Chapter 305 - - 303 I, the Fourth Princess, Pay_1

—————✧✧✧✧—————

Five days later.

Duge and his companion exited the forest.

Training in the mountains, searching for food, and building shelters, their days were mundane but fulfilling.

To some extent, it actually diluted Luo Shuang’s hatred in her heart.

These days were the most peaceful she had ever had.

Stepping out of the forest and facing the world once more, Luo Shuang felt a flicker of panic, even a reluctance to confront the harsh reality.

She looked back at the dense forest with longing and asked, “Master, where shall we go next?”

“Princess, are you afraid?” Duge asked.

“A little.” Under Duge’s teachings, Luo Shuang had learned to face her thoughts openly, and she spoke without beating around the bush.

“Do you still remember how I taught you?” Duge asked, as a vine naturally fell into his palm.

Seeing the vine, Luo Shuang shuddered involuntarily and hurriedly said, “When I want to retreat, I should think about my deceased father and brothers, the protectors who died defending me, the lost glory and riches of my past, and what might happen to me if Duke Dingguo captures me…”

Very good.

You have learned how to motivate yourself!

Duge looked at Luo Shuang with satisfaction and asked, “So, have you figured it out?”

“I have figured it out.” Luo Shuang’s gaze grew determined as she clenched her fists, “I want to reclaim my country, defeat Duke Dingguo, and become the first Empress in history, ushering in an unprecedented era of prosperity.”

“Good, if you’ve figured it out, then let’s move on.” Duge skillfully retrieved the vine and stepped out of the forest first.

The previous Alien Battlefield ended in a hurry, taking only half a year.

This time, Pan-Universe Entertainment intended to drag it out.

With advanced skills not so easy to obtain, Duge wanted to see if he could create a derivative item.

The chance of a derivative item appearing was extremely low, and most warriors would give up on it, focusing instead on advanced skills and keywords.

But it’s undeniable that once a derivative item was successful, its power was no weaker than any advanced skill.

Looking at all the derivative items that had appeared, they all matched the keywords and were used regularly, imbuing them with a special significance before they were born.

Like the Knife of Slaughter, the warrior with the keyword of slaughter used it to kill countless people;

Like the Diplomat’s Medal, the warrior with the keyword of diplomacy wore it, completing countless successful negotiations over decades;

So.

This vine that had been used to strike the princess might also have a chance to become a derivative item.

As long as he kept using it without pause, it might evolve into something like the Vine of Loyalty, a high-level divine artifact that would make the princess, or the future lord, shudder upon seeing it.

Even if it didn’t work out, it didn’t matter; after all, he wasn’t the one getting beaten…

…

“Master, you still haven’t said what we are going to do next?” Luo Shuang followed behind Duge and asked.

“Travel the world, get acquainted with, and understand this world,” Duge glanced back at Luo Shuang. “Find more like-minded people to help us reclaim our nation. A good hero needs three helpers; to reclaim the nation, we need generals who can lead troops, strategists, commoners who will grow crops for us, officials to manage internal affairs. There are many things we need to do, many talents we need to gather…”

At this moment.

Duge thought of Murong Fu out of the blue.

The guy who was bent on reclaiming his country didn’t consider farming, military preparation, or taking up official posts—only recruiting martial world characters. If such a guy could successfully reclaim the country, that would be truly bizarre.

To revolt.

One must learn from Ying Zheng, Liu Bang, Zhu Yuanzhang, Liu Bei—this was the true way of an emperor.

“How do we find them?” Luo Shuang asked.

“With strategy, with your personal charm, with your status as a princess,” Duge said. “If you put your heart into it, talents are not hard to find.”

“Please teach me, Master,” Luo Shuang said.

Duge fell silent for a moment, looking towards a village at the foot of the mountain: “Alright, I’ll show you once, learn carefully.”

“Mm,” Luo Shuang nodded.

The two of them walked towards the small village, side by side. At the village entrance, Duge stopped a farmer who was about to go to the fields with a hoe in hand: “Old man, who is the wealthiest in your village?”

The old man glanced at the sword on Duge’s waist, then at his clothes clearly cut by swords, and trembled with fear, struggling to speak.

Duge looked at him patiently: “Old man, don’t be afraid, I mean no harm, I just want to get something to eat with my disciple.”

“Land Lord Lu, Land Lord Lu’s house is the richest. That big compound with tall gates to the west of the village,” the old man said, finally mustering the courage.

“Thank you, old man,” Duge said, cupping one hand in the other before him.

“Young man, you must not tell Land Lord Lu that it was I who sent the message!” The old man looked at Duge with a pained expression. “If he finds out that I pointed you to his doorstep to ask for help, Land Lord Lu will certainly not spare me.”

“Don’t worry, old man, I won’t say a word. I’ll just say I found the place myself,” Duge said with a smile as he bid farewell to the old man and walked with Luo Shuang toward Land Lord Lu’s residence.

Luo Shuang furrowed her brow as she watched the old man looking back three steps at a time, deep in thought.

…

They finally arrived at Land Lord Lu’s front door.

Duge knocked on the door, requesting to see Land Lord Lu, only to be shut out directly by the Protector.

Duge simply kicked open the door, fought his way through, and eventually saw the shivering Land Lord Lu in the main hall.

Seeing Duge looking ferocious as a ghastly deity, Land Lord Lu kowtowed like pounding garlic: “Spare my life, brave sir, spare my life, take anything you want from my home, just please spare the lives of my family…”

“Please stand up, Land Lord Lu,” Duge extended his hand to help him up, smiling gently, “We are not here to ask for money but to offer Land Lord Lu a chance at glory and riches.”

Land Lord Lu was stunned, he glanced at the protectors scattered and lying around the yard, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and said with a smile plastered on his face, “What kind of glory and riches? Please speak plainly, sir…”

“Do you know who she is?” Duge asked.

Land Lord Lu looked at Luo Shuang and shook his head.

“To be frank with you, she is the Fourth Princess of Qingwu Country.” Duge reached out and pulled out the princess’s Jade Pendant, waved it in front of Land Lord Lu, and said, “Land Lord Lu, you must have heard about what’s happened in Qingwu Country. Duke Dingguo usurped the throne, slaughtered the royal family of Qingwu Country, and only the Fourth Princess escaped.”

“I have seen the Fourth Princess,” Land Lord Lu said, confused, and he hastily paid homage to her.

“Mhm,” Luo Shuang nodded.

“Land Lord Lu, the Fourth Princess bears the Real Dragon Destiny and aspires to muster an army to expel Duke Dingguo and reclaim the throne of Qingwu Country,” Duge said sincerely to Land Lord Lu. “We’ve come to ask Land Lord Lu for some financial and grain support for raising troops and staging a rebellion.

Land Lord Lu, by helping the Fourth Princess in her time of dire need, you would be giving timely aid. Once the Fourth Princess ascends to the throne, you would be rewarded with titles and marquisates. Land Lord Lu, wouldn’t you say this is an opportunity for boundless glory and riches?”

Land Lord Lu looked at Duge, his mouth twitching incessantly.

Are you joking?

Just say it if you want to rob me!

Don’t treat me like a fool and try to con me!

Let alone whether this Fourth Princess is real, even if she is genuine.

Just you two, with nothing but empty words, no troops or commanders, and you are telling me you’re planning to overthrow Duke Dingguo and become the emperor?

And moreover.

If you’re gathering funds and grain, you should be doing it in Qingwu Country. What are you doing here in this small village in Chongming Country, eight hundred miles away from Qingwu Country?

This naïve lie wouldn’t fool a three-year-old!

…

Clearly.

Luo Shuang had come to the same realization; her cheeks flushed with embarrassment, she couldn’t bring herself to look at Duge. The halo of sanctity that Duge had worn was instantly stripped away. She had thought him to be a man of great talent, only to find he was ambitious but incompetent, a “brave” with nothing to show.

At this moment.

Luo Shuang’s heart was filled with bitterness. Was destiny against her Luo family?

“Land Lord Lu,” Duge waved his hand in front of Land Lord Lu’s eyes and asked with a smile, “What do you think?”

Land Lord Lu looked again at the protectors they had knocked down and said: “Fourth Princess, I am willing to provide a portion of money and grain for your cause.”

Luo Shuang coughed, about to speak.

But Duge cut her off, smiling, “Land Lord Lu, I sense a lack of trust in the Fourth Princess in your words. Well, since ancient times, there has never been a woman who became an emperor. Then let me explain the strategy our military advisor has set out to ease your mind, shall I?”

Land Lord Lu looked doubtfully at Duge, with a slight frown on his brow.

“Distribute the land equally, await glory and riches, build high walls, and stockpile grain. This is the strategy our military advisor has set for us,” Duge said with a smile to Land Lord Lu, “But let’s not discuss the latter two sentences for now. Let me first explain to Land Lord Lu what ‘distribute the land equally, await glory and riches’ means. Before I say more, I’d like to know how many acres of land do you own, Land Lord Lu?”

Land Lord Lu’s complexion changed slightly, and he fell to his knees with a thump.

“Land Lord Lu, if I were to distribute your lands among the tenants and the poor in the village who live in perpetual uncertainty, tell me, if we were to rally a call, wouldn’t followers gather?” Duge asked, “Actually, I had already prepared for the possibility that Land Lord Lu might not be interested in the boundless glory and riches offered by the princess. In that case, we would simply use Land Lord Lu’s head for a different kind of distribution… to a greater number of people.”

What nonsense about distributing land equally, what gathering of followers?

The world isn’t in chaos. If you distribute land, those mud-legs are even less likely to rebel. Besides, the land deeds are registered with the government — would they even dare to take them?

You’re just threatening me!

Land Lord Lu’s face was ashen, and he kowtowed frantically: “Fourth Princess, I was blinded by pig’s fat earlier and failed to recognize the true dragon before me. I am willing to offer all my funds and grain to support the princess’s cause…”

✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦