Black beast leather armor, a single-handed sword slung diagonally at his waist, and a black beast leather helmet adorned with the plume of a cock pheasant on top, making him look especially valiant.

　　His retainer knight, in addition to his own weapons—a single-handed sword and a single-handed shield—also had to carry a large knight’s lance for Edward Thompson, as well as spare weapons like a longsword, a war hammer, a flail, and lunch and drinking water for midday.

　　Marcus, besides his favored short spear, also carried a bow and arrows; he was a master archer. Compared to his status as an earth knight, his identity as a master archer showcased his value even more. This was also the source of his great ambition, allowing him to stand out among the many earth knights of the Coral Island knight order, hoping to earn the title of lord knight.

　　Clip-clop, clip-clop, clip-clop!

　　The horses’ hooves struck the solid ground with crisp sounds, and before long, they had arrived at the small town. Edward Thompson needed to inspect his own territory, and the town was the first priority.

Chapter 5: The Beasts of Thorns Ridge

　　Flower Town was located at the northeast corner of Coral Island, and its area was not small. But as for exactly how big, Edward Thompson was quite uncertain. As a remote town on Coral Island, it was simply designated as being on the northeast edge of Thorns Ridge, but the specific boundaries were never marked.

　　In other words, as long as there was no overlap with the towns on the southwest side of Thorns Ridge, Edward Thompson could draw the boundaries of Flower Town however he pleased.

　　Even if he included the entire Thorns Ridge, probably no one would blame him—after all, the jurisdiction of Thorns Ridge was also never defined on Coral Island.

　　After more than twenty years of cultivation by the Tulip family, less than two-thirds of Coral Island had actually been developed into farmland and settled with population.

　　The remaining third was all wilderness.

　　Thorns Ridge was just such a wild area. The lord’s knights needed to fight external battles, and these wild lands had to be cultivated by serfs and commoners.

　　Thorns Ridge was extremely barren and uneven, with little development value.

　　Moreover, when facing magical beasts, ordinary people were nothing more than a tasty meal. Even hunters dared not easily test the depths of magical beasts. Of course, there were some adventurers who would still go to hunt magical beasts, since every part of a magical beast—every piece of meat, every inch of hide—could be exchanged for gold coins.

　　Edward Thompson rode on his fire dragon horse, full of enthusiasm for this inspection.

　　Claiming land on horseback was an instinct for every noble by birth. The size of Flower Town depended on how far his horse could travel. At this moment, the horse’s hooves were treading the town’s street, which was a dirt road, very dirty, with animal and human excrement everywhere—only nobles would build toilets.

　　“Hygiene must be improved.” Edward Thompson turned and said to Marcus.

　　Marcus neither agreed nor disagreed; he was not an administrator and had no interest in such matters. What excited him was the authority of the nobility, especially the serfs and commoners lining both sides of the street, constantly bowing to Edward Thompson. On their sallow faces was a mixture of envy and fear toward the nobility.

　　Their bodies trembled.

　　Those who knelt were serfs; those who bowed were free men.

　　Serfs made up the vast majority. They had already sold themselves to the nobility and were the private property of Edward Thompson. Marriages, funerals, and all such matters were decided by Edward Thompson. Even if Edward Thompson wanted to exercise the right of the first night, these serfs had to obey and wash their daughters or daughters-in-law clean and send them to the castle.

　　There were very few free men, mostly artisans such as hunters and tailors.

　　The town was very small and rundown, with few households. Even with all the residents coming out to line the street and pay their respects, there was still no lively atmosphere.

　　Looking around, Edward Thompson felt the town might only have a few hundred people… not even as many as a school’s student body.

　　Low, ramshackle houses made of mud and thatch stretched over a large area. The size of the town was mostly made up of these dilapidated houses; even two-story buildings were rare, with only two or three families having them.

　　This time, he truly felt the poverty of common life.

　　His heart was filled with emotion.

　　He was even more grateful to be a noble, able to live in a castle and eat white bread made from fine wheat flour.

　　The fire dragon horse quickly carried Edward Thompson down the only street running north to south through the town. With a slightly heavy heart, he followed the safe route planned by Marcus and headed toward Thorns Ridge.

　　As they rode, the outskirts of the town were surrounded by fields, most of the crops in which Edward Thompson couldn’t even name. These crops looked sickly, and many weeds grew among them, clearly with no scientific management.

　　This era certainly had incredible creatures like dragons and elves, and miraculous powers like battle aura and magic, but development was relatively backward.

　　An industrial revolution was impossible, but introducing some scientific development methods was still promising.

　　Edward Thompson was full of confidence in governing his territory and leading Flower Town to prosperity.

　　……

　　After riding for a while, the town was already far out of sight. Leaving the flat land, they entered a hilly area with sparse woods—this was already the edge of Thorns Ridge.