Time slipped by like loose sand shifting silently through fingers, and in the blink of an eye, an entire month had flashed by.
During this intensive, uninterrupted month, the small town at the absolute edge of the Solaria Kingdom, situated within the remote, barren Zulor Region, quietly began to change its tragic fate.
Left to fend entirely for itself by the royal capital and thrown unceremoniously into the hands of a notorious, deadbeat trashy lord, the settlement was no longer the dying ghost town it had been just a few short weeks prior.
Not only was the town itself changing, but the broader Zulor Region was slowly experiencing a massive economic shift due to the unprecedented events taking place within this single, microscopic border barony.
During this full, grueling month, Raymond had not been idle for even a single second. He was consistently busy as a bee, forcing himself to wake up early at the first crack of dawn and going to bed late at the deepest hours of the night.
There were simply too many logistical, architectural, and systemic tasks that required his direct, hyper-competent corporate oversight.
His absolute first priority during this thirty-day cycle was to ensure that the basin farm was performing exceptionally well.
This fifteen-hectare plot of land was the sole foundation of survival for the entire twelve hundred citizens once the freezing winter season officially locked down the borders.
As the high-yield variant crops rapidly advanced toward full maturity due to the localized temporal acceleration, their dense, sweet fragrance unfortunately attracted several predatory magic beasts from the northern ridges.
Luckily, Captain Boris and his thirty-two newly converted, loyal guard units, whom Raymond had permanently stationed at the basin outpost, performed flawlessly in protecting both the fields and the working peasants.
It proved to be a highly productive, correct strategic call to position guards at the farm; the basin was situated over a kilometer east of the main town walls, and if an unexpected beast attack had occurred without defensive measures in place, Raymond would have been forced to cry his eyes out in deep, useless regret.
With Boris maintaining an iron perimeter around the fields, the agricultural springboard remained entirely safe and secure.
To solidify this security structure, Raymond chose to consume all of his remaining system tickets at the turn of the first week, summoning every single hidden subordinate into the real world.
By deploying an additional twenty Bronze Rank Knights and five elite Silver Rank Knights, the absolute military strength of the Althoff Barony experienced an astronomical surge.
The territory’s standing private army now consisted of eight peak Silver Rank Knights and twenty Bronze Rank Knights, establishing a martial force that was completely unmatched within the context of the backward Zulor Region.
This explosive military upgrade finally allowed Raymond to sleep exceptionally well at night, entirely free from the underlying paranoia of waking up in the middle of a dark evening due to an unexpected external invasion or a surprise peasant rebellion.
The entire town was effectively locked down under an invisible, impenetrable iron dome of total loyalty.With his physical security guaranteed, Raymond systematically deployed the remaining high-tier development rewards from his inventory, maximizing the efficiency of his agricultural loop.
He utilized the automated deep-well irrigation pump artifact, the five organic nutrient compost catalysts, and the hundred high-efficiency iron plows to completely modernize the basin’s infrastructure.
The organic nutrient compost was spread across the fields; although the Tier II variant seeds did not technically require manual fertilizer to grow healthily, Raymond reasoned that there was absolutely nothing wrong with injecting premium nutrients to make the final harvest look incredibly healthy, plump, and juicy.
Furthermore, because the temporary Descent of the Verdant Rain card only lasted for a few days, Raymond used that exact window to permanently install the automated deep-well pump artifact.
This device successfully secured a clean water supply for the crops, while simultaneously rerouting a secondary clean line directly into the town square.
The original town well was highly contaminated, full of stagnant grey water that made Raymond tremble in disgust just looking at it, so this new water line acted as a massive health upgrade for his subjects.
As for the hundred iron plows, Raymond chose to store them away in the castle vault for the time being, as they would come in massive utility once the upcoming winter passed and it was time to expand into new territories.
During this entire month, the deep-seated resentment and raw anger the townspeople originally held toward Raymond decreased day by day.
Watching their once-degenerate lord actively working himself to the bone from dawn until dusk forced the cynical peasants to appreciate his efforts, their historical hatred gradually cooling into general compliance.
Raymond also maintained a perfectly polite, benevolent demeanor toward them, avoiding any tyrannical overreaches or unnecessary tax collection.
Their public loyalty metrics rose continuously every single afternoon, driven partly by his visible hard work, but mostly by the grand public theater he performed at the basin.
Every single day, precisely before the daily localized rainstorm was scheduled to descend for its one-hour cycle, Raymond would march to the field, adopt a dramatic, deeply devoted praying position, and chant a massive load of beautifully constructed bullshit to the Goddess of Life.
Witnessing the dark emerald rain clouds consistently rupture right on cue at the end of his holy prayers, the townspeople’s religious belief skyrocketed to a fanatical degree.
Their devotion grew entirely absolute when they observed the seeds they had buried just a few days prior sprouting and multiplying wildly with every passing hour.
The peasants realized their lord wasn’t lying to them at all; every single word regarding his divine mandate was the absolute, physical truth, which caused their trust and loyalty to surge systematically.
Seeing the blue loyalty indicators on his status panel jumping higher every afternoon made Raymond smile nonstop, his grin stretching taut across his face.
The physical appearance of the town also changed significantly over the course of the thirty-day restructuring phase. Previously, the main settlement resembled a silent, decaying ghost town filled with the stench of death, but it was now vibrant, clean, and lively.
Although many of the residential buildings remained dilapidated or collapsed, the heavy, gloomy atmosphere of despair had vanished completely from the streets.
The pale, yellowed skin tones of the citizens had decreased somewhat due to the consistent castle ration distribution, and their thin faces were finally showing healthy traces of color and life.
Because winter was approaching fast, Raymond ordered the rapid repair of the primary residential quarters to prevent exposure casualties.
Since the townspeople were still far too frail and weak to lift heavy stone blocks, Raymond simply ordered his twenty-eight summoned knights to act as construction workers.
These elite warriors possessed massive kinetic strength, and though they had zero academic knowledge regarding advanced architecture, Raymond wasn’t attempting to build fancy, elaborate villas.
He just needed thick, sturdy structures that could successfully withstand the upcoming freezing blizzards.
The knights tore down the abandoned, unsalvageable shacks across the slums, recycling the heavy timber beams and stone slabs to build solid, reinforced communal longhouses.
Raymond knew that once the winter passed, he could use his system points to purchase modern city blueprints and hire professional construction workers to design the town properly from scratch.
However, a minor complication arose regarding their winter gear; the castle’s existing stockpile of heavy woolen blankets and thick clothes was insufficient to supply all twelve hundred citizens.
To resolve this, Raymond sent little Lily, the castle’s head maid, and a defensive escort of four Silver Knights to the neighboring, wealthier region to purchase large quantities of cold-weather textiles using his system-generated gold coins.
Although it was technically a bit late in the season to launch a trade caravan, the geographic distance between the borders wasn’t excessive, ensuring the round-trip journey would take them exactly half a month to complete.
The morning sun slowly rose from the distant eastern horizon, casting long, golden fingers of warm, brilliant sunlight across the freshly terraformed earth.
A gentle morning breeze swept through the basin, carrying a distinct, crisp chill in the wind that signaled the official arrival of the early winter transition.
At the eastern edge of the town, right where the massive fifteen-hectare farming basin spread out, Raymond stood tall atop a newly constructed, heavy wooden observation platform.
His sharp, clear eyes overlooked the incredible landscape spreading out directly before his boots. The entire basin was completely packed with rows of towering, golden-ripe wheat, massive ears of vibrant corn, and thick, juicy green vines bursting with enormous vegetables.
It was a sea of pure, logic-defying abundance, entirely ready for the scythe.
A wide, completely unholy grin plastered itself across Raymond’s chiseled face as he adjusted his silk shirt, his heart hammering with a wild, triumphant thrill.
He slowly raised his hand, signaling the hundred eager, healthy laborers standing below the stage with their harvesting tools at the ready.
He let out a low, satisfied breath, muttering the words silently under his breath.
"Let’s get started."