A Sudden New Mission

Azan was a viscounty.

But it was rather different from the hereditary noble titles Lin Ke had known in his previous life.

For instance, their viscounty also contained more than a dozen barons, and supposedly some lords as well.

The way noble titles were established here also seemed different from the Western system in his previous life.

Within the territory, some of these nobles belonged to the same generation as his bastard father, while others belonged to the generation before.

Their residences differed too. Some lived in towns as town lords, some lived in castles as castle lords, while others could only serve as village lords-commonly known as village chiefs.

It was the sheer size of this viscounty that made Lin Ke realize the Nasengge Continent might be even more vast than he had imagined.

Fortunately, weights and measures here were almost standardized, as were divisions of time, which made things much easier for him.

"Little Lin Ke, what are you thinking about?"

Under the wagon canopy, Lin Ke's mother was eating sour berries. Seeing his adorably vacant expression, she could not resist poking him. "Come on, how about we play Catch the Fishman?"

Sitting at the edge of the wagon, Lin Ke gazed out at the wilderness and shook his head. "I don't want to!"

Catch the Fishman was a game adults here used to entertain children. It was a little like the finger-guessing game Fifteen-Twenty he knew from his previous life, and could count as a brain teaser.

Both players held out their hands at the same time and guessed the number the other would show.

Guessing correctly meant catching a fishman. Anyone who guessed wrong would be mocked for being as stupid as one.

It was utterly boring.

"Come on, little Lin Ke. You loved playing it when you were smaller. Come on~"

Oh, please. You were the one who loved it! I was just playing along. You made it seem like you were the baby who needed entertaining. Hmph.

"If you win, you get to eat delicious sour berries!"

Oh, please. You're the one who likes those! They're so sour. They only taste good squeezed into juice.

At that thought, Lin Ke glanced at the small wooden jar his mother was holding.

You've already eaten half a jar, and you're still eating!

Did you come out to have fun, enjoy the scenery, and unwind, or just to eat?!

Seeing that Lin Ke was ignoring her, his mother put down the berries and came over to hug him. "If you won't play, I'll tickle you!"

As she spoke, she turned him around in her arms and tickled his waist and back.

"Ah, no! What are you doing... Waaah..."

Madam, have some restraint!

I couldn't do anything about it when I was little, but I don't want to cross any boundaries now!

Waaah, they're so big. I'm going to suffocate.

After a while, Lin Ke called John over and finally escaped that witch.

Who had time for Catch the Fishman?

Giving things some proper thought was what really mattered.

More thought, more imagination, more reflection-that was how he could make fewer mistakes in another world.

Rather than playing games, he might as well let his mind wander and stare into space while waiting for a system mission!

Just then, his vision shifted, and several lines of text appeared before him.

Speak of the devil.

A mission had arrived!

Forget Catch the Fishman. The mission came first!

[Mission: Radiate an irreplaceable light, and use it to repel the invading enemy!]

[Reward: Your first follower's unwavering loyalty]

[Hint: If the mission fails, your first follower dies]

Lin Ke stared at the mission in silence.

After a long while, he turned around. "Mother, let's play Catch the Fishman together!"

What a fucking scam!

What does it mean, radiate an irreplaceable light and use it to repel the invading enemy?

Glow? How? Generate electricity through love? Or glow green from being cuckolded?

Should I find some big, burly maid, marry her on the spot, then have her mate with a manservant by the roadside right away? So I can glow green from being cuckolded?

This system must be sick.

Why not just awaken me as a Professional and let me learn some light magic? I could repel the invading enemy in minutes.

Sigh. Now I have no idea what to do...

Noon was approaching, and Lin Ke had no appetite at all.

After brunch, however, he still calmed down and carefully thought it over.

Blaming everyone and everything was useless. If it worked, he would have returned to Earth long ago.

"Judging by the first two missions, the system doesn't assign them at random. At the very least, they should be things I can accomplish..."

Lin Ke sat at the edge of the ox cart, his plump, short, pale legs swinging outside. If one overlooked the sharpness and world-weariness flashing through his thoughtful eyes, he was still quite adorable.

"Little Lin Ke, some servants picked sweet white berries by the woods. They're so sweet! Come try some!"

Lin Ke's mother was as happy as a twenty-four-year-old child on her first trip away from home, skipping around among the procession outside the ox cart.

What an eyesore. You're the second wife!

Why are you acting like a seventeen-year-old princess who's been locked up for too long?

"I don't want any, Mother! Remember to wash them before eating!"

In a fantasy world like this, who knew whether there might be magical bacteria, viruses, parasites, or something else?

Whatever the food, Lin Ke preferred to wash it clean or boil it before eating. It was a fine tradition from his previous life in China.

"Okay!... Wow, Andrew's Leg, these really are so sweet!" Over there, Lin Ke's mother kept exclaiming in surprise, drawing good-natured smiles from the servants.

Lin Ke rubbed his temples.

No wonder the first wife had done nothing before he was born. A sweet, innocent airhead like this posed no threat to her whatsoever.

But when he saw the woods beside the road, a sharp gleam suddenly flashed through his eyes.

This was the main road leading straight from the castle to the small town. On the left lay open country with sparse grass.

On the right was a forest, presumably an extension of the Great Swamp to the south.

Perhaps the approaching Month of Falling Fire-summer-and the warming weather had made him irritable.

So much so that he had failed to notice the most important piece of information in the system's hint.

The invading enemy!

"How did I overlook something so important..."

Lin Ke lightly tapped his head. "The invading enemy... When are they coming? Today? Or sometime later..."

There was something else: this time, the system's hint had changed to "If the mission fails, your first follower dies."

So... the missions this system issues are like advance guidance!

Whether he succeeded or failed, he had to bear the consequences himself. The system merely offered a little guidance.

After briefly thinking it over, he rose and stood at the front of the slowly moving ox cart, calling out to the convoy, "Guards, get over here at once... Cough, cough."

He started coughing after just a couple of shouts. His throat itched. He was still young, and shouting too loudly was bad for his vocal cords.

He glanced at an unfamiliar manservant beside him. "You shout. Tell the guards to assemble here."

The manservant acknowledged the order, then shouted toward the dozen or so ox carts ahead and behind them.

"Guards, assemble by the young master at once!"

"Guards, assemble by the young master at once!"

"Guards..."

After four or five repetitions, Lin Ke stopped him and said, "Tell everyone except the guards to get into the carts. An enemy will attack soon."

There was no harm in being careful. Better to be cautious.

The manservant's legs went weak at those words, and he staggered, trembling. "An... enemy?!"

He looked ready to collapse onto the ground in fright.

"Get up!"

Lin Ke frowned and snapped in a low voice, "First, shout this: everyone except the guards is to get into the carts. Blindfold all the Gula Cattle. The convoy is to keep moving along the main road. Don't stop."

If even this manservant reacted like that, the maids probably would not fare much better.

At Lin Ke's reprimand, the manservant reflexively stood up off the ground, but the next instant, the thought of an enemy nearly made him collapse again.

"If you keep doing that, I'll kill you right now." Lin Ke narrowed his eyes. He would not kill him, but he could scare him.

In this world, a noble killing a commoner was easier than killing a mosquito.

After all, one might not manage to swat a mosquito, but a servant's life or death could be decided with a few words.

The manservant gulped. His desire to live overcame his fear of the unknown enemy, and he promptly shouted:

"The young master's orders! Everyone except the guards, return to the carts immediately! Blindfold the Gula Cattle too! Keep the convoy moving along the main road! Don't stop!"

Having finished shouting, the manservant stared fixedly at Lin Ke.

Lin Ke waved the manservant away, then called to his mother and Little John, "Mother, John, come here quickly!"

As he spoke, the servants who had been picking berries and wildflowers beside the woods while keeping pace with the ox carts rustled their way back aboard, moving sluggishly.

The guards' month of training, however, had not been for nothing. Even half a month of military training in his previous life had been enough to instill the most basic response to commands.

Although these farmers lacked university students' overall capabilities, their instinct for obedience was excellent.

Within a minute, more than three hundred Azan guards were marching alongside Lin Ke's ox cart, every one of them visibly tense.

P.S. Waaah, I! Want! Recommendation votes and monthly votes!!

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