Knight Lord: Start with Daily Intelligence.

Chapter 282 The Temptation of a Wife and a Short Journey

Are you going to Maleburg?

Judging from Su Li's personality, he definitely doesn't want to run around.

He can stay at home. As long as the territory is safe and sound, he can stay here and farm for ten thousand years until he becomes strong enough to be invincible in the world.

Anyway, there are delicious food, beautiful scenery and beautiful women in the territory who always accompany him in his practice.

He didn't know how comfortable his life was.

So Su Li said directly, "I definitely don't want to travel thousands of miles to Maleburg, sleeping in the open air. But the problem is that the territory's current finances really can't last for a few months, and may not even last until the harvest season."

With a monthly financial expenditure of nearly 7000 gold crowns, Su Li obviously could not sustain it with the remaining ten thousand gold coins in his hand.

The territory's financial revenue was not evenly distributed every month. Before the harvest season arrived, the territory's finances were indeed unable to support expenses.

Highly valuable crops like the Blessed Wisteria pods, Star Dew Oranges, and Amethyst Grapes only ripen once a year. Last year, Su Li only harvested them once in the autumn.

This means that the territory's financial situation is best during the autumn harvest, while the period between spring and summer before the autumn harvest is basically the most difficult.

As a lord, if he didn't think about how to improve his finances, he would only have two options left. One was to use the women's money and ask Ingrid and Hilde to sponsor him. These two women were willing to dedicate themselves to him and would definitely donate every copper coin. As for Alyria, there was no way around it. Taking gold coins from the dragon would be no less than taking her life.

Another way was to sell his assets. He still had a lot of slaves and fertile land. If he wanted to, he could sell 1000 to 2000 slaves or tens of thousands of acres of fertile land and cash in tens of thousands of gold crowns.

But to be honest, Su Li didn't really want to use these two methods. After all, he still had many ways to make money, and all he had to do was go to Marley Castle.

He had accumulated a lot of auction items for this trip last year, and he could auction them all off at once and make a huge fortune.

Otherwise, the territory will have no choice but to cancel all construction projects and reduce the territory's development speed to zero.

This price is even more unacceptable to Su Li! Letting the territory's development stagnate for several months will greatly affect the territory's growth and increase the risk of the entire territory encountering a crisis.

Now, the territory's finances are barely maintaining a fragile balance of income and expenditure under the strenuous operation of the Provincial Council.

However, any crisis could cause the territory's finances to collapse, such as the interruption of caravans or trade routes, or an invasion by a herd of howling beasts.

The probability of all this happening is still quite high, and no one can guarantee whether an evil army of monsters will appear on a certain trade route.

Compared with all this, Su Li was still more accepting of a trip to Maleburg. At most, he could just treat it as a trip.

He just hated the bumpy journey and the need to sleep in the open air. In his opinion, wasting a month or two on the road was a waste of life.

At this moment, Sylvanas flicked her fingers gracefully and said, "If my lord dislikes the long journey and the hardships of sleeping in the open air, I do have a way to circumvent it and quickly reach Maleburg. I think you wouldn't mind going to Maleburg and enjoying its luxurious life and atmosphere."

Of course~
Even the biggest homebody will be motivated to go to a foot massage parlor and have an intimate conversation with a foot massage therapist.

If Su Li could bypass the twists and turns of the journey and the crises on the road and appear directly in Maleburg to experience a different kind of affluent life and aristocratic enjoyment, then he would naturally be very happy.

After all, there is no risk in this kind of thing. He hates wandering around because of the risks he might encounter, but he doesn't hate going directly to the club to enjoy himself.

Besides, Maleburg really has many opportunities to further leverage the advantages of its intelligence system.

Su Li asked decisively: "How can you achieve all this? Is it some kind of elf magic?"

Su Li didn’t remember any teleportation magic in this world. Even the spells of heaven couldn’t do it, let alone her Ji Lun magic as a wood elf!
Sylvanas chuckled, closed the book in her hand, shook the page at Su Li, and said, "Ah, Lord, are you so impatient to ask this? At least..." She deliberately dragged out her tone, a mischievous smile flashing in her eyes, "Can you at least treat me to a fine dinner at the Bauhinia Palace? And by the way, let us sit down and plan our 'itinerary' in detail. After all, who can make wise decisions on an empty stomach?"

Su Li smiled and said, "You're right. I should have had dinner with the Deputy Head a long time ago."

Sylvana snorted softly and said coquettishly, "Just in the name of the Vice Captain?"

Su Li raised the corner of his mouth. Could it be that I can be easily controlled by you?

He was enjoying this ambiguity and the process of pushing and pulling. He wasn't in a hurry at all. Even if his lust was aroused, he could always go find Ingrid or Freya and have a pleasant practice with them.

Men should always prepare more options for themselves so that they can be more calm when facing women.

If you want anything, you will suffer, but if you don't have desire, you will be strong.

He doesn't have any urgent need to get anything from Sylvanas now, so it will be easier to control him.

The more you do this, the easier it is to get a woman. If you really act impatient, this little green tea girl might even be tempted to refuse.

As Su Li entered the restaurant, the servants in the castle soon prepared dinner.

As a lord, his dinner was very sumptuous. The appetizers alone included foie gras with pan-fried bread slices, smoked mullet salad, rich Hessian onion soup, pan-fried clams with lemon butter sauce, black truffle-soaked olives from Blood Pine Forest, vanilla caramel pudding cheese, cold truffle Suran noodles, Blood Pine Forest berry tart, creative lake crab meat soup, and so on.

They are all specialties of the territory. Although they are not expensive, they are sweet and delicious.

This made Su Li realize that this little green tea girl was not as scheming as he had imagined. At least when it came to enjoying herself, she seemed very naive.

Su Li only took a few bites of cold fruits and a few pieces of vanilla cheese, then put down his knife and fork. He then looked at the elf girl opposite him who was almost finishing all the appetizers. He was sure that she had never participated in any luxurious banquet of the empire.

Then he smiled and asked, "Don't you want to save some room for the main course? I see you've finished all the appetizers. Will you be able to eat more later?"

Sylvanas was wearing an emerald green velvet dress, which was probably her most expensive piece of clothing. The pair of beautiful legs exposed under the skirt reflected the light of the candlestick, and their whiteness was dazzling.

She raised her head in surprise and looked at Su Li with wide eyes: "Ah? I thought that was all."

Immediately, a blush spread across her fair cheeks. She remained silent and elegant, not discussing the matter at hand. She simply wanted to demonstrate her commitment: this man must accompany her throughout the entire dinner before she would discuss the details of their trip to Maleburg.

Ended up eating only appetizers?

I'm afraid that all the elegance I have maintained for so long will be exposed this time.

But she was in a good mood and quickly adjusted herself. She gently tucked her hair behind her ears, appearing particularly gentle and charming. Then she smiled calmly and said, "It's okay. I can take away any that I can't finish and give it to the children of the Knights. They have never tasted such rich and delicious food before."

Su Li nodded slightly. This deputy leader might indeed be proficient in tea art, but his dedication to the Knights of the Arrow of Light was absolutely sincere.

In order to prove the worth of the Knights of Green, she can duel with the strongest champion knight in the territory without hesitation, regardless of life or death, and risk everything.

In order to help the development of the Knights, she was able to chat and gossip, ignoring other people's eyes and everyone's ridicule, and stayed in the Bauhinia Palace.

Even facing this somewhat embarrassing situation, she was able to directly and calmly fight for the interests of the children of the Knights.

Su Li still had some respect for this woman. In some ways, she was even braver than himself. So Su Li raised his glass, shook it towards Sylvanas, and said, "To the respected Master of the Knights."

Sylvana lifted the wine glass with both hands, took a sip, and asked, "My Lord, I heard that your territory has some special wine that can make people's love surge and ripple. Could this be it?"

This woman is really good.

She asked after she had finished drinking it. Doesn't this imply that Su Li can use this fine wine on her and do whatever he wants?
Su Li smiled and said, "Amethyst wine is not on the market yet. If you, the deputy leader, want to taste it, I can give you a bottle after the autumn harvest."

"But for now, let's talk about how long you think it will take to get to Maleburg."

Sylvanas then put down her knife and fork and said slowly, "My Lord, I know your biggest concern about reaching Maleburg is the long journey. Furthermore, the journey is tiring and full of dangers. Therefore, you have to bring a large number of guards, but a large number of people will slow down the march. This trip may take you away from the territory for two months."

That’s right, this is the situation that Su Li hates very much. He has been away from the territory for two months. How much information and development opportunities must have been missed?
Su Li looked at Sylvanas with burning eyes and asked, "Do you have any good ideas to solve this problem?"

Sylvanas gracefully lifted her right leg, crossing her two pairs of luminous white legs. Then, she lifted her heavy chest, showcasing her slender figure to the fullest, and slowly said, "That's a good idea. I don't have one either. Many people have considerable misunderstandings about the magical abilities of elves. Magic is a very material form of energy, and it's impossible to realize any fantastical ideas."

"But I think you could completely change your approach and bring a unit of air cavalry to quickly cross the border prince's territory. I've been reading a lot of information in your study recently, and the territory's current air cavalry is very impressive. His Excellency, High Chamberlain Hilde, rides a griffin, and the territory also has two Pegasus Knights, both champion-level. This is more than enough to support the core of your guard."

"Then there are three giant eagles and two squads of swan knights in the territory. I think with this size of air cavalry, you can definitely form a fast and mobile guard, like the War Eagle Knights."

"War Eagle Knight?" Su Li's eyes lit up, and she understood Sylvanas's implication. This was obviously closely related to their Knights Templar and the famous elves' military force. She was also inspired by this.

Warhawks are a much younger species of bird than the Giant Eagle, but they are still very intelligent, far more intelligent than any "normal" bird. These falcons originated in the Elven Realm Forest, and most still reside there, though some legends claim that some have traveled far to find new nesting spots elsewhere, so it's not surprising to see them in the World's Edge Mountains.

Though most Wood Elves dwell within the shelter of the forests, some yearn to journey to the sparsely forested highlands of the Grey Mountains, and thus a strange kinship has grown between the two races. On the middle slopes of the mountains, elven settlements are fashioned close to the great rock spires where war eagles nest, their nests adorned with the sun-bleached bones of those who dare to trespass upon their territory.

These hawks typically grow much larger than their counterparts elsewhere in the Old World. Their massive size and wide wingspan allow them to carry a rider. A common way for a Wood Elf to form a bond with a Warhawk is for him or her to find eggs or chicks abandoned in a treetop and then hatch or raise them.

A fledgling warhawk raised by an elf will develop a strong bond with its master, becoming almost one over time, existing solely for the thrill of the hunt and the chase. These warhawk riders scout their territory for intruders and expertly guide their mounts through the woods to attack them. Those who ride warhawks display remarkable agility and balance, able to fire precise arrows as their mounts gallop through the forest. In such circumstances, a group of intruders who stray into Pine Rocks and other mountainous regions will face not only the enraged warhawks but also the equally enraged elves—a rash move many a dwarven expedition has suffered dearly.

Sylvanas leaned back gracefully in her chair and said, "Other factions don't have the ability to form such air cavalry, but we in the Black Forest have more than enough flying mounts. You can bring a small team of guards with you on this trip, riding one griffin, two Pegasus, three giant eagles, and six gray swans. The human cavalry will be responsible for security and defense, and the six halflings will be responsible for your business transactions."

"You don't have to worry about your safety. If someone could truly threaten this level of protection, they would be at least Legendary. In the face of such a crisis, it would be useless for you to stay in the territory; you wouldn't be any safer."

"And streamlining the guards is a very wise decision. Even if you bring a large number of guards, you won't be allowed to enter Maraisburg after arriving. It would be better to bring only a small team of elites; at least they can all follow you into the city."

Su Li nodded slowly. It turned out that different races had different perspectives.

Human military operations prioritize large numbers of tough and heavy armored cavalry, but the elves place more emphasis on mobility and flexibility.

Sylvanas's proposal was undoubtedly a well-considered one. As she had said, if even this escort failed, then he wouldn't be safe anywhere. After all, his escort was none other than the God's Chosen, Hildurde, along with two Pegasus Knights, three druids, and elves, who could provide spellcasting support.

As long as they don't encounter a very powerful single enemy, no one can threaten this team. After all, if the opponent is large in scale, its mobility will definitely not be able to catch up with the air cavalry led by Su Li.

Su Li thought about it carefully and felt that there was no problem. Then he turned to Hirud and asked, "What do you think?"

Hildurd pondered carefully for a moment and said, "I think this plan is very good. Its biggest advantage is its extreme speed. In all martial arts, speed is the only way to defeat them. Given the mobility of our cavalry, almost no enemy can catch up with us. If we march at full speed, we can make the round trip in about one cycle. Even if we include the transaction time in Maleburg, we can return in less than two weeks."

"But this transaction can greatly increase our wealth and promote the development of our territory. If you don't like leaving the territory, I can go to Maleburg on your behalf."

Su Li waved his hand decisively and said, "Then let's go together. I can't stand the fear and anxiety in the territory, letting you leave me for half a month and taking risks."

Of course, more importantly, if Maleburg could be reached in just a few days, Su Li would still like to visit this most prosperous commercial city in the southern part of the empire.

The last time he passed through Maleburg, Su Li only had a few hundred gold crowns at his disposal. It can be said that he had never witnessed the prosperity and wealth of Maleburg.

After all, whether you descend from the sky on a griffin to the wealthy upper class of Maleburg, or walk hurriedly through the slave market in the lower class of Maleburg, the scenery of Maleburg you see is completely different!
However, the most important thing is the wife that Su Li has been thinking about, Sister Bei.

This is a top-notch goddess who has the blood of the Moon Priestess. Practicing knighthood with her can really improve your strength.

Although Su Li always enjoys himself with the female knights in the name of cultivation, except for the brief period when Hildurde wore the dwarf's treasure, the golden hair comb, the enjoyment cannot help him improve his strength.

This is more of a psychological effect. As for Su Li's elite-level strength, the strength below the elite level was entirely accumulated by eating fire-velvet rabbit meat. The breakthrough to the elite level was entirely due to Hirud leading him in practice, helping him adjust his breathing method, and then breaking through to the extraordinary world.

There's no need to be discouraged by this kind of thing. Some people are geniuses in spiritual practice, while others are relatively mediocre.

A sign that a person is becoming more mature is that he gradually realizes the reality that he is just an ordinary person.

Su Li had long since come to terms with this reality. He was no freak in cultivation. Even Hildreth wasn't a genius compared to those true legends and divinely chosen knights. It was only through a baptism of divine grace that she was reborn, becoming a peerless genius in cultivation.

Su Li didn't have this kind of baptism opportunity, so his talent was naturally still within the ordinary range. So from the perspective of ordinary people, he was actually very brilliant.

You should know that among the ordinary knights of the empire, those who can break through to the elite level are all those who have been among the best and have made great achievements since childhood.

Since childhood, they have been the children of other people's families in their parents' eyes. In a school or a training camp, they have always been firmly in the forefront, shining their light on countless peers, making it difficult for ordinary people to catch up.

Then, only such a knight, who is one in a hundred and always surpasses his peers, will break through to become an elite knight.

But even for such an elite knight, it would take half a year to break through from the initial rank of trainee knight to the intermediate rank of trainee knight. It would take several years, or even more than ten or twenty years to break through and become an elite knight.

It only took Su Li one year to advance from an apprentice knight to the elite level. He was probably not much different from those peerless geniuses, but he was not as good as a few people like Hilde and Orstein.

But if he has Sister Bei, with Su Li's frequency of "knight training", he will really be able to "rise up at the sound of the cock-crow", "the early bird catches the worm", "diligence can make up for lack of talent", and "work hard day and night"!
With his enthusiasm for enjoyment, his spiritual practice is bound to make rapid progress!
It's a rapid development, in every sense of the word.

Sister Bei wants to release her moonlight so that she can help the man who pleases her to make rapid progress in strength.

I don’t know whether this trip to Maleburg will allow me to have a wonderful encounter with this beautiful married woman.

Thinking of this, Su Li was full of anticipation for this journey and made arrangements: "Have Fandral come to see me and open the door to the vault area. We will take out some treasures and bring them to Maraisburg for auction."

Su Li had quite a few good things in his hands, but this trip would be by air cavalry, light cavalry, and fast horses, so he definitely couldn't bring a lot of luggage, big or small boxes.

If we put aside the necessary food supplies, luggage, military tents, tools, flags, etc., there would not be much that could be carried.

Then you have to carefully select some precious props to bring with you so that you can get the maximum value.

If nothing unexpected happens, Su Li will not move for at least a year and a half after this trip.

Even this time, he was compelled and tempted by various circumstances. The allure of a married woman, the territory's financial crisis, and the need to build momentum for the territory's upcoming tournament—all these factors combined to compel him to embark on this journey to Maleburg, a journey that would last only a few days.

(End of this chapter)