The Lord: Raising a Maiden in the World of Torment

"Thank you, my lord," the guard murmured, still dazed.

Field reached out and pulled him to his feet, giving him a firm punch on the shoulder as encouragement. "It's no small task to train a capable soldier. I'm counting on you all to rise above your slave status and become real warriors—maybe even knights someday!"

The guard's eyes lit up with fervour. Until now, he had always dismissed Field's promises as empty words or the usual noble jest. But now, he could sense that Field was… different from other nobles.

"For Lord Field, charge!"

The surrounding soldiers, caught up in the wave of enthusiasm, roared in unison and began swinging their pikes with wild determination, cutting down the undead in a frenzy.

It didn't take long for the corrupted creatures drawn by the noise to be wiped out. Field quickly counted the bodies—there were over seventy of them.

He took a sharp breath, but the stench of blood and decay flooded his lungs, making him gag and immediately clamp his mouth shut. His thoughts raced. Did the winery really need this many workers? When the Empire unleashed the Death Mist, why didn't they evacuate the Northern Province first?

"Whatever. Not my problem," he muttered under his breath, shaking off the useless questions.

Without dwelling on things he couldn't change, Field pressed deeper into the winery.

After walking for a while, Field finally stumbled upon the large brewing room. He indulged in a fleeting fantasy of discovering raw materials like sugar crystals or barley.

But his wishful thinking was shattered by the sight of a grotesque bat-woman's corpse sprawled across the room. Her lifeless eyes stared wide open in horror. From her neck to her groin, her body had been violently torn apart, her organs nowhere to be seen.

"What a waste of barley. This was supposed to be used for brewing ale," Field muttered, noticing the scattered remains of what could still loosely be called "barley" nearby. Ten years of time, coupled with the effects of corruption, had turned the barley grains into writhing, squirming masses. Field couldn't help but marvel at the transformative nature of the corruption. "Maybe this corruption isn't a devil's curse after all. It could be some form of unique radiation."

"Radiation?"

Ashina tilted her head, her brain grinding to a halt as she tried to process the unfamiliar word. Just as she was about to ask, her expression suddenly shifted. "Be careful! Something's coming—fast!"

The speed was incredible, so much so that even Field hadn't noticed the skull icon flashing on his minimap.

Clang!

The guard in the front line froze in terror, instinctively glancing upward. In an instant, the shield he held was violently shattered into countless fragments, and he was sent flying, flailing helplessly.

In the spot where he had stood now crouched a creature resembling a Licker from Resident Evil. Its slender tail and long snout hinted at its origins—it had once been a rat, now grotesquely mutated into a horrifying predator.

The rat-beast let out a piercing shriek and lunged at Field, its razor-sharp claws slashing toward him with deadly precision.

Field felt a powerful gust of wind as enormous claws loomed larger and larger before his eyes.

"Not a chance!"

At the critical moment, Ashina commanded the draconic wolf to dart in front of Field, curling its massive body protectively around him.

With a deafening crackle and a spray of sparks, the beast's claws collided with the wolf's thick scales. The impact barely fazed the draconic wolf, which didn't even let out a grunt.

The rat-beast froze, momentarily stunned. It glanced down at its claws, which had torn through countless opponents before. Today, they had only managed to scrape off two bloodied scales.

With a single swipe of its massive paw, the draconic wolf smacked the rat-beast to the ground.

Seizing the opportunity, Lynx and the others rushed forward, hacking and slashing with their swords and pikes. But the rat-beast, with its thick hide and powerful frame, shrugged off the onslaught with little more than superficial wounds.

It lashed out with its elongated limbs, swiping the soldiers aside like dust. Seven or eight guards, clad in full armour, were sent flying effortlessly. Even with their lighter lamellar armour, each soldier weighed well over a hundred pounds with their gear—yet the monster tossed them aside as if they were feathers.

"Fall back! This thing is beyond the realm of ordinary creatures," Field shouted, raising his shield as he quickly crouched in a corner. He cursed under his breath, "I forgot to bring the crossbows. Against a creature with hide this thick, the only way regular people can hurt it is with a crossbow bolt. This one's all yours, Ashina."

The rat-beast got back on its feet, its glowing eyes locking onto a guard. It lunged forward, ready to grab its prey and make a snack of him.

"Not on my watch!" Ashina roared, channelling her strength into her spear as her entire body radiated a powerful aura.

The immense force of Ashina's thrust drove the spear through the rat-beast's body like a knife slicing through paper, piercing deeply into its flesh before becoming lodged between its bones. Had the terrain allowed her to charge atop the draconic wolf, the attack would have skewered the creature completely.

The rat-beast let out a howl of pain, its claws swiping desperately toward Ashina.

Boom!

The draconic wolf slammed into the rat-beast's chest with the force of a speeding train, halting its attack and sending it flying backward, exposing a vulnerable opening.

This was a third-tier corrupted creature. In such a confined space, only a third-tier human—someone with the power of aura or magic—could hope to kill it, or alternatively, the use of siege ballistae or armour-piercing crossbows.

Luckily, a Chosen One was far beyond the capability of ordinary people. With her first-tier strength as a Chosen, Ashina alone was more than a match for the monster.

"Frostpierce Lance!"

For the first time, Ashina unleashed a divine skill.

Starlight gathered in her hands, forming a gleaming spear that writhed like an ethereal, ghostly blue dragon. Ashina poured an enormous amount of divine power into the weapon, channeling her strength with precise coordination of her legs, waist, and arms before hurling it with all her might.

The divine spear struck the rat-beast with a resounding impact. Blood spurted out as bones shattered and tendons snapped. Chunks of flesh were pulverised and splattered across the walls in a gruesome display.

"Phew... finally dealt with it," Ashina said, her face pale and her breaths coming in gasps, showing clear signs of exhaustion.

The battle had ended in mere moments, but the tension and danger had been suffocating.

Field let out a long breath of relief. "Good thing you were here. That last portion of venison steak is yours."

"Long live Lord Field!" Ashina's tail wagged furiously at the mention of venison, her mouth watering uncontrollably. Her earlier cool and composed demeanour during the fight was completely gone. But after a moment, she patted her chest and said generously, "Half is enough for me. You've worked hard too, my lord."

Field felt a wave of warmth at her gesture.

The minimap showed that the remaining monsters in the Grand Winery were sparse, with only a few scattered skull icons left.

To be safe, Field first escorted the injured out of the winery, treated their wounds, and then led the rested group back to thoroughly clear the entire building.

It wasn't until 9 p.m. that the cleanup reached its final stages.

The Grand Winery was in terrible shape, with collapsed sections everywhere. Wind blew through cracks in the stone walls, stirring up grey dust. The only solace was that the main structure of the building was still intact. The first and second floors had been completely searched, but nothing of value had been found. The only things left were pitch-black, broken planks of wood, which might be used to build makeshift shelters or as firewood.

"Next up is the wine cellar, my lord," a guard said as he stepped forward. Ignoring the thick layer of dust on the cellar door, he gripped it firmly with both hands and pulled it open with great effort. A dark staircase leading downwards was revealed.

Field swallowed hard, rubbing his hands nervously as he muttered to himself, "Buddha bless me, God bless me… please let me find something useful down there."

The dark cellar was filled with stacks of oak sherry barrels, many of which had been damaged or crushed by collapsed debris. Dried water stains were scattered across the floor, and signs of rats scurrying about could be seen in the dust.