Fertilizer and Seeds

As the Frost Giants' bodies were dragged away, the stench of blood on the battlefield finally began to fade.

For Louis, however, the true objective of this operation had only just begun: mining demon marrow ore.

Demon marrow was an extremely rare core ingredient in alchemical explosives.

Even across the entire Northern Frontier, or indeed the whole Ironblood Empire, such deposits could be counted on one hand.

Fortunately, this deposit lay buried so deep that it had never been discovered. Otherwise, Louis would never have had a chance at it.

And without the Daily Intelligence System's guidance, Louis could never have found it.

The knights guarded the perimeter while a group of subjects carrying iron pickaxes, gloves, and basic protective gear slowly entered the mining area and began excavating with care.

Rubble was dug away one shovelful at a time until, with a sharp clang, a corner of a deep purple crystal hidden beneath the rock layers finally emerged.

The ore gave off a faint glow and mysterious pulses of energy.

"Take a small amount first and adjust the magic soil formula according to Silco's advice," Louis instructed. "Seal off the rest for now."

He was in no hurry to order large-scale mining.

After all, this required specialists. Reinforcing the tunnels, mining techniques, alchemical refining-none of these could be handled easily.

He had specifically mentioned these needs in the letter he had previously sent his father.

If his father was willing to send skilled people to help, that would naturally be the best outcome.

Otherwise, Louis would have to find a way to recruit experienced craftsmen from elsewhere himself.

Spring sunlight spilled over the farmland of the Red Tide Fief, and the breeze carried the fresh scent of new shoots.

Louis stood on high ground, overlooking the land as it gradually came back to life.

A few weeks earlier, these had still been barren fields, freshly sown.

Now the rye had broken through the soil, tender potato leaves had emerged, and young turnip seedlings swayed gently in the breeze.

"It looks like this year's harvest won't be too bad." A satisfied smile curved his lips.

Just then, hurried footsteps sounded in the distance.

Mick came jogging over, looking somewhat anxious.

Although his marriage proposal had been accepted, he had yet to formally report it to his lord.

As a former slave, Mick still harbored a lingering fear of his master.

He was a free man now, but in his eyes, something as important as marriage still required his master's approval.

What if Louis refused? What if he disapproved?

Those thoughts circled in Mick's mind, making his steps heavier than usual.

Before he could speak, however, Louis gave a faint smile and said clearly, "Mick, congratulations on your successful proposal."

Mick froze.

I haven't even told him yet! How did my lord know?!

Shock, fear, disbelief-a flood of emotions churned inside him, and he instinctively tried to drop to his knees.

But a pale hand held him up.

Louis frowned, his tone leaving no room for argument. "Mick, you're the agricultural steward now. Stop kneeling at every little thing."

Mick abruptly came to his senses. His eyes reddened slightly, and his lips moved as though he wanted to say something.

But Louis interrupted him by handing him a gift.

It was two smoked fish.

They were tied together with a thin cord, complete with a crooked little bow.

Mick stared blankly.

"This is a wedding gift," Louis said casually. "Money's tight lately, but I thought I should still give you something."

"..."

Mick clutched the gift tightly, his lips trembling. Finally, he could no longer hold back, and tears began falling in heavy drops.

He had never imagined that his lord would offer him such a blessing.

He had thought he would have to cautiously ask for his lord's permission, perhaps face a scolding, or even be required to pay some sort of price.

"Don't cry." Louis patted Mick on the shoulder. "Isn't this a good thing?"

Mick sniffled and nodded desperately, trying to calm himself down.

"All right, pull yourself together. I still have some business to discuss with you."

At that, Mick took a deep breath, wiped away his tears, and stood straight. "Please give me your orders!"

Louis tilted his head slightly, signaling for him to look behind him.

Mick instinctively followed his gaze. Then his eyes flew wide, and he sucked in a sharp breath.

Four enormous bodies lay beside the farmland. Their battered forms were riddled with gashes, and the frost covering their skin had begun to melt, exposing dark blue flesh.

"These... these bodies are so huge..." Mick swallowed, taking a long moment to find his voice.

"Stop gawking. I want you to turn these bodies into fertilizer," Louis said with a smile.

"F-fertilizer?" Mick nearly bit his tongue in shock.

Who had ever heard of using Frost Giant corpses as fertilizer?!

Louis spoke as though it were perfectly natural. "Frost Giant muscles are rich in minerals. Put them to good use, and they might work wonders for the crops."

The corner of Mick's mouth twitched, but his mind was already racing as he considered how to process these four "mountains of fertilizer."

Before his shock had fully faded, however, Louis's next words put him on edge again.

"And this." Louis took a small cloth pouch from inside his clothes and solemnly handed it to Mick.

The pouch held half of the Frostblood Redberry seeds. They were too precious for Louis to risk all at once, so he could only try cultivating a portion first.

He had chosen to entrust them to Mick because the Intelligence System had once stated that Mick possessed an astonishing talent for cultivation.

Louis believed that, as long as he gave Mick the cultivation instructions, Mick would do at least several times better than he could himself.

Mick hurriedly reached out to take the pouch and carefully opened it. Inside were what looked like ordinary fruit seeds.

"These... these are..."

"Frostblood Redberry seeds." Louis offered no detailed explanation. "Anyway, they're extremely precious. A single seed is worth several hundred gold coins."

Mick's eyes widened, and even his breathing quickened.

A single seed could buy hundreds of slaves like me!

"You're... leaving these in my care?" Mick's hands trembled slightly, afraid that one careless mistake might destroy these precious seeds.

Louis nodded. "These seeds are extremely scarce and must be cultivated with great care. If you run into any problems, you can come to me at any time.

"I've already had people start researching a suitable magic soil formula, but that will take time. So your task for now is to bury these seeds in ice to activate them."

"Y-yes!" Mick hurriedly cradled the seeds with utmost care. "I'll take good care of them. I won't let them suffer the slightest damage!"

Just then, a guard hurried over and said to Louis, "My lord, the girl we rescued earlier has woken up."