Farming in the Magical World

"Deer, Deer, hurry, hurry, we've been waiting for you!"

In the darkness, Black Deer walked toward the village entrance and spotted several figures standing there in the distance. As he approached, he heard greetings coming from afar.

These are the friends who went to join the guard team this time. They made arrangements yesterday.

"Huh, where are the others?" As he got closer, he realized there were fewer people than he had expected. There were supposed to be about ten people yesterday, but now there were only seven or eight here.

"Hey, that Wood guy couldn't convince his father when he got home and even got a beating. He's lying in bed howling. Almost everyone else who didn't come is in the same situation!" Sam was a little annoyed. They had agreed on everything yesterday, but now that it was time to leave, none of these guys showed up.

"So it's just the few of us then?" Black Deer looked at Sam, Nick, and the others standing there, somewhat surprised.

He observed for a while and found that almost all of those who didn't come were only children in their families, just like his own family. Either the children in front of him had already joined the security team, or the family didn't have any other children.

However, he managed to escape on his own by fighting against his father, while his friends, who had never fought against their parents, were unable to escape.

For the first time in over a decade of his life, he made an independent decision, and for the first time stood up to his father and won. He felt both proud to make a decision like an adult for the first time, and also filled with confusion and a little worry about the unknown future.

Fortunately, he has an older brother in the security force, so he's not entirely without confidence.

However, seeing only a few scattered people, he began to worry about Lord Lanny, whom he had not yet met.

The number of people is much smaller than he expected. It is said that they are recruiting seventy or eighty people this time. What are they going to do with so few people?

"Yeah, it's just the few of us, let's go!" Nick, however, didn't have as many thoughts as him. Instead, he was excited and restless, already impatiently urging the others to set off quickly.

It was still dark before dawn, but fortunately, they were all used to the hardships of life in the village and knew the road out of the village very well, so they didn't find it difficult to travel in the dark.

"The guards' uniforms are really cool, they're called uniforms, right?"

"Black Deer, do you think we can get uniforms like this too?" Nick, who had been talking non-stop because Black Deer had an older brother in the security force, asked Black Deer for confirmation.

Before Black Deer could answer, Sam chimed in, "No way, no way! I think their military posture is the coolest, okay...?"

"Father should be up by now, right? I'm leaving too, I wonder if he'll be able to manage..." Listening to the nagging of the people around her, as she got further and further away from home, Black Deer couldn't help but worry about her old father back home.

As they hurried along, the sky gradually brightened, and the group walked more and more smoothly, soon arriving at the crossroads where they met other villages.

"Look, aren't those people from Mill Village? There are so many of them!"

Suddenly, Nick, who was walking in front, shouted and pointed to another path not far away.

Black Deer looked up and saw that it was indeed true. There were probably thirty or forty people in that group, marching forward in a grand procession. He recognized a few of the people in the group; they occasionally came to Black Mountain Village to trade grain for game and furs, so he knew that Nick was right.

"Wow, I thought there wouldn't be many people in Mill Village this time. I heard from Brother Black Tiger that not many people went to Mill Village last time. I didn't expect so many people this time." Sam was a little surprised to see so many people.

“What’s so strange about that? The people of Mill Village mainly rely on farming, so they can’t compare to the strength of the people in our Black Mountain Village, and naturally they’re not as brave as us.” Nick puffed out his chest with pride. Although Aaron had said this when he came back to visit his family, it didn’t stop him from using it as his own analysis.

"Then why are there so many people this time?" Black Deer said leisurely, looking at the crowd opposite him.

Black Deer's words made Nick immediately choke, and after a long pause, he finally blurted out, "Is the harvest bad this year, and we can't afford to eat?"

His meaning was clear: perhaps the harvest in Mill Village was poor this year, and people were starving to death; these people were going to the security guard's house for a meal.

Upon hearing his words, several of his friends burst out laughing.

Even he himself knew that what he said couldn't be true, and he couldn't help but laugh out loud.

It's only early summer now, and the harvest won't be visible for several more months. How could people start starving to death at this time? The real starvation happens during the lean season when food is scarce.

Although what he said made no sense, the fact is that quite a few people did come to Mill Village this time.

What surprised them even more was that when they arrived at the lord's castle, the small square of the security guard was already crowded with people. From a distance, it looked like a dark mass of heads. Black Deer even felt that it was more crowded than the people he had seen when he went to Elfen.

Several tables had been set up in the square, and a group of people were chattering around them. Around them stood rows of guards in black uniforms, standing as still as wooden stakes. They looked incredibly imposing from a distance, and many young people were pointing and whispering among themselves.

"Black Deer, Black Deer, look, look, that's your brother." As soon as they entered the square, Nick grabbed Black Deer's arm and pointed ahead excitedly.

Black Deer looked and saw that it was indeed his second brother, Black Tiger, who was standing next to him with a serious expression, maintaining order. Anyone who tried to approach the barracks would be persuaded to leave.

"Brother, brother!" Black Deer walked over, looking at his second brother's black uniform with envy. The medals on his chest gleamed in the sunlight, and the spear he held in his hand gleamed coldly.

"What brings you here? Are you here to watch the fun? You're not afraid of getting tired, coming all this way to watch the fun!" Black Tiger was a little surprised to see his underlings, and then he noticed a few of his fellow villagers around him, and nodded and greeted them.

"If you're just watching the fun, move aside and don't block the way. I can't leave, I'll come find you later!" Black Tiger looked around and asked the group to move aside. The number of people who came today was more than expected, which put a lot of pressure on them to maintain order. Everyone in the team was quite busy, and they really couldn't find anyone to take over for them right away.

"What? Brother Black Tiger, we're here to join the guard!" Nick was as impatient as ever, revealing their purpose before Black Deer could even stop them.

Black Deer didn't want to tell his second brother so soon. He was worried that his second brother would also stop him like their father. He wanted to register his name first and make it a fait accompli.

Once I successfully register, I think my second brother won't be able to do anything about it, right?

Of course, he didn't know at the time that joining the security force wasn't just a matter of signing up; one had to be selected to get in.

Black Tiger was stunned upon hearing this, his expression changing rapidly. Just when Black Deer thought his brother was going to scold him, the other patted him on the shoulder again, saying, "Well done! As expected of our family's third brother, you have courage!"

Then, Black Tiger looked at his younger brother with a puzzled expression, "Did Father allow you to come?"

It's no wonder he thought that way; after all, his father wanted to call even himself back, so he certainly wouldn't agree to his third son joining the security detail.

Nick was about to speak when Black Deer stopped him with a hand gesture. He was really annoyed by this fast talker.

After calming himself down, he looked at Black Tiger and gave an awkward smile. "Hehe, he didn't say anything when he left today, so I guess that means he agreed?"

He thought his second brother would stop him, but to his surprise, his second brother seemed very happy, which was beyond his expectations and made him breathe a sigh of relief.

Black Tiger turned his head and looked at Black Deer with a suspicious expression, as if to say, "You little brat, are you kidding me?"

He genuinely didn't believe his father would so easily agree to his third son's actions; it didn't align with his understanding of his father.

After looking him up and down for a long time, Black Tiger suddenly reached out and lifted his younger brother's clothes, revealing all the red marks on Black Deer's body.

Seeing that the red marks on his younger brother's body weren't too serious, Black Tiger laughed loudly, "Haha, you little brat, trying to fool me! Tsk tsk tsk, you got a good beating..."

After laughing for a while, he asked in a low voice, "Why didn't you dodge this time?"

He knew perfectly well that his younger brother was always the one who begged for mercy the most when he was beaten. Of the three brothers, Black Tiger was the one who got beaten the most, because he was the most mischievous. On the contrary, the third brother got beaten the least and was the best at reading people's expressions.

Black Deer curled his lip and said irritably, "If we really hide, won't we be unable to come? We could hide before, but we can't hide this time!"

Hearing his younger brother's words, Black Tiger began to look at his third brother with new respect.

Looking at Black Deer a few more times, he realized that the kid was almost as tall as him. He suddenly sighed, "This little brother has finally grown up and is a real man."

He slapped Black Deer's arm hard again, laughing heartily at Black Deer's wincing pain. "Hahaha, alright, you still know pain, your brain isn't damaged yet. Go on, go on, registration is with Lord Tim! Oh, and the guy next to you in the nice clothes is Lord Lanny, watch your mouths!"

Following Black Tiger's directions, the group approached the table displaying the recruitment records and found a considerable number of people in front of them, all lined up in a row. Several team members were directing the process, and the group obediently stood at the back of the line, waiting for it to move forward.

Tim was sitting behind the table looking exhausted. There were more people than expected today. Even as a knight, he was tired after working there since morning.

Sitting to his right was not Frank, but Aaron, the captain of the second team. He was the recorder for the day. He was the most literate in the guard, so Tim conscripted him. Frank was also busy and didn't want to bother him.

To his left was Lanny, dressed in aristocratic attire. He hadn't been there long and had just come to check on things. Since the matter had been entrusted to Tim, he didn't want to interfere too much. However, even though Lanny hadn't been there before, Tim had prepared a seat for him, so he was naturally happy to sit down and rest for a while.

He hadn't had an easy time either, so this was a chance to rest for a while and also to observe the people in his territory. Besides, he would be dealing with these people frequently in the future, so getting to know them better wouldn't be a bad thing.

"Next, name, age, and where are you from!" Tim took a sip of tea and began the next round of testing in a hoarse voice.

“Black Deer, seventeen years old, from Black Mountain Village!” Black Deer puffed out his chest and raised his head, answering the question in front of him loudly. He first winked at Aaron next to him, then glanced at Lanny next to him.

He was very curious about this nobleman whom his brother mentioned even more frequently than Lord Tim. In his eyes, Lanny had a pale complexion, but his noble clothes made him look very smart. With his brother's praise, Lanny appeared extremely dignified in his eyes.

"Oh, so this is a team member's family member? Black Mountain Village, let me guess, your brother is Black Tiger?" Tim could tell from the tone of his voice that this kid had been influenced by the team member's aura, and a gentle smile appeared on his face. Combined with the distinctive name, it was easy to guess who this was. "How many brothers do you have? Are you the third one?"

"My lord, my brother is Black Tiger, and there are three brothers in my family!" Black Deer answered loudly again, mimicking the voice quite well.

Upon hearing that he was Black Tiger's younger brother, Lanny became interested and began to look the black deer up and down.

"Haha, good, good, good. Now run a lap along this line and let me see!" Tim pointed to a line drawn in front of him. Only then did Black Deer notice that there was an empty passage next to the team.

Black Deer first stretched his limbs before darting out at top speed. When he returned to the table, Tim was already smiling and nodding. "Pass, Team One..."

“Fourth team!” Lanny suddenly spoke up, interrupting Tim.

Tim glanced at him in surprise, then thought for a moment and nodded. "Black Deer, Team Four!"

Aaron had already picked up his quill to write down the name when he heard Lanny's words and looked at Lanny in surprise. For a moment, he was stunned. Lanny had never interrupted Lord Tim like this before.

It wasn't until Tim confirmed that he snapped out of his daze and hurriedly wrote Black Deer's name on the roster of Team Four.

"Next..."

Only after the second applicant, Sam, ran out did Tim whisper to Lenny why he had interrupted. Lenny pondered for a moment and slowly said, "Did you notice? They have three brothers. The eldest, Black Bear, is already... ... The remaining two brothers can't be in the same team. You need to be careful later too; you can't put all the brothers in one team."

"This will also be one of the principles, one of the most important principles, for the future recruitment of our guards."

"Why?" Tim couldn't understand. According to the knights' custom, if brothers are all knights, they are the strongest when they are together. After all, blood ties, mutual cooperation, and determination to save each other are the greatest!

Lanny, who hadn't wanted to explain, hesitated for a moment when he saw Tim's confusion before explaining, "Think about it, if in a battle, both brothers... what about their father? How heartbroken would he be? How would we face them?"

"Alright, I'm going to the workshop now. There's a lot to do there, so I'll leave this to you!" With that, he got up and hurried off to the workshop.

Watching Lanny's retreating figure, Tim and Aaron both fell into deep thought.

Yes, they seem to have forgotten that Black Deer is the last son in the family. If both brothers were to die in a battle, their father would probably...

Although Tim curled his lip, somewhat disapproving of Lanny's "benevolence," he had to admit that having such a lord and master seemed pretty good.