Build the Kingdom

Chapter 9: What Is the Most Important Thing in a Person's Life? (1)

The situation unfolded in an instant, like a flash of lightning.

The pot-bellied man opened his mouth wide but couldn’t utter a word, and the two serfs standing behind him didn’t even dare to think of resisting.

“Beastkin?”

Only then did Rader remember his role as an advisor and speak up.

Damn, this guy really had no sense.

While everyone else froze, only one person who had led the entire situation moved.

Hu gently sat Krurr down to the side, then approached the fallen man.

He placed a hand on the man’s swollen nose, hit hard enough to puff up quickly.

“He’s breathing.”

He checked his pulse—it was beating.

That meant he wasn’t dead.

If he died, things would get complicated. The kingdom might send an investigator.

‘It’d be a loss.’

The death of a landowner was a loss.

A loss of property for the Pandemonium Kingdom, that is, Joo Hee-yeon’s property.

‘It was a disaster even in the first round.’

Forming factions, fighting, drawing lines between sides.

Would it be any different in the second round?

Looking at the situation coldly, it would likely be even more intense in the second round.

He was a landowner on Hu’s own territory—how easy would it be to pull him onto his side?

Of course, it was all just a matter of possibility.

In truth, even if the man was killed, no investigator might come.

But.

‘Why take that risk?’

Right now, he didn’t want to see that woman, so he’d avoid it as much as possible.

He wasn’t prepared for anything yet.

Whenever Hu thought of Joo Hee-yeon, his jaw clenched on its own, but now wasn’t the time for that.

Ignoring the guy whose face was turning blue from Krurr’s strike, Hu sat on top of him.

“Krurr.”

At Hu’s call, Krurr, who had been lightly bouncing on the ground, lay down beside him.

Hu stroked her greasy hair with one hand and spoke.

“Mister.”

“...I’m not a mister.”

Spinning the stone knife in his hand, Hu smiled.

“So what?”

When dealing with a customer, Hu was a nice person.

Dealing with a fool who left behind serfs instead of bread? If he didn’t smile, he’d be an idiot.

But this guy wasn’t a customer.

“Let’s make a deal.”

Hu said.

The man glanced at the fallen man, then at Krurr.

When their eyes met, Krurr suddenly bared her fangs.

“Why should I?”

This guy still hadn’t come to his senses?

Why, indeed.

Ah, right. A novice landowner in his second round.

Thrown into this absurd world, likely confused, and hadn’t yet seen anyone die or kill.

And what? Go hunting himself? Do anything?

The black mist surrounding the nearby land hadn’t even cleared yet.

Swish.

Hu didn’t hesitate.

He slashed the fallen man’s forearm with the stone knife.

Blood spurted out, and then he brought the blade to the man’s neck.

“I’m going to kill him.”

He’d avoid killing if possible.

But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t kill.

“And next, it’ll be your turn.”

A threat? No, that was too mild a word.

This was persuasion.

Or rather, yeah, an initiation.

If he wanted to survive in this brutal world, it was better to snap out of it sooner.

“Let’s make a deal.”

With a smile that reached his eyes, the pot-bellied man’s face twitched as he nodded.

Seeing him sweat profusely in just a few minutes was almost pitiful.

“Rader.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Draft the terms of the deal.”

“As you command.”

The pot-bellied man’s eyes flicked to the bread Baker was holding.

Did he really expect a fair deal?

Come on, that’s just greedy.

“One grain of wheat for one serf.”

Hu spoke.

“You damn thief...”

Krurr!

When the pot-bellied man suddenly raised his voice, Krurr reacted instantly.

Hey, mister. Get a grip.

“Why are you acting like this when you were about to rob me yourself?”

The pot-bellied man couldn’t resist. Hu tucked the stone knife back into his coat. That alone settled everything.

One grain of wheat for one serf.

The deal was swift.

Rader personally picked up the wheat grains and handed them over, and the two serfs became Hu’s property.

“Take that advisor with you and work hard, digging into the land. This world’s all about building farms anyway.”

Despite Hu’s kindness and advice, the pot-bellied man didn’t look back.

He just walked toward his own land, pushing through the mist.

The combat-oriented advisor, who had been knocked down earlier, followed behind him.

“Clean and simple.”

“...Did Lord Landowner realize it?”

Rader asked after Hu’s muttered words.

His eyes landed on Krurr, who was chewing on a loaf of bread.

“Krurr?”

“She’s a beastkin.”

At least he had eyes.

If he still hadn’t recognized it, Hu would’ve written him off as completely useless, except for being Rader Cow.

“Yeah, she’s a beastkin.”

Honestly, even Hu didn’t know exactly what Krurr would turn into.

A wolf? Definitely not a lesser species.

Among beastkin, wolves and bears were the most common, but she didn’t look like a bear at all.

Not that it mattered anyway.

“Well, does it even matter?”

Rader blinked.

He was an advisor—someone who spoke the right words to help this land grow.

If something benefited the landowner, Rader wouldn’t question it.

“Wow.”

Rader let out a sigh of admiration after grasping the whole situation.

Was this guy clueless?

Or just dumb?

Beastkin, a combat species.

Having one of those this early on was an incredible stroke of luck.

Of course, getting that luck in exchange for bread didn’t exactly make it feel like luck.

“Alright, this way.”

Hu didn’t have time to waste.

The two newly acquired serfs, along with the one he got earlier from a woman named Lota.

That made three new serfs today.

Rader for digging, Baker for baking bread, and Krurr for... well, loafing around.

Roughly, the basic lineup was set.

“What should we do?”

One of the frightened serfs asked.

Hu smiled and patted his shoulder.

“Work the land.”

They needed hands immediately, but that wasn’t the first step.

Hu handed them three loaves of bread.

The warm bread was placed in the hands of the three serfs standing in a line.

“Eat first.”

The serfs’ pupils trembled.

“Why... this?”

One of the serfs asked, his trembling eyes showing his confusion.

Hu met each of them eye to eye.

"You are my people."

They were the ones who would till the land instead of Hu.

Farming, which required dedication, couldn’t be left to just anyone.

First and foremost, the serfs' loyalty had to be high. Only then would they faithfully follow Hu's orders.

"Ugh."

One serf, with messy brown beard, burst into tears.

No, was it really something to be this moved about?

"That bastard beat me every day. But suddenly, bread? I couldn’t even get proper flour porridge before."

He was a serf who had been under the fat man.

Well, Hu could easily imagine the situation, so he silently patted the man's shoulder.

"Bread soaked with tears doesn’t taste good."

Hu had experienced it countless times during his first round.

Why eat bread while crying? It ruined the appetite.

"I will give you my utmost loyalty."

"Thank you, Lord Landowner."

The reactions of the other two serfs weren’t bad either.

"Yeah, that’s how it should be."

Rader, standing beside him, nodded his head. Now there were three serfs, and Rader misunderstood something.

"Who should I give the shovel to?"

"Shovel? Why would you give a shovel?"

"Since we now have three serfs, an advisor should be in the advisor’s rightful position to fulfill his role..."

"An advisor who can’t even recognize beastfolk? Hiding behind the landowner because it’s dangerous when the opponent charges at you?"

Do you even have any real use?

Hu asked with his eyes.

If you’re useless...

He subtly reached into his clothes. The stone knife was still tucked inside.

The quickest way to replace an advisor—just kill him.

"Marcus Rader, who has nothing but his body, stands here."

Hu reaffirmed his decision. Rather than raising Rader’s loyalty, it was better to just work him to the bone.

"Go. Dig the land."

After saying that, he turned around.

"Good job, Krurr."

He personally fed her bread and water.

"You three over there, let’s start slowly, slowly."

He soothed the other serfs.

Baker silently baked bread, and once again, it was a peaceful day.

"Ugh!"

And Rader dug the ground.

The fat man, Jang Ho, returned and gnashed his teeth.

"You said it would work?"

"An unexpected move, sir."

The combat-type advisor spoke.

All the serfs had been taken away. All that remained was land and a handful of wheat grains.

No, there were two grains received in exchange for losing two serfs.

Jang Ho tossed them into his mouth and chewed them furiously.

"That bastard."

Calling him 'old man' repeatedly.

He was only forty this year. Being unmarried didn’t make him an old man just yet.

"Is there no way?"

He had quickly adapted to this land.

Well, it wasn’t like his life outside was all clean and proper either.

Using any means necessary was his specialty.

Jang Ho’s advisor was cautious. He thought of several alternatives and presented the most feasible one.

"We need to increase the number of available combat units."

"Hey, I just lost all my serfs. From where?"

The advisor looked at Jang Ho.

He had learned how to throw punches at serfs before.

Coincidentally, this advisor also played the role of an excellent teacher.

"My specialty is spear fighting. If I had a spear, I wouldn’t have been defeated so easily."

The advisor spoke.

"So, you’ll get a spear and face the bastard who beat you?"

"You, the lord, need to crush the opposing landowner."

"Where would I get a spear?"

"Once you cultivate the land and develop, an opportunity will come."

"Ha, fine. Teach me right away."

"First, you need to till the land."

The advisor said.

The beginning of [God Hand] was farming.

And since Jang Ho had lost all his serfs—

"Damn it, you help too!"

Soon, the combat-type advisor and Jang Ho threw themselves into the dirt.

If they wanted to eat anything, even just flour porridge, they had to cultivate the land with all their might.

Wheat grew, and it was harvested.

The grains were ground, kneaded, and made into bread.

It was simple, repetitive labor.

In the meantime, apart from playing with Krurr, Hu was busy using his spirit power and had even started exercising every morning.

The exercise began thanks to something Lota handed over instead of a serf.

"How about this?"

Lota brought a long rope.

Hu guessed that she had judged trading goods for goods was better than losing serfs.

'She’s proving to be more useful than I thought.'

Lota was adapting and surviving well in this land.

Hu willingly accepted the trade.

He cut the rope to a suitable length and tied wooden sticks to both ends.

After confirming the knots were secure, Hu reached for the rope every morning.

Whip! Whip!

With the sound of the rope striking the ground, Hu jumped in place.

'It’s ridiculously heavy.'

It was too heavy to use for proper jump rope.

Still, it was something.

When the morning started with the sound of the rope hitting the ground, Baker and the three serfs crawled out of the hut with the broken door.

When Krurr ran over after seeing the morning exercise, Hu handed her the rope.

Then Krurr also began jumping rope just as Hu had done.

Her athletic ability was incredible—she followed along well even without being taught.

Krurr slept on the roadside right next to the hut.

Maybe he should build a doghouse next to the hut.

But she was a beastfolk, a person—building a doghouse seemed too much.

He still wanted to build her something.

'Not yet.'

Hu’s goal was clear and firm.

With this manpower, they could probably chop some trees and build a crude hut.

'A waste.'

There wasn’t anyone skilled in construction anyway.

"Lord Landowner, this is discrimination."

Rader was large.

And the hut was small.

It was cramped even for Hu, Baker, and the three serfs, and now Rader too?

"Why?"

"I couldn’t sleep a wink because of the morning dew."

At least wipe the drool from your mouth before complaining.

This damn advisor—how was he still so tough, sleeping outside and remaining fine?

Krurr was a beastfolk and a combat type, so her toughness wasn’t even comparable to others.

'What the hell is this guy made of?'

"Rader."

"Yes."

"Go dig."

"Yes."

No need for words.

Hu had given up on Rader’s loyalty, so there was no need for persuasion.

Thud! Thud!

With Rader’s shoveling as the starting signal, another day began.

After using his spirit power in the morning, Hu looked at the area Rader had worked on.

"Are we sleeping here now?"

It was spacious enough.

No, it was more than enough.

Hu mentally measured what could fit inside.

He even dug a hole deeper than the underground burrow at the innermost part.

It was a system to let rainwater flow elsewhere in case it rained.

'It’s about time.'

A month had passed since the start of the second round.

It was time for a new crop to appear instead of wheat.

"I have arrived!"

Just in time, a shout echoed.

"Bread! Give me bread!"

It was the friend who had come before. Hu remembered him.

His name was Jack Park, a man blessed with absurd luck, starting with both a jealousy-inducing advisor and a beastfolk companion.

"Here, look!"

The man appeared and thrust his fist in front of Hu.

"Eat potatoes!"

He shouted.

Hu greeted him with a bright smile.

"Welcome, dear customer."

The words flowed naturally from his mouth.

Potatoes, a new crop.

Even if the jealousy advisor had done everything to stop him.

That’s just how taste works. If you haven’t tried it, you wouldn’t know, but once you’ve had bread, living on flour porridge alone is impossible.

His arrival here was inevitable.

An inevitability created by Hu himself.

"Baker."

"Yes."

Jack Park smiled as he received the bread.

Hu thought to himself.

The sucker brought potatoes.