Chapter 27:A Lord's Solution Buy Bombs

Mike walked over to the farmlands, where Eli and the villagers were tending to the crops. The sun hung low, casting long shadows over the fields. As he approached, Eli quickly noticed him and straightened up, her expression grim.

"My lord," Eli said, bowing her head slightly.

Mike gave a small nod. "Hey, Eli. How's the farming expansion going?"

Eli hesitated, glancing at the surrounding fields before responding. "It's going… alright, my lord, but we have a serious problem."

Mike raised an eyebrow. "A problem? What kind of problem?"

Eli sighed, rubbing her arm. "Monsters. Small ones, but destructive. They burrow underground and eat the crops. The villagers call them Burrowfangs. We've tried everything—traps, digging them out, even setting up torches to drive them away. But nothing works. Some farmers have already give up because of them."

Mike frowned. "Wait. You're telling me… we could expand the farms, but these underground pests are wrecking everything?"

Eli nodded grimly. "Yes, my lord. And it's getting worse. Just this morning, one of the farmers fell through the ground—there were tunnels everywhere beneath the field. If we don't stop them, we might lose all our crops."

That made Mike pause. This wasn't just an inconvenience—it was a full-on infestation.

He exhaled, then pulled up his system shop. "Alright. Let's see what I've got…"

A translucent shop window popped up in front of him.

[System Shop]

Available Evolution Points: 193.34

Reinforced Plow (Improves soil quality) – 40 EP

Hunting Bow (Basic weapon for villagers) – 35 EP

Groundshock Bomb (Explodes underground, forcing out burrowing enemies) – 50 EP

Wooden Wall Blueprint (Basic defense structure) – 30 EP

Mike's eyes locked onto the Groundshock Bomb.

"Oh, this is perfect." He quickly bought it, his points dropping to 30 EP. A small, metallic device materialized in his hands—round, covered in strange glowing runes, and humming faintly with energy.

Eli eyed it warily. "My lord… what is that?"

Mike smirked. "A solution."

Before she could ask further, he slammed the bomb into the soil.

BOOOOM!

The ground erupted. Chunks of dirt flew everywhere as a deep shockwave rumbled beneath their feet. Then— screeches.

Burrowfangs shot out of the ground, flailing wildly in the air before crashing down into the dirt. The creatures were about the size of large rabbits, but their razor-sharp teeth and sickly pale skin made them look downright nightmarish.

One of them landed just inches from Eli's foot, still twitching.

Eli staggered back, eyes wide. "M-my lord… you— you just bombed the ground!?"

Mike shrugged. "Well, yeah. You got a better way to deal with underground pests?"

Before Eli could respond, a deep, booming voice interrupted them.

"LISTEN UP, YOU WEAKLINGS! TRAINING DOESN'T STOP JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE TIRED!"

Mike turned to see Brutus, the village's 'trainer,' drilling a group of villagers at the makeshift training ground. He had them lifting logs, dodging swings, and desperately trying to survive his brutal training methods.

Brutus' eyes landed on the Burrowfangs writhing on the dirt. His grin widened.

"PERFECT! REAL TARGETS!" he bellowed.

He turned to the villagers. "You want to be warriors? THEN PROVE IT! KILL THOSE PESTS!"

The villagers hesitated. They weren't fighters—just farmers, merchants, and craftsmen. But then Brutus glared at them, and hesitation vanished.

Grabbing spears and clubs, they rushed forward.

Some missed horribly. One guy screamed in terror and ran in the wrong direction.

But some actually landed hits. A loud crack echoed as a Burrowfang was crushed beneath a club. Another was speared through the chest.

Eli stood frozen, watching the chaos unfold. "I… I guess this works?"

Mike smirked. "This is called efficiency."

As the last Burrowfang screeched its final breath, a system notification popped up.

[System Notification]

Pest Problem Resolved!

Farming Expansion Unlocked!

Reward: +50 Evolution Points

Mike blinked. "Huh. Didn't expect that."

But before he could close the window, another notification appeared.

[New System Unlock]

Territory System Activated!

New Feature Discovered: Evolution Tax

As Lord of the Village, you automatically receive 50% of all Evolution Points earned when villagers defeat monsters within your territory.

Mike stared at the screen, processing the information.

"Wait, hold up… so every time my people kill monsters in my territory, I get half the Evolution Points?"

Mike grinned. "Now that is what I call passive income."

Brutus slapped a villager on the back, nearly knocking him over. "GOOD WORK! YOU DIDN'T DIE!"

Mike turned to Eli. "No more pests, right?"

Eli nodded firmly. "Yes, my lord!"

Mike walked away, whistling to himself, feeling pretty damn pleased.

This village? It was gonna thrive.

And as its lord, he was going to make sure of it.