The Boss King actually disguised himself as a novice village chief?!
Chapter 168 - 154: The Reassuring Golden Lion

Chapter 168: Chapter 154: The Reassuring Golden Lion

"What’s your name?"

"Luke," the dwarf Ludo replied respectfully in response to Lind’s question, his gaze constantly on the child, a smile on his face.

"If life becomes challenging, make sure to report it timely. Every new life is precious on the lord’s lands."

"Yes," the dwarf Ludo nodded.

"Have you thought about what you want this child to do when he grows up?"

"He can’t always be a clown," a gleam shone in Ludo’s eyes.

"Indeed," Lind looked up at the path ahead.

The plague had devastated the city and all undead had once again dropped to level 10. But for them, this wasn’t much of a setback. Only the NPCs felt a chill in their bones.

The undead considered it a pastime, yet for the NPCs, it was the nightmare of countless nights.

Dusk had fallen, and groups of Volcano Monster Birds circling overhead fanned the cold winds, connecting towns and territories with their piercing cries.

The flickering orange light of torches illuminated the row of tents in the camp up ahead.

Everything was operating seamlessly.

Lind sat in a chair, not wearing armor but draped in a fur coat. His soul-lock mail could be rapidly woven onto his body anytime he needed it.

Turning his head, he also looked at the sleeping child Luke: "When the boy grows up, let him train with the troops. I look forward to the day he leads my horse."

Ludo was delighted.

Being a clown was his whole life, and it was precisely because of his role as a clown that he could interact with nobility, learning things ordinary people couldn’t know, such as being able to lead a noble’s horse, which would be an utmost honor.

Every great person started by leading horses, a mark of trust from higher-ups.

"Lately, I’ve devised several new games," Ludo was indeed curious about the plague because the undead at the tavern tent spoke openly, and his main job was to entertain.

But he knew well that to ask questions was a privilege of the upper ranks over the lower, never to be reversed.

"You might be interested?"

Ludo looked at Lind. Himself a dwarf and Lind quite the opposite, towering and robust, even while sitting still taller than the standing Ludo.

The reassuring Golden Lion, as some referred to him behind his back.

As for the undead, their bizarre talk was too much, and Ludo chose to let it in one ear and out the other to avoid any accidental disrespect that might cause others to ostracize him.

"I’ve always been interested in playing new games, but not now," Lind said, "Do you have any good ideas regarding the plague, say designing a new game or composing a song?"

"Not to hide it from you, my dream was once to become a bard," Dwarf Ludo said with a smile, "They wander everywhere, charming and free, enviable to all."

"Why didn’t you choose to become a bard? I’ve heard you sing," Lind commented, "Very good indeed."

As a noble, he was capable of artistic appreciation, but he wasn’t too concerned about this ability now. It sounded good, and that was enough.

"Because my short legs aren’t suited for wandering," Ludo laughed, unfazed by his physical disability, "And besides, I can’t be charming."

"Ha ha," Lind raised his hand and gently patted Ludo’s shoulder, laughing, "Who says? You’re the most charming fellow I’ve met."

"Really?" Ludo couldn’t help but question.

The atmosphere of the conversation was so pleasant that Ludo subconsciously forgot he was speaking with the lord.

"Look how much the undead like you. They bring you their earnings right away," Lind winked at Ludo, "As far as I know, there aren’t many who can make others willingly part with their money. Even Miss Miko and Miss Brittany are complained about for their high prices when selling Magic Potions, but with you, they are willing to hand over their money."

"In that case, I am indeed the most charming bard," Ludo accepted the idea.

He indeed wouldn’t be complained about over prices; a dwarven clown could afford a bit of guile. But the undead would curse him in other ways.

"You always have been," Lind adjusted Ludo’s collar for him, "Remember to make the tale of the plague sound even more appealing. I want more people to remember those who died in this war."

"I will," Ludo nodded vigorously.

Lind had already stood up, "I too am seeing the stuff from the Abyss for the first time. Although I’ve heard countless times about the Abyss and the Great Rift, and even know the quickest route there, watching them twist, hearing their coughs, seeing them enveloped in pus... The path we must walk is immensely arduous, and what’s even harder is that to survive, one must continue forward."

The dwarf knew that Lord Lind wasn’t speaking to him at this moment, so he bowed his head as a quiet listener.

"Your task is crucial, Ludo," Lind turned to look at the dwarf, "The aftermath of this plague isn’t over yet. I have already had the wizards check, and the state of several soldiers in the territory is quite alarming."

"Could they possibly...?" Ludo was horrified.

There was no quarantine now. If yet another Abyssal creature emerged, even the lord might be powerless to act.

"They witnessed it all, and their spirits were affected. The Abyss’s influence on humans is not a disease that spreads through close contact. Maybe you are anxious or fearful about something; these could be the fissures it uses to invade you. The Abyss is truly skilled at emerging from fissures, whether in the ground or in the human heart."

"Thus, Ludo, I hope you can bring joy and confidence to everyone. We have many achievements to celebrate and many stories to tell."

"Yes!" Ludo truly felt the weight on his shoulders and understood that the lord had sought him out not just for a casual chat.

"Take some time to return to Prey Town and choose some children with good voices,"

"Yes!"

After nodding at Ludo, Lind walked into the chilly night winds, the flickering lights welcoming his approach.

...

The Catastrophe Warhorses were captured quickly, and some of the undead now possessed them.

But as long as there were undead, the atmosphere would inevitably change.

Lind watched as a Catastrophe Warhorse pulled a flatcart stacked like dominos with over a dozen people, suddenly feeling sorry for the Catastrophe Warhorse.

Pulling over a dozen heavily armored men was akin to dragging a cartload of iron blocks.

The Catastrophe Warhorse, adorned in gold armor, stopped beside Lind.

He mounted the horse and glanced over at the other dozen Catastrophe Warhorses.

A dozen Catastrophe Warhorses pulling more than two hundred people, the exaggeration was beyond words.

The march out felt absurdly ridiculous indeed.

The Undead had all resurrected, which meant the plague must have been contained. The NPCs transformed by the Abyss, if they still existed, could exactly be their target for this expedition.

A returning to Leon City, the broken gates resembled leaky teeth, whimpering and moaning after the cold wind blew through.

Inside the city was a complete mess.

The Undead had persisted in their siege tactics against Lord Leon for days, affecting nearly every corner of the town.

What was left for Lind was nothing but ruins.

The Undead had already dispersed to search for valuable things, while Lind directly headed towards Leon’s corpse.

The aura of the Abyssal Calamity had dissipated, and at this moment, Leon just looked like an ordinary corpse.

Flames erupted from Lind’s palm, igniting the corpse.

The body, as if doused with a special accelerant, burst into towering flames at the mere touch of fire.

"I can feel it, the things from the Abyss are afraid of the flames."

It was precisely his effortless control over the flames that allowed him to slightly suppress the Abyss, but recalling the battle where initially Leon was afraid of fire before being completely unaffected, Lind felt his thoughts might be biased.

Perhaps it was the dead Abyss Calamity that fueled the fire.

The flames continued to burn until they completely reduced it to ashes.

He picked up an Iris Knight helmet, then bent down to pick up a sword, step by step towards the inner city.

The inner city suffered the most from the battle, looking as though a devastating earthquake had turned everything upside down—houses and soils inverted in order.

The Lord’s Hall still stood firm, with stone steps stretching from his feet to the dark rusty iron doors, the deformed giant iron doors still hadn’t collapsed even at this moment.

He walked up to the city wall, his fingers gently rubbing the wall.

The special architectural style endowed this hall with tremendous durability.

He was curious whether it was a construction technique that accomplished this or if there were special bricks in the walls that allowed the building to absorb the overflowing energy.

"This is quite good," Lind gave a satisfied appraisal.

Rather than starting from scratch to rebuild the watchtower in the Former Territory, it wouldn’t be bad to reinvent on the foundations of Leon City.

As long as points are provided, the Undead would willingly transform into construction workers.

Now the Undead were indeed in dire need of points.

Faction points, and of course, money.

He couldn’t simply promote faction points to gather all the Undead into his camp, even though the non-tradeable faction points were very convenient for him.

Faction points were related to sunk costs. Just like the earliest group who joined the Star Dragon Ridge outpost whose faction level was already high, they wouldn’t want to betray even if asked.

Similarly, other Undead would have their sunk costs.

If they refuse to accommodate them due to a lack of points, developments could veer in a direction disliked by both NPCs and players.

Lind hoped the Undead could buy what they wanted here, stirring up their needs until they discover key items require points for exchange, making them join voluntarily at crucial times.

To realize this vision, all Lind needed was... more information and data, more rewards and goods.

At the "tombstone" of the previous Senior Grand Knight, Lind planted the sword into the ground, and now this place would gain a new tombstone.

"I wonder if I count as a gardener."

The Iris Knight helmet would be kept by Lind as a collectible and a "Quest Item," as a reward, every Undead in the forces of Star Dragon Ridge would own an "Iris Knight helmet," a grand surprise that swept through all Undead factions.

Even with new members, crafting over two hundred exquisite and beautiful helmets in a short period was certainly not an easy task.

If not for the huge workload, with Prey Town still in a manual labor phase, Lind would have even liked to replicate Leon’s armor to sell to the Undead.

With previous experiences, the vast majority would feel Leon was powerful, and cosplaying as the Iris Knight seemed natural, and this linked set was exactly how to make money while the iron was hot.

After leaving Leon Territory, he headed towards Persimmon Town next.

What awaited them was still a scene of devastation, and bodies everywhere, just as expected.

"From today onwards, no power shall be deployed in Persimmon Town temporarily."

Lind declared the direct abandonment of Persimmon Town. The situation there was not much better than Leon City, already a wreck, and rather than rebuilding, it was better discarded.

The geographical location was not advantageous either; from this perspective, at least Harbor Village was a port.

The Undead were quite pleased; now they could "scavenge" again.

Unlike Leon City, there was a lot of "trash" here that hadn’t been scavenged much before, now it cheaply benefited the Undead.