Chapter 438 A New Year's Gift for Fors
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Hobert ignored Donna's joke. "Are the materials ready? How's the progress on the construction site in town?"
Roy replied, "We started laying the foundation yesterday morning, but I gave everyone half a day off in the afternoon. I plan to start work this afternoon."
Hobert nodded. "The construction can wait. We need to start renovations first. I'm turning all those houses I bought into hotels, inns, and restaurants!"
"We need to be fast! Or we won't make it!"
Roy was taken aback. "Make what?"
"The wedding!" Hobert had initially planned for wedding guests to stay in tents when he agreed to his mother's proposed wedding date, but he's been reevaluating and realized he could accomplish more if he pushed.
Hobert said, "My wedding with Miss Fors is set for January 28th."
"With my father's influence, there will definitely be a lot of people attending the wedding. We need to provide them with adequate accommodations!"
Roy was momentarily stunned, then happily said, "I'll do everything I can to renovate the town. But that will require a lot of construction materials…"
"Make a list," Hobert said. "Wayne should be back soon. He can go shopping."
"Yes, sir."
Hobert looked at Scolara. "The land redistribution will start today. I've already spoken to Conrad and asked him to divide the land on the mountain first."
"The land acquisition issue has been resolved. Can the railway be completed before the 28th?"
Hobert's approach was simple: reclaim ownership of all the land, and then divide the land outside the railway and road routes among the people.
This completely bypassed the land acquisition process.
Scolara shook his head helplessly. "Your Lordship, the quick completion of land acquisition is indeed surprising, but that's just the beginning of railway construction."
"Next, it will take a lot of time to transport the materials to the railway line, and then to lay the tracks."
"Although the total mileage of the Jeffery territory railway is not very long, based on my experience, with mountains involved, 28 days might not even be enough to get the materials to the line."
Hobert thought for a moment. "What if the materials could be delivered quickly, like a batch to the railway line by tomorrow morning?"
Scolara smiled and shook his head, but still replied, "In that case, I'm confident we can lay the railway before the 28th. But we don't have enough manpower to transport all the materials to the line in a day and a night."
Hobert nodded. "Take me to the railway line for a look."
The group followed the railway line up the mountain.
As Hobert said, Conrad had already begun redistributing the land under the protection of Seel and the other guards from the Lord's manor.
The village bullies naturally started arguing with Conrad, and their families started wailing and crying.
But under the muzzles of Seel and the others' guns, all the arguments were ineffective.
The villagers then realized that the lord was serious this time. For a moment, the whole village was in chaos, and everyone ran to see the land distribution and ask how much land they could get.
The village's formerly respected figures were no match for the authority of Seel and the others' guns. Even the threats of the village bully, who used to have the final say, weren't so scary anymore.
Amidst the excitement, there was also some confusion. It was like carrying a huge rock on their backs since birth.
Now that the rock was suddenly lifted, they felt top-heavy and didn't even know how to take the next step.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Hobert had initiated a "once-in-a-millennium change." The concept of "equal land distribution and tax exemption" had never existed in the North and South Continents. Land was always seized by force; whoever had the bigger fist got more land.
Hobert forcibly redistributed the land in each village and reclaimed ownership for the Lord's manor using violent means from the lord's manor.
He knew very well that only more violent means could protect the interests of ordinary and vulnerable people.
Passing through the excited and confused villagers, the group arrived at the top of the mountain.
Hobert asked Valk, "It shouldn't take too long to transport the materials for building a paved road to the line, right?"
"That's right," Valk said. "Building a road is definitely faster than a railway."
"What about the construction time for the villas?" Hobert asked again. "Can we build the auction center and about five villas within a month?"
Valk smiled helplessly. "Your Lordship, that's an impossible goal."
"Building just the walls wouldn't take much time, but because it's on a mountain, we have to excavate large areas of flat land, and the later decoration will also take a lot of time."
Hobert said, "Tell me where needs to be leveled."
After learning about the specific difficulties and the approximate construction progress, Hobert returned to the Lord's manor, and Roy and the others went back to their respective tasks.
Back in his study, Hobert replied to the letters and cards from Jessica and Selena.
In the letters, he sent his regards and asked Jessica how the new extraordinary weapon manufacturing site was doing.
In the other letter, he told Selena that he would find time to talk to her soon.
He didn't avoid Freya when summoning the messenger, but he didn't actively teach her either.
After replying to the letters, Hobert dictated a few words to Freya. Seeing that she had grasped them well, he taught her twenty more words.
After learning, Freya suddenly asked, "Teacher, I have a question to ask you?"
Hobert sat back in his chair. "What is it?"
"Why is it so difficult for me to fit into the surrounding environment?" Freya clenched her fists, somewhat nervously. "I tried to befriend Mary and Marcy, but they always kept their distance from me."
"I want to befriend Miss Donna and Miss Fors, but I don't think I'm as good as them, and it's always difficult for me to join in their conversations."
Hobert smiled. "That's because you're not clear about your own position. In this complex society, you must first find your own position, otherwise, your actions and words will seem abrupt to others."
"Because of your previous experiences in the East Borough, you feel close to Marcy and Mary, but they think you are the lord's student, the master, so they will have a distance from you."
"At the same time, because you are my student, in the eyes of Fors and Donna, you are a junior, so they will not accommodate your feelings, and naturally will not consider whether you can join the topic when chatting."
Freya thought for a while. "I understand, thank you, teacher. I, I think I should put myself in the same position as Mr. Seel and Mr. Conrad. No, I'm not as good as them, I mean, I'm with them, one, one…"
"Level."
"Yes, people on the same level!"
Hobert nodded. "I'll give you one more word today, the spelling of 'level' is…"
This word was relatively long, and Freya memorized it carefully and understood it seriously.
Overall, Freya was relatively introverted, but before, she had to work non-stop and had no time to think.
Hobert asked again, "Did you go around the territory yesterday?"
"No, no!"
"Go out with Conrad this afternoon and tell me your thoughts tomorrow morning."
Freya quickly said, "Yes, sir!"
In the midst of busyness, it was soon lunchtime.
Before eating, Hobert returned to his room to get a small wooden box and brought it to the restaurant.
Before eating, Hobert pushed the wooden box to Fors. "This is a New Year's gift for you!"
Fors was slightly stunned. Amidst Donna's teasing, she opened the wooden box. Inside were a few pieces of blood-red crystal, as beautiful as rubies. She blurted out, "Lava Octopus blood crystal!"
This was precisely one of the main materials for "Astrologer" that she had been searching for.
Donna sat back in her chair. "Tch, I thought it was a diamond ring."
Fors said, "Hobert, I can't accept this. This, this is too precious."
The base price of Beyonder materials at Sequence 7 is 600 pounds, but the main materials at this level basically start to have a premium, selling for seven or eight hundred pounds is very normal.
At this week's Tarot Gathering, Fors sold materials to Miss Justice for 1000 pounds.
"Sister-in-law, you're too easily satisfied," Donna laughed. "Just such a small thing, you should say: Three more servings!"
Everyone laughed at Donna's joke. Hobert said to Fors, "Take it. You've been working lately, and you've been accompanying my mother to see the scenery in the territory. You're quite tired, so take it as a reward."
The so-called work was that Hobert required Fors to finish her new book before the 15th, so that a batch of books could be printed and placed at the wedding site on the wedding day.
So these days, you could see Fors writing furiously at night.
Monlisa also smiled and told Fors to put it away. Fors then felt that she could write one more chapter tonight.
At the end of lunch, Monlisa told everyone that she planned to leave tomorrow.
After Hobert failed to persuade her to stay, he asked Phillip to prepare some local specialties and asked Allen to take people to tidy up the rented ship.
In the afternoon, Hobert received payment from Alger. The Storm Church gave Hobert 1500 pounds for the information he provided. After Alger deducted 150 pounds, Hobert received 1350 pounds.
While lamenting the Storm Church's stinginess, Hobert became more certain that the Storm Church knew more information about the battle in the Southern Continent, otherwise they would not have only given 1500 pounds.
…
Across Full Moon Lake, in Viscount Teuton's mansion.
Viscount Teuton frowned as he watched Jeffery Town, which had been busy since the afternoon of the 1st. "Is Hobert preparing to expand that town into a small city?"
He put down his telescope. "Also, where did he get so much money?"
Viscount Teuton certainly knew the cost of construction. Even with the accumulation of so many generations of viscounts, he would not dare to spread out such a large scale.
"We can report all of this, including Hobert's ambition, to the king!" Grove said.
Viscount Teuton pondered for a moment. "That's a good idea."
After the waterway is opened, the royal power will also radiate to South Colson again, and of course, it will not allow the strength of a certain noble to be unique.
Viscount Teuton, who has been secretly loyal to the royal family, is definitely the royal family's first choice for support.
"In addition, we can also put Hobert in trouble," Grove suggested.
Viscount Teuton shook his head. "As far as I know, Hobert is a Sequence 6. It is difficult for me to shake his rule with my strength."
Grove smiled. "Aren't there some powerful figures in your territory?"
A trace of fear flashed in Viscount Teuton's eyes. "You don't know the horror of these people! Don't provoke them, and don't try to betray them."
"Of course, I'm not going to provoke them, nor am I going to betray them," Grove smiled. "Since Hobert has chosen to cooperate with the 'Theosophy Order', we can let Hobert see their existence and let the Theosophy Order know their reality.
"These are all seen and investigated by Hobert himself. What does it have to do with us?"
Viscount Teuton looked across Full Moon Lake, feeling a little tempted.
Grove added, "The New Year is over. As the only viscount nearby, shouldn't you invite the baron opposite to a banquet? Express your welcome to this new baron!"
Viscount Teuton pondered for a moment, then smiled. "Don't try to take revenge at the banquet. You are not strong enough!"
"Of course not!" A trace of resentment flashed across Grove's face. "I know, now is not the time."
Viscount Teuton nodded. "Go and have someone write an invitation and have Knight Keton deliver it in person."
"Yes!"
"Oh, right," Viscount Teuton smiled. "Old Knight Conner passed away more than a year ago, and his family property has been squandered by his two good-for-nothing sons.
"They no longer have a sense of knightly honor. I will deprive them of their knightly titles, and that territory will be given to you!"
Grove said excitedly, "Thank you for your reward, Your Lordship!"
…
Hobert received an invitation from Viscount Teuton in the evening. He was a little strange. Why would Viscount Teuton suddenly invite him to a banquet?
He was slightly stunned and said to Allen, "Treat this knight well."
Then Hobert called Philip, Conrad, Roy, Seel, Corwin, and others to discuss the matter.
Corwin said, "This matter is definitely not that simple. Everyone, the traitor Grove is currently in Viscount Teuton's mansion. This may be a trap."
Philip said, "The current situation is not chaotic. A viscount cannot set a trap in his own mansion to harm a nominal baron.
"At most, Viscount Teuton will send assassins under Grove's confusion, or simply have his guards cross the river to conquer us, but he has not done so, which shows that he has not been confused by Grove."
Hobert nodded. "I can't refuse this invitation. Seel and Corwin will go with me tomorrow. Everyone else should do what they need to do and don't be affected."
"Yes, sir!"
They had all seen the lord defeat the Ancient Azure Dragon Beast, so they had nothing to worry about regarding the lord's safety.
In the evening, Hobert was about to "go out" when Helen suddenly came. "I heard that you are going to Viscount Teuton's mansion for a banquet tomorrow?"
"That's right," Hobert was stunned.
"I haven't been to the other side of Full Moon Lake yet. Take me with you to see it," Helen said with a smile.
Actually, it was because the informant she had developed earlier had disappeared without a trace, and she planned to go to Viscount Teuton's territory to see if she could reconnect with them.
Hobert smiled: "Tell the truth."
"Okay, I want to see if that place is suitable for developing the 'Theosophy Order's' power."
Hobert knew she still wasn't telling the truth, but he didn't ask any further: "No problem, but you have to dress up as a maid."
Helen was slightly stunned: "Can't I dress up as your assistant or something?"
"For this kind of private banquet, I don't plan to bring an assistant."
"Okay."
After seeing Helen off, Hobert locked the door and used "Travel" to go to the warehouse where the building materials were stored.
Those building materials had already been transported to the warehouse by Roy's men, or simply started to be piled up on the construction site.
Finding the warehouse where the railway laying materials were stored, Hobert once again sacrificed the materials to the "Nation of Disorder."
Then, using the method of bestowal, he sprinkled them as evenly as possible along the route where the railway was to be laid.
First, there was the roadbed, which required a lot of gravel, and then the sleepers and rails. These were all relatively heavy materials, and in the absence of large equipment, they could only be transported to the railway line little by little by manpower.
If someone else possessed the "Nation of Disorder," they would never do the kind of work that railway workers do.
But Hobert was different. He didn't have the airs of the nobles, and he also found the decency of the middle class ridiculous. For him, when he encountered this kind of thing, there was only one principle: practicality is the key.
Since he had Beyonder powers, he would use Beyonder powers to carry out the construction. If he delayed his career because of his status and decency, Hobert would find that ridiculous.
After several sacrifices and several bestowals, he finally scattered the materials for several kilometers, just at the beginning of the mountain.
That's all for the first batch of materials. A large part of the materials have not been shipped from Conant, and because the land acquisition work was only completed today, the work of clearing the roadbed along the way and building culverts and bridges has not yet been completed.
Building culverts is for waterproofing, and building bridges is to facilitate the surrounding residents to cross the railway. These constructions are essential.
Then Hobert came to the mountainside again. After praying to himself, he entered the "Nation of Disorder" and used the surging power of "Distortion" to distort a small area of the terrain, making the slopes there flat and gentle.
The flowers, plants, and trees that were previously on the ground were still on the ground, as if someone had re-kneaded the surrounding terrain under the ground using a method similar to kneading plasticine.
After doing all this, Hobert smiled and said, "Today's work is finally over."
So, the next morning, Scholar and Valk ran to the lord's mansion in a panic: "Lord, Lord! Damn it, your territory was haunted last night!"
Scholar said, "The materials stored in the warehouse were all scattered along the railway line."
Valk: "The hillside that we said would take a lot of effort to level yesterday has become flat!"
"It's haunted! Lord!"
"Nonsense." Hobert didn't like hearing this: "This is clearly the result of me praying for the help of the gods. When have you ever seen evil spirits so kind as to help us with construction?"
The two designers then came back to their senses, they had indeed never seen that.
But what the lord said about "God helping" surprised them even more. During the construction, it was inevitable to dig out some bones and ancient tombs. They knew that evil spirits were real, but they had never seen a god respond.
In the end, they had no choice but to think in terms of "God's Chosen."
Hobert smiled and asked, "If there is divine help, do you think you can complete the task I gave you within a month?"
The two men opened their mouths in surprise before saying, "Yes!"
Hobert nodded, talked to them about some engineering issues, then changed into more formal clothes and sent his mother away with Fors, Donna, and others.
Returning to the lord's mansion, Hobert changed back into his baron's dress, and asked Allen to bring the horse.
Along with Helen, Seel, and Corwin, the four of them rode to the pier, and boarded a locally made wooden boat with their horses.
Knight Keton, who had sent the invitation yesterday, was already waiting at the pier in Teuton's territory. Kettn couldn't help but glance at Helen a few times, and then smiled and guided the group to Viscount Teuton's mansion, but he would still steal glances at Helen from time to time.
Hobert noticed that the size of Teuton Town was larger than that of Jeffrey Town, but it was lifeless here. There were so many residents, and there were many pedestrians on the streets, but their walking posture was like walking dead, their expressions were numb, and they were as thin as firewood.
The only place where you could feel that they were alive was when they were worshiping some hideous statues, or when they were kneeling before some abstract symbols.
In the streets and alleys, there were small statues everywhere. These statues had two thick goat horns on their heads, and their faces were either wearing cold smiles, or their faces were hideous, or their faces were solemn, holding giant swords.
Many people in the streets prostrated themselves before the statues, shouting some respectful words in the local dialect with all their strength, as if they were possessed by evil spirits.
The religious atmosphere was also a bit crazy, and it gave Hobert a feeling of numbness and ignorance. This feeling reminded Hobert of a movie he had watched when he was very young, which depicted the White Lotus Sect.
Hobert's mind immediately flashed the information provided by Bishop Simpson. In the isolated South Coulson area, not only were the forces of the "Theosophy Order" entrenched, but there were also signs of the Blood Worship Cult and the Aurora Society.
Now it seemed, where were these just signs? This was the first time Hobert had seen someone worshiping and kneeling before demons in the street!
The demon's followers turned a blind eye to Hobert's group's horses. Whenever they encountered believers worshiping demons and being blocked, Knight Ketton would ask everyone to wait patiently until the entire set of kneeling rituals was over before leading everyone forward.
Obviously, Knight Keton was used to this scene, and as a knight, he had to give way to these believers and dismount to show a pious appearance.
In addition to these statues, there were also some abstract symbols painted on the walls. Hobert had seen these abstract symbols in a notebook before.
The notebook came from the room where the ancient god of death's corpse was stored. That unlucky guy who had turned into a skeleton had encountered a scene of offering sacrifices to demons when he was looking for the Skeleton Lord.
In the related exploration, he saw and wrote down such symbols in his notebook.
According to the description in the notebook, there shouldn't only be symbols, there should also be large trees with corpses hanging on them.
After leaving the town, Hobert and his party indeed encountered such a large tree.
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