It was still the bright hours of the morning, but the sun was getting hotter, reminding the people of Winterseed of noon's approach. At this moment, a small group of men led by Rowan could be seen strolling towards the southern border where Glenwood soldiers are approaching from.
There were seven in number, Rowan sat on a malnourished horse moving in front, Brandon and the five captains walked behind him.
After a short ten-minute stroll from the village square, they finally arrived at the border which had no fences guarding them.
Rowan could see the former fences made of wood on the ground, he wondered what the cause of it was but quickly dismissed it when he saw Glenwood soldiers.
Compared to Rowan's weak group of seven, Glenwood had more than fifty, and all of them rode on horses that looked stronger and healthier compared to Rowan's.
The men had visible muscles and were dressed in nice leather armors that displayed the wealth of their village.
In front of them, there was an older man dressed in a bright purple linen robe on a white horse, different from their black horses. He appears to be leading the soldiers.
Looking at them, Rowan felt very jealous. His mind ran wild as he thought of different ways to kill these men and take all the goodies they had, but he was scared it would cause a greater war that would destroy his village at last.
While his mind ran with these thoughts, his face maintained a calm look as he rode his horse, further closing the distance between them.
"I see the young, dumb lord of Winterseed has risen from the dead."
As they got closer, the older man mounting the white horse in front laughed while pointing at Rowan, mocking him.
"What a mess, Winterseed is done for. Very soon, our Lord will come and take you out of your position and obtain direct control over your village," another soldier joined in the mockery.
Winterseed men gave no reaction; beforehand, Rowan had already warned them not to get provoked if the other party tried to mock them.
Even though they felt mad that their young lord was getting badmouthed, they couldn't do anything but follow his orders.
As for Rowan, he smiled as the men continued with their insults while he observed their stats and did what he came here for.
[ Occupation: Warrior]
[ Special Ability: Sword master ]
[ Occupation: Warrior ]
[ Special Ability: Sword master ]
[ Status: Wanna take a pee ]
After observing the stats of the first twenty soldiers, he noticed all of them had the same special skill which was [ Sword Master ].
The lack of versatility in the distribution of skills among them made Rowan kind of disappointed; he was expecting to copy a lot of skills that he could teach his soldiers later, but it turns out he might be stuck with just one.
'Fucking useless bastards, can't believe these pathetic men have just one skill and it is just a random sword skill,' Rowan cussed inwardly.
He took his time to rain down as many curses as he could at whosoever gave them the same skills.
"Don't tell me even after resurrection, the young lord of Winterseed still can't speak when it matters? The little prick can't even stand for himself," the old man scoffed, causing the soldiers to laugh their hearts out.
"Young Lord, what should we do?" Seeing that Rowan hasn't spoken a word, Brandon softly tapped his shoulder to get him to speak.
Rowan woke up from his thoughts with the light taps, he gave Brandon a nod of acknowledgement before looking at the soldiers laughing at him.
He spread his gaze among the group before clearing his throat and greeted in the most cheerful voice one can use in such a situation, "Welcome strong, handsome and big men of Glenwood."
Hearing his cheerful greeting, the soldiers of Glenwood looked at each other and laughed their hearts out once again.
"Who the heck greets like that?" One of them said amidst his laughter, grabbing his stomach and laughing even more.
But Rowan was unfazed, he continued with his unplanned greetings.
"You guys are free to come in and carry out your orders from your beloved Lord and remember when you get back to your village, tell him the young lord of Winterseed is awake and is happy with the new vassal agreement.
If I am not asking too much, you can also pass my intention to invite him for a nice feast in my village as a thank you for his good works."
Rowan continued with his greeting, appreciating the soldiers and praising their village Lord. While most of his words were sarcastic, he made sure to let the soldiers know of his 'good' intentions.
However, his words came as a big surprise to them and they kept looking at him as if they were looking at a fool.
The oldest especially, his aged wrinkled face twisted in a slight frown, 'Is he really thanking us for taking over his village and seizing his resources? It seems the young lord forgot his brain during resurrection. But this is a good thing, today is going to be a good day, no one will stop us.'
The oldest moved his horse forward a bit and replied to Rowan, "It is good that you are not trying to fight back the control of our Lord, it shows you are a good leader and that you are not ready to risk the life of your people. For that reason, we will not take any of your women today and only take our regular portions of your harvest."
'As if I will let you take my people in the first place,' Rowan scoffed but he kept a smile on, feigning a good relationship with this man who he is currently observing through his system.
[ Occupation: Warrior ]
[ Special Ability: Tongue of the lord; When he passes the Lord's message, there is a 20% the order is obeyed ]
'Pathetic, parrot occupation is definitely one of the worst occupations in the emperor's domain and that skill is the worst I have seen today. Welp, I will only copy the sword skill,'
"You have spoken well, Waga. You and your soldiers can do what you want, you are all welcome," he greeted them in order not to appear out of place.
The soldiers laughed heartily and rode their horses into the village gallantly.
Some farmers in their farmlands stood and watched as the soldiers marched into their village with sad looks on their faces knowing their harvest would be taken once again.
[ Random farmer is disappointed ]
[ Random farmer is disappointed ]
Several messages appeared in front of Rowan causing him to look towards the farmlands where two old farmers stood with frowns on their faces, clearly disappointed.
Rowan wore a smile on his face and made a hand gesture for them to calm down.
[ Random farmer is considering ]
[ Random farmer is settled ]
[ Random farmer hopes you work harder ]
[ +10 evolution points ]
[ Reward x100, 1,000 evolution points has been rewarded ]
[ +10 evolution points ]
[ Reward x100, 1,000 evolution points has been rewarded ]
[ System has collected its repayment ]
Rowan smiled, he turned his horse back and followed the soldiers.
He gave a few orders to the soldiers around him, his words seemed wise and he got another random reward once again.