Western Fantasy Lord: Starting with Daily Intelligence

"Land?" Theodore's eyes flashed with surprise.

"Yes, there are also artisans skilled in engraving spells and books that record spells," Connors said.

Theodore nodded slightly. Although he was puzzled, he did not ask any further questions. Instead, he opened a drawer, took out a roster, and handed it to Connors.

"This is the personnel list of the Lion's Fortress. You can choose two craftsmen to take with you."

Connors was in a great mood.

As the place where the essence of the entire Southern Territory is concentrated, the artisans of Lion Keep are all highly skilled and have many years of senior forging experience.

He eagerly flipped through the roster and began to browse it carefully.

Before long, two names came into view.

Name: Lowell Hansen

[Experience: A 15-year veteran blacksmith, specializing in clothing and treasure crafts, and skilled in engraving magic spells...]

......

Name: Grant Gilmore

[Experience: A three-year blacksmith specializing in mechanical artifacts, skilled in incantation, but for some reason, ever since being recruited, the things he researches always explode...]

"I've made my choice!"

Seeing Connors's animated expression, Theodore tapped his fingers on the table: "As for the land, Rex is dead, so you should inherit his fief. It's a bit of a stretch, but it'll be good training."

Rex's title was hereditary, but he had no children. According to the laws of Steel Dragon, if a nobleman dies without children, his fiefdom will be revoked.

Unexpectedly, Connors shook his head: "If possible, I would like to expand outwards from Lily Town as the center."

"Reason?" Theodore asked.

Connors readily agreed, saying, "Lake City is too large, and the forces within it are deeply intertwined. I don't want to spend my energy on it for the time being."

Theodore pondered for a moment, and then a ripple like flowing water appeared beside him. He took out a one-meter-long map from it and placed it on the table.

The map was spread out, taking up the entire bronze table, and it showed the detailed geographical location of the Southern Territory, down to every river, landform, and even some barren and desolate towns.

Connors was somewhat surprised; such a detailed map was truly rare.

Theodore pointed to the location of Lily Town and said, "The entire 50,000 acres of Lily Town are yours. Normally, the title and the size of the fiefdom are matched, but the attack of the blazing sun has just ended, so your title will remain unchanged for the time being."

Connors calculated that 50,000 acres was roughly equivalent to more than 200 square kilometers, and the territory was more than 30 times larger than before.

Most importantly, the Cliff Mountains were also included within his territory, which meant that many of the mountains' precious resources now belonged to him.

Their original development of mithril was theoretically considered the theft of the Duke's property, but now it's different. It's legal mining, and even if the king came, he wouldn't have the right to criticize it openly.

"As for the books about spells you mentioned, I'll have someone prepare them and send them to your room later."

......

Lion Keep, Forge.

boom--!

The door to Grant's room blew open, and thick black smoke billowed out.

"Cough cough cough..." A man with charred hair and a face covered in soot crawled out from inside.

The blacksmiths passing by in the corridor teased, "Hey, isn't this our genius blacksmith? What happened to make you look so disheveled?"

"Hmph, don't be so smug. I'll succeed sooner or later. When that happens, I'll be the founder of the Explosion School." Grant dusted himself off and snorted.

"You're already lucky you didn't get blown up, let alone start a new school of techniques..." the blacksmiths scoffed.

The Duke initially took an interest in the things he forged, which is why he brought him into the Duke's castle—a casual investment, hoping that with the castle's support, he could research something useful.

But as time went on, nothing of value was produced, and gradually, the funding allocated to Grant dwindled.

Grant, hands on his hips, looked down at people and sneered:

"They're just a bunch of ordinary people; they have no idea how great what I've made is."

"Let's go, let's go, we won't stoop to their level..."

The blacksmiths left, and the air grew quiet.

Grant walked back to his room, his expression fell, and he squatted down on the floor, burying his head in his hands.

Oh no, it's only the beginning of the month, and the budget is already gone...

Just then, a voice came from behind asking questions.

"Excuse me, is this Grant Gilmore's forge?"

Grant turned around in confusion and saw a handsome man standing in the doorway, peering curiously into the room.

He immediately stood up, crossed his arms, put on an arrogant expression, and said aloofly:

"That's right, that's me."

Connors waved his hand to disperse the dust in the air and walked into the room: "What are you doing? The room looks like a fire scene."

Grant scoffed, "This is a kind of greatness that mortals cannot comprehend... Hey, hey, who told you to move around like that!"

Connors ignored him and picked up a fragment from the ground, examining it closely. It was engraved with incomprehensible characters and lines.

Seeing that Connors ignored him, Grant got angry and went up to him, grabbing his shoulder directly:

"Hey! I have something to say to you..."

"I am Baron Connors Jon, the nineteenth son of the Duke." Connors turned to look at him.

"I told you it was too pungent in here, why didn't you listen? It wouldn't be good if you inhaled this dirty air."

Grant looked at him with concern and his eyes were sincere and earnest; Connors had only ever seen such sincerity in the followers of the God of Nature.

Connors looked around and asked, "What happened here?"

Since he's the Duke's son, he must be rolling in money... Grant's eyes darted around, and he rubbed his hands together, introducing him obsequiously:

"I'm working on a great invention. Would you like to invest? If it succeeds, we'll both be remembered in history... Trust me, choice is more important than effort. If you choose well, making money while lying down is not a dream..."

"Stop, stop, stop..." Connors quickly stopped, rolling his eyes. "I have no idea what you're researching."

"Uh..." Grant scratched his head, looked around, and picked up a brass plate from the remaining materials in the distance. Connors noticed that it was engraved with five intricate spells and groove-like lines.

"This is a metal plate made of fire copper. If you have a contract with a fire spirit, your magic can flow freely on it, achieving the effect of mithril."

As he spoke, he pointed to the incantation engraved on the copper plate:

"These are the spells I inscribed on this metal plate. To be honest, the spells we blacksmiths add to equipment are just the most basic application of spells. They can only manipulate certain phenomena and do not achieve the effects of magic at all. The most powerful spell-inscribed blacksmiths are also magicians... I digress."

Grant coughed twice and continued:

"Now look at these grooves. If you look closely, you'll see a layer of sand-like crystals scattered throughout them. They're densely dispersed within the grooves. This is something I created myself, and I've named it..." He paused here, a thoughtful look in his eyes, then his gaze brightened:

"Magic crystals, these grooves are called magic crystal chains!"

This is obviously something you just came up with... Connors was speechless, thinking to himself.

"The function of magic crystals is to link individual and identical spells together, allowing their effects to be superimposed. The fire copper plate is inscribed with five [Explosion] spells, which are linked together by chains to amplify the explosive power."