chest was like opening a mystery box.
He spat into his palms, rubbed them together vigorously, then eagerly strode over.
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