The Lord Demon King is Unfathomable!

Erin Campbell's arrival boosted the morale of Thunder City and stabilized the wavering hearts of the citizens, shaken by the successive arrivals of Chaos's corruption.

The presence of the Light of Praise was undoubtedly a massive deterrent to the lurking forces of darkness.

However, Jack, the Brotherhood's Godfather watching the Campbell family's convoy enter the city from the shadows, showed no fear.

Quite the opposite, his contemplative face revealed an unexpected expression.

Others might not know the Flame King's identity, but someone who has offered his soul to the Demon King like Jack knew very well.

And if even someone like him, skulking in the gutters, was aware of this matter, he didn't believe the Duchy's higher-ups were completely ignorant.

Unless they were deliberately turning a blind eye...

"...Has the corruption of the Great Graveyard already spread to the court of the Campbell Duchy?"

This thought left Jack shocked but also filled him with a sense of relief and reverence.

It seemed his gamble had paid off this time.

At this moment, he felt overwhelmed with gratitude, convinced that choosing to serve the Lord Demon King had been the correct decision...

...

At this very moment, the naive Miss Erin was completely unaware that her unintentional good deed—causing royal-emblemed grain to appear in the Flame King's charity soup kitchens—had added another layer to the legend surrounding him.

Soon, rumors spread throughout the refugee camp, claiming that the Flame King's relief efforts were backed by the Campbell Duchy's court.

And this rumor was no trivial matter.

The guards who had previously been disgruntled over the charity soup kitchens were no longer willing to give them trouble.

Not only that.

The image of the Flame King, already towering in the hearts of the refugees, was now draped in a divine halo!

Meanwhile, far away in the Great Graveyard, Luo Yan had no idea what was transpiring in Thunder City. He simply woke up to find that his Power of Faith had increased again.

Baffled, he instinctively attributed this newfound strength to the believers in Beifeng City.

And truthfully, he wasn't entirely wrong.

It was just that the logic connecting the two required a few twists and turns...

While Thunder City's citizens cheered Erin Campbell's name, far in the northern part of the Silver Pine Forest, Beifeng City awakened under the gentle light of dawn.

In the early morning, as the mist had yet to disperse, a ray of golden light pierced through the treetops, scattering across the freshly paved cement roads.

Saying farewell to his wife and children, Shepp, clad in a coarse fur coat and carrying tools, trudged through the compacted snow toward the nearby pasture.

The pasture was built by his own two hands.

Crooked wooden stakes formed a fence, enclosing a square area approximately three to four hundred meters in length and width along the forest edge.

At the center of the pasture stood a cowshed, built with neatly nailed wooden planks.

Compared to this new pasture, the place where he once worked in Holy Oak Village seemed like a trash heap.

That, after all, was the Lord's property. None of the cattle he tended belonged to him, and no matter how hard he worked, he wouldn't see an extra egg in his instant noodles. Naturally, there was no incentive to exert himself.

Furthermore, his own living conditions back then were so shabby they resembled a dog kennel, so he had no inclination to improve the livestock's quarters.

But this place was different.

The pasture's owner, Beast Senior, not only provided him and his family with a place to live but also promised that Shepp could manage the pasture independently, including purchasing livestock, hiring apprentices, and earning a third of the profits as his compensation.

Such generous conditions made him doubt his ears.

Only when presented with a black-and-white contract did he believe that the "Player Lord" wasn't joking and was serious about entrusting him with the pasture.

"...Do your best. This isn't just my pasture—it's yours too!" After leaving those words, the Player Lord completely handed the pasture over to him and then turned his attention to developing some "vegetable greenhouses."

Moved by this trust and the prospect of a brighter future, Shepp poured his heart and soul into this newly built pasture.

Every aspect of its design reflected the experiences he'd accumulated over years of farming, improved upon here.

He not only optimized the troughs for the livestock's drinking and feeding convenience, but also enhanced ventilation, lighting, insulation, and other aspects.

For this, he even incorporated some of the pasture owner's suggestions, ensuring that every detail was addressed to the best of his ability.

Everything was perfect here.

Except there were no cattle.

But with the recent delivery of livestock, this issue had been resolved.

Arriving at the pasture, Shepp saw several Little Demons flapping their wings, hovering above the herd of cows.

They seemed startled by each other.

The cows uneasily paced around, while the Little Demons, faced with creatures several times their size, were equally unsure of what to do.

Spotting the human shepherd in the distance, the Little Demons immediately lit up, darting toward him while chattering noisily.

"Oh! Human!"

"You're finally here?"

"Too slow!"

"Hurry, hurry, hurry! Get the Demon King's cattle into the shed! Don't let them freeze to death!"

"Damn! It's so cold outside the Maze!"

Watching the chattering, noisy creatures, Shepp reached out to open the fence gate, carrying his tools into the enclosure.

"No need to rush. They won't freeze to death in such a short time. Let them familiarize themselves with the environment before it snows... Leave them to me; you don't need to interfere."