Knight Lord: Start with Daily Intelligence.

Chapter 422 A Decisive Break! Hunting the Red Dragon Drake!

After hearing Commissioner Helmut's brazen demands for bribes, Su Li was so angry she almost laughed.

The empire's darkness and corruption reached an absolutely insane level!

The assessment of a territory doesn't consider any of its indicators, not even how many troops it has or whether it can establish a foothold.

It all depends on how much money this territory can offer for bribes. For example, offering 10000 gold crowns can earn you the title of a knight of the kingdom.

A bribe of 10 gold crowns will grant you the title of Baron. A bribe of 50 gold crowns will grant you the title of Earl!
This corruption was blatant and brazen. Even before the meeting, Su Li's expectation that Deputy Commander Bradley would keep an eye on them was miscalculated.

This corrupt and oppressive assessment system has the support of the Electoral Council. Oversight is completely ineffective.

It's no wonder that unifying the border princely territories has become so difficult! They face countless external interventions and obstacles.

Because these border princely territories were originally just dishes on the tables of the electors and the imperial high command. If Su Li wanted to unify these border princely territories, what would that be like? It would be like a dish that had already been served suddenly being served to the table! How many people's interests would that infringe upon?

How could the imperial high command tolerate this? Because, to be more precise, Su Li's actions weren't just about sitting at the table to eat, or even about overturning the table. They were far worse. He sat down and then insisted on eating all the food himself! He kicked everyone else off the table and monopolized the entire meal!

To prevent this situation, to protect their own interests, and to prevent newcomers from taking over, the imperial high command and nobles will certainly interfere with the unification and annexation of the border princely territories.

However, Su Li wasn't too worried about this. Numerous historical examples, both ancient and modern, from around the world, prove that as long as a power can continuously strengthen itself, external intervention can hardly stifle a thriving territory. The limitation of geographical reach is a problem that no powerful force can overcome. Geographical constraints prevent them from fully utilizing even one percent of their strength.

Moreover, even if 17 imperial nobles intervene, he can simply fight a war to establish his authority and make his mark on the world!
The strongest and most fortified fortresses are often breached from within. The worst thing is a broken spine; then you can never stand up again!

So when Su Lili looked at Commissioner Helmut von Klaus's matter-of-fact and self-righteous face, the anger in her chest subsided and turned into a cold, almost tangible chill.

He slowly rose from his seat of honor, the shattered glass shards and wine stains starkly visible at his feet. The firelight from the fireplace cast a long shadow behind him, enveloping the long table.

“So, Commissioner von Klaus,” Su Li said coldly, his gaze sharp as a knife, staring intently at the other party, “you mean that no matter how vast the territory of my Black Forest Territory is, how large its population is, how strong its army is, how fortified its castles are, or how fertile its farms and pastures are… as long as I refuse to solicit bribes from you… you will not recognize my title? All that the Black Forest Territory has done for the Empire in expanding its territory, establishing order, and shedding blood and sweat in the border princely territories is worthless on your scales of ‘weight’? Is that what you mean?”

His voice echoed in the empty hall, carrying an oppressive pressure. The dozens of accompanying officials and soldiers instinctively held their breath, their eyes darting nervously between Su Li and the commissioner.

Commissioner Helmut's arrogant expression twisted slightly at Su Li's blunt and sharp question. He slammed his hand on the table and stood up abruptly, the plates and silverware clattering.

"Lord Su Li!" His voice rose in anger, tinged with a sharp, exasperated tone. "Mind your place! You are questioning the authority of the Imperial Electoral Council! You are questioning the very foundation of the Empire's expansionist policy!"

He pointed at Su Li, his fingers trembling slightly with excitement: "Without the Council's approval, without the Empire's authorization, your so-called territory, army, and castle are nothing but a bunch of bandits illegally occupying Imperial land! A bunch of thugs who have proclaimed themselves kings on the border! Who do you think you are? Without the Council's assessment document, your pioneering title is a joke! Your territory will not receive any recognition or protection from the Empire! Any lord of the border princely territory can rightfully wage war against you under the banner of 'eliminating illegal occupants'! The Imperial Legion will never provide you with the slightest support!"

He knew he couldn't back down. If he did, the prestige of the Electors' Council would be shaken, and he and his few dozen followers would truly be unable to intimidate the real valiant warriors of this wild land!

“Count Letanel of the Swamp Territory will become a model for the Empire in its border princely territories! His army will have the approval and endorsement of the Council! And you, Knight Suli…” He deliberately dragged out the title “knight,” full of mockery, “…if you remain obstinate, your Black Forest Territory will soon become an object that the Imperial order needs to ‘clean up’! Look at those covetous neighbors around you! Hasn’t the destruction of Blue Mirror Fortress woken you up yet? The instigator will surely have no descendants! Without the Council’s approval, you will be next! So I advise you to see the situation clearly, and that those who understand the times are wise!”

The air in the hall seemed to freeze. A layer of frost covered Hilde's heroic face, and the killing intent in her eyes was almost bursting forth. Her hand, resting on her lap, gripped the hilt of her sword. Marshal Orstein's imposing frame leaned slightly forward, like a taut bow, his heavy warhammer seemingly ready to slip from his grasp at any moment. Around the hall, all the solemnly standing Blacksin Guard knights could no longer contain their killing intent; with a clang, their longswords were drawn.

All the bureaucrats of the empire trembled instantly, cold sweat pouring down their backs, as they all felt the most direct killing intent emanating from everyone in the Black Forest Territory.

Despite Commissioner Helmut's threat, Su Li remained unfazed. He didn't even glance at the commissioner's face, which was flushed red with fear. He slowly and calmly surveyed his tense, murderous generals and soldiers before his gaze returned to Commissioner Helmut.

His eyes held a hint of mockery and contempt.

“Commissioner von Klaus,” Su Li’s voice was frighteningly calm, each word like an ice bead hitting a stone slab, “it seems there is no room for discussion between us anymore.”

He slightly raised his chin, looking down at the other person with an arrogant posture:

"The territory of Black Forest was reclaimed inch by inch by the blood and fire of Black Forest's soldiers from the Dark Forest, from the claws of Chaos, and from all those who coveted it! The order of Black Forest was built bit by bit by the sweat and loyalty of its people! The army of Black Forest fights only to protect this land and its people!"

“My status and my title do not need to be proven by bribing a bunch of parasites! I would rather distribute 10 gold crowns to my soldiers than hand them over to you in a groveling manner!”

"And!" His voice suddenly rose, booming like thunder in the hall: "What you call 'illegal occupation'? Hmph! Every inch of the land beneath my feet is soaked in the blood of the soldiers of Black Forest Territory! What you call 'protection'? The walls and swords of Black Forest Territory are the best protection! What you call 'imperial support'? Without you, we still repelled all the invading enemies!"

"As for Count Letanel of the Swamp Territory..." Su Li's lips curled into a cold and cruel smile, "He had better pray that his 'weight' is heavy enough, and that his gold coins can buy enough reinforcements. Because it won't be long before the army of the Black Forest Territory personally 'visits' him to see if his count title can withstand our swords!"

“Now,” Su Li’s gaze, as cold as solid ice, locked onto the pale-faced Commissioner Helmut, “take your men and get out of Blacksburg.”

He grabbed the other person by the collar, pulled them close, and looked down at them condescendingly.

"I'd like to see if you and your master dare to give my Black Forest Territory an unqualified evaluation and allow it to remain as a pioneering knight!"

"see a visitor out!"

With a forceful jerk, Helmut was thrown off balance, staggering back a few steps and knocking over a row of seats.

Unable to contain herself any longer, Hilde drew her longsword with a clang, the tip aimed directly at Helmut's throat. Helmut hastily retreated, but the sword tip remained less than an inch from his throat. He retreated further, but the sword tip did not budge, maintaining the same distance from his throat. At the same time, Marshal Orstein stepped forward, his heavy boots thumping on the stone, an invisible pressure sweeping over the imperial delegation like a tsunami.

Commissioner Helmut von Klaus and his officials and soldiers turned deathly pale instantly. Under the chilling gaze of several menacing gazes, even breathing became difficult. Looking at Su Li's expressionless face, and at the Black Forest commanders surrounding them like predatory beasts about to pounce, they finally understood that their proud imperial authority and invincible extortion tactics had utterly failed them on this renowned border territory.

"You...you'll regret this, Su Li!" the commissioner screamed, his voice trembling with fear. He carefully retreated into the room, keeping his distance from Hilder's sword as he said, "Offending us is the same as offending the Imperial Elector Council! If you can't pass the test, you'll forever remain a lowly border princely lord."

Su Li snorted coldly and said, "You are far too confident. Even if I kill you all, it doesn't necessarily mean I've offended the Council of Electors."

"Furthermore, the reason I haven't killed you now isn't because I'm afraid of your master. It's because I'm sparing your dog's life so you can go back and tell your master!"

"If I fail the test, it won't be me who loses face, nor will it be me who regrets it! It will be you who suffer!"

"When a territory that you call unqualified, a territory that doesn't even deserve to be a knight of the kingdom, wipes out a large number of surrounding noble territories, and even earl territories, I hope that you and the corrupt bureaucrats behind you can give the Elector Council a reasonable explanation and account."

Helmut's expression changed, clearly anticipating the outcome of this scenario! If such a thing were to happen, and a powerful territory were deemed by the Empire to be unworthy even to be a Kingdom Knight, unable to pass even the most basic noble examinations, yet easily annihilating numerous surrounding baronies and earls, then the Electoral Council would find it very difficult to explain all of this to the world.

But he remained stubborn, refusing to admit it, and shouted, "This is all part of the Electors' Council's strategy. I was merely carrying it out. I don't need to explain or account to the Electors' Council!"

Su Li looked at him and coldly replied, "Then you can hope that the Council of Electors won't use your head to quell public opinion!"

“Furthermore, I’ve changed my mind. You’re too noisy and annoying. Guards, cut out his tongue! Blacksin Guards, personally escort them to the border and throw them out of Blacksin territory!”

"You...you'll regret this! Su Li! The Electoral Council will never let you get away with this!" Commissioner Helmut screamed, his voice trembling with fear, before scrambling away towards the gate, clutching his broken tongue, surrounded by his terrified retinue. The heavy oak doors slammed shut behind them, shutting out the threat from the imperial bureaucracy and the snowstorm from Blacksenberg.

Inside the hall, only the crackling of the fireplace and the cold, stern gazes of everyone remained. After the imperial officials left, Oliver, who had been frowning the entire time, rose and calmly said, “My lord, Helmut is nothing but a clown. Even if we cut out his tongue, it would only be a waste of a potion from the Electors’ Council. But offending the Electors’ Council will make our next move much more difficult. We… must prepare as soon as possible.”

Su Li calmly waved his hand and said, "The Electoral Council is not monolithic. I disagree with your suggestion of offending the Electoral Council. At least within the Electoral Council, the Church of the Goddess of the Sun and the Province of Suland will firmly stand on our side. How much power do the rest have to intervene in the situation of the border princely territories?"

"Moreover, the Empire has just experienced the Holy Great Expedition this year, and it is impossible for the Empire to mobilize a large number of troops to intervene in the situation of the border princely territories in a short period of time."

Everyone nodded in agreement. The worst thing you can do is to see the enemy as a monolithic entity.

In reality, while the Electors' Council is nominally a unified entity, they rarely stand together when faced with conflicting interests. A rational view is to consider them as individuals with differing interests. It's impossible to offend them all simultaneously.

More importantly, the resolutions reached by the Imperial Electoral Council need to be implemented. And unfortunately, in this southern land, all the powerful military forces capable of carrying them out are biased towards Su Li.

The most powerful military force in the south is naturally the Church of the Goddess of the Sun. The electoral representatives of this church would never allow the Imperial Electoral Council to regard the Black Forest Territory as a heretical territory and an object of attack.

He must safeguard his Chosen Knights and Exemplary Territories! Unless the Empire can prove that the land of Blacksander has been corrupted by Chaos and turned into a follower of Chaos.

But that's impossible. Flashspear City is in Su Li's hands, and the gods are always watching it closely. All the churches know perfectly well whether Black Forest Territory has been corrupted.

Besides the Church of the Goddess of the Sun, several other powerful forces in the south are also allied with the Church of the Goddess of the Sun.

The south is a typical alliance of three goddesses, the southwest is the Church of Sharya, and the southeast is the Church of Verena.

Among them, Su Li's relationship with the Salya Church is relatively distant.

However, Su Li had just completed the divine decree of the goddess Sharya, purified the Nurgle War Gang, and obtained the goddess's golden holy water bottle.

Moreover, Goddess Sharya is the younger sister of the Goddess of the Sun, making it difficult for her to target her sister's chosen knights.

This resulted in Su Li having a very strong influence in both the church and in secular territories.

This is the source of his confidence to resolutely refuse the bribery offered by the Imperial Assessment Team!

Of course, the bribe amount of 100,000 gold crowns was indeed beyond Su Li's tolerance and acceptance limit.

He couldn't accept spending such a large sum of money to buy the title of baron!

Although these shockingly desperate figures are not unaffordable for him.

But his very genes made him unable to accept such a subservient and unequal treaty.

If we have money, why not invest it in military spending instead of paying reparations?
Only by becoming strong can one truly rely on oneself.

So Su Li looked around at everyone and said, "Then let's prepare to face the challenge. As long as we are strong enough, I believe that the title will come naturally to us."

Hilde nodded in agreement and said, “That’s right. My lord, I think that clown Helmut has failed to recognize a reality. Perhaps ordinary territories need the assessment and titles of the Electors’ Council to increase their glory and authority. But we are different. It is the Electors’ Council that needs us to accept titles, thereby increasing the authority of this assessment.”

"I believe that it won't be long before the Electoral Council sends a truly clear-headed group of bureaucrats to renegotiate with us. At that time, we might even be able to obtain not only barons, but also earls!"

In fact, if the two sides communicated harmoniously, Su Li's goal this time would only be a baron.

However, now that relations have soured, Su Li will not back down unless the empire offers him the title of earl.

Su Li believed that the empire had officials who could see the situation clearly and knew how to win over a truly meritorious and powerful pioneering lord.

After all, the empire has lasted for thousands of years. Although it is full of corrupt officials and incompetent and despicable people, it must have had pillars of strength to support its existence.

Oliver, a chosen one of the goddesses of justice and an iron-fisted prime minister, is not lacking in any electorate. They will make wise choices. If one negotiation fails, they will send an even more elite team.

Orstein immediately asked, "Shall we mobilize our troops now and prepare to attack the swamp territory?"

Su Li thought carefully for a moment and replied cautiously, "Let's not rush. After all, we have just gone through a bloody battle and have only had a few months to recuperate. It is not appropriate to launch another major attack. Moreover, the Empire has not yet directly rejected our assessment results. It would be really inappropriate to rashly raise troops at this time."

Su Li still hoped that Maleburg could make a rational decision. If these parasites and rats could relay Su Li's attitude back to the truly rational Electoral Council, they might, after careful consideration, overlook the bribery and give a fair evaluation. It's just 10 gold crowns, isn't it? To the Electoral Council, it's insignificant. For the Empire's high command, a stable system is far more important than a mere tens of thousands of gold coins.

To be honest, while Su Li held onto hope, he still believed the probability was low. The empire's upper echelons contained true elites and ruthless leaders, but the majority at the bottom were corrupt, greedy, and despicable parasites, even more foolish and arrogant. They might not truthfully convey everything, but would tend to try to suppress it all. Only when it could no longer be concealed, when the truth could no longer be hidden, would they be forced to report it.

After all, fools are common in the dark and desperate politics of this empire.

So Su Li continued, "However, we can prepare in this direction. The Swamp Territory has a large population and complex terrain, making it difficult for us to resolve quickly. But our neighbor to the east of the Swamp Territory is simple-minded and easy to deal with."

Upon hearing Su Li's words, Ariria, who was usually aloof and sitting by the long table with her eyes closed, suddenly opened her eyes. Her golden eyes were now incredibly bright, surging with a mixture of contempt, fighting spirit, and... some indescribable excitement.

“Drake…” Her voice was cold, yet filled with the arrogance and intense hostility of a dragon, “that red lizard who cowers in the lava pit of the Twilight Mountains, whose mind is filled with nothing but glittering treasures and the foolish belief that ‘muscles are supreme’ and lava?”

She really made no attempt to hide the mutual contempt and hostility between the green and red dragons.

Su Li's lips curled into a smile: "It's him. The 'Lava Tyrant' of the Twilight Mountains, a high-level chosen red dragon, Drake."

Demst had fought this red dragon for three days and three nights. Just thinking about the brutal dragon made his whole body ache. He gasped and shouted, "Lord, that's the red dragon Drake! How can you call it as easy as crushing a bug? High-ranking chosen one! Red dragon! Drake! Easy to deal with! How are these words connected?"

"His individual strength is extremely powerful. It is said that his dragon breath is enough to melt the strongest city walls, and his scales can withstand siege ballistae. There are even rumors that he is close to reaching the legendary level. He and his retinue often raid in the Twilight Mountains, putting great military pressure on us."

Su Li smiled calmly, waved his hand, and said, "That's precisely why he seems 'simple-minded' and easy to deal with. As a red dragon, he is extremely superstitious about the physical strength of the red dragon itself and has no interest in developing followers or establishing order in his territory. His 'territory' is more like the radiation zone of a huge dragon's nest, maintained at a minimum level of vigilance by a few kobolds, fire lizards, and scattered cultists who are intimidated by his power."

"His simple mind prevents him from managing his power like the Green Dragon. Although his territory is nominally deep in the Twilight Mountains, the area he actually controls is limited to a few easily defensible passes and lava valleys surrounding his lair. Because he believes that absolute power can crush everything, he disdains complex strategies and construction. Therefore, although his territory appears easy to defend, its defense system is extremely loose. There are no organized armies, no strong satellite fortresses, and it relies entirely on his own deterrent power and the harsh terrain. Once he is restrained or even... perishes, his so-called territory will crumble in an instant."

“And his fatal weakness,” Arielia’s voice carried a dragon-like precision, almost cruel, “lies in his blind faith in ‘absolute power’ and his contempt for ‘lower beings.’ He would never believe that a group of what he sees as ‘reptiles’ could pose a real threat to him. Especially…” Her emerald eyes swept over the crowd, “when these ‘reptiles’ reach a certain size and possess weapons strong enough to penetrate his scales.”

Hilde's handsome face revealed understanding and fighting spirit: "So, what the lord means is... to gather all our top forces and carry out a targeted 'decapitation'?"

“That’s right.” Su Li’s finger pointed heavily to the area marked as a lava zone deep within the Twilight Mountains on the map. “Drake is a tough nut to crack, but he’s also an isolated one. He doesn’t have the complex terrain and large population of the Swamp Territory that we need to gnaw on, nor does he have a cluster of fortified castles that we need to take down one by one. His only ‘defenses’ are his own scale armor and lava pits. And his arrogance is our best breakthrough point. We don’t need to mobilize a large force; just the Chosen Knights with a few hundred elite knights are enough to complete the hunt for him!”

(End of this chapter)