Pioneer Lord: Starting From Daily Intelligence-Chapter 498 - 5: Scandalous Rumors and the Holy Industrial Alliance
Although Lunadeshan’s seduction plan was not successful, Edmond’s extraordinary grass cultivation plan was fairly successful, causing Su Li little concern.
The main reason was his divine magic, "Creation of the Holy Forest," which made this forest akin to a Druidic temple. Once the Stonehenge within was activated by the Holy Forest, all Jilun mages (including Elves, the Dawn Church, Tal’s maidens, etc.) entering it could benefit from increased magic restoration speed and enhanced divine magic capabilities.
This allowed the Druid’s divine magic "Vitality Growth" to perform optimally, cultivating Moonlight Alfalfa at the fastest speed. He even had the extra capacity to accelerate the growth of Hilude’s Tiger-striped Griffin.
The trio of Tiger-striped Griffins were all hatched, and Hilude’s mount was named Tiger-striped Sharp Claw - Tearing Blood Mark, making a pair with her other mount, the Half Griffin - Tearing Claw, as good siblings.
It’s quite normal for a Knight to have 2 to 5 mounts, but someone like Hilude, with two Griffin mounts, was indeed a rare sight.
This treatment was usually reserved for the Empire’s high nobility; for example, the Emperor of the Empire possessed numerous warhorse mounts and even kept a Giant Dragon in the zoo. However, he seldom rode the dragon into battle, preferring his Sky Griffin instead.
Hilude’s privileges in mount cultivation matched those expected of her as the Fiery Sun God’s Chosen One.
Moreover, as the Silver Horn Giant Shepherd Deer favored her, she could freely enter and exit the Holy Forest, benefiting Tearing Blood Mark as well. Among the three Tiger-striped Griffins, its body became the largest due to accelerated vitality growth. It’s not just bulky but powerfully built, with four Dragon Blood Stones, robust and majestic.
Marshal Orstein’s Tiger-striped Griffin was named Storm Wings, Yan Zong, fitting the style of the Imperial Griffin Cavalry Corps.
Though its growth rate was not as fast as Tearing Blood Mark, the marshal still greatly benefited during the peaceful period within his territory.
After gathering and preparing war loot, with the arrival of a new month, the territory successfully used a large amount of Divine Chosen Level materials to forge his second powerful rare level weapon, the Chaos Judge!
This warhammer, with the Heart of the Four-Chambered Furnace as its energy core, was composed of the Head of Chaos Fusion, the impact cone, and the tail handle, incredibly powerful. When the Divine General state was activated, a strike seemed to cause the heavens to collapse and mountains to crumble, capable of breaking mountains and destroying cities. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶
Empowered by this formidable weapon, the marshal, commanding five squadrons of provincial troops, continuously cleared various monsters in the western Blood Pine Forest, rooting out hidden Forest Robber Gangs and Beastmen Warbands, while overseeing the construction of the Storm Shadow Fortress in the direction of the Blood Mist Hills.
Over the past month, his clearing operations were remarkably successful. Guided by Su Li’s intelligence, he exposed four Forest Robber Gang locations, a Raider Warband, and two Evil Land squatter farms.
Excluding the enemies slain on the battlefield, the remaining prisoners numbered over 200, all becoming Su Li’s slaves.
For the first time, Hesse Territory achieved reverse sales to slave capture teams and slave traders, with some Apprentice Knights and formal Knights sold by Su Li to the Half-Elf Brandsnap Clan’s Krupp in the territory.
This Krupp was an elite of the Comrade Friendship Club, which left a lasting impression on Su Li. Membership required being incredibly brave, incredibly wealthy, and incredibly foolish, preferably having all three!
With other club elites, he formed the Wolfgrim Slave Trading Company, signifying cold and heartless slave traders like the harsh northern wind.
They controlled a northern Border Prince’s Territory slave trade route between Marle Castle and Hesse Territory. Using the Comrade Friendship Club’s bases and networks in Marle Castle, they always managed to sell various specialties from Hesse Territory, sometimes even bringing gossip from Marle Castle to the Black Forest.
For instance, earlier news reached Su Li about the greedy, corrupt, cowardly, and sado clerk Shabulin. His scandal with his superior’s wife, Lisa, erupted. These two seemed utterly driven by lust, maliciously exploiting opportunities when the civil servant was at work. In his superior’s bedroom, Shabulin had rolled in between the sheets with the married woman.
It was said that when caught in the act, the alluring and beautiful Lisa was blindfolded with ribbons, kneeling on the floor like a tamed mare.
Meanwhile, Shabulin, the clerk, played the role of a Knight.
This indiscretion drove the apprehending Knights wild, who enthusiastically spread the tale throughout Marle Castle.
The outcome was predictable: the audacious Shabulin was mutilated into a eunuch, reportedly suffering dreadfully under the effects of a strong potion.
However, the civil servant didn’t spare him out of mercy; rather, he expressly kept him around to play the role of a Minotaur in his household.
The civil servant had his share of recompense, and after his wife was entangled with Shabulin, he swiftly engaged with Shabulin’s wife. It was worth noting that Shabulin’s wife was essential to his role as a clerk due to her important background: her father was a key senator in Marle Castle.
Unlike the feudal autocracy of Hesse Territory, Marle Castle was an open city of merchants, where the mayor lacked the comprehensive authority of a Lord like Su Li. The city’s highest decision-making body was Marle Castle’s council.
