Knight Lord: Start with Daily Intelligence.

Chapter 338, Section 89: New Intelligence and the Champion-Level Trial

The morning sunlight filtered through the branches of the moon crown tree, casting dappled shadows. The bright sunshine made Su Li stretch lazily and let out a contented groan.

Hela truly lives up to her name as the snake woman; her soft, smooth skin and slightly cool abdomen created a perfect tactile experience, perfectly complementing the late spring/early summer sun.

Su Li couldn't help but rub her cheek against it, feeling that the skin was as smooth as water.

This action finally woke Hela up. She rubbed her eyes sleepily and then felt a hot breath on her abdomen. The temperature of a human face was much higher than that of a snake woman, and her master was a fire-attribute knight, so the breath was even hotter.

Two blushes immediately rose on her cheeks, and she whispered, "My lord, you're awake?"

"Hmm~ How did you sleep last night?" Su Li looked up at her. This classic Eastern beauty was truly flawless. Even from this unflattering angle, her chin was still exquisitely delicate. She truly deserved to be called the perfect snake woman face.

“Very…very comfortable, very reassuring,” Hela replied softly. Perhaps realizing that her words might easily lead to speculation, she quickly changed the subject, talking about her favorite and most skilled area: “Last night after you fell asleep, I studied the Moon Crown Flower, and the results were unbelievable. I’d like to report to you…”

"Don't rush to report on things." Su Li waved his hand to interrupt her, then rolled over and pinned her down, saying, "Let's finish our morning exercises first. This is an important matter for cultivation, and we can't afford to be idle for a moment."

As he spoke, Su Li kissed her cherry lips. Hela's eyes widened, she let out a muffled groan, and her whole body quickly flushed red.

This is completely different from what she thought last night!

She had secretly made up her mind last night that she absolutely could not accompany the lord in such absurd behavior in broad daylight any longer.

But when the time came, she realized that everything was out of her control; her weak body was no match for the lord's domineering power.

She was like a fragile little boat in a storm, rising and falling amidst the clouds and the tempest.

But this feeling captivated her, especially the lord's strength and control, which gave her an unparalleled sense of satisfaction and happiness.

I felt completely filled with this man's presence, both physically and mentally.

As the clouds dispersed and the rain stopped, Hela lay softly on the fragrant grass, her body like a pool of spring water. The air was still filled with the sweet scent of flowers. She covered her forehead with her delicate hand, no longer caring that her fair skin was partially exposed. At that moment, her mind was blank, her beautiful eyes shimmering with desire, her breath quickening. Gazing at the clouds in the sky, she had no thoughts, only a feeling of being enveloped in a deep happiness.

At that moment, she finally understood why so many women valued spiritual practice so much, even more than their own lives, surpassing everything else in their lives.

It was so enjoyable, it made me feel incredibly relaxed and happy.

Su Li, feeling refreshed, rested her head on her slender waist, preparing to open the daily intelligence system, and then remembered the topic she had just brought up.

"By the way, what did you say you were going to report?"

Hela used her snake tail to retrieve the perfumer's incense burner from the tangled flowerbed, then said to Su Li, "My lord, yesterday I used Mooncrown Flower to make a perfume, which produced 3 Blazing Rings and a handful of Embers."

"Hmm?" Su Li raised an eyebrow and asked in surprise, "How could this be the result? The flowers of the Moon Crown Tree should have the attribute of Heavenly Magic, or at least be related to Light Magic. How could they have the attribute of Aksha Magic?"

Aksha magic, which is the attribute of fire and wind, doesn't seem to have any connection to fire at all, judging from the effects of the Mooncrown Tree.

Hela was also very curious and asked, "Could it be related to the Witch Moon? Its blooming under the moonlight is destined to be mysterious and extraordinary."

"Even if it's the influence of the Witch Moon, it should at most give the Moon Crown Tree Flower a witchcraft effect, not a fire-attribute magical attribute."

Beside her, Thranville, equally panting, tidied her messy, sweat-dampened hair and said, "My lord, I wonder if the reason this Mooncrown Flower is imbued with Aksha's magic is because this tree, like our territory, flourishes like flames? You know, if it symbolizes our territory, then being associated with fire makes sense. Fire is a symbol of humanity and civilization."

Is fire a symbol of humanity and civilization?
That explanation actually makes a lot of sense. No wonder the Moon Crown Flower can enhance human forging abilities and fight demons.

Su Li then said with relief, "Then let's put the treasures into the vault later, and send the embers to the Black Forest Armory so they can forge even stronger equipment."

Su Li hadn't been to his treasure vault for a long time. Since Phyllis left, no one had been going there every day with great enthusiasm to count the growth of the wealth in the vault and then reporting to him with happiness how many good things were in the vault now.

In fact, his treasury is now enormous, with a large amount of equipment, weapons, armor, amulets, and all sorts of ores, gems, items, and treasures being collected and contributed to him every cycle.

This perfumer's incense burner alone can produce a batch of treasures that can be transferred to the treasury area every cycle.

Su Li thought to himself with satisfaction that he should go to the vault area to check it out later, otherwise he wouldn't know how much his wealth had grown, and half of the fun he had in farming would be wasted.

Farming is about watching your granary and wallet gradually become fuller and more abundant through your own efforts.

It is currently harvest season, with granaries overflowing with rice and the gold reserves overflowing with wealth.

He then directly opened today's intelligence report.

[Since you are in a lying state, today's prophet information has been updated. ]

[1: The Opportunity for the Divine Armor's Descent: You already possess 75 pounds of Aether Gold in your treasury, nearly meeting the requirements for forging Divine Armor. Have your Minister of Industry and master blacksmiths promote this event. Widely invite the blacksmiths of the Imperial Dwarves, Peripheral Dwarves, and the Grayrock and Redbeard clans within your territory to participate in this grand undertaking. You will gather enough Aether Gold from these dwarves to forge the first rare-grade Vibranium rune armor suitable for a Divine General's form. This is your best opportunity to win over the dwarves and gain the favor of their blacksmiths. The dwarves who participate in this grand event and forge the Divine Armor will showcase their glory. Your prestige in the Dwarven Kingdom will be further enhanced.]

[2: The Curse of the Ancient Oak: A thousand-year-old oak tree on the eastern shore of Lake Aisond in the Blackpine Forest is oozing black resin, and surrounding animals are mutating into howling packs, clearly indicating a new Chaos Corruption. The slumber of the Green Dragons and the emptiness of Bloodpine Forest have caused the Chaos threat from the Blackpine Forest to begin spreading westward. Further spread of the corruption will threaten your farmland near Lake Aisond. Send druids and Tal's Handmaids to purify it in time. You will obtain the [Heart of Oak], a core material for crafting anti-magic amulets, but its greater use is in trading with the Wood Elves. It is their core strategic resource and a strategic material for expanding their strongholds, colonies, and recruiting troops.]

[3: The Untouchables from the Wood Elves: The Bone Merchant Frostwood is a descendant of a noble bloodline residing in a small Wood Elf community on the edge of the Blackpine Forest. This bloodline has guarded ancient artifacts of unknown purpose for millennia. Early in Frostwood's life, a great fire destroyed her family, ultimately leading to her being adopted as a freak by a human foster father, Heinrich von Brachin. Uncared for and yearning to escape, Frostwood often hid within city walls or slithered across rooftops. During one escape from her foster father, Brachin, Frostwood stumbled upon a secret vault filled with artifacts from her homeland. After interrogating von Brachin, she discovered he was the culprit behind the forest fire. Nayadarin stole the treasure and burned the castle—and the remaining members of the von Brachin family—to the ground. This began a criminal frenzy that lasted nearly a century. Nayadarin relentlessly searched the Old World for Elf artifacts and ruthlessly reclaimed them for her people.] However, Nayadarin's criminal spree came to an end after discovering two crucial facts: the elven artifact trade was far more extensive and insidious than she initially anticipated, and cooperating with the nobles was safer than acting on her own. She has now arrived in Blackwood, searching for traded artifacts. Contact her promptly to prevent her from taking any risks; she will be a key aid in your journey to the Valley of Memories—the collective burial ground of the elves during the later stages of the War of the Longbeard, and the largest ruin and stronghold in the Blackpine Forest before their retreat.

[4: Monsters of the Underground Caverns: A small earthquake is about to occur in an underground cavern 30 miles southeast of Stormshade Keep, exposing the lair of the Anarek Giant Spiders. This is a golden opportunity; be sure to send troops in to clear and exterminate them. You will reap a great deal of wealth and opportunity, and prevent these monsters from being summoned away by goblins with sacrifices when they rise in the summer. Slaying the gods worshipped by these goblins will greatly deter goblins and goblins. When you lead your army to attack the greenskins, the morale of goblins and goblins will drop significantly, and their attack and speed will be significantly reduced. When you personally kill an Anarek Giant Spider on the battlefield, you will unlock the effects of [Induce Fear] and [Intimidate Enemy Forces], further weakening and shaking the morale of nearby goblins and goblins.]

[5: The Knights' Exquisite Order: The Suncrown Knights, the wealthiest knightly order in Blackforest, are ambitiously seeking to make a name for themselves at the Radiant Arena, attracting more knights and pursuing further development. Vice-Commander Freya has requested the Blackforest Blacksmiths' Guild to forge 100 exquisite weapons for them. This is a reward of 20000 gold crowns, and will also gain favor with the entire Knights and increase the lord's prestige (increased diplomatic privileges, making it easier for the Knights to participate in the territory's military operations). Furthermore, it will enhance Vice-Commander Freya's power and prestige within the Knights.] [6: The Wandering Champion Knight's Challenge: A wandering champion knight calling himself "The Unhonorable" has arrived in Blackforest and challenges the lord's champion knights to a duel to prove who is more worthy of the goddess's gaze. If your knight wins, you gain his allegiance and your territory gains +1 champion knight; if you lose, the divine favor received by your territory will decrease.] Note that he is called the Unhonorable One because the contract he holds is a double contract; once you sign it, you will become his challenger, the most valiant of the elite knights. You can choose to accept the challenge or pay 100 gold crowns to have him leave.

[7: The Price of the Crown of Abundance: To celebrate the Harvest Festival, Rhea's priest, Cobbs, crafted a Crown of Abundance. Rhea's priests are an exception among Rhea's clergy, but they do exist in the Empire and elsewhere, such as in the suburbs and agricultural region of Tildis. Townspeople often mistake them for druids or even hedgehog wizards, but they are accepted by the villagers as long as they bring bountiful harvests and harmonious neighborly relations. Even if their eccentricities often cause minor disturbances. For example, this crown, crafted from pearl-encrusted ears of wheat, will instill a strong desire for proliferation in any wearer, leading to frantic clearing of woodlands or forcing females to become pregnant. Destroying the crown will anger some followers, but keeping it may cause further trouble, even attracting sadistic gazes.]

[8: The Wandering Poet: A bard claiming to be Sharya's illegitimate son arrives at the tavern. His songs can make drunkards utter the truth, making him a nemesis of the Lanod followers. However, his claim to be Sharya's son displeases the Sun Goddess. If you can collect more than 300 milliliters of his tears and offer them to the Sun Goddess, Her Majesty Violet will be delighted and bestow a divine blessing, increasing your training speed by half.]

[9: Wilt Warning: A wilt disease outbreak is imminent in the wheat fields of the Bloodpine Forest in the eastern part of the territory, caused by the priestess's excessive use of Rhea's magic. Last winter, there should have been a snowstorm here, leaving villagers and farmers impoverished and only able to harvest a meager amount of dust. But because of Priestess Rhea's daring, enormous cabbages, carrots, apples, and strawberries ripened prematurely, while pigs and cattle became excessively fat due to overfeeding. Perhaps you should send monks from the Green Watch Order, escorted by knights, to New Song Hassen Village to investigate what the local priestess, Rosamund Adebayo, has been up to.]

[10: A Little Gambling for Fun: To celebrate the upcoming Radiant Sun Goddess Arena, a rehearsal and competition were held at the Lion Ring Arena. Many knights who failed to qualify will have the opportunity to compete in a loser's bracket tournament today, watched by thousands of spectators. Although it's a rehearsal and preview, it doesn't dampen the lords' gambling enthusiasm, does it? Knight Bloodlance Mitchell Dixon will be the champion. You can gamble for fun, investing no more than 3000 gold coins. This won't attract much attention from the lords, the odds won't change significantly, and you can earn a maximum of 1785 gold crowns.]

Ok?
After reading today's intelligence, Su Li immediately became very interested.

To be honest, today's information wasn't the most opportune or the most rewarding.

The benefits of this intelligence system also follow a cyclical curve. Sometimes the benefits are extremely generous, and the strength is simply explosive. For example, on Su Li's trip to Maleburg, he was able to recruit God-chosen knights along the way, and even find Glory Relics, rare items, and even encounter a whole team of Imperial Engineering Academy members to build a magnificent white castle for the territory.

Sometimes, staying in the Black Forest can yield good results, revealing the locations of various treasures, mounts, and riches, and even providing clues about opportunities to forge legendary equipment.

Of course, sometimes the rewards from this daily intelligence report are quite low, and some of the information is rather private and gossipy. Although it's not very valuable, it's quite entertaining. Su Li treats it like watching a short drama, which is one of the reasons she checks the daily intelligence report every day.

Today's intelligence is above average, not particularly lucrative—even a small bet would only earn 1785 gold crowns. But the fun is unprecedented: we've stumbled upon a goddess while gossiping!

Sharya's illegitimate child?
Su Li didn't quite believe in this. He had heard Dietrich introduce some of the doctrines of the Salya Church, and it was unavoidable. Whenever they had the chance, the priests of each church would promote their own doctrines, mixing their own ideas with Su Li's and trying to influence him.

According to Dietrich, Sharya is an exceptionally holy goddess. Even the doctrines of the Sun Goddess record instances of goddesses having romantic relationships with humans. Some believers claim that before becoming a goddess, Violet the Sun Goddess had a passionate affair with a mortal, but it ended badly when the man betrayed her. The story sounds somewhat like Joan of Arc and the French King.

Like Joan of Arc, the goddess must have been a saint. Joan of Arc is clearly documented; she was repeatedly examined by the church and confirmed to be a virgin.

Even so, the Goddess of the Sun was not as pure in matters of the heart as Sharya. It is said that Sharya was an extremely pure goddess who never had any entanglement with any man.

Su Li guessed that she might have been deceived by Lanod and was now afraid to trust any man.

However, a significant portion of the followers of the Sun Goddess Church firmly reject these church legends, considering them heresy and blasphemy against the goddess.

Su Li felt that this had little impact on her.

Which mortal hasn't had worldly desires? You're allowed to have a man, and when young, one admires one's parents; when one is aware of beauty, one admires young women. Are women not allowed to have such desires when they are young?
It's normal for a young girl to have feelings for someone, especially since the two of them are completely innocent and even exchange military salutes when they meet.

Given this goddess's strong personality, it's normal for her to be protective of her own. This illegitimate child of Sharya is definitely fabricated.

But his tears might really have some special effect. Su Li just doesn't know if it's really possible to collect 300 milliliters of tears from him.

How much torture, how many onions and chilies would it take to make it scald to the point of producing 300 milliliters of tears?

Seeing the smile on Su Li's lips, Seranville asked, "My lord, what's so funny? Did you see something?"

Su Li smiled and said, "Some good news. By the way, there's something else that concerns you. Do you think you can beat the Champion Knight?"

There were quite a few comical moments in today's intelligence. The one without reputation was one of them, actually using a dual contract to duel with elite soldiers.

To be honest, the gap between an elite knight and a champion knight is quite large. It's like a general who is the bravest in the army, who can easily defeat several or even a dozen elite soldiers who are fully armored.

Therefore, it is difficult for an elite knight to defeat a champion knight, but it is not impossible. Guan Yu was captured, and Zhang Fei was even killed by his own general.

Countless knights throughout the empire's history have stumbled and fallen; after all, given their flamboyant and adventurous nature, it was all too common for them to crash and burn.

Therefore, if this "unhonorable one" underestimates his opponent and is careless, there is a high probability that he will be defeated.

Thranville's eyes widened upon hearing this: "Who? Me? Eliminate the Champion Knight?"

Su Li pulled her into his arms and said, "This is an opportunity for you, allowing you to break through to the champion level before the war even begins."

Although there is only one level difference between Champion and Elite, their casualty rates are worlds apart. Since the establishment of the Black Forest Territory, countless Elite Knights have died, but only a handful of Champion Knights have perished, and all of them died in the final battle against the Green Dragon Eliria.

Therefore, if Seranville can break through to the champion level before the war with Blue Mirror Territory begins, Su Li can rest assured.

Then Su Li encouraged her, "And I'm not asking you to fight a champion-level knight bare-handed. Although he is stronger than you, you have unique advantages. First of all, your equipment is much more luxurious than his. I will prepare a legendary amulet, rare armor, and perfect-grade weapons and rings for you."

"Then we will carefully prepare the venue and time for the duel. This is your home ground. You can adjust your condition, use various foods and potions before fighting your opponent."

Hearing Su Li's words, Seranville's confidence grew considerably. After all, the blood of the Ice and Snow Valkyrie flowed through her veins, so she nodded vigorously and said, "I'm willing to try, to give it my all, and to win glory for you, my lord. You've nurtured me for so long, sparing no expense in pouring resources into me. Now it's time for me, this icy sword, to be drawn and defeat your enemies!"

"Well said!" Su Li was inspired by her eloquent speech and said, "That's the kind of spirit we need. Come with me to the vault area, and we'll see what other treasures can enhance your strength. We'll also let you understand our family's wealth and give you more motivation."

Then Su Li turned to Hela and said, "Come on in, see if there are any ingredients in the treasure vault that you need to make your perfume. There are so many things here, I can't even remember some of them."

(End of this chapter)