The Boss King actually disguised himself as a novice village chief?!

After the meal, Lind also received replies from Reed and Leo, eight people should be no problem.

Six women, the oldest in her thirties, the youngest only sixteen.

The two children were both boys, only four years old. Normal children's memories before the age of two tend to fade, which means since they began to remember, they have been living in this post-apocalyptic world.

They couldn't be considered Wanderers; they belonged to a small encampment that occupied a clean water source, living by catching rats and dung beetles, with thistle roots as their staple food. They occasionally ate grass stems that were juicy and rich in fiber, although hard to digest, they gave a strong feeling of fullness.

In an era where all species had evolved out of necessity brought on by the apocalypse, thistles drove their nutrients deep underground to ensure survival. The thistles above ground were wilted and difficult to eat, but the roots below were rich in starch. The roots, about the thickness of a finger, although not good in taste, could barely be considered as a mutated version of potatoes with a deteriorated taste and causes constipation.

Besides, the eight of them voluntarily mentioned "hyena" Old Mand's power—six adult men, with two crossbows and four bows, among them Old Mand had once been a Hunter, and had killed people before.

The Wanderers they encountered were not worth mentioning; four players slaughtered their way through the Wanderers' temporary encampment. To cut through Old Mand's team of six was a piece of cake.

"There's also a Wanderer settlement far from us," Reed reported with concern, "It's said that Old Mand has seen it from afar—those Wanderers number at least fifty men, each one strong and heavily armored, and their leader is a Two-Headed Person."

"A Two-Headed Person?" Lind was perplexed: "A mutant?"

He should have been transported to a world with "Magic" at the end, not a nuclear wasteland.

"Not sure, but that Two-Headed Person is known to be able to tear a horse apart with his bare hands. They only watched from a distance, not daring to get close."

"Hiss."

Lind was surprised; he had ascended to Great Knight just one day ago and had yet to take action. However, he had mostly adapted to the strength and was confident in tearing a horse apart with his bare hands. As for "Clorey's Explosion Flame," setting a horse ablaze was also not out of the question.

The other party might also be a Great Knight!

Facing an opponent who became a Great Knight earlier than oneself, Lind remained very cautious.

Safety first, players should be the ones to take the risks, it's not being cowardly. If he could resurrect too, hmph!

Plus there were fifty fully armed men, stronger than Prey Town.

He must be on guard!

Lind frowned and pondered for a while, digesting the information.

The news was a mix of good and bad.

The bad part was the presence of a large force of fifty people wandering nearby, which was unsettling. Furthermore, with a Great Knight backing them up, the high walls of Star Dragon Ridge would be hard to defend, and only after taking this step would one realize the huge gap between a Great Knight and an ordinary person.

The good part was that players now had "instances" to farm, though there were too few of them. If only there were more, they could be overwhelmed even by sheer numbers.

Lind didn't think the two groups could live in peace. The other party might already know about Star Dragon Ridge's existence; their absence meant they were simply not ready to tackle this tough nut to crack.

Sieges came with great sacrifices.

Moreover, "Wanderers" were inherently more dangerous than "Believers."

If Believers represented desperation, huddling together for warmth like stray dogs, then Wanderers were like wolves traveling miles to kill, loot, and plunder for their pleasure.

All he could do was prepare early. The most important thing for now was to increase their strength and let the Undead do more work, so his Soldiers could recover and improve themselves.

"Let's go and see them," he said.

Lind's nine Soldiers couldn't do the skin-peeling work every day; nor did he plan to let these women and children do it. The eight people would be the first batch of experimental NPCs he introduced, learning from their experience. Then, when he issued quests as "Lord of Star Dragon Ridge," things would be more reliable.

Some things players liked, others they did not, experiments were definitely needed.

Lind took the initiative to find the women and children huddled in the cold wind.

He also brought the leftover meat soup.

The tent was set up well, and there was light from a fire inside, suggesting it wouldn't be too cold.

As Lind approached, two children peeked out from the tent, scared yet curious as they looked at Lind, until the women heard footsteps and came out, exclaiming, "Lord!"

A group of people knelt down in unison, only the two children, after being pressed down by the head, involuntarily raised their heads again.

Right at the downwind, the smell of the meat soup "scratched" its way to the nose.

So tempting!

Lind nodded, signaling the soldiers to put down the meat soup.

The eight women and children frequently glanced at the pot of meat soup, but not a single one dared to move.

Just their stomachs rumbling loudly.

Lind pretended not to hear, when a leader speaks, even if starving, one must endure.

"I don't care where you come from. If you want to stay at Star Dragon Ridge, you can, and I can guarantee your safety. But there is no such thing as a free lunch; if you wish to stay, you must work."

The women certainly didn't dare to refuse, even a few of them blushed, sizing up Lind and the soldiers beside him, "We are willing."

Willing to do what!

What do they take me for.

Lind scrutinized the women in the tent closely, of average looks, including the sixteen-year-old one.

His heart became even more resolute and tough. What do they take me for! Hmph!

"Good, since you're willing, then I'll talk about the work you'll do," Lind said, "Starting tomorrow, I'll assign tasks to you and pay you in Rand Gold Coins. Your job will be to take these coins and find the Undead, tell them what tasks need to be done, get them to complete the tasks, and then go check the quality of the work, and pay them their coins."

Fearing these people would be unable to take on the role of NPCs, Lind had to start from the beginning, slowly teaching them how to assign tasks to players and how to validate them after completion, absolutely not giving players any chance to exploit bugs.

Once they actually start assigning tasks, he'll explain in more detail, including the dialogue.

They were already Wanderers, and they were Wanderers saved by the players themselves. The script could be light on requirements, focusing on sincerity that fits their character.

Beside him, Reed and Leo stated that this was all basic operation for the Great Knight.

Two days ago, they thought this was abnormal, but now, seeing the Great Knight use methods beyond anyone's understanding to get the Undead to obediently work, they only felt that it was all too normal!

Even if told one day that the Undead would end up offering money to Lind, eager to work, even thankful after being executed by Lind, they wouldn't find anything wrong, only sigh in admiration: True to the Undead, worthy of the Great Knight.

"Yes!"

The women nodded, and it turned out not to be for sleeping with someone. Their work at the gathering place had been just that.

But then, they all looked up in unison.

"Lord, what, what is our work?"

Great Knight, did you forget what you just said, that there is no such thing as a free lunch? Our job sounds very much like a free lunch!

Lind repeated patiently, "Your job is to get them to complete the work!"

"Ah?!"