That's not how you use a witch!

Chapter 17 It's normal for good friends to help each other.

Tonight, the Thornlands are more noisy than ever before.

The people had never seen anything like it: the surrendered soldiers, escorted by well-equipped militia, lined up in several columns and registered one by one.

Some people held cones to direct the operation, some were fully armed and ready for battle, and others were responsible for leading the defeated soldiers, who were divided into different batches, to different areas according to Ronan's instructions. The whole process was busy but orderly.

Because the square simply couldn't accommodate four thousand people, and there was a severe shortage of literate people in Thorn Territory who could handle registration, Ronan had no choice but to have them register in batches.

Meanwhile, the cooks were also extremely busy, with smoke rising from the chimneys for three hours straight, turning into bowls of hot porridge that were distributed to the households.

It wasn't that Ronan was being overly kind-hearted; rather, these fleeing soldiers had been starving for a long time, and prolonged hunger could easily lead to extremism and loss of control. Giving them food, but not enough to satisfy their hunger, would significantly reduce the chances of a serious incident, and the cost would be far less than investing all of it in maintaining order.

Let alone four thousand living people, it would take half a day to catch even four thousand pigs running around!

Fortunately, Ronan's fears did not come true; it seems that Madonna's ruthless skills had indeed shocked them.

Of course, tonight is destined to be a sleepless night: the total population of Thorn Territory is less than two thousand, and the number of able-bodied men is even smaller, so the difficulty of absorbing four thousand people at once is unimaginable.

If Vance hadn't borrowed a lot of people from the Mountain Territory to help, the Thorn Territory's small force would have been really overwhelmed.

"This upgrade is really generous!"

Ronan had previously thought the system was being stingy with incremental improvements, but he didn't expect them to give him such a big boost. They probably felt that his current weak hero urgently needed a buff.

Both of these new upgrades are very powerful!

One is recovery-oriented, which can improve the effectiveness of rest, allowing for higher levels of training and work. While the initial amount may seem small, the cumulative benefits over time are substantial.

The other is defensive, which not only provides noble damage immunity but also allows you to actively choose whether to activate it. This effectively prevents it from being wasted on some harmless attacks, and if used well, it's like having an extra life.

The only drawback is that the immunity to damage from all contracted parties resides with the user. This becomes less convenient if the user is fighting separately, or if they are unconscious or asleep. Of course, the probability of this happening is currently quite low. Overall, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages; it's an incredibly powerful upgrade.

After all the indicators for the first phase were completed, the core functions of the system were also upgraded:

[Core permissions have been upgraded: Purification protocol C2 level]

[Agreement Details: The pollution removal efficiency of the contracted party increases by 10% (upgradeable). The pollution reduction achieved by the contracted party will be converted into psionic energy in real time, which the contractor will receive at a 1:1.1 ratio.]

Not only has the efficiency of pollution removal increased, but the amount of spiritual energy converted into personal energy has also increased. Although it seems somewhat ordinary, given that one can level up while lying down, it can be given to those who are superior to others.

What's even more thoughtful is that, perhaps because the system saw he didn't have time to practice martial arts, it directly gave him a level one secret technique library.

It contains various one-star secret techniques, such as the "Pulse Sword Pressure" technique, which Bart used when fighting the Black Thorn Centipede.

Arcane arts are a knight's core competitive advantage, far more important than physical attributes. Any arcane art requires psychic energy to master and utilize, and even the simplest arcane art requires months of training.

Ronan learned it just by lying down... If Bart knew, he would definitely cry in the toilet.

Although both are one-star secret techniques, it doesn't matter, because star rating is merely the entry threshold for learning a secret technique; the power of a secret technique mainly depends on the user's spiritual energy. Even a seemingly ordinary sword aura from a nine-star knight is stronger than a powerful attack that a three-star knight musters with all his might.

The system has allowed him to win so easily, it's really considerate!

Unfortunately, Ronan was somewhat disappointed that he didn't seem to have many opportunities to make a move.

The regular enemies are the militia and Bart, while the elite enemies are Maddale, who only needs to nod when she wins.

So much so that even now, his best historical achievement is still killing a Blackthorn Centipede hatchling in a single battle, which is completely inconsistent with his actual combat strength.

I thought I could beat up a couple of conspicuous soldiers during this suppression of the fleeing troops to show off and establish my authority, but I didn't expect them to be so obedient. They surrendered immediately after a few scare tactics.

A bunch of cowards who bully the weak and fear the strong; no wonder they were chased and beaten by the rebels...

Of course, this is normal for cannon fodder who can't see tomorrow. Without knowing why they're fighting, they naturally lack fighting power.

Over the next period of time, Ronan will slowly transform them, turning these four thousand cannon fodder into something magical.

"My lord, the first batch of registrations is complete. As you instructed, everyone's place of origin, age, and professional skills have been recorded. Excluding the knights and officers, we expect to complete the registration in three days at most."

Listening to Bart's report, Ronan nodded and quickly checked the registration list for any errors or omissions.

"You've worked hard. Go and have something to eat first. I'll personally handle the registration of knights and officers."

He patted Bart on the shoulder and walked towards Meadow, who was writing furiously not far away.

She was also in charge of registration, but the object of registration was not personnel, but steel—the defeated soldiers had a huge number of various weapons and equipment, and counting and storing them was no easy task.

In fact, her original duty was to deter and bring to justice any evildoers who attempted to cause trouble.

But the defeated soldiers were very obedient, and since there was a real shortage of manpower, they took the initiative to come and help.

"Hmm~"

Seemingly having finished counting another box, the girl breathed a sigh of relief, leaning back in her chair.

"Hmm!"

Sensing Ronan's presence behind her head, the girl flinched and looked up like a wary fawn.

"Let's take a break."

Ronan patted her on the shoulder and said.

The girl nodded, but hesitated whether to lean on him like that. Realizing that he didn't reject her, she tentatively entrusted the weight of her head to him.

"Are you tired? How about I give you a shoulder massage?"

Ronan began to massage the girl's shoulders—a technique his master had taught him in his previous life.

At first, he thought his master was a pretty nice person, but after he learned how to do it himself, this old geezer made him massage for him every day...

Later, when he was honored, he must have cried very sadly, right?

Every time Ronan recalls his past, he feels a sense of déjà vu, as if he's lived through another life. Perhaps one day in the future, he will completely forget everything from his past life.

Ronan could only console himself with optimism and accept the status quo: So what if I time-traveled? Giving a shoulder massage to a beautiful girl is much better than giving one to a lousy old man.

"Thank you~ It feels very comfortable."

The girl responded in a cheerful voice, which made Ronan very happy.

Besides actively changing the land, the various relationships around him also serve as anchors of meaning for him.

"By the way, Ronan, my magical abilities seem to have changed."

After the massage, Madonna brought up the matter of unleashing the sword rain earlier that day—not only had Ronan not expected it, but she herself hadn't expected it either, because it was far beyond her control.

If I had to describe it, it was like she thought maybe she could give it a try, then she had a vague feeling that she really could, and then... she tried it and it became a reality...

"My god, is this the power of my imagination...?" Ronan thought for a moment and asked, "Did you have any special feelings at that time that you didn't have before?"

After a moment's thought, Meidel actually nodded.

"If I were to compare the range of my manipulation of steel to a sphere, when I unleash a rain of swords, they don't seem to leave my space; rather, space itself extends outward. It's like... a small velvet ball, but the threads it can stretch are very long."

"I see! What a brilliant metaphor!"

Ronan's eyes lit up, and he longed to hug the little girl's face and kiss her.

Realizing that his hungry, paw-raising manner was somewhat inappropriate, he quickly coughed twice to regain his composure.

Soon, Ronan devised the next phase of the plan for Maidal: in addition to her daily iron strokes, she would also need to practice the range of her iron control. To use Maidal's own analogy, on the one hand, she had to stretch the string as long as possible, and on the other hand, she had to make the ball as big as possible.

"oh."

Meidel puffed out her cheeks slightly.

Actually, it's not a big deal for Ronan to do some inappropriate things. After all, he's a lord, and lords can do whatever they want, right?

Well, it seems she was wrong; she shouldn't have judged others with such petty suspicions.

"It's getting late, why don't you go back and rest? I'll take care of the rest for you."

Seeing that it was getting late, Ronan made a suggestion.

"I cannot comply."

Madale said in a muffled voice, "You are the lord, and I am a witch who serves you. You haven't rested, yet I'm resting first, and you're even taking over my work. This is truly impolite."

"Oh, this..."

Seeing the girl's sudden, uncharacteristically sulky demeanor, Ronan was a little confused, wondering who had upset her.

For her health and to avoid losing stats, Ronan decided to use his eloquence: "There's nothing rude about it. The past is the past, and the present is the present. I am indeed the lord of Thorn Territory; but at this moment, I'm just helping you as a good friend. It's normal for good friends to help each other, isn't it?"

These words seemed to work; Medal's eyes lit up instantly. She nodded, and finally, her little bottom reluctantly left the chair.

"Well... goodnight."

She mustered her courage, waved to him, and ran away.

"Good night!"

Ronan was unaware of the girl's thoughts; he simply felt he had solved another major problem and nodded in satisfaction.

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