- Fantasy Lord: Start with Daily Intelligence
- FLDI Chapter 114
**Chapter 114: Victory and Claiming the Territory**
The slaughter continued to spread.
Tor and Raine led their knights in yet another charge through the Goatmen horde. Without hesitation, they turned back and plunged into the Goatmen’s camp once more.
This time, six tier-two Goatmen converged on them. Thor and Raine were each immediately beset by three tier-two Goatmen, while numerous elite Goatmen swarmed around their knights.
The ground was soaked with blood, staining everything red.
Tor, slightly winded, flicked his right hand, casting aside his knight’s sword, and picked up a nearby knight’s lance. A cold aura emanated from it as the wind element surged around Nia.
With a sudden burst of speed, Nia charged forward.
“Boom!”
A loud, dull impact echoed as a tier-two Goatman was skewered through the chest. The immense force hurled it into the distance, and as it flew, ice spread over its body, freezing it solid before it even hit the ground.
Without pausing, Thor swept the lance around, clearing a wide circle of space around him, the elite Goatmen scattered. But as Nia accelerated, she had to stop again, as two tier-two Goatmen rushed at them from the sides.
Two bone clubs, glowing with a bloody light, swung toward Thor and Nia.
“Buzz!”
A magical array flared, and the wind element gathered around Nia. In a flash, she vanished from the path of the clubs.
“Boom!”
“Crash!”
The ground shook as the bone clubs slammed down, but Nia had already dashed away. More Goatmen swarmed forward, yet Thor pulled the reins, and with another surge of wind, they charged back into the Goatmen ranks, accelerating rapidly.
“Boom!”
The force of the knight’s lance impaled one of the Goatmen, freezing its body solid. Thor swung the lance, flinging the frozen Goatman aside, then turned toward another.
At this point, the third Goatman, now alone, hesitated. Its blood-red eyes filled with fear, as did the others around it. The knights, led by Thor, were like a meat grinder, tearing through anything in their path.
The Goatmen, though bloodthirsty and savage, were not entirely mindless—especially the elite ones with some intelligence. Only those born from dark rituals continued their relentless assault.
For the time being, these ritual-born Goatmen occupied Thor’s attention, preventing him from pushing toward the elite ones. He looked across the battlefield and saw that Raine had already defeated one tier-two Goatman and was dominating another.
Satisfied, Thor plunged back into the fight.
The battle dragged on from afternoon into the approaching dusk. As the sun set, the Goatmen around Thor dwindled until, finally, only a few remained.
“Boom!”
With one last surge of energy, a Goatman was crushed, and the area around Thor fell silent. Bodies lay scattered across the ground, and blood flowed like a river.
“Thud!”
“Thud!”
Exhausted knights sank to the ground, breathing heavily.
Tor, his golden armor soaked with blood, was also catching his breath. His sword was long lost, and the lance he carried had turned from white to crimson with blood.
After a full day of fighting, Thor had lost count of how many Goatmen he had killed—one hundred, two hundred, or perhaps five hundred. There were too many to keep track of.
Out of the thousands of Goatmen, only a few hundred had escaped, including one or two tier-two warriors and some elite Goatmen. The rest were all dead.
He had considered pursuing the stragglers, but the ritual-born Goatmen had come in such numbers that he ultimately had to let them go. Fortunately, the remaining threat was now minimal. Even if they managed to create more Goatmen, their numbers were too low to pose a real danger to any lord with a great knight, let alone to Tono or Babrus.
At dusk, Tono dismounted with a weary expression. This battle had drained him both physically and mentally.
They had fought from afternoon to evening without pause, pushing him and his knights to their limits.
“Lord, three apprentice knights are gravely injured, twelve apprentice knights and seven full knights wounded,” Steve reported, fatigue etched into his face.
“Take the wounded back to my brother’s castle for rest and treatment,” Thor instructed.
“Yes, sir!” Steve replied respectfully, quickly organizing the knights to carry the wounded back to the castle. With the combined might of Thor and Raine, the Eagle Territory’s knights had suffered no fatalities, only injuries.
Tono and Babrus hadn’t fared as well. Despite Thor’s efforts to draw away many of the Goatmen, they still suffered losses: Tono had lost one full knight and three apprentices, with over twenty others wounded. Babrus similarly lost one full knight and five apprentices, with even more wounded.
Even so, both Tono and Babrus couldn’t help but feel relieved. This outcome was far better than they had expected. They had been prepared for heavy losses in this attack.
The Goatmen were formidable, and even with their combined strength, they had anticipated a costly victory. However, Thor’s prowess had significantly reduced their casualties.
Tono and Babrus exchanged a glance.
“Tono, it seems we underestimated your brother!” Babrus said with a chuckle.
“Indeed,” Tono replied, grinning despite his fatigue. He was thrilled, realizing that with such a powerful brother and equally formidable knights by his side, the future held immense promise.
“Let’s go over to him,” Babrus suggested with a smile. “We owe him our thanks.”
Tono nodded in agreement.
The two men then strode over to where Thor stood.
Tor was organizing some post-battle tasks, preparing to join Tono and Babrus. Before he could make a move, however, they had already come to him.
“Well done, young man! I guess I underestimated you. Thor, it seems you’re not just as good as Father—you might even surpass him!” Tono called out enthusiastically from a distance.
“Brother!”
“Lord Babrus!” Thor greeted them with a smile.
“Thank you so much this time, Lord Thor!” Babrus said, giving a knightly salute with genuine gratitude. He knew well that without Thor holding the line, they wouldn’t have been able to secure the victory, and their losses would have been much worse. His appreciation was heartfelt.
“Lord Babrus, no need to be so formal!” Thor replied with a knightly gesture and a warm smile.
“This is not merely formality,” Babrus said earnestly. “Lord Thor, if you ever need anything in the future, just say the word. If I can assist, I won’t hesitate!”
“Haha, I may just take you up on that someday, Lord Babrus. I won’t refuse!” Thor responded with a chuckle. He had already come to appreciate Babrus’s character and felt it was worth fostering a good relationship.
“All right!” Tono interjected. “Thor, have you managed to attend to your injured knights? If you need any help, just let me know.”
“It’s mostly handled. I’ve already sent the seriously wounded knights back to your territory for rest and treatment,” Thor replied with a nod.
“Good!” Tono said, nodding with a smile. “Take some time to organize and rest a bit. Later, we’ll go inspect the entire territory.”
His face showed a hint of excitement. He’d coveted this land for a long time. Its resources even surpassed those of his own territory, which meant that with this new land, he had greater options for development and expansion.
The previous owner, a scion of the Assad family, had put up quite a fight, costing Tono dearly in past skirmishes. But now, he had finally claimed it. Even if he had to share part of it, he felt the gain was well worth it.
“Understood!” Thor agreed without hesitation. Although his own losses had been minimal, the rewards were substantial, and he had no intention of turning them down.
Indeed, this was no small gain. The territory alone could yield up to 2,000 gold coins annually, possibly even more. The previous lord hadn’t fully exploited its potential. A large iron mine, for example, could easily bring in over 5,000 gold coins per year. Even split three ways, that would mean 1,500 coins each.
Moreover, the area produced “Naur,” a primary ingredient in basic life potions. Though selling raw materials was less lucrative, a single life potion could fetch between 200 to 300 gold coins at an auction in Loren City, with potential yearly revenue of over 5,000 gold coins. Such wealth could fund the training of several great knights.
Tor began the breathing exercises for knights, replenishing his life force, and checked on the state of his knights. By the time dusk was setting in, he made his way over to where Tono and Babrus were gathered.
“Brother!”
“Lord Babrus!” he called, approaching them with a soft tone.
“Thor, let’s go!” Tono said with a grin, leading the three of them into the newly acquired territory.
They first headed to the dilapidated castle. It would be much easier to obtain information on the territory from documents within the castle than by inspecting it piece by piece. Though there were no survivors, many records were scattered around.
Following Tono’s instructions, knights began gathering and organizing the papers. By the light of the oil lamps, after about half an hour, the three of them had a clearer picture of the territory’s assets.
Their faces lit up with smiles as they realized the land’s value was even greater than anticipated.
They found over 3,000 acres of farmland, although much of it had been damaged. Some of it, however, was nearly ready for harvest—a welcome source of grain. While they found no gold coins, other supplies were estimated to be worth around 2,000 coins.
Most importantly, they discovered more resources than expected. Originally, they had thought there was only one large iron mine, one small copper mine, and a single “Naur” source. But in reality, there was an additional small copper mine and a second “Naur” source.
(End of Chapter)