Inside the tent were people.
Living, breathing people.
Men and women, a total of seven or eight people, all had their hands and feet tied with hemp rope and their mouths gagged with rags.
Their eyes were not as numb as the roving bandits; their lively eyes showed their fear.
Zong Shen focused slightly.
The golden strategy hints arrived as expected.
(These poor indigenous people were plundered by the roving bandits; if you are willing to rescue them and provide food, they will be loyal to you, and your territory lacks manpower)
So, it was just ordinary indigenous people, with a background similar to the three foolish farmers.
Zong Shen sighed in relief, putting down the kite shield.
By this time, Luna had already thrown the corpse into the bonfire.
Let it turn to ashes, no longer subjected to desecration and pain.
She also saw those poor creatures in the tent who had been plundered and spoke voluntarily.
"Lord, our territory needs population."
"Rescue them, let them submit to your mercy, and build your territory."
Zong Shen nodded in agreement.
He put away the kite shield and dismounted.
One by one, he cut the hemp ropes binding their hands and feet.
These indigenous people, once free, immediately tore off the rags in their mouths.
"I am a lord around here, and this is my soldier."
"I have rescued you."
"Now, are you willing to serve me, and together we can establish a great territory?"
Zong Shen spoke solemnly, holding the sword in one hand.
The indigenous people looked at each other, glancing around, uncertain of where they were.
However, the detestable and cruel roving bandits had indeed been eradicated.
After hesitating for a moment.
They bowed together, saluting Zong Shen.
"Great lord, it is our honor to serve you."
"Please also kindly treat us, providing us with shelter and food."
Zong Shen nodded in agreement.
"Very well, your decision is wise!"
These indigenous people numbered 8 in total, 5 men and 3 women.
They all wore coarse cloth garments.
Their skin was dark and rough.
They looked strong and sturdy.
Zong Shen surveyed them.
[Attributes: (click to expand)]
[Attributes: (click to expand)]
[Farmer: Zhuangzhuang]
[Attributes: (click to expand)]
Zong Shen looked around and was quite satisfied with these newly joined farmers.
None of them had dull talent, with the worst being of ordinary talent, and there was even a farmer named San Pang with excellent talent.
The quality of this batch of farmers is very high!
Far better than the three foolish farmers at the start!
Although their loyalty was somewhat low, with some training, it could increase quickly.
With the addition of these 8 farmers, the efficiency of territorial development could be greatly increased.
As the saying goes, farmers are productivity.
Productivity is strength.
It’s just that simple a truth.
"Very well, Luna! Take them back to our territory."
Zong Shen turned and instructed, considering the trek of over thirty miles would take at least two and a half to three hours on foot.
Setting off now, they could return to the territory before sunset. Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs novel fire.net
However, these farmers touched their stomachs with troubled expressions.
"Lord, we haven’t eaten or drunk water for several days, can you provide us with some food first?"
"Otherwise, we might not make it to your territory."
The farmer named San Pang spoke up proactively,
and he was the one with excellent talent, now faintly the leader among the eight farmers.
"What you say makes sense."
Zong Shen nodded, conveniently carrying with him the unknown dried meat from the roving bandits’ tent, and there were plenty, a total of 23 portions.
So he gave each of them a portion.
As for water, that was easy to handle.
The roving bandits had leather water bags with them.
Zong Shen thought them dirty, so he did not pick them up.
Perfect for quenching these farmers’ thirst.
So, the eight dirty farmers, each holding a piece of unknowingly made dried meat, took turns taking the water bag to drink.
Gobbling down their first meal.
"Luna, you lead them back first, I will follow soon."
After they finished the dried meat and drank some water, regaining some energy.
Zong Shen seriously instructed Luna.
"Lord, what about your safety...?"
Luna’s loyalty was as high as 83, and she had already started to actively worry about Zong Shen’s safety.
But Zong Shen merely smiled, waving his rusty one-handed sword.
"It’s alright, I can protect myself, you go ahead and take them back, make sure to reach the territory before dark."
Hearing Zong Shen say this, Luna didn’t insist anymore, nodding and riding the Black Panther, leading the eight farmers on the return journey.
Zong Shen remained behind at the camp, beginning to explore.
The roving bandits had also dropped some items.
All were labeled in gray font as broken quality weapons.
The quality of items differed, displaying different colors.
So far, Zong Shen had discovered five grade levels.
Broken (gray), ordinary (white), refined (green), rare (purple), legend (orange).
As for whether there were higher levels, Zong Shen didn’t know yet.
He collected all the junk weapons dropped by the roving bandits into the Kodo Beast Hide Backpack, not leaving anything in the principle of ’gather every grain’.
No matter how trashy these weapons were, if Zong Shen didn’t use them, they could still be used to arm the farmers in crucial times.
At this moment, two tents remained in the roving bandits’ camp.
Zong Shen directly cut open the tents.
One tent still contained supplies.
Another wave of supplies was collected by Zong Shen.
Evidently, these roving bandits were prepared to camp here.
The rewards from slaying creatures and treasure hunting far exceeded those from gathering.
Having a guide module, if he were to gather like a farmer, it would truly be a waste of talent.
Zong Shen didn’t care about these resources.
What truly caught his interest was what was in the last tent.
Located not far from him.
It was a treasure chest, entirely made of metal, its surface pitch black and roughly fashioned.
Zong Shen gazed intently.
[Black Iron Treasure Chest]
[A Black Iron Treasure Chest of unknown content, no one knows what might be inside]
(The treasure chest is safe to open)
"I found a treasure chest?"
Zong Shen’s eyes lit up.
Opening a chest was like opening a blind box.
He spat in his palm, rubbed it vigorously, then eagerly walked toward it.