- Fantasy Lord: Start with Daily Intelligence
- FLDI Chapter 95
Chapter 95: From Today Onward, Become a Noble
While Loren City was engulfed in the wave of excitement, ten days later—five days before the conferment ceremony—Thor, along with Raine and twenty full-fledged knights, arrived in Loren City.
Compared to their previous visit, Loren City had become even busier, almost reminiscent of the bustling days during the auction.
However, unlike before when most pioneer lords were filled with excitement and smiles, this time, the smiles had vanished from many faces.
Instead, they were replaced by expressions of heaviness and worry.
As time passed, the situation in the Northern Province had not improved much. Especially in the northern region, another baron’s territory had been destroyed, marking the third baronial domain to fall within just three months. To put it into perspective, in the previous three years, so many baronial domains had never been wiped out in such a short time.
But this time, it had taken only three months.
And these were just the baronial territories. The number of ordinary pioneer domains being destroyed had reached an alarming level, causing many to feel an increasing sense of dread, even those whose territories had not yet been affected.
“It seems the situation is even worse than we thought,” Thor sighed as he observed the worried faces around him.
Before setting off, Lachios Assad had completed another trade mission and brought back some intelligence.
Thor had already learned a few things.
But now, it seemed that the situation was even more dire than he had anticipated.
“Sir, should I go gather more information?” Raine asked Thor quietly.
“Yes, go ahead and find out what you can,” Thor nodded after a brief hesitation.
“Understood,” Raine replied, riding off quickly.
Thor, meanwhile, led the rest of his men into the city.
As they moved deeper into the city, Thor could sense the heavy atmosphere even more.
With each step, as he observed the figures around him, his thoughts wandered.
Unconsciously, he found himself at the place where he had previously stayed. He had purchased the property long ago.
Settling in this time was easy.
Not long after Thor had settled in, Raine returned.
“Sir!” Raine greeted respectfully.
“What’s the situation?” Thor asked, noticing the concern on Raine’s face.
“Sir, I’ve gathered the information. It seems that the kingdom’s Earth Dragon Knights have been attacked by five third-tier orc tribes. The Eagle Knights are reportedly facing two third-tier orc tribes as well. In total, more than twelve orc tribes have appeared in the north, with seven more in the west. These are just the known ones. While most of them are second-tier or even first-tier orc tribes, they have still caused the destruction of numerous noble territories,” Raine explained, relaying the information he had just learned.
Compared to what Lachios had brought back, the details gathered in Loren City were far more comprehensive.
Even Thor couldn’t help but furrow his brow upon hearing the news.
The Earth Dragon Knights were among the kingdom’s most elite forces, and the Eagle Knights were Marquis Lehmann’s strongest unit. Both were formidable forces.
Yet, both had been attacked and were struggling to respond.
This news alone was shocking enough.
Not to mention the emergence of twelve orc tribes in the northern part of the Northern Province, and seven more in the west—nineteen tribes in total.
Even if these nineteen orc tribes were just first-tier, as long as they weren’t cowardly goblins, they could still wreak havoc on human territories.
And these weren’t just first-tier tribes; there were also second-tier tribes, and perhaps even remnants of third-tier tribes like the minotaurs Thor had previously encountered.
The situation was indeed more perilous than Thor had imagined.
If things went wrong, the majority of the Northern Province’s nobility could be wiped out.
Most pioneer lords didn’t have the strength to withstand even a second-tier orc tribe.
This wasn’t good news for Thor.
For his development, a relatively stable environment was crucial.
While the Northern Province was never going to be truly peaceful, it couldn’t be this chaotic either.
“Has Marquis Lehmann taken any action?” Thor asked after a moment of thought.
At this point, he could only hope the marquis would intervene.
Though Lehmann had previously shown little interest in getting involved, matters concerning the stability of his own lands surely couldn’t be ignored.
“Marquis Lehmann has reportedly invited several powerful noble lords to lead a campaign to clear out the orc tribes across the Northern Province. Additionally, 500 Eagle Knights have been dispatched to Autumn Leaf Territory. Beyond that, there’s no other news,” Raine explained, sharing what he had gathered.
“He’s invited noble lords to lead the cleanup?” Thor raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised.
He hadn’t expected that some noble lords would actually take on the task of clearing out the orc tribes.
Having faced the minotaurs, Thor knew just how strong orc tribes could be.
Even if ordinary second-tier orc tribes weren’t as powerful as the minotaurs, they were still beyond what most baronial lords could handle.
A baronial lord might have, at most, two senior knights, but more often just one. A second-tier orc tribe, even a weak one, could have at least two second-tier orcs, possibly even three or more.
On top of that, orcs—even those below the first tier—were much stronger than the average human, except for the cowardly goblins.
Clearly, some pioneer lords in the Northern Province were far stronger than Thor had initially thought.
But after a brief moment of surprise, Thor quickly came to terms with it.
The Dresrosa family had only been earls for 300 years. Some noble families in the Tulip Kingdom had been around for nearly a thousand years. Even among earls, there was a vast difference between a family that had been established for 300 years and one that had been around for 700 or 800 years. And that was without mentioning the marquises and dukes.
The resources available to these ancient families were immense.
In such cases, even pioneer lords from these families could possess strength far beyond what one would expect.
Some pioneer lords likely had the wealth and power comparable to, or even exceeding, that of viscounts.
Just like that fool from the Emerson family, who had two senior knights by his side.
What about the others?
The gap between people is often determined at birth.
All roads lead to Rome, but some are born in Rome, while others spend their whole lives struggling to reach the starting point.
In this era of entrenched class divisions, this truth was all the more apparent.
As these thoughts swirled in his mind, Thor quickly suppressed them.
Night gradually fell.
When the early morning arrived, the familiar mechanical voice of his system rang out again.
【Daily intelligence updated】
Night passed.
A new day began.
And with the new day came news that swept through Loren City like a whirlwind.
Lord Villemore Beryl and Lord Timor Watson of the Northern Province, through their efforts in the orc-clearing campaigns and their significant contributions in the battles, had earned enough military merit to also be conferred the title of baron at the upcoming conferment ceremony in four days.
This meant that the Northern Province would see the creation of three new barons at once—the first time in three years.
The news caused another uproar throughout the city.
Even Thor soon heard the news.
“Timor Watson and Villemore Beryl?”
“The Watson family and the Beryl family, huh?” Thor raised an eyebrow but wasn’t too surprised.
The Watson and Beryl families were some of the most prestigious marquess families in the kingdom. Their resources far exceeded those of the Dresrosa family.
In fact, even Marquis Lehmann would be hard-pressed to match them.
The only reason they hadn’t been conferred baron titles before was that they hadn’t had the time or opportunities to gain enough military merit.
But with the rising orc threat in the north, the situation had provided them with the perfect chance.
For most pioneer lords, and even noble lords, orc tribes were a massive threat. But for these families, it was simply a source of military merit—at least when they didn’t have to face the more powerful orc tribes.
This was the main reason they had been able to amass enough merit to be conferred baron titles in such a short time.
The news made Thor a little envious.
At this point, his strength wasn’t weak, and with the Maine Alliance on his side, his power, while perhaps not equal to that of these top-tier noble pioneer lords, wouldn’t be too far off.
If they could earn military merit this way, then perhaps he could as well.
Especially since he had his daily intelligence system, which could help him avoid danger and possibly even yield greater rewards.
Still, Thor quickly set these thoughts aside.
Right now, his main focus wasn’t on that.
It was on completing the conferment ceremony.
Only after the ceremony would he truly be recognized as a noble.
Only then would the name Thor Dresrosa truly belong to him. Otherwise, three years later, he would only be called Thor, without the noble title.
Time continued to pass.
Two days later…
The other two barons-to-be had also arrived in Loren City.
The preparations for the conferment ceremony were declared complete.
An official from Loren City personally came to request their attendance at the ceremony the following day. Marquis Lehmann would personally bestow the noble insignias upon them and, under the witness of the Goddess of Life, proclaim them as new members of the kingdom’s nobility.
It was a night destined to be sleepless.
Neither Thor nor the other two noble lords could find rest.
Even the other pioneer lords in Loren City seemed to be affected.
The night gradually passed.
When the light of dawn began to shine.
Inside the room.
Thor rose early in the morning.
He began quickly preparing his attire.
Thankfully, he had enough time; otherwise, he might not have been ready in time.
Once he had finished, it was nearly time for the conferment ceremony.
Thor mounted his white horse and rode slowly toward the city center.
The square in front of the city center was already packed with people.
A large crowd of freemen and pioneer lords had gathered.
Under the sunlight, the statue of the Goddess of Life emitted a soft, gentle glow.
From her feet, a massive red carpet stretched far into the distance.
The conferring of nobility was undoubtedly the grandest of events.
Three court earls had even arrived from the kingdom.
At this moment, the three court earls stood smiling, with Marquis Lehmann positioned on the high steps beneath the statue of the Goddess of Life.
Thor and the other two, dressed in the most traditional knight’s attire and adorned with their knight swords, slowly approached from three directions.
As they walked.
The entire ground was covered with flowers.
A band played a rousing melody.
The three moved solemnly, each step perfectly aligned with noble etiquette.
When they arrived at the foot of the steps.
Marquis Lehmann and the three court earls stepped aside.
The three then knelt on one knee, facing the Goddess of Life.
At the moment they knelt.
One of the three court earls opened the holy book in his hand.
“Young knights, do you swear, under the witness of the Goddess of Life, to uphold the Eight Virtues and the Nine Codes of knighthood?”
A gentle voice echoed.
The surroundings immediately fell silent.
The air became solemn.
In the heavy atmosphere, as the words were spoken, the voices of the three soon followed.
“I, Thor Dresrosa, swear to uphold humility, honesty, compassion, bravery, justice, sacrifice, honor, and soul. I vow to protect the weak; I vow to bravely fight against oppression; I vow to resist all wrongdoing; I vow to fight for the defenseless; I vow to help anyone who calls for my aid; I vow never to harm a woman; I vow to aid my fellow knights; I vow to be true to my friends; I vow to love with unwavering loyalty.”
“I!”
“I!”
“Young knights, under the witness of the Goddess of Life, do you swear to faithfully protect your lands, fight for your honor, and uphold the glory of nobility?”
“I do. I will faithfully protect my lands, fight for honor, and uphold the glory of nobility.”
Their resolute voices rang out.
There was no radiant light.
Only a solemn atmosphere.
As the words finished.
Marquis Lehmann stepped forward, handing each of them a noble insignia.
“From this day forth, you shall be fledgling hawks of the Tulip Kingdom. Congratulations on becoming barons. May the Goddess of Life protect you!”
Marquis Lehmann declared.
“May the Goddess of Life protect you!”
The three responded with a bow.
Then they rose slowly.
The conferment was officially complete.
Compared to the ancient conferral ceremonies, the oaths had become mere formalities, a transformation from binding contracts to pledges that no longer carried the weight of responsibility.
But this was to be expected.
Over time, the virtues of nobility had diminished significantly. Forget the Nine Codes, not many nobles could even adhere to the Eight Virtues anymore. To forge a covenant with the Goddess of Life now would be akin to inviting an early death.
——