That's not how you use a witch!

Chapter 8, what about 1...?

At noon, as usual, a large pot of boiled eggs was set up in the square of Thornholdt, but the atmosphere was more lively than ever before.

A few steps away from the pot lay the enormous remains of the Blackthorn Centipede, which looked like a small mountain from a distance. It was Ronan's idea to place it here—a gleaming iron sword was nailed to the beast's head; it was Ronan's sword.

The people were initially afraid, but when they discovered that the evil beast would also die if killed, they quickly became bolder.

As everyone lifted the remains together, cheers resounded throughout the entire Thornlands.

Thus, the first attack by a demonic beast that Ronan had encountered since becoming lord was perfectly resolved.

Apart from the chief knight suffering some minor injuries and landing somewhat awkwardly after being rescued, there were no other casualties.

To celebrate, Ronan announced that all citizens would receive an egg today, and those who participated in moving the remains of the evil beast would also have roasted meat to eat.

At this moment, the square was bustling with activity, and the long line for eggs had already turned several corners; those who had already received their eggs were gathered around the remains of the black thorn centipede, eating their eggs and chatting happily.

Previously, it was all kinds of evil beasts that slaughtered humans and piled up human corpses on the ruins of their territory, but today the situation has completely reversed.

Although they hadn't personally participated in the battle, Ronan emphasized that this momentous victory was inseparable from the hard work of every citizen. As members of Thorn Territory, even those with the fewest work points couldn't help but stand tall with surging emotions.

"This beast looks intimidating, but there's really nothing to be afraid of!"

Payne laughed heartily, as if it were all his business.

"It was the witch who killed her, not you!"

"It was a joke among the workers who were reclaiming the land together."

"I don't know who was so scared their legs went weak, they didn't even have the strength to move it, and needed someone to help them walk."

Another coworker who received barbecue for moving the remains added insult to injury.

Payne blushed and mumbled a bunch of incomprehensible things, such as "I was prepared to die" and "I was the first to stand up," which made everyone burst into laughter, and the square was filled with a joyful atmosphere.

But no amount of arguing can change the fact that Pine was drooling as he looked at the fragrant roast chicken in his coworker Carter's hands.

Like most of the people in the Thorn Territory, Payne was a refugee who had lived in other territories before.

The lords would occasionally make various "generous gestures" to win people's hearts and promise various rewards, but they were either very strict in fulfilling them or just made a symbolic gesture.

For example, they would never give the common people fine iron farm tools, usually wooden or stone ones, and at most they would rent out the right to use them rather than give them away directly; if they promised to give them meat, they would at most stew a pot of thick soup with meat scraps, and they would throw away a couple of bones with meat on them at most.

To Pine's utter surprise, Ronan actually gave each of the people who carried the remains a whole, fragrant roast chicken!

What shocked him even more was that Ronan personally appeared at the scene of the battle against the evil beast and personally killed (literally) a level two evil beast. Those lords who would only cower in their castles would never have made such a feat.

"Get up there!" and "Follow me!" are not the same thing!

Previously, Payne's impression of Ronan was merely that of a young lord with some ideas.

Now, his impression of Ronan has become that of a young, powerful lord who is not only full of ideas and keeps his word, but can also kill a demon beast with a single punch...

While Payne was lost in thought, savoring the two eggs he had just eaten and envying Carter's roast chicken, the guard read out a new instruction from Ronan:

The lord is about to form a special army, and all soldiers will be selected from among the people. Once they become members of the army, they will have to give up their current labor and devote themselves to training around the clock.

In return, everyone will receive free lunch and dinner, with eggs and meat porridge at every meal, and a guaranteed minimum of one hundred work points per month; moreover, all equipment will be provided by the lord, and they will not need to provide anything themselves.

In addition, the guards specifically declared that anyone who volunteered to fight the evil beast today could immediately receive one hundred work points or ten pounds of iron ingots if they applied for a job.

The crowd erupted in chaos, and even the eggs in their hands lost their appeal.

Even for them now, such conditions are incredibly tempting.

Because the conditions were so good, there was a lot of discussion, but no one signed up for a while. Everyone thought that the young lord was joking with them.

It's already incredible that someone who works efficiently gets to eat eggs, let alone have eggs and meat porridge for every meal? How is that possible!

Seeing that no one came out, the guards immediately increased the reward of the iron ingot from ten pounds to twenty pounds.

The laughter of the crowd grew louder, as if they were even more certain that this was the lord's joke. The wisdom of survival told them that there was no such thing as a free lunch.

Payne frowned slightly—considering Ronan's actions since taking office, he realized that this trustworthy young lord would not make a joke that would damage his prestige.

Although logically speaking, the probability of this is indeed very small, but... what if it happens...?

So he raised his hand.

Count me in!

·

Compared to the bustling square, the atmosphere in Ronan's office was relatively quiet.

Meadow and Bart remained silent, occasionally glancing at each other and then at Ronan; Ronan, on the other hand, sat motionless in his seat, sometimes frowning and sometimes raising his eyebrows, looking exceptionally focused as if he were staring at something, but there was clearly nothing in front of him.

"My lord, please punish me!"

Suddenly, Meidel knelt down on one knee.

"what?"

Ronan blinked as if waking from a dream.

"It was my negligence that caused you to be exposed to the threat of the evil beast. Whether you intend to scold me, whip me, or punish me in a more peculiar way, I will have no complaints."

The girl looked extremely guilty as she lowered her head.

Bart also lowered his head, like a big baby who had made a mistake.

"Ahem, plans can't keep up with changes. You've done a great job... So that's why you thought I was silent?" Ronan was a little amused and exasperated.

Actually, he was monitoring the system's progress just now—after the battle ended, the progress bar symbolizing the accumulation of pollution removal kept lengthening, quickly surpassing the 295 mark, and then slowing down when it was almost at 300. It gave him the feeling that Bingxi would never be able to pull the thread up, which is why he looked so serious, which the two of them interpreted as something else.

The centipede larva that lunged at him and covered his face startled him. Ronan had expected to get a scratch, but he was taken care of with a single punch...

Having a system is really great.

"Rest assured, my willingness to stand on the front line against the evil beasts means that I have absolute control over the situation and allow any eventuality to occur."

Ronan coughed lightly, gesturing for Madonna to stand up.

"Going back to today's matter, everyone makes mistakes to some extent; it's unavoidable, even for me. So what we need to do is not to punish every mistake, but to correct them promptly, earnestly rectify them, and prevent them from repeating them."

The girl nodded earnestly, her pale pink eyes sparkling slightly.

Bart clenched his fists, his square face, with its strong lines, turning as red as a monkey's bottom.

[Current Witch: Medallion]

[Status value: 35%]

[Cumulative purification amount: 301/1000]

[Stage Target (300) Completed]

[Additional privileges unlocked: Fortress Protocol - Stronghold]

[Agreement Details: Damage taken by the contracting party and contractors -5%; an additional -5% for each Fortress Agreement held.]

[Remaining upgrade nodes: 500/1000]

You have one unsealing memo to view...

coming!

Ronan's eyes lit up: This time, not only was there an upgrade, but a new memo was also unlocked!

Compared to the previous upgrade focused on damage output, this upgrade focused on survivability seems rather lackluster. In Ronan's view, maximum damage output equals maximum survivability; once you kill the enemy, you don't have to worry about being attacked... Of course, something is better than nothing, and a buff like this, which provides unconditional damage reduction, is still quite overpowered when stacked up.

At this moment, a guard came to report: someone had come to apply for militia, and it was the person who had volunteered when the evil beasts attacked that morning.

"Very good! Tell him to wait in the yard for a moment, I'll be right there."

Ronan raised the corners of his mouth and strode into the yard.

Bart followed closely behind, but before leaving, he suddenly bowed to Madonna.

Under the girl's bewildered gaze, he said solemnly, "Miss Medallion, I retract all my previous prejudices and offenses, and sincerely apologize to you. You are an upright, kind, brave, and loyal warrior!"

"It's okay..."

The girl bit her lip lightly and nodded.

After the chief knight left, she suddenly felt a lump in her throat and couldn't help but cover her mouth.

Meidel had walked the line between life and death countless times, and had never shed a tear in the face of vicious beasts, but now she cried pathetically.

·

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Happy Labor Day everyone! Even on Labor Day, Lao Dan is still working (typing)...