HTLCCBFT Chapter 84

Has The Lord’s Career Chart Been Filled Today? – Chapter 84

During the initial excavation in the cave, Oliver indeed received many pleasant surprises.

First, after he removed the naturally covering surface stones, the considerable commotion quickly awakened three other groups of cave bats sleeping deep within.

Almost the moment he faintly heard their distinctive wing-flapping sounds, Oliver decisively stored his pickaxe and switched to [Cat God’s Sword] without waiting for his attendants to react, defensively swinging it toward the cave entrance.

Having gained some combat experience, his body seemed to have developed new conditioned reflexes.

When executing this set of defensive and counterattacking movements, he could already be considered thoroughly proficient.

Fosse had just begun to react, while the others present hadn’t even had time to clearly see the full appearance of the attacking “monster birds” when sharp, miserable shrieks echoed from the cave entrance.

Following the piercing screeches came the chaotic sounds of bird corpses falling to the ground, being struck away by the sword, or crashing against stone walls.

After leisurely collecting the spoils, this exquisitely beautiful Lord of Laina continued swinging his pickaxe expressionlessly, resuming excavation.

—As if instantly slaughtering that fearsome flock of monster birds was just some trivial matter.

The constant “clang-clang thump-thump” sounds continued unabated, and his efficiency was remarkably visible to the naked eye.

More observant individuals couldn’t help but notice something that made their scalps tingle… Every swing made by the Lord seemed meticulously measured, completely identical each time.

Completely immersed in the simple joy brought by repetitive mining work, Oliver naturally paid no attention to his attendants’ perspectives.

In his view, this was far more interesting than chopping, clearing, or harvesting.

Each rock was like a new little mystery box—no one could tell what ore might be inside until the pickaxe broke it open.

When digging reached about 3-4 meters deep, besides conventional gold, silver, and copper ores, Oliver made another discovery—earth crystals, another essential material for crafting [Lightning Rods]!

Upon spotting those palm-sized, earth-brown crystal chunks mixed inconspicuously among the stones, his mood instantly brightened, and he dug with even greater vigor.

However, to Fosse—who was gradually growing accustomed to his godlike pickaxe swinging that kept accelerating—the young lord always displayed peculiar enthusiasm for these tasks so unbefitting of noble status.

The sun soon passed its zenith, lazily drifting westward.

Oliver only reluctantly stopped when his stamina bar was nearly depleted after digging nonstop.

Truthfully, right in the midst of his excitement, he could have replenished his energy by eating food.

But rationally he understood this was completely unnecessary.

Both ores and food were finite resources. When there was no need to rush, simply exhausting the naturally regenerated daily energy was sufficient.

To prevent a repeat of yesterday’s farce, he deliberately conserved a bit more energy this time.

“Let’s return.”

Only after hearing Oliver finally speak these words did Fosse slowly release a relieved sigh: “Yes, Your Highness.”

On the return journey, Oliver happily admired the fruits of his hard work quietly resting in his game backpack.

Including the gains from the previous two trips, he now possessed “Common Stone” x1490, “Copper Ore” x268, “Silver Ore” x105, “Gold Ore” x49, and “Coal” x53.

Oliver couldn’t help but reveal a satisfied smile.

Oh, and there were also the unexpected finds: “Earth Crystals” x6.

Oliver didn’t hesitate for long before making a decision.

In the coming days, he would go all out chopping trees to level up his Foraging skill.

Once the recipe for the Lightning Rod was unlocked, he would use all the Earth Crystals to craft it.

According to his servant Johan, Laina City experienced particularly frequent thunderstorms during the spring and summer seasons.

North of Laina City lay vast forests, and the houses where Lainans lived were primarily constructed from wood and thatch… Oliver had long been somewhat concerned about the lightning problem.

Especially after hearing Johan casually mention that over a decade ago, a traveler from out of town had arrived in Laina City during a thunderstorm. Even though he had already entered the territory, the carriage he was riding in was unluckily struck by lightning, leaving him with only a breath of life.

Not being killed instantly might sound fortunate, but in reality, it was anything but.

With such severe injuries, relying on those quack doctors who only knew how to treat illnesses by observing constellations—it was impossible for them to save him. Moreover, in the eyes of most people, lightning was the power of the deity and represented the deity’s wrath.

Anyone struck by lightning must have committed sins unknown to ordinary people but gravely offended the deity, hence deserving such a severe punishment!

Since he was a sinner despised by God, how could any doctor be willing to treat him?

Thus, that unfortunate soul on the brink of death received no form of medical treatment whatsoever.

Instead, upon hearing the news, the lord at the time, with a look of disgust, ordered him bound hand and foot and thrown directly into the Laina River.

As for his personal property and servants… they were naturally seized by that lord as payment for indulgences.

Although Oliver had already gained some understanding of the general indifference and ignorance of the masses in this era, as well as the shamelessness and cruelty of the nobility, his limits were constantly being tested.

Although his energy was nearly depleted, there was still a little time before dusk—the new lord of Laina City was not willing to return to the castle so soon just to idle.

He first made a round to the fields.

The new batch of corn and sunflowers would take 3 more days to mature, while under the irrigation of urine fertilizer, the potatoes and other crops in the other half of the field were also thriving.

Oliver paid special attention to the plot where the slaves had neglected to apply urine fertilizer, causing the plants to suffer from severe potassium deficiency.

After confirming that most of the potato seedlings had successfully recovered, he felt reassured and moved on to the chicken coop.

However, upon reaching a relatively secluded corner, he suddenly stopped and did not proceed further.

He also halted Fosse and the others behind him.

“Quiet.”

Oliver made a silencing gesture and stood openly in this spot—which, if in a school, would likely be favored by the dean as… a very suitable place for observation.

He watched quietly as Lucy and the others trained the new breeders.

His butler was indeed efficient and decisive. It had only been a day since he proposed the concept of “work uniforms,” and it was already taken care of.

The durable short shirts were made from readily available linen, appearing unremarkable at first glance.

But on the back, three identical circles were embroidered—a design he had casually suggested, symbolizing “rooster, hen, and chick,” and embodying his hopeful wish for the flock to lay plenty of eggs.

At a single glance, they could easily be distinguished from others wearing similar linen shirts.

After observing from a distance for a while, Oliver felt reassured upon confirming that Lucy, though the smallest in stature, unexpectedly held her ground quite authoritatively.

He had clearly overthought things.

He thought somewhat sheepishly.

He had worried that because Lucy was young and a petite girl, the adults might look down on her or even bully her.

What Oliver failed to realize was that although Lucy appeared nervous and shy in front of the Lord she admired most, like a precocious little girl putting on a brave face… in front of others, she already carried considerable presence.

Perhaps due to early hardships, her recent experience leading Jonathan and Ziken in their work, and her immense seriousness regarding the tasks assigned by the Lord, when she furrowed her brow and clearly showed dissatisfaction, even grown men would feel somewhat uneasy.

And these usually proud commoners knew full well: it was only through knight Kane’s intercession that they had this opportunity to compete for the breeder positions.

At least until they passed the assessment and became official breeders, it was best for them to be polite to Lucy and the others who were teaching them.

This was what led to the harmonious scene Oliver witnessed.

Although the little, well, just officially adolescent chickens, remained as attached as ever to the one they saw as their mother.

But ever since their originally round, chubby, and adorable figures completely lost shape, and their cute golden down turned into dark brown or white adult feathers, the Lord, who only liked them as chicks, gradually lost the desire to pet them.

Let alone hold them in his palms, trembling with adoration while carefully playing with them.

Even Lucy and the others, with the most biased “mother’s eyes,” could hardly in good conscience call them—now mottled in feather color, with skinny legs scurrying around defecating—adorable…

Oliver had intended to observe whether high favorability would affect the growth rate of this batch of chicks.

But lately, he had grown increasingly perfunctory. Starting the day before yesterday, he only made a routine visit every other day to ensure the favorability didn’t drop, losing the enthusiasm of making multiple trips a day as before.

“New chickens are no match for old ones, but cats are better when familiar.”

At night, this Lord, unabashedly fickle, muttered to himself as usual while holding the smooth golden statue.

“I’ll go logging tomorrow and the day after, aiming to chop 175 trees by the day after to level up Foraging to 6 and craft the Lightning Rod.”

Last night, because he collapsed from exhaustion, the game system failed to settle the Mining experience gained.

If I settle all the experience points accumulated from yesterday and today, I might be able to level up [Mining] to Level 5 in one go.

After saying this, Oliver, in a cheerful mood, couldn’t help but hold the cat statue in his arms even tighter.

While smiling, he deliberately spoke in a serious tone as he praised, “My dear Cat God, you truly are the most adorable.”

Unprepared to hear such praise from his beloved believer, the deity in the divine realm, who had just opened his eyes, couldn’t help but turn his head slightly in embarrassment.

Even though, unaware of his own shyness, he quickly closed his eyes again.

The wisp of divine sense he had left in the golden statue still faithfully transmitted the warmth of the beautiful lord’s embrace and the faint scent of roses.

A long time later, with his ears already burning hot, he finally responded softly.

Correcting him seriously.

……

…… No……

…… It’s clearly…… my Oliver……

…… the most adorable……

……

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