Knight Lord: Start with Daily Intelligence

The things Rong En mentioned, although they sounded very mysterious, were actually quite common within the Empire. They were magical items made by the Church of Manann, God of the Sea, Morr, God of Death, and Taal, God of the Wild.

In the Mortal Realms, magical items were commonplace. Apart from the most humble merchants, almost every caravan would sell some kind of magical trinket or divine equipment at exorbitant prices.

These items couldn't be called knightly equipment, as they couldn't resonate with a knight's bloodline. However, they could indeed be used by every warrior. So, to put it figuratively, they were magical items carried by warriors in addition to their formal equipment.

Powerful knights scoffed at these enchanted trinkets, but mercenaries, adventurers, and armed squires were keen to use these magical items to make up for their own shortcomings.

For example, the three items Rong En mentioned all had good combat effects.

【Echo Conch: Originally a tool for sailors on ships to communicate across fleets amidst the raging waves, it could greatly amplify the volume and inspire the courage of sailors with its deep voice, allowing them to bravely fight all kinds of sea monsters. Later, the army in the southwest of the Empire took the lead in using it in army command. Almost every officer in the Imperial Provincial Legion would carry such a conch on their waist.】

【Morr Mask: This was a product of the orthodox church that no knight would refuse, and it was the closest thing to knightly equipment. Some powerful knights would wear this black, ghost-like enchanted mask under their helmets. During a charge, this mask would transform the knight's roar into a deathly wail, causing a terrible fear effect on the enemy. Some weaker enemies wouldn't even dare to face this pressure and would turn around and flee, let alone attack the knights. However, the price was that the knights would easily ignore the orders of their officers and launch a disorderly charge. This wasn't because their minds were affected, but because they could only hear the echo of the mask in their ears and couldn't hear the orders of their superiors.】

【Wild Skull: This was a tool of the Church of Taal, and was the least liked by followers of the Lady of the Bright Sun. However, the knights of the northern Empire especially loved this thing. They decorated their heads with the skulls and furs of lions, the huge skulls and horns of wild oxen, and so on. This not only made them appear particularly tall, but the hidden wildness, if it was the same as their bloodline, would make their strength even more barbarically enhanced, and there was a chance to use the ability of Crimson Blood once without cost.】

It could be said that if these items were used properly, even powerful elite knights could benefit a lot and improve their combat power by a notch.

Su Li asked, "How many of these items have we purchased?"

Rong En replied, "We haven't purchased many directly, and we only have about 30 pieces in storage now. However, there are quite a few knights and armed squires who have purchased them on their own, possibly as many as a hundred. These knights and armed squires are very willing to invest in order to improve their strength and gain more merit on the battlefield."

Su Li couldn't help but think of the ancient castle in the Northern Wilderness occupied by the Necromancer, which also contained a large number of witchcraft items, and perhaps even knightly equipment such as amulets, rings, and so on.

If he could send troops to take this place on the Day of Mysteries, the strength of the territory's army would probably increase a lot.

However, to enter here, he probably couldn't send the main force. Sending an elite knight squad would be a more appropriate choice.

Su Li turned to look at Knight Orson Stein and asked, "My commander, how many troops have we gathered now?"

Orson Stein immediately replied, "With the cooperation of Knight Connor and our full efforts to reorganize, we now have four knightly orders in our territory: the Red Night Knights, the Sun Corona Knights, the Black Forest Guard Knights, and the Vengeful Sun Griffin Knights. The elite knight scale of these four knightly orders has reached 340 people."

"In addition, there are 130 elite knights distributed in the provincial legions as officers or elite knights directly under your command, Commander, and formal knights."

"As of now, you have a total of 1 Chosen Knight, 7 Champion Knights, 473 Elite Knights, and the scale of Formal Knights and Apprentice Knights has reached more than 380 people."

"In terms of the provincial army, your direct subordinate squire battalion has reached a scale of 700 people, plus two companies of fiefdom troops and 4 companies of dwarves."

"In this battle, we can mobilize a total of about 900 knights, 1,400 provincial professional soldiers, and 1,600 free militia."

This scale was about the same as Su Li had expected, which was 900 elite knights plus a 3,000-strong infantry regiment.

He had initially estimated that the army size should exceed 3,000 or even approach 4,000. After the family's knights came to support, the army size directly approached the maximum expected 4,000.

Moreover, due to the addition of a church knightly order and a secular knightly order, there were more elite knights in the army than formal and apprentice knights.

Otherwise, the ratio of 200 elite knights to 400 ordinary knights would be relatively close. After all, his territory had a large number of fantasy opportunities, which could allow knights to quickly improve their strength. There should be a large number of knights stuck in the elite stage below the champion level.

As for allowing elite knights to break through to the champion level in large numbers, this was almost unimaginable.

Even in the Black Forest Territory, one out of a hundred elite knights could break through to become a champion knight.

It wasn't impossible to organize a knightly order of all champion-level knights, but it would require relying on the Blessed Wisteria Tree to infinitely extend the lives of the knights, providing them with surging vitality, and then using time to slowly grind and accumulate enough champion knights.

But in general, there was one principle: farming! farming! and more farming!

As long as he could survive various crises and have enough time and a peaceful environment to farm, his territory would have unlimited possibilities.

He had been in the territory for half a year, and the green dragon invasion was the first life-and-death crisis he had encountered in the past six months.

He had to get through it first to be qualified to farm.

So, after listening to Marshal Orson Stein's report, Su Li decisively said, "My commander, I will entrust all 900 knights and 3,000 infantry regiments, a total of 4,000 infantry and cavalry, to you. You must immediately make defensive deployments and prepare to go to the border outposts to fight Sandrian to the death! Syldore and I will make some arrangements in the territory and arrive with reinforcements tomorrow."

Although Su Li had nearly 4,000 infantry and cavalry, he estimated that the troops that could be mobilized for tomorrow's decisive battle should only be more than 3,000, at most no more than 3,500.

After all, there were too many places in the territory that needed to be guarded. This wasn't the country on Earth where everyone was united as one.

The arrival of a large number of adventurers, mercenaries, and caravans had increased the number of free militia in the territory, but it had also significantly increased the risk of crime.

These people stole, robbed, extorted, and blackmailed, doing all kinds of bad things.

If he didn't send troops to guard various strategic locations, they would probably dare to rush into the Zijing Manor and the Black Forest Castle to rob. By then, the Moon Crown Tree could be burned by them, and all kinds of treasures such as the Lightscale Fish, Fire Velvet Rabbit, pastures, and holy sites would be looted.

Guarding these holy sites alone would require at least 500 soldiers.

Marshal Orson Stein was also aware of this and immediately replied, "Lord, I will properly arrange the defense line of the entire territory and then launch a decisive battle with the Green Dragon."

"Good, everything is entrusted to you."

After Orson Stein and Priest Rong En left, Su Li took the High Servant Steward Syldore, the Minister of Industry Sheriff, the Minister of Agriculture Fandral, and the Master Engineer Kulgan to the stone walls of the castle that were under construction.

The defensive construction here was related to the foundation of the territory's victory or defeat, so it couldn't be stopped for even a moment.

Syldore looked at the dwarves and ogres who were busy everywhere on the project and asked, "Lord, can we stop the Green Dragon's legion of followers?"

Su Li frowned and looked at the empty flat ground below the castle, where Knight Commander Freya was reorganizing and training the Griffin Knights, practicing the Griffin's charge tactics. The entire castle was busy because it was unclear how the Green Dragon's legion would wreak havoc on this land.

"If it were you, how would you command this monster legion?"

Syldore thought for a moment and said, "If I were the commander of the monster legion, I probably wouldn't concentrate the army and squeeze into one road to go deep alone. Instead, I would spread out the heavy troops and set off from the forest, advancing on three routes at the same time. The right route would attack our Brienne River farms and villages, setting up defenses on the plains to prevent cavalry from detouring. The left route would detour south, seizing small, dense forests in the south, occupying geographical advantages, and stabilizing the front line. The middle route would personally hold back our main force, and then the three routes would echo each other, waiting for an opportunity to act."

Su Li nodded. This was also the tactic that the territory feared most. If Winged Dragon King Sandrian didn't gather the army and rely on the monster's scale advantage to gather and crush the Black Forest Territory's army, but instead launched four legions to attack at the same time as soon as they left the forest, then the battle situation would be very bad.

If the Black Forest Territory's main force was held back, and a legion of two or three thousand people broke out from the flank, destroying a large number of farms and manors in the territory, and even capturing Zijing Fort, then the Black Forest Territory's army would be in a dilemma.

If they continued to defend to the death at the border outposts, the rear would be turned upside down. If they hastily withdrew their troops to return to aid, the enemy's main force would pursue and cover up the attack, and that would be a great rout!

This was why Su Li wanted Marshal Orson Stein to immediately lead the troops to the border outposts. It was closest to the Blood Pine Forest. The Black Forest Territory's army had to take the initiative to attack and block the monster's legion in the valley near the Blood Pine Forest by the Brienne River. They couldn't let the monsters launch an attack line.

Then Su Li looked at Master Engineer Kulgan and asked, "My minister, how is the progress of the castle project? Can it help us resist the claws and followers of the Green Dragon?"

Kulgan immediately patted his strong chest and replied in a loud voice, "Honorable Lord, engineering construction is our dwarf's forte. After stopping the construction of functional buildings, the castle's defense facilities are basically completed. What we are promoting now is mainly reinforcement and heightening, in order to deal with Chosen-level monsters. If there are only Green Dragon's claws in the early stage, the defense here is as solid as a rock."

Minister of Industry Sheriff also nodded and said, "Lord, don't worry, we will definitely defend the Black Forest Castle. I heard that the territory's army is relatively tight. If there are not enough troops, we can transfer 5 more teams of Ogre Bull Warriors, 24 ogres per team, to participate in the war and defend the castle."

"Ogre Bull Warriors?" Su Li raised his eyebrows. This was equivalent to the powerful warriors of the Werewolves in the monster legion. A wild Ogre Bull Warrior could completely smash an armored werewolf with a big stick.

But it was not easy to control these ogre warriors.

Su Li asked, "Are their halfling foremen willing to take them to the battlefield?"

Halflings themselves are relatively timid. The combat power of the halfling professional troops is a joke in the eyes of the Imperial Provincial Legion, let alone these foremen who are usually not well-trained.

Su Li was afraid that before the battle even started, the monsters would charge once, and these halflings would scatter and flee.

Sheriff said, "To go to the battlefield, of course, these halfling foremen cannot be used to lead the team. With the growth of the ogre camps in our territory, some powerful ogres have also come here admiringly. Among them are Ogre Moneybags."

"In ogre culture, wealth and rewards are extremely important, so the role of Moneybags is crucial to their society. They fight alongside their comrades, encouraging them to move forward with generous wealth promises."

"Of course, these Moneybags are also known for their greed and stinginess, and they are typical misers. With a keen instinct for survival, they will ensure that only those who persist until the end of the battle can get paid."

"They are demanding, sharp-tongued, and always shout loudly, urging other ogres to work harder for money. Motivated by personal interests, they are also happy to see others fall, because it means he can get a larger share of the reward."

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"We now have two Ogre Moneybags in our territory, and they have the unique ogre racial trait [Headhunting for Merit], which is an important reason why ogre mercenaries are famous throughout the empire and the continent! With this trait, as long as the Ogre Moneybags stand on the battlefield, they can use the power of the Great Glutton God to interfere with the opponent's defensive ability, while making the ogres around him burst with fighting desire and violently chop at the opponent."

Hearing this, Su Li finally became interested. Two Ogre Moneybags, leading 5 teams of Ogre Bull Warriors, would become excellent assault troops. Therefore, ogre mercenaries are popular with commanders who are able to feed them.

Still, satisfying a bunch of idle ogres for an extended period is extremely expensive, so simply gathering an ogre mercenary force is often seen as a declaration of war.

Ogre Bull Warriors are even more outstanding among ogre mercenaries. These powerful monster infantry, like most ogres, tend to adopt the aspects they like in local customs, so their appearance and weapons vary greatly. Only the love of clubs and belly shields will not change.

It was a pity to keep such an excellent assault force in the castle for defense, so Su Li said, "Let these two Ogre Moneybags bring the Bull Warriors to the border outposts with me to meet the Winged Dragon."

After speaking, Su Li looked at the Minister of Agriculture Fandral and asked, "It's not easy to supply so many ogres, is there enough food stored?"

Vandal immediately said with full confidence, "Lord, rest assured. Our Dawn Church will definitely ensure the supply of food to the front lines. And we will absolutely not delay the development of the territory. I have already seen the new spirit tree and will take good care of it."

"Also, the Rainbow Falls north of Greenleaf Hills that you mentioned, we will complete them quickly. We guarantee to provide the territory with sufficient logistical power, so that while you are fighting, the territory will also grow rapidly."

The energy of this elderly druid now puts most young people to shame.

This is not just because of spiritual encouragement, but also because he bathed in a large amount of divine grace and successfully broke through to the Champion level!

Under Su Li's guidance, the priests of the Dawn Church successfully introduced these invisible magical rain into the Starfall Pool, a religious holy site, on the autumnal equinox.

Then their church organized people to pray here, and a large number of Jilin Wind sacrifices pleased the Dawn Goddess greatly!

This most generous of gods lived up to her reputation and bestowed unparalleled divine grace.

The novice nuns selected by the Dawn Church all broke through on the spot and became apprentice nuns.

This allowed the priests and nuns of the Dawn Church to break through the 30-person mark!

You must know that the entire population of Heissen Territory is only about 6,000 people, but their Dawn Church has successfully cultivated 30 priests, making them nominally the second largest church in the territory, and in fact the largest!

Even the priests of the Sun Goddess Church do not have so many. After the family assisted Heissen Territory, they brought a large number of family-specific religious icons, which allowed the Sun Goddess Monastery in the territory to be expanded. After all, the characteristic of the Sun Goddess Church is their goddess statues holding long swords.

The largest Sun Goddess Monastery in the north of the territory has been expanded. Although the dwarves are overwhelmed, their monastery buildings have not yet been expanded, but the goddess statue has been replaced with a 6-meter-high goddess statue, and it is carved from marble.

When the sun rises, and the golden light shines on this statue, even the residents who do not believe in the Sun Goddess can clearly feel the power of the goddess from the refracting sunlight and the shining statue.

The territory's religious advisor, Ron, leads three powerful paladins in running this monastery.

At the same time, the territory has built four goddess monasteries in the knight order's station, the city, and some scenic holy sites.

Even so, the priests of the Sun Goddess Monastery do not exceed 10 in total, and this is with the support of Su Li, the lord.

Therefore, the Dawn Goddess Church is definitely the church with the most religious priests in the territory. The reason why they are not conspicuous is entirely because their main preaching places happen to be staggered with the Sun Goddess Church and the Goddess of Life and Mercy Church. They have little influence in the city, and the suburbs and rural areas are where their faith is widespread.

Moreover, these priests of the Dawn Goddess Church are not only numerous, but also very strong!

This sacrifice and prayer pleased Leia greatly, and a single blessing allowed three official nuns to be promoted to elite nuns, including the Amethyst Vineyard Nun, Merian Sapphire, who Su Li favored. This has caused the grapes in the Amethyst Vineyard to continue to skyrocket in price despite the harvest, and a plump Amethyst grape is already the size of a plum.

In this prayer, the one who gained the most divine grace was undoubtedly the territory's Minister of Agriculture, the chief priest of the Sun Goddess Church, Vandal Oak.

He jumped from the elite level to the champion level, becoming the first non-knight profession in the territory to be promoted to the champion-level transcendent sequence.

And Leia was as generous as ever, giving him two divine spells at once.

One is the more common general divine spell [Leia's Taming: Allows Leia's priests to extend a gentle hand to wild animals and hum a soothing melody to soothe and tame it. Make a general difficulty animal handling check to tame any uncorrupted wild animal of large size or smaller. If successful, it will be obedient to humans, respect the elves of Isha, and similar allies.]

The other divine spell is extremely powerful and enough to reflect his champion-level strength.

[Descent of the Sun: Allows Leia's priests to summon a descending sun by singing the glory of midsummer and the goddess, giving the earth and its creatures divine protection. In the priest's singing, golden dawn flows like liquid gold over the fields and pastures. This land will receive the blessings of various Leia Church divine spells for the next month, including [Purified Area], [Identify Nature], [Immunity to Pests], [Heal Animals], [Grain Abundance], [Natural Order], etc.]

Basically, it means that this land will be in the most perfect state of growth, and it will definitely be free from pests and usher in a bumper harvest, and there is even a very low probability that ordinary plants will grow extraordinary fruits and ears of wheat, such as grains that can fill the stomach for a whole day with just one grain, leaves that will have [Animal Affinity] when carried with you, and herbs that will increase charm, etc.

Using this divine spell once in the Hot Spring Village or the garden under the Blessed Wisteria Tree will bring immeasurable value.

This is also the reason why Vandal is full of confidence.

Leia's generosity has led to their church's priests possessing a variety of divine spells, colorful and complex, and capable of creating wealth far beyond the imagination of ordinary people.

If vanilla pods were spices and not food, they would even try to directly touch a basket of vanilla pods with Leia's abundance, causing them to expand and then split in two.

This is really beyond the scope of Leia's abundance and does not conform to the moderate generosity encouraged by Leia, the goddess.

Su Li thought about taking a few priests from Leia's Church to the front lines, just to be responsible for dividing a basket of food into two to reduce the pressure of logistical supplies.

But after seeing their divine spells with his own eyes, Su Li gave up this idea. Turning a basket of food into two baskets is completely a drop in the bucket for a large army.

Their best role is to assist the territory in farming. The Dawn Goddess does not want believers to gain without labor, but encourages believers to obtain sufficient food through diligent work.

With the priests of the Dawn Goddess Church taking care of the territory, Su Li was relatively relieved, and said, "Then I will leave the territory to you. This afternoon, I will go to the front lines with Lord Ron to try to defeat the Green Dragon Kin Legion as soon as possible."

Starting tomorrow, I will update 10,000 words a day. I hope everyone will support me more~