Foreign Land Reclamation By a Vegetable-growing Skeleton

“Why did you commit robbery on the road?”

“Well, sir, we were not robbing. We were only collecting taxes. You can’t label us like that.” Brand lifted his head, a mournful look on his face as he spoke.

“Quibbling, smack.”

Ange once again slapped his head, dazing him, his eyes nearly blurred with stars.

“Why did you commit robbery on the road?”

“…We’re poor, but we are not robbers. The local troops levy an eleven percent tax. This is a power bestowed on us by the Holy Light, we’re absolutely not robbing.” Brand vehemently denied any wrongdoing.

Although what they were doing was essentially no different from robbery, and even possibly better than robbery, they firmly refused to admit it. If they admitted it, not only would he be finished, but the other people would also be finished, and it might even implicate their families.

What a coincidence? He was now beginning to suspect that this was entrapment. Would a God’s Knight disguise himself as a commoner and cross mountains under the leadership of the undead?

“Poor?” Negris was genuinely surprised at such an answer. But looking at Brand’s worn-out equipment, it seemed like a very straightforward reason.

“Doesn’t your superior allocate funds? Is there no maintenance for your equipment?” Negris asked.

When this question was raised, Brand couldn’t help his eyes turning red: “We haven’t received our salary for several months, there has been no equipment maintenance for a few years. Even food and cloth have become scarce recently. It’s getting difficult to survive.”

“Really? They don’t even pay you? Have your superiors become corrupt?” Negris expressed his surprise.

Brand glanced at Ange, trying to figure out from the expression on Ange’s face whether he was genuinely surprised or setting a trap. However, Ange’s face was expressionless.

Brand hesitated for a moment, then shook his head decisively: “No, I heard it was because of the split in the Eastern Diocese of the Master Plane, which led to a shortage of supplies. That’s why we weren’t paid.”

Seeing that Brand shook his head with a grimace, Negris suddenly felt a touch of sympathy for these Paladins. Clearly, he was still worried that Ange was setting a trap and didn’t dare to tell the truth. Have the lower echelons of the Church of Light become this cautious?

Negris thought it would be good to have a sincere chat, and he spoke a few words in Ange’s mind.

Ange nodded, stomping his foot on the ground.

Swoosh, three pillars of earth rose up, two short and one tall. The tall one quickly shaped into a tabletop. In a blink, a set of two chairs and a table took shape.

Indicating Ange to take out some fresh beetroot, some varieties can be eaten as fruit when fresh and taste good.

“Sit, eat.”

Brand looked incredulous. The shock, of course, came from Ange’s ability, so fast that his elemental senses could barely register it. A description from the church perfectly fits this scene – the will of God.

God said, let there be light, and there was light… God felt the room was too empty, so there were tables and chairs…

This was a high-level divine art, who was this God’s Knight?

He gingerly sat down, picked up a beetroot but did not dare to eat it, and nervously fumbled it in his hands.

After a heartfelt conversation, Negris finally understood the situation of Brand and his fellow Paladins.

According to Brand, the personnel in the Land of Fallen were divided into garrisons and reinforcements. The reinforcements were troops from the Master Plane that rotated every four months to help with the battle.

These troops were well-equipped, well-trained, had good living conditions and were highly capable of combat.

Originally, all the troops were ‘reinforcements’ a thousand years ago. But as the battle reached a stalemate, particularly after the establishment of the Land of Fallen Diocese, some people stayed behind.

Some of these garrison personnel came and went, but some stayed on and brought their families and friends, even settling down to raise children. Decades later, their descendants became locals of this plane.

The living conditions in the Land of Fallen were hard, supplies were scarce, and the land was barren. Additionally, the garrison suffered the most severe casualties, lost many elites, and over time, their combat power significantly declined.

The main force in the fight against the undead became reinforcements from the Master Plane. The original garrisons were relegated to secondary defense forces, tasked with defending the long Central Mountain Range and human settlements.

The few elite garrisons were all concentrated in the Holy Wall City to guard the front line before the endless night came.

Secondary defense forces naturally didn’t enjoy good conditions. With the incurable corruption of the Church, allocations were made reluctantly, and cuts were common. Faced with this helplessness, everyone had to be self-sufficient.

But in the Land of Fallen, what method could be used for self-reliance? There were only a few undead merchants. If they caught one, they wouldn’t dare to squeeze too much out of them, fearing that in the future, they would take their business elsewhere.

Now, Brand’s village was short of clothes and food. Not only were their rations insufficient and in arrears, but their families and villagers were also starving.

The Land of Fallen’s productivity was not enough to supply so many people, mainly because it was the front line, and the Master Plane continuously shipped in supplies.

But a few months ago, the Eastern Diocese of the Master Plane declared independence and called itself the Holy District. This was a great excuse. Although the amount of supplies sent by the curia had not decreased, local parasites had unanimously found excuses to increase cuts.