CHAPTER 70: CHAPTER 12: HARVESTING AN ESSENCE OF NATURE AND BLOOD SACRIFICE

After the attendant brought over a stack of bounty notices, Su Li quickly glanced at them in his hand.

[Bounty!]

[Twenty Golden Crowns for anyone who can present the head of the despicable Forest Bandit known as "Black Arrow" to Count Amadis von Drakenburg. The Lord’s attendants can discern authenticity.]

[Trade Location: Traveler’s House Tavern in Marle Castle]

[Bounty!]

[Thirty Golden Crowns for any warrior who can completely annihilate the infamous "Red Shadow" Forest Robber Gang. The personal guards of Mrs. Isabella de Winterworth, the Marle Castle senator, will verify authenticity.]

[Trade Location: Warrior’s Tavern in Marle Castle]

[Bounty!]

[Fifty Golden Crowns to recruit a hero to find Knight Arthur Graves, the son of the president of the Glory Trade Alliance caravan, who was kidnapped by the Gray Wolf War Gang of forest bandits. One danger, ten rewards.]

[Trade Location: Warrior’s Tavern in Marle Castle]

...

The bounty contents were varied, some required the assassination of forest bandit leaders, others demanded the destruction of entire forest bandit groups, and some involved seeking out buried treasures in the forest.

One had to admit, as the bounty notices claimed, one danger, ten rewards!

If he could successfully eradicate these forest bandits, the bounties alone would bring him at least two hundred Golden Crowns in profits.

But the problem was that all this carried high risks, otherwise, someone would have completed it all long ago.

Su Li had limited resources and couldn’t withstand significant damage. If he were to lose a battle or fall into an ambush, losing a few knights and a dozen armed attendants would be a considerable blow.

Losing one or two-tenths of soldiers would be enough to shake the morale of any troop.

The troops in the Hesse Territory were high in morale, but even they couldn’t endure several such defeats.

Therefore, Su Li said to Lauren, "I will seriously consider your suggestions and strive to deploy troops only when I’m confident. Now, let’s talk about the good news brought by the caravan. Do they have any good goods?"

After all, Su Li was the Lord, and Lauren could not force him; his suggestion was shelved, and he had to follow the conversation switch, talking about the caravan situation: "Their caravan has already purchased 8 Gold Coins worth of goods in our territory. Additionally, we also bought two hundred logging and gathering tools from them."

"Of course, their most precious commodity is the [Physical Potion] produced by their trade house. After consuming one, it significantly reduces fatigue, restores physical strength, and reduces stamina consumption for an extended period. We purchased 100, costing 50 Golden Crowns."

"As you know, these furniture merchants that venture into the forest always train a batch of pharmacists. Because during deep forest logging, they often encounter rare herbs that can be turned into various potions. They were unlucky, getting robbed by forest bandits before even entering the forest. Otherwise, they could have produced a batch of [Healing Potions], and the battle might not have been so fierce."

"I think it would be beneficial to maintain good relations with them, as Healing Potions are crucial for every army. Once this potion is brought back to Marle Castle, it will soon be snapped up by lords of various territories."

Su Li was somewhat pleasantly surprised by this, feeling he had found a new way to riches.

Given his abilities, he could acquire many valuable herbs and plants. For instance, the heart and liver of a Giant Shepherd Deer were perfect ingredients for crafting [Antidote Potions]. Besides providing over a thousand pounds of food for his territory, the Giant Shepherd Deer also left behind a wealth of precious herbs.

If he could refine all these plants and herbs into potions, the profit would undoubtedly be substantial.

The most basic Physical Potion was as high as 50 Silver Coins, which was a farmer’s six-month income, a month’s salary for an Apprentice Knight. On a fiercely contested battlefield, if the entire army consumed it, it might turn the tide.

The furniture merchants brought so many Physical Potions because when entering the forest, they must race against time to fell the precious Blood Pine wood.

The profession of a pharmacist in the Hesse Territory numbered three, one of whom was the Minister of Agriculture and Religious Advisor, Vandar Oak.

As a Dawn Church priest, he made higher-level potions.

Su Li felt he should discuss this matter with him and said to Lauren, "My Minister of the Seal, the current trivial matters of the territory are left to you, including overseeing fishing, water, industry, and others. Loyalty will not go unrewarded, and dedication will not be forgotten. At the end of the year, when the territory prospers, I will prepare for you a generous year-end bonus and a spacious house befitting your ministerial status. When you leave later, please also have the Minister of Internal Affairs Vandar come over."

Nobody in this world understood how to sell a dream better than Su Li.

And Lauren, having been fed this dream, was immediately invigorated, becoming energetic and full of enthusiasm.

He now somewhat understood why the dwarves seemed to have boundless energy.

The main reason was that he and the dwarves were willing to believe in the Lord’s promises, with a beautiful future in sight!

Although the Lord’s promises were only words, what was different was that everything the Lord promised appeared within reach.

When Lauren left, his steps carried the wind, and soon, at his information, the Minister of Agriculture, Vandar, arrived at the castle.

Before he even appeared in the hall, an excited voice came from outside: "Lord, good news, I have important news to report to you."

Su Li couldn’t help but smile. Is this good things coming in pairs?

He had just returned to his territory, and good news came one after another. Both ministers had good news to report.

Accompanied by an excited and high-pitched voice, the Minister of Agriculture, Vandar Oak, quickly walked into the hall. This old Druid, his face wrinkled like a flower, was truly a sight of an old tree blooming!

Su Li was amazed and asked: "What good news could make you, at your age, so excited?"

"It’s the Father of Grains, Polevik! Haha, a Polevik has settled in our Wolfgang Farm!" Vandar immediately announced the good news with laughter.

"What?" Su Li was instantly overjoyed, excitedly standing up from his chair, eagerly looking at Vandar: "That’s great! Where is he? Can I see it?"

Vandar immediately replied: "It lives in a small forest next to the fields of Mut Valley. Our priestess from the Dawn Church personally helped it build a small treehouse. It’s still quite shy and doesn’t dare to meet strangers in the territory. When it encounters humans, it hides in its treehouse and fields. But I believe in less than a month, it will become familiar, and then you can meet it."

Su Li felt very happy and then said to Vandar: "My outstanding Minister of Agriculture, this is truly exciting news. Sit down and tell me in detail, how did you tame it?"

After slightly bowing in thanks, Vandar sat on a wooden chair beside him and explained in detail to Su Li: "After the battle in Mut Valley, I led people to Limborg Farm to take over the fields there. In the fields, I found this Polevik secretly performing a blood sacrifice."

"Initially, this Essence of Nature kept hiding from us. Until after a few days of attempting to make contact, it accepted one of our Dawn Church sisters. After talking in detail, we learned that on the night of the battle in Mut Valley, it was near Limborg Farm, where it saw the Beastmen setting fire to the fields. It was furious."

"When it tried to extinguish the fire, we killed all the Beastmen. This action delighted and inspired it. Then you sent troops to put out the farm fire, making it full of goodwill towards us."

"So it planned to perform a blood sacrifice in secret to repay our good deeds."

"A blood sacrifice?" Su Li was particularly interested in this matter and asked: "How is it done? What are the effects?"

Vandar explained: "A blood sacrifice is the innate ability of the Father of Grains, Polevik. It can use blood to improve the fertility of a piece of land. It initially planned to use the blood left by the Beastmen when they died in battle to perform a sacrificial ritual to please the Dawn Goddess. This meager blood offering would probably only slightly increase the yield of a few acres of wheat fields."

"After we successfully persuaded it to join Hesse Territory, the serfs buried all the Beastmen’s corpses and blood beside the ridges, and Polevik conducted a sizable blood sacrifice. According to the feedback from Divine Grace, the fertility of at least 20 acres of wheat fields increased significantly, and the yield per acre will increase to over 1,000 pounds in the next ten years."

A yield of a thousand pounds per acre?

Su Li was amazed. This is truly a leap in yield!

A regular wheat field yields only 200~300 pounds per acre, and the barren fields produce only a little over a hundred pounds per acre. This blood sacrifice has increased the yield more than fivefold!

Indeed, the fantasy world has its fantastic ways of increasing production.

With just these twenty acres, three harvests a year could produce over 60,000 pounds of grain! Sufficient to feed an armed squadron for a year!

The more he calculated, the more astonished Su Li became. He asked: "Twenty acres can support 120 soldiers. When can it perform the next blood sacrifice? I’ll find it blood right away."

Vandar explained: "Things like sacrifices aren’t conducted daily. The Day of Sacrifice to the Dawn Goddess is in early spring each year, and performing a blood sacrifice at that time yields the best results. If the Lord himself prays at the Dawn Goddess Church on that day and orders all the Poleviks to perform blood sacrifices simultaneously, the large-scale prayer within the territory may easily attract the attention of the Dawn Goddess, bringing down greater Divine Grace."

"But aside from that, she doesn’t encourage excessive sacrifices from her followers. With each Polevik performing numerous sacrifices, the effects will only worsen and might even bring about disaster."

Su Li furrowed his brows and asked: "Why is there such a restriction? Which deity would refuse endless sacrifices?"

Vandar’s smile faded, and he became serious and insistent, arguing: "This is a principle many deities follow! Such a mindset aligns more with wicked follower beliefs!"

"Our Dawn Goddess is a deity of prosperity but not indulgence. If she is respected appropriately, she brings sustenance, but she never rewards greed. She blesses lovers with romantic relationships, not coercion, or domination. The Dawn Goddess’s opposition to the Dark Evil God Joy Prince is rooted in the difference between generosity and indulgence."

Hiss~

Su Li took a deep breath. Is there really a God who rejects copious sacrifices? Are greedy Gods actually evil?

So generosity and benevolence are noble attributes of deities, while indulgence and greed are demonic temptations?

This truly is a new and bizarre world, completely different from Su Li’s previous knowledge.

He solemnly apologized to Vandar, saying: "My Religious Advisor, your explanation has given me a deeper understanding and respect for the Gods. Perhaps I should learn more about the teachings of the Dawn Church and the Fiery Sun Goddess."

Vandar’s smile returned as he said: "The Dawn Goddess would surely appreciate your willingness to listen, as she is always generous in rewarding every lost wanderer who finds their way back."

Su Li then asked with concern: "Isn’t there any way to increase the frequency of sacrifices?"