Knight Lord: Start with Daily Intelligence.

Chapter 337 Increased Gem Pool Resource Output and Hela the Snake Woman's Knight Training

Vidag was overjoyed after acquiring the jade growth rings.

She excitedly waved her little fist: "Now we're no longer afraid of goblins, goblins, and ratmen sneaking into our gem pool! As long as we plant this guardian at the key entrance to the gem pool, any monster that dares to approach will be riddled with holes!"

Su Li was also stunned by the combat power of this Emerald Ring Guardian. A magic missile it casually launched was almost as powerful as a strike from a Champion Knight.

If the elite knights were caught off guard and hit by such a blade, they would be instantly severely injured, or even lose their fighting ability.

Aside from being unable to move, these guards have almost no drawbacks. Logically speaking, if Vidag had such a plant guard army, even just 20-30 wouldn't be a problem.

It wouldn't be easy for a squadron of knights to storm their position. Of course, knights have a unique advantage in mobility, and with proper tactics, they can create local numerical superiority and eventually take it down. It's just that the casualty ratio would be very poor.

Thranville carefully observed the Emerald Ring Guard for a moment and said, "My lord, I think we can use this Emerald Ring when we set up camp. It's simply the perfect guard legion."

“That’s right.” Su Li nodded. “Especially at night, it can perfectly defend against enemy night attacks. And during the day, it can stop them from attacking and effectively avoid friendly fire.”

However, this thing is too expensive to build, and its most important function at present is undoubtedly to guard the gem pool.

With these guards, the defensive pressure on the Gem Pool will be greatly relieved, and Su Li will no longer need to station a large number of troops here.

Vidag was also very excited, as it meant she could finally expand the gem pool. So she kept pestering Hela to make her more emerald rings.

Su Li had basically finished what she needed to do here and should return to the Bauhinia Manor to rest and cultivate.

But seeing Hela's enthusiastic and reluctant-to-leave demeanor, he couldn't bear to leave immediately, after all, he would have to leave Thranville too. As agreed, Thranville left, and Hela had to leave as well.

Although Vidag and Hela are currently on relatively good terms, Su Li is not a country bumpkin like Trump, whose words are as reliable as farts and whose credibility lasts no more than five minutes. They can't just reach an agreement one minute and then change it the next.

So he stayed there for a while, and with nothing else to do, he carefully checked Seranville's cultivation progress.

He was shocked when he found out: "You're already at the peak of the high-level elite stage? Aren't you about to break through to the champion stage?"

Thranville's long, light blue hair flowed smoothly down to her knees. The condensed water droplets from her fever reflected the gentle sunlight. In her azure eyes, inherited from her elven blood, it was as if the floating ice crystals had transformed into a cascading galaxy, filled with a mysterious aura.

Her eyes shimmered with a mysterious and captivating light, and a faint smile played on her lips as she said, "My lord, thanks to the effects of the gem pool, my cultivation speed is quite fast. Perhaps it's because the early stages are relatively easy."

Su Li nodded. This was indeed true for geniuses. Even someone as strong as Hilde, who progressed rapidly in the early stages of cultivation, found it increasingly difficult to advance once she reached the God-Chosen level.

Since the war ended, her strength hasn't broken through to the intermediate champion level. It's been almost a year, and she hasn't made any progress.

If Thranville wants to cultivate to the legendary level, it will probably take a very long time. It's normal for her to cultivate faster in the early stages.

Su Li and Seranville had many intimate encounters. Although her body was not as sensitive as Freya's, the contrast was the greatest. Underneath her dress, her fair skin would turn into a warm pinkish hue during cultivation.

So Su Li pulled her into his arms, his An Lushan-like claws restlessly caressing her cool, slender legs as he said, "Then let's go back to the manor tonight, and I'll give you some guidance on your cultivation so you can break through to the champion level as soon as possible."

Although there weren't many people around, and Vidag and Hela were busy preparing the balm, Thranville still lowered her head shyly.

The most beautiful scenery in the world is the gentleness of a young girl lowering her head, like a water lily shyly trembling in the cool breeze.

Thranville knew she couldn't refuse, so she could only lower her head and whisper, "Mm."

Su Li smiled and kissed her on the cheek, then had Ariana bring over the rare-grade armor.

"Come, try on this Bloodforged Gold Plate Armor. This is a rare vibranium armor forged by the dwarven master blacksmith Torek Ironbrow."

Although this rare vibranium armor doesn't contain aether and can't be used in god-general mode, it's still a truly rare plate armor.

Even a baron or earl would treasure such a rare set of armor and display it in the most magnificent exhibition hall.

Moreover, this armor is very suitable for Thranville's Ice Valkyrie bloodline. In addition to the [Cold Steel Rune] and [Crown of Honor] that the Blazing Soul Law has, it also has a third rune trait: the Shield Rune.

[Shield Rune – This rune was originally forged during the War of Vengeance, when the entire dwarven army would carry it to the battlefield to defend against the arrows and magic projectiles of the high elves.]

After this rune is inscribed on the Vibranium Rune Armor, it will give the knight a powerful runic shield, making the already defensively-oriented Ice Valkyrie even more formidable.

It's no exaggeration to say that if an enemy were to strike her with all their might, it's uncertain whether she would be injured; the attacker would most likely be frozen solid by the backlash of their bloodline power. This continued until the vibranium plate armor was completely destroyed, and the shields, runes, and other protective mechanisms lost their effectiveness.

When Seranville saw Su Li personally put the armor on her, her eyes widened in astonishment, her tone filled with disbelief: "My lord, are you bestowing such precious armor upon me?"

This is a rare-grade vibranium rune armor! There are only two sets in the entire territory. Even Marshal Orstein and Steward Hilde don't have rare-grade armor.

The only set of rare plate armor in the territory was given to Mor's Chosen Demst, but that was because Demst really risked his life to fight his way through the Slug Realm, killing countless succubi and fighting for a long time before bringing back the Rose of Fire, which was the lord's encouragement to him.

Regardless, they were chosen knights, so this treatment was normal. Everyone could understand the rationale behind such a reward.

Even Thranville herself never imagined that she would receive a second rare-grade armor!

What merit do I possess? Aside from my faster cultivation speed, my strength is merely that of an elite knight, and my origins are even more humble.

To this day, she still can't figure out why the lord favors her so much.

The fact that she might cultivate to the legendary level was known only to Su Li and Hilde, so she felt that the lord had given her the greatest favoritism in the world.

Perhaps every woman can't resist a man telling her, "You are the most unique one to me."

Su Li smiled and helped her put on her armor, then said, "Once the Glorious Arena ends, it's time to launch the war against Blue Mirror Territory. Wearing this armor on the battlefield will give you a greater guarantee of safety. Your safety is priceless; if anything happens to you, I'll regret it immensely."

Seranville hugged Su Li tightly, both shy and excited, and looked up at him with her eyes: "My lord, since my parents passed away, you have been the best person to me in this world, and the only person I care about in this world. I will definitely repay you with all my might in the future."

Su Li patted her on the back and said with a smile, "Let's not talk about the future, let's do it tonight. Female knight, let me see how you tame this wild horse."

Thranville lowered her head shyly, and Vidag's curious voice came from the side: "What are you talking about? I don't understand. Why is taming the wild horse her way of repaying you?"

Su Li turned to look at Vidag, who was peeking around between the two of them, clearly unaware of these things.

"Children shouldn't pry into adults' affairs."

Vidag smiled helplessly. Although she was a primitive girl, she also had the gentleness of a woman and was not savage or unruly.

Then she asked, "I heard you just talking about rare-level armor. Do you have enough aether?"

Su Li shook his head and said, "No, the rare-grade armor we've crafted doesn't contain any Ether. We're all waiting for you to provide this high-grade metal. Your gem pool has expanded, so the production of Ether and Laurel Gems should increase, right?" "Of course," Vidag proudly puffed out his chest and said, "My gem pool has doubled in size, and it can produce 10 jin of Ether and 4 Laurel Gems per month. But our agreement is that you'll receive 5 jin of Ether and 2 Laurel Gems per month as rent. If you want more resources, we'll have to renegotiate the terms."

Su Li smiled and spoke calmly: "If you rent 5 li of my land as your home, the rent is 5 jin of Ether Gold and 2 Laurel Gems. If you rent 10 li of my land as your home, the rent is still 5 jin of Ether Gold and 2 Laurel Gems?"

Hearing Su Li's words, Vidag's puffed-out chest lost some of its confidence. She hesitated for a moment and asked, "So what do you want? Do you want to raise the price?"

"Your resource point has been upgraded, so the output should naturally increase as well. But we're good friends, so we can discuss it. What other conditions would you like to achieve?"

Vidag's face lit up with a happy smile again: "The condition is that you have to get Hela to refine two Emerald Rings for me every month. However, I don't have any clove trees, so I need you to give me two more clove trees."

Su Li calmly nodded: "Okay, it's decided then. Let's negotiate amicably. You give me more resources, and I'll give you more discounts, 5 miles of land as a gift, and two more trees in front of your house."

Vidag immediately cheered excitedly, "Human lord, I may have really misjudged you before. You will indeed be a good friend. I only have 20 pounds of Ether left, and I'll give it all to you. Also, I still have quite a few Laurel Gems, so I'll give you 20 as a gift."

This little girl may be young, but she is truly straightforward and generous in her actions and behavior.

Su Li smiled and said, "Alright, then I'll accept them all. After the extraordinary spirit trees in my territory mature in the fall, I'll bring you gifts. I'll also give you 20 Blessed Wisteria Tree pods and 2 Star Dew Sweet Oranges, so you can taste different delicacies."

"Is this what you humans call reciprocity? It seems pretty good. We didn't spend any money, but we got a lot of good things."

Su Li waved to her: "Then I'll say goodbye to my good friend who's been giving me this courtesy. I have to go back and prepare for the upcoming territory festival. Take good care of your gem pool. I'll transfer all my troops to maintain order in the arena."

Vidag waved his hand confidently: "Go ahead and transfer. With Emerald Rings guarding this place, not even a leaf in the wind can escape our notice."

Su Li nodded to Hela, glanced at the time; it was already dusk, and the golden sunlight cast long shadows on everyone. He had waited a long time so that Hela could stay in the spice garden a little longer.

"Let's go back to the manor. You can come back here again tomorrow morning, but don't linger too long. Remember that you also have a home in the Bauhinia Manor."

Hela lowered her head shyly. This trip back with the lord wasn't just a simple return to the manor to rest; she would have to serve the lord in bed. Nevertheless, she followed closely behind Su Li, her cheeks flushed as if she were burning with fever.

Back at the Bauhinia Manor, Su Li didn't visit the Fantasy Cottage. This was mainly because Su Li enjoyed experiencing different species, while Ingrid had no interest in that. There was already a green dragon in her treehouse, and Ariria was currently asleep.

Bringing over another snake woman completely disrupted Ingrid's quiet retreat, so Su Li took Hela to the castle's bedroom.

Without a doubt, this is an environment more similar to Hela's hometown, with flowers blooming in abundance and their fragrance filling the night sky.

As Hela passed by the Mooncrown Tree, she couldn't help but look up at this extraordinary plant that radiated moonlight and asked, "My lord, is this a spice produced specifically for this territory?"

Su Li stood beside her and looked up. The Moon Crown Tree could be described as graceful and expansive, especially at night. Its huge canopy covered the entire courtyard, and even from the foot of the mountain looking towards the castle, one could see the tree full of white flowers as dazzling as moonlight.

Hela had seen this tree from afar before, but this was the first time she had been so close. It truly gave her a sense of home; she could go anywhere in this manor and castle whenever she wanted.

Su Li stroked his chin and said, "Your question really hits the nail on the head. Is it really not a spice? It has a wonderfully fragrant aroma that is very pleasant. But we mainly use its moon crown flowers for quenching, and no one has ever actually eaten it."

Its aroma is somewhat similar to that of locust flowers, and its color is also quite similar, but it's much prettier. Moreover, it doesn't bloom during the day, and no one dares to damage this tree, since it's closely related to the fate of the entire territory. So, no one really knows whether it counts as an ingredient.

However, if locust flowers are a famous ingredient, then the more perfect, more fragrant, and more delicate 'Moon Crown' flower should theoretically also be a top-tier ingredient.

Hela asked cautiously, "Can I try it?"

“Of course.” Su Li smiled and waved to her, saying, “Go ahead, picking a few won’t be a problem. Every night, the Sisters of Dawn come and pick dozens of flowers to give to the dwarves. They worry that picking the flowers will cause some disasters or losses to the territory, but I think it’s like what the Rhea’s teachings say: the Goddess of Dawn encourages generosity but opposes greed. Moderate picking can make the territory’s arms manufacturing flourish, but excessive picking will lead to huge disasters. So I have always encouraged moderate taking from the Mooncrown Tree, just like our territory. We can’t be so delicate that we can’t withstand any pressure. On the contrary, we must be as resilient as a reed, able to take root firmly and stand tall no matter how many disasters and difficulties we face, while growing strong.”

Seranville, standing to the side, looked up at Su Li with bright eyes and clasped her hands together, saying, "My lord, you truly are an outstanding lord. Your philosophy of governance is so philosophical."

Su Li smiled and wrapped his arms around her slender waist, breathing warm air into her ear: "Flattery won't work, you'll be taking on the main cultivation task tonight!"

After saying that, Su Li immediately took action and removed her armor. The sound of the breastplate hitting the ground carried an ambiguous echo. A cool spring breeze blew by, and Seranville's delicate skin trembled slightly.

Before Thranville could even blush, Hela was already blushing so deeply she couldn't lift her head. She really hadn't expected that while she was still studying the Mooncrown Tree, the two people under the tree had already started their knightly training so directly.

Thranville's panting was exceptionally clear in the quiet night. Moonlight poured down on the lush foliage of the Mooncrown Tree, and Hela's emerald tail meandered gracefully along the trunk.

Unbeknownst to her, Su Li had already untied the lilac-adorned waist chain, and the hot touch on her fingers sent shivers down her spine.

"My lord," a coral blush quickly spread across her pretty cheeks, and her snake tail unconsciously curled up, creating layers of folds in her skirt.

When Su Li's kiss landed on her slender waist, he was surprised to find that the diamond-shaped crystals would gradually turn pink as her body temperature rose.

The moonlight cast overlapping shadows, and the snake's unique flexibility allowed Hela to bend herself into incredible arcs. When she hooked her tail tip onto a tree trunk and leaned back, her cascading black hair resembled a moonlit stream, and the mother-of-pearl-like scales on her waist and abdomen rose and fell with her breath, revealing even softer, snow-white skin beneath.

Su Li grasped the tail that was wrapped around her waist, her fingertips tracing the ring-like patterns. Hela suddenly trembled and arched her body, her tail slapping against the grass and flowers, splashing up specks of fragrant dew. Hidden there was a scale growing backward, its warm, jade-like touch sending shivers down her spine.

The enchanting night cast the shadows of the serpent's tail and the human beneath the profusion of blossoms on the Mooncrown Tree. Hela, mimicking a human woman, bit down on a strand of hair, only to find that her forked tongue created even more intense ripples when it brushed against the other woman's collarbone. As the moonlight shifted to shine directly through the window, she finally understood why Vidag always said that human body temperature was more intoxicating than the hot springs of the Gem Pool.

But her cultivation journey had only just begun. When Su Li used [Enier's Magic Net] to bind the alien, Hela's entire body became extremely sensitive and trembled. She knew that she had completely fallen and could never return to the distant land of spices!
This is her new home, and this man has completely transformed into her husband, whom she loves to the point of obsession and cannot extricate herself from!

The diligent cultivation under the Moon Crown Tree gradually subsided in the middle of the night, and Su Lixin fell asleep comfortably, resting her head on the snake woman's slender waist.

Hela, still breathing heavily, looked up at the night sky through the blossoming trees. Her older sister had once said that every star in the sky was a departed loved one. Father, Mother, Sister, if you can see this from heaven, you can rest assured. I have a home, perhaps tens of thousands of miles from my hometown, and a loving partner to whom I can entrust my life.

However, she quickly blushed. If what her older sister said was true, and her relatives in heaven could see everything, then wouldn't they have seen her just now?

That's so embarrassing! It's all this guy's fault! She looked down at the man whose soft belly was resting on hers, his breathing calm. A smile played on his handsome face as he held Seranville's pale body in his arms. Even in their sleep, they remained in a meditative posture, their bodies pressed tightly together. She wondered if he was dreaming of the pleasures of cultivation, or perhaps even more outrageous things?

She couldn't believe that such an elegant and composed man could be so wild during his cultivation. Hela felt as if she had returned to the days of drifting on the endless sea. He was the raging storm of that endless sea, and she was a small boat adrift in the storm. But this time, she felt not unease and confusion in the storm, but rather an unparalleled peace of mind, especially when she felt this man's skin touching hers; her heart was filled with incomparable satisfaction and joy.

She couldn't believe that someone as shy and reserved as herself had been dragged into making a mistake among the flowers and plants, agreeing to so many embarrassing requests of his, and being forced to say so many unspeakable things.

If their loved ones in heaven saw this, they would be so embarrassed.

She dared not think any further, quickly picked up the perfumer's incense burner to distract herself, and then carefully placed the moon crown flower inside.

To everyone's delight, the crown tree flowers successfully activated the incense burner this month, emitting a soft glow.

But when the results came out, Hela's eyes widened. The result was truly unexpected. Perhaps she could give this young man a surprise tomorrow.

With mixed feelings, she quickly fell asleep. For the first time since her family was destroyed, her sleep was free of nightmares and sadness, and filled with peace and happiness.

(End of this chapter)