Knight Lord: Start with Daily Intelligence

After the servant brought over a stack of bounties, Su Li took them and quickly looked through them.

[Bounty!]

[Twenty gold crowns to anyone who can present the head of the despicable forest bandit known as "Black Arrow" to Count Amadeus von Drakkenburg. The lord's servants can verify authenticity.]

[Transaction location: Marienburg - Traveler's Home Tavern]

[Bounty!]

[Thirty gold crowns to any brave warrior who can completely destroy the notorious "Red Shadow" forest bandit group. Lady Isabella de Winterworth, Marienburg Senator's personal guard will personally verify the authenticity.]

[Transaction location: Marienburg - Warrior's Tavern]

[Bounty!]

[Fifty gold crowns to recruit a hero to find Arthur Graves, the son of the Glory Trade Alliance merchant caravan leader, who was captured by the "Gray Wolf" warband of forest bandits. One share of danger, ten shares of reward.]

[Transaction location: Marienburg - Warrior's Tavern]

...

The contents of the bounties varied, some for killing forest bandit leaders, some for destroying entire forest bandit groups, and some for retrieving buried treasures in certain areas of the forest.

It has to be said that this really is, as the bounty orders say, one share of danger, ten shares of reward!

If he could successfully wipe out these forest bandits, the bounty orders alone could bring him at least two hundred gold crowns in revenue.

But the problem is that the danger of all this is also very high, otherwise someone would have already completed it all.

Su Li's foundation is really not strong enough to withstand much damage. If a battle doesn't go well, or he falls into an ambush, losing a few knights and a dozen armed servants would be a significant blow to him.

Losing ten or twenty percent of soldiers is enough to shake the morale of any unit.

The morale of the Black Forest territory's troops is high, but it can't withstand many such defeats.

So Su Li said to Laun: "I will seriously consider your suggestion and strive to send troops when I am confident. Now let's talk about the good news brought by the merchants. What good goods do they have in their caravan?"

After all, Su Li is the lord, and Laun couldn't force him. His suggestion was shelved, and he could only follow and change the subject, talking about the situation of the merchant caravan: "The arrival of their merchant caravan has already purchased 8 gold coins worth of goods in our territory. In addition, we also purchased two hundred logging and harvesting tools from them."

"Of course, the most valuable thing they have is the [Stamina Potion] made by the merchant guild. After taking one, it can greatly eliminate fatigue, restore physical strength, and reduce the rate of physical exertion for a long time. We bought 100 of them, costing 50 gold crowns."

"As you know, these furniture merchants who enter the forest to cut wood usually have a group of pharmacists cultivated by the guild. Because in the process of going deep into the forest to cut wood, they will always encounter some precious medicinal materials that can be made into various potions. They were also unlucky, being robbed by forest bandits before they even entered the forest. Otherwise, they could have made a batch of [Healing Potions], and the battle might not have been so tragic."

"I think it's a good idea to maintain a good relationship with them. Healing potions are very important for every army. Once this kind of potion is brought back to Marienburg, it will soon be snapped up by the lords of various territories."

Su Li was pleasantly surprised when he heard this, feeling that he had found a new way to get rich.

According to his ability, he can obtain many precious medicinal materials and plants, such as the heart and liver of that giant moose, which are perfect treasures for making [Antidote Potions]. In addition to leaving more than a thousand pounds of food for his territory, this giant moose also left a large number of precious medicinal materials.

If he could refine these plants and medicinal materials into potions, the income would definitely be considerable.

A basic stamina potion costs as much as 50 silver coins, which is half a year's income for a farmer, or a month's salary for a novice knight. On a fiercely fought battlefield, if the entire army took it, it could very likely reverse the situation.

The furniture merchants were willing to bring so many stamina potions because they had to race against time to cut down precious wood such as blood pine when they entered the forest.

There are three people in the Black Forest territory who are pharmacists, one of whom is the Minister of Agriculture and Religious Advisor, Fandal Oak.

As a priest of the Church of the Morning Dawn, he can make more advanced potions.

Su Li felt that he could talk to him about this, so he said to Laun: "My Minister of the Seal, I will leave the trivial matters of the territory to you for the time being. You must take into account the content of fishing, hunting, water conservancy, and industry. Loyalty will not be let down, and dedication will not be forgotten. When the territory prospers at the end of the year, I will prepare a generous year-end bonus for you, as well as a spacious house worthy of your status as a minister. When you leave later, please call the Minister of Internal Affairs, Fandal, over here for me."

No one in this world understands how to draw big cakes better than Su Li.

And Laun was obviously full of this big cake, and immediately became energetic and motivated.

He now understands somewhat why the dwarves seem to have endless energy.

The main reason is that he and the dwarves are willing to believe in the promises made by the lord. A bright future can be expected!

Although the lord is making empty promises, the difference is that everything the lord promises seems within reach.

When Laun left, his steps were brisk, and soon, under his notification, the Minister of Agriculture, Fandal Oak, arrived at the castle.

Before he even appeared in the hall, his excited voice came from outside: "Lord, good news, I have important good news to report to you."

Su Li couldn't help but smile, is this a double blessing?

He just returned to the territory, and good news came one after another, with both ministers having good news to report.

Accompanied by an excited and high-pitched voice, the Minister of Agriculture, Fandal Oak, walked quickly into the hall. The old druid, who was very old, had wrinkles squeezed together on his face, smiling like a flower, which can truly be described as an old tree blooming!

Su Li was surprised and asked, "What good news can make you, at such an old age, still so excited?"

"It's the Father of Grain, Bolevek! Haha, a Bolevek has settled in our Wolfgang Farm!" Fandal said straightforwardly, laughing and revealing the good news directly.

"What?" Su Li was instantly overjoyed, excitedly stood up from his chair, and looked eagerly at Fandal: "That's great! Where is he? Can I see him?"

Fandal immediately replied: "He lives in a small forest next to the Mutter Valley farmland. Our priestess of the Church of the Morning Dawn personally helped him build a small tree house. He is still relatively timid and dare not see strangers in the territory. When he encounters humans, he will hide in the tree house and farmland. But I believe that in less than a month, he will be familiar with it. Then you can meet him."

Su Li was in a very happy mood, and then said to Fandal: "My outstanding Minister of Agriculture, this is really exciting news. Sit down and tell me in detail, how did you tame him?"

After bowing slightly to thank him, Fandal sat on a wooden chair beside him and explained in detail to Su Li: "After the Battle of Mutter Valley, I took people to Limburg Farm to take over the farmland. In the fields, I discovered this Bolevek who was secretly performing a blood sacrifice."

"At first, this natural spirit was always hiding from us. It wasn't until after a few days of trying to make contact that it accepted one of our nuns from the Church of the Morning Dawn. After chatting with it in detail, we learned that on the night of the Battle of Mutter Valley, it was near Limburg Farm and saw the beastmen setting fire to the farmland. It was very angry."

"When it tried to put out the fire, we killed all the beastmen, an action that made it happy and encouraged. Then you sent troops to put out the fire in the farmland, which made it full of goodwill towards us."

"So it planned to secretly perform a blood sacrifice to repay our kindness."

"Blood sacrifice?" Su Li paid special attention to this matter and asked, "How was it performed? What was the effect?"

Fandal explained: "Blood sacrifice is the natural ability of the Father of Grain, Bolevek. It can use blood to improve the fertility of a piece of land. It originally planned to use the blood left behind when the beastmen died to perform a sacrificial ceremony to please the Goddess of the Morning Dawn. This meager blood food is estimated to only slightly increase the yield of a few acres of wheat fields."

"After we successfully persuaded it to join the Black Forest territory, the serfs buried all the beastmen's corpses and blood next to the ridges. Bolevek held a considerable blood sacrifice. According to the grace feedback, the fertility of at least 20 acres of wheat fields has greatly increased. In the next ten years, the yield per acre will increase to more than 1,000 pounds."

A yield of a thousand pounds per acre?

Su Li exclaimed in his heart, this is really a great leap forward in yield per acre!

Ordinary wheat fields produce only 200 to 300 pounds per acre, and those barren lower fields even produce only a hundred pounds per acre. This blood sacrifice directly increased the yield per acre by more than five times!

Sure enough, the fantasy world has fantastic ways to increase production.

These twenty acres of land alone can produce more than 60,000 pounds of grain in three harvests a year! Enough for a squadron of armed servants to eat for a year!

The more Su Li calculated, the more he marveled, and asked, "20 acres of land can support 120 soldiers. When can it perform the next blood sacrifice? I'll go find blood for it."

Fandal explained: "How can sacrifices be performed every day? The Goddess of the Morning Dawn's sacrificial day is the beginning of spring every year. It is best to hold a blood sacrifice at this time. If you personally pray at the Church of the Goddess of the Morning Dawn on that day, and order all the Boleveks to perform a blood sacrifice at the same time, the large-scale prayer in the territory will easily attract the gaze of the Goddess of the Morning Dawn and bring down greater divine grace."

"But other than that, she does not encourage believers to sacrifice excessively. The effect of each Bolevek's multiple sacrifices will only get worse and worse, and may even bring disaster."

Su Li frowned and asked, "Why is there such a restriction? Which god would refuse a constant stream of sacrifices?"

The smile on Fandal's face faded, becoming serious and biased, and he immediately argued, saying: "This is a principle followed by many gods! How is your concept different from those of evil god believers?"

"Our Goddess of the Morning Dawn is the God of Abundance, but she never indulges. Appropriately respect her and she will bring food, but she will never reward greed. She blesses lovers with romantic intimacy, rather than coercion or domination. The opposition between the Goddess of the Morning Dawn and the dark evil god, the Prince of Pleasure, is rooted in the distinction between generosity and indulgence."

Hiss~

Su Li took a deep breath. Are there really gods who would refuse a large number of sacrifices? Are those insatiable gods evil gods?

So generosity and kindness are the nobility of the gods, and indulgence and greed are the temptations of demons?

This is really a brand new and bizarre world, completely different from Su Li's previous understanding.

He solemnly apologized to Fandal, saying: "My Religious Advisor Minister, your explanation has given me more understanding and higher respect for the gods. Perhaps I should learn more about the doctrines of the Church of the Morning Dawn and the Goddess of the Blazing Sun."

Fandal finally showed a smile on his face again, saying: "The Goddess of the Morning Dawn will definitely appreciate your listening. She always generously rewards every lost traveler who returns."

Su Li then asked with concern: "Then is there no way to increase the number of sacrifices?"