Knight Lord: Start with Daily Intelligence

Regardless of the means, the territory now has a total of 350 Transcendent Grain, with 276+74 already grown.

By harvest time, the quantity will at least exceed 4000+ Emerald Spirit Grain, which is more than 4 times the harvest from the battlefield.

Farming yields much more and is more stable than hunting.

This is a revenue of 4000+ gold crowns, and it's an invaluable commodity, a transcendent grain circulated among God-Chosen Knights and nobles.

The territory's current two God-Chosen Knights can now exclusively consume this Transcendent Spirit Grain before battles, ensuring their transformation time is significantly extended by at least a fold.

The impact of a five-minute Divine General state versus a ten-minute Divine General state can greatly influence the outcome of a battle.

Additionally, feeding this Transcendent Grain to high-ranking Champion Knights can increase their chances of breaking through.

Many high-ranking Champion Knights are stuck before the threshold of God-Chosen Knights, lacking a breakthrough opportunity. The territory already has two high-ranking Champion Knights stuck and unable to break through.

Su Li doesn't have a good solution. The daily intelligence system doesn't provide such opportunities, so he can only wait. Perhaps after they consume enough Transcendent Grain, this kind of intelligence will appear.

Besides the Transcendent Spirit Grain, Su Li also pays close attention to other aspects of transcendent creatures, asking, "How is the situation in Lake Reveleen? I see many new creatures have appeared."

Vandal nodded, saying, "Yes, when a lake ecosystem forms, migratory waterbirds and toads bring various fish eggs and shells."

"Moreover, Duin's Claw successfully nested here, forming a magical spring below, greatly improving the water quality, making the lake clear, like a living body of water."

"The Magic Tide River Mussels in the lake have increased to 3, providing ample vitality for the growth of Lightscale Fish. The number of Lightscale Fish in the lake has now reached over 30."

"Over 30 Lightscale Fish?!" Su Li was pleasantly surprised: "Is Lake Reveleen's environment so suitable for Lightscale Fish growth?"

When Lake Reveleen was named, Vandal introduced Su Li to knowledge about fish reproduction.

Fish spawning is different from humans, not influenced by physiology; external environmental conditions are the most fundamental. Physiological stimulation has some effect but is not decisive, only promoting the discharge of mature eggs and accelerating the maturation of late-stage eggs.

So when the water quality conditions are suitable, fish eggs hidden in aquatic plants and deep in the riverbed will quickly develop and multiply, growing into fry.

Now, the vitality in Lake Reveleen is enough to supply the growth of over 30 Lightscale Fish?

These are precious fish that dukes would put on their tables. In Black Forest Territory, they're almost Su Li's essential dish for improving his meals every month.

Vandal was afraid that Su Li would slaughter another batch, quickly saying, "Lord, before the Border Outpost Battle, we ate almost all the Lightscale Fish that could be slaughtered, leaving only one large fish over twenty pounds. These newly grown Lightscale Fish are less than the size of a palm. Please let them grow for a while before considering slaughtering them."

Lightscale Fish don't grow fast, but they're not slow either. Like carp and grass carp, growing to 3-5 pounds in a year isn't difficult.

A three-pound Lightscale Fish on the table is considered a great dish.

Su Li said with a smile, "Don't worry, my minister. The territory now has a complete tactic to deal with the Green Dragon invasion, and there's no need to eat Lightscale Fish to urgently improve our strength. I guarantee that before next year's Spring's Awakening Ritual, I will definitely not kill another Lightscale Fish."

"Tell me, what other fantastic creatures have appeared in Lake Reveleen now."

Vandal breathed a sigh of relief, saying, "The most common in Lake Reveleen are still Cave Corals. These creatures, like sea anemones, use their tentacles to drag prey to the bottom of the lake, providing food for fungal clusters to reproduce. Our territory's Holy Ground Guard Corps basically has to take Crimson Pearls underwater every cycle to clean up these monsters. We have now accumulated over 140 Crimson Pearls."

Pearls are very precious treasures in this world, and Crimson Pearls are among the best. Not to mention their fantastic ability to allow humans to dive underwater for 3 minutes, just their beautiful color and lustrous brilliance can sell Crimson Pearls for a good price.

Pearls like the ones Su Li saw at the docks might only be a few dozen silver coins, but Crimson Pearls, depending on their size, can even reach 2-7 gold crowns.

This means that Lake Reveleen's pearl production alone can bring Su Li a minimum of 300 gold crowns in revenue every half year.

The dwarves of Redbeard Fortress don't have any special talent in forging armor, but they are the top tier in jewelry making among the Gray Mountain Dwarves.

So Su Li has not sold these pearls, but is thinking of waiting until the battle with the Green Dragon is over, so that these dwarves can be freed from armor production and make high-end jewelry.

So many pearls and gems stored in the treasury still make Su Li's treasury seem very abundant and rich, with dazzling brilliance.

And the treasures provided by Lake Reveleen are far more than these. Vandal continued, "In Lake Reveleen, there is also a dragon turtle subspecies called Loch Lom Star-Marked Tortoise. It is said that in the distant New World, some strange Albion mercenaries are known for entering the battlefield riding these strange creatures."

"However, none of us have seen them, and even the names of these mercenaries rarely circulate to the Old World. They are active on the distant coasts in mixed battles with High Elves, Dark Elves, and Chaos Warriors. The main value of these Star-Marked Tortoises here is the star-marked shells on their backs. Some divination wizards, private detectives, and Celestial mages and astrologers are willing to pay more than 10 gold crowns for these precious shells."

Su Li frowned, somewhat dissatisfied, and asked, "Only 10 gold crowns?"

He has now seen projects worth hundreds of gold crowns, even two or three thousand gold crowns, and he really doesn't think much of these mere 10 gold crowns.

The merchants' 20,000 gold crown loan has truly broadened his horizons.

Now Su Li somewhat understands why the saleswomen in high-end luxury stores easily change their mindset and lose their normal values.

He handles projects worth thousands of gold crowns one after another, and then looks at the revenue of 10 gold crowns in his hand, and he does feel a huge gap.

Vandal was also surprised for a moment, saying, "Lord, 10 gold crowns is already a lot! This is only the price that wizards and diviners will give when they are very rich."

These diviners are indeed quite wealthy. For example, next to the Sun Crown Knights' branch, on Carnival Square, there is a two-story wooden building called Ophul's Secret. Diviner and private detective Rosana Ophuls owns this simple wooden building, working on the first floor and living on the second floor at night.

Being able to buy a detached small building next to the prime location of Carnival Square shows her strength.

She can always help the inquirer recall a lost fortune, or review the past by touching objects related to the event, which makes her successful in detective work.

With the growth of the territory, the number of people from all walks of life like her in the territory is quite large.

Su Li asked, "How is the quantity of these Star-Marked Tortoise shells? How many can we sell?"

Vandal spread his hands, saying, "These tortoise shells are rare. Not only do our territory's wizards need them, but they can also be sold to Maleberg. They can be preserved for a long time and are always in demand. A tortoise can produce 100-150 eggs a year, but only about 2% of the eggs can reproduce and grow up. So overall, the annual income from these Star-Marked Tortoise shells is not a small number."

This is at least several dozen gold crowns, at most possibly reaching several hundred gold crowns of cost-free income, and Su Li can't ask for more. After all, he didn't expect to get rich by relying on one creature in Lake Reveleen.

After introducing this species, Vandal continued, "In addition to this turtle, Lake Reveleen has also welcomed the Beaver Bieberg family."

"Bieberg is a strong beaver, also regarded as a dam engineer in nature. It uses natural magic to build dams on both sides of the lake, raising the water level. So our Dawn Church affectionately calls it the Lakeside Guardian."

"At the same time, it is also nature's most perfect affinity. Mannan gave it [Eternal Breath], allowing it to stay underwater indefinitely, searching for the perfect materials to build dams and improve wetland ecosystems. In this process, it discards some valuable materials that it doesn't need to the corners beside the dam."

"This means that as long as we visit its nest every once in a while, we can find some precious ores, crystals, gems, etc. As long as we leave dozens of fish as exchange gifts, we can take it all away."

"This month, we have obtained 1 Dragon Blood Stone, half a pound of Silver Steel, and 1 nugget the size of an animal tooth from the Bieberg family."

A nugget the size of an animal tooth?

That's a considerable fortune. This is pure gold. If you take it to Maleberg, the Goldsmiths' Guild will buy it at a high price. It's more cost-effective than melting it into a few gold crowns.

This nugget alone is worth a lot, hundreds of times the value of dozens of fish.

So Su Li said with a smile, "It's true that gold and silver mountains can't compare to green water and green mountains."

As long as Black Forest Territory develops the ecology of Lake Reveleen well, the fantastic creatures that gather here will bring endless wealth to the territory.

Vandal said solemnly, "The growth and development of the territory is undoubtedly an exciting good thing, but it is also a huge pressure that is a headache. Our Holy Ground Guard Corps only has three squads, and they can't stop the Green Dragon Legion's invasion at all. If the Evil Claws reach here, they will definitely destroy everything here."

The Green Dragon's dependents are all monsters from the jungle. When they see these fantastic creatures in the lake, they will definitely go wild and slaughter them all, eating their corpses.

If they wreak havoc, the holy land that Black Forest Territory has worked so hard to develop will suffer heavy losses, and the dilapidated ecological environment will take a long time to recover.

This is indeed the biggest problem the territory is currently facing.

Su Li pondered for a moment, saying, "Relying solely on the Holy Ground Guard Corps cannot protect the ecology of Lake Reveleen. We still need to assemble the main force and defeat the Green Dragon Legion as the best solution. After the battle is over, I will increase the size of the Holy Ground Guard Corps to a company."

Then Su Li left the lakeside, walked to the dam of Bjorn Bay, looked at the vast and fertile farmland below, and asked, "How is the food production, which is the most important matter for the territory?"

Speaking of this, Vandal became enthusiastic. His breathless state disappeared. He stood directly next to the floodgate, watching the huge waves pouring down, and said to Su Li, "The water from Lake Reveleen irrigates the fertile land below Bjorn Bay, ensuring that this vast fertile field will have a bumper harvest."

"Now the fertile land we have reclaimed in Bjorn Bay has reached 110,000 mu. In the case of a bumper harvest, we will harvest more than 15,000 tons of grain."

"If we add the blood-sacrificed fertile land, this scale may double. 30,000 tons of grain is enough for our territory to support for 6 months. Basically, it means that after next year's Spring's Awakening Ritual, the territory will have a great abundance of grain and can export it."

"At that time, just relying on the title of Border Granary, we can bring us more than 3,000 gold crowns in revenue every harvest season."

Hearing this, Su Li also felt happy.

Border Granary, a goal he had envisioned for a long time, finally has the dawn of realization.

These fertile fields in Bjorn Bay belong to Su Li, and now Su Li can be regarded as a big landlord with 1100 hectares of fertile land.

Thousands of hectares of fertile land are the most typical symbol of wealth in the feudal era.

Even in the Eastern Celestial Dynasty, Su Li's scale of fertile land is comparable to a large feudal landlord.

So Su Li said with a smile, "Your Dawn Church's work has been effective, even exceeding the target set at the meeting by more than 10,000 mu. At the end of the year, I will donate a sum of money to the Dawn Church, with a scale of no less than 300 gold crowns."

"In addition, you can directly raise any requirements to me."

Vandal bowed slightly, saying respectfully, "Thank you for your kindness, Lord, but our Leia Church generally does not build magnificent temples. The monastery in the territory's town is enough."

"As you know, although the Goddess of Dawn is deeply loved by the people of the empire, town residents rarely pay attention to this goddess unless they need her blessings—such as relieving the stress of childbirth, filling granaries and markets, or ending severe winters."

"Our priestesses also visit larger settlements to take care of expectant mothers, but they are not willing to be surrounded by walls and stones for a long time."

"The real core belief area of our church is the villages and farms in the countryside of the empire, because in these places, her grace is a necessity for survival and prosperity."

There's good reason why life in the countryside is considered "blessed by Lera." If a subject lives in the countryside, Lera accompanies him from birth, watching him grow into adulthood, pursue love, get married, and have his own children. Even after his death, Lera is responsible for delivering his soul to Morr, and, in some legends, ensuring his body is buried in the earth to support future life in the soil.

Therefore, we hope to build more monasteries and stone shrines to the goddess in the Empire's countryside, rural areas, and farms.

But we currently face two thorny problems. Firstly, the territory's engineers and construction teams are too focused on urban areas. They are almost unwilling to go to the countryside to develop, leaving many villages and farms isolated in the vast foothills of the Black Forest, without even a dirt path. In winter, this makes things even more difficult for our priesthood. Many women in villages are forced to give birth in harsh conditions because they cannot wait for the priestess to arrive.

Secondly, we have an insufficient number of priests in our Dawn Church. We hope that more half-elves and druids will join the territory.

The problems that Vandal mentioned are indeed very real. It's clear that he has studied the territory's details and conducted practical investigations.

Black Forest Territory already has more than 30 nuns from the Dawn Church, making it nominally the second, but actually the largest religion in the territory.

However, compared to the number of dwarves, the number of half-elf nuns in the territory does seem relatively small.

The scale of dwarves settled and residing in Black Forest Territory may reach six or seven hundred, while compared to this, the number of elves, half-elves, and druids is minuscule, only a few dozen.

This shows that the territory clearly values dwarves more, which is in line with the Empire's consistent tradition.

However, in the Border Prince Territory, where people are mixed and there are even green-skinned mercenaries, the territory is more open and diverse than within the Empire, and it should indeed attract a group of elves to join.

Su Li considered this problem and said, "I will strengthen trade routes and introduce more elven slaves. The territory's roads do need to be improved, which will also help villages send their specialties to Black Forest Town."

Black Forest Territory has many such closed and self-sufficient villages, mainly because when the immigrant group came, Su Li allocated an area to them, and they began to build and cultivate on this farm.

Many villages even lack a dirt road connecting them to Black Forest Town. Only when the tax collectors from Black Forest Town arrive do the farmers in the village know that the noble lord who rules them is the pioneering knight from the Fleur-de-lis family.

This is also the norm in the Empire. Nobles usually only build the area they can see, to make it easier to enjoy.

As for the corners they can't see, they don't even know why the peasants are rebelling, let alone develop any facilities for them.

Black Forest Territory is also helpless. Limited funds are definitely used to develop the area near Black Forest Town first. Building Bjorn Bay and Black Forest Castle, these assets belonging to the lord, consumed 80% of the manpower and resources.

Developing water conservancy facilities and creating a commercial environment in the town leaves no spare capacity to build infrastructure for other villages.

And if the lords don't build roads and bridges, the villagers can only hope that a large merchant will donate them.

Merchants are only interested in profit. If they donate a road, they will monopolize the village's specialties and trade.

This is not in Su Li's interest, because the territory's specialties can really be sold for a good price.

Moreover, building roads and infrastructure is also conducive to the rapid maneuverability of the army, giving full play to the mobile advantages of the cavalry regiment.

So, unexpectedly, Su Li directly replied, "I will have the territory's engineers immediately plan a set of roads connecting all the territory's holy sites, villages, and farms, and start construction as soon as possible."

Vandal thought that Su Li would wait until the war against the Green Dragon was over before planning this matter, so he was overjoyed and excitedly said, "Praise Lord, your kindness and generosity. I think as long as we can resist the threat of the Green Dragon Legion, we will be able to spend this winter stably and with a good harvest."

After inspecting the territory's farmland with Vandal, Su Li's confidence in the territory's food production greatly increased, and then he toured the Fleur-de-lis noble ranch with a happy mood.

This is Su Li's royal noble ranch, where a large number of Su Li's livestock are raised, including more than 600 warhorses, more than 400 cattle, more than 3,000 sheep, goats, and battle rams, and more than 500 other miscellaneous creatures, such as mules, donkeys, deer herds, and fire rabbits, etc.

Now, with the growth of the territory and the rise of various ranches and villages, the territory's livestock no longer relies on this ranch for supply.

Due to the characteristics of Black Forest Territory, which is sparsely populated and has fertile land, even a small village with a scale of thirty or forty people will have a village ranch, raising one or two cattle, draft horses, and sheep and other livestock.

And in the Scarlet Highlands to the north, knights have directly rented large areas of farms, hiring shepherds to graze hundreds of sheep.

According to the report from the ranch director, Edmond, the price of a newly released lamb in the territory is now as high as 7-9 silver coins.

The high price of lambs is a good thing, proving that the territory's residents are confident in the territory's future and have high development expectations, so they actively cultivate livestock.

Su Li also experienced the powerful returns brought about by the incorruptible horse administration. In recent months, his noble ranch has been able to bring Su Li an average of 50+ gold crowns per month from the sale of horses, cattle, sheep, dairy products, and cashmere, etc. If you add the income from fire rabbits, the average monthly income of 100 gold crowns is completely achievable.

By the time he finished watching the ranch, it was already dark, and Su Li felt that he still had a lot of things he hadn't had time to pay attention to.

For example, the cashmere factory that Laun built for him, the territory's furniture workshop, the weapon production in the armory, the potion production in the various monasteries, and so on.

He simply didn't have the energy to look at them in detail. Before night fell, he could only squeeze out time to pay attention to the production situation of the territory's largest iron mine.

There are 160 dwarven miners working in the iron mine watchtower. This huge scale has finally demonstrated the strategic value of this giant iron mine.

While the progress of mining has been greatly improved, this month the dwarves successfully mined 45 Imperial pounds of vibranium from the giant iron mine!