Boundless Family Upgrades For The Deadbeat Lord

Raymond smiled softly when he saw the golden system notifications floating at the edge of his vision. He didn’t rush to open the blurred reward panel just yet; a true corporate strategist knew how to prioritize his moves.

Instead, he maintained his benevolent posture, adjusting Harlan and Gideon’s tattered shirts slightly as he helped them stand properly.

He patted them both firmly on the shoulders, his expression warm.

”Let us work together, my friends,” Raymond said with an amicable smile. ”Together, we will make the Althoff Barony a better place for every single soul living here.”

Without waiting for the two men to respond or fall into another cycle of groveling, Raymond turned and walked ahead down the dusty road, his black silk pajamas rustling slightly in the dry wind.

Behind him, Gideon and Harlan glanced at one another. Both of them could see the lingering confusion in each other’s eyes, but beneath that confusion was a deep, unshakeable wave of emotion.

They nodded to each other in unison, their posture noticeably straighter, and quickly quickened their steps to follow their new lord.It didn’t take much longer for the traveling group to finally arrive at their intended destination.

”My Lord, please look. This is the place,” Harlan said, stepping slightly ahead and pointing forward with a long, bony finger.

Raymond’s eyes flickered with a sharp, analytical focus as he looked at the massive landscape spreading out before him.

It was a vast, sunken basin of earth positioned right against the base of a jagged stone ridge. Raymond was genuinely surprised by the sheer scale of the area.

Judging by its raw dimensions, the land plot spanned roughly five hundred meters in length and three hundred meters in width, totaling an expansive area of fifteen hectares, easily the size of an ordinary sports stadium.

The appearance of this specific basin was noticeably different from the rest of the barony’s fractured landscape. While the outer wasteland was a pale, chalky red and completely brittle, the soil inside this low-lying basin was a deeper, muted grey.

The surrounding rock formation acted as a natural windbreak, preventing the harsh, arid drafts from completely stripping away the topsoil.Raymond walked forward, stepping off the main path and entering the basin. He crouched down, his movements fluid and balanced thanks to his 5-Star Bronze Knight conditioning.

He reached out and scooped up a heavy handful of the dirt, letting it sit in his open palm. He squeezed it tightly. To his surprise, he could feel a very faint, subtle trace of moisture clinging to the grains.

Although he was no expert in medieval agriculture, his general modern knowledge was more than enough to deduce that this basin retained a baseline level of natural nutrients and groundwater runoff from the ridge.

It was the only place in the entire fief that wasn’t entirely dead to the bone.He stood up smoothly.

Lily immediately waddled over, her oversized maid uniform rustling against the dirt, and offered him a clean, embroidered linen handkerchief.Raymond accepted it, wiping the grey soil from his fingers before handing it back to the little girl.

He turned around, locking his eyes onto the two local farmers.

”Judging by the texture of this soil and the visible geography of the basin, I can confidently say this specific land has the capacity to grow basic crops,” Raymond said, his tone questioning. ”So tell me... why haven’t you or the town council attempted to cultivate this area before?”

Gideon let out a soft, heavy sigh, his shoulders dropping as he leaned heavily against his wooden walking stick. ”My Lord, it is not like we didn’t try or think about it. But we simply lack the physical strength and the basic economic resources to do so. Look at us... Harlan and I are as weak and frail as eighty-year-old men on their deathbeds. We do not possess the money required to purchase expensive seeds from the traveling merchant caravans, nor do we have the iron tools, plows, or draft animals needed to cultivate a plot of land this large. Knowing a place exists is one thing, my Lord, but having the capital to unlock it is another.”

Raymond understood their plight perfectly. He nodded his head slowly, looking out over the fifteen-hectare basin.

His eyes turned sharp and full of authority.

”Do not worry about the resources anymore,” Raymond said, his voice deep and reassuring. ”From this exact moment onward, I will personally ensure that all of us have food to eat. We will grow our barony into a prosperous domain where everyone can live peacefully, and this very basin will be our springboard to supreme power.”

Saying this, Raymond focused his mind, bypassing the blurred milestone reward for a moment, and opened his main system inventory. With a silent command, he selected the target item.

”Extract the Tier 1 Land Upgrade Card.”

Harlan, Gideon, and Lily watched in absolute, wide-eyed amazement as a brilliant flash of emerald light materialized directly above Raymond’s open palm.

The light rapidly solidified into a solid, physical object. It looked remarkably similar to the Silver Summoning Tickets he had torn the previous day, but instead of cold silver, this card was forged from a sleek, polished green metal that looked like pure, pressurized jade.

Intricate, glowing gold runes were deeply etched along the metallic borders, pulsing with a vibrant, life-filled energy that smelled faintly of fresh rain and crushed leaves.

Raymond didn’t waste a single second. He gripped the heavy green card between his fingers and threw it forward with a flick of his wrist, launching it directly toward the center of the dry basin.

The moment the jade-green card left his hand and sailed into the air, a massive, semi-transparent blue system prompt manifested directly in front of his face, pulsing with authority.

[ Ding! ]

[ Deployment Detection: Tier 1 Land Upgrade Card. ]

[ Target Area: Designated Fief Basin (15 Hectares). ]

[Do you, the Host, want to officially use this card?]

[ Yes ] / [ No ]

Raymond didn’t hesitate for even a fraction of a millisecond. He raised his hand and pressed his finger firmly against the glowing blue [ Yes ] icon floating in the air.

Instantly, the cold, mechanical chime inside his brain responded.

[ Ding! Command received. Tier 1 Land Upgrade Card is officially in use. Beginning localized terraforming process. ]

In the next second, the jade-green card sailing over the center of the basin abruptly stopped in mid-air, hovering completely motionless about ten feet above the ground.

The gold runes etched into its metallic surface erupted into a violent, blinding green light.With a loud, crystalline snapping sound, the card burst completely apart. It didn’t shatter into shards; instead, it transformed into a massive, expanding wave of soft, luminous emerald energy.

The green light cascaded downward like a heavy, sparkling waterfall, completely enveloping the entire fifteen-hectare basin in a matter of seconds.

The dry, howling wasteland wind around them completely ceased, replaced by a sudden, heavy pressure that made the ground beneath their feet tremble gently.