Lord: Stripped of My Inheritance from the Start - Chapter 356 - 350: Chaos in the Territory

“With the territory’s growing population, maintaining public order has definitely become an issue.”

Ronin rode his warhorse along the road, arriving in Sanfang Town with Wilson by his side.

The town, formed by the merger of the former Cyan Bamboo, Purple Fruit, and Grey Soil Villages, now boasted a population of over twelve thousand.

Of these, newcomers made up nearly 92%.

“Knight Horn was originally focused entirely on sericulture, but with conflicts breaking out one after another, he had no choice but to step in. Later, when Lord Elron the Mage learned of the situation, he had Knight Rig station a contingent of men in Grey Soil Village.”

Ronin frowned slightly.

’It was understandable that a period of chaos would arise when the number of Guards failed to keep pace with the population boom.’

’However, the chaos was confined to the lower strata. It wouldn’t affect a noble like me, and even ordinary Professional Knights like Juliet would hardly be impacted.’

“What were they fighting over?”

Ronin asked, “Scrapping over food? Shelter?”

“That’s the cause of many of the smaller skirmishes.”

Wilson explained, “But there was one massive brawl involving over a hundred people. It was because two factions had formed and were fighting over turf.”

Ronin was perplexed.

’The entire Wubei Territory is mine. What turf could these people possibly be fighting over?’

’And they even organized a brawl with over a hundred people. There must have been bloodshed.’

His interest was piqued. “Tell me more about this incident.”

As Wilson recounted the events, Ronin came to understand the full story.

The troublemakers all came from the group of people sent by Wiggin. Interrogation revealed that the ringleaders were convicts who had been serving prison sentences.

Upon arriving in Wubei Territory, they saw that the officials were lenient, caring little as long as the work quotas were met. And so, they began recruiting their own “underlings.”

Once they had enough followers, they used threats and intimidation to secure more comfortable and spacious living quarters. It even escalated to them preying on women.

Eventually, the two factions turned on each other, erupting into a conflict that finally caught the attention of Horn and his men.

Although the incident was quickly suppressed, Elron didn’t execute the ringleaders. Instead, after they were flogged, he had them separated and assigned to other towns under close supervision.

’Just what you’d expect from a Great Physician of the Light Attribute.’

Ronin sighed. “Elron is still too merciful.”

“While you were away, Lord Elron the Mage saved many people. There were pioneers on the brink of death from injuries, and women suffering through difficult childbirths. Everyone adores him.”

“Saving lives is a good thing, but mercy for the wicked is cruelty to the decent, law-abiding folk.”

As they spoke, they arrived at the square in Grey Soil Village. In the distance, they could see a group of people training.

As the site of the Kaolin Ore Vein, this area had the largest concentration of laborers in Sanfang Town, making its defense a top priority.

“Lord, that man is Knight Rig Hodge. He and Sim are training Grey Soil Village’s contingent of Guards.”

Wilson was pointing to a tall, sturdy, middle-aged man with short brown hair and a weathered face.

His ancestors were said to have been decorated Honorary Knights, but the family had since fallen on hard times.

Ronin dismounted and walked over. As one of the few Bronze Knights in the territory, he had come specifically to meet him.

“Rig Hodge.”

The sudden shout interrupted the training.

The weathered, middle-aged Knight turned his head, puzzled as to who was calling his name. He didn’t recognize Ronin’s face.

Just then, Sim shouted excitedly, “Lord, you’re back!”

Only then did Rig notice Ronin’s hair color. He approached, both excited and extremely deferential. “Lord, please give me your orders.”

He had come to Wubei Territory because he’d heard it was short on manpower, believing it was an opportunity to restore his family’s glory.

But having fallen on hard times and reached middle age, he lacked the easy confidence that men like Reis and Yusuf displayed when facing a noble.

Ronin glanced at the thirty or forty Guards standing nearby. “How is the training going?”

“Per Sim’s suggestion, we’re using the same methods you did to instill discipline in these Guards. Progress has been good so far.”

Sim added, “We work on discipline in the morning, then practice hand-to-hand combat and Swordsmanship in the afternoon.”

Ronin nodded and gestured for the two of them to lead a demonstration.

It was only natural that everyone, not just Rig and Sim, would be nervous during a surprise inspection by their Lord, and that their nervousness would lead to mistakes.

Ronin didn’t press the issue, simply offering a few words of encouragement.

Afterward, he decided to test Rig’s abilities himself.

’How to put it… Even though he was a Bronze Knight, his combat skills weren’t very high. He was much weaker than Galier, to say the least.’

“While you’re training them, don’t let your own Cultivation fall behind,” Ronin reminded him.

Rig felt a pang of bitterness. ’During that spar, I didn’t go all out. For one, my deference to the Lord held me back. For another, I was afraid I might accidentally injure him.’

’But I never expected Ronin to overwhelm me so easily. The rumors about him were true after all, without the slightest exaggeration.’

Ronin, unaware of these thoughts, offered a few more words of encouragement before changing the subject. “Wilson tells me the ringleaders from that last brawl are still here in Grey Soil Village under your watch.”

“Yes, Lord. They’ve been assigned to work in the mines, and we watch them every day. If they make any strange moves, we’ll discover it immediately.”

“Let’s go. Take me to see them.”

Led by Rig and Sim, Ronin arrived at the Kaolin Mine.

A great number of people were now working here. After all, making Porcelain involved many steps, and the first two—quarrying the ore and refining the clay—were extremely time-consuming and labor-intensive.

At that moment, most people at the mine were hard at work, with only a small number sitting down to rest.

Unlike the Polante Thief Gang, Ronin didn’t exploit his workers. He valued sustainability and had no intention of draining the pond to catch all the fish.

As long as the workers could meet their daily quota, they were allowed to take appropriate breaks.

Perhaps his timing was unlucky, or perhaps it was perfect. Two groups of people who were resting in small clusters began pushing and shoving each other, drawing a crowd of onlookers.

However, most of the onlookers had heard about these troublemakers’ reputations and origins, so no one stepped forward to intervene.

When Rig and Sim arrived and saw this, their faces turned pale with anger.

They had just guaranteed that there would be no more problems. They never imagined trouble would break out so quickly, and right in front of the Lord himself.

“Jerome! Muer!”

Rig bellowed, unleashing a shockwave of Fighting Qi that sent both groups sprawling.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

The scattered men scrambled to their feet, trembling, all traces of their earlier arrogance gone.

They were two-faced, showing one side to commoners and another to the territory’s Knights and officials.

“Lord!”

Rig and Sim turned to Ronin, finding it hard to meet his gaze, but they didn’t see much anger on his face.

Ronin let out a cold laugh. “I suppose it’s true what they say, a dog will always return to its own filth. Elron gave you a chance to turn over a new leaf. A pity you didn’t take it.”

Jerome and Muer cautiously raised their heads to look at the young man before them.

They didn’t recognize Ronin, but from his words and Rig’s deferential attitude, they knew this young man’s status was anything but ordinary.

Wilson, standing to the side, understood Ronin’s implication. “Lord, are you going to have them killed?”

“Organizing and participating in a gang brawl that results in bloodshed and death is to be treated as premeditated murder. For a crime of this severity, the organizers and primary participants are to be sentenced to death.”

Ronin stated this calmly, then shook his head and left the mine, a hint of regret in his expression.

’More people just means more problems…’

“Mr. Wilson, what did the Lord mean by that?”

Rig watched Ronin’s departing figure. He hadn’t killed anyone since joining Wubei Territory and was somewhat hesitant about such matters.

“The Lord was perfectly clear. These two, who instigated a brawl that resulted in bloodshed and death, are to be executed.”

He glanced at Jerome and Muer. The Lord Mage had given them a chance, and they had well and truly squandered it.

“Right.”

Rig took a deep breath.

’Only now did he understand. This young Lord, who appeared so amiable, was in fact someone who would order a man’s death without batting an eye.’

He drew his longsword and walked toward Jerome and Muer. Only then did the two realize that death was upon them. They scrambled to their knees, begging for forgiveness just as they had before.

But this time, it was a punishment handed down by the Lord himself. No one’s pleas could save them.