- Fantasy Lord: Start with Daily Intelligence
- FLDI Chapter 12
Chapter 12: The First Step of a Pioneer Knight
In a rather narrow stream, the flow had been completely blocked, and at this moment, the eyes of every knight gleamed with excitement.
Moments later, a voice filled with surprise rang out.
“Sir, we’ve caught one!”
“It’s really a spiny butterfly fish!”
The joyful voice echoed, and Thor, who had been resting, stood up immediately and strode over.
In the stream, a knight was holding a strange fish with a light blue body, about the size of a palm.
“Sir, I’ve caught one too!”
As Thor approached, another knight shouted in excitement.
“Sir!”
“Sir!”
One voice after another echoed, and within a short time, seven or eight knights cried out in surprise.
But there were only those few fish. In this small stream, there were no more than these seven or eight spiny butterfly fish.
However, this was more than enough to bring joy to everyone.
After all, these were spiny butterfly fish, and each one could sell for anywhere between five thousand and ten thousand gold coins at the kingdom’s top auctions. More importantly, the fish had a unique ability: even if it only slightly enhanced a knight’s talent, that enhancement was permanent.
Everyone gazed at the spiny butterfly fish, their throats involuntarily moving as they swallowed.
When they looked at Thor, their eyes were filled with admiration.
They had no idea how their lord knew that this stream would contain spiny butterfly fish.
They only knew that their lord had brought them here and told them they would find the fish—and sure enough, they did.
This was their lord’s first time traveling to the Northern Province.
Thinking of this, their hearts were filled with awe and anticipation.
Initially, everyone had been a bit anxious about traveling to the Northern Province, but in that moment, all their worries quietly melted away.
Thor, however, was not concerned with these thoughts. With a wave of his hand, he ordered the knights to prepare the fish for a meal.
He didn’t plan to keep the spiny butterfly fish for himself but intended to share them with his knights.
For one, only the first fish a person consumes is effective. On the other hand, now that they had entered the Northern Province, Thor could sense the anxiety among his knights. The discovery of the spiny butterfly fish would undoubtedly ease their unease.
More importantly, these knights were his loyal and trusted comrades, so sharing the benefits was natural.
Even though there were only seven fish, and each person would only get a taste, having some was far better than having none.
Indeed, as soon as Thor announced his decision to distribute the spiny butterfly fish among them, the 400 knights erupted in cheers.
If there had been a way to measure their loyalty and morale at that moment, one would see the numbers skyrocketing.
Even without such a gauge, the change in the knights’ demeanor was palpable.
Thor smiled and savored his own portion.
The meat of the spiny butterfly fish was incredibly tender, melting in his mouth. As soon as he swallowed, Thor felt a warm sensation spreading through his entire body, and his mind was suddenly filled with a refreshing clarity.
Inside him, his life force began to circulate uncontrollably.
Thor quickly sat cross-legged and activated the knight’s breathing technique.
Time passed slowly.
About half an hour later, Thor opened his eyes, his expression filled with joy.
His life seed had grown stronger once again, bringing him one step closer to reaching the mid-stage of an apprentice knight.
If things continued like this, by the time they reached Loren City, he might even break through to the mid-stage.
But before he could fully relish the moment…
Suddenly, a surge of life force exploded nearby.
Thor’s joy was abruptly cut off as he turned to look, his mouth twitching.
At that moment, Raine had also opened his eyes, his body surrounded by a soft green glow, the unmistakable sign of life force radiating.
This meant that Raine had just broken through to the late stage of an apprentice knight.
Yes, the late stage.
Before setting out, Raine had already broken through to the apprentice level with the help of mid-grade life potions. On the tenth day of the journey, he had advanced from the early stage of an apprentice knight to the mid-stage. Now, less than twenty days later, he had advanced again, from the mid-stage to the late stage.
At this rate, by the time Thor himself reached the mid-stage, Raine might already be on the verge of becoming an advanced apprentice knight.
His progress was so fast that Thor found himself at a loss for words.
It really was a case of “comparison leads to despair.”
Taking a deep breath, Thor shook his head.
“Sir!”
Raine, having just broken through, couldn’t hide his excitement. When he saw Thor looking his way, he quickly bowed in respect.
“Well done. Keep working hard, and by the time we reach our territory, you might reach the peak of knighthood!”
Thor gathered his thoughts and spoke with a gentle tone.
“Yes, Sir!”
Raine responded, his voice full of excitement.
At that moment, his admiration for Thor was boundless.
If they could see his loyalty level, it would surely be at its maximum.
Thor offered a few more words of encouragement before rallying the group to move forward once again.
Along the way, Thor also managed to capture the two boar beasts mentioned in the intelligence report.
This, of course, elicited another round of cheers from the knights, and they all enjoyed another hearty meal.
The hardship they had anticipated hadn’t come to pass. Instead, their first day in the Northern Province was filled with bounty.
This gave the 400 knights a newfound sense of anticipation, replacing their initial apprehension.
In that moment, everyone felt as though a bright future was reaching out to them.
Excitement, hope, and aspiration filled the air.
Gone were the anxieties, the nervousness, and the uncertainty about the future.
And this was exactly what Thor needed.
Building a territory from scratch was a monumental task.
The challenges ahead were unimaginable.
The first challenge was to secure the unwavering loyalty of his subordinate knights.
Even though they were bonded by contract and could never betray him, this only ensured loyalty, not enthusiasm.
The key to mobilizing their motivation was a challenge every pioneer knight had to face.
Thor, having studied extensively, understood this well.
Fortunately, with his daily intelligence system, solving this issue was much easier for him than for other pioneer knights.
As night fell, the first day in the Northern Province came to an end, and soon, the second day began.
Just like the first day, the second brought significant rewards as well.
Though these weren’t as valuable as the spiny butterfly fish, which directly enhanced knightly talent, the gains were still plentiful, and everyone received their share.
(End of chapter)