Chapter171

[Ding~ Congratulations~ The seventh task: To capture a territory of at least 100,000 square kilometers has been completed. The reward is the "Basic Ancient Terrain Management Plan."]

[Ding~ The eighth task has been updated: Become the ruler of a country. Rewards include the "Ancient Rare Treasures Illustrated Manual" and "Top-level Internal Skill Manual (one choice)."]

At the moment Tres knelt and pledged allegiance to Elara, a mechanical voice echoed again in her mind.

This new task update was different from the previous ones, as it directly asked her to become an emperor.

Elara first looked at the completed seventh task shown in her mind. She asked System 92, "System, didn't it already settle the national fortune value for occupying Youdan's territory? Why is the seventh task only showing as completed now?"

System 92 replied, "Perhaps because the twenty-thousand-strong Youdan army wasn't fully dealt with before, the trigger point for the seventh task wasn't completely activated. Now it is. Congratulations, master, you have completed another task!"

Elara's attention then shifted to the newly appeared eighth task. She asked, "This eighth task has two rewards? And 'Top-level Internal Skill Manual' means my broken body might be able to practice martial arts?"

System 92 responded, "Yes, master. Also, your body is no longer broken. It has improved a lot. Haven't you noticed the precious medicines from Marigold City's Divine Doctor Valley and the mother gu obtained after devouring the Sect Leader and other Gu Masters? They all contain huge amounts of energy."

"This energy is called internal power in this world. For example, the golden pill given by the White-haired Master in Divine Doctor Valley contains at least sixty years' worth of internal power. The life-saving pill from Oswyn has a hundred years' worth of internal power, and the gold insect from the Sect Leader also contains at least sixty years' worth."

"In short, after consuming so many precious items, your body now hides strong internal power. This strong internal power is why your body improved so much in a short time."

"However, since you don't know martial arts or internal skill methods, you cannot detect or use this internal power yet."

"But after completing the eighth task and receiving the top-level internal skill manual from the system, you can cultivate internal skills to control this vast internal power inside you."

"Then, if you learn some external martial arts from Uno or General Qi, your combat ability might rise directly onto the world's martial arts ranking! Ha! You will be able to fly around freely and become a hidden expert in the world!"

Hearing this from System 92, Elara couldn't help but feel a bit excited.

Honestly, after coming to this world for so long, she had long wanted to try flying like Uno and the others.

But her broken body had been a burden since she arrived, making her give up on this idea.

Now, finally, the chance had come.

Those precious medicines actually brought such huge additional benefits.

Elara looked down at her hand. Once she mastered internal and external martial arts, maybe she could charge into battle alongside Uno and the others instead of always hiding behind them.

She could even commission a beautiful, stylish long sword or spear as her weapon.

Just imagining the scene made her feel thrilled.

With excitement for the new task, Elara saw that under Tres's command, the Youdan army quickly reorganized. She then immediately returned to Marigold City.

At the city gates, General Qi, Scholar Fu, Kristof, Egbert, Hector, and others were already waiting early.

Seeing Elara, Kristof, the careless one, laughed loudly and saluted her while sneaking a glance at the Youdan army behind her.

"The princess personally led the charge, truly effortless! After only a short campaign, the entire Youdan territory is taken. You don't know how worried and anxious I was waiting inside the city, and then how joyful and proud I felt after hearing the news! Having you here is our great fortune. We welcome the princess's triumphant return!"

"We welcome the princess's triumphant return!"

"We all welcome the princess's triumphant return!"

Kristof and those beside him, including Scholar Fu and General Qi, all bowed halfway to greet Elara back victoriously.

Elara glanced at Kristof, who was full of joy and smiled warmly. She couldn't help but scold him, "You talk too much. I've been away for many days. I'll have to inspect how well you managed Marigold City later."

Kristof's smile didn't fade; instead, he spread his hands and looked at Elara with a fair, jade-like face.

"I've been waiting for that. No matter how you want to inspect, I will comply fully without objection. If needed, I can even bring along Scholar Fu to accompany you until you're satisfied." He winked at Elara teasingly.

Elara glanced at him again. He used to hide his face, fearing the original owner would like him. Now, he was joking like this.

Elara ignored Kristof and scanned over Scholar Fu, who was as calm as ever beside Kristof. Then she stepped down from her horse and walked straight to General Qi, who stood silently before Scholar Fu.

Elara knew about General Qi's solo battle against the Youdan army and rescuing the people of Marigold City.

She smiled and patted the tall, handsome general on the arm.

"You did very well this time. You truly deserve the title of protector general of our country."

General Qi paused, surprised by Elara's praise. He pursed his thin lips and then half-kneeling, saluted her.

"Your Highness honors me. This is my duty and what I should do."

Elara had only heard about the Qi family's reputation as protectors of the country but had never personally experienced it. After this, her perception of the Qi family and this man deepened.

General Qi was indeed a responsible and powerful born general. Marigold was lucky to have him.

"Alright, everyone, stand up. Let's return to the city. I have important matters to discuss."

Inside the Marigold City government office, all the senior officials of the city, along with Tres and several Youdan army deputy commanders, sat on both sides of the hall.

The first matter Elara discussed with everyone was the division of the twenty-thousand-strong Youdan army.

After discussion, the final allocation of the Youdan army was as follows.

Qi Yan took away sixty thousand troops, but not under the name of the Qi family army. Instead, they were merged into his own one hundred thousand army under the unified name of the Plumera army.

All Plumera soldiers' treatment applied to these sixty thousand Youdan troops as well. Any discrimination, separation, or exclusion was strictly prohibited. The goal was to fully integrate these sixty thousand Youdan soldiers with the Plumera soldiers as soon as possible.

Egbert and Hector each led forty thousand, also under the unified Plumera army name, with equal treatment to ensure quick integration.

The remaining twenty thousand were directly merged into the current city defense system of Marigold City under Elara. The two main city lords, Scholar Fu and Kristof, personally controlled them. If they did not know how to lead troops, they could ask Qi Yan, Egbert, or Hector for guidance.

After this distribution of the two hundred thousand troops, only fifty thousand remained under Commander Qu's command, which Elara had previously approved.

Because the allocation of these one hundred fifty thousand troops was done in front of Commander Qu and others, confirming that the Youdan soldiers integrated into the Plumera army would all receive equal treatment, Commander Qu and the others had no complaints and quietly listened.

After the two hundred thousand troops were settled, Elara's total military strength grew significantly.

Adding her own one hundred thousand puppet troops, the one hundred thousand Qi family soldiers, and the tens of thousands recruited by Egbert and Hector in Marigold City, her total force was close to four hundred fifty to four hundred sixty thousand.

After some time, when Youdan fully stabilized and their two hundred thousand troops completely merged into the Plumera army, Elara would no longer need to worry even if she faced the hundreds of thousands of soldiers like Lord Gregory's forces in Plumera's capital.

Along with various iron weapons and crossbows, if she marched north directly to fight Lord Gregory, she could use information advantage to catch them off guard. She might even wipe out Lord Gregory's entire force in one push, completing the eighth mission and directly seizing power as emperor, which would not be impossible.

But before that, besides stabilizing and integrating the Youdan soldiers, she had another urgent task.

Youdan was a vassal state of Yan Yu. Since Youdan was suddenly taken by her, Yan Yu would quickly receive the news and take action against her.

So before Yan Yu acted, she needed to quickly inform Mr. Yu to follow their prior agreement and act accordingly.

Otherwise, if the rear was unstable, she might just start marching north when Marigold City and Youdan would be attacked by Yan Yu.

Thinking this, Elara summoned her attendant and sent a message to Dahlia Pavilion.

After writing and sending the letter, Elara returned to the meeting about Youdan and shifted the topic to Youdan County's governance.

According to her previous promise to Commander Qu, Youdan's military power was handed over to Youdan, and he had the authority to report directly to her, bypassing the county lord. The military affairs of Youdan were under his unified command.

For the Youdan county lord, Elara chose carefully and finally appointed a person recommended by Scholar Fu and Kristof. This person had passed the "Imperial Examination" she held two months ago.

His name was Lorenzo. He originally fled from a border town between Plumera and Youdan to Marigold City.

Lorenzo's ancestors were wealthy merchants. Their family wealth allowed him to live a comfortable childhood.

At four, he had a tutor, and by nine, he traveled with his parents throughout Plumera's southern border.

If his family business had not been robbed by bandits and their hometown looted, Lorenzo, only fourteen, would not have had to start fleeing.

He had planned to take the imperial exams or inherit the family business.

Because of these years of hardship, at nineteen, Lorenzo deeply understood the world's cruelty.

Also, he had studied poetry and literature since childhood and learned business management from his parents. He knew well the lands and customs of Plumera's south and surrounding regions, including the closed-off Youdan.

After fleeing to Marigold City, Lorenzo endured hardship under the former county lord for several years.

When Elara came to kill corrupt officials and hold the imperial exams, Lorenzo saw hope for the first time after losing all will to live and preparing to flee again.

Boldly, he participated in the imperial exams and passed the top rank, joining Marigold City's "Political Office One."

Since then, he ended his years of hardship and settled in Marigold City.

For nearly two months, Lorenzo had been assisting Kristof in various tasks.

Because of his abilities, quick thinking, and flexibility, he was well respected by Kristof.

Considering many factors, Lorenzo was indeed the best choice to be Youdan's county lord.

After hearing recommendations from Scholar Fu, Kristof, and others, Elara summoned Lorenzo and saw he was a handsome, dignified young man with good manners and calm temperament.

She decided to let him manage Youdan County for now.

"I kneel to thank the princess! I also thank Lord Kristof and Scholar Fu for their recommendation! I will not disappoint the princess or the lords' expectations! I will make Youdan what the princess and lords desire! I am willing to die without regret for this!"

Lorenzo was very moved. After years of fleeing, he had thought his talents might never be used again. Now, someone gave him such a great opportunity.

"Alright, stand up. Your dedication is enough. Develop Youdan following Marigold City's example. Work hard! I want to see Youdan catch up to Marigold City soon and become the second developed county."

"Yes! I am willing to give my life!"

With Youdan's county lord chosen, appointing vice lords and other positions became easier.

The only problem was that Elara's last imperial exam had few participants because she just arrived and immediately executed many corrupt officials, even hanging their heads in the city center, frightening many.

Few people took part in the exam, and even fewer talented ones were selected. Most were absorbed into Marigold City's "Political Office One," leaving few spare talents.

Many places in Marigold City itself lacked enough people.

Sending more to Youdan County made available talent even scarcer.

Still, Youdan was a large newly acquired county. Even if people were insufficient, Elara had to send reliable people to stabilize it first. Vacant positions could be filled later.