Warlord: King of All Clans

In the name of the Northern Grand Duke, the dozens of Ancestral Shamans and Holy Light Priests conscripted from the various earldoms had also concluded their mission.

They returned to their respective residences from Olenic with generous rewards.

For the past six months, divine magic, which was originally considered incredibly sacred in the eyes of commoners, had been continuously released among the crowds, soothing their minds.

In the past, such divine magic would only be released for free during large-scale rituals. Common people were lucky if they could蹭 (cèng - get something for free) once in the crowd and brag about it for half a year.

Thanks to their six months of effort, the vast majority of blood slaves successfully overcame their fear and regained their sanity, but many, like Randy, became dull-witted and insane.

Those desperate and terrifying experiences, under the influence of divine magic, turned into horror movie-like scenes. Although they occasionally surfaced in their minds, they at least no longer damaged their sanity.

Renee would only occasionally wake up in the middle of the night with palpitations, while her beloved Randy would often wail in terror for no reason.

Fortunately, the new lord was very benevolent. Regardless of gender, age, or whether they had the ability to work, as long as they couldn't make a living, they could continue to stay in the relief group, responsible for cleaning streets and dredging ditches.

Renee didn't want the silly Randy to be bullied in the relief group, so after Olenic returned to peace, she took him back home.

Eighty percent of Renee's neighbors had died in the Blood Moon incident, so this street became particularly deserted.

The Riverbend Territory's engineering team replanned the crowded lower district houses, removed all the shacks and illegal residences, and then began to resettle the population.

Every day, unfamiliar faces moved into Renee's neighborhood. She even saw a family of goblins open a grocery store at the end of the street.

After finishing her service in the Riverbend relief group, Renee was briefly lost for a few days, and then she saw a job posting for Bessie's Bakery on the next street.

She had been making bread with her parents since she was a child, was proficient in bread baking techniques, and had even taught herself many pastries.

But she now had no savings or manpower to reopen her own bakery, so she could only apply here to save money for two years to support herself and Randy before making further plans.

This Bessie's Bakery employed a full fifty employees, adopted workshop-style management, and produced various wheat cakes, breads, and pastries every day, which was Renee's own bakery's output for a year.

It was said that the proprietress here was a big figure in Riverbend, with properties in every town in the Riverbend Earldom, almost monopolizing orders from the lord's mansion, the civil affairs hall, and the garrison.

Just after baking a batch of bread, the proprietress walked in with her entourage and said to the manager who came to greet her, "Stop all orders and switch to making military rations. Now start two shifts, double everyone's salary, and double the penalties for mistakes."

"Anyone who doesn't want to do it can take their money and leave today."

The manager was sweating profusely. Olenic had just been rebuilt, and the orders in his hand were worth hundreds of gold coins, and they were all major customers.

"Boss, this won't work! If the orders aren't completed, our reputation will be ruined!"

The proprietress Bessie glared at him, "Just do as I say, do your job well. I will personally visit each customer to apologize."

"I have inside information, I must seize this opportunity."

Renee mingled in the crowd and realized that the grandly dressed boss was about the same age as her, and her hairstyle didn't look like she was married.

In the eyes of strangers, this noble lady even seemed to be smiling charmingly when she glared, making people feel amused.

But the workshop's chief manager was visibly sweating on his forehead.

Bessie glanced at the workshop employees and said loudly, "There is another battle ahead, and those of us in the rear must work hard. For every extra bite of rations you produce, the uncles and brothers serving at the front will have one more bite of food."

After speaking, she prepared to leave, "Give me a copy of the customer list, I will visit each one to apologize. I will also leave Olenic in three days and return to the Riverbend general factory to supervise. If something goes wrong here, I have a hundred ways to ruin your family."

"If you perform well this time, Olenic will have no more competitors, and your bonus will triple, no problem."

The manager following behind was drenched in sweat and almost knelt down to make a military pledge.

When Bessie's Bakery began to mobilize, the Olenic's Riverbend Legion and engineering teams began to withdraw one after another.

The residents who had finally settled down watched teams of Riverbend soldiers marching in long lines towards the docks and felt a sense of tension.

But that was all they felt, and no one realized that a war was about to break out.

After all, according to their understanding, the new city lord had neither conscripted soldiers and young men nor increased war taxes, so how could he afford to fight a war?

Even the Northern Grand Duke wasn't that rich!

As the Bessie's Bakery with the largest investment this year, the manager here was also very capable, and the latest work schedule and reward and punishment system were released on the same day.

Not only was the salary doubled, but half of it was also settled daily.

Renee stood among the group of employees, watching the manager's eloquent motivational speech, and hesitated greatly in her heart.

She had the skills she had cultivated since she was a child, and she was more than capable at work, becoming an excellent employee in the first month.

Moreover, Bessie's Bakery's salary was not low; her salary alone was enough to support the couple, and she could even save a little.

If the salary doubled, then she could open her own bakery after saving money for only one year.

"But I still have Randy to take care of. What will Randy do if I work twelve hours a day?"

As soon as she voiced this concern, the female worker next to her said in surprise, "What? You're still taking care of that idiot? Why don't you throw him into the Kobold Welfare Home?"

Renee was at a loss, "What Kobold Welfare Home?"

Soon, under the guidance of her colleagues, Renee brought the silly Randy to a large courtyard at the dock.

At this time, a strong man rushed out of the courtyard like a madman, "Blood! Blood!"

He looked at the seawater at the dock and then at the dark clouds in the sky, his eyes full of fear, "It's all blood! It's all blood!"

Several kobolds wearing white uniforms rushed out and surrounded the strong man, "Woof woof woof! Go back quickly!"

The strong man directly punched a black-furred kobold, sending it spinning to the ground.

The black-furred kobold was bleeding from the nose, bared its teeth, and made a low growl.

But after growling twice, it actually calmed down and pointed at the sea, "Woof! It's a blood wizard! Hide quickly!"

The strong man panicked and was taken back to the courtyard by the kobolds.

Renee bravely led Randy into the courtyard and found that it was full of kobolds wearing white uniforms, and they were surrounded by all kinds of patients.

In addition to a few mentally unstable patients, there were more elderly, weak, women, and children who had lost their ability to survive.