- Fantasy Lord: Start with Daily Intelligence
- FLDI Chapter 121
The battle ended.
The outcome was surprisingly simple.
The initial task of dealing with the 29 hogbeasts seemed challenging.
But due to the presence of the Tree of Life, they almost lost their sanity.
Even when clearly outmatched, they continued attacking Thor’s group.
The result, as expected, was decisive.
All 29 hogbeasts were eliminated.
Crimson blood soaked into the ground.
The surrounding area lay in ruins, though fortunately, due to Thor and his group’s strategy of luring the beasts away, the Tree of Life remained unharmed.
Now, as he looked at the fallen hogbeasts and the Tree of Life at the center, Thor couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement.
After all, setting aside other things, just this group of hogbeasts was already valuable.
Being a unique magical beast, even a first-tier peak hogbeast was worth over a hundred gold coins. A second-tier peak hogbeast could fetch nearly two hundred.
With 29 hogbeasts, including two at the second-tier peak, their total worth exceeded three thousand gold coins.
It was a truly abundant harvest.
Not to mention the Tree of Life and its life-giving fruits.
The life-giving fruit alone was beyond monetary value, and the Tree of Life even more so.
If news were to spread, it wouldn’t just attract the interest of a count; even a marquis like Lord Layman would be eager to act.
Powerful figures from the kingdom’s frontiers might descend upon them.
This was the Tree of Life, a treasure capable of giving a family the chance to produce a Sky Knight.
An Earth Knight may not necessarily be a count, but a Sky Knight is almost guaranteed to earn the title of marquis, and with a few hundred years of development, even a dukedom is within reach.
This is how the three dukes of the Tulip Kingdom arose.
The emergence of these dukes was due to three families each producing a Sky Knight.
Suppressing his excitement, Thor meticulously examined the area again before carefully placing the life-giving fruit into a wooden box.
He then began instructing his knights to dig up the Tree of Life.
The location was over a hundred miles from his territory, so naturally, he had to take it back with him.
He didn’t know how to replant it.
But he didn’t need to.
As long as he brought back the Tree of Life with a substantial amount of surrounding soil, it would be enough.
And with Allen’s assistance, he believed survival would not be an issue.
Allen had a natural affinity for life; while not as potent as that of an elf, it would be sufficient for survival.
Soon, the knights set to work.
Half an hour later…
The entire tree, barren of leaves, along with a large portion of surrounding soil, was unearthed by Thor’s men.
They wrapped the Tree of Life securely.
Once the tree was packed, the hogbeasts were also taken care of.
Then…
Thor’s group began their triumphant return to Hawk’s Landing.
Unlike their lighthearted arrival, they returned laden with spoils.
They even had to improvise some sleds for transport.
This lengthened their journey home considerably.
On the fifth day…
The group finally arrived at Hawk’s Landing.
In the Maine River Valley…
Nothing significant happened during the ten days of Thor’s absence.
Everything proceeded smoothly.
The five lords of the Maine Alliance had already started preparing their commercial ventures.
Back in Hawk’s Landing…
The moment the group returned, Thor summoned Allen.
As soon as Thor saw Allen again, his brow arched slightly in surprise.
For Allen now emitted faint traces of life force.
Though weak, it was indeed life force.
Clearly, Allen had already begun learning the Knight’s Breathing Technique.
“Not bad; it seems you’re quite talented!” Thor commented with satisfaction.
Thor hadn’t expected that Allen not only possessed a natural affinity for life but also had decent potential as a knight.
Though Allen’s talent wasn’t comparable to Rayne’s nor particularly remarkable compared to Thor, it still placed him among the top knights.
In the future, with adequate resources, an Earth Knight title was well within reach.
Such talent was a substantial improvement over Thor’s previous expectations.
“Thank you, my lord!” Allen replied gratefully, a hint of excitement in his tone.
This period had been like a dream to him.
As a former slave, he had lost all hope.
But fate brought him to Lord Thor, who not only freed him from slavery but also granted him the chance to join the Hawk’s Knights.
He even learned the Knight’s Breathing Technique.
The Knight’s Breathing Technique was no ordinary skill.
Though not all knights were nobles, nobility required mastering a knight’s powers.
Now that he had learned the Knight’s Breathing Technique, he held a faint hope of becoming nobility himself.
Though the chances were slim, this hope filled him with excitement.
Achieving mastery in the technique marked a profound leap from slave to citizen to knight.
When his parents heard of this…
The joy and pride on his father’s face when he confirmed Allen’s accomplishment remained etched in his memory.
And his own pride and excitement from that day remained fresh in his mind.
For Lord Thor, Allen felt immense gratitude and admiration.
“No need to thank me; you’ve earned it!”
“This time, I called you here because I want you to plant this tree.”
“If you succeed, I’ll award you a hundred merit points, and you might even qualify to exchange them for the elixir of life.”
Thor gestured to the Tree of Life beside him, issuing the task to Allen.
Thor had already decided on how to handle the Tree of Life.
In the absence of forest elves, Allen was undoubtedly the best candidate.
While Allen might not cause the tree to evolve, he only needed it to survive.
“Yes, my lord!” Allen nodded immediately, glancing at the Tree of Life without a moment’s hesitation.
“Go ahead!”
“Do your best. I look forward to the day you become my Guardian Knight.”
Thor smiled encouragingly.
“Yes, my lord!”
Hearing these words, Allen couldn’t help but feel thrilled, a faint blush rising to his cheeks.
A Guardian Knight.
Lord Thor actually said he looked forward to the day Allen would become his Guardian Knight.
For him, nothing was more exhilarating.
Not just for him—such words would excite anyone in Hawk’s Landing.
In just one year, Thor’s influence in Hawk’s Landing had grown beyond imagination.
Even slaves were not immune.
And certainly not the free citizens or knights.
Following Thor, they envisioned an expansive future.
Under these circumstances, their admiration for Thor grew even deeper.
And this was precisely what Thor wanted to see.
In feudal times, personal ambition could ensure smoother governance of his territory and inject greater vitality into it.
As long as he could genuinely offer a brighter future to everyone, there would be no issues.
After entrusting the Tree of Life to Allen for care, Thor began organizing his final arrangements before departure.
Fortunately, Neil Morton was present, so Thor didn’t need to get entangled in the details; Neil Morton could handle most matters single-handedly.
Thus, Thor left only Steve behind.
He took Pelos and Anna with him.
Additionally, there were over twenty formal knights and more than fifty trainee knights—a grand procession heading back to Frostmoon Province.
After ten days, Thor’s knights first arrived in Loran City.
They rested there for a day, purchasing some specialties of the Northern Province before setting off again.
Twenty-five days later, they were on the verge of leaving the Northern Province and stepping into Frostmoon.
By now, a year and a half had passed since his first arrival in the Northern Province.
This year and a half had brought dramatic changes to him.
A year and a half ago, upon arriving in the Northern Province, his strength was that of a regular trainee knight, and despite the life-giving fruit’s blessing, his talent was unremarkable. Breaking through to become a formal knight would likely have taken another five or six years, if not longer. As for becoming a grand knight, barring extraordinary circumstances, that was the pinnacle he could hope to achieve, with the chances of becoming an Earth Knight almost nonexistent.
As for his knights, he only had the thirty or so formal knights, one hundred trainee knights, and three hundred reserve knights granted by his father.
But in just a year and a half, everything had changed.
Now, not only had his power reached the level of a grand knight, but his talent had transformed entirely. He was now assured of reaching Sky Knight at a minimum.
The knight group had also grown significantly, with over forty formal knights, more than one hundred thirty trainee knights, and nearly five hundred reserve knights.
Most importantly, he now possessed a territory of his own and held a noble title.
If he wished, he could now adopt “Thor” as his family name.
He had become a true noble of the kingdom.
There was no comparison to his past self.
Clearly, his choice back then had been correct.
If he had chosen to stay in Frostmoon Province…
To stay within the walls of Castle Dressrosa…
None of this would have been possible.
Even if he had still accessed daily intelligence gains, how much opportunity and luck could Count Engel’s territory in Dressrosa Castle offer?
Even breaking through to formal knight status would have been uncertain, let alone gaining a noble rank—something virtually impossible.
At most, he could have held the title of knight.
While a knight was considered nobility in some sense, they were fundamentally different; a knight was still a knight, and a noble was a noble. There was no true equivalence.
Even temporary nobility was not comparable to established nobility.
When he fought that fool in Loran City…
If he hadn’t already been a baron, the outcome would have been completely different.
But he was a baron, and that changed everything.
This was the essence of nobility.
And it defined the meaning of nobility in this world.
*Thud, thud!*
As Thor’s group crossed the border of the Northern Province and stepped into Frostmoon Province, he couldn’t help but halt for a moment.
He glanced back, a faint smile crossing his face.
After a brief pause, he resumed his journey, heading homeward.
Compared to the Northern Province…
Frostmoon Province was undoubtedly more tranquil. The massive orc invasions had left this province untouched.
The nobles everywhere were still indulging in extravagance.
Only the impending kingdom’s war had stirred these nobles into some sense of vigilance.
But even that awareness was fleeting.
The general spirit of Frostmoon Province’s nobility would barely last a month in the Northern Province.
When he left before, Thor hadn’t felt much of a difference, but now, on his return, he could clearly sense the contrast in the nobility between the two provinces.
But this was only natural.
Frostmoon had seen nearly a century of peace, which had led most nobles to immerse themselves in pleasure.
Crises only existed in written words, never manifesting in reality.
Interests and futures were fixed.
In the Northern Province, as long as one had sufficient strength…
Becoming a baron, a viscount, or even a count was possible.
But not in Frostmoon.
A farmer’s child would only ever be a farmer; a baker’s son would only ever be a baker; a baron’s child could, at most, become a baron, with almost no chance of advancing.
There weren’t enough rewards to support social mobility.
With nearly a century of this environment, the entire province had grown stale.
Some nobles might still have ambition, but more were content to rest on their ancestors’ laurels.
Thor, of course, wouldn’t comment on this.
Everyone had their own choices.
Whether right or wrong wasn’t for others to judge.
By contrast, Thor was more interested in the daily intelligence’s fortunes.
This time, he deliberately chose a different path than before.
But evidently, just like before, his gains were modest—even less than the previous time, yielding only around five hundred gold coins.
This revealed something essential.
Most of Frostmoon Province’s value had already been divided up.
Even the remaining resources weren’t enough to bring substantial change.
*(End of Chapter)*