- Fantasy Lord: Start with Daily Intelligence
- FLDI Chapter 157
Jili’s words were neither loud nor fully spoken, delivered with a hint of humor. Yet, the partial remark carried enough weight to send shivers down Sage Spencer’s spine.
The study fell silent.
Sage Spencer’s expression shifted constantly, a storm of emotions passing across his face.
“You actually know!” he muttered, his brows furrowing, the pretense of a welcoming smile entirely gone.
Jili merely smiled, offering no further response.
That smile alone confirmed Sage Spencer’s suspicions.
“Lord Jili, if you’ve come here to mock me, I must apologize, but I’m extremely busy,” Sage Spencer said coldly, his tone devoid of the warmth he’d displayed earlier. “Please, leave.”
The previous hospitality vanished as if it had never existed.
His earlier enthusiasm had been solely driven by the hope that Jili might purchase some of his goods. Now that Jili clearly knew the truth, selling to him was out of the question.
There was no longer any need for pleasantries.
Yet, facing Sage Spencer’s hostility, Jili remained calm.
He turned slightly, as if preparing to leave.
But midway through his steps, he paused, as though struck by a sudden thought.
He spoke casually, almost offhandedly.
“Lord Sage, I assume you’re looking to liquidate some of your assets. At the price you just mentioned, it seems I’ve come to the wrong place. I imagine Lord Campbell and the others might offer me a more suitable deal.”
With that, Jili resumed walking, his pace unhurried as he turned to leave.
“What? You want to purchase?!” Sage Spencer froze, then his eyes lit up with a flash of shock.
“Naturally.” Jili stopped and nodded with a smile. “You must understand, we Dressrosa offspring are fond of adventure. The Divine Revelation may be a crisis, but it’s also a tremendous opportunity. We intend to take our chances.”
“More importantly, we trust in the kingdom,” he added with a confident grin.
“Dressrosa!” Sage Spencer’s breathing quickened at Jili’s statement.
It was beyond his expectations that Jili wasn’t the only one interested in his assets—this involved the entire Dressrosa family.
While Dressrosa might not rival the strongest lords individually, their combined strength was formidable, easily matching any major lord.
Yet, that wasn’t the key point.
The real significance lay in Dressrosa’s pioneering lords in the Northern Province. If all of them were willing to collaborate, Spencer’s assets could be liquidated completely—and at a fair price.
As he considered this, his demeanor shifted again, this time to one of earnest enthusiasm.
“Hahaha!”
“My friend, surely there was a misunderstanding just now!” Sage Spencer laughed heartily. “Come, come!”
“I’ve prepared a lavish banquet; we can talk this over. I assure you, no one is more sincere than me, Sage Spencer.”
His words, filled with warmth and sincerity, might have convinced anyone who hadn’t witnessed his earlier hostility that he was truly hospitable.
Of course, Jili paid no mind to such pretenses.
His goal was simple: secure the resources.
What Sage Spencer thought of him was irrelevant.
—-
Inside the Castle
A grand banquet followed.
Throughout the evening, Sage Spencer and Jili conversed with smiles on their faces.
As for how genuine those smiles were, no one could say.
What was certain, however, was that by the next day, an agreement had been reached.
Sage Spencer was particularly satisfied with the outcome.
Although he sold 30,000 slaves for only 500 gold coins—less than two silver coins per slave—he was pleasantly surprised that the crazed Dressrosa offspring agreed to purchase his mining assets as well.
One large iron mine, one large copper mine, and four Nau production sites sold for a total of 1,000 gold coins.
“My goddess…” Sage Spencer could only marvel at the apparent madness of the Dressrosa family.
Never mind the approaching Divine Revelation.
What use were these assets then?
Once the Divine Intervention descended, all would be obliterated.
Not to mention, after his departure, the Dressrosa offspring could easily reclaim these resources without spending a single coin.
Yet they had willingly paid 1,000 gold coins. He couldn’t even find the words to describe their foolishness.
Of course, it was a foolishness Sage Spencer welcomed.
By offloading his assets, even at a fraction of their market value, he had managed to collect 3,000 gold coins—a considerable sum that significantly mitigated his losses and allowed him to expedite his retreat.
“They’re absolute fools!” Sage Spencer scoffed as he watched Jili leave.
Even if the Dressrosa offspring were gambling on a chance to win big, none of these resources would truly belong to them.
The Dressrosa family, merely an earl’s household, could never hope to safeguard such assets. Protecting this newfound strength was a laughable notion.
Only a house like his own, the Spencer family, stood a chance.
If the Divine Revelation didn’t annihilate them first, the Dressrosa family would merely be laying groundwork for others.
“Take inventory of our remaining assets,” Sage Spencer ordered with a hearty laugh. “If there’s anything left, send it to that Dressrosa fool!”
“Three days from now, we depart!”
This scene was not unique to Spencer’s domain.
Across the lands of several major lords, similar transactions were underway.
Three barons, along with Tono, had begun their efforts.
As nobles of baronial rank, they had no trouble securing meetings with prominent lords. Backed by the reputation of the Dressrosa family, their proposals were met with enthusiasm.
For the lords, the willingness of the Dressrosa offspring to take on their assets was a godsend.
Even though prices were slashed repeatedly, these powerful lords eagerly accepted Dressrosa’s offers.
The fact that Dressrosa even sought to purchase mines and territories left them speechless.
Yet, despite their incredulity, they were delighted.
“Dressrosa’s offspring must have gone mad,” many muttered privately.
However, neither Tono nor Jili cared about such opinions.
Their focus was solely on acquiring resources.
In less than a week, over 7,000 gold coins had been spent.
In exchange, vast quantities of resources were acquired.
Thor’s face lit up with joy upon hearing the report.
“My lord, so far, we’ve secured 110,000 people and 19 mining sites, including four large iron mines, two large copper mines, and ten Nau production sites. The total expenditure has been 7,783 gold coins.”
“As for the Campbell family, I followed your instructions and have not yet taken action. If we can secure a deal with them, we’ll have control over nearly 70-80% of the Western region.”
Thor’s satisfaction was evident as he considered their progress.
In a study, Rachos swiftly reported the recent progress to Thor.
Thor tapped the table lightly, a satisfied expression on his face.
He hadn’t expected such efficiency in just seven days. The amount accomplished already exceeded his expectations.
Thor was confident that within the next two weeks, the rest could also be handled.
As for Campbell, Thor had deliberately instructed not to engage with them for now.
The reason was simple—there was an elven girl in Campbell’s territory.
“Keep up the pressure; we’re running out of time. If my calculations are correct, by the end of this month, they’ll all be withdrawing. Also, there’s no need for the four of you to handle everything yourselves. Other pioneering lords can step in—they won’t be making too many demands at this point,” Thor said after a brief pause.
“If the funds fall short, use my noble crest to visit the Habsburg Commerce Guild. They should be willing to offer some loans,” he added, tapping the table as he outlined the next steps.
The expenses were bound to increase, and while some of the costs were covered by loans Thor had granted to the Eagle Commerce Guild—and other pioneering lords had done the same—it still might not suffice to complete the acquisitions.
Preparations needed to be made for additional funds.
Fortunately, this wasn’t a major concern.
The Habsburg Commerce Guild offered lending services, and with Thor’s baronial rank and the scale of his territory, securing a loan of 10,000 gold coins would be entirely feasible.
“Understood,” Rachos replied respectfully, without voicing any objections. In fact, he had been planning to suggest the same course of action himself. Thor had simply anticipated him.
“Well, you’ve worked hard these past few days. Take some time to rest today and resume tomorrow,” Thor said with a smile, dismissing Rachos with a wave of his hand.
“Understood, my lord,” Rachos replied with a bow before withdrawing.
Thor then fell into deep thought.
As the night wore on, a familiar mechanical voice broke the silence.
“Daily Intelligence System updated.”
Thor’s thoughts were interrupted as he turned his gaze to the translucent screen before him.
—-
1. Lord Campbell of the Western Region is troubled. Preparing to withdraw, he finds no one willing to take over his holdings. After a month, he has sold less than 500 gold coins’ worth of assets.
2. In the western region of Tono’s territory, 500 miles away, a group of fat crocodiles will pass through. Their meat is among the finest culinary ingredients.
3. A young elf girl named Avila from the Forest of Nature is searching for her friend Alcia, but she was deceived by Campbell and left in his castle.
4. Thirty miles to the north, a herd of porcine beasts will soon pass by.
5. One hundred miles to the east, Lord Flora seems to have noticed something unusual in the western territories and is investigating.
6. Three hundred miles west of Barbrus’s territory lies a lake. The third tree to the right of a large boulder within it harbors a Divine Wood Fruit.
7. [Additional intelligence truncated for brevity.]
10. Twenty-three miles west of Tono’s territory lies a patch of bramble vines. When dried, its leaves act as a natural lure for magical beasts, inciting their frenzy.
—-
Line after line of information appeared. Compared to the east, the intelligence from the west was far more abundant.
Among the resource points listed were two pieces of intelligence related to the Divine Wood Fruit, alongside numerous other valuable assets.
However, Thor’s attention quickly honed in on the first and third points.
The first concerned Campbell—expected. But the third stood out.
“Alcia…” Thor muttered, his expression turning curious.
The name Avila was unfamiliar to him, but judging from the report, she was likely the elven girl deceived by Lord Campbell.
However, Alcia was a name he knew—he had heard it from Anna.
Alcia was Anna’s mother, the elf girl once deceived by the offspring of the Kalenina family.
Thor hadn’t expected such a connection between these individuals.
His initial reason for bringing Anna along had been to see if she could foster a connection, being an elf herself. He had hoped it might improve their odds compared to him approaching alone.
But now, it seemed that fate had aligned perfectly.
The fact that this young elf was searching for Anna’s mother strongly indicated a significant relationship between them.
Thor’s initial curiosity turned into a faint delight.
Was the Goddess of Life truly favoring him? His luck seemed to be on a roll lately.
From discovering the giant vipers during a routine inspection to now learning of an elven girl connected to Anna—it all seemed serendipitous.
Shaking off his amazement, Thor refocused.
Now was not the time to dwell on such thoughts.
The night passed quietly, and soon a new day arrived.
In the castle, Thor completed his morning training before beginning preparations to travel to Campbell’s territory.
Time was running out, and he could no longer afford delays.
If Campbell were to act impulsively and flee without negotiating, it would complicate matters significantly.
(End of Chapter)