Winter Lord: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 148 New Knight Reserves

The spring day was warm, and the sunlight, like scattered gold, fell on the knight training square in the center of Crimson Tide Territory.

A temporary platform reinforced with oak and black iron nails stands quietly in the center of the square.

On the high platform, Louis, draped in a red and black cloak, stood tall and straight as a spear.

The eight boys and girls standing behind him were dressed in full armor and had solemn expressions.

Their shoulders and backs were ramrod straight, and long swords hung at their waists.

These are the eight people who passed the Bloodstone Trial last year.

A year has passed, and now they are all trainee knights.

The most outstanding is naturally Weil, who has broken through to become a mid-level formal knight.

The boy stood at the front, sunlight shining on his cold profile, the crimson emblem on his armor chest gleaming.

Meanwhile, in the plaza below the stage, more than seventy boys and girls stood densely packed together.

They were young and thin, their faces bearing the faint marks of malnutrition, yet also brimming with excitement, exhilaration, and unspeakable anticipation.

They all came from the six subordinate territories under the Red Tide Territory, were holders of the knight bloodline certified by the Bloodstone, and were lucky ones who were occasionally favored by fate.

But they knew better than anyone that if it weren't for the lord on the stage, they wouldn't be standing here today.

They were nothing more than the children of slaves, artisans, and refugees, among the "dead fish" destined to die in hunger, cold, and war.

Before the devastating winter of last year arrived, their homeland was already ruined by the war. Their parents hunched over in the cold wind, gathering firewood, arguing and pleading for food on snowy nights.

Many brothers and sisters disappeared in the winter without even leaving their names.

But Lord Louis appeared.

He sent out relief supplies, along with porridge pots and tents, enabling them to survive in the ruins. He also sent people to patrol and settle them one by one.

He pulled them and their parents out of the mud; he placed the spark of hope in their hands and said, "Take this and live on."

They took out a blood-testing stone and dripped their blood onto it, finding a possibility beyond their fate.

Among these children, there was a small, thin girl standing at the very front of the line.

Her name is Mia, and she comes from Whitestone Village, which was destroyed by war. She is the daughter of carpenter Ian.

She shouldn't have lived to this day.

Last year, she was on the verge of death from a high fever, shivering in the night wind.

It was the Red Tide Knights sent by Louis who carried her into the camp, and the doctor stayed up all night tending to the fire to reduce her fever and warm her up.

Later, when the plague broke out, her father also fell ill.

If it weren't for Lady Louis risking her life to hunt the Fireback Turtle and personally overseeing the development of steam therapy, her father Ian would have been burned to ashes long ago.

Louise not only saved them, but also prevented her from becoming an orphan.
Now Mia can eat three meals a day and play with other children in the sunshine.

Everything was bestowed upon us by the boy standing on the high platform.

So when she stood there and looked up at the stage, it wasn't just ordinary respect.

It was a kind of reverence that bordered on faith.

"I want to become stronger," she once whispered to her father. "I want to protect you, just like Lord Louis."

Her father, Ian, was reluctant to let her participate in the Knight Trials, fearing she would suffer, that she would be too far from home, and that she would fall ill again.

But when he looked into the determination in his daughter's eyes, he finally just said softly, "Go."

Today, these children stand atop the legendary Red Tide Territory.

Their gazes were drawn to Louis's handsome face as if by a magnet.
He was as solemn as a divine statue, yet far more real than any legendary hero.

In their eyes, Louis was the sun at that moment.

They were like subterranean people seeing the sun for the first time.

The light was so dazzling that it was impossible to look away.

They were restless and whispering among themselves.

Some people secretly wiped away tears from the corners of their eyes; it was a feeling of relief after surviving, and also gratitude for their benefactors.

Some people bit their lips tightly, as if afraid that if they relaxed their guard, they would be driven away from this dreamland.

No one wants to go back to the past, and no one wants to lose this opportunity.

Louis's gaze slowly swept across the square, over the pale, yet passionate faces weathered by the wind and snow.

The next moment he raised his right hand and waved it gently.

The entire square fell silent instantly.

Louis spoke: "Each of you is chosen by God. In your blood lies the mark that qualifies you to step onto the battlefield of knights."

Without using complicated language, every word struck the heart like a hammer blow.

The teenagers in the audience were stunned.

They stared wide-eyed in disbelief, as if trying to confirm whether the words were being spoken to them.

Louis ignored their expressions and continued, "Most of you will fall, give up, and get lost. But some of you will truly become Red Tide Knights."

As he spoke, he raised his right hand: "A year ago, eight people passed the trial."

With a wave of his hand, eight teenagers walked out from behind the stage.

They marched forward in unison, their steps precise and their armor clanging.

This caused the children in the audience to instinctively straighten their backs.

They were the same age as the children in the audience, not very tall, but a sense of oppression was slowly approaching.

Weil, standing at the very front, was the most conspicuous, already a mid-level knight.

He stood ramrod straight, like a spear ready to be drawn at any moment. Although he didn't utter a word, many of the young people in the audience instinctively swallowed. His face was stern, his hands behind his back, his eyes unwavering, like an ice sculpture.

But if you get closer, you'll see that the tips of his ears are slightly red, and there's an uncontrollable joy hidden in the corners of his eyes.

Yes, he was laughing, absolutely ecstatic.

This was the first time in his life that "Lord Louis personally called his name," and he was even standing at the very front.

He endured it with great difficulty.

But to outsiders, he was still the same genius knight.

Louis's voice rang out again, louder and more powerful than before: "They were once just like you. Inexperienced, confused, even fearful. But now they are the sword protecting this land!"

His voice, like a trumpet piercing through the snow, declared: "You can too!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the square erupted in chaos.

The children were instantly ignited.

Applause, cheers, and excited shouts rose and fell.

"Ahhh! I want to become a knight too!"

"If it were me, I could do it! I could stand there too!"

"Lord Louis, I will not let you down!"

Many teenagers blushed instantly, clenched their fists, their faces turned bright red, and they were so excited they almost jumped up.

At that moment, they believed that their fate could truly be changed.

On the high platform, the wind billowed Louis's cloak.

He simply looked at them indifferently, as if to say, "Then prove it to me."

Then a man wearing heavy gray iron armor and a Crimson Tide Knight's cloak stepped onto the platform.

His footsteps resonated in the hearts of the boys, each step heavy and powerful.

His face was cold and stern, his muscles taut as rock, and the gray iron shoulder guards were etched with mottled battle scars, silently telling the story of the blood and fire he had walked through.

He was none other than Barnes, the chief instructor of the Red Tide Reserve Force.

He was originally a trainee knight instructor for the Calvin family, but he had to come to the North with Louis because he offended someone.

Making him the chief instructor of the Red Tide Reserve Force would be perfect.

Barnes stopped, scanning the crowd in the square with a gaze as sharp and ruthless as an ice pick.

He said in a deep voice, "I won't be gentle with you. This is a battlefield preparation area. Go back if you're crying, or get home if you're feeling smug."

Opening one's mouth is an invisible form of pressure.

Several young children turned pale, instinctively shrank back, and some even trembled slightly.

But no one backed down.

They stood there, their faces pale, yet as stubborn as blades of grass bent by the wind and snow but not falling.

Some people bit their lips until they turned white, while others lowered their heads and clenched their fists tightly.

They thought of their parents, their ruined village, and themselves when they were lying on their beds, dying from a persistent high fever...

Thinking about how they can stand here now, they realize who pulled them out of hell.

It was Louis, the lord who stood on the high platform, as dazzling as the sun.

This kindness cannot be wasted, and this opportunity must not be missed.

Louis smiled with satisfaction upon seeing this.

He gazed at those innocent faces and murmured to himself, "I have no shortage of money or resources now... If I can train even ten official knights, it will all be worth it."

He knew very well that what would truly determine the outcome of future battles was not the thickness of cold weapons or brick walls, but the number of knights.

It refers to the extraordinary power that enables one to control battle aura and confront enemies directly.

In order to cope with future turmoil, lurking crises, and even a larger-scale war that may break out, he must have more of his own knights.

He had also considered recruiting official knights directly.

But reality is cruel.

Those knights who were of orthodox lineage and had reached the official level were almost all loyal followers of the nobility, trained from childhood.

Even if they can afford the price, they are unlikely to easily "change their allegiance".

“That’s loyalty that money can’t buy,” Louis knew perfectly well.

Of course, he didn't give up. He was still willing to offer high prices to recruit the best of the unclaimed, war-torn, and exiled lone knights.

Anyway, he's not short of money now; once the magic marrow mine is opened, it'll be a money-printing machine.

He could be considered a "mine owner" by a narrow margin.

Of course, the only ones you can truly trust are the knights you've personally trained.

So he had already formulated his next plan in his mind:
Each time a new batch of refugees and slaves were brought into the Red Tide Territory, a bloodstone test was organized to identify children with knightly talent.

A temporary knightly academy was set up to provide food, lodging, and training for children from distant places;

Relying on the daily intelligence system, they secretly and targetedly uncover those "hidden seeds".

In fact, three or four of these children have already shown extraordinary knightly qualities, and Louis has already secretly noted their names in his mind, preparing to focus on cultivating them.

Although no other exceptional talents besides Will have been discovered among the peak knights yet...

But he believes that day is not far off.

These young children, who have never backed down, will be the foundation of the future "Red Tide Knights".

(End of this chapter)