Stormveil city Square
Marika looked at the empty square in front of her, gearing up with anticipation. As the number of believers in the church reaches more than 100, the rewards of the system are also issued. The prizes for Elden Ring gacha are the Sentry torch (D), the Eclipse Shotel (B), and the Dragon scale Blade (C). These are pretty modest weapons, but the sentry torch will be useful in the future. It is impossible for Marika to stay in Stormveil City forever, she will eventually have to lead troops out to fight Inrud after all. The kingdom of Inrud so far has no intention of stopping their war with the Golden dynasty. But without the illumination of the Erdtree, spies will have a much easier time sneaking into the army. This is where the sentry torches come in handy. In the light of sentry torches, any invisibility spells will be rendered useless, a most effective tool against the assassins and spies of this wizarding world.
But what really makes Marika happy is the recent increase in high-end npcs. The Tree Sentinels are powerful warriors, while the Dragon faith incantation and the great bows in the hands of the Lyndell knights will offer much needed long-range attacks.
Artorius stood guard, performing his duties as chief of the Royal guards. Marika didn't waste any time, she waved her delicate hand eagerly, and a brief golden light of summoning flashed in the center of the square. When the golden light dispersed, three tall and mighty knights dressed in heavy golden armor appeared in the golden light, and the mighty steeds underneath them were also wearing heavy horse armor. The golden halberd in the knight's hand looks like it can knock down a heavy city gate with ease. These are the legendary Tree Sentinels, heroes of the Erdtree.
Beside them are ten Lyndell knights with big bows on their backs. The Lyndell knights wore knightly armor similar to that of the Godrick Knights, but their armors are instead made of gold and copper and golden cloaks. The semicircle decoration on their helmets and the gold and copper oval shield in their hands represented their more noble status.
The knights looked around in confusion for a while after being transported into another world. But when they saw their master, they quickly knelt down on one knee to greet their king:
"Greetings to Your Majesty!"
Marika raised her hand to have them stand, and began to explain their current situation in a different world and recent developments.
Artorius on the side looked at the three Tree Sentinels, feeling satisfied with his new colleagues. His intuition as a seasoned warrior told him that these Tree Sentinels were powerful and experienced warriors like him.
"...This is our current situation, do you all understand?" Marika finished her explanation, waiting for the attitude of the knights.
One of the Tree Sentinels stepped forward and said:
"Since Your Majesty intends to embark on a great conquest again, then we knights of the Golden Order will certainly dedicate ourselves to Your Majesty and the Golden Order, and wipe out all enemies."
For the Tree Sentinels, although it is amazing to travel to a different world, their duties are essentially the same as they were hundreds of years ago, that is to conquer everything and let the brilliance of the Erdtree shine in all corners of the world. The only difference is that the territory to be conquered this time is larger than the Lands Between.
"Very well, then I shall organize you all as my personal guards, as you follow me into future battles"
Marika nodded and said, then beckoned to Artorius and said:
"Sir Artorius, please come forward."
Artorias obeyed her order and walked to Marika's side. Marika gestured towards him and introduced to the knights:
"This is Knight Artorias, the Abyss Walker, the head of my personal guard, personally appointed by me of course. From now on you will fight under his command. Artorius is a powerful and skilled warrior with years of experience. He fought against a dangerous Outer God by himself for several years, and he was the first to bear the brunt at the Siege of Uro City. His loyalty is as solid as mountains. You can rest assured of his qualifications. "
Marika knew that the Tree Sentinels might not be convinced by Artorius' appearance alone, so she deliberately praised him. Replacing Abyss with Outer Gods would also give them a better understanding of his strength. In the story of Dark Souls, the abyss was born in the "primeval man" Mannis, and its darkness can corrupt everything, which is very similar to outer gods like the Scarlet Rot and the Frenzied flame in terms of their ability to corrupt. So, it is not inappropriate for her to compare the abyss to the outer gods.
And this little white lie worked like a charm. Hearing that Artorius was able to single-handedly fight back and forth with an Outer God, the Tree Sentinels and the knights of Lyndell all gave him admiring glances. Also being experienced warriors, they can naturally perceive Artorius' terrifying demigod-like strength. Marika wasn't worried that they would challenge Artorius one-on-one to find out his reality in the future either. His title as the "Abyss Walker" is not just for show.
"Since he has Your Majesty's approval, we will have no objections. We look forward to working with you, Lord Artorius." The leading Tree Sentinel said, and together with the other Tree Sentinels and the knights of Lyndell, gave Artorius a military salute.
Artorius, always taciturn, silently returned a military salute as well.
After all the knights were settled, Marika returned to her office. The office was converted from an empty room in the castle near the throne room, with Marika's desk at the far end. Behind the desk is a wall of bookcases filled with official records. There is a set of sofas and tea tables in the center of the office to receive guests.
Marika sighed, sat down on the desk and continued to process the mountains of official documents. But before her seat was warmed, Siduri knocked on the door and walked in. There was a hint of excitement in Siduri's voice when she reported.
"My Goddess, the farm lands you ordered the Exiled Corps to survey a few days ago has been confirmed to be reclaimable. Would your Majesty like to inspect them?"
When Malrka heard that she could start farming, she immediately became motivated. As someone who is from another world, farming is a must try. Moreover, Marika did a little research on history while in school during her previous life, and recalled some major agricultural inventions. She can't wait to make good use of these inventions and make some waves. Marika got up immediately and said:
"Finally! Well done! Gather the farmers, let's quickly take a good inspection! Remember to give the Exile corps a salary boost. Oh! By the way, call forth Morgott and Melina to join the inspection as well."
"Understood, My Goddess. I shall attend to it now"
Siduri also quickly got up and resigned to carry out Marika's order.
When Marika flew to the farmland that had been built under the kingdom's rule in the Uro City area before, Siduri had already gathered everyone and waited for Marika at the sight of grace next to the farmland.
'These sights of grace sure are convenient as a means of transportation! '
Malika thought with satisfaction.
Marika landed gracefully from the sky, the farmers beside her showed longing expressions. For farmers who have never seen much of the world, Marika, who is able to freely soar the sky, completely fits their impression of a god.
After simply motioning for the kneeling and saluting people to stand, Marika couldn't contain her excitement as she walked to the side of the farmland to inspect them.
She was a little disappointed to see that a lot of farmland here has been abandoned, but fortunately it can be recultivated.
Marika called Siduri and asked her:
"Who is in charge of this farmland?"
When Siduri heard Marika's question, she waved to the farmers behind her. An old farmer with a white beard came out tremblingly. Obviously, he was worried that these abandoned farmlands had displeased Marika, and he would be questioned for it.
The old man walked up to Marika, bowed down respectfully and said with fear:
"This humble peasant is in charge of this farmland. Does Your Majesty have any orders?"
Marika's gaze remain on the farmland, while she pinched her chin and asked in a thoughtful manner:
"Your name is?"
"My name is Bob, Your Majesty."
The old man replied respectfully.
"Well, then Bob, why is this farmland so deserted?"
'It really is because of the farmland! ' thought Bob in horror, but answered truthfully:
"Your Majesty, the kingdom and the empire have been fighting frequently for many years. In addition, the former mayor Bass and the kingdom forcibly collected up to 90% of the agricultural tax. It is difficult for us to support ourselves. We really don't have the energy to maintain so much farmland."
"Is it like this everywhere in the kingdom?" Marika continued.
"Yes, Your Majesty, as far as I know, other border cities are the same as us." Bob replied cautiously, fearing Marika's coming wrath.
'90% tax! They are not treating these farmers as human beings! This country really is corrupted to the bone!' Marika exclaimed in her thoughts. The more she looks at the kingdom's evil deeds, the more it irks her. She took a closer look at the farmland and found that each piece of farmland of these farmers was not separated, obviously using the primitive planting technique of fallow.
Looking at the land that has not been plowed for a long time, Marika decided to use the Norfolk four-field rotation farming method. This farming technique, born out of the European Agricultural Revolution in the fifteenth century, uses turnips and clover rotations instead of fallow. Turnips can be grown in winter and are deep-rooted, allowing them to pick up minerals that shallow-rooted crops cannot. Clover fixes atmospheric nitrogen into a form of fertilizer. This allows intensive tillage of light soils in closed farms and provides fodder to feed increased livestock, which in turn further increases soil fertility. When this technology was introduced, it benefited countless European farmers.
But how to get her hands on turnips and clover is a problem. Marika wasn't sure if turnips and clover existed in this other world. Without them her plans would go up in smoke. Fortunately, there is a possible solution to this problem.
"System, can the Erdtree create the plant seeds I specified?" Marika asked the system with an attitude of trying. The Erdtree exists as one with the crucible of life, and creating life should be one of its abilities. Although Marika's current Erdtree is not as mature as the main Erdtree in the lands between, it shouldn't be a problem to get a few plant seeds.
"Plant seeds? There should be no problem? Why don't you ask the Erdtree, host?"
The system itself could not fully confirm it. He knew what Marika wanted to do, but he really hadn't thought about such a possibility, so he proposed to turn the question to the Erdtree.
"Ok."
Marika didn't waste any time, and used her mental power to ask the Erdtree. The child-like consciousness of the golden tree received the message and responded:
"It will be a piece of cake!"
"Great!"
Malika was very happy to hear that, but she didn't jump up happily like she usually does in order to maintain her image.
Everyone on the side held their breath, as Marika fell silent after asking her questions. Everyone didn't know if she was angry, so they could only wait nervously at the side.
But Marika quickly smiled and said to Bob:
"That will be fine. I happened to have a new planting method to experiment with."
"A new planting method?" Bob wondered. Farmers like him have been planting this way for generations. Is there any other way?
Marika just kept smiling, walked to the site of Grace and stretched out her hands towards it. With the help of the system and her NewType power, Marika communicated the concept of turnips and clover to the Erdtree. The Erdtree immediately understood her request and with a burst of golden light the seeds of turnips and clover appeared in her hands. Seeing that the results were satisfactory, Marika only smiled wider and wider. Marika then plans to try to get some potatoes, which are easy to grow all year round, are not prone to disease and are nutritious. Marika conveyed the concept of potatoes to the Erdtree, and after a burst of golden light, the potato seeds also appeared in her hands. After Marika saw that the Erdtree was so reliable, she decided to go bolder and asked the Erdtree to create various spices and grasses from her original world and the Lands Between. This world is the same as Europe in the Middle Ages in her previous life. Spices and tea are scarce resources that only nobles can enjoy. But for Marika, she could produce as many seedlings as she liked, and it didn't even cost her a single rune.
All kinds of seeds appeared in Marika's hands, so many that they overflowed her hands. Marika had to use her bio telekinesis to suspend these seeds on her palm so as not to spill these precious crop seeds.
Marika held out the seeds and showed them to the curious crowd, while explaining the Norfolk four-field rotation farming method as well as the functions and cultivation methods of the plants.
"It's amazing, Your Majesty! With these new crops, we can have food all year round!"
Bob cheered happily, he had never seen so many tricks in farming in his entire life. The peasants also cheered along.
"That will be correct and I will also legislate in the future to ensure that the tax revenue of crops does not exceed 50%."
Marika continued to say with a smile.
"Thank you, Your Majesty! Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Hearing Malika's assurance, the farmers cheered again. Seeing the happy attitude of the farmers, Marika felt a burst of warmth in her heart. Then she called Siduri forth, and asked Siduri to prepare some clay jars, so that she could store a large amount of seeds to distribute to the farmers.
On the side, Melina asked Morgott with her usual non-expressive face:
"Brother, why does Mother prepare so many spices and Herba leaves besides this kind of food plant? If it's just to improve our meals, shouldn't these spices be enough?"
Morgott smiled and said after hearing her questions:
"Herba leaves can be used in crafting medicines and tea. Both can improve the quality of people's livelihood. But the most important thing is that they are valuable crops that can be traded. Once the countries know that we can produce these precious commodities in large quantities, they will most likely rush to buy them. And our powerful army can also protect these crops from being plundered. This will gradually increase our financial resources, and also allow us to exert leverage over other kingdoms without bloodshed as they become reliant on our crops. As expected of Mother for such a far-sighted plan."
During the time when Morgott reigned as regent of Lyndell, he had been exposed to agricultural knowledge, and he also asked Siduri for advice from various countries in this world. So know the importance of these crops.
Although Melina still has her usual indifferent look after hearing this, she also admired Marika's wisdom from the bottom of her heart.
As they spoke Morgott's attention was on Marika, who was excitedly discussing the distribution and production of the works with Siduri, her beautiful face filled with a gentle smile, like the warm morning sun .
Morgott couldn't help feeling that this was the most dazzling scene he had ever seen in his life, and he couldn't stop the warmth called happiness in his heart.
What everyone doesn't know is that today's scenery will be seen by a passing traveler, and recorded in his diary. And shall be compiled into an epic many years later.
"The supreme and benevolent goddess of the Erdtree can't bear the suffering of famine for all living beings, and has sprang forth new plants with divine power. Herba leaves, potatoes, turnips, clover, and countless spices in various forms. Generous as she imparts to farmers wisdom of how to cultivate the fields correctly. And bring endless harvest for the future"
Author's Edit: Sorry guys for the earlier version, I forgot to fix the translation. When I put my fanfic which is originally in chinese through google translation, there is a lot of mistranslation and I had to sort through all the mistakes. So my apologies again and here is the fully fixed translation