Foreign Land Reclamation By a Vegetable-growing Skeleton

The most significant aspect of the Earth Hammer is its blessing – only the recognised can lift it. If Anthony crafted a hammer that lacked even the most basic feature, it could not be called a forgery.

The Array had long been engraved inside the hammer. Once infused with the Holy Light, it would generate a powerful adhesion force — creating a deception that it is simply too heavy to lift.

The more potent the Holy Light infused, the stronger and more enduring the adhering force. That was why Ange was required to operate it. In this world, apart from the Gods of Light, who else’s Holy Light could be more potent than his?

The pale clerk was speechless with shock, so he ran off. Shortly thereafter, the local officials of the Mercenary Guild, high-level personnel, military force leaders, and so on, all assembled.

In addition to that, there were high-level members of top-tier mercenary groups, independent elite mercenaries present. The lower- and mid-tier mercenaries had already been pushed to the outskirts.

To prevent people from seeing through his Soul Armor, Ange had invoked the Holy Light to wrap around his body. This was not out of excessive nervousness. In the mercenary profession, all sorts of odd abilities can exist – and seeing through Soul Armor wasn’t strange.

But to see through Soul Armor and penetrate the Holy Light was much more challenging – because these were two almost contrasting force attributes, with very few people possessing the ability to counter both attributes.

As expected, not long after Ange used his Holy Light, he sensed several waves of power quietly cast upon himself. These powers recoiled immediately once touched by the Holy Light.

Ange followed the wave of power and saw the previous Dark Elf, a mysterious figure covered in a cloak, and an old man with a solemn expression on his face, marked by the ravages of time.

Seeing Ange looking towards them, the Dark Elf shrank back in shock, retreating into the crowd with an expression of horror.

The cloaked figure trembled and lowered his head.

Only the solemn old man performed a salute over his heart, then turned and walked away.

Apparently, none of them predicted that Ange would discover their observation so swiftly and accurately pinpoint them. It was like a thief preparing to dip hands into your pocket, only to look up and find you have been watching him all along – caught red-handed.

The other experts also noticed this silent shift, promptly abandoning their idle thoughts. Those who dared to investigate first in these circumstances are usually confident in their abilities, yet now they had all been caught out.

Especially the old man, recognized by some as the ‘Eye of the Gods’ – was actually startled and ran away?

Some murmured quietly among themselves, “No one has completed a super task in years. The Earth Hammer task should be the simplest one in all those years. The challenge mainly depends on who can lift it. It’s unexpected that someone can really lift it.”

“No, a Sword Saint Level figure can actually lift it with brute force. The key is whether or not the heir to the Black Mountain Kingdom possesses the ability to lift it. If they can lift it, it signifies recognition from the Earth Hammer, automatically inheriting the Black Mountain Kingdom.”

“Hasn’t the royal family of the Black Mountain Kingdom all died out?”

“Did you forget about the illegitimate son? He’s in our Roland City. Maybe he’s already been informed about the Earth Hammer and is rushing over here.”

No sooner had the words been spoken than the main character arrived. A ragged young man was excitedly shouting, “Holy Hammer, my Earth Hammer, our family’s Holy Hammer. Let me pass, let me pass.”

Everyone opened up a path. The excited young man was about to throw himself towards the Hammer when he was stopped by the guild members. “We still need to verify the authenticity of the Hammer. Please do not approach.”

The young man asked urgently, “The Earth Hammer is the sacred object of our Black Mountain Kingdom. If it is verified as real, please return it to me.”

The high-ranking members of the guild looked at each other. After a while, President Kage, the local leader of the guild, said, “Black Mountain, ah, although you call yourself Black Mountain, the guild does not want to interfere in your family affairs. Once the authenticity is verified, the item will be returned to the sponsor. The current task was initiated by the interim ruler of the Black Mountain Kingdom. The Hammer will be handed over to them at that time.”

“My older cousin!? No, you can’t hand the sacred object to him. He is not of the Black Mountain family. He is usurping the throne!” The young man, who refers to himself as Black Mountain, asserted loudly.

President Kage just responded with a polite smile, without addressing his assertion.

After an examination, the guild’s appraiser reached a conclusion: “President, it’s real.”

“No, you haven’t seen the Earth Hammer. Your words don’t count. I’ve seen it. My father has shown me the Holy Hammer many times. Let me see it,” Black Mountain immediately said.

After pondering for a while, President Kage nodded to everyone and stepped aside.

Black Mountain immediately lunged at the Holy Hammer, grabbed its handle in both hands and, before anyone could react, lifted the Earth Hammer. The Holy Hammer shone brilliantly.

“Hahaha, it’s real, it’s the real Earth Hammer. It recognizes me, it finally recognizes me. I am the heir to the Black Mountain Kingdom!” Black Mountain shouted loudly, causing a stir among the crowd.

Upon seeing this, Negris finally sensed something wrong and muttered, “This illegitimate child of Black Mountain… couldn’t he be arranged by Anthony?”

Black Mountain put down the Earth Hammer. When others tried to lift it again, they still couldn’t. This confirmed the fact that the Holy Hammer had recognized Black Mountain.

Of course, it wasn’t that no one could lift it. Those with strength exceeding the Sword Saint Level could lift the Holy Hammer with brute force and then quickly wrap it in a shroud.

“Come on! Follow me to the Black Mountain Kingdom. I can lift the Holy Hammer. I am the Duke’s heir. Follow me to retake the lost title. You all will be meritorious,” Black Mountain roared to the mercenaries behind him, and several of them immediately stepped forward, “We support you.”

With a buzz, a large number of supporters followed Black Mountain out of the guild hall.

Negris swore, “Kvada, this is all arranged. After this scene, Black Mountain will have a legitimate excuse to reclaim his title. His supporters must have been arranged by Anthony. As long as he reclaims the title, he will naturally get the Earth Hammer. By then, whether the Holy Hammer is real or not won’t matter, no one will check it again.”

The old, experienced politician with his deep calculations even startled Negris, the age-old prophet. The insect disaster in the Black Mountain Kingdom was clearly sudden. In such a short time, they had already implemented a plan to support their own people and throw a wrench in the Western District’s plans.

The Black Mountain Kingdom is nominally independent but is also within the sphere of influence of the Western District. As long as one of Anthony’s people can become Duke, he can immediately get a strong supporter in the Western District.

The Anthony Knights, who were trapped in the city and needed Ange for supplies, must have been part of the plan too.

Negris was scared, but Ange wasn’t. After all, he didn’t understand. After the messy people left, President Kage came over and politely said, “My friend, this way, please.”

In the private meeting room, President Kage personally brought out some items and politely asked, “May I know your name or codename?”

Ange sat there, letting Negris take the lead in speaking, as Ange’s fragmented manner of speaking could drive many people crazy.

Negris curiously asked, “You can use a codename?” His voice came from Ange’s body, sounding as if Ange was speaking, thanks to the Soul Armor.

But since it wasn’t exactly like speaking, President Kage could tell the difference, but he didn’t show any reaction. Instead, he said, “Certainly, our Mercenary Guild respects everyone’s privacy. You can use your real name or a codename. But if you use a codename, we can’t bind it to your identity. If you lose anything, it’s gone for good. You can’t get a replacement.”

“Oh, then use a codename, Vegetable Farmer.”

“Vegetable Farmer? Are you sure?” Kage asked with a puzzled expression.

“Yes, just call it that,” Negris affirmed. There was no other codename more fitting for Ange than this.

“Uh, that name’s taken. Someone used it already. How about we add a number after it?”

“No, change it to Planting Vegetable Farmer. Is that also taken? Vegetable Head? Veggie Bone? Can Veggie Bone be used? Let’s go with that, no more changes.”

After the difficult task of settling on a codename, President Kage presented the items on the tray one by one, “This stack consists of one hundred anonymous Magic Crystal Prepaid Cards, this is your Super Mercenary Ring. With it, you can receive the highest support from the Mercenary Guild, including intelligence, resources, transportation, personnel, etc. This is…”