Knight Lord: Start with Daily Intelligence.

Chapter 250: Hypericum and Freya's Bathroom Training

Su Li was somewhat tempted by the open source solution mentioned by Marshal Orstein.

Financial improvements ultimately came down to increasing revenue and reducing expenditure. As for the military, thanks to the blessing of the Sun Goddess, each of the two thousand or so soldiers had been granted abilities like Eagle Vision and Kill Seal. These were, in effect, badges of honor for participating in this epic victory. Each of them was a veteran, possessing exceptional combat prowess.

Since cutting them down is not a wise approach, the only option left is open source.

The key is that opening up sources of income is really in line with the current situation of the territory. An important reason why it is difficult for a general army to expand outward is that once it involves marching and fighting, military supplies become a money-eating beast, especially when a large number of troops are mobilized. Tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of pounds of food and fodder are consumed every day, and tens of thousands of pieces of military equipment are lost every month. In addition, there are the costs of conscripting civilians and transporting vehicles and horses. It can be said that gold coins are consumed like water, and the daily cost is thousands of gold.

However, the territory's current conquest scope is relatively limited, and it is all the blank areas between the power centers in the Hessen Territory and the Hessen Foothills, such as the Beastman Demon Rock hidden in the valley, the Greenskin Warlord Camp, the Goblin Tribe and the Plunderer Camp.

The fertile foothills make the empty lands between the various pioneering territories filled with dangerous groups of magical beasts and monster warbands.

As long as Orstein can ensure victory, he will always have the goal of clearing up.

After thoroughly clearing these targets, the territory's settlements can expand outward from the core area adjacent to the town area, gradually occupying the power vacuum areas where monsters previously survived.

As the territory gradually expands and its borders connect to other developed territories, the next step is naturally to expand the territory and conquer all directions.

But before that, what Su Li most desires right now is undoubtedly to enjoy a free and unrestrained life for a while!

The Green Dragon Crisis had finally passed, the Sword of Damocles hanging over his head lifted, and he could finally indulge himself and enjoy life without restraint for a while. This was the meaning of being a lord.

So after having a brief discussion with Marshal Orstein about the open source of the territory and asking Orstein to formulate a mopping-up plan, Su Li took him into the banquet hall.

Moonlight streamed through the stained glass windows like flowing silver gauze, casting a dazzling array of light and shadow across the banquet hall. The whale oil candles in the bronze chandeliers flickered as their chains swung, echoing the blazing fires in the three stone hearths in the corners. The flames illuminated the twelve gold-embroidered battle banners hanging from the dome like flaming banners.

As was the style of the Imperial Banquet Hall, during such celebrations, the long table was moved to the wall to make room for the knights to wrestle and fight.

Knights skewered chickens and lamb legs on their swords and grilled them. Oak barrels, so large they would take three to embrace, were pried open, and amber ale gurgled under the blows of dwarven copper axes. A knight of exceptional skill was carried on the shoulders of a drunken soldier, while a musician with foam on his beard blew a distorted triumphal melody from a bullhorn.

As Su Li entered the hall, he was hit by a wave of cheers. The wine jar with silver horns was immediately stuffed into his palm. The soldiers hit their shields with the backs of their swords and gave him bursts of warm cheers.

Everyone's eyes looking at him were burning with fanatical flames. When Su Li entered the arena holding a wine bottle, the knights drew their swords at the same time. The clanging sound temporarily overwhelmed the boiling crowd, and the bright sword edges reflected the golden emblem of the Bauhinia Family on the dome battle flag.

This is the commander who led them to victory time and time again. No matter how desperate the situation was, no matter how huge the enemy was, this young commander could always lead them from one peak of victory to another. The glorious victory of this battle reached the extreme!
How could this not drive the knights crazy? They all firmly believed that following the lord would surely bring them unparalleled glory!

Then the knights cheered, and all kinds of praise merged into one voice: "The Chosen One of the Blazing Sun! The Star of Light!"

"Sir, please speak to us!"

"My Lord, we are eagerly awaiting your every word!"

"Yes, Lord, we await your every instruction."

Amid the knights' cheers, Su Li walked to the main seat in the banquet hall. His generous voice was as loud as an eagle's: "My loyal soldiers, have any of you counted the number of the green dragon's minions? When those scaly bastards swarmed from the forest like maggots, even the sky was dyed the color of plague! When those dragon wings that covered the sky and obscured the sun crossed the sky, whose prayers tore through the poisonous fog?"

"It's the Sun Goddess! When Her Majesty Violet imbues us with holy fire, our swords will be sharper than dragon claws! When the hymn of prayer rings out, our spears will be able to pierce dragon scales and city walls!"

"Three months of bloody battles, ten times our number of green dragon minions, so what? Ha! How could those moss-covered beasts stand in the way of our iron cavalry, steadfast in the faith of the blazing sun? All the monsters were reduced to ash before our blades."

Then Su Li raised his glass and shouted to everyone, "Soldiers, drink this cup! Today we are not only drinking to victory, but also solemnly declaring that when the scorching sun cavalry treads on the land, even the land of chaos will bloom with flowers of light!"

All the knights cheered enthusiastically, and the atmosphere of the banquet reached its peak in an instant.

Su Li then ordered the knights to enjoy the banquet to their heart's content. Following his order, the door of the banquet hall was opened and the servants entered one after another, dragging silver plates covered with redbud patterns.

The main dish was roasted dragon ribs mixed with fragrant spices. When it was brought into the banquet hall, the fragrant aroma made a large number of knights stand up excitedly, and some even couldn't wait to reach out and grab it from the servants. For the delicious wyvern ribs, several people excitedly fought.

In this battle, humans killed a large number of wyverns, and the wingless bodies of the dragons left behind rich delicacies in the territory!

So the amount of dragon meat is definitely enough, just like the knights cheered, to turn the forest monsters into our granary and butcher shop!
Twelve halflings carried a three-cub-long cast iron grill into the gate. The fat from the roasting dragon meat dripped into the charcoal, making the frenzied atmosphere even more heated.

Su Li celebrated with a group of knights for a while, pushing the joyous atmosphere to the extreme, and then walked to the dazzling female knight leader Freya in the middle of the banquet hall with a glass of wine.

This cold-blooded female knight is a powerful champion knight who is rare in the territory and possesses both beauty and strength.

In the battle with the green dragon, she rode a half-griffin and led the Knights in launching a violent and fierce attack. Every time they attacked the monster line, it was their half-griffin Knights who opened a gap for the elite knights of the territory.

More than two hundred monsters died at her hands, and her hands were truly stained with life.

At this moment, she was holding a glass of golden brandy, her cold eyes staring at the duel between the two knights in the middle of the banquet hall.

The members of the Scarlet Night Knights performed exceptionally well in this battle and received generous blessings from the Goddess of the Fiery Sun.

A high-level elite knight who had been training in Bauhinia Castle for nearly ten years without any breakthrough, suddenly broke through to the champion level.

This made them overjoyed and further confirmed the rumor that had been circulating in Zijing Castle for a long time: that following Young Master Su Li would provide them with a large number of opportunities for breakthroughs.

This made many knights excited after the war and they wrote letters back to their relatives in the Earl of Bauhinia, asking the family's rangers to quickly head south to Hesse Castle to look for opportunities.

It was common knowledge that the number of Knights-Errant in the Empire was severely oversupplied. The entire Empire was filled with highly trained, highly educated Knights-Errant who had nowhere to go and nothing to do. They could not find any Kingdom Knights to pledge allegiance to, or any Kingdom Knights to plunder... or any Expeditions to uphold justice.

Even the job of serving as a stable security guard for the Kingdom Knights was snatched up by a dozen chivalrous knights.

After confirming that the Hessen Territory is full of opportunities, these knight-errants will surely rush over frantically to find a better way out for themselves.

While they were gathering reinforcements in the rear, they did not give up the idea of ​​challenging the Knights of the Corona and the Knights of the Hessian Guard.

After all, there are only a few knight orders in the territory, and the combat effectiveness of the Knights of the Sun of Vengeance is a bit too high. The level of champion knights per capita, plus the half-griffins as mounts, this is really not something the Knights of the Red Night can shake.

Moreover, in any imperial territory, the Demi-Griffin Knights are the elite among the elite and the ceiling of the entire empire's combat effectiveness. The members of the Red Night Knights can accept losing to the Demi-Griffin Knights.

But facing the Knights of the Corona and the Knights of the Hessian Guard, the Knights of the Red Night could not help but challenge them.

Before Su Li arrived, there had already been several duels in the banquet hall, and the Red Night Knights had successfully proven their strength! After they also obtained the Dragon Blood Stone and Light Scale Fish provided by Su Li, their strength also increased rapidly.

Su Li was certainly willing to spend money and invest in secular knight orders. This was especially true for the Scarlet Night Knights, a knight order formed by the Bauhinia Family and solely accepting orders from the Bauhinia Family Lord. Su Li's investment in them was significantly greater than that of the Church Knights.

Therefore, their strength and equipment are not inferior to those of the Knights of the Church, which is famous for its wealth, especially in terms of rings and amulets. Su Li gave them very generous rewards after the battle.

This led to a remarkable comeback for the Knights of Red Night at the banquet, achieving a 2-3 record against the Knights of the Black Forest Guard and a 3-3 record against the Knights of the Corona. The current battle represented the peak of the Corona and Red Night Knights' combat power, with both participating knights being champion-level warriors.

The champion knight of the Corona Knights held a perfect rune weapon, the [Star Hammer], which made a thunderous sound when it was swung. The hammer head made of vibranium was inlaid with powerful dwarven runes, and it was oozing liquid light. When the shining halberd of the Knights of the Red Night broke through the air, the golden trail left by the hammer's sweep almost condensed into a corpse in the air.

"It's time for your Night Shadow tricks to end!" With a roar from him, the scorching sun emblem on his armor burst into a brilliant golden light, and then he stomped his boots on the ground, and dazzling runes bloomed on the ground, evaporating all the spiritual energy of the Red Night Knights' ice and cold steel into holy flames and mist surrounding the battlefield.

This move immediately caused cheers from the surrounding knights, and the knights of the Corona Knights raised their glasses and cheered.

However, the champion knight of the Scarlet Night Knights was not at all flustered by the dazzling light. He leaned back to avoid the deadly arc of light, sneering beneath his visor: "The scorching sun is always so violent."

As the hammer shadows crisscrossed, his retreat suddenly paused. In the split second that seemed to elude him, he grasped the long shaft of his halberd in his right hand and unleashed a Phoenix Piercing Flower move, accurately piercing through the heavy hammer shadows and striking the Corona Knight in the chest, completely interrupting his attack and sending him stumbling back. But once they had gained distance, the halberd's advantage was evident!
This immediately caused the knights in the secular territory to burst into enthusiastic cheers that almost blew off the roof.

Even Su Li, an elite knight, could see the perfection and elegance of this attack. It was just like an antelope hanging its horns, with exquisite and tricky angles.

Su Li then held up his wine glass and said to Freya with a smile, "This scene seems familiar. After such a tragic battle, being able to reminisce with old friends is the most joyful thing, isn't it? Captain Freya, do you want to gamble again?"

Freya withdrew her cold gaze from the others in the field and looked up at Su Li. The corners of her icy face lifted slightly as she said calmly, "Lord, do you remember what you said before? When a member of the opposite sex takes the initiative to ask you for a bet, you've already lost."

"Oh, really?" Su Li said with a smile, "But didn't I tell you another sentence later? When a woman makes a bet with a man, no matter whether they win or lose, the man always wins."

Freya stared at him, a cold light flickering in her eyes, and then she said calmly, "Then it seems I will never let you lose. What do you want to bet, Lord?"

Su Li took out the erotic brass bell from his pocket, then reached behind Freya's bun and tied the bell to her headband. He said, "Just like the bet we made before, bet on who will win and who will lose. If you win, the brass bell and headband will remain hanging in the same place. If I win, you have to obey me and I will put them in the right place."

This brass bell is from the body of a poisonous snake, which is nicknamed the Nako snake by the imperial soldiers. This bell is not hung on the head or the neck.

It is a very exciting position, in the middle of a vast expanse of white.

Only when Freya was tied to the head of the bed by Su Li with a hairband was Su Li able to hang the brass bell on her.

Freya frowned, looked at him and asked, "Is it that simple? You've done all of this before, and now you're satisfied with just doing this?"

Of course there’s more than that!

But when Freya's hands were tied with her hairband, wasn't the rest up to Su Li to decide?

Su Li did not answer, but looked towards the center of the field and asked: "If you don't make a choice, the battle will be over."

Freya glanced at the battle and said, "Of course I still choose the champion of our knight order."

"Then you lose!" Su Li immediately raised his hand, took off her blue hairband, tied her fair hands together, and helped her stand up.

And sure enough, after they left, the knights of the Red Night Knights successfully defeated the Corona Knights and won back a round of honor.

Su Li had already expected all this. Freya would not let her lose.

"Where are you taking me?" Freya immediately sensed something was wrong when she saw Su Li holding her hand with a hairband and leaving the banquet hall directly instead of going to the bedroom.

Su Li raised the corner of his mouth and said with a smile: "You will know soon."

When Su Li pushed open a wooden door engraved with the golden statue of Shaurya, the steam inside looked like a silver curtain in the moonlight. Freya immediately understood where this place was.

The territory's newly renovated bathroom! Freya just couldn't understand why Su Li wanted to bring her here today. It's not like they haven't taken a couple's bath before.

But Su Li did not explain. He simply took her bound hands and led her into the bathtub.

The warm spring water flowed over Freya's round legs and reached the slender waist of the female knight, making it more inconvenient for the bound female knight to move, and even turning around was a little difficult.

Su Li stood behind her, his fingertips brushing against the buckles on Freya's armor. Amid the tinkling sound of metal parts dropping into the bathtub, the curve of the female knight's shoulder blades loomed in the steam, like an ice-white swan about to flap its wings.

"My Lord, you should know," Freya leaned back in Su Li's arms, her hair creating golden ripples on the water, "the knights of the church are dedicated to the goddess with both body and soul."

But as she spoke, the armor had already fallen to the ground with a clang, and the white and delicate body was hidden in the mist.

Su Li approached her from behind, put his arms around her front, and tied the brass bell that had been prepared long ago to a soft, snow-white spot. The coldness of the metal made Freya tremble all over, and the light sound of the bell tongue hitting the inner wall was particularly crisp under the dome.

Su Li smiled and said, "But female knights also need decorations, just like holy statues always wear pearl crowns."

"This is blasphemy..." Her rebuke was evaporated by the sudden close body temperature. Before she could adapt to this sudden intimacy, her body suddenly became unstable and she was firmly trapped in the spot.

The next moment, she saw what bound her. Magical vines were quietly growing from the cracks in the bathtub, their emerald green stems, wet with night dew, climbing up to the knight's ankles. Freya wanted to retreat, but found herself entangled in a web of vines—thorny rose branches wrapped around her knees, honeysuckle vines gathered into a delicate slipknot at her waist, each leaf perfectly concealing the stigmata that should never be seen.

Moonlight filtered through the bars of the arched window, casting a prison-like shadow on the tangled limbs. Su Li's hairband flew between his fingers, binding Freya's wrists to the obsidian griffin head carved into the wall. This symbolic gesture made the female knight bite her lower lip—she finally understood why Su Li had brought her to this bathhouse. It was a truly elaborate water dungeon!

In the mist, Su Li stroked the pale red mark left by the vines. "This is the trophy we obtained from the tree demon in this battle. According to Lunadesan, its name is Hypericum vine, and it is the best carrier for Tal's foot binding technique."

Then he whispered into Freya's burning earlobe, "Do you know why I chose this plant? This magical plant only grows on creatures that have been contaminated by the blood of a green dragon. The more they struggle, the stronger the fragrance becomes."

Freya immediately bit her lips. This was an enchanted item that was perfectly designed for her.

Li's fingertips brushed against the emerald green veins of the Hypericum vine. As if sensing the scent of dragon blood, the vines blossomed into pearly buds at Freya's ankles. The steaming mist, laced with the sweet fragrance of honeysuckle, tinged the knight's usually cool breath with a damp tremor.

"The seventh canticle says," Freya tried to calm her turbulent heartbeat with prayer, but the sudden tightening of the rose thorns choked her breath. Dew-soaked thorns traced her spine, weaving a hidden scripture in the shadows where the moonlight could not reach—each vine pattern perfectly covering the stigmata, the forbidden mark beneath the robes of the church's knights.

The obsidian griffin at the edge of the bath suddenly opened its ruby-encrusted eyes, illuminating the bell on Freya's chest like a blazing sun. The statue of Sharya, which Su Li had long ago placed, began to take effect. Its primary function was to increase a creature's resilience. Every time Freya struggled to close her knees, the brass bells clamped around her fair body vibrated in unison with the resilient vines, their delicate tinkling creating golden ripples across the water.

The Hypericum vines quickly grew wildly, stretching Freya's slender neck like a bowstring in the moonlight. Freya instinctively tensed her waist, trying to break free, only to have more vines slither up her fair body. The moonstone cast shadows of the entwined vines on her snow-white skin, like the secret patterns of some ancient tribe. When the thorny vine tip brushed against her waist, she finally let out a suppressed moan, her neck arching like a dying swan on the battlefield.

"Shh—" Su Li pressed his thumb against the center of her violently heaving collarbone, where the brass bell she was wearing floated up. "The Knight Commander should use his body to remember that some battles don't require sword and shield."

Freya's teeth, biting her lower lip, suddenly loosened as she felt the vine's juice seep into her veins through the wound. Something hotter than dragon blood coursed through her limbs, transforming the humiliation of being bound into a shuddering pleasure. As she realized she had voluntarily entangled her wrists deeper in the hairband, the moonlight illuminated the flames flickering in Su Li's eyes—a light more dangerous than any chain.

"Now," Su Li picked up a wine bottle filled with wine and love potion from the table next to the bathtub: "It's time to test the piety of the Knight of the Fiery Sun." The bright red wine flowed along the rim of the glass and formed a stream on Freya's slender collarbone. When the first drop of wine slid down the collarbone and dripped onto the bell, the whole bathroom was filled with mist.

The water surface shook violently, and columns of water shot up into the sky. Amidst the curtain of falling water droplets, the bells on the female knight's chest played a trill of victory, unveiling the prelude to Su Li's wonderful life in the next period of time!

(End of this chapter)