Knight Lord: Start with Daily Intelligence.

Chapter 372 Ariria's Surrender and the Size of the Expeditionary Force
After Arielia woke up, shouldn't she be waiting for Su Li to return in the treehouse?
After all, Su Li had teased her quite a bit during her slumber. When she was asleep, she had considered that Ingrid was the only female courtier left in the treehouse, so she considerately wore a high-slit robe and white stockings that left faint indentations on her beautiful legs, gently indulging Su Li's desires. She used her exquisite body to relieve Su Li's stress.

So this caused her to be aroused with a lot of emotions in her sleep, but she had no way to vent them.

Ingrid smiled and said, "She just couldn't wait. She's a dragon and is evolving from a young dragon to an adult dragon. Her dragon instincts are becoming stronger, so after waking up, she was breathing heavily and wanted to find you. When she heard that you had gone to war, she went to the castle to wait for you, hoping to meet you as soon as you returned."

That's such a pity! The two sides just missed each other. The castle is in the south of the manor, but Su Li took Hilde to the north, so they unfortunately missed each other.

This is actually a good thing, as it allows Su Li to prepare some love potion for himself. He can guarantee that once Ariria arrives, this concentrated love potion will permeate her very bones, making her utterly devoted. Then, no matter how he rides her, she will willingly accompany him to the battlefield. Otherwise, getting a green dragon to submit and become a mount on the battlefield is quite difficult. The dragon's pride and majesty would hardly allow a human to ride it and flaunt their power.

Su Li was able to win her over by taking advantage of the extremely hot and aphrodisiac atmosphere in the treehouse.

Then, influenced by her dragon-like nature, she went with the flow and offered herself to him.

Being able to be intimate in the treehouse doesn't mean Su Li can ride it and soar through the sky as a true dragon knight.

To appear on the battlefield riding a dragon in the upcoming war against Blue Mirror Territory, we need to take drastic measures and improve relations.

So Su Li instructed Hilde, "Go to the treasury and fetch a love potion, then send a servant to the castle to invite Arielia over."

Hilder rode her griffin swiftly. But Eliria arrived just as quickly; after her high-ranking attendant arrived at the Bauhinia Palace on her steed, she took to the air almost immediately and went to the Bauhinia Manor.

After landing on the treetop, it immediately used shapeshifting and eagerly entered the treehouse.

No matter how many times Su Li saw this woman, she was always utterly amazed. She pushed open the door, and her waterfall-like black hair was blown by the wind, dancing in the air, revealing her tall and fair neck, making her look like a mature and elegant woman. She was truly stunning.

Then her chest heaved violently, her pearly white teeth biting her cherry lips, and she suddenly pounced on Su Li. Her blue, high-slit robe fluttered past Su Li's eyes, followed by the cool, elegant fragrance of the forest. Her snow-white legs pressed directly onto Su Li's shoulders.

This woman truly has the demeanor of a queen. She directly performed a split, pinning Su Li against the wall. Her smooth, rounded, beautiful legs, slightly cool, pressed against Su Li's cheek, sexy and alluring.

Then, Ariria gritted her teeth, pressed her cheek against Su Li's ear, and asked in a soft, sweet breath, "While I was asleep, you teased me terribly. Little man, are you ready to make it up to me?"

After saying that, she gently bit Su Li's shoulder with her teeth, then took a deep breath of Su Li's fragrance, closing her eyes with a look of intoxication: "Why is your fragrance so captivating this time? Is it because I'm closer to maturity?"

Before she could finish speaking, her skin suddenly turned fiery hot, even her fair neck was flushed with a delicate blush, and her whole body heated up: "Your aura is like an aphrodisiac! I don't care anymore, I just want to stuff you into my chest right now!"

That's an aphrodisiac! Love is the most potent aphrodisiac for women! What's more, Su Li used a whole bottle of this love potion this time. In order to be able to ride the green dragon into battle, Su Li really went all out.

Just as Arielia grabbed Su Li's shoulder to lead him into the bedroom, she suddenly realized that she couldn't move the man at all.

Su Li's lips curled up slightly. He placed his left hand on her slender waist and his right hand around her legs, which were spread wide as she was pinned against the wall. Then he kissed her cool cheek and said, "When flowers are in full bloom, why should we wait for another time?"

Arielia was taken aback at first, then a blush appeared on her face. She bit Su Li's lip and snorted softly, "Little man, you're even worse than I thought!"

The green dragon displayed unparalleled flexibility today, and as a chosen one, her stamina is astonishing. It seems she's trying to make up for all the love and beauty she missed during her slumber.

Although Su Li initially guided her in cultivation, later on, this woman, who was actually a dragon in disguise, refused to forgive Su Li.

It wasn't until the third day that the ever-hot treehouse finally quieted down. After the door opened, Su Li, with one hand on her waist and the other against the wall, gasped as she walked out of the room.

These three days were even more exhausting for him than fighting monsters for three days and three nights in the Spider Cave. The continuous training had almost drained his strength.

Hilde rushed over immediately, supporting his arm and gently massaging his injured lower back muscles, asking, "My lord, how are you?"

Su Li couldn't lose face in front of the woman he loved most, so he immediately straightened up, but the pain in his waist made him groan again and take a deep breath.

Fortunately, he was in a good mood. He turned his head and glanced at Ariria, who was sleeping soundly on the soft bed with tears streaming down her face, looking pitiful. He smiled smugly and said, "The results are very good. Ariria has agreed to be my mount and participate in the upcoming Blue Mirror Territory War."

Su Li used every trick in the book to reach this agreement.

He never expected that Arielia would be so resistant to being someone's mount.

Although at the beginning, he successfully used the effects of the love potion to keep pushing Arielia's bottom line to the limit, and when she was crying her eyes out, she signed a series of unequal treaties with him.

But when asked to be his mount, to carry him to lead the army to attack Blue Mirror Territory, to be a true and complete dragon knight, rather than the Little Dragon Girl version of "dragon knight," this woman showed extraordinary stubbornness. Every time Su Li asked her, she would bite her cherry lips tightly and remain silent.

No matter how much Su Li pleaded and begged, she gritted her teeth and refused to give in.

In the end, Su Li resorted to drastic measures, forcing her to drink three bottles of the Fire Rose, making every inch of her skin extremely sensitive. The stimulation from her lover seemed to be magnified a thousandfold.

The intense emotional, physical, and drug-induced stimulation ultimately led the woman, transformed from a green dragon, to succumb. Lacking the willpower of a human chosen knight, she was forced to sign an unequal treaty.

Although she is a chosen one, in terms of rationality, she is far inferior to Freya, the champion knight of the Goddess of the Sun.

Freya knew very well that since she couldn't firmly refuse Su Li's attempts to harm her from the beginning, she might as well just go along with him.

Because that's how women are. If they don't firmly refuse at the beginning and remain passive rather than assertive in the relationship, gently cooperating with the man's requests, then in the end their bottom line will only be repeatedly crossed.

Since I'll be his person sooner or later anyway, and I'm going to hand everything over to him, I might as well agree from the start. That way, I'll win his favor and pampering, and I'll suffer less.

Thinking of Freya, Su Li asked, "Is the expeditionary force about to set off? We promised Freya that this expeditionary force would set off in the name of the Goddess of the Sun."

Hilde nodded and said, "The expeditionary force will set off tomorrow. We announced the preparation period at the Glory Arena awards ceremony, and the expeditionary force set off on time. Tomorrow is the last day."

After drinking a stamina potion and recovering his physical condition, Su Li felt much better due to his lumbar muscle strain. He then said to Hilde, "Summon the commander and deputy commander of the expeditionary force, as well as the captains of the knight orders. Let's discuss the matter of this Holy Great Expedition."

As the high-ranking steward, one of Hilde's main duties was to arrange the lord's schedule, meetings, and other engagements.

She was already quite adept at this, and in less than half an hour, all the people she needed to gather had arrived at the conference room, just after Su Li finished breakfast.

When Su Li entered the conference room, the six people stood up in unison and bowed to her in the classic gesture of the Church of the Goddess of the Sun.

This also shows just how important a role the Church of the Sun Goddess played in this expedition.

Su Li then waved his hand, sat down in a chair, and said calmly, "Please sit down. The main reason I've gathered you all here today is to discuss preparations for the expeditionary force."

These six people are all closely related to the expeditionary force: the expeditionary force's commander, the handsome Gilles, and the deputy commander and vice-commander of the Crimson Night Knights, Knight Connor.

Also present are Constantine, Grand Master of the Knights of the Sun, and Freya, Vice Grand Master. Alfred, Grand Master of the Knights of the Arrow of Light, and Sylvanas, Vice Grand Master.

Without a doubt, these people all have extremely close relationships with Su Li. They are either Su Li's relatives, his close friends, his father-in-law, or his women.

Su Li felt very reassured entrusting the expeditionary force to them.

It's no wonder Su Li favors his relatives; in this dark and desperate world, betrayal and depravity are commonplace. Perhaps half of the border princely lords died in rebellions by their subordinates. Of course, while trying to win people's hearts as much as possible, Su Li will also select the virtuous and capable.

For example, the most important commander of this legion, the handsome Gilles, is one of the most important talents selected by Su Li.

He was a knight who moved to the Black Forest Territory with the followers of the Goddess of the Sun. He did not have a deep connection with Su Li, but because of his outstanding leadership ability, he led a knight squad in his first battle, charging into thousands of fleeing soldiers and killing hundreds of fleeing human-skin wolves, three gnoll chieftains, and capturing more than 50 ogre mercenaries who served the Green Dragon.

Then, in this battle, he was honorably promoted to Champion Knight of the Goddess of the Sun. He was also highly valued by Su Li, who gave him one of the three tiger-striped griffin eggs brought back from the Green Dragon's Nest, which became his mount, Tiger Soul Calamity Stripes.

It can be said that Su Li promoted this knight from humble beginnings, and he appreciated and valued him greatly.

Now, an entire expeditionary legion has been entrusted to him, a large-scale army that no one in the territory has ever commanded except Marshal Orstein.

He also believed without a doubt that the lord intended to train him to become a chosen knight.

Apart from the Black Forest Territory, which could provide him with numerous opportunities, there was no other territory that could help him grow so quickly.

He was an absolutely intelligent man, gentle but not effeminate, decisive but not ruthless.

Therefore, Su Li and Xilude trusted him completely, believing that he would make the perfect decision and would never lead this expeditionary force astray.

After sitting down, Su Li first looked at the handsome Gilles and asked, "My champion knight, you are the commander of this expeditionary force. Please report on the size of the army and the logistical situation."

Gilles immediately replied, "My lord, the recruitment of our expeditionary force went very smoothly, with a large number of people responding. Especially when the news of the Holy Great Expedition came definitively from Maleburg, it confirmed your information. The territory was in an uproar, and many knights from other territories even came from all directions to join our expeditionary force. This is because everyone believes that you must have the closest contact with the higher-ups."

In a dark and corrupt empire, even the Great Expedition was hardly sacred, rife with collusion and corruption.

Which unit ultimately reaches the most arduous front and which unit reaps the rewards depends on the personal connections and interests behind the scenes.

Without a doubt, the Blacksin Expeditionary Force is one of the legions most closely connected to its commander. After all, the affair between Princess Phyllis and the Lord of Blacksin is no secret in the territory.

Basically, you can grab anyone from a tavern and they'll talk non-stop for tens of minutes. After all, when the territory of Hessen was in its early days, many of its people had actually seen Princess Phyllis. She often went out shopping and loved flowers, beautiful clothes, delicious food, and all sorts of wonderful things.

Of course, the most important thing was that her status as a commoner, yet her becoming the lord's female courtier, sparked ridicule throughout the territory. From knights to commoners, everyone was gossiping behind her back. Some maliciously speculated whether Princess Phyllis was a follower of Sedition; otherwise, how could she, as a commoner, have climbed into the lord's bed, captivating him to the point that he disregarded public opinion, forcefully professed his love in public, and included her in the ranks of his female courtiers?

Speaking of the lord's public confession, it was the most exciting part for the knights. After all, it was too legendary. No one had ever imagined that the lord, who had won a great victory and whose prestige was at its peak, would confess his love to a commoner in front of thousands of people.

For every harsh criticism she once faced, now, with Phyllis's change in status, comes a great deal of praise.

Countless female knights dreamed that if a lord, in his humble beginnings, were to fall so domineeringly in love with them—so ordinary, common, and poor—they would surely be devoted to him wholeheartedly.

It can only be said that domineering CEO novels are extremely popular with women in any world.

Women are naturally drawn to strength, yearning to be conquered and favored. Even if this favoritism is just lip service, it can bring her joy for a long time. She just never considered why a domineering CEO would fall for an ordinary, mediocre woman.

Of course, this isn't without its advantages. The advantage is that they are extremely easy to be marketed and manipulated, leading them to do some mindless things for the sake of the powerful and idols.

For example, the proportion of women in the expeditionary force in the Hessian Territory was incredibly high.

Gilles deserves much credit for this; his handsome appearance was a great advantage when recruiting soldiers.

He then reported on the details of the conscription: "Our expeditionary force is now very large, with more than 900 elite knights alone. In addition, we have more than 2100 knights in total, including regular knights and apprentice knights!"

"Including their attendants, servants, cooks, and mercenaries, our expeditionary force totaled 5329 men!"

5329 people!
Even the other knights who participated in the formation of the expeditionary force exclaimed in unison. They knew that the expeditionary force was large in scale, but they did not expect it to reach this level.

Undoubtedly, the Radiant Festival in the Hessian Territory played a crucial role in this process. Because of the festival, the territory attracted a large influx of people, potentially reaching over 20000 at its peak.

These people are all lively and possess exceptional wilderness survival skills and formidable combat abilities. They are practically born for the empire's sacred expeditions, a campaign that perfectly overlaps with the target population of these individuals.

Of course, the Holy Expedition doesn't always recruit all the free rangers into the legion. Some rangers have one reason or another: they're involved in other adventures, they're tied up with employment contracts, or they've joined a territory and are bound to it.

Therefore, it is quite remarkable that nearly one-fifth or even one-quarter of the population joined the expeditionary force of the Black Forest Territory.

However, not all 5329 people were tourists. A large portion were members of the Black Forest Territory and various knightly orders. For example, all of the hundreds of elite knights of the Crimson Night Knights participated in this expedition. In addition, the Sun Crown Knights and the Arrow of Light also mobilized more than 300 knights. The higher the knight's rank in the expeditionary force, the larger the proportion of the territory's officials. This was also to facilitate the commander's command of the entire legion, since elite knights are always the absolute backbone of an army.

Gilles continued, "As per your appointment, the deputy commanders of our legion are Knight Commander Connor and Grand Master Constantine. Grand Master Constantine will also serve as the grand mentor of the entire legion. Using his divine magic and combat skills, he will teach the legion's knights and soldiers martial arts, enhance the legion's combat power, and spread the faith of the Sun Goddess."

"When we recruit soldiers, we take into account their religious affiliation. Currently, among the 5329 knights, the followers of the Goddess of the Sun make up the largest proportion, at 43.3%, followed by the followers of Yurik at 17.2%, then the Imperial State Church of Redmar at 13.5%, and other churches such as the Church of Mor, the Church of the Goddess of Justice, the Church of Tal, and the Church of Mannan each account for no more than 5%."

"We hope to increase the faith rate of the Church of the Sun Goddess to 60% or even 70% or more after this great expedition ends. At that time, with a higher proportion of believers, more knights will follow us back and join our exemplary territory of the Sun Goddess."

Su Li nodded, indicating that she approved of their plan.

Once the Holy Crusade is over, these knights will surely disband. But these are elite soldiers who participated in the Holy Crusade, human elites who have witnessed battles involving tens or even hundreds of thousands of people. Regardless of the era, they are the main force against the invasion of Chaos and the siege of evil forces.

Bringing them back is of utmost importance.

Attracting them to join the Church of the Sun Goddess, and even further to join the territory and the Knights Order, is indeed a good approach.

Su Li turned to Grand Master Constantine and asked, "Grand Master, you are personally participating in this Holy Expedition as a Grand Mentor?"

He had heard Freya mention that a church knight would be sent as the grand mentor for this expedition, but he never imagined that Grand Master Constantine would personally take on this important task.

Commander Constantine was as imposing as a lion. His tall and majestic body stood straight, making him appear exceptionally strong and powerful. As the pinnacle of champion knights, he possessed an innate and powerful aura.

Upon hearing this, he calmly replied, "My arduous training has not yielded any breakthroughs. After much contemplation, I have decided to participate in this expedition to pursue the glory of the goddess. Perhaps after the Great Expedition ends, I will become a glorious chosen knight and return to my territory."

“There are many top champion knights in the territory, so I am not an exception. Moreover, the Knights Order is usually managed by Commander Freya, and I believe she can get along well with you and better assist you in building the territory.”

That was a very harmonious situation, so harmonious that the deputy commander had already given himself and everything to Su Li. How could there still be any disputes?

Su Li nodded and said, "Your Excellency, there's no need to worry about matters within the territory. If the Knights encounter any trouble, I will do my utmost to help Commander Freya resolve it. After all, we still have two chosen ones of the Goddess of the Sun in our territory, and they will certainly not stand idly by while the Church Knights face difficulties."

What Su Li said was also the key reason why Grand Master Constantine insisted on personally going on the Great Expedition to pursue the glory of the goddess.

The Church Knights are currently far behind the secular knights of the Black Forest Territory. The chosen ones of the Goddess of the Sun are all in the ranks of secular warriors. How can believers be convinced that the Goddess's teachings are more helpful to the knights' advancement than the authority of secular lords?
Therefore, he must prove himself and break through to the level of Chosen Knight. And the Holy Expedition is indeed an excellent opportunity, as each Holy Expedition creates a new batch of Chosen Knights.

(End of this chapter)