Chapter 6: Land Reclamation Decree

The Noble Council’s location was not hard to find. It was situated in the square right next to the City Lord’s Manor. The Noble Council’s headquarters was the third largest building in the city, after the temple and the City Lord’s Manor. The entire structure stood on a three-tiered base. Its front featured twelve large granite pillars, each about one meter in diameter, topped by a hemispherical dome.

The pillars were carved with heroes from the history of the Florence Kingdom, while the walls bore reliefs depicting important historical events since the kingdom’s founding. The entire Noble Council looked grand and majestic.

At the main entrance stood two bronze statues of men on horseback, representing Charlemagne and Wilson. These two were the strongest Legendary Knights in the kingdom’s history and also its highest-ranking commanders. Both statues showed the warhorses rearing up, with the knights holding their spears and pointing forward, as if leading a massive army into battle.

The bronze statues were about four to five meters tall, carved with intricate details and looking incredibly lifelike. At a glance, their imposing presence made it clear they were the work of a master craftsman.

Su Lun quickly climbed the steps but was stopped by a guard as soon as he reached the entrance.

“Sir, this is the Noble Council. What business do you have here?”

Su Lun took out his noble emblem and handed it over, saying, “I want to buy a Land Reclamation Decree.”

The guard took the noble emblem and carefully examined it. The patterns on it were indeed genuine, so he returned the emblem to Su Lun.

“Sir, please follow me,” the guard said, gesturing for Su Lun to enter the Noble Council.

Upon entering the hall, Su Lun realized how magnificent and grand it was. The hall was at least five hundred square meters in area and over ten meters high. It was entirely covered by a semicircular dome, and surprisingly, there wasn’t a single pillar supporting such a vast space.

On the dome of the hall was a mural depicting the War of Founding. It was this war that allowed the Florence Kingdom to defeat the invaders and gain its independence.

Over a dozen clerks were busy with various tasks in the hall. Su Lun and the guard didn’t disturb them. Instead, the guard led Su Lun to a finely carved ironwood door.

Seeing this door, Su Lun secretly marveled. The material, ironwood, wasn’t cheap. Ironwood only grew in the northern regions. This type of wood was as hard as iron, resistant to warping and burning, yet it weighed only a quarter as much as steel. However, it grew very slowly. Typically, it was used to make high-quality shields. A piece as large as this door would have taken at least fifty years to grow.

The guard stepped forward and knocked on the door, but there was no response from inside. After waiting a moment, the guard knocked again, this time with more force. Finally, some noise came from the room.

“Come in,” a somewhat lazy voice called from behind the door.

The two pushed the door open and entered. The room didn’t look lavish. It contained a mahogany desk, a few bookshelves, and several high-backed chairs arranged opposite each other. Behind the desk sat a slightly overweight middle-aged noble. From his dazed eyes, the red mark on the side of his face, and the shiny liquid at the corner of his lips, it was clear he had been sleeping.

“Your Lordship Julian, this gentleman is here to purchase a Land Reclamation Decree,” the guard said, pointing to Su Lun.

“Purchase a Land Reclamation Decree?” Hearing this, Julian looked at Su Lyn in surprise, not even bothering to wipe the sleep from the corner of his eye.

He couldn’t help but be astonished. After all, he rarely sold more than a few Land Reclamation Decrees in a year. Although the decree sounded appealing, very few who purchased it actually succeeded. The vast majority of nobles who bought it ended up abandoning their territories and returning in disgrace.

“Yes, Your Lordship Julian,” Su Lun said with a smile.

“Kid, don’t say I didn’t warn you. Don’t think that just because you’ve read a few knight novels, pioneering a territory is no big deal. You should know that there are at least eight hundred, if not a thousand, abandoned territories in the Wilderness,” Julian said, eyeing Su Lun.

“Your Lordship, thank you for the reminder. I am fully aware of what I am doing,” Su Lun replied calmly.

“Alright then, don’t blame me later for not warning you,” Julian shrugged. He then took a piece of stamped parchment from the bookshelf behind him, picked up a quill pen, and wrote a line of fancy script in the blank space before handing it to Su Lun.

“Sign your name and pay five hundred Gold Nar.”

Su Lun picked up the pen and signed his name on the parchment. Then he placed a prepared bag of Gold Nar on the table.

Julian placed the Gold Nar on a scale to weigh them. After confirming the amount was correct, he picked up a seal and stamped the parchment.

“Alright, young man, take your Land Reclamation Decree and go. Good luck!”

Su Lun took the Land Reclamation Decree, thanked him, and then turned to leave the Noble Council. Next, he needed to recruit a group of people. Pioneering a territory was no easy task. He had to prepare a large amount of Gold Nar. Besides recruiting a territory guard, he also needed to buy food, tools, medicine, and other supplies. Once the territory was somewhat stable, he would have to purchase slaves for farming.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to hire Freeman; it was just that very few Freeman were willing to follow a noble to a newly opened territory. Although Pioneering Nobles offered various incentives to Freeman, few were willing to go. Only those who were bankrupt farmers or jobless Refugees showed interest, as the mortality rate in pioneering territories was extremely high.

Checking the time, he saw that the sky was already growing dark. Su Lun decided not to go to the slave market and headed straight back to the inn to rest.

Early the next morning, after a simple breakfast at the inn, Su Lun spent one Silver Nael to rent a carriage and set off for the slave market.

The slave market was located on the other side of the city. After half an hour, the carriage stopped at the entrance of a bustling market. Su Lun jumped off the carriage and walked into the slave market.

The Northern Province was situated on the kingdom’s border, surrounded by many demi-human races or tribes still in primitive societies. Every year, the kingdom’s military engaged in localized conflicts with these races and tribes, capturing numerous prisoners. This was one source of slaves in the market. Another source came from professional slave-catching teams that ventured into the Wilderness to capture slaves. Of course, there were also unfortunate souls who were sold into slavery due to unpaid debts.

Upon entering the slave market, a foul stench hit him—a mix of various wastes that seemed soaked, heated, and fermented. The ground was filthy with dirty water, and on both sides of the path, slave traders were loudly hawking their goods. Behind them, cages held many slaves who were thin, dirty, and covered in filth.

Most of these slaves were naked, with only a grimy piece of cloth covering their hips. Many bore whip marks on their bodies, and their eyes were vacant, completely devoid of life. These were the lowest class of slaves.