A mage's journey begins with a battle mage.

Chapter 111 Hamlet

Before the ink on the handover documents was even dry, former lord Brad stuffed a map and several documents into Jiang Shuzhou's arms.

That action was less of a handover and more of a discarding.

Before Jiang Shuzhou could react, the former lord scrambled onto the carriage as if fleeing.

The coachman lashed the horse's rump with his whip, the wheels kicking up clouds of dust, as if some terrifying monster was chasing them.

When the dust settled, the convoy had long since disappeared at the end of the road.

"My lord, this Viscount Brad..."

Pierre stared in the direction they had gone, looking puzzled.

"He runs so fast, is Hamlet's Territory really that terrifying?"

He unfolded the rough parchment map, his gaze sweeping over the hastily written markings on it.

"horrible?"

"It should be called perfect."

The population is 8,000, most of whom are non-human subspecies?

Perfect, it makes it easier to implement my new policies, as there aren't that many deeply entrenched conservatives.

Seven thousand square kilometers of land, vast stretches of undeveloped wasteland?

It's practically a blank sheet of paper that I can use to paint freely!

Unexploited mines, rampant bandits, and monsters roaming the forest.

What ordinary people see as trouble and curses are, in Jiang Shuzhou's eyes, unpolished treasures and riches.

He handed the documents to Pierre, who was standing to the side. After all, as a mage, Jiang Shuzhou couldn't possibly keep track of the territory's situation all the time, and these were things that Pierre needed to know.

That's how civil officials are. Pierre only needs to work day and night to complete Jiang Shuzhou's arrangements, while Jiang Shuzhou, as the lord, has many more things to consider.

"Remember to conduct another census when we arrive in the territory."

The territory map was drawn by people sent by the Alliance, so it is still reliable.

However, population statistics are different; they are compiled by the nobles themselves.

Jiang Shuzhou knew these nobles quite well, so he naturally knew that this thing was just for fun, and the real data still needed to be collected by himself.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

An hour later, the outline of Hamlet appeared on the horizon.

Looking around, brick and tile houses and wooden houses are haphazardly placed together; chaos is the only word to describe this place.

With just one glance, Jiang Shuzhou's brows began to furrow.

As the convoy entered the town, a crowd of onlookers gradually gathered around.

Among them were beastmen with antlers and half-beastmen covered in fur, but there were only a few real humans.

"Why are they all covered in fur and horns, born from eggs in a wet environment?"

This isn't the Jie Sect, so where did all these kinds of people come from?

"My lord, this has always been the case in the North; a significant portion of humanity has already migrated to the South."

"Moreover, according to the Alliance's laws, half-orcs and beastmen are actually subspecies of humans, so they are all the same."

Pierre was clearly aware of this.

Are they really the same?

"My lord, you wouldn't be thinking of..."

Yes, that's exactly what I think.

"I can pick out a few beautiful women for you."

"Does this vary by gender?"

Upon hearing this, Pierre's expression changed drastically, and he looked troubled.

I never expected my lord to have such heavy tastes.

"If possible, bring a few men and a few women, preferably those with serious sins, otherwise my experiments will be difficult to conduct."

"experiment?"

"Otherwise what? You know, alchemy experiments always require some small sacrifices."

"..."

Now that things have come to this, she can no longer bring herself to say that she wants to choose a concubine for her lord.

"Let's go check out the castle first."

Seeing that Pierre had nothing to say, Jiang Shuzhou didn't make things difficult for him.

Maybe they were scared.

In any case, it's getting late, and everyone has had a long and tiring journey today. We can discuss things tomorrow.

Soon, the convoy entered Brad's noble castle.

The castle was bare; it was clear that everything of value had been taken away from Hamlet's territory by Brad.

However, the warehouse has a large number of bed sheets and duvet covers stored in it, which are still usable.

Brad still had some conscience; if he hadn't left Jiang Shuzhou anything, Jiang Shuzhou would have been in trouble.

It's quite normal for a viscount to be attacked by bandits while exchanging territories, right?

"Commander Griffiths, the castle's defenses tonight are in your hands."

"Your will."

After getting Griffiths out of the way, Jiang Shuzhou called his followers into the room.

He needs to hold a short meeting.

"Hays".

"arrive!"

"Tomorrow I will announce the disbandment of the town's guard, with the Griffith Mercenary Group taking over the defense. Your task is to rebuild the guard within three months. During this time, you need to be careful of Griffith; this guy is a bit strange."

"Abnormal? My lord, he seems perfectly normal to me."

"It may seem that way, but I can sense that he never really cares about the lives of his men. His usual kindness to his soldiers is just a facade."

"He treats his subordinates as tools to achieve his own dreams, so you need to be careful, he might do something during this time."

Although Jiang Shuzhou could kill Griffith directly with sheer force, doing so would cause his reputation to plummet.

When someone asks you why you killed someone in the street?

What do you say?

Tell me, is it possible that he might rebel? What's the difference between that and a fabricated charge?

Griffiths may have harbored rebellious intentions, but under normal circumstances, he would not have succeeded.

Therefore, what Jiang Shuzhou is doing now is to maintain normalcy and not give Griffiths any opportunity. After all, this is Jiang Shuzhou's territory, and if any problems arise, it will be his interests that are harmed.

"My lord, I will certainly live up to your trust."

Hayes quickly understood what Jiang Shuzhou meant, and he patted his chest to assure Jiang Shuzhou.

Pierre.

"Please speak."

"Your task is quite demanding. First, establish a usable administrative system. I will tell you about it later."

"Your task now is to take over the old administrative structure of Hamlet's territory and identify all those who are incompetent and those who are dissatisfied with my arrival."

"Give me the list, and I'll have Griffith deal with these people."

"Use his people to do the dirtiest, most offensive work. That way, when your new leadership is established, all the people will only be grateful for the new order we bring."

"Thank you for your trust. I will certainly live up to your expectations."

Pierre bowed to Jiang Shuzhou in gratitude.

"It's my turn, my lord. What do you have me to do?"

Dwarin was already quite impatient; he was also eager to make a name for himself.

"You? You just need to make what I need."

Devalin is a technical talent, and Jiang Shuzhou still needs him to create some custom-made tools, since his inventions cannot be separated from the support of these things.

No matter how gifted Jiang Shuzhou is in alchemy, he can't possibly forge even a single nail himself, can he?