She calls for the all of her subjects to gather her voice ringing through the forest clearing . While awaiting Garrick and Alric’s return from the quarry, she swiftly sent messages to the three other Lords, inquiring about their progress and whether they had already utilized the special function to spawn new subjects.


    Lord Müller and Lord F?rster both responded quickly, confirming that they had already spawned new villagers and were preparing to send over spear parts immediately. Efficient, just as she had hoped.


    Lady Zhou, however, took a few minutes before finally responding


    [Lady Zhou:]


    "I would have, but contracting a plant spirit cost a Lord Coin, and now I’m five short. Bad planning on my part."


    Lena didn’t even think twice. Without hesitation, she transferred five Lord Coins to Lady Zhou.


    [Lena Seemann:]


    "Consider it an investment. The sooner we all get stronger, the better."


    A moment later, Lady Zhou’s response popped up.


    [Lady Zhou:]


    "Thank you, You are to kind."


    Barely a second later, Lady Zhou sent the five coins back, unprompted. Lena’s lips curled into a small smile amusement mingling within her. That was a sign of good character. Her future self has choosen well.


    Even as she exchanged messages with the Lords in the back of her mind, she focued on the gathered subjects before her, the Lord Interface allowing her to do two things at once.


    She straightened her posture, letting the authority of her position settle over her like a mantle.


    "Alright," she began, her voice steady and commanding. "In a moment, we will receive components for spears. For now, our primary focus will be on assembling them and auctioning them on the [Interdimensional Marketplace]. The Market is bereft of weapons and the other human Lords will pray a massive premium to be the first to acquire [Lesser Mortal] weapons! This is an opportunity we cannot afford to waste. The benefits will be massive."


    Her gaze shifted toward Dorian, sharp and expectant. "Dorian, can your tailoring skills be applied to the rope bindings on these spears?"


    He nodded eagerly, his head bobbing up and down. "Yeah, that’s easy. My [Tailoring] is above Level 10, after all."


    Then, as if realizing the casualness of his tone, his eyes widened in sudden panic. His posture straightened, and a flush crept across his face. "I—I mean, yes, [Lady] Seemann. I apologize for my lapse in speech. Rest assured, I am fully capable of enhancing the quality of the rope bindings on the spears with my [Skill]."


    He bowed slightly, his voice now respectful and measured, a stark contrast to his earlier casualness clearly showing his experience dealing with the nobles in Baron Venns household.


    Lena raised an eyebrow but let the moment pass with a slight nod. It would take time for her subjects to adjust to her leadership style. Fear wasn’t what she wanted from them—competence was.


    “Here’s how we’ll divide the work,” Lena declared, her voice firm and her gaze cutting across the gathered group. “Elia and Elara, you’ll be on patrol around the perimeter of the territory. Your primary focus will be gathering herbs inside the safe zone. But if you spot a Lesser Mortal monster outside the monster repellent’s range, and you believe you can handle it without putting yourselves at risk, I want it dealt with to gain an achievment.”


    As she spoke, she used the Lord Interface in the back of her mind to create a quest for the two of them. Naturally the real reason for this patrol was to kill a monster but sending two non combatens to fight a monster was more than unsightly.


    [Quest Created: Perimeter Patrol]


    Objective: Collect useful herbs and eliminate any Lesser Mortal monsters spotted outside the repellent radius.


    Duration: 10 minutes


    Rewards: 5 EXP for completion, +5 bonus EXP for successfully defeating a monster.


    Lena’s eyes flicked over the group. "The rest of you will assist Dorian with spear assembly. Follow his lead—his experience will guide you to make sure we craft them efficiently."


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    Finally, she grinned and added, “As for me, I’ll oversee everything, looking as important and beautiful as possible. You’re welcome.”


    Her bad joke lightened the mood, a few chuckles breaking the tension. Naturally her true work would be to coordinate with the other Lords and use the [Interdimantional Marketplace].


    First, Lena stepped in front of the shabby tent and opened its Interface, her focus sharpening as she navigated to the Public Trades page. As expected, the first Lords had begun to post their offerings—most of them were raw resources, basic materials, or ungraded items. But amidst the clutter, she found exactly what she was looking for.


    With a soft glow, two tables and four benches materialized in the teleporting circle, appearing in the space before her. Now her workgroup could assemble the spears without sitting on the forest floor. The addition of these simple furnishings was a small but important improvement, offering her subjects both comfort and functionality as they worked. Little things like that would add up even if it came at the horrendous price of 4 Lord coins. She also bought a basket for the sisters to carry the herbs in.


    By the time the furniture settled into place, Lord Müller and Lord F?rster had sent over the first six components for the spears, and the assembly could begin.


    While she watched the group assemble the first spear around the table, a ping echoed in her mind, drawing her attention.


    [Achievement Unlocked: Monster Killer!]


    Type: Lord


    Requirement: Kill your first Lesser Mortal monster.


    Reward: 100 Lord EXP + 100 Coins (Lord Competition extra achievement)


    It seemed like the Thorn sisters had already fulfilled their quest barley a minute into their patrol. Lena couldn''t help but smile as another achievement was of her list.


    With a moment to herself, Lena shifted her focus back to the task at hand. She opened the [A Letter from the Future] to read it fully, curious about the rest of the information it contained. She had already read through part of it, but there was so much more, and she hadn’t even reached the halfway point. Where had she left of? Right at the list of future useful Lords. At the moment she had only contacted the four immediately useful but there were another ten on the List for the future, but which wouldn’t be useful in the short term. There were more information than that.


    The tiny handwriting was dense with a remarkable amount of details and tiny illoustrations. As it turns out her territory was situated on an island within a vast archipelago. The island itself was massive, about the size of Madagascar. That gave her a safe room to expand, at least if she vanquished the other race Lord competioners and native forces. Which shouldn’t to much of a proplem with her [Talents] advantage. Afterall her future self had done decent for herself even without a usable [Talent].


    The deeper she read, the more unsettling the details became. This Competition of the position of Lord of the Divine Plane of Chaen was far more brutal than she had ever imagined. Apparently, millions of races had been thrown into the Divine Plane of Chaen, each induvidial given a basic territory and left to fend for themselves. The harshness of the environment, compounded by ancient and millennia-old forces, made it a brutal struggle for survival.


    It was so ruthless that, just a year from now, at the time her future self had written this letter, fewer than 1 million human territories had survived. And the number was plummeting at an alarming rate. To put it into perspective, humanity had started with over six billion territories. Now, only a fraction remained, and the numbers dwindled with each passing day. The letter conveyed a terrifying reality—only the strongest would endure.


    Lena gulped as she absorbed the full weight of the message but hardened her resolve. This was her reality now. This world was brutal, but she was determined to change that. If not her, then who? This Talent of hers was clear in its purpose—she was destined for something greater. The future self that had written this letter had barley survied, but she would thrive. Lena clenched her fists. She was going to rewrite the course of history.


    *ping*


    Right on cue, as if the universe itself was responding to her resolve, a message flashed across her screen giving her one of the most important tools to do just that.


    Message from Lord Hedge:


    Alright, I’m gonna bite. The info about achievements was really useful, and yes, I just activated the Gate of the Beginning. Thank you. I’m gonna send you ten of the hundred orbs I spawned with today as a sign of goodwill and just hope you’ll continue to supply me with goods and info. Thank you, my friend.


    "YES!" Lena couldn’t contain herself. She leapt into the air, her heart racing with excitement. The message from Lord Hedge was the first tangible proof that her approach was working. It was a rush, a feeling of triumph. Her shout startled the workers, who were just finishing the fourth spear.


    Her eyes gleamed as she looked at the stack of four spears on the table. Each one a testament to their hard work, a step closer to her goal.


    Item: Spear


    Type: Weapon


    Grade: [Inferior Mortal]


    Description: A basic but functional spear crafted with a sturdy hardwood shaft and a reinforced obsidian blade. A reliable weapon, designed for both throwing and melee combat, with the obsidian tip offering both sharpness and durability.


    She wasted no time. Grabbing the spears, she immediately sent them to Lord Hedge along with a quick thank-you message. His ten orbs were going to be worth their weight in gold. No a thousand times that!