HTLCCBFT Chapter 62

Has The Lord’s Career Chart Been Filled Today? – Chapter 62

As one of the initial recipes, the stone fence has distinct advantages and disadvantages.

The advantage, of course, lies in its simple crafting materials—consuming just two pieces of stone allows for the immediate completion of a stone fence.

Out of curiosity, Oliver had previously crafted all the initial recipes and tested their effects.

He discovered that wooden railings could only block animals, while people could easily climb over them.

In contrast, the stone fence perfectly retained its in-game functionality: once placed, it could block the entry of all living creatures.

So, when bandits attacked, if Oliver truly only needed to ensure the safety of his people, theoretically, he could simply draw a defensive perimeter to block the enemy’s intrusion—provided, of course, that the bandit group lacked ranged weapons or did not resort to setting fire to the forest.

The disadvantage is also obvious: it still requires stone.

To build a stone fence two people high and one person wide, two pieces of stone are needed.

It doesn’t seem like much, but reality is not a game. At least so far, he had not discovered any nearby mining areas that could continuously provide large quantities of stone.

Therefore, compared to lumber, which could regenerate relatively quickly, stone had already become a relatively scarce resource.

Otherwise, Oliver wouldn’t have been so frugal as to leave the drafty castle unrepaired, hoarding the remaining 600-plus pieces of stone.

Now, it was finally time to use them.

Although it pained him greatly, once Oliver made a decision, he aimed to carry it out immediately.

So, after discussing with Fosse, he took the butler that very night to select several areas for reclamation and securely enclosed them with stone fences.

The hoe provided by the game system was not all-powerful—it could only be used to till ground that had recently been planted with crops and was recognized by the system as “farmland.”

It could not be used on wasteland or forested areas.

Due to the Laina citizens’ previous lack of knowledge about farming techniques, the land had been overused until it became too depleted to yield good crops, forcing them to abandon the old fields and move to new ones.

Over time, the former farmland had completely turned into wasteland, littered with gravel and weeds.

Since Oliver arrived in Laina, those wastelands had already undergone several transformations: not only had he used an incredibly sharp sickle to swiftly cut down all the weeds, but he had also carefully used a pickaxe to clear away the gravel and collect the stone… Since the hoe couldn’t be used yet and the slaves were temporarily unavailable, he was in no hurry to reclaim these areas.

But now, things were different.

With midsummer officially underway and the crops growing well, it was time to prepare for autumn planting.

He had originally been worried that the slaves had too many tasks and would struggle to spare enough hands for reclamation.

Now, with the addition of a group of strong laborers, they were just in time for this wave of work.

“They will need a very, very long time to atone for their sins,” Oliver said seriously. “Until the transformation of these lands is complete, they will have to live within the confines of the stone fences, always ready to be supervised by the great Cat God.”

Otherwise, transporting the prisoners back and forth from the castle’s basement prison every day would be far too troublesome.

The more cumbersome the process, the more opportunities it would provide for the prisoners to escape.

Most importantly, Oliver had absolutely no interest in having a group of dangerous individuals sleeping long-term below his quarters—even if separated by several floors.

The quality of recipes produced by the game system was still quite trustworthy.

Compared to expending massive manpower and resources on guarding them, Oliver preferred to believe that the prisoners who would reside long-term within the stone walls simply had no chance of escape: the tall stone walls contained numerous gaps through which their behavior could be observed.

Although he had unavoidably witnessed the cruel execution scene during the day and felt somewhat downcast…

After finding direction in what needed to be done, Oliver had almost completely recovered.

When butler Fosse saw his young master suddenly revitalized, speaking energetically and methodically about how to deal with those prisoners… although he deeply believed those filthy beasts were unworthy of worrying his noble Highness, he still felt genuine joy for Oliver.

After returning to his bedroom, Oliver followed his usual routine of holding the motionless Cat God and talking to it for a while before going to sleep contentedly.

He slept dreamlessly through the night.

When Oliver woke before the first bell tolled the next morning, he couldn’t help feeling some regret.

Indeed.

Having been able to continue that “cat-petting dream” for several consecutive days before had already been quite rare.

The game system’s malfunction was merely an occasional coincidence.

“Oh, my dear Cat God.”

Bathed in the bright morning sunlight, the beautiful lord’s golden hair shone even more brilliantly as a gentle, beautiful smile bloomed on his face.

As usual, he went to the flower garden to pick the most beautiful blossom, then after collecting the gold ingot from the plump paw pad of the golden fortune cat statue, he solemnly placed the flower upon it.

“Thank you for your generous gift.” After stroking the smooth, adorable paw pad, Oliver closed his eyes with a smile, praying with great seriousness: “Thank you again for bestowing divine power upon me, which granted me the courage to protect all Laina’s people from the villains’ attack.”

The golden-haired lord with closed eyes completely failed to notice the golden fortune cat statue’s ear twitch slightly.

…….

……. I’m……

……. very happy…….

…….

Due to the intense emotional fluctuations from the night before last, the newborn deity had accidentally lost control of his divine power in his dazed state, and only tonight had he recovered.

Thus, last night, although he greatly missed his most special and important beautiful believer, he had been unable to bring that shining soul into his divine realm.

Hearing the familiar voice, he was roused from light sleep and clearly heard Oliver’s words.

This stirred in his heart a sweetness similar to when his ears were stroked before, and his tail unconsciously perked up again.

…….

……. Mn

……. I……. want to protect you…….

Of course, Oliver couldn’t hear the voice from the distant divine realm.

His angelically beautiful face seemed to carry compassionate holy light, showing no signs that he was suppressing laughter while continuing to spout nonsense: “Please rest assured, great Cat God. I will definitely repair the shrine as soon as possible, allowing all kind-hearted, hardworking people to bathe in your gentle radiance and become the most enthusiastic followers of the Fluffy Faith… oh no, the God of Wealth faith.”

After solemnly making his promise, Oliver finally allowed his radiant smile to bloom freely, casually stroking the ears of the cat statue.

“I hope to dream of you again tonight, my dear Meow Meow.”

The Lord, who had arbitrarily bestowed the generic names “Meow Meow” and “Mimi” upon his dream cat, swiftly stored the golden statue in the most secure compartment of his game backpack before leaving the bedroom.

Thus, the newborn deity who had just been unknowingly immersed in the joyful bubble of “my believer misses me too” witnessed a cruel scene the very next moment.

The same Lord who had just uttered intoxicating—no, divinity-intoxicating—sweet words now cheerfully extended a caressing hand toward the lively chicks in the chicken coop.

He[mfn]Used here for a deity or divine being, “祂” implies “He/She/It” — a godlike or sacred entity, rather than a human pronoun. Note that this is what is used everytime he’s referring to himself. I’ve tried my best to uncapitalize all the He/Him/His for consistency, but please excuse any that I miss.[/mfn]: “……”

Oliver was in no hurry to deal with the prisoners.

He first completed his daily morning routine of “collecting metal ingots” – “offering flowers to the Cat God” – “breakfast” – “petting chickens,” then went to the fields to harvest the remaining hundred or so corn plants.

Only after finishing these tasks did he bring Fosse and others to the enclosed stone fence.

“Your Highness.”

Kane, who had long been waiting there with the prisoners, bowed reverently. “They have all been brought as requested, ready to follow your commands at any time.”

Temporarily assigned by Fosse to guard these slaves were knight Kane and the dozen guards he had trained.

Although these captured bandits had gone nearly two days and nights without food—as the Slang brothers had deliberately kept all subordinates hungry on the day of battle to strengthen the resolve of forcibly recruited newcomers—Kane remained vigilant toward these prisoners who were dizzy with hunger and weeping from cold.

Considering they were about to appear before the Lord, Kane frowned but ordered the guards to distribute a set of short garments to each prisoner: certainly not the fine clothes stripped from them earlier, but ragged old clothes even slaves wouldn’t wear, though they at least covered their filthy, wretched bodies.

Their hands and feet bound with ropes, they were connected in a long chain, forced to shuffle awkwardly in small steps throughout the journey.

Throughout the process, almost all captives kept their heads deeply bowed, the procession deathly silent without a single word spoken.

Those prisoners capable of resistance or with vicious natures had all been executed yesterday.

The remaining ones not only had no blood on their hands but were mostly cowardly by nature, thoroughly terrified by yesterday’s mass execution.

They would do anything to save their own lives.

Or perhaps some retained a trace of cunning.

The more quick-witted among them were already speculating about the intentions of this Lord fortunate enough to possess divine favor… There was no possible wealth to be squeezed from their group, and during yesterday’s trial, the focus had consistently been on only two charges: ‘whether they had killed anyone’ and ‘committed violence against women.’

The former might suggest ‘wanting easily controlled slaves,’ but the latter wasn’t even considered a serious crime in any major city.

Full of tender compassion for women?

This Lord might truly possess what could be called foolish kindness.

They marveled inwardly.

Or perhaps this was simply the unique purity of one chosen by God.

Most of the bandits who had chosen to surrender their weapons at the time had only seen the striking holy light, while only a very few had caught a glimpse of the Lord’s unbelievably beautiful appearance.

Because of this, when Lord Laina stood before them now, even without the silver radiance that had enveloped him that day, everyone still fell uncontrollably into a daze.

Though the vast majority of them had never been educated and had no words to describe the overwhelming impact of the golden-haired Lord’s beauty, they understood one thing completely.

So—this was the kind of beauty that even the lofty God could not resist.

This group of prisoners, whose gazes had suddenly turned vacant, did not catch Oliver’s attention.

In his view, after being starved for so long, anyone would inevitably become weak and listless.

“Hmm.”

He nodded lightly and walked over to the sturdy stone fence.

The captives couldn’t help but follow him with their eyes.

And so they watched as this noble Lord, radiant and graceful in every movement, elegantly approached the tall, solemn stone fence—and then produced out of thin air… a pickaxe?

Wh-why a pickaxe?

Before anyone could show confusion, this beautiful divine messenger raised the plain iron tool and, without batting an eye, struck the stone fence!

The stone fence, which had seemed indestructible to everyone else, shattered with a single blow.

Even more unbelievable was that the scattered rubble and flying dust, before they could even touch the Lord’s robes, vanished instantly.

Oliver calmly stored the broken stone fence in his backpack, turned to the utterly stunned crowd, and flashed his signature gentle smile.

“Alright.”

He casually glossed over the fact that he had forgotten to leave a door in the stone fence the previous night and said naturally, “The door is open. Everyone, get inside.”

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