- Fantasy Lord: Start with Daily Intelligence
- FLDI Chapter 198
Michael’s voice slowly began to speak, and as he listened to the recounting, Thor’s expression also grew serious. Indeed, just as Michael had said.
Even if Thor’s strength was sufficient, these powerful noble heirs would come one after another, which would inevitably exhaust him.
Furthermore, he thought of something else. When they realize there’s profit to be made, it’s likely not just the powerful noble heirs he tricked who will take action. The surrounding frontier lords, each of them, wouldn’t mind doing a little banditry themselves.
If he couldn’t keep control, Thor would become the coveted prize of the entire Northern Territory.
As for his consideration that every area had at least one Great Knight guarding it, in normal circumstances, it was indeed no problem.
But that was only in normal situations, not in this one.
“Uncle Michael, what should I do?”
Taking a deep breath to calm his turbulent emotions, Thor turned to Michael again, his words now carrying a note of solemn inquiry.
“Young Master Thor, to avoid this, you must quickly demonstrate your strength. On the one hand, completely shatter the confidence of those powerful nobles, and on the other, intimidate the other frontier lords.”
Upon hearing Thor’s inquiry, Michael nodded and then spoke in a low voice.
“Show my strength?”
Thor asked, confused, instinctively responding.
“Yes, show your strength!”
“The powerful nobles will definitely have ideas at first, but the possibility of them uniting is slim. What you need to do, Young Master Thor, is quickly destroy one or a few of them, making everyone fear your strength. This will force them to unite voluntarily.”
“Once they unite, Young Master Thor, you can crush them thoroughly.”
“Once this is done, all these issues will be no problem.”
Michael nodded and slowly explained.
Listening to Michael’s explanation, Thor had a general understanding of his method.
The method was simple.
First, create fear, force people to unite, then destroy them with overwhelming power.
Just as Michael said, if it could be done, 99% of the problems would disappear.
It could even establish his position in the Northern Territory once and for all.
Of course, the rewards came with great risks.
In the entire Northern Territory, the powerful noble heirs he had “taken” this time were not few, and the losses amounted to more than several million gold coins.
Such enormous value meant that those people would fight desperately.
Once they united, their power could not be underestimated.
At this moment, Thor fell into a brief contemplation.
Although it was Michael’s idea, Thor, of course, couldn’t just blindly accept it without thinking.
Michael and Chesil didn’t interrupt, silently waiting.
“Uncle Michael, this method is indeed feasible, but how should I choose? I can’t just recklessly attack one family, right?”
“In the Kingdom, even though this is the Northern Territory, it’s still not wise to do so.”
His right hand lightly tapped the table, and after a moment, Thor stopped, his gaze turning to Michael as he spoke thoughtfully.
Even in the Kingdom, even in the Northern Territory, there was still basic order.
A rash attack might not pose a major problem now, but it would certainly affect future developments, which would not be favorable to Thor’s upcoming plans.
He had no choice but to worry.
“Young Master Thor, indeed, that won’t work.”
“But what if, in one of your large iron mines, a significant amount of fine gold was discovered?”
Before Michael could answer, Chesil spoke up.
The words he spoke made Thor’s brows involuntarily twitch.
Fine gold was extremely expensive, and the conditions for its production were very strict. Usually, only super-large iron mines had a chance to yield it, and even then, it wasn’t guaranteed.
Its use wasn’t limited to being one of the main materials for golden armor; it was also a crucial component for various magical items.
A sufficient amount of fine gold to forge golden armor was worth more than a bottle of mid-tier life potion in raw material alone.
Like mithril iron, fine gold could also be produced continuously.
Typically, a large iron mine with mithril iron could see its value increase tenfold, but with fine gold, its value would rise to the next level.
Even some marquis families might not be able to resist, let alone those powerful noble heirs.
What would happen next was almost self-evident.
Once it happened, everything Michael had just mentioned would proceed as planned.
The only question was whether his strength was truly enough.
“Ha!”
“I understand now!”
“Thank you, Uncle Michael, Uncle Chesil.”
Thor nodded and expressed his gratitude.
“You’re too kind, Young Master Thor!”
“This is exactly what we should do.”
Michael and Chesil quickly shook their heads.
Thor smiled and nodded, then the three of them continued discussing some details.
It wasn’t until nightfall that Thor had them escort Michael and Chesil to rest. Thor remained in his study, deep in thought.
After a day’s time, Michael’s words had undoubtedly been further refined and improved.
At this moment, there was already a relatively clear strategy, and Thor looked at the map, which had undergone some changes. His expression showed a trace of anticipation.
It seemed that, at this moment, there was indeed a chance.
And once everything was settled, before the kingdom’s war, this would undoubtedly be his chance to soar.
Night gradually passed.
Stars slowly began to adorn the sky.
The familiar mechanical sounds echoed.
After carefully checking everything, Thor also entered his dreams.
The night passed, and a new day arrived.
The entire Eagle’s Territory seemed to come alive.
Figures began to quickly get busy.
Thor, who had returned to his domain, also began his busy day.
Although most of the affairs of the Eagle’s Territory were handled by Joseph, and the Eagle’s Merchant Guild had Rachos Asad, it didn’t mean he had nothing to do.
The accumulated tasks still needed his attention.
For example, the merit point system, the knightly order, and the future plans.
All of these things, when combined, were no small matter.
As for Michael and Chesil, they actively integrated into the Eagle’s Territory.
Chesil, with the Eagle Knight Order, began clearing out goblins, orcs, and magical beasts in the surrounding areas.
Michael, on the other hand, took it upon himself to teach the fledgling Eagle Knight Order.
It was clear that with their involvement, both the improvement of the fledgling Eagle Knight Order and the clearing operations had significantly advanced.
Especially the clearing operations, which, due to the lack of high-level combatants previously, had been slow.
Now, the pace had been accelerated many times over.
The goblins, which had recently begun to proliferate, were once again swept away, and even some magical beasts couldn’t escape.
In the midst of their actions, another piece of good news reached Thor’s ears.
That was, Marshall had already begun preparing for his breakthrough.
After several months of preparation, it was now ready. The next step was to see if he could successfully break through to become a Great Knight.
As one of the three major transformations of knight training, breaking through to a Great Knight was no simple task.
Those with average talent might never have the chance in their lifetime.
However, it was clear that Marshall was not one of them. At just over forty years old, if he succeeded in breaking through, even among the heirs of Dreyssrosa, it would be terrifying. At least, among all the heirs of Dreyssrosa, there were few who could compare to him—except Thor.
Thor was generous in his preparations for Marshall, not only providing three Divine Tree Fruits but also three bottles of mid-grade life potions.
“Thank you, Lord Thor!” Marshall expressed his gratitude, his face showing a sincere sense of appreciation.
Once Marshall was taken care of, Thor quickly received some updates from Rajos Asad regarding the Eagle Merchant Guild.
His days remained busy, and it wasn’t until a week later that things gradually settled down.
Over the past week, the Eagle Territory had remained relatively calm, with no significant events occurring.
As for the situation at the northern front, there was still no new information.
It seemed as if the War of the Divine Domains hadn’t happened at all.
Moreover, the powerful noble heirs who had been stationed there seemed to have made no move to return to the Northern Province.
Of course, that was to be expected.
The War of the Divine Domains wasn’t something that could be wrapped up so quickly.
As for the powerful noble heirs, although many had encountered trouble at the northern front, a portion of them had suffered considerable losses in the high-intensity battles of those days, while others had been taken care of by Walter and Seichs Spencer. Most of the remaining heirs had already returned to their family territories.
It was likely to be some time before they made their way back to the Northern Province.
This was undoubtedly a rare opportunity for the development of the territory.
In the study, Thor had just finished handling some matters.
He took out a pocket watch that seemed to hold no particular significance.
“What exactly is this?”
Thor muttered to himself as he examined the watch.
Nearly half a month had passed, and he still hadn’t been able to detect anything unusual about it.
Even his daily reports hadn’t offered any hints.
This made him all the more curious about the item.
Over the past few days, he had tried various methods to investigate it.
For instance, just like with the relics he had obtained earlier, he had tried shining moonlight on it.
He had also used blood, life force, and even asked Anna to perform a magical test. Unfortunately, there had been no notable reaction.
It seemed like just an ordinary pocket watch, perhaps a little old, but nothing more.
However, Thor knew very well that an item that appeared in his daily reports and had been specifically flagged couldn’t possibly be ordinary.
It was just that, for now, neither he nor the daily reports had any further information on it.
He continued to fiddle with it, pondering, until there was a knock on the door.
Thor quickly stashed the watch away.
“Come in!” he called out.
The door opened, and Steve walked in.
“Master!” Steve greeted respectfully.
“Any news on the northern front?” Thor asked, turning to Steve.
For some time, he had sent Steve to gather information about the situation at the northern front and also to check on the completion of the merit statistics.
Thor had fought intensely at the northern front for several days.
He was not far from earning the title of viscount, and once the statistics were completed, he would undoubtedly have a higher chance of being granted a higher rank.
This was something Thor was still very invested in.
Not to mention, while the War of the Divine Domains might take a while to resolve, anyone with sense knew that significant events were sure to unfold soon.
Even though the daily reports had an advance notification feature, Thor had still made sure to keep a constant watch, so as not to miss any critical information.
And his decision proved to be the right one.
“Master, there’s troubling news from the north,” Steve said gravely. “It’s said that the Behemoths have been fully mobilized. Additionally, several Tier-6 Orc tribes have appeared.”
“Among the three great kingdoms, both the Purple Gold Kingdom and the Tulip Kingdom have sent large forces to reinforce the northern front.”
Steve spoke with concern, and even he, having just received the news, felt a sudden surge of tension, so he hurried back to report.
“What?”
“Are you sure about this?” Thor asked, standing up in shock.
“Yes, Master!” Steve confirmed.
“I got the information from the western side. Yesterday, many of the pioneering lords returned.”
“The situation started about seven days ago.”
“It’s said that the kingdom is already preparing a third wave of reinforcements.”
Steve nodded and then, with a worried expression, added, “This is not good news for the entire northern front, nor for the Northern Province in general, let alone for us.”
“Once a full-scale war with the Orcs begins, the Northern Province will be the first to bear the brunt.”
“Though our strength is strong now, in comparison to the entire Northern Province, we’re not far behind even compared to Marquis Lehman.”
“But in the Orc War, with this amount of power, we wouldn’t be able to make much of an impact.”
“If the Orc War escalates into full-scale conflict, the Northern Province might be completely consumed by the flames of war, and all the current development will be in vain.”
Of course, Steve had thought of this, and Thor had thought of it too.
At that moment, Thor’s brow furrowed slightly.
(End of chapter)