Knight Lord: Start with Daily Intelligence.

Chapter 199: Counting the Loot: Fire Spinel

The Dwarven Crown of Vengeance is one of the most famous artifacts in the world. It dates back to the early days of the Empire when Emperor Rigmar fought side by side with the Dwarven High King. In order to commend the great victory of the Alliance, the High King ordered his Rune Master to forge a rune sword.

The Rune Master commissioned to forge these swords was none other than Alaric, who created some of the most powerful weapons ever used in battle. Taking a century to forge, each Rune Blade was eventually gifted to each of the Elector Counts of the Empire.

Some say that Alaric's century of painstaking forging at the forge has ensnared the runemaster in obsession and paranoia. His fellow runesmiths consider the rune sword the greatest weapon ever achieved, but Alaric himself feels that there is still room for improvement, and that he has yet to reach the pinnacle of his craft.

Alaric sought a new rune, and over time, he discovered a variation of the Rune of Kings: the Rune of Ages. This rune not only preserves and refines the wisdom of each bearer, passing it on to those who follow it, but also allows the bearer to control their own destiny. Anyone who carries this rune becomes the master of their own destiny, and that of their entire race.

So the master dwarf craftsman journeyed to the Grey Mountains, and deep within them he built a vast forge, fueled by the mountains' lifeblood: the molten lava of their volcanoes. Day and night he toiled at a strange ore he had found deep within the twisted oak of time, until he had crafted a gleaming crown, engraved with the Runes of Time.

As Alaric gazed upon the artifact he had created, his mind cleared. Previously, he had been blinded by madness and obsession. The Crown of Vengeance did not grant its wearer the power of destiny, but rather it extracted the evil intent from their heart, even the faintest trace of malice, transforming them into a vessel for the combined ill will of every previous wearer.

Alaric was horrified by the evil he had created, but he knew the Crown of Vengeance could not be destroyed. Therefore, he resolved to hide this foul object. He journeyed to Mirkwood, a land of howling hills and winds, and cast the Crown of Vengeance deep into a dwarven mine abandoned before the Longbeard War. There, Alaric found a place where he could seal the Crown of Vengeance forever. He carved a chamber from living stone, placed the Crown of Vengeance within, and then sealed the room with the most powerful runes.

For centuries, the Crown of Vengeance remained sealed. Even when the mine's entrance collapsed, the main shaft remained intact. But then a powerful earthquake rocked the Howling Foothills, and tales of new seams of mithril and the riches of the ancient mines spread. A team of dwarven miners was dispatched to investigate. They found far more than they bargained for. They uncovered previously undiscovered seams and explored ancient, previously destroyed mines. What happened next is unknown, as only one dwarf emerged from the mines, bloodied, delirious, and raving incoherently.

Soon after, a group of Night Goblins arrived at the mines, seeking new rifts and caverns in the earth to inhabit. There, they discovered the maddened Dwarf and the remains of his fallen companions. The lone miner was captured by the Greenskins, who learned from the mad Dwarf's roars and rages that a powerful artifact would be found somewhere in their new lair.

Thus the Crown of Vengeance was born. Every few centuries, an evil force carrying the Crown of Vengeance would be born, setting off a horrific bloody storm.

This artifact has become the worst nightmare of the Empire and the Dwarves.

It just so happens that its origin and disappearance location are closely related to the Gray Mountains.

So it’s not without reason that when Su Li saw a crown, he thought of the Crown of Revenge.

Ron smiled and said, "My Lord, you truly overestimate us. If it were a monster wearing the Crown of Vengeance, even the Emperor and his army wouldn't necessarily be able to defeat it. In reality, this is the Crown of Protection of Eldrazo, the Elven God of Duels. During a one-on-one duel, the wearer can activate this Crown periodically to restore their stamina and physical strength."

Eldrazo, the Elven God of Duels, bears some resemblance to Violet. He is the Lord of Blades and the God of War. He is obsessed with the art of war, but his status among the gods remains low, as he will do anything to achieve victory.

This also involves the history of the division of the elves and the rebellion of the dark elves.

Su Li was not interested in the elves' long-standing historical disputes, but he was very happy with the effect of the Guardian Crown.

The orthodox use of the Crown of Protection is unquestionable. Activating it at regular intervals during battle allows the warrior to recover a certain amount of endurance and physical strength.

However, Su Li was more concerned about the effect of his one-on-one combat. He wondered whether this crown of protection could be effective in the knight's training.

Su Li looked at Freya with a smile. If there weren't so many people around, he would definitely invite this proud female knight who always had contempt in her eyes to try the effect together.

However, the war had just ended and there were still many things to deal with. Su Li smiled and put away the [Crown of Protection] and said to Captain Constantine, "Thank you, Captain Constantine, for this battle souvenir. I like this gift very much."

Su Li then waved to Rong En, took the Iron Sun Battle Flag, handed it to Captain Constantine, and said with a smile, "This is a gift I prepared for you to commemorate our glorious victory in this battle."

Constantine clearly recognized the iconic banner of the Flaming Sun Knights. He took the scarlet banner with both hands, looked at the golden sun with sixteen beams of light on it, and said excitedly, "Thank you, Lord, for your generosity. This will be a source of pride for me and our entire Corona Knights."

"As long as you like it." Su Li smiled and said calmly, "Now let's get down to business. How did you get the spoils of this battle?"

Constantine immediately said, "The spoils are quite substantial. There are tens of thousands of crude weapons and rudimentary armor crafted by gnolls and goblins."

"Don't underestimate these things, but after we bring them back to Hesse Castle and melt them down, they'll give us a lot of star iron and vibranium."

As he spoke, Constantine took out a huge machete from behind him. The machete was crudely made and had a huge gap on it. It was obviously not the weapon of the proud knights like the Knights of the Corona.

"This is a huge machete I seized from a goblin warrior. The workmanship is not worth mentioning, but the materials used are amazing. I think there are at least three pounds of vibranium in it, and there is a flame gem on the handle."

Dogrin also took out a dagger from his waist and said, "You also found the flame gem? There is also a flame gem on my dagger."

Hildurde took down a short spear from the wall and said, "I captured this from a Goblin soldier while I was hunting him. There are actually three flame gems on it."

Su Li's eyes lit up and he asked, "Does this mean there's a ruby ​​mine within the Blood Pine Forest Green Dragon's territory?"

Dogrin nodded excitedly and said, "It's very likely. This flame gem is called Fire Spinel in our dwarven world. It's a type of corundum, imbued with the powerful essence of fire and the molten power of the earth. Engraving such a gem on a forged fire rune weapon can significantly enhance the effects of the flame power. Furthermore, upon striking an enemy, it leaves a flammable mark on them. Subsequent attacks on the enemy, even ordinary physical damage, will also cause a slight burning sensation."

In fact, judging from the performance on the battlefield, the effect of this fire spinel is more comprehensive than what Doglin said.

The reason why forest goblins equip this gem in large quantities is because goblins, like greenskins, like all kinds of cool stuff.

Even if it is an ordinary weapon, if it is inlaid with this fire spinel, a cool red light will appear on the weapon when it hits hard or hits continuously. When it is slashed or stabbed, it will leave a fiery red light with the sound of whistling flames, increasing the fire damage.

What Dogrin said was just that the dwarves used their superb forging skills to combine these characteristics into rune weapons, making their flame characteristics more powerful. When a fire knight uses a rune weapon, even ordinary attacks can burst out with brilliant and scorching light, adding more powerful flame damage.

The number of fire spinels that can be obtained in this battle is probably not small. It can almost be predicted that the strength of the knights with fire attributes will be further strengthened in the future.

Just imagine hundreds of fire knights wielding flaming blades and slashing at the enemy formation. That is not something an ordinary army can resist.

Su Li then said, "Soldiers can keep their weapons, armor, and other spoils of war, but all equipment containing vibranium must be surrendered. Our territory will also clearly establish a ban: anyone who privately hoards vibranium or smuggles this important military weapon will be executed. Furthermore, we will implement a collective punishment system: if one person secretly hoards vibranium, and his entire team fails to report it, anyone who harbors it will be punished as well."

"Of course, to recover vibranium, the territory can't just resort to harsh punishments. Have the logistics officer set up a reward. Anyone who brings in vibranium weapons and armor will receive three gold crowns. Plus, for every kilogram of vibranium content, an additional 3 gold crowns will be awarded!"

Orstein nodded in approval and said, "No problem. I will rectify military discipline and strictly enforce the prohibitions. The prohibition of concealing or smuggling vibranium is a common practice in the Empire, and the soldiers will understand. Moreover, our territory rewards soldiers who turn in vibranium, so I believe most people will make wise choices. Those who insist on taking risks will not be criticized even if they are killed."

A weapon containing one pound of vibranium would be worth 19 gold crowns upon surrender, a considerable sum. It was equivalent to nearly half a year's salary for an elite knight, nearly two years' salary for a knight, and even more so than the income of an ordinary armed squire or freeman without food or drink for six years.

The generosity of the lord cannot be compared with the black market price of smuggling.

Paying the vibranium to the territory is already a very generous reward, and they receive it in a legitimate way, and may also receive military merit, glory and praise.

But blinded by greed, they choose to take the risk of hiding and then smuggling the items out of the territory. That's literally hanging their heads on the line. Not only could they be discovered by the inspecting officials and soldiers, but they also have to worry about being noticed by their family, comrades, and allies. Furthermore, they risk being exposed by the lord's intelligence system. Regardless of the reason for exposure, the smuggler is doomed.

Su Li felt that in this situation, anyone with a little common sense would know what to choose.

For an ordinary freeman, he should be satisfied if he fought hard on the battlefield and obtained a vibranium weapon, which was the profit of not eating or drinking for six years.

This was enough for him to change his fate and try to buy a farm or one or two slaves/slaves.

So people in the empire love to go to the battlefield, because there are really huge benefits in going to the battlefield.

In this extraordinary world, as long as they have a slight chance of contact, they may have the opportunity to change their destiny.

After all these vibranium weapons were recovered, they would be enough for the dwarves of the Black Forest Territory to forge several, or even dozens, of vibranium rune armor sets. These were four legions of monsters, a formidable force that even dozens of knights, combined with all the soldiers and slaves in the territory, might not be able to defeat.

The wealth they left behind should have been enough to arm a dozen of their most elite knights.

And the smelted steel can be used to make hundreds of sets of excellent dwarf heavy armor.

Then Su Li turned to look at Doglin and said, "My friend, are you interested in staying in my territory for a while? I can invite you to serve as the master forger in my territory for a period of time."

"During this period, you can forge Vibranium Rune Armor and Dwarven Heavy Armor to your heart's content. More importantly, every day you are in the territory, I will provide you with two, not three, pots of Troll Brew!"

"In this battle, we killed more than forty trolls. Their blood and livers are important ingredients for brewing troll wine!"

Su Li didn't understand what Boros meant when he told him that troll blood had the ability to cure thirst.

Until this summer, a slave in the territory got lost in the forest of the ranch. When the druid brought him out of the sacred forest, the slave had already collapsed from the heat due to prolonged exposure to the sun and lack of water. His lips were chapped, and his throat was in unbearable pain due to prolonged lack of water. He was suffering from extreme thirst.

As a result, the druid asked the dwarf for a small tube of troll blood and gave it to the slave to drink. The slave quickly recovered, his dry and cracked lips became moist, his sunburned skin gradually returned to normal, and his originally hoarse and painful throat could speak clearly after a while.

Troll brewed with troll blood is of much higher quality than ordinary dwarven beer. In extreme cases, a glass of dwarven beer can sustain a dwarf for several days.

Troll Brew can be said to be the source of energy for the dwarves, which can make them energetic and motivated. One cup can drive away their fatigue of the day.

Upon hearing this, Doglin couldn't help but swallow his saliva. His eyes widened with excitement and he said, "Well... well, then. I'll write a letter to the clan leader to explain the situation here. There's been no fighting in Redbeard Fortress recently, and the clan leader wants to take care of the fortress and recuperate, and develop the farmland. I think it won't be a problem for me to stay in Hesse Castle for a while."

The distance between Redbeard Castle and Hesse Castle is very far, but if you say it's close, they are actually neighboring neighbors.

Humans have difficulty walking, and dwarves can return in one cycle. Dogrin's presence here doesn't really affect the safety of Redbeard Keep.

Dogrin assured him, "The chieftain had already instructed me before I came here. There's no need to rush back until the green dragon is completely defeated."

Su Li smiled and nodded, saying, "That's good. After this battle is over, we can continue to strengthen the alliance. In fact, you don't have to go back to Redbeard Castle. You can station troops in our territory."

"This is equivalent to Redbeard Castle stationing an army in our territory to assist us in defense. Similarly, our Black Forest Territory will also send an army to the Graystone Valley below the Gray Mountains to help you dwarves patrol."

"This way we can not only strengthen the camaraderie of the alliance, but also complement each other's military shortcomings."

"This...this..." Doglin was somewhat persuaded. Dwarf rangers have always been regarded as heretics in Redbeard Castle, or at least some weird guys who are different from others.

But here in the Empire, humans have always treated them as friends.

And life in Hessen Territory is indeed much better than in Redbeard Castle. At least there is plenty of barbecue and wine.

They stationed three or four squadrons here, which did not affect the security of Redbeard Castle much, but gained a reliable and powerful ally.

Doglin really couldn't find a reason to refuse.

He could only say: "I will write to the lord and convey your suggestion to him."

"Of course, this requires the consent of the Redbeard Clan's leader. I will also send the Foreign Minister to Redbeard Castle to explain this matter."

However, the exchange of garrisons must wait until the war with the Green Dragon is over.

Su Li didn't mention it any further at the moment, and instead asked, "Besides these spoils that are sure to be found, have we found anything special?"

Knight Orstein said solemnly, "That simple statement of yours is enough for us to sort out for a long time. The monsters are bound to have a wide variety of loot, including the ingredients used by the gnolls to make poisons, such as poisonous insects and poisonous plants."

"The weird gadgets, scraps, and parts the goblins got their hands on are all unstable in their effects, but they are so bizarre that they can't be ignored."

"And the rocks, minerals, gold, jewels, and so on that the trolls and giants collected in their lairs."

"The total estimated value of these is 8000 to 15000 gold coins."

so little?
Compared to the demonic legions, these monsters are practically broke! Four legions, perhaps tens of thousands strong, stormed out of the Blood Pine Forest in a mighty force, only to be nearly annihilated, and yet their loot only totaled a little over ten thousand? On average, the weapons, equipment, and materials on each monster combined were worth less than two gold crowns.

But after Su Li thought about it, he felt it was normal.

After all, the demon army excavated an ancient dwarf site, and the wealth of the dwarves was even far greater than that of the empire.

However, these monsters in the forest are the followers of the green dragon, and their wealth may be robbed by the green dragon first.

Su Li smiled and said, "The poorer they are, the more wealth there is in the Green Dragon's lair, and the greater the benefits we will gain when we finally win!"

"But the broken ship still has 3,000 nails. With such a huge army of monsters, don't they have any special items?"

Rong En took out a gray bag from his arms and said to Su Li, "There are some. I have found these magical seeds in a lot of monsters."

Su Li opened the gray bag and took a look. His eyes widened with surprise. The gray bag was filled with a kind of crystal seeds similar to amber, emitting a faint green light. As if endowed with Ji Lun's magic by the forest, each one took on an exquisite spiral shape, like the most perfect geometric pattern in nature.

Their shells are not made of ordinary plant texture, but are translucent, as if carved from jade, with textures of light flowing inside, pulsating with the breathing of the seeds.

Su Li carefully reached into the bag and felt a subtle warmth on the surface of the seeds, as if they contained a tiny sun. He carefully removed a larger seed and found that it was shaped like a miniature forest, with trunks and branches winding around the surface of the seed, the detail so exquisite that it was amazing.

"What kind of seed is this?"

Ron said, "I don't know. We tortured the captives to find out what effect this seed has. They said that if we bury it in the ground and water it with blood, a giant ear of wheat will grow within a day, and we can harvest a pound of wheat."

"But I always feel that there might be something wrong with the way they are planted. It's too rough. Perhaps we can ask the nuns from the Church of the Dawn Goddess to take a look."

Su Li looked up in surprise: "This effect is already amazing. It's simply a supply artifact for marching and fighting."

But if this is considered a wasteful use of resources, then how amazing must its real effect be?
Su Li basically agreed with Rong En's opinion. These monsters never produced anything and didn't know how to farm. All they knew how to do was throw seeds into the ground and wait for them to mature.

Therefore, their planting method definitely does not bring out the true effect of the seeds.

"Hilde, go get two nuns from the Church of Dawn and ask them if they recognize this seed. Also, ask them about the casualties in this battle."

Although most of the priests of the Church of Dawn are farming and developing in the territory, there are still two elite nuns and a group of trainee nuns following the army. Together with the knights of the Hospitaller Order, believers of the Goddess of Life and Mercy, they take care of the wounded in the army, heal their wounds, and soothe the fear and despair in their hearts.

(End of this chapter)