"Sir Xavier, weren't we supposed to kill the last heir to the Von Hafter family when we reached the Red Fortress?" Asked one of the squires to Xavier. He was tall and had golden locks of hair with his eyes the color of coal.
"Yes, we were to do so. But our lord wanted him to die in an accident so if we were to cut him right then, there would be suspicion of foul play by those who opposed our lord's ruling. They would use that to overthrow our lord as even though Lucian was exiled, he was still a Von Hafter. If he died in exile they wouldn't be able to question our lord but if he died under the hands of our lord, they would have a valid excuse to oppose our lord as it would show that our lord is a cruel tyrant who wouldn't let off even his own family member. Do you understand now, Davis?"
"Thank you for your answer, Sir Xavier. So what should we do about our lord's orders? We can't kill Lucian ourselves as that would bring trouble to our lord, so do we hire some men to do it for us?"
"You understand now, I see. That is our plan. The moment we reach Beast Sight Town, the mercenaries stationed there will head to the Barren Mountains under the guise of hunting small animals and foraging herbs. They will go into a forest halfway between the town and the fortress where there will be horses for them to go to the fortress to kill Lucian."
"Excuse me for asking Sir Xavier, but wouldn't there be suspicion that we hired those mercenaries to kill Lucian? So how would we get out of this suspicion from those who oppose our lord?" Asked the other squire. He was short and had locks of red hair with his eyes the color of sunrise.
"Andrew, you don't have to worry about that. While in that forest, there would be corpses of criminals buried there with ice magic preserving their bodies. One half of the mercenary group will head back to town while the other would race towards the fortress. The ones heading back to town will have panicked looks to them with wounds around their bodies. When questioned they'll say they were attacked by bandits who were heading toward the fortress. They'll say that they did the best they could to fend them off and ran to get help from the town. The other group will dress as bandits to kill Lucian with their leader, who is a rank 1 Battle Disciple who went through bone refining, in tow. When they finish their job, they'll go around the Beast Sight Town and head towards a cave where one of the lord's scouts will hear of their success who will then inform the other mercenaries at the town to disappear." Explained Xavier.
"I see. That is a brilliant plan. If all things go well, we wouldn't be blamed for what happened to Lucian as the news of him being exiled already spread throughout the kingdom. So if a couple of bandits go towards the Red Fortress in hope of Lucian still having some expensive items on him and killing him in the process of the robbery, then the blame would be on those bandits, not us which will allow our lord to sweep our land of any bandits to get revenge for his nephew. We'll get rid of two birds with one stone as they say. Getting rid of Lucian will allow our lord to solidify his ruling as he will be the last family member of the Von Hafter name. Getting rid of the bandits will make our lord even nobler in the eyes of the common people as it'll prove that he is a family man willing to fight for even his exiled nephew, that he had no choice but to exile Lucian and the exile wasn't a conspiracy against the Wune Kingdom's throne. It'll also show our lord is helping in keeping the peace of the kingdom."
"You got it, Andrew. It'll take us 2 weeks to get to town and it'll take at least 2 months for the mercenaries to complete the job. So I suggest we should head back to the capital, Wune City, after informing the mercenaries to begin the plan. That way we'll throw off suspicion on us as there would be no way for us to set the plan in motion as we'll be long gone when the plan happens. It'll just seem that the bandits saw us leaving and took the chance to rob Lucian. I hope that you two won't leak this plan to any outsiders or I'll have to silence you. I don't want to cut down my squires, do you two understand?"
"Yes, Sir Xavier! We'll never leak this plan out for the rest of our lives. We are eternally loyal to you and our lord who allowed us to train our battle qi. You can rest assured that no inkling of this plan will be leaked by us!" Said the two squires with a fist placed over their hearts signifying an oath of secrecy.
"It's good that you both understood. Now when we get back to the capital, I'll put in some words for you two in front of our lord to give you more resources to speed up your training and I'll even teach you the Lafette family swordsmanship secret technique - Lafette Bloody Cross."
"Ooooh!! Thank you, Sir Xavier! We'll never forget what you have done for us. No matter what you ask of us, we'll do it for you." The two squires exclaimed excitedly. This was the best reward for them as they were in a bottleneck of their body refining.
"Haha! That's good but you two just have to do what our lord tells you to do and maybe one day you'll be his right-hand man. We should hurry to reach the town. Let's hurry our horses at their fastest speed before the sun has set and the moon reaches its peak."
********************
Lucian reached the platform next to the village head's house and saw the platform inscribed with what seemed to be magic runes of an unknown language. The platform looked ancient and by the 4 corners of the platform, there layed a statue each. Each statue was crafted very lifelike and was crafted in the images of the 4 Guardian Beast Deities of the 4 corners. They were the Black Tortoise Xuanwu to the north, the Azure Dragon Qinglong to the east, the Vermillion Bird Zhuque to the south, and the White Tiger Baihu to the west. In the center of the platform was a statue of a dragon holding a crystal in its mouth looking regal.
'So to activate the summoning platform, do I just place my hand on the crystal and think of summoning peasants to summon the villagers, System?'
[Yes Host. All you need to do in order to summon them is to place your hand on the crystal in the royal dragon's mouth and think of summoning. Then a portal will open and 10 peasants will come out. Remember, each day you can only summon up to 10 of them. When you upgrade the village, you can increase the amount summoned.]
'I see, thanks for the clarification System. Phew, I'm excited to see my summoned subjects. Alright, let's do this!'
Lucian walked up to the platform and arrived at the dragon statue with the crystal in its mouth. He placed his hands on it and thought of summoning. Then a spark formed next to the statue and a big portal opened up. One after the other, 10 peasants walked out in clothing made of ragged cloth. There were 7 males and 3 females in their mid 20s.
"We greet our lord Lucian! Thank you for granting us the opportunity to live in this land of yours, we'll be sure to help you in maintaining the village!" The 10 peasants each proclaimed and bowed down on their knees to Lucian.
"Rise, my subjects! I expect great things from you all under my rule. I hope that after a while you'll be able to help out new inhabitants settle into our village." Lucian used the TV dramas he watched when he was on Earth as reference for what he said.
"Of course my lord! You can expect great things from us. We'll work hard to earn our keep in the village and serve you to our greatest ability."
[Ding! Congrats on the Host for summoning for the first time and completing a Hidden Quest. Rewards: Status Scan, Pearl Rice Seed Bags x 10, and Normal rarity Weapon Voucher x 1]
[Status Scan - Able to be used on inhabitants of this world and not exclusively on system summoned creatures.
Pearl Rice Seed Bags - Contain 10 seeds of Pearl Rice which is a Normal rarity food item. Pearl Rice grows quickly and matures in 2 months time. Each plant will give 10,000 grains each and could regrow grains for a total of 5 times.
Pearl Rice - Each rice grain shines like a Pearl in the night and gives off a milky scent when cooked. It only takes 1,000 grains to make a person full for a meal.
Normal rarity Weapon Voucher - able to exchange any Normal rarity Weapon in the System Shop.]
'Huh, so there are also hidden quests to complete? I wonder what other quests there are. Let's see, the Status Scan is a good reward. It'll allow me to see through the power level of inhabitants of this world and its items. The Pearl Rice Seed Bags are also good since each house has farmable land in front of them. In 2 months they'll mature, can't wait to taste them. Of course, the Voucher is also good since it'll give me a weapon for free. Let me see the status of my subjects before I give them a tour of the village and summon my Warrior.'
[Understood Host. Opening Villager status pages…]
[Name: Li An (Male)
Age: 25
Occupation: Peasant
Cultivation: None
Skills: Animal Handling(Low tier), Farming(Middle tier)
Items held: Cloth Clothing]
[Name: Ding Wen (Male)
Age: 25
Occupation: Peasant
Cultivation: None
Skills: Farming(Middle tier)
Items held: Cloth Clothing]
[Name: Ping Kan (Male)
Age: 25
Occupation: Peasant
Cultivation: None
Skills: Farming(Middle tier), Spearmanship(low tier)
Items held: Cloth Clothing]
[Name: Zhang De (Male)
Age: 25
Occupation: Peasant
Cultivation: None
Skills: Farming(Middle tier), Spearmanship(low tier)
Items held: Cloth Clothing]
[Name: Hong Gan (Male)
Age: 25
Occupation: Peasant
Cultivation: None
Skills: Farming(Middle tier), Spearmanship(low tier)
Items held: Cloth Clothing]
[Name: Lin Ping (Male)
Age: 25
Occupation: Peasant
Cultivation: None
Skills: Farming(Middle tier), Spearmanship(low tier)
Items held: Cloth Clothing]
[Name: Kong Xiu (Male)
Age: 25
Occupation: Peasant
Cultivation: None
Skills: Farming(Middle tier), Blacksmithing(Low tier)
Items held: Cloth Clothing]
[Name: Bai Hua (Female)
Age: 25
Occupation: Peasant
Cultivation: None
Skills: Farming(Middle tier), Sewing(Middle tier)
Items held: Cloth Clothing]
[Name: Ling Bao (Female)
Age: 25
Occupation: Peasant
Cultivation: None
Skills: Farming(Middle tier), Spearmanship(Low tier)
Items held: Cloth Clothing]
[Name: Zhou Jia (Female)
Age: 25
Occupation: Peasant
Cultivation: None
Skills: Farming(Middle tier), Cooking(Middle tier)
Items held: Cloth Clothing]
'I see. They all have the Farming skill and one other skill that differs from each other. I see 5 peasants that I could turn into soldiers as those 5 already have weapon skills. For those with different skills, I'll see if I have the chance to help them use their skills. System, what are the tiers about and what should I do about those who have a skill other than Farming and Spearmanship?'
[The tiers are there for normal ranked skills. Once they cultivate, the skills will be able to rank up past the tiers. Low tier means that they only just learned about the skill. Middle tier means they are proficient in those skills. High tier means that they know almost everything about those skills. Past that, the higher ranks means that they will be able to apply their cultivation to their skills.]
[For those who have specialized skills, you will have to unlock building tokens to build suitable buildings for their skills. Each building will upgrade with the village. To unlock building tokens you'll have to complete some Hidden Quests regarding those skills. Hint: For Blacksmithing, you'll have to gather a certain amount of ores.]
'Thanks for the clarification, System. So that's how it works. Well, I should first get my summoned subjects settled in before allowing those 5 who have weapon skills to become soldiers of the village.'
"Follow me. I'll lead you all to where you will be staying." Lucian started to walk off the platform and had the peasants following behind him.
"Right here is the well, where you'll be able to draw out water to drink and water plants. Over there is the storage warehouse where you can store items. Right there is the barrack where some of you will be trained to become soldiers for the village. Where we came from is the village head's house. If you have any problems, reach out to me in that house. Lastly, over there is the housing area with 5 houses each able to be lived in by 10 people. In front of the houses is farmable land to plant seeds."
"Ooooh! Thank you for leading us and introducing each building to us, Lord Lucian. We'll settle into the first house then. Of course, the 5 who have weapon skills will arrive at the barrack area awaiting your orders."
"That's good. Once I have finished some other business, I'll head to the barrack with a trainer in tow. You are all dismissed."
The peasants all began to walk up to the first house before 5 of them turned and went to the barrack to await Lucian.
'Now, it is time to finally summon a Warrior! I hope I can get someone like Zhao Yun or maybe I'll get Yuan Shao. Ah, but please don't give me someone like Dong Zhuo. RNGesus, please give me great luck and give me a great Warrior.'