Knight Lord: Start with Daily Intelligence.

Chapter 371 Huge Post-War Profits

After the Nightwalker Corpse Messenger was killed, the party disbanded, but some monsters mutated by nature were difficult to completely eliminate. They needed to be freed by the knights and dwarves using swords and muskets.

Most importantly, there are also members of the Death Choir here, a special unit that is unaffected by the Nightwalker Corpse Messenger.

Durmst relentlessly hunted these nemesis all night, but he couldn't completely wipe them out. Some escaped into the labyrinthine caverns, while others simply jumped into the abyss of hell, hiding amidst the green sap and blood. Given the scene of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, finding them was no easy feat.

The entire territory's army spent the entire night cleaning up the mess caused by the appearance of the night-roaming zombies.

After the knights had chopped down all the remaining mutated monsters and kicked the skeletons into the pit, Hilder came to Su Li with the sorcery items she had found on the messenger.

"My lord, I have two pieces of news, one good and one bad. Which would you like to hear first?"

“Good news!” Su Li replied decisively, “In this dark world, any good news is always encouraging, isn’t it?”

A smile appeared on Hilde's handsome face as she presented a black box to Su Li with both hands, saying, "The good news is, we have a way to fight old Jasper. This is a magical black box from the Ruscia Rainforest. You know those lizardman priests, Slan, possess the deepest understanding of magic. This magical black box is engraved with the green patterns and runes of their lizardman race. As long as someone concentrates their mind on its patterns, this black box will open by itself and absorb magical winds for a period of time afterward."

"So if we can put this black box into Jasper's hearse, the magic binding the dead will be broken instantly, allowing the dead to roam freely and easily intercepted and killed."

"At the same time, it can also release the accumulated magical winds in a concentrated manner after absorbing enough of them. For example, the dense death winds in the cave this time are because the messenger brought this magical black box. It gradually released all the death winds accumulated in the black box, intending to turn this cave into a land of the dead and create this hellish abyss, continuously drawing out a large number of monsters."

"Hmm?" Su Li's eyes lit up. It could absorb a large amount of magical wind and release it in one go?

"Doesn't this mean that our territory's production capacity will also increase?"

His first thought was of the Blessed Wisteria Tree. This extraordinary spiritual tree was the eye of the Jilun Wind, absorbing a large amount of Jilun Wind from all directions and converging there.

If this lizardman black box is placed in the eye of the wind of Jiren, it will quickly absorb a full box of Jiren wind, which can then be taken to farmland or a sacred site of Rhea, greatly expanding production.

For example, significantly expanding the Sacred Forest, greatly increasing farmland yields, making the land more fertile, and even artificially creating several new small holy sites within the territory. It would be even better if several Fountains of Life could be built, allowing the territory's spices to grow wildly and rapidly.

Hilde nodded and said, "And that's not all. It can also absorb the winds of metal and the winds of wild beasts, increasing the ore production of mines and the pregnancy rate of ranches. The effects are very significant."

This good news indeed made Su Li happy. With this item, and given a quiet and stable period of development, the territory would soon be able to grow stronger.

Perhaps in less than 10 years, he will be able to become an earl like his cheapskate father.

So Su Li was mentally prepared and asked, "This dark and desperate world is never all benefits without a price. So what is the price? Or rather, what is the bad news?"

"The bad news is that after we get this item, we pose a huge threat to Old Jasper. It's very likely that we've already been targeted by this legendary ancient corpse demon. It will attack us and take the item away."

"That's it?" Su Li immediately relaxed, even wanting to burst out laughing: "I thought it was some terrible news! In this world, if you really let me stay peacefully for a year or two, I'd actually panic. A little pressure is better than letting me overthink things. I always feel that evil forces might be brewing some big conspiracy. Having a war break out early to weaken them is a good thing."

If the Black Forest Territory can withstand the attack of this legendary undead force, then at least in the coming upheavals of the era, it will have a means of self-preservation, and will not be crushed to pieces by the sudden storms.

Su Li then had someone put away the lizardman magic casket, and then walked to the edge of the deep pit, looking at the Anaric giant spiders that were still putting up a stubborn resistance inside.

Having endured the siege of the undead and the barrage of dwarven musket fire, the Anaric spiders inside had suffered heavy casualties, with at least six spiders killed by musket fire. Doglin possessed an ancient dwarven relic, the Prospector's Sniper Telescope, which greatly enhanced the accuracy of musketeers and dwarven rangers.

Shooting down these giant monsters was a piece of cake. It was effortless and easy, because the champion knights blocked any monsters that tried to break free, giving them no chance to fight back.

Seeing all this, Su Li asked, "Approximately how long will it take to resolve this cave?"

"By noon today, the battle should be completely over. Moreover, we discovered the monsters' treasure trove and altar in the deep pit. After clearing this place, we will definitely obtain a great deal of wealth."

"A treasure vault and an altar?" Su Li asked with delight, "What's going on?"

“The spiders collected the offerings the goblins had thrown in over the years, as well as some of the adventurers’ supplies, and stored them in this deep pit for the Queen to use as sacrifices to the Spider God,” Hilde replied calmly. “We found a large amount of gold coins, witchcraft items, and rare minerals in it, many of which were treasures they dug up while expanding their burrows.”

This trip was truly incredibly fruitful!
Everything was indeed as Hilde had said; the remaining spiders were merely clinging to life and could cause little trouble. By noon, all resistance had been extinguished, and the entire spider burrow had been completely cleared.

Even their mighty spider queen was pinned to the wall of the pit by a 40-meter-long sword.

After this fierce battle, this place can truly be considered a giant skeletal ruin battlefield. Any necromancer passing by can summon a massive undead army.

So after the knights finished cleaning up, Su Li summoned Mor's Chosen, Demst, and asked, "You're a Chosen Knight, don't you know any of Mor's Order or the Black Guard Knights?"

Durmst, ever the quick-witted one, replied jokingly, "My lord, do you think I don't want some followers I can command? I also enjoy being the center of attention, and I don't want to deal with stinking corpses every day. You know, one of the hallmarks of us Mor followers is the Black Rose, and we also hope to gain the favor of noblewomen so that we can avoid going astray. But clearly, because there are too many people with the same idea as me, everyone is wandering around solving the ghost problems in the castle. Not many orders have moved to the border princely territories. I was almost speechless when you found the Shroud of Turin Order."

"Then you need to think of a way to strengthen the Church of Mor." Su Li said in a tone of exasperation. This was the first time he had felt so strongly that he had to supervise the development of the church.
These Mor Knights were truly different from other churches.

Durmst shrugged: "The knights of Mor are not good at proselytizing, and they are probably the only church that is not happy to proselytize. Perhaps it's because an increase in the number of knights in Mor means an increase in deaths."

Relying on these unreliable and neurotic fellows, even after the necromancers have converted all these corpses into undead, they might not have enough resources to deal with these mass graves on the battlefield.

Otherwise, there wouldn't be so many ancient battlefields in this world filled with dense death and blood energy.

Su Li turned to look at Hilde and said, "We still need to support these churches through the bishops' conference. Before we came, I said that a portion of this revenue would be allocated to the bishops' conference. How's the revenue this time?"

“Very impressive!” Hilde replied excitedly, gripping her longsword with a dashing air as she sat atop her griffin. “We’ve collected over 9300 gold crowns from the remains of the undead and the treasure vaults of the Spider Cave alone, including over 4600 gold crowns from our victory over the Nightwalker Corpse Legion.”

Nearly ten thousand gold crowns is indeed a considerable sum of money.

No matter where in this world, even in the palace of Terrabheim, the extra income of 10000 gold crowns would be good news that would make the emperor happy for a while and eat an extra bowl of rice.

But without a doubt, the income of these 9300-plus gold crowns was the smallest among all the gains of the entire war. Hilde continued, "In addition, we also acquired more than 270 magical artifacts of varying value, which are expected to be worth more than 5000 gold crowns. Most of the weapons and equipment were destroyed; without the support of black magic, they vanished with the death of the monsters. However, some of the undead's weapons and equipment were preserved."

"We acquired a total of 180 weapons and equipment, including 2 rare-grade items, 12 perfect-grade items, and 30 exquisite-grade items. Among them are 2 sets of vibranium rune armor, which are already damaged. Although their effects have been weakened, we can take them back to remelt them and have the dwarves extract the vibranium to remake the vibranium rune armor for our territory."

"For our territory, craftsmanship and time are the least important things. We have a large number of dwarven master blacksmiths who can forge more and stronger vibranium equipment at any time. In fact, when we don't have enough vibranium, we melt down a batch of vibranium rune armor every day and recast it. This is not only to maintain the dwarves' feel for the craft and to hone and teach more dwarves the craft of forging vibranium rune armor, but also to try to make more rare-grade armor by taking advantage of the [Deadly Lead Multi-Deposition Micro-Clockwork] effect."

"So vibranium is the most important. We also found a large amount of precious metals here, some of which were ores found by spiders digging caves, and some of which were spoils they collected from the dwarves' underground vaults. This includes more than 800 pounds of precious metals, including 80 pounds of vibranium and 130 stellar iron."

"The most important gain from attacking this spider's lair is undoubtedly the materials they carry. We've collected four rare-grade materials, which are priceless and can be used to forge even more powerful Chosen Armor. The Anarek Giant Spider silk alone weighs over 300 jin! Among them, the Chosen-grade Anarek Queen Giant Spider silk weighs a whopping 40 jin!"

We're rich! We're rich! We've really struck it rich!

The silk of the Anariki Giant Spider is worth over 100 gold crowns per kilogram, so 300 kilograms of silk would be worth over 30000 gold crowns. The silk of the Anariki Queen Giant Spider and the Chosen Spider is even more powerful, easily exceeding 1000 gold crowns per kilogram, and possibly even reaching a sky-high price of 2000 gold crowns.

With such a simple calculation, the material gains from this war exceeded 70000 gold crowns.

Of course, as mentioned before, no one would waste such a precious material by selling it. Whether it is used to make banners, clothing, stockings, or medical supplies, it has very remarkable effects.

Su Li must keep at least half of it to strengthen the territory and make more banners. Of course, she must also leave some for the female courtiers to make more beautiful stockings.

At the last celebration, all seven women wore beautiful white stockings, so glossy and smooth, as alluring as pearls. Seven pairs of beautiful legs lying together—they truly outlive Su Li's life.

After this, we will be able to make more beautiful stockings and ice silk pajamas for the female courtiers.

If half of it were sold, the profit would be between 35000 and 45000 gold crowns, which is quite good. This would be enough for Su Li to provide compensation for the soldiers who died in this battle, and there would still be a large sum of money left to improve the finances, allocate funds to the bishops' conference, and promote the development of various churches.

However, the losses were extremely heavy, with more than 80 soldiers killed in action, costing more than 15000 gold crowns in recruitment fees.

Fortunately, this battle also successfully tested the Black Forest Territory's recovery capabilities.

A truly powerful army is not like a glass cannon; no matter how strong such an army is, it cannot withstand losses and will gradually decline and perish after battle. If the death of a few or dozens of soldiers causes a lord sleepless nights with heartache, then the entire force is destined to be unsustainable and easily dies out.

A truly powerful army is one that dares to fight and sacrifice, achieves its strategic objectives with heavy casualties, and then can quickly recover and replenish its ranks.

Sacrifice is the cornerstone of the empire, and blood is its fertile soil! Only on land bathed in blood can the flower of blood bloom and the territory prosper.

Of course, Su Li wasn't entirely unmoved by the loss of these fallen soldiers. After all, they were elite troops he had personally trained, and each of them had received three of the seven gifts of victory!
The first of these three gifts is the Golden Eagle Crown, which grants soldiers who participated in the Green Dragon War an eagle-eye perspective, allowing them to see the ambush in the dark forest and shadowy mist, thus avoiding being ambushed and promptly detecting most of the invisible enemy units.

The second gift is the Holy Flame Emblem. After these elite veterans recite the Dawn Oath on the eve of the decisive battle, they shout "Wisdom as the sword" as they charge, and the emblem of the blazing sun appears on their armor, causing powerful burning damage to the enemy. The burning damage is doubled for Chaos Cultists and Beastmen.

The third gift is the Lark's Morning Song. During the final battle, soldiers' weapons gain the "Evil-Breaking" property, which will be covered with a layer of dazzling golden light, greatly enhancing their ability to break through the armor of evil monsters.

More than 60 of the soldiers who died had badges of honor that could only be earned in such an epic victory.

Sixty such elite veterans, in the war against evil, were as effective as one or two companies of soldiers of the same rank.

It was precisely because of these elite soldiers that Su Li was able to eliminate the two enormous threats—the Spider Nest and the Night Wanderer Corpse Messenger—in one fell swoop.

Their sacrifice was very meaningful, as it both eradicated evil and safeguarded the territory.

After leaving the lair, Su Li said to Demst, "Make proper arrangements for our warriors. Whether they are knights, armed servants, or dwarves, they are all citizens of our territory. Perform the Divine Art of Mor's Last Ritual for them, hold a proper funeral for them, and arrange for them to enter the Garden of Heroes in our territory."

The deathbed ritual is a solemn requiem sung by Mor's elite knights and above over the corpse. This ensures that their souls are sent to Mor's domain, guaranteeing them eternal rest and freedom from the influence of necromancy.

Why are the summoned undead and zombies filled with resentment and madness, wanting to take revenge on the living?
It is because they were awakened and enslaved by necromancers hundreds of years after their deaths, and their peace was disturbed, that they are naturally filled with resentment and hatred.

Unable to vent their resentment and hatred on the necromancers, they could only wreak havoc and tear apart all living beings, with their close relatives being the primary targets of this revenge. Having failed to protect the peace of their ancestors, they had to bear the bitter consequences of their ancestors' disturbance.

Demst immediately replied, "No problem, Your Majesty. As a member of the Chosen of Mor, I will personally preside over their funeral and ensure its success. Even a legendary necromancer will not be able to disturb their peace."

"That's good. You can take the troops back with you. Steward Hilde and I will head back first." He and Hilde both had tiger-striped griffins. If they returned to Black Forest Territory now, they could still make it back in time for dinner, and then take a bath and get some rest.

If we travel with the main group, it might take three or four days to get back to the manor.

Upon hearing that he would once again be allowed to lead the army independently, Durmst excitedly assured him, "I will make fewer detours and return to Hessenberg as soon as possible. I won't delay their funeral."

Su Li believed that although this Chosen Knight of Mor was a bit neurotic, he wouldn't cause too much trouble, so he waved to him and took Hilde ahead.

This war was quite successful in terms of both tactical performance and strategic gains.

At least this battle resulted in a positive return for the territory, increasing its wealth significantly and strengthening its overall power.

The fighting of this kind of battle is somewhat reminiscent of Li Erfeng in the early Tang Dynasty, where the empire grew stronger the more it fought.

He was in a good mood, soaring alongside Hilde, feeling the summer breeze carrying warmth that made him feel cozy all over.

He laughed and said, "My darling, we can finally be a little more carefree and enjoy our freedom now. Even if there are problems with our territory, we can make a comeback. Sometimes, I think that if we weren't bound by territory, we could fly all over the world and see the beautiful scenery in the distance."

Hilde smiled gently and said, "Traveling around the world? That must be wonderful. I hope we can have that day."

Having a lover who doesn't spoil the fun is truly a joyful thing.

Su Li knew that such a thing was impossible. He could no longer give up this territory; his heart and dreams already belonged to this rugged land and to the tens of thousands of people who were eagerly awaiting his return.

He must shoulder the heavy responsibility for everyone's expectations and lives. He can never abandon all of this to embark on a journey without any responsibility.

Moreover, with their enormous appetites, these two griffins simply cannot be fed by two lone wolves without a territory to support them.

However, he was already very happy that Hilde was willing to enjoy it with him.

This return trip was to be considered their honeymoon. Su Li took him on a special detour to the hills north of Green Fields, where vineyards were in full bloom, the Gem Pool was a riot of colors, and all sorts of spices and ornamental plants were in a dazzling display.

The entire northern manor district of the territory is dreamlike and full of fantasy.

The most eye-catching feature is undoubtedly the enormous Blessing Wisteria Tree in the territory. This wisteria tree has become the eye of the wind in the Jilun Wind. Its beautiful canopy is hundreds of meters high, and the hanging purple wisteria is as magnificent and beautiful as a waterfall, shining with a charming light in the afterglow of the setting sun.

Su Li led Hilde around the area for a while, enjoying the beautiful scenery, before finally arriving at the treehouse under the wisteria tree.

Ingrid had already heard the griffin's cry and the howling wind stirred up by its wings. With a smile, she opened the wooden door of the treehouse, leaned gently against the doorframe, and welcomed the man who had been out on the battlefield home.

As soon as Su Li jumped down from the griffin, she happily greeted him and immediately informed him of some good news: "My lord, Ariria has awakened. Didn't you encounter her?"

"Ariria has awakened?" Su Li's heart raced. He hadn't cultivated during the past few days of marching, and hearing that this most beautiful woman had woken up filled him with excitement. He immediately asked, "Where is she? Why isn't she in the treehouse?"

(End of this chapter)