Chapter Eighty-One: Awe

Buddy and Wolf returned to the Magic Beast Forest with fifty town guards and several carts of military equipment. Wolf was present throughout, but only as a face in the crowd, since he couldn’t understand a word of Buddy’s conversations.

Upon entering the town, Buddy was astonished to see that the once barren land now boasted countless fields and homes, with many children playing on the playgrounds. His eyes gleamed—such rapid transformation in so short a time! Truly, Lord Keen was no ordinary man; his choice had been the right one.

“Lord Keen!” Buddy called out as he saw Jia Zhengjin approaching. He immediately gestured behind him and commanded the town guards, “Kneel!”

With a reluctant chorus, the town guards all dropped to one knee before Jia Zhengjin, their expressions unwilling.

“Lord Keen! I could only persuade these fifty men to surrender. I’m truly sorry!” Buddy lowered his head in shame. “Alex took some of the men, and others fled the camp afterward…”

“This is already quite impressive!” Jia Zhengjin replied with a gentle smile.

“What are you all waiting for? Draw your swords and pledge your loyalty to Lord Keen!” Buddy turned, his voice cold, seeing the guards hesitate.

The guards exchanged uncertain glances, none willing to step forward first. Though they had followed Buddy under duress, to truly surrender and become followers of a foreigner was more than they could stomach. As town guards, they deeply resented such a fate. After all, the city guards might soon be summoned by Alex, and they would never let this foreigner escape unscathed…

Seeing their hesitation, Buddy felt his dignity slipping. Angrily, he stood and drew his sword.

Wolf, seeing Buddy’s action, transformed his face into that of a wolf and let out a deep, menacing growl.

Under this double pressure, the town guards were thrown into panic.

Rabbi was the fastest to react. He quickly raised his sword, declaring, “Lord Keen! I, Rabbi, swear by the name of the God of War to follow in your footsteps and never betray you!”

“You’re called Rabbi?” Jia Zhengjin approached, smiling as he took Rabbi’s sword. “Is your pledge sincere? If you’re unwilling, I can let you go.”

Jia Zhengjin spoke the truth. He could always recruit kobolds, and at the full moon, another werewolf would join. With such loyal troops, he had no need to force the town guards to surrender.

But in the eyes of the town guards, his offer appeared quite different. Buddy had spoken with this same smile when he killed Chris outright; perhaps Lord Keen was even more ruthless.

Rabbi shouted without hesitation, “I sincerely wish to become Lord Keen’s follower!”

“Oh? Very good!” Jia Zhengjin nodded. “Since your loyalty is true, I won’t let you down! Here is a set of iron armor, freshly forged. It’s yours!”

Jia Zhengjin summoned a set of inferior iron armor from his virtual inventory: an iron helmet, iron breastplate, iron bracers, iron greaves, iron boots, and an iron shield.

Though the armor was of inferior quality, it offered at least two or three times the defense of the guards’ uniforms!

Jia Zhengjin’s “spatial magic” astonished all the guards, Buddy included. Spatial magic was so rare that even grand magi might not master it—it was a legendary power, rumored to be wielded only by mythical creatures, and most people would never witness it in their lifetime.

No one could have expected Lord Keen to possess such legendary magic; perhaps his strength surpassed even the grand magi! If so, not even the strongest warriors of the Empire could hope to defeat him.

A virtual inventory, mistaken by the guards for legendary spatial magic, unwittingly convinced those who had been unwilling to surrender.

In the town, where mineral resources were scarce, even being issued a leather uniform was considered fortunate. Full iron armor was far too expensive for the guard camp to afford. The cheapest iron armor in the shop cost more than two gold coins!

Scarcity of iron ore was one reason; the craftsmanship required was another. The townspeople lived modestly, and few could afford iron armor. So only the necessary, affordable iron swords were produced.

Now, after pledging to Lord Keen, they received a full set of iron armor for free. Rabbi was overjoyed; the other guards could barely breathe with excitement.

Rabbi hurriedly donned the armor, tested his sword with a few combat moves in the open, and was thoroughly pleased. With this armor, his combat strength would rise several levels, and he could withstand many deadly blows!

Not just Rabbi—Buddy himself was envious. He had hauled all the guards’ uniforms and weapons from the armory, thinking Lord Keen would praise him. Yet now, he saw entire sets of iron armor given away for nothing! Watching Rabbi’s triumphant look, Buddy couldn’t help but approach Jia Zhengjin. “Lord Keen, could I, perhaps…”

“Hey! Don’t rush—everyone gets a share!” Jia Zhengjin handed Buddy a set of ordinary iron armor. “You were the first to join me, so yours is of better quality! I had the kobold craftsmen forge many sets from today’s iron ore, planning to arm a heavily armored kobold unit. But for now, they’re yours!”

“Thank you, Lord Keen!!” Buddy was ecstatic as he donned his superior iron armor, its texture and shine clearly better than Rabbi’s.

This caused a stir among the guards—the temptation was irresistible! Especially now that Lord Keen was at least a grand magus, their worries melted away.

One by one, they knelt before Jia Zhengjin and pledged themselves as his followers.

Jia Zhengjin was generous, giving each guard a complete set of inferior iron armor, and added, “For now, we must make do, as there are many uses for iron ore. Once the city’s defenses are complete, I’ll smelt steel in great quantities! When everyone wields steel swords and wears full steel armor, your power will soar! In the future, not just steel—when technology advances, we’ll have titanium alloy and tungsten alloy equipment. When each of you has a set of top-tier, epic-quality tungsten gear, I’ll lead you to slay dragons!”

Jia Zhengjin was speaking nonsense; he had no idea if epic tungsten alloy armor could really withstand dragons. But the guards believed him—after all, Lord Keen was a grand magus before their eyes!