The girl who spoke was about 17 or 18 years old.

She wore black high-rise leather boots with traces of traveling in the sand.

The tight-fitting brown trousers made her legs appear slender. Her leather boots gave her a distinguished disposition.

She had a high ponytail at the back of her head, and the skin on her face was as white as jade. It was hard to believe that she had such fair skin in the desert.

Her figure was a little meager due to her thinness. But that also made her big black eyes extra-spirited.

The long copper hammer taller than a person on her back made her instantly appear from a slender and cute girl next door into a dauntless warrior.

“Adele Thorin?”

Richard nodded slowly.

“Where did you come from?”

Adele looked straight at him. Her tone was filled with grief and solemnity.

“The lair of the rhinoceros empire razed our home. We were forced to leave. We could only turn to the Phoenix-Tail Flower Chamber of Commerce. We planned to cross the Deathly Desert and head to the Holy Cathedral Empire to settle down…

“But the sandstorm a week ago ruined everything. We and the Phoenix-Tail Flower Chamber of Commerce were blown away in the storm. We lost most of our companions…”

Before she could finish, Onyx and his companions emerged out of the Lord’s mansion.

They had been arranged by Richard to stay in the guest room the other night.

Of course, everyone was being watched by the mummies and the scorpion warriors.

Onyx was stunned when he saw the girl but then, he was greatly astonished.

“Miss Adele? Are you okay?! By the god of merchants, this is great news!!”

“Lord Onyx?”

The girl was equally astonished.

But the joy quickly faded away, and the sadness in her eyes could not be hidden.

Onyx saw this and spoke hesitantly.

“Your father…”

Adele was silent…

Onyx sighed, and the joy disappeared.

Richard deeply thought about the situation.

Presumably, the leader of these refugees was the girl’s father. After the storm, she was the only one left.

Curious enough, Richard opened her stats panel, but after taking a look, he felt his heartbeat quicken.

[Adele Thorin]

[Hero Unit]

[Level: 4]

[Potential: A]

[Profession: Blacksmith (Advanced)

[Skills: Breathing Forging Method (A-rank) — When forging strategic equipment, she can obtain additional skills and has a chance to forge a higher-level weapon.]

[Weapon Strengthening (A-rank) — Can strengthen strategic equipment and obtain additional characteristics.]

[Blood of Thorin (A-rank) — Constitution increases by 200%, strength increases by 200%.]

[Hero Characteristics: Research speed of territory attack type technology increases by 30%, and success rate increases by 30%.]

[Race Characteristics: Has extraordinary talent in forging weapons, and success rate increases by 30%.]

[Fetters-Copper Hammer: When using a long-handled copper hammer to forge, the forging skill level will be increased by one level.]

[Description: Kuang! Kuang! Your artifact is ready, do you want to test its power?]

‘Hero Unit?! Advanced Blacksmith?’

‘And it’s a hero with the potential to reach A-rank!!’

Richard’s pupils constricted.

This attribute… This potential… This was heaven-defying.

Compared to Adele, a heroic unit like Onyx, who had changed jobs to become a merchant, was simply incomparable.

Richard took a few deep breaths to suppress the excitement in his heart.

He looked straight at her.

He spoke slowly.

“Miss Adele, I think your father should be more powerful than you.

“The sandstorm is terror-stricken. But since you’re fine, there’s no reason that anything could have happened to your father. Don’t be too sad. Perhaps, he’s looking for you just like you guys.”

These words immediately made the girl’s eyes light up.

“Is what you said true?”

Richard nodded without hesitation.

“Of course.”

After saying that, Richard commanded Karu beside him.

“Get someone to clean up the guest room of the mansion.”

After saying that, Richard looked at Adele. “You can stay here for a few days. Firstly, you can recuperate. Secondly, you can look for your father.”

His tone became more serious.

“If you need help, I can send someone to assist you. Miss Adele, believe me, the residents of my territory are more familiar with the desert than you are.”

“Your companions don’t need to rush through the vast desert. We welcome you.”

This hero could not be let go!

However, since the other party had just arrived and had experienced the disappearance of her father, Richard could not directly recruit her. He could only think of a way from the side.

If Richard wanted to take her, he had to give Adele her father first…

This was the basic philosophy of life.

However, Richard didn’t expect that Adele would be more anxious than him.

As if a drowning person had grasped the last straw, she hurriedly said, “My Lord!”

“As long as you can find my father, I’m willing to give everything! I-I can become your subordinate and work for you!”

“As long as you can find my father…”

Her eyes reddened, and her voice was choked with sobs, making people feel an unfathomable heartache.

The system notification quietly sounded.

[Ding~ Adele Thorin has issued a hero recruitment mission to you. Find her father who was blown away by the sandstorm. ]

[When the mission is completed, the other party will join your territory.]

Richard was slightly startled, but then he felt completely comfortable.

Missions were good. He liked doing missions whenever he had nothing better to do.

However, when he saw the heartbroken look in Adele’s eyes, he immediately suppressed the joy in his heart.

He took a deep breath and looked straight into her eyes.

“I will do my best.”

These words came from the bottom of his heart.

He had experienced the pain of losing a loved one.

When she noticed the change in Richard’s tone, Adele’s gaze immediately became much closer.

Only Onyx felt a little regretful. He knew how good this girl’s forging skills were.

Initially, Onyx had planned to introduce her to the Phoenix-Tail Flower Chamber of Commerce.

But now, Onyx couldn’t say anything about the recruitment deal. After all, Onyx had just received a bottle of Richard’s precious Desert Crown.

“Miss Adele, how many companions did you bring?”

“A total of 150 people. The others are like my father. They were lost in the desert.”

Richard nodded and commanded Karu.

“Go, prepare breakfast for them.”

“Yes, Lord Richard.”

After consoling Adele for a long time, Richard exclusively led her into the Lord’s mansion.

Then, he asked Karu and Onyx to accompany each other. Richard found an excuse to come out.

Richard looked at the 10 residential houses on the west side of the Lord’s mansion.

Previously, there were not many residents, so there was still enough to live in.

However, now that there were more than 100 people, there was no room for them.

If he wanted to build a new house, Richard would need the corresponding blueprints. However, he only had the blueprint for the construction of the Hero’s Altar.

Currently, if Richard wanted to accommodate more residents, the only way was to raise the level of the building.

[Residence: 1]

[Level: Ordinary (Requires 500 units of stone and 500 units of wood to level up.)]

[Capacity: Maximum of 10 people]

[Characteristics: None]

[Description: An ordinary residential house, which can be used by commoners.]

[Ten residential houses, which require a total of 5000 units of stone and 5000 units of wood to level up.]

Looking at the attribute panel that had only a few pieces left, Richard could not help but sigh.

No matter how much he earned, it was not enough to spend.

‘I have to let these residents settle down. It’s not easy to get hundreds of refugees in the desert.’

‘The territory is still small now, and these residents are a burden. But once the territory expands, when all aspects require labor, the residents will become the creators of wealth.’

‘No matter what, I can’t let the meat that’s on the tip of my tongue run away.’

After thinking for a while, Richard took out 200 units of food from the warehouse and found a few high-priced items to sell. With the original resources, it was just enough to buy 10,000 units.

Then, he walked to the front of the 10 residential buildings and prepared to upgrade the buildings in Twilight City for the first time.

He still had some magical anticipation in his heart.

[Ding~ Do you want to use 5000 units of wood and 5000 units of stone to upgrade the residential buildings?]