𝑜𝗏𝓛xt.𝗰𝒐𝑚
Samuel Jenkins looked at Ethan, feeling an oppressive force akin to death, and his usually stoic face was now marred by panic.
Ethan looked at him and said in a calm voice, “I am the mysterious Dark Lord you’ve been talking about.”
Ethan’s words sounded like thunder rumbling in Samuel Jenkins’s heart, causing his palm clutching the dagger to break out in a fine sweat.
Behind him, screams echoed back and forth.
Ethan observed Samuel Jenkins’s tense look and said, “You don’t need to be so nervous. If I wanted to kill you, it would just take a flick of my finger. Even my followers could take you down easily.”
The hostility in Samuel Jenkins’s eyes faded significantly.
Lies don’t hurt people; it’s the truth that cuts like a swift knife.
What Ethan said was correct; even in a desperate struggle, he could at most kill a few Dragonborns like before, let alone now that his only reliance—Blizzard had been taken away.
Samuel Jenkins was silent for a moment before asking, “What exactly do you want to do?”
Ethan gazed at the distant Hero team and asked, “What do you think about the current state of Riverside?”
Samuel Jenkins looked at Ethan with some confusion.
After thinking for a moment, he said, “The various forces within the City Lord’s Mansion are intermingled, and the powers within the city are inactive, pretty much useless. Even for the task of dealing with the Dark Lord, teams were dispatched only due to mutual obligation.”
Ethan nodded, then asked, “So, do you want to change Riverside?”
Ethan’s words hit Samuel Jenkins right in the heart.
He was a native of this world, not a human who had crossed over.
As a young generation in the City Lord’s Mansion, he was pained to see Riverside gradually declining.
He practiced diligently, honing his swordsmanship, but was underutilized.
He had seen too many people standing in front of him, relying on the glory of their forefathers.
Samuel Jenkins hesitated before asking, “What do you mean?”
By now, the entire Hero team had fallen behind, and Ethan was no longer beating around the bush,
“As long as you believe in me, the position of the City Lord of Riverside will be yours.”
Ethan’s intention was clear.
He needed to take Riverside, to keep it under his control, so as to stabilize his own territory.
ƥαṇdαs ηθνε| But an outright attack now was not feasible.
Riverside had many masters, countless natives, and cross-over warriors.
A forceful attack would severely weaken him, making him susceptible to any Dark Lord who could take over his victory.
Therefore, after thinking about it, Ethan decided that the best course of action was to cultivate a puppet in Riverside.
This puppet could not be a human warrior, but must be a native of this world.
His status in Riverside must not be too low, or else it would be hard to win people over.
The Samuel Jenkins in front of him, who had led a punitive expedition on behalf of the City Lord, at least showed that he had earned the trust of the Riverside Lord.
Choosing him as his puppet couldn’t be more suitable.
Samuel Jenkins looked at Ethan in shock, mouth agape.
He wanted to refuse, but couldn’t utter the words.
He desired this, he dreamt about it!
Ethan dispelled his Divine Dragon Form, and the mask opened along with it.
Seeing the young face before him, Samuel Jenkins felt even more moved.
He walked up to Samuel Jenkins, patted him on the shoulder, and said, “I’ll give you 5 minutes to think about it. If you agree, I promise that I will not invade Riverside in the future, and I will provide you with support! Whatever you need. There’s only one condition.”
Samuel Jenkins swallowed, his voice trembling slightly as he asked, “What’s the condition?”
Ethan looked at him squarely and said, “I want you to be mine. Riverside will still be Riverside, and you will still be you. However, at certain times, I need your assistance. I can assure you… as long as you obey me, I won’t let my Dark Lord army harm the citizens of Riverside.”
Ethan’s words scattered the last of Samuel Jenkins’s hesitation, and his final resistance also disappeared.
Ethan’s conditions were too tempting to refuse.
After accepting this assistance, he would still be Samuel Jenkins, which meant that the Dark Lord did not intend to completely occupy Riverside, but was allowing him some autonomy.
Moreover, the Dark Lord had promised not to harm the civilians of Riverside.
Samuel Jenkins gritted his teeth and immediately knelt on the ground, saying, “Okay, I agree.”
Given the current situation, it was pointless not to agree.
If he didn’t, death was the only thing waiting for him.
Ethan’s system suddenly emitted a notification sound.
“Ding! Congratulations, host, on subduing NPC Samuel Jenkins, loyalty level at 50%.”
Ethan raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised.
“Just 50%? Seems like the kid hasn’t quite taken the bait fully,” he thought.
Without wasting any time, he helped Samuel Jenkins to his feet.
“Well, since you’ve agreed, I won’t be stingy.”
From his backpack, Ethan drew out 500 gold coins, handing the bag of money to Samuel.
“You’d best head back to Riverside soon,” he continued.
“Remember, there’s no need to hide my existence – you can even openly state my whereabouts. As for what’s next, you should already know, right?”
Samuel, clutching the bag of gold with gratitude, nodded in understanding.
“I get it.”
“Ding! Loyalty of Riverside’s Samuel Jenkins has risen to 70%.”
Ethan nodded approvingly.
“It’s getting late, and these Heroes won’t be making any appearances in Riverside anymore. As for their fate, you can craft the story. Also, your sword.”
Accepting the Blizzard sword handed over by a Divine Dragon Warrior, he returned it to Samuel Jenkins.
With determination etched across his face, Samuel drew a dagger and thrust it fiercely into his own stomach.
He gritted his teeth against the pain, managing a strained smile.
“This will make things more believable.”
Satisfied, Ethan nodded.
“If you need my help in the future, you know where to find me. Baymax, escort him to the outskirts of Riverside. Remember, stay incognito.”
Baymax, his white feathers now stained with fresh blood, had already sent the panicking Heroes to their demise while Ethan was making his play.
Samuel gave a grateful, albeit weak, bow to Ethan, then climbed onto Baymax.
As Ethan watched, they vanished into the horizon.
Ethan shouted to his troops behind him, “All Divine Dragon Warriors in the dungeon, gather the spoils. Then clean this place up.”
The Divine Dragon Warriors went to work, rummaging through the Hero corpses strewn across the ground.
Ethan retreated to his camp and took a seat on his throne, contemplating his current situation.
He’d taken Samuel Jenkins under his wing, successfully taking his first step towards controlling the Sunset Empire from behind the scenes.
Now, all he needed to do was support Samuel, slowly raising his status.
“Ding! Training Ground and Processing Factory construction is complete.”
Ethan immediately went to inspect them.
The Training Ground was simply arranged with many wooden stakes and other physical training apparatus.
As he stepped inside, the stakes around him sprung to life, lunging at him from every direction.
Ethan quickly shifted into his Divine Dragon Form.
The wooden stakes bounced off him harmlessly.
He stepped out of the Training Ground, and everything returned to its original state.
He had relied on the defense provided by his golden dragon scales.
Any regular Dragonborn warrior would’ve been injured in such an attack.
Next, he turned his attention to the Processing Factory.
Amid the billowing smoke inside the factory, the Divine Dragon Apothecaries were busy processing the meat they had previously captured.
Earth Dragon laborers tirelessly hauled wood and food into the factory.
Ethan opened the building panel, bringing up the Processing Factory’s dashboard.
The current efficiency of the Processing Factory was providing 200 units of food per hour.
His food supplies were steadily increasing, much to Ethan’s delight.
The efficiency of the Processing Factory was impressive.
Food was no longer an issue.
Ethan reduced the number of workers assigned to gather raw food, leaving just enough to keep the Processing Factory operational.
As he looked at the map, he saw that two previously unexplored regions had been fully surveyed, increasing the number of areas available for exploration from two to three.
He selected the three unexplored areas with the highest probability of containing iron ore, and decided to dispatch all available workers to form an exploration team.
After taking care of these tasks, Ethan opened up the trading market.
At this point, he had amassed a whopping 3,000 units of food.
Leaving 1,500 units of food in reserve, he placed the remainder on sale in the trading market at a ratio of 1:2.
A whole 1,500 units of food instantly caused an uproar on the world channel.
The food was sold out in an instant, leaving Ethan utterly perplexed.
“Are they really that desperate for food?” he wondered.
“Wow, who’s the badass Dark Lord who just listed a whole 1,500 units of food?” commented Undead Knight Dark Lord.
“I only sell about 100 units whenever I list food.”
“And it’s all high-quality food too!” added the Merman Dark Lord. “I can hardly believe it. Whoever this big shot is, they sure know how to grow fast. Mind giving me a few pointers? I can provide you with fish.”
“What a shame I don’t need food,” lamented the Ghost Vine Dark Lord. “Otherwise, I would have bought some. The cost-performance ratio is through the roof.”
“Hey, is the Dark Lord who just sold 1,500 units of food here?” chimed in the Giant Dark Lord. “If you’re planning to sell more in the future, give me a heads up. I’m willing to buy at a 1:3 ratio.”
Ethan’s brows lifted at the reactions.
He glanced at his food storage, noticing that another 200 units of food had been added thanks to the Processing Factory.
He then turned his attention to the Giant Dark Lord’s profile.
“Mysterious Dark Lord: You’ll buy food at a 1:3 ratio?”
“Giant Dark Lord: Yeah, that’s right. You’re the Dark Lord who just listed 1,500 units of food, right?”
“Mysterious Dark Lord: Correct. I have another 200 units of food for sale. Interested?”
On a distant mountain, the Giant Dark Lord’s face lit up with delight as he quickly responded.
“Giant Dark Lord: Absolutely, I’ll take it. Put it up for sale, I’ll buy at a 1:3 ratio.”