The morning mountain road was damp with moisture as two fast horses galloped along the mountain path.
The sturdy guards on horseback had been chosen by Luo Ning to deliver letters. They were headed to Lakeside Town to seek help from the Green Family.
If Baron German was willing to lend them messenger birds, the two guards would return. Otherwise, they would follow the road they had come by back to Wushan Castle and deliver the letter themselves.
By now, they had already ridden dozens of miles. In another two hours, they would be leaving the mountains.
But just then, two fast horses came racing toward them from the opposite direction.
"It's that knight from last night!"
"He's from Sain Territory. What's he here for again?"
The two messengers' hearts skipped a beat. They instinctively pulled their reins and stopped, yielding the road to the other side.
The newcomer was Philiton Henry, Knight Captain of Sain Territory. He had not expected to encounter people from Mountain Forest Town here.
Philiton also stopped and asked, "Where are you headed?"
The presence of an Advanced Knight made the two guards nervous. But remembering that Baron Luo Ning, lord of Mountain Forest Town, stood behind them, the two messengers managed to remain calm.
Ordinary people had no ability to fight back against knights, but if he killed them casually, he would pay a tremendous price once word got out. A large sum of money would be unavoidable.
"Respected sir knight, we are delivering a letter for Lord Luo Ning," one of the messengers answered.
Philiton's heart jolted. Could they be sending a letter to Wushan Castle? And could it be about Sain Territory and Mountain Forest Town?
"What letter did Lord Luo Ning ask you to deliver? Do you know?" he hurriedly asked.
"Sorry, sir knight, we do not know the contents of the letter."
Philiton frowned slightly. He had come today to resolve Sain Territory's problem. If Luo Ning's letter truly concerned this matter and he let the messengers send it out, things would become troublesome.
"Don't deliver that letter for now," Philiton said.
The two messengers were instantly alarmed, their hearts racing. Was this knight really going to make trouble for them?
"Sorry, this is something our lord specifically instructed us to do. Without Lord Luo Ning's approval, we must deliver the letter. Sir Philiton, you would not stop us, would you?"
Though nervous, the two messengers remained neither servile nor overbearing.
After what had happened yesterday, and with Luo Ning's instructions before they left, they had to remain sufficiently calm.
"Hehe, there's no need to be nervous."
Philiton's demeanor turned gentle. "I am preparing to request an audience with your lord, Baron Luo Ning. What I wish to discuss may be related to the contents of the letter in your hands. If you send it out, it may cause your lord a loss of several hundred gold coins!"
He knew exactly what point to emphasize. "If Lord Luo Ning learns that you ignored my advice and caused him such a loss, do you think he will blame you?"
"This..."
The two messengers exchanged a glance, unsure what to do.
Seeing this, Philiton continued, "How about this? Come back with me to see your lord. When the time comes, I will explain to him that I was the one who told you to return. I imagine he will not blame you."
"Besides, if you need to send letters later, I can lend you Sain Territory's messenger birds. They are much faster than riding horses."
The two messengers still hesitated somewhat, but when they considered that this matter might concern their lord's wealth, they ultimately chose to compromise.
"Haha, good. Then let's go. I'll have to trouble you to announce my arrival later!"
Philiton laughed heartily and tugged the reins, preparing to continue on his way.
"Oh, right. Lord Luo Ning said yesterday that one of you is an Advanced Peak Professional Knight. Is it that huge man built like a mountain?"
As they turned their horses around, the two messengers answered with grins.
"That's Lord Macken!"
"Lord Macken is incredible! They say that even if two or three Advanced Peak Knights surrounded and attacked him at once, he could still remain undefeated!"
A serious gleam flashed through Philiton's eyes. This Macken was a difficult opponent. He would have to take him seriously in the future!
What he did not know was that the two messengers had said this because Luo Ning had specifically instructed them during morning training.
Whether they were people from Mountain Forest Town or outsiders, whenever anyone asked about the Guard Officer's strength, they were to answer exactly like that.
Meanwhile, Luo Ning was leading Macken, Chahar, and the others toward the grassland west of town.
Last night, David and Tom had already informed everyone that the lord wished to meet his subjects, setting the meeting for ten in the morning at the Western Grassland.
There were not many people around Luo Ning now. Ten wounded guards were recovering, two had been sent out as messengers, and five remained behind at the castle. Only twelve guards could accompany him.
Ordinary guards did not possess much fighting power before transcendents. Luo Ning brought them along purely for appearances.
At that moment, the Western Grassland was packed with people. The subjects had arrived early and were waiting there.
The scene of the new lord entering town yesterday had already spread among the subjects. Prinster might have been a traitor, but this lord had killed so many people in one go. He clearly seemed fierce and ruthless.
How could they dare make the lord wait for them here?
By now, nearly all the subjects had arrived. Even those too seriously ill to walk had been carried here by their families.
When Luo Ning arrived outside the grassland, the sight before him gave him a shock.
His first thought was: My god, why are there so many people?
His second thought brought delight.
More people was good. With more people, the difficulty of completing the Prosperous Population achievement would be greatly reduced.
As Luo Ning appeared, the previously noisy crowd fell silent in an instant. Everyone focused their eyes on him, afraid that making even the slightest sound would displease this lord.
It was Luo Ning's first time being watched by so many people. It was impossible for him not to feel nervous.
But he was the lord now. He could not lose face before his own subjects.
He took a deep breath and walked toward higher ground—there was no specially built platform, only a small raised mound on the grassland.
Well, this meeting truly had no grandeur whatsoever.
But there was no helping it. Everything had been arranged in haste, and Luo Ning did not have an Administrator.
Thinking of this gave Luo Ning quite a headache.
An Administrator was not like a servant, someone he could recruit casually.
To serve as an Administrator, one at least needed to know how to read, right?
Luo Ning looked over his subordinates. The thirty guards, including David, were unsuitable. Apart from them, there were only Macken, Elrond, Chahar, and Tom.
Chahar was the castle steward, while the others were all transcendents. None of them were suitable to become an Administrator.
After that brief wandering train of thought, Luo Ning returned his attention to the present. He glanced at Elrond beside him. Elrond understood immediately, stepped forward, and called out loudly:
"Subjects of Mountain Forest Town, descendants of the great Wushan Family, lord of Mountain Forest Town, Baron Luo Ning, now stands before you! No matter your status, offer your respects to your lord and present your loyalty!"
Elrond had read quite a few books recently, including two Knight Novels. The lines came from those books, and he had put them to flexible use.
As his voice fell, everyone began to salute.
The subjects who were serfs all knelt down, while the free citizens bowed deeply to show their respect.
Luo Ning looked over the crowd. Those kneeling on the ground made up the overwhelming majority.
But no matter who they were, they all shouted loudly, "Greetings, my lord!"
The simultaneous shouts of over a thousand people merged into a mighty tide of sound, stirring one's blood.
Luo Ning looked at these subjects, his heart filled with excitement. This was his foundation.
"I accept your loyalty, my subjects!"
He responded loudly, "From today onwards, we will make our respective rights and obligations clear."
Luo Ning did not need to say too many formal words, especially not before his own subjects.
"As my subjects, loyalty to Mountain Forest Town and loyalty to me are your foremost principles! You must work diligently for me, work to build Mountain Forest Town!"
"As your lord, I will exercise my rights, but I will also fulfill my obligations. I will grant you powerful protection, stable public order, and increasingly better lives!"
After saying this, Luo Ning glanced at Elrond.
Elrond understood at once and immediately said, "The light of our lord shall forever protect you all!"
As he spoke, he slowly raised both hands, which shone with brilliant radiance.
This sight directly stunned the people below.
Then, a beam of light shot from Elrond's hands toward an injured man in the crowd with a bandage wrapped around his arm.
Everyone followed the light and watched the injured man.
The man froze for a moment, then cried out in delighted surprise, "My injury is healed!"
With an excited expression, he tore off the bandage around his arm. To everyone's amazement, the wound on the arm that still bore traces of blood had already healed.
"Seven Gods above, what miraculous ability is this?" The man looked up at Elrond, his eyes filled with awe.
At that moment, Elrond cast Flash Spell on Luo Ning.
At the same time, he shouted, "This is the radiance of Lord Luo Ning! He has permitted me to bestow this light upon you, to protect you!"
Luo Ning, glowing all over, suddenly took on an endlessly mysterious image in the hearts of these serfs and free citizens. Their mouths hung open and their eyes widened, as if they were seeing a deity.
Macken drew his longsword. Battle Qi surged forth, and a beam of light shot into the sky with imposing grandeur.
"Let us shout together: Long live Lord Luo Ning!"
The subjects were stunned for a moment, then many came to their senses and began shouting along with him.
At first, the cries were scattered and uncoordinated, but as more and more people joined in, they grew louder and more united.
"Long live Lord Luo Ning!"
"Long live Lord Luo Ning!"
"Long live Lord Luo Ning!"
Before you continue