Old farmer Harrell, carrying an iron plow, hurried back to the village in a panic.
From a distance, he saw a group of idle men returning from farm work, gathered at the village entrance and chatting, which made old farmer Harrell even more excited.
He was eager to share what he had seen and heard today with everyone.
He dared to guarantee that his encounter today would make every single one of their eyeballs pop out in shock.
Thinking of everyone's shocked and envious expressions, old farmer Harrell suddenly felt a surge of strength, and his steps became even more agile and swift.
"Hey, old Harrell, why are you coming back so late?"
Before he even got close, someone at the village entrance was already calling out.
Looking over, a group of villagers were gathered under the old locust tree, chatting in the autumn wind, with their hands tucked into their sleeves and their heads drawn in.
Occasionally, words like "Empire," "Consul," and "Policy" drifted over.
Speaking of which, since the Empire's Mage Lords sent people to spread the Internet Divine Art to the village, the changes have been truly significant.
Not to mention things far away, just look at this group of people at the village entrance!
Before there was the Internet, what did everyone chat about when they gathered together?
The widow from the west house borrowed a pot from someone else today;
The daughter-in-law from the east house caused trouble and wanted to leave again;
The unfilial son from the south house got angry and beat his father again today.
The north house got into a fight with their neighbor again because their fence encroached on a third of the land.
In short, it was all trivial matters.
But now, who still talks about these things?
The news on the Internet changes every day; it's so diverse it makes people dizzy just looking at it and shout with pleasure just hearing it!
From changes in Empire policy;
To which noble family was executed;
Down to the decrease in grain prices in the city;
There's simply too much news of all kinds to read.
Especially the topic of Empire policy; the adults in the village love to discuss it, looking like they are very knowledgeable, expert, and wise.
"Harrell, let me tell you, don't cultivate those barren fields; it's a waste of effort. Who knows, the noble lords might just take it away when it's harvest time!"
"Yes, yes! With that much effort, you might as well plant more mallow in front of and behind your house."
By the time old farmer Harrell got closer, the people at the village entrance started advising him.
Old farmer Harrell waved his hands repeatedly, changing the subject: "Hey, hey, let me tell you something. Guess who I saw today?"
"Who? Could it be the Mage Lord?"
"A mercenary?"
A group of idle men discussed animatedly, and someone's eyes lit up:
"It couldn't be Erni from Dagga Village, could it? I heard she's really beautiful!"
Old farmer Harrell shook his head upon hearing this.
"Hey, who is it?"
"Hurry up and tell us! Don't keep us in suspense!"
Seeing everyone's curiosity piqued and urging him repeatedly, old farmer Harrell said with a mysterious look: "Can't guess, can you? I'll tell you, it was Lord Ajev."
"Ajev? That name sounds a bit familiar?"
"Hey, you're right; it sounds familiar to me too."
"Who is he?"
All the villagers had blank expressions.
Someone seemed to have guessed who it was and said with an expression of disbelief: "Could it be Lord Ajev, the one who developed the cold-resistant black grain?"
"It's him!" Old farmer Harrell slapped his thigh, his expression both excited and proud.
He eagerly anticipated everyone's envious and jealous expressions.
Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, everyone looked at each other and then burst into laughter.
"Hahaha..."
"Harrell, you're really good at joking!"
"Lord Ajev lives in Willis; how could he come to this poor and remote place of ours?"
"Exactly!"
Everyone laughed, their faces full of mockery and disbelief.
Old farmer Harrell became anxious.
"Really, don't you believe it. He was sitting in such a large carriage, pulled by two unicorns, with hundreds of cavalry clearing the way in front, and a large group of people following behind."
"After he got off the carriage, he even asked me if that piece of land was mine, and he told me that broadleaf mallow is not cold-resistant; after this harvest, there won't be another one. I specifically asked a young soldier, and the young soldier said he was Lord Ajev."
"Oh yes, he was very young, about the same age as Ergoudan, probably around twenty years old, with black hair, black eyes, and a white robe."
Old farmer Harrell explained somewhat incoherently, gesturing and describing. His gesticulating appearance made it seem like it really happened.
"Impossible, how could Lord Ajev pass by here?"
"Exactly, exactly!"
"Really, why don't you believe me?"
"Stop arguing; why don't we ask online?" Someone suggested fairly.
"Good, good, good, that's a good idea."
Everyone cheered in unison, and immediately a literate villager summoned the Internet, put in a lot of effort, and posted on the local forum.
"No, you have to ask on the Willis forum. Who would know here?"
"That makes sense."
Everyone offered suggestions, and that person quickly posted on the Willis forum.
Originally, everyone thought they would have to wait a while for someone to reply, but unexpectedly, not long after the post was sent out, someone replied.
Even including the local forum.
"Envious, you might have really met Lord Ajev. He is escorting the Viers delegation back to their country and just happened to be passing by here."
"What a coincidence, I also saw the Viers delegation during the day, but unfortunately didn't see Lord Ajev! Alas!"
"Lord Ajev has black hair, black eyes, and is in his twenties. These appearance features are not common in our Empire. I heard he has demon bloodline, and demons are always by his side."
"The person above is talking nonsense. Lord Ajev is clearly a Summoning Mage, so it's very normal for him to have demons by his side."
More and more replies like these appeared.
Some shared that they saw the Viers delegation;
Some discussed the purpose of Lord Ajev's mission;
And some discussed and speculated about Lord Ajev's rare appearance features;
The villagers who saw these replies were completely dumbfounded.
"Oh my old mother, Harrell, you... you, you really saw Lord Ajev?!"
Everyone looked at old farmer Harrell in shock, their faces full of envy.
If you were to ask who has the highest prestige in the hearts of the Empire's farmers, it would probably be none other than Lord Ajev!
He is the God of Agriculture who saves the suffering and countless lives!
To be able to see him, tell me, how great an honor is that?
For a time, old farmer Harrell became the center of the crowd, and everyone eagerly questioned him about the details of his encounter with Ajev.
How big was the carriage train? How many people were there? What did Lord Ajev say? They asked relentlessly, truly digging for details.
Under the questioning, old farmer Harrell's old face turned red with excitement, and he described it with spit flying everywhere.
He even added embellishments and fabricated several meeting details out of thin air.
For example, Lord Ajev praised him for planting the broadleaf mallow well;
And even talked to him kindly and taught him techniques for planting broadleaf mallow and so on.
This drew the envy, jealousy, and hatred of everyone.
The atmosphere at the village entrance became increasingly lively.
Until a group of hurriedly arriving farm women not only interrupted the cheerful atmosphere among everyone but also caused everyone's mood to plummet, falling from heaven to hell.
"This is bad! This is bad! Binser and the others are lost and can't find the way back to the village."
"What? Lost?"
"Yes, they called by voice, saying they were chasing a moose and accidentally ran far away, and only realized they were lost after catching the moose. Look, it's already dark; what should we do?!"
The farm women were so anxious they stomped their feet, and tears were about to come out.
Don't think that just because the nearby wild beasts have been mostly killed by their village hunters, the forest is safe at night.
You should know that many wild beasts, especially magical beasts, are nocturnal animals.
They only start to become active at night.
Without absolute strength, staying overnight in the forest is gambling with your life!
"Don't panic, don't panic; let me ask Binser." An old hunter quickly comforted them.
He opened the Internet and made a voice call with Binser, asking about the nearby geographical features where Binser and the others were.
Unfortunately, because they chased the moose too eagerly, Binser and the others didn't pay attention to the geographical features along the way at all.
Now that it was night, visibility was less than ten steps, and even though the Internet had recently updated with a lighting function, they couldn't find their way out at all.
Even the lighting would attract attacks from wild beasts.
"Oh dear, what should we do? What should we do?"
The women were as anxious as ants on a hot pan, pacing back and forth.
"Why don't we go beg the noble lords to send people to search?"
"Don't count on them. When have you ever seen noble lords save people?"
"I'll go look! I'm familiar with the mountains." The old hunter gritted his teeth and spoke up.
"No, they've already gotten into trouble; you can't get into trouble again." Someone objected.
"This won't work, that won't work, so what should we do? Pray to the gods?" The old hunter had an unpleasant expression.
The village entrance became increasingly chaotic, and some old women, in their panic, even muttered prayers to the only god they knew, the God of the Internet.
Old farmer Harrell looked at the chaotic villagers, listened to the old hunter's agitated words, watched the women praying, and when his gaze fell on the Internet screen, a bold idea suddenly emerged.
"I have a way!"
"What way?"
"Use it..."
Under everyone's hopeful gaze, old farmer Harrell suddenly pointed at the Internet virtual scroll.