Chapter 139: Temporary Skill

The conditions for obtaining a Divine Artifact were extremely strict.

Only if a Divine Chosen had not dissolved their artifact—and the artifact itself remained intact—was there a chance to obtain the Divine Chosen’s weapon. Acorn clearly met those conditions.

A streak of crimson light surged out from her body, gathering and solidifying in midair, slowly forming into an insect-shaped Divine Artifact.

"You belong to the same divine lineage. This artifact should be useful to you, right?"

"I can use it, technically." Rosalia instinctively shook her head. "But I’m your Divine Chosen. The spoils should be distributed by you."

There were two ways to use a Divine Artifact.

One was for ordinary people, who could gain a weakened, watered-down version of its abilities.

The second was for someone of the same divine lineage, allowing a Divine Chosen to obtain a temporary skill or piece of equipment.

"If you can use it, then there’s nothing to think about. Since you’re both cute and hardworking, this one is yours."

"Cute? I have reason to suspect that you’re mocking me," Rosalia said, though she still smiled shyly—something rarely seen from her—fingers lightly fidgeting with the hem of her skirt. "But... thank you."

"Hmph. Phield, you’re actually quite nice."

The process of claiming the artifact was simple. There was no need for a contest of will. Rosalia gently flicked out a strand of bloodline thread, and Acorn’s artifact immediately disintegrated on its own, transforming into a streak of light that drilled into the Greatsword of Gluttony.

Phield instantly saw Rosalia’s status panel gain a new temporary skill.

Second-Tier Divine Skill (Temporary): Bone-Eroding Rotworms

(Consumes a small amount of divine power to implant special divine worms inside an enemy’s body. The worms continuously drain the target’s life force, while inflicting slow, persistent bleeding, and a tracking mark. When the worms are recalled, the absorbed life force is transferred to the user.)

"Oh? A support-type ability. Not bad. Shame it’s temporary."

Temporary skills could not grow alongside a Divine Chosen’s level. When Rosalia reached the third tier, the skill would still remain at the second tier. And once the artifact was removed, the skill would vanish immediately.

"We eliminated a threat and gained a skill. A double win—we won twice," Phield said cheerfully while controlling the black crow to circle in the sky, scanning the surroundings. "Can you still track the Divine Chosen who escaped?"

"My perception isn’t particularly strong. Ashina might be able to find her. But by the time Miss Ashina arrives, the ball will already be over."

Phield nodded helplessly. "Then let her go for now. A first-tier Divine Chosen isn’t much of a threat to the territory."

After cutting off the crow’s vision, Phield stepped out of the grand winery and immediately saw a large crowd of citizens gathered together.

"How rare. Even the Nightfall Domain has scenes like this."

It was the first time Phield had seen the citizens gathering voluntarily. Normally, they were either working or hiding inside their homes, trembling in fear that rotting corpses from the gray mist might burst in and bite them to death.

"O goddess who scatters food across the world through the shining traces of the sun and the whispering winds—please sow the radiant golden seeds!"

"Divine Skill, Song of Bountiful Harvest!"

Charlotte, looking like a kindergarten teacher instructing children, performed a series of clumsy yet adorable gestures while chanting a complex incantation. Then she waved her hand toward the wheat field ahead, as if releasing a shower of golden rain.

Countless golden sparks drifted down through the air, landing on the wilted wheat sprouts in the fields.

In the very next moment, the wheat began to grow rapidly, shooting upward at a speed visible to the naked eye. Their condition quickly surpassed that of normal crops, and a few stalks were even directly dyed gold.

"Holy hell, the effect is this good?" Phield was genuinely shocked.

No wonder the old farmers once swore so confidently: only magic and Divine Chosen could increase crop yields.

With such immediate results, anyone who saw it would be stunned.

"Whew. All done."

Charlotte happily wiped the sweat from her forehead.

"Wow! That’s incredible!"

"My lady, please perform this miracle on our farmland too!"

"I’m willing to give anything—please bless my fields!"

The surrounding citizens dropped to their knees one after another, gasping in amazement. Some were so emotional that tears streamed down their faces as they crawled toward Charlotte’s feet.

They were immediately driven away by the guards.

As Phield’s earliest core forces, the territorial guards showed no hesitation. They raised their halberds and blocked the path.

"Get lost! Crawl somewhere else."

The guards showed not the slightest bit of politeness, loudly shouting as they drove the people away. They were absolute defenders of the lord’s interests.

Phield had only forbidden them from extorting or slaughtering civilians. As for manners and personality, he simply didn’t have the time to educate them. Besides, given the limitations of the era, he also needed soldiers capable of intimidating others.

The citizens were instantly frightened out of their wits by the ferocious soldiers and scrambled back beyond the warning perimeter.

"Ahem. I will bless all the farmland in the territory, but we must start with the lord’s fields first. Please don’t worry."

Charlotte showed an apologetic expression and smiled gently at the citizens.

When her peripheral vision caught sight of Phield, her eyes lit up. She curled her lips upward and deliberately put on an expression that clearly said, "Look how amazing I am."

"Very impressive."

Phield walked over slowly and patted Charlotte on the head.

"Hehe, of course." Charlotte tilted her head, then sighed regretfully. "It’s a pity the soil fertility is so poor. Otherwise, I could increase the yield even more."

"Perhaps a plow could make up for that."

Phield drew his longsword and stabbed it into the soil. After crouching down and examining the ground, he said, "What we need is a heavy plow. The current farming methods are basically just scratching the surface—barely digging through the top layer."

Charlotte blinked in confusion. "There’s actually a difference?"

"Of course. I’ve observed the Empire’s land. Wherever crops are grown, without exception, it’s all shallowly tilled soil. The only thing farmers truly pay attention to is water supply."

His gaze shifted to the crude farming tools nearby, and he shook his head.

"Demand determines supply. Advanced agricultural techniques like deep cultivation simply never developed. It’s a massive waste."

After all, casually planting crops was already enough to feed oneself. And besides, much of the land wasn’t even farmed for the farmers themselves. Whether the yield was high or low was the lord’s concern, so there was no reason to expend extra effort on deep cultivation.

"So we need heavy plows." Charlotte nodded thoughtfully.

"Exactly. Once the territory expands to reach the iron mines, we’ll start forging heavy plows. With intensive farming plus your abilities, we might even reach a point where our grain supply no longer needs imports."

"I’ll work hard!"

Charlotte pumped her fist to encourage herself and skipped off energetically, throwing herself back into the construction of the territory.

"Next time I should get her a straw hat so she doesn’t get tanned. Even though the sun is hard to see here, plants still grow normally—so there must be just as much sunlight."

Watching her work with such boundless energy, Phield suddenly felt a strange sense of guilt. For a moment, he felt like some kind of evil boss exploiting his employees, so he resolved to find some way to compensate her later.

"My lord, there’s also the matter of the water supply. Perhaps we should dig a reservoir or a pond."

Kaor had just finished assigning tasks to the new slaves and walked over to bring up the matter.