Chapter 279: Chapter 279
"What are the two choices?" Du You expressed the curiosity someone in his situation should.
The city lord didn’t keep him in suspense, he spoke directly: "The first choice is to return to the homeland and become a hereditary baron. Your descendants would also be nobles. In the system of nobility, if there are no sufficient accolades every three generations, a tier of nobility is reduced. However, accumulating accolades is relatively easy, White Stone City is a place for nobles to do so."
Uh, as a city lord, should you really talk about your city like that?
"Of course, if you choose to return to the mainland, you will not have a territory because nearly all domestic territories have already been distributed and you can’t find any new ones. And even if there were, they wouldn’t go to you."
"One advantage of returning home is that you can mingle with other nobles. The reason why we can bestow hereditary status is because they want to assimilate you."
"So what’s the second choice?" Du You didn’t want to compete fiercely with those nobles.
He wasn’t from this world, he was a Professional. If he had to constantly battle those nobles, why would he even be here? The reason he came here was to improve himself.
The corners of the city lord’s mouth twitched into a smile then he stated solemnly, "The second choice is very tough. You become the pioneering lord of White Stone City. You can establish a territory, but your status can’t be hereditary."
The city lord continued, "White Stone City’s environment is unique. Any territory you fight for is yours, it needn’t be handed over to the empire. However, it’s a desolate and hazardous place. Nobles who previously tried establishing their domains either gave up or were annihilated. Those few who still remain have been around for many years."
Du You’s eyes sparkled. This was the path he wanted. As for the risk, what was there to fear?
It was precisely because of the danger that there were opportunities for battles, and the chance to rapidly increase his power. As a Professional, his choices differed from those of native nobles seeking a comfortable and peaceful life.
"I choose the second option. I want to be the pioneering lord."
When the city lord heard Du You’s choice, he seemed very pleased. However, he cautioned, "You have to reconsider this. It’s very dangerous. You may have to do battle with the sandpeople for the rest of your life. It’s too risky—you won’t have a peaceful life. If you do choose to be a pioneering lord, regardless of how much your status improves in the future, you can never return to the homeland. Unless you give up everything and return to the empire as a commoner."
So, those who couldn’t persevere had given up. Now, Du You had some idea of what had happened.
"Once you give up, you’ll never be able to become a noble again. This is an established rule."
Frankly, Du You didn’t care. If he honestly couldn’t persevere, then he would leave. If he can get a chance to establish a territory once, then he can certainly get the opportunity again. If necessary, he could always switch to another world.
Many things came easily to Du You. Because of this, he didn’t necessarily value them highly or find them all that impressive.
"I’ve chosen. I want to be a pioneering lord and fight the sandpeople. To contribute to the empire is my wish." Du You felt like he’d just delivered a stellar acting performance.
The city lord nodded with a smile, "Very good. I knew I hadn’t misjudged you. I approve of your request. If you can’t manage in the future, you can always return to White Stone City. Although you won’t be a noble, you can still serve as a military officer."
What the city lord didn’t mention was that previous pioneering lords who couldn’t cope ended up returning to White Stone City. Many of the officers and even some noble ancestors in the city had once been in their position.
Even though they were viewed as failures, they were still respected by the people of White Stone City.
"Here, this is your Lord Token. Don’t lose it. Your new insignia and nobility documents will be prepared for you before the end of today. As of tomorrow, you can’t stay in White Stone City for a prolonged period."
Thinking about something, the city lord suddenly said, "Oh, one more thing. Choose where you want to establish your territory. There are two options: one is to the north where many of our established lords reside due to the presence of several oases. The other is the southern mountains. Although the environment there is unfavorable, there are fewer sandpeople because it’s hilly."
Du You thanked the city lord and accepted the token. The moment he held the token, a jolt ran through his body. He then regained his composure, bowed, and left.
"You all saw that, right? I didn’t force him," the city lord said to the empty room.
"Hmph, serves him right if he dies. After all, he doesn’t appreciate what’s offered to him." A voice came from within the wall. It turned out there were some nobles hiding there. Every time a new baron was being initiated, they would do this.
Meanwhile, Du You looked ecstatic. For the moment he received the token, the panel transformed.
New task triggered: You’ve successfully become a baron of the Divine Flame Empire and obtained lordship eligibility. Please choose your domain to trigger the territory establishment task.
"It really worked! I hadn’t expected territorial rights to be directly related to being a lord in the Otherworld. I wonder if becoming a mountain bandit or becoming a mountain lord could trigger similar tasks."
Du You didn’t trigger the task because his skills were still too weak.
For those sandpeople, although it seemed like he had the upper hand, that was only because he had a large number of soldiers. If he had to face a horde of sandpeople alone, especially when some were of tier two, he wouldn’t stand a chance. In order to establish a territory, strength was requisite.
Du You decided to make sure he understood the territory situation. Only after he’d advanced to tier two would he begin to establish it.
Moreover, when he was an Awakener, he couldn’t find any information about territories on the Magic Network. That sort of thing seemed to have been hidden, kept from the knowledge of those at the Awakener level. The rıghtful source is 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩·𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢·𝔫𝔢𝔱
Regardless, now that he was qualified to trigger the task, it felt like he was one step ahead of everyone else.
During his recent investigations, Du You found that no Professionals had ever come to White Stone City or even heard of the Divine Flame Empire.
Therefore, he had a high probability of maintaining secrecy. He would not need to worry about pressures from Earth. He could manage as long as he did his part in developing the territory.