I Become a Landlady in the Game World

After parting ways with Min Zhuolin, Li Xingteng went straight to the outskirts of Barnes Village's territory to hunt Demon Beasts and casually gather resources.

Anyway, there was nothing else to do, so getting a bit more was just as well.

In doing so, he also reduced some of the danger for the residents of Barnes Village.

During the process of hunting Demon Beasts, Li Xingteng indeed encountered many residents who wanted to leave early and casually pointed them in the right direction.

On the other hand, Min Zhuolin had returned to the city directly and paid the entrance fee once again.

When the guard at the gate, Justin, saw him, he immediately noticed and stopped him.

"You're back so soon? Where did you go?" Justin's tone carried a hint of interrogation.

After all, he had previously thought the man was planning to leave alone and silently admired his audacity.

Now that he had suddenly returned, Justin felt there was something fishy going on.

"I went out to hunt Demon Beasts and collect resources. I'm naturally back now that I'm done. Is there a problem? Are we not allowed to return after stepping out?" Min Zhuolin calmly stated.

The other party hadn't followed him and didn't know what he had done; the conversation was just as he dictated.

After hearing this, Justin indeed found himself at a loss for words.

His suspicion was merely personal.

"Go on in!" In the end, Justin let him enter.

But after allowing Min Zhuolin in, Justin watched his back and then picked up the roster to take a look.

The number of residents who had left the territory that day had already exceeded a thousand, accounting for one-fifth of their entire territory.

If these residents left Barnes Village, then the name of Barnes Village as a Level 3 Village would no longer be fitting.

Though the rank of a Level 3 Village would not regress, its standing certainly would.

Once the ranking of a Level 3 Village fell behind many Level 2 Villages, many could glean a weakness in the territory from the standings.

Such territories were certainly enticing in the context of a Territory War.

A sense of unease rose in Justin's heart.

He had actually already sensed the storm brewing within Barnes Village.

All of this had changed after the arrival of the Hope Village Residents.

What, exactly, were they planning to do in their territory?

While Justin was pondering this, a soldier quietly returned to the ranks and approached Justin's side.

"What did the captain say?" Justin asked the newcomer directly.

Feeling suspicious, he naturally had to report to his direct superior.

Because within Barnes Village, the hierarchy was clear, and only a direct superior could report up the chain, informing the territory's officials and the Lord of these anomalies.

If they paid even a little attention, they might notice something amiss and nip any threats to the territory in the bud.

"The captain said he is aware and will report it," reported the young soldier, relaying his captain's response.

Relieved upon hearing this, Justin then said, "Carry on standing guard!"

The young soldier glanced at Justin and his lips moved, but in the end, he didn't dare reveal what he had seen.

Could he say he saw the captain chatting with a mercenary team captain from Hope Village? Also present was Lucian, the captain of their territory's Phantom Mercenary Team.

At the time, there was no hint of secrecy in the captain's demeanor as he listened, and afterwards, he even told him not to mention what he had witnessed to anyone.

He had a vague feeling that trouble was brewing in the territory.

He was just a low-ranking soldier and couldn't get involved, so the best option was to follow his superiors' orders.

But Justin, whose mind was now at ease, completely missed the young soldier's odd behavior, thus missing an opportunity to learn the truth.

Perhaps even if he had known, he couldn't have changed the outcome.

Because the "downfall" of Barnes Village was never due to external forces, but a result of internal strife and external threats combined.

The coming and going of residents at the entrance continued, and while most remained within Barnes Village's territorial boundaries, as time passed, the residents were gradually and unnoticeably leaving in small groups.

The gradual disappearance, like a frog being boiled slowly, also failed to raise any suspicions in Viscount Robin, after all, in his occasional observation, most residents were still within the territory!

Meanwhile, Min Zhuolin had informed Zhong Yongnian of the complete state of the temporary camp outside Hope Village.

"With just ten people escorting over three hundred, there are still more than three hundred soldiers in the camp. Assisting the residents and our departure won't be an issue," said Min Zhuolin bluntly, recounting his conversation with Li Xingteng as well.

After listening, Zhong Yongnian nodded, "I understand."

He shared the same sentiment as Min Zhuolin.

The feeling of having a strong backing with a territory supporting their actions from the outside was truly comforting.

"Get ready to inform everyone that we can prepare for evacuation," continued Zhong Yongnian.

"Isn't it supposed to be at night?"

"Early preparation better demonstrates our sincerity, and at the same time attracts some attention to us, giving Watt and Ellis some room and time for their actions," Zhong Yongnian explained directly.

Even though he wasn't directly involved in their activities, he knew from his subordinates that through the Frost Mercenary Team and the Phantom Mercenary Team, they had opened a breach in the internal forces of Barnes Village.

Once this breach was torn open, not only were many of the mercenary teams from Barnes Village at risk, but also a substantial number of the soldier teams.

The "surrender" of the mercenary teams was within their scope of consideration, but that of the soldier teams really was not.

Originally, the plan was merely to bribe some soldiers so they could escape, but as the negotiations went on, some soldiers actually didn't want to stay either.

It was the rumors Brooke had spread among the residents that had some effect.

That was the news that a territory intended to invade Barnes Village.

And this message intensified the fear among a lot of the soldiers.

Traditionally, Barnes Village's front line troops in the Territory War were soldiers recruited from the peasantry.

Once the officials and professionals from the merchant families became soldiers, they quite blatantly enjoyed their privileges, not only fighting fewer times but also facing lower death rates and upgrading more quickly on a daily basis.

Under such circumstances, discontent had long been brewing.

Yet, because of the "support" from Viscount Robin, the Lord, they couldn't rebel and just thought to endure it, since aside from the wars, the benefits provided to the soldier teams on a daily basis were relatively good.

But everything feared comparison and pressure.

Hope Village appeared in their field of vision at this time, with its human-centric principle, along with the record from the last Territory War where not a single person died, making Barnes Village seem like nothing by comparison.

At the same time, the upcoming Territory War meant that a number of these soldiers would die within days; the shadow of death looming overhead.

Furthermore, with some instigation from Hope Village's mercenary team, their inner balance certainly tipped in Hope Village's favor.

Thinking of this, Zhong Yongnian couldn't help but recall a few colloquial sayings of the ancestors.

Water can float a boat, it can also capsize it.

Whoever wins the hearts of the people, conquers the world.

The people are the foundation of a nation.

Truth does not deceive!

"Yes," Min Zhuolin quickly agreed upon hearing this.

And the moment Zhong Yongnian started to act, Viscount Robin immediately received the news and called for Foster straight away.

"See! I told you to let them leave tonight, and they are packing up to leave right away, I think you're just overthinking," said Viscount Robin, without a hint of courtesy.

"...Your lordship is wise," Foster responded, lowering his head.

He was well aware of why Viscount Robin had summoned him - it was to show him that the entire territory was under his control, and all of his own worries were unfounded.

Their own lord was a dictator; although his warnings had been heeded, they still seemed to be somewhat of an annoyance.

Sigh!

Foster sighed in his heart.

However, no matter how he sighed, the fact that Hope Village's personnel had left gave him a sense of relief.

But just as Viscount Robin thought everything was under control, countless individuals within Barnes Village were already preparing to pack up and leave.

"Why do I suddenly have to pack up?"

"We're leaving Barnes Village tonight."

"Are you crazy, you're still a soldier of Barnes Village! Can you even leave?"

"Of course, I can, it's not just me leaving, my entire team is leaving."

"Why so sudden?"

"In a couple of days, a territory will invade Barnes Village. With our status, we are just cannon fodder; if we don't leave, we can only wait to die. I've been lucky to survive the previous battles, but I can't guarantee I'll make it through this one."

"Pack up; I'm packing up right away."

Nothing was more important than her man's safety.

*

"We plan to leave tonight; I'll let you know when."

"Could something unexpected happen? Can we really leave smoothly? Wasn't it said before that we had to leave two-thirds of the professionals' assets before we could depart?"

"It's fine; this time we've bribed the gate guards."

"Oh!"

"Many soldiers are also going to leave with us."

"How can they bear to?"

"They don't want to lose their lives, do they? Not all soldiers have a good life; those who fought hard for the territory and died haven't even received a pension, and those who were injured were kicked out of the soldier teams. With such an unreliable territory, could the soldiers be willing to serve forever? There was no chance before, but now with Hope Village taking over, everyone's quite tempted."

"But is Hope Village really that good?"

"It's good! I know a mercenary, he was from Barnes Village before, he wouldn't lie to me."

"Okay then, I'll be waiting!"

"..."

And so, the entire territory was brewing a plan for escape.