- Fantasy Lord: Start with Daily Intelligence
- FLDI Chapter 106
Chapter 106: Tier 3 Unicorn, Territory Development
As night began to fall, the familiar sound of the system notification rang in Thor’s ears. He scanned through the latest intelligence reports, but the worry in his heart only deepened.
When the morning sun rose, bringing in a new day, Thor set off to inspect the northern town. As Pelos had reported, the town was steadily growing. A tall wall now surrounded the settlement, and goblins were hard at work on its construction. Outside the town stretched vast fields of golden wheat, growing well and promising a good harvest.
Along the way, people—knights, freemen, and even slaves—greeted him with respect and admiration. Every pair of eyes that met Thor’s were filled with reverence.
Living in Eagle’s Ridge had provided them with a life beyond what they could have ever imagined. It was a place of stability, peace, and freedom, full of hope. In just over a year, some women even showed signs of pregnancy, indicating that Eagle’s Ridge would soon welcome its first wave of newborns.
“Charl, how many freemen do we have now in Eagle’s Ridge?” Thor asked, as a thought crossed his mind.
“Lord, the population of Eagle’s Ridge has reached 8,000, with 832 freemen,” Charl, his administrator, answered with pride.
Like Pelos, Charl had been disheartened when he was first sent to Eagle’s Ridge. But upon arriving, he had been utterly shocked by what he found. In just one year, Thor had developed Eagle’s Ridge to a point that rivaled some viscount families in the Frostmoon Province. The territory was far more prosperous than Charl had ever expected.
Moreover, Charl had received wonderful news: his children would have the chance to join the fledgling **Eaglet Knights** training group. If he earned enough merit, they could train in the knight’s breathing technique and potentially become knights themselves—a dream for most commoners.
Even possessing the chance to train as a knight, even as a squire, could elevate a family from the common class. It was an opportunity most commoners never had.
This was why Charl worked so diligently for Thor.
“832, huh,” Thor murmured. “We can afford to loosen things up a bit. Increase the number of freemen. Also, do a count of how many female slaves we still need. I plan to visit Loren City in a few days to make purchases.”
Slaves were important, but with the goblins helping with the heavy labor, the need wasn’t as great. More importantly, converting some slaves into freemen would help the territory grow in a healthier, more sustainable way.
“Yes, my lord,” Charl replied. “At the moment, we need about 200 more female slaves, but to prepare for future growth, it would be best to buy 300, or perhaps even 500.”
“500 it is then,” Thor said with a slight frown, but he nodded. His recent campaign had brought in significant rewards, so purchasing 500 slaves wasn’t a problem, especially since he intended to expand the population of his territory further.
In his vision, each of the two towns should eventually have between 10,000 and 30,000 people. To start, he aimed to bring the populations of the two towns up to 5,000 or 6,000 each.
“Oh, by the way, how’s the fish farm coming along in the north?” Thor asked, remembering his previous instructions.
With the construction of the reservoir completed, Thor had planned to develop aquaculture. Since farmland could only produce so much, fish farming was an excellent way to supplement food supplies with high-quality protein, benefiting both the population and the economy.
“The fish farm has been completed,” Charl responded. “In about three months, the first batch of tilapia will be ready for harvest. They can be used as food or sold.”
“Great,” Thor said, pleased. The territory’s development was coming along even better than he had expected.
Now that the basic infrastructure was in place, the next step would be to expand the population, cultivate more farmland, and complete additional projects. Aside from that, the only thing left was to increase his power.
Though Thor’s strength had grown, it was still not enough in the chaos of the Northern Province. He needed to become even stronger.
The same was true for his forces. While his army had grown, increasing both numbers and quality of soldiers—especially knights—was no easy task. Not everyone had the potential to become a knight, and even fewer could progress quickly.
Raine had natural talent, allowing him to become a great knight in a short amount of time. Steve had already been at the peak of full knight status and, with Thor’s support, had successfully advanced. But for the others, even reaching full knight status, let alone becoming a great knight, was incredibly difficult.
As of now, Eagle’s Ridge had 43 full knights and 132 squires. Considering the resources Thor had poured into their training over the past year, this number wasn’t particularly impressive. Increasing the number of knights would require even more investment or outside recruitment—perhaps finding another prodigy like Raine, though that seemed like wishful thinking.
Thor also considered the possibility of further support from his father. Now that he was a baron, his father would certainly provide additional aid. Thor had originally planned to visit his family after being officially granted his title, but the unrest in the Northern Province had kept him from leaving.
As for sending a letter, Thor decided against it. He would have to return home in person eventually to be officially recognized as a baron, so there was no point in writing. He would just wait for the situation in the Northern Province to stabilize a bit before making the trip.
After inspecting the northern town and addressing a few issues, Thor returned to Eagle’s Ridge, where there were still matters to attend to.
Just as Thor was going about his tasks, a figure came rushing toward him, full of excitement.
“My lord! My lord!” Alan called out excitedly. “Nia—he’s advanced!”
Thor immediately looked up, his expression shifting from surprise to joy. Nia was the name of the leader of the unicorns.
Previously, the unicorn had been on the verge of advancing to the next tier, which is why Thor hadn’t brought him along during the recent campaign. And now, it seemed, Nia had finally broken through.
“Let’s go!” Thor said eagerly. “Take me to him.”
“Yes, my lord!” Alan replied, leading Thor toward the stables.
Moments later, they arrived at the stables, where Thor quickly spotted the unicorn that looked noticeably different from before.
Nia had grown larger, and the gray horn on his head had turned a shining silver. There was even a faint aura of wind swirling around him.
“Tier 3,” Thor whispered to himself, feeling a surge of excitement.
The changes in Nia’s appearance were clear signs that he had advanced to Tier 3, and his bloodline had evolved further. If Nia ever reached Tier 4, his entire body would turn white, and wings would sprout from his sides.
However, this only happened with the purest of unicorns. Nia’s bloodline wasn’t quite that pure, so Tier 3 was likely his limit. Even reaching Tier 3 was largely due to Alan’s rare talent for bonding with animals, which had helped Nia evolve. Otherwise, he would have remained at Tier 2.
Seeing Thor approach, the unicorn trotted up to him, gently nudging Thor with his head.
Thor smiled, fondly petting Nia. Over time, he had formed a strong bond with the unicorn, second only to Alan.
With Nia’s advancement, Thor’s excitement only grew.
The future of Eagle’s Ridge was looking brighter than ever.
As the unicorn rubbed its head affectionately against Thor, a ripple of energy spread out, and a magic circle appeared on the unicorn’s body.
Thor felt a stirring in his heart and immediately understood what was happening. His expression shifted from surprise to joy. Without hesitation, he connected his mental energy to the magic circle.
A similar magic circle appeared beneath Thor’s feet, intertwining with the one on the unicorn. In that moment, a bond was formed—a pet contract, initiated by the magical beast itself.
Although not as powerful as a life-sharing contract, this type of bond allowed a deep connection between human and beast, enabling them to understand each other’s emotions and thoughts. Thor could clearly sense Nia, the unicorn, brimming with happiness.
“Very nice!” Thor said, gently stroking Nia’s mane as the unicorn closed its eyes in contentment. “Starting today, I’ll arrange for you to join the Eaglet Knights. I look forward to seeing the day you become a full-fledged knight,” he said to Alan with a smile.
“Thank you, my lord! Thank you!” Alan responded, his eyes sparkling with excitement.
Thor nodded, encouraged Alan with a few more words, and then swung himself up onto Nia’s back.
With just a thought, Nia’s hooves kicked off, and a gust of wind exploded beneath him. The wind element gathered, and in an instant, Nia became a blur, vanishing from sight.
The speed was incredible—so fast it made Thor’s head spin. He had never experienced such speed before. The Tier 3 unicorn moved with an agility that surpassed even the most elite Earth Knights.
Though Nia couldn’t fly, Thor was certain that even many Tier 4 orcs wouldn’t be able to catch up. Only a Sky Knight could hope to keep up with such an astonishing pace.
The sensation of racing through the territory on Nia was exhilarating, and Thor found himself thoroughly enjoying the ride. He galloped for a long while before finally slowing down.
“From now on, we’re partners,” Thor said softly, gently patting Nia’s horn, a broad smile spreading across his face.
As night fell, Thor returned Nia to the stable and headed back to the castle to handle a few remaining matters. Tomorrow, he would be leaving for Loren City, but there were still many things to take care of before his departure.
—
By morning, the territory was bustling with activity. A large number of supplies had been gathered for the trip. Thor had reaped significant rewards from his recent campaign, and while some goods had already been sold through Rachos’ trade routes, there were still plenty left over.
These unsold items would be difficult to move locally, so Thor planned to take them to Loren City to sell to the Habsburg Trading Company. Not only did he need to sell his own goods, but the other five lords had also contributed their surplus. On top of that, they needed to purchase more slaves and other vital supplies for building their territories.
Thor decided to handle everything in one trip.
However, there was so much cargo that it took over 50 wagons to load it all. Between gathering the supplies and loading them, the day had already passed, and it was nearly evening by the time they were ready.
Despite the late hour, Thor decided not to delay further and set off as planned.
Along with the 50 wagons, Thor was accompanied by a sizable force, including Raine, who had just advanced to a great knight. There were also over 20 full knights, more than 50 squires, and a hundred knight apprentices—amounting to a force of several hundred men. It was almost as large as the group he had brought from Loren City when he first traveled to his territory.
Initially, Thor hadn’t planned on bringing so many people, but the daily intelligence reports indicated potential encounters with orc tribes, so he had to be prepared.
—
Seven days passed quickly.
On the journey, Thor’s group was ambushed twice by orc tribes. However, thanks to the strength of his forces, both attacks were swiftly dealt with. In fact, Thor even managed to claim the corpses of three Tier 2 orcs, which could be exchanged for 30 merit points, along with other resources valued at around 100 gold coins.
As the setting sun bathed the landscape in a warm glow, the silhouette of the enormous Loren City began to appear in the distance. The group unconsciously quickened their pace, eager to reach the city before nightfall.
Finally, just before darkness settled in, they stepped through the gates of Loren City.
(End of Chapter)