Chapter 009: The Desperate Situation

“Especially since we also have to support nearly ten thousand people and raise the children of Doha, everyone agreed that most of the food should be allocated to these children. As for us adults, we can’t even get enough to eat every day—how could we have the strength to fight off those bandits? We don’t even have the energy to move the stones needed to build walls.”
Du Fan fell silent. Indeed, how could ordinary people who couldn’t even satisfy their hunger have the strength to do anything else? It was the over two hundred teenage children behind Elsik who represented their future hope.
“Symbat, distribute all the food from the carriage among everyone. My people must not go hungry,” Du Fan ordered, raising his head.
“That’s not possible,” Elsik quickly replied. “Thank you for your generosity, Lord, but we still need to set aside some food for the Irakar bandit gang. Even though you arrived a few months earlier, if we can’t deliver the food by then, you’ll be in danger.”
“What do we have to fear? No matter how many bandits come, we’ll defeat them,” Symbat assured, slapping his chest before Du Fan could speak.
Symbat indeed had enough confidence to defeat those bandits, who were seen as monstrous threats by the common people.
“Lord, I’ve gathered all the people of the city to meet you,” Elsik said, shaking his head. He didn’t continue arguing with Symbat about the bandits, as he knew best what was going on.
Bang! Bang!
In the dilapidated square at the center of Doha, Elsik rang the largest bronze bell.
Soon, people from across the city rushed to gather in the square.
“Fellow citizens, we have a new lord—Duke Du Fan Green. From now on, we will be the subjects of Duke Du Fan.” Standing in the center of the square, Elsik shouted to the crowd surrounding him, but his tone was flat, showing no excitement at Du Fan’s arrival.
“Dear citizens, I am Duke Du Fan Green, granted this title by the Prince of the Gavin Empire. From now on, the Silo Province will be my territory. I will lead you out of this hardship and give you a happier life than in other provinces,” Du Fan stepped forward, speaking words he was not used to—after all, such a noble tone was not something he wanted to use, but he couldn’t think of better words at the moment.
“Who knows how many more will die for him this time?” An elderly man in the crowd sighed, helplessly discussing the situation with his friends.

“Yes, looking at the strong guards around him, he surely won’t compromise with the bandits. More people in our town will die, and if this continues, the population will keep shrinking,” another man beside the old man sighed.
Du Fan didn’t hear these commoners’ discussions, but seeing that everyone wasn’t in high spirits, he knew they still didn’t trust him.
“I’ll distribute all the food to everyone in a moment. I promise that from today onward, we won’t go hungry again,” Du Fan announced loudly, hoping this would win their support.
“Won’t you go back after giving it to us?” The commoners remained silent, staring at Du Fan. Only a cute little boy stepped forward and asked timidly.
“Uh!” Du Fan was stunned. Then he asked Elsik beside him, “Do we have to take back the food distributed here?”
Elsik smiled slightly and said, “The previous lord also distributed food like you did when he arrived here, but he was killed by the bandits soon after. To gather the food the bandits demanded, we had to take back what had been distributed. You don’t know—over the past decade, we’ve never had enough to eat. Gradually, we got used to it. But once we’re given food that allows us to eat properly for a few times and then it’s taken away, we suffer for a long time.”
Du Fan felt pain in his heart. Why, as human beings, couldn’t these commoners even afford a full meal?
“I guarantee with my life that this time, twice as much food will be distributed. Everyone will not only have enough to eat but will also have leftovers, so they won’t have to worry about their future. Moreover, I’ll strengthen the city walls to effectively prevent attacks by those bandit groups.”
“Strengthen the city walls? Lord, we’re willing to contribute our strength, but the cost of building walls is too high. Our city of Doha simply can’t afford it. The previous lord, Joseph, spent all his savings—over a million gold coins—and in the end, half of it was extorted by other provinces, forcing the construction to stop.” said a ragged commoner who, though still middle-aged, was emaciated.
With the example of the little girl earlier, and especially hearing that Du Fan said he would give double the food, the commoners felt a glimmer of hope and dared to express their concerns.

Du Fan chuckled, reached into the velvet pouch at his waist, took out several diamond cards, held them high above his head, and said, “Over a million gold coins? I have tens of millions of gold coins here. Not only will I rebuild the city walls, but I’ll also construct the strongest fortress possible, so that my people can live without any disturbances.”

“Diamond cards? They’re really diamond cards?”

“So many diamond cards!”

“This lord is truly wealthy.”

“It seems we might actually be able to build the city walls after all.”

Seeing the diamond cards in Du Fan’s hands, the commoners became excited—Du Fan had reignited their passion once again.

“Lord, may I say a few words?”

Like the commoners, Elsik was also very excited. With gold coins at hand, some of his long-held wishes could finally come true. He now felt that Lord Du Fan might truly be able to lead them out of the decades-long predicament in Doha.

Du Fan stepped back and signaled Elsik to come forward.

Raising his hands, which trembled slightly from excitement, Elsik looked around at the villagers and said loudly, “The bandits will attack in two months. We must build the city walls by then. I know it’s difficult, but this is our last hope. Everyone must work hard!”

“Don’t worry, Old Elsik. As long as we have enough food, we’ll build the city walls even if we have to work nonstop.”

“Don’t worry, Father. We’ll do our best for the children.”

Like Elsik, the commoners underground were also very excited. They sensed this as an opportunity—a chance to fulfill their wishes.

Satisfied with the villagers’ enthusiasm, Elsik turned to Du Fan and pleaded, “Lord, time is urgent. Please send people to distribute food so we can complete the city walls on schedule.”

“Two months?” Du Fan was shocked. It usually took years for other provinces to build a main city, yet Elsik claimed they could finish it in just two months. Du Fan couldn’t believe it.

“Lord, Doha has a total population of 23,862 people. Excluding 3,273 children, everyone else can work on the construction. There are also stone quarries and iron mines in the nearby mountains that we’ve already exploited—there’s an abundance of raw materials. Aside from a few special materials that need to be purchased from other provinces, we can start work right away.”

Elsik was also growing impatient.

“Have the soldiers bring all the carriages over and distribute all the food,” Du Fan said to Simbat, then turned to Elsik and added, “To show my people my confidence, we will decide today on building the city walls here, allowing everyone to participate. Any suggestion that is beneficial to our city of Doha will be accepted by me.”
“But you are the lord; your decision is an order. Do you really allow us to offer our own suggestions?” Elsik asked, eyes wide in disbelief. In the Gavin Empire and even across the entire Roland continent, nobles held supreme power, and a lord’s word was law. Even commoners, though they might have their own ideas, dared not speak up easily, as opposing the lord’s words could mean death at any moment.
“Have I ever lied?” Du Fan asked back with a smile.
“You are too kind, my lord,” Elsik still couldn’t believe it, but the idea that the lord’s word was law had already taken root in his heart. Since Du Fan had said so, Elsik would definitely carry it out. He turned to the villagers, who also looked incredulous, and said, “Jack, lead everyone to distribute the food. Those who have suggestions for Doha should stay.”
The crowd followed the old man named Jack toward the carriages that had just arrived not far away. In the end, only three old men, who seemed to be of similar status to Elsik and likely held some influence in Doha, remained in the large square.
“Elsik, I don’t know much about Doha yet. Please introduce it to me in detail,” Du Fan said, waving for the four old men to come over.
“This is our city’s blacksmith, George Obah, brought here by the previous lord. Since the Gavin Empire has been at war, he stayed here,” Elsik explained, pointing to an old man whose arm was thicker than Du Fan’s leg.
“The one with thin lips is the only person in Doha who knows those bandit groups—Barty Oramet. It’s all thanks to him that we can contribute some food without being frequently harassed by those bandits. As for these two strong old men, they are the most skilled in Doha. They are already at the fifth level of strength. Right now, they are mainly training the children of Doha, selecting those who can cultivate combat energy and magic.”