- Fantasy Lord: Start with Daily Intelligence
- FLDI Chapter 98
Chapter 98: The Future Territory 2.0 Construction
Pellos was filled with excitement and anticipation, just like the other knights who had followed Thor to the frontier. Over time, they had all witnessed firsthand the miracles their lord had accomplished. The hope and optimism in the air grew stronger by the day.
The knights were dreaming of the future, the freemen felt at ease, and even the slaves dared to hope. All of Eagle Ridge was swept up in celebration.
Thor decided to host a grand feast within Eagle Ridge, even extending invitations to the five other lords of the Maine Alliance.
A massive bonfire roared, and large portions of magical beast meat were shared, even among the slaves.
Thor smiled as he moved from conversation to conversation with the lords of the Maine Valley. Each of the five lords offered their congratulations and brought gifts in honor of Thor’s achievements.
“I never imagined that in just a single year, this man would reach such heights. Truly remarkable!” said Baron Valmy with a sigh, gazing at Thor standing by the bonfire, his expression tinged with amazement.
“Indeed,” replied Baron Gratton, with a hint of bitterness in his voice. “The offspring of Dresrosa are not like us. I’ve heard that two more nobles have been enfeoffed as barons, both from prominent families.”
As someone who had climbed from the bottom as a wandering knight, Gratton knew all too well the countless struggles, near-death experiences, and sacrifices he had endured to reach his position. And Thor? The other newly enfeoffed nobles? They had faced challenges, of course, but their journeys couldn’t compare to his.
While the two barons conversed, across from them, Lords Sacci and Jos Anubi also seemed to be wrestling with complicated thoughts.
At the center of it all, Thor engaged in a quiet conversation with Pape Laurence.
Time passed, and the grand feast continued late into the night before finally coming to a close. However, the lords didn’t leave; instead, they were invited by Thor into the castle.
In the castle’s meeting room, maids served fruit and drinks before quietly withdrawing. The gathered lords’ eyes were drawn to Thor.
“Lord Thor, is there something else you wish to discuss?” Baron Valmy asked, curiosity evident in his tone. The other lords also looked toward Thor, waiting for his response.
“Indeed,” Thor replied with a smile. “A few days ago, I had an audience with Marquis Lehmann and obtained an official order to lead a campaign to eliminate nearby orc tribes. I was wondering if any of you would be interested in joining me?”
The moment Thor finished speaking, the five lords’ eyes widened in surprise.
“Oh, by the goddess, Lord Thor, are you really planning to join the cleansing operation?” Pape Laurence asked, his eyes flashing with surprise. He couldn’t help but feel a bit shaken by Thor’s declaration.
They had all heard about the cleansing operation over the past few weeks, but none of them had intended to participate.
“Lord Thor, this…” Baron Gratton began, but quickly fell silent as he exchanged uneasy glances with the others. The three barons, in particular, remembered the pact they had signed when the Maine Alliance was formed. If Thor were to demand their participation, they had no way to refuse.
“Baron Pape, Baron Gratton, Baron Valmy,” Thor continued. “As I mentioned before, the kingdom war is at most two years away. If we can earn enough merit, we can use it to avoid conscription for the war or to exchange for valuable resources. If I’m not mistaken, Baron Gratton, Baron Valmy, your knight breathing techniques are still the most basic ones from the kingdom, right? They’re likely insufficient for you to advance to earth knights, and even now, you may find it hard to fully absorb life energy through them.”
“With just five hundred merit points, you can exchange for a first-class breathing technique from the kingdom. A thousand points could even get you something comparable to the Dresrosa family’s Eagle Breathing Technique.”
“Right now, the northern province is only experiencing minor disturbances. The stronger orc tribes have been held back by the kingdom, and the ones entering the northern province are much weaker. They’re also likely to have amassed considerable wealth. This is our chance—not only to earn merit but to gain wealth as well. Remember, we have less than two years before the kingdom war begins.”
Thor’s calm voice filled the room as he looked from Baron Gratton to Baron Valmy, and then finally at Baron Pape.
Baron Gratton and Baron Valmy exchanged a glance, their expressions troubled. Even Baron Pape, who didn’t have the same concerns about breathing techniques, was clearly deep in thought.
For Baron Gratton and Baron Valmy, the most pressing issue was their knight breathing techniques. Rising from the lowest ranks of wandering knights, their techniques were rudimentary, and even after becoming frontier lords, they still hadn’t been able to upgrade them significantly.
Without better techniques, they couldn’t advance to higher ranks, and even maintaining their current status was becoming increasingly difficult.
While Pape Laurence didn’t share these issues, he couldn’t help but worry about the looming kingdom war.
As the three barons remained silent, Thor turned his attention to the two frontier lords.
“Lord Joz, Lord Sacci, if the lands in the Maine Valley aren’t officially registered with the authorities in Loren City soon, they might not remain yours for long. And when the kingdom war breaks out, unless you abandon your territories, you’ll be required to participate as well.”
“Surely you don’t want to abandon your territories,” Thor added, his words hanging in the air.
Sacci opened his mouth, but no words came out. He, too, was unsure of what to say.
“Lord Thor, the cleansing operation does seem feasible, but there’s also great risk involved. And if we deploy too many forces away from the Maine Valley, what happens if our territories are attacked by orcs?” Baron Pape finally asked, his voice steady but concerned. His question caused the room to fall silent.
“Not to worry,” Thor replied with a smile. “We won’t need to send all our forces. Eagle Ridge will contribute one great knight and twenty formal knights. You each only need to send one-third of your forces. As for any threats to our territories…”
“We have the northern glaciers as a natural barrier. The orc tribes can only attack from the western downstream areas of the Maine Valley. I’ll deploy magical crystal cannons there. Besides, don’t forget that we’re still in the flood season.”
Thor’s confident smile reassured the others. He had prepared extensively for the operation, knowing full well the potential dangers. Just as he had used the river to drown the minotaur army, he planned to use similar tactics against other orc tribes. And with the magical crystal cannons in place, they could handle most threats—unless they faced an unusually strong orc tribe like the one they had encountered before.
More importantly, Thor had his daily intelligence system, which allowed him to anticipate major events and take preemptive action. While the system didn’t provide information on everything, it did reveal critical events related to him and his territory, usually at least three months in advance. That gave him more than enough time to prepare.
However, he couldn’t share that information with the others. The intelligence system was his greatest secret.
“Think it over. You have ten days to give me your answer. I’m not forcing anyone to join,” Thor said with a grin.
The lords visibly relaxed, standing up and taking their leave. As Thor watched them depart, he didn’t worry too much. He was confident they would agree.
After all, anyone who had survived as a frontier lord in such tumultuous times must have a certain degree of courage and ambition.
The reason Thor had invited them was twofold: he needed their support, and more importantly, he aimed to further consolidate the Maine Alliance. With the minotaur threat gone, the alliance’s unity had begun to fade. Thor had worked hard to form the alliance, and he didn’t want it to be just a meaningless title. He had bigger plans—both for the upcoming kingdom war and for eventually bringing the other lords under his control.
The stars twinkled in the sky as the night passed. One by one, the lords left Eagle Ridge with their thoughts racing.
The morning sun shone down as a new day began, and Eagle Ridge awoke once more.
Back in his castle, Thor began to deal with the affairs of his territory. First on the list were the two thousand new slaves he had purchased.
Thanks to Engel Dresrosa’s administrative help, the resettlement of the slaves was relatively straightforward and quickly completed.
Next was the matter of land cultivation. Spring had arrived, and with two thousand additional serfs, it was time to start plowing new fields.
Some of the previously cultivated fields had been damaged during the battle where Thor flooded the minotaur army. He would need to assign people to restore them. To avoid future incidents, he decided to steer clear of areas prone to flooding, using the previous flood’s traces to guide him. Fortunately, there was no shortage of manpower in Eagle Ridge now.
With over eight thousand residents, including serfs and slaves, Thor’s population was now larger than that of the other two barons in the Maine Valley, surpassed only by Pape Laurence’s territory.
It was now, without a doubt, a time for development.
In the following days, as the five lords deliberated over Thor’s offer, he began implementing the 2.0 plan for the growth of his territory.
Land cultivation, improving the territory, exploring the wilderness, and utilizing resources—these were the key tasks he needed to address moving forward.
Particularly after the Maine Alliance was established, the territory had expanded nearly tenfold, and it wouldn’t be easy to fully develop it.
First on the list was building new settlements.
After careful consideration, Thor decided to construct a new castle and town upstream along the Maine Valley, where the dam was located. This would help disperse the population of the main town and make use of the vast arable land that had become available upstream, thanks to the dam. The dam could also be used for aquaculture, providing a new source of income for the territory.
Additionally, the unicorn herds, which naturally thrived in that area, could be relocated there, making optimal use of the land.
The only issue was that this project would require considerable manpower.
But fortunately, Thor had a solution.
Not only had he recently acquired two thousand more serfs, but the appearance of Anna had also made it possible for him to enslave goblins.
In the northern province, the most abundant resource wasn’t magical beasts or other orcs. Most of the magical beasts had been wiped out decades ago during the Orc Wars, and aside from the current raids, orcs rarely appeared in the northern province.
The most common creatures in the region were goblins.
As the lowest-ranking members of the orc tribes, the goblins hadn’t fled the northern province with the other orcs. Instead, they remained behind and, with their strong breeding and survival instincts, quickly repopulated even as human knights expanded their territories.
While goblins weren’t particularly intelligent, they were perfect for menial tasks as expendable slaves.
They weren’t capable of performing delicate work, but for manual labor, there was no better option.
In orc tribes, goblins were used in much the same way. Among humans, some powerful noble lords also used goblins as expendable mining slaves.
Thor had previously wiped out the timid goblins in the iron mine area, not because he didn’t want to use them, but because he couldn’t.
It would have been ridiculous to spend over a thousand gold coins to hire a high-level mage just to sign slave contracts for a few thousand goblins.
Slave contracts, being high-level magic, couldn’t be cast by ordinary apprentice mages. At the very least, a third-tier mage was needed to perform the ritual. Apart from Marquis Lehmann, there might not be another third-tier mage in the entire northern province.
Thus, Thor had previously dismissed the idea entirely.
But things were different now.
With Anna’s evolution and the power of the ice spirit at her disposal, she could now perform the slave contract ritual.
With this new capability, all of Thor’s previous problems were solved.
He even planned to replace his mining slaves with goblins, further boosting productivity.
So, after finalizing the 2.0 plan for the territory’s development and while waiting for responses from the other lords, Thor began taking action.
This was the perfect opportunity to eliminate the surrounding goblins.
Though the goblins didn’t pose a significant threat to the territory, they were still orcs. If problems arose, they could still cause some trouble.
Clearing them out would ensure more stable growth.
On the third day, Pellos, following Thor’s orders, led Raine, twenty formal knights, one hundred apprentice knights, and three hundred from the fledgling Eagle Knights on a grand campaign to sweep the surrounding areas.
(Author’s note: First subscriptions reached over 1,900. A bit less than expected, but it’s fine. From now on, I’ll update three times daily: at midnight, noon, and 8 p.m. Each chapter will have no less than 12,000 characters, guaranteed to deliver!)
(End of Chapter)