Chapter 49: Heartfelt Conversation

“Ha!” Victor exhaled forcefully, his fist smashing into a large sandbag. The impact sent the three-hundred-pound bag swinging backward, only to be pulled back by the iron chains and sway again. Victor let out a long breath, his eyes unable to hide his delight. The force of his punch had reached two hundred kilograms, comparable to a heavyweight professional boxer on Earth.

Physique 8, Spirit 14, Perception 21, Vitality 18.

These were Victor’s current elemental attribute values. Compared to his initial stats, his physique had increased by a whole point, and the other attributes had also grown to varying degrees, though none by a full unit. This progress was due to Victor practicing the body-tempering techniques recorded in X-3.

In this world, humans were generally robust. According to X-3's measurements, adult farmers typically had a physique of 8, equivalent to professional athletes on Earth, and elite soldiers usually reached 9, with the strongest at 10—far more powerful than most people on Earth. Yet, the increase of just one or two points in physique required these elite soldiers to undergo years of rigorous training, whereas Victor had achieved it in just over fifty days.

In terms of training efficiency, the body-tempering techniques far surpassed ordinary methods. However, Victor was not yet certain whether these techniques could help him break through the limits of the human body.

From the data Victor had collected so far, he had not found any ordinary human with a single attribute exceeding 10; those who surpassed that mark were either knights or humans in a berserk state. Thus, Victor considered 10 points to be the limit for ordinary humans.

He believed that, after practicing the body-tempering techniques, there was a good chance of breaking that limit, especially since the king had incorporated these techniques into the will-side reserves of the Alchemy Tower, generating a new skill called “Secret Form.”

Moreover, these body-tempering techniques truly had remarkable effects. Victor’s main practice, the Ox Stance, according to X-3, could, at advanced levels, allow one to topple a five-hundred-kilogram bull with a single hand—clearly beyond the ordinary human limit.

There were fifteen stances recorded in X-3, but Victor found that three were the most effective: the Ox Stance, Monkey Stance, and Toad Stance. The Ox Stance provided the greatest boost to physique, the Monkey Stance noticeably improved perception, and the Toad Stance aided the circulation of vital energy, thus enhancing vitality.

Of these, the Ox Stance yielded the most significant results; the other two were much less effective, their boosts to vitality and perception barely noticeable. Victor surmised that this was because his physique was still comparatively weak and had not yet reached the mortal limit, while his perception and vitality had already surpassed 10, with perception reaching an astonishing 21.

Currently, Victor most desired to improve his physique, for this attribute not only increased his strength but also fortified his bones and muscles, most importantly enhancing his stamina. This extended the duration of his Overlimit, Hyperperception, Seamless, and Revelation states; now, his Revelation could last thirty seconds, half again as long as its initial twenty.

The most puzzling attribute to Victor was Spirit. He found that regardless of which stance he practiced, during visualization his spirit attribute would rise, only to revert to its original 14 once the training ended, with no permanent increase.

Nevertheless, practicing Secret Form had provided Victor a path to enhance his power—even the strength of alchemical humans, which was the true key.

“Nelson, what do you think of my punch?” Victor asked Nelson, who stood nearby, beaming with pride over his progress and eager for the “expert’s” approval.

Nelson stepped forward and gently stopped the swinging sandbag. He replied, “My lord, I don’t believe this ‘sandbag punching’ is useful. If you wish to increase your strength, you’d be better off practicing with weapons. If we lose our arms, we can’t defeat gnoll warriors barehanded.”

Victor couldn’t help but roll his eyes; he simply wanted Nelson to witness his increased strength. But to a berserk warrior with a physique of 20, what difference did 7 or 8 points make?

Indeed, Victor realized that attribute values only reflected a creature’s elemental concentration, not its true combat ability. For example, there was a herbivore on the continent called the Giant-horned Rhino, weighing over eight tons and standing more than four meters tall, with skin ten centimeters thick—so tough that even the fiercest Nightblade Leopards couldn’t inflict fatal wounds, yet a human soldier wielding a five-meter spear could slay such a beast.

Imagine a soldier with the physique of a wrestler, driving a sharp spear with all his strength; the resulting lethality was terrifying.

This explained why gnoll warriors, whose physique and perception exceeded ordinary humans, were helpless against organized human armies.

“Have all the fallen soldiers been buried?” Victor asked Nelson. In the recent sweep, five of Victor’s men had died and eleven were wounded.

“All have been buried. The wounded have been well cared for. As per your instructions, each fallen soldier’s family will receive fifty gold Sols as compensation, but they all hope you’ll give them work credits instead.”

It was understandable that these families preferred work credits over gold Sols; after all, in this territory, gold Sols were of little use to the common folk.

“Very well! Each fallen soldier’s family will be compensated with sixty-four thousand eight hundred work credits, each wounded soldier with five thousand, and those who are severely injured or disabled with ten thousand,” Victor said, nodding.

“My lord! That is far too much!” Nelson exclaimed. Even without much experience in administration, he could see that Victor’s work credit system had problems.

Take this compensation: sixty-four thousand eight hundred work credits could be exchanged for sixty-four acres of land, and these credits could continue to be used within the territory or even converted to copper Sols. In effect, each fallen soldier’s family received sixty-four acres of land and fifty gold Sols. Land was an extremely precious resource for the lord; granting so much meant no knights would want to join the family—without enough land to support them, even bloodline knights would move to other great houses.

“It’s alright. Our territory has plenty of land. These soldiers gave their lives for the domain; their families deserve ample compensation. This is how we inspire others to fight bravely,” Victor replied with a smile.

Victor was also frustrated. In his early days, penniless and desperate to win hearts, he’d implemented the work credit system, underestimating the value of both land and credits, leading to this awkward situation. He had no experience in governing a territory or family. But now, he couldn’t adjust the system without undermining his authority—it was the foundation of his subjects’ loyalty.

Fortunately, he no longer planned to include more commoners in the work credit system. He intended to gradually integrate alchemical militia into the guard, which would greatly increase military strength and reduce expenses; these alchemical militia required neither pay nor compensation.

But before that, he needed to amass enough gold Sols!

“By the way, this is the first time we’ve lost guards. What do the villagers think?” Seeing Nelson about to persuade him again, Victor quickly changed the subject.

Though Nelson was a valiant fighter, he didn’t understand governance; he couldn’t grasp that Victor had to let things stand.

“Everyone is calm. They’re used to life and death, and we lost very few. Everyone is satisfied with the results of the sweep,” Nelson replied, smiling at Victor.

This sweep had flattened three medium-sized refugee camps, eliminating over a hundred refugees—mostly diehard followers of the refugee leaders, who all fell to Nelson. Victor’s subjects were jubilant, and the camp was abuzz, more lively than after slaying the ogre.

“How many freemen have joined us now?” Victor asked, smiling. Despite the losses, it was a victory, and Victor had come to understand his position and responsibilities.

“We’ve recruited over a hundred freemen from those three camps. Large numbers seek to join us daily, causing great pressure on the camp. I was about to ask how you’d like to handle this,” Nelson said seriously.

“Find an open area below the camp and build a temporary settlement; house them there for now. I don’t plan to grant them subject status directly; their awakening came too late—they must be treated differently.”

“Of course, we can’t let them idle. Assign them labor tasks: let them help clear land, build roads and villages. Tell them every month I’ll select the twenty best performers to become subjects,” Victor instructed, suppressing his inner joy. He now understood that mercy and equality could not be simply applied in this world.

With the cover of these freemen, Victor could finally produce alchemical humans freely, and those powerful beings would soon become leaders among the weak and timid freemen. His control over manpower would multiply.

Thinking of this, Victor’s face broke into a smile, but Nelson posed another question.

“What about law enforcement?”

Most of these freemen were young and strong, rough and aggressive. With so many gathered, brawls were common, and Nelson’s guards had their own patrols—they couldn’t supervise them constantly.

“You’re right. We need a sheriff now!” Victor frowned.

Previously, Victor’s subjects were managed by village heads, and trouble was rare. But with so many freemen, village heads couldn’t manage them all.

Who to appoint as sheriff?

The sheriff decided life and death in the territory, wielding great power. They were executors of the lord’s will, guardians of the domain’s order, requiring loyalty, courage, fairness, wisdom, and—most importantly—strength.

Victor thought quietly for a while, unable to find a suitable candidate. But when he saw Nelson gazing at him expectantly, a sudden idea flashed through his mind.

“What do you think of Linda?” Victor asked Nelson.

Linda’s fierce slaying of the villain Logan had left Victor deeply impressed. Linda now managed the camp’s kitchen and canteen, with a passion for cooking.

“Linda? She’s not suitable—her strength is too lacking!” Nelson waved his hand hurriedly. As Linda’s companion, he knew she couldn’t intimidate the unruly freemen.

“Linda abhors evil, and though not strong, she’s your companion. Now which freemen would dare ignore the reputation of the Bear of the North?” Victor teased Nelson.

After three bloody massacres, Nelson’s title—the Bear of the North—had spread through the territory. The freemen shuddered at the name, while Victor’s subjects were inspired. Everyone now knew the lord’s captain of the guard was a warrior as mighty as a knight.

“My lord, about my reputation… I have something to confess,” Nelson said with a bitter smile.

Nelson explained the origin of his nickname and his feud with the powerful Taltus family of Sassan.

Victor listened, surprised, amused, and moved.

He was astonished that Nelson, a berserk warrior, had slain a bronze knight outright—a truly impressive feat.

He found it amusing that the famed Bear Mercenary Company had fared so poorly, nearly dissolving.

Most touching was that Nelson, to intimidate the freemen, had revealed the very title he’d tried to hide, showing the Bear Mercenaries truly saw Victor as a lord worthy of loyalty, and the domain as their home.

“Nelson, I have two questions for you. First, you were set up, and the one who did it was the person who promoted your reputation. If I'm not mistaken, that was your competitor. On the surface, he spread your fame, but in reality, he put you on the spot—and you never realized.”

“Damn, it was Iron Wolf, that bastard! No wonder their company was recruited by the Quinn family instead of ours. I wondered why he was so eager to promote my name—I thought he was impressed with us. Turns out, he was playing dirty! If I ever see that despicable fellow again, I’ll tear him apart!” Nelson said through gritted teeth, finally seeing the truth thanks to Victor.

“My lord, you are indeed wise!”

Faced with Nelson’s admiring gaze, Victor smiled calmly.

Such a petty trick of flattery—how could it fool me? Hah! I've seen enough TV dramas to know better! Victor thought with some satisfaction.

“Second, you offended the great nobles of Sassan and had to hide your name and leave Dodo Kingdom—I understand that. But why did you keep hiding your name after coming to Gambis?”

“Because that name brought us so much trouble; everyone thought it best to conceal it. My lord, I never meant to deceive you. Had those freemen not bullied us for lacking knights, I wouldn’t have revealed it,” Nelson said, embarrassed.

“What trouble could it be? Do you think Sassan’s nobles can fly to Gambis and bite us? Hah! The Taltus family isn’t so important here. Even a minor lord like me doesn’t care about them! If you’d used your Bear of the North title, plenty of families would have recruited you! So, do you regret it now?” Victor smiled, teasing the dumbstruck Nelson.

“No! In fact, I should thank Iron Wolf—otherwise, we wouldn’t have joined your service. Next time we meet, I’ll just break his legs!” Nelson shook his head earnestly.

“It’s my honor!”

Victor gave Nelson a noble salute; the two exchanged smiles.

“My lord, are you truly not worried the Taltus family will cause trouble?” Nelson was still concerned; the Taltus were Sassan’s elite, led by a golden knight.

“No worries! In a few years, they’ll fear to trouble us! In ten years, they’ll be groveling at our feet!” Victor declared boldly.

For Victor, the Alchemy Tower was the real challenge. According to the king’s conjecture, the soul fire of the tower originated from a single spirit; Victor could hardly imagine what kind of being possessed a spirit attribute over five thousand—and such an extraordinary existence was imprisoned by the Nerial Empire!

Give Victor ten years—as heir to Nerial’s legacy—even the Prince Party would be overturned in a single stroke! Compared to that, what was the distant Taltus family?

“My lord, I believe it wholeheartedly!” Though incredible, Nelson’s intuition told him Victor’s words would come true.

“Go and inform Linda; in a few days, I’ll appoint her as sheriff. Also, send Lilia to see me—I need to discuss building the temporary camp.”

Just as Victor was instructing Nelson, a loud “Caw!” sounded, and a large raven flew over, alighting on Victor’s shoulder.

It was Black Feather! Victor’s heart soared with joy: Nicole and the others had returned!