The Call of the Fertile Soil, as the name suggests, is a special festival that takes place after the official start of spring plowing.
Legend has it that at the beginning of the era, people established a ceremony called the Call of Fertile Soil to reward those who had worked hard in the spring planting.
They pray for fertile land and favorable weather.
In the past two years, some scholars have pointed out that the "Call of Fertile Soil" was originally a large-scale feast held by people to replenish the large amount of physical strength consumed in spring plowing.
Ultimately, it came together with people's good wishes to form a festival that combines prayer and celebration.
Last time in the Earl's territory, Lind was seriously injured because he had just transmigrated and was unable to participate in this grand festival.
This is Linde's first time participating, and also the first time his territory has received the Fertile Soil Call.
Linde planned to hold a grand event to properly reward the people in his territory.
Calvin smiled upon hearing this:
"My lord, the people will be eternally grateful for your kindness."
Linde nodded and said:
"Alright, you can go ahead with your work."
After bidding farewell to Calvin, Lind arrived at the military camp tent, where he saw Astaire frowning as he looked at some lists.
Upon seeing that the visitor was the lord, Aster quickly rose and respectfully bowed, saying:
"My lord, you have arrived."
Linde waved his hand, stepped forward, and asked:
"Aster, you look so worried. Is there something wrong with the list?"
Several days ago, Lind handed over the preparations for the Fertile Soil to Astaire, who has been busy with this recently.
Astaire said with a wry smile:
"My lord, there are many supplies to prepare for this call to fertile land. When I checked the list, I found that the wine reserves are somewhat insufficient."
"If we drink all the alcohol we bought on the way, the rest probably won't last a month."
Linde pondered for a moment. Alcoholic beverages had always been a major part of the soldiers' diet, usually low-alcohol drinks, such as wine.
Generally speaking, it should be consumed once a week, and based on the previous stock, it should last for more than two months.
However, if this "Call of the Fertile Land" event is to be celebrated in a grand manner, a large amount of alcohol consumption will be inevitable.
"It seems the matter of the caravan is urgent..."
Linde currently has no suitable businessmen under his command, and he has handled most of his business on the road himself.
But for now, it's just about purchasing some goods, and using the existing soldiers should be fine.
Linde looked at Astaire and said:
“Select a few clever and reliable soldiers from the barracks, ordinary soldiers will do, and take some oxcarts to form a temporary team to purchase supplies.”
"Make a list of what you're missing in advance, and try to return before the call of the Fertile Land."
Astaire nodded in agreement.
"Don't worry, sir, I'll make the arrangements right away."
After Astaire left, Lind began to carefully consider the commercial issues related to the future development of his territory.
He knew that he couldn't rely on temporary, cobbled-together resources to handle business affairs; he needed to cultivate his own team of businessmen.
"I could recruit some traveling merchants and hire them to work for me to solve the current problems."
"If they can prove their loyalty and prove useful in the future, then we can definitely bring them under our wing."
"At that time, we can manage trade routes between the territory of Nazla and the interior."
"Perfect."
…………
Meanwhile, in the mountains outside the fortified city.
A large group of people are attacking a woman.
The person being attacked had already suffered serious injuries; his entire left arm was bleeding profusely and hanging limply.
Even with such severe injuries, the man's right hand gripped the blood-stained blade tightly.
Beneath the wide cloak was gleaming gold-trimmed armor, belonging to the Holy Punishment Knight, Leonis, whom Lind had met once before.
The group that aggressively attacked her was a group of Silver-level cultists with considerable strength.
Judging from their attire, these cultists were actually a group of cult members from the Darkblasphemy church.
They carried strangely shaped weapons and wore iron rings decorated with spikes. If it weren't for their cloaks, they would probably be spotted at first glance.
Every time these cult members moved, the sharp iron rings on their bodies would pierce deep into their flesh, yet not a single drop of blood would flow out.
The cult members had no expression on their faces, as if their injured bodies were not their own. At the same time, they were chanting incantations, seemingly performing some kind of evil spell.
Despite her injuries, Leonis's eyes remained resolute. She endured the pain and wielded her sword to fight off the cultists.
Each swing of his sword carried a fierce momentum, forcing back the cultists who tried to approach.
"Damn it, they're really chasing us so closely."
Two days ago, after Leonis left Lind's territory, she followed the trail of the newly discovered cultists and came alone to a mountain range on the outskirts of Fortified City.
Here, she discovered a cave hidden by evil magic.
After dealing with several cultists guarding the cave entrance, Leonis sneaked into the cave.
Once inside, I discovered that this place was a hidden paradise.
"Holy God, this is..."
The entire mountain has been almost hollowed out, with various buildings standing in the huge cavity, resembling an underground town.
The entire town's buildings revolve around a central, gigantic structure—a massive altar.
The entire altar was made of black stone, covered with blood that had congealed long ago, and you could smell the blood even from a distance.
Looking around the town, she saw that there were quite a few people living there, and with just a glance, Leonis saw quite a few people dressed as cultists.
Here, cultists openly reveal their dark beliefs, and the darkness in the entire town almost solidifies into a tangible form.
Just as Leonis concealed herself, intending to get closer to investigate, a strange bell rang out from the tall altar in the center of the town.
As the bells rang, the cultists throughout the town stopped what they were doing and rushed toward the altar.
Everyone's face showed an extremely fanatical expression, but they all maintained an eerie silence, as if they were afraid of disturbing some being.
As the believers gathered, a spectacular crowd quickly formed below the altar. The cultists huddled together, one after another, craning their necks to look up at the altar, waiting for something.
Leonis's heart tightened. She gripped the holy emblem hanging on her chest with her left hand and stared wide-eyed at the top of the altar, waiting for whatever might appear there.
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