Since Roland solemnly promised both sides that they would not lose the missionary competition, he had to aim for a draw.

"What should I do?" Yanis asked.

"The Forest Brotherhood leads because they helped people get food. It’s a great help."

Roland gestured for Yanis to stop rebutting, "I know what you mean. Importing food, right? But that's a temporary solution, they can tell the difference between a temporary solution and a permanent solution."

Yanis fell silent.

"Then how’s it possible to win over them? The Court of Light boasts many talents, but few are farmers. We are clergy, not farmers, and even if we hire help, we can't match Luet."

Yanis muttered softly.

It wasn't surprising for clergy to have biases against agriculture and farmers. They were servants of the goddess, not meant for tilling the soil.

In Tiamat, farmers were the most inferior and contempted by everyone else.

No farmer wished their son to continue in agriculture. They'd do everything to send them to church schools or apprenticeships.

In contrast, clergy were at the top of the food chain. Dressed in finery, of esteemed status, mingling with nobility, they were the superior class.

"Merchants will give us food. If we use the money earned from this land to buy food, that's not cheating, right?"

"Of course not, but it’s such an empty and barren land."

Yanis lowered her voice, "Sorry, but, your territory is the poorest I've seen, with no resources or market. No merchant would come here. Even if they did, how would we earn money?"

"Industry!"

Roland stated calmly, "The Court of Light has many subordinate factories. How many clergy do you have? How large is their demand for clothing, equipment, and weapons? Just set up a factory here and let the residents work, and they'll have earn their livings."

Yanis eyed Roland suspiciously, murmuring, "Are trying to develop your territory with my help?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm thinking."

Roland's gaze was direct, his words shameless.

Yanis found Roland's audacity amusing.

She couldn't imagine Roland would have the gall to ask so blatantly, leaving her speechless.

Seeing Yanis's dumbfounded expression, Roland calmly said, "Don't look at me like that; I'm not taking advantage of you for nothing. If the factory is built here, I assure you won't regret it."

"Alright, then tell me, what's the advantage of building the factory here? Because of the people? Pepople are everywhere. Building a factory requires a huge investment. How do we explain losses to the higher-ups?"

"Of course there's an advantage! Minhausen has the most diligent people."

"There’re diligent people everywhere." Yanis did not back down.

She couldn't afford to lose the missionary competition, but setting up a factory at a loss was even more unacceptable. Losing the competition might delay her promotion, but running a factory at a loss could strip her of her position or even lead to imprisonment.

The Court of Light, serving hundreds of thousands, needed vast wealth to operate. When it comes to money, there’s no ‘small’ issue.

Although Yanis held the title of Holy Maiden, it wasn't that valuable in the Court of Light, with dozens of girls similar to her.

As long as they had a decent image, reasonable strength, and youthful purity, any girl could wear the Holy Maiden title and serve the Church.

These mass-produced Holy Maidens, using their good image to gain reputation for the Court, would be granted various bishop titles for their merits.

Compared to Holy Maidens, they had a more resonant title among the people, "Daughters of Light."

Yanis, with her not insignificant strength, control over resources, and authority, certainly had the power to allocate resources to establish a factory in Minhausen. But she would be responsible for the factory's profitability.

If the factory couldn't turn a profit within three years, she would bear full responsibility.

Should she gamble or not?

As she hesitated, Roland stated, "Minhausen has one advantage: education. The previous baron's family owned a vast collection of books, some of which, deemed less important, were used to establish a public library. He even hired teachers for the residents. Baronies with public schools are rare."

"Minhausen has a tradition of valuing education. Our adult illiteracy rate is under 30%. With just a bit of training, they can handle most technical jobs."

Yanis's expression relaxed immediately.

Such a significant advantage should have been mentioned sooner.

Stolen novel; please report.

Education in this era was a luxury. She assumed Minhausen, a poor place, was filled with illiterates, but it had such favorable conditions.

Uneducated farmers could only do manual labor, but educated residents could become skilled workers.

This was a huge difference.

Yanis made her decision without hesitation. She was in.

If she didn't build a factory here, there was no chance of winning the missionary competition.

"Since that's the case, I have no reason to refuse. I plan to build a clothing factory here, supplying garments to the surrounding bishoprics. Unfortunately, the workers I've hired are busy building a chapel, so the factory's progress will be slow."

Roland smiled, "I have a suggestion. Let the locals build the factory. It will increase their sense of ownership, and they can earn money sooner, ensuring they have enough for the winter."

"With food, clothing, and money to earn, how could they not aspire to the light?"

Although Roland had his own motives, Yanis agreed. Roland wasn't seeking personal gain but the well-being of the local residents. This was more acceptable.

And at least for now, their stands were completely aligned.

...

Roland's subtle guidance and Yanis's bold gamble quickly turned the tide of the competition.

Although The Forest Brotherhood still led in missionary numbers, Luet noticed the changes in his opponents -he had people skilled in collecting information.

They could transform into coyotes, small dogs, or even birds, secretly crossing the Eseral River to gather information on the other side.

The agreement was that missionaries could not cross the Eseral River for proselytizing, but information officers were exempt. Both sides accepted this practice, showing they conducted themselves openly and were not afraid of supervision.

Luet was an honest man but not naive. As long as the rules allowed, he too would use cunning and tactics.

When he learned Yanis was building a clothing factory in Delaub, he was silent for a full minute.

He couldn't understand why Yanis was so competitive; to him, the missionary competition was just a game.

Over the past century, The Forest Brotherhood had lost to the Court of Light in more than twenty competitions and to the Court of Darkness in more than thirty. Was losing once that upsetting and unacceptable?

The Forest Brotherhood's performance in past competitions, to put it harshly, was a series of defeats, or more positively, a series of persistent efforts.

Finally seeing a chance to break the century-long losing streak, and Yanis goes all-in?

Luet frowned, pondering whether to raise the stakes, when a hearty voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Big guy, why are you daydreaming again? I've finished today's work and need to head home. It's time for Lord Galaxia’s class."

Luet snapped to attention just in time to see Granni waving goodbye with her giant axe.

He seemed to make up his mind, smiling, "Miss Granni, take care. Please tell Roland I sincerely invite him to visit me tomorrow."

Granni nodded without asking further, wiped her sweat, and carried her axe away.

Watching her agile figure and straight back, Luet squinted.

Barbarian berserkers, a legendary combat profession believed to have disappeared, was Granni’s profession.

Berserkers were a rare warrior profession, known for their resilience and recklessness, and immune to debuff effects, making them terrifying war machines.

Among berserkers, barbarian berserkers were an exceptionally rare breed.

According to the "Book of the Wild," only pure-blooded barbarians had a slight chance of becoming barbarian berserkers.

Simply put, only the simplest minds among barbarians could potentially become barbarian berserkers.

They weren't fools but were almost completely isolated from knowledge and sorcery. In return, their had great combat talents.

They couldn't use magic of any form, but could easily resist the erosion of witchcraft, curses, and status spells.

Granni had not yet awakened her true power. If she fully awakened, she would be a nightmare for mages. Awakened barbarian berserkers could enter a magic-immune state through blood rages.

The last recorded awakened barbarian berserker appeared in the late Chaos Era of the previous epoch.

Entering the Oblivion Era, this hidden profession seemed to vanish from the world, never to appear again.

Its reappearance was certainly unusual.

As an observer of nature, any anomaly caught Luet's attention.

He didn't dislike barbarian berserkers but keenly sensed the change in circumstances.

The Oblivion Era had begun 1453 years ago, and while the world of Tiamat had continuously changed, it was mostly the power shifts of mortal regimes.

X Empire becoming Y Empire was just a typical dynasty change, hardly affecting The Forest Brotherhood.

The reappearance of barbarian berserkers, however, was different.

If it were just Granni, he wouldn't care, but this was just the beginning.

Leaving the forest, he initially thought dealing with Roland's declaration of war was just a formality.

He himself was almost a fifth-order power, and the five Great Druids accompanying him were fourth-order or almost fifth-order.

This combination could easily annihilate a duke, let alone a minor baron.

But upon arriving in Minhausen, he realized something was wrong.

Minhausen Barony, with only three thousand residents and a handful of soldiers, had attracted quite a few attention from big shots.

Egilina, the youngest and most talented Star Mage of the StarGazeers.

Luet didn't understand astrology, but he knew the StarGazers did.

This group, focusing on the stars for hundreds of years, rarely made a losing bet. The results of their investment included only small wins, big wins, and jackpot wins, with all-in bets bringing in heaps of profit.

And they were all-in on Roland Galaxia.

The Court of Light even sent a "Daughter of Light" to lead troops and missionaries here.

Bloody Yanis, cold-blooded towards enemies but warm like sunshine to friends, a paradoxical existence, turned everywhere she went into a bloody storm. Yet, this cold-blooded war machine transformed into a preacher in Minhausen, not only going door-to-door to spread warmth but also planning to build a clothing factory here.

He didn't understand investment and factory building, but the Court of Light certainly did.

This group of people would only build factories in places with profit potential.

In other words, Yanis believed building a factory here could make a lot of money.

Though unclear on Yanis's basis for judgment, he knew she had raised the stakes.

A young lord capable of discussing terms with two empire-level religious organizations.

The hidden profession of barbarian berserker.

The fate-savvy Stargazers' strong support.

The early-bird Court of Light's heavy investment.

Everything came together like a tornado, with Minhausen at the storm's center.

Luet slowly closed his eyes, lost in thought.

Recently, he transformed into a bird, flying over the entire barony, feeling more and more that this place was unusual.

Firstly, its vastness.

In terms of sheer size, it could easily serve as the capital of an empire, perhaps even larger.

Minhausen Barony was surrounded by mountains on three sides, with most of the valley covered in forest.

Forests were resources, but overly dense forests were green deserts.

Forests that couldn't be eaten, drunk from, or utilized were no different from deserts.

Minhausen's land seemed cursed by mysterious forces, making it difficult to develop and farm, with extremely low agricultural efficiency.

Luet transformed into a bird again, flying to the tallest tree, closing his eyes, his thoughts drifting far away.

A night passed.

When he opened his eyes again, a divine white horse carried a young knight from the north and raced towards them.

He made up his mind, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly, his deep voice echoing through the forest.

"Roland, my good brother, are you interested in discussing an investment?"