Pioneer Lord: Starting From Daily Intelligence

While Demster was fully engaged in building the Watchtower Gate of Rapids Castle, Hesse Territory did not cease its campaign against Blue Mirror Territory.

Marshal Orstein led the Provincial Legion, more than 2,000 strong, as they launched an offensive towards the southern Green Shore Plain. This region is actually quite fertile, being an extensive plain surrounding Blue Mirror Lake. On this land of Blue Mirror Lake are three Kingdom Knight domains and over twenty villages.

It could be said that this is the fertile heartland and the foundation of dominance of Blue Mirror Lake. The population alone exceeds 4,000 people. Therefore, Hesse Territory is determined to conquer this fertile land and will not allow Blue Mirror Territory to continue recruiting soldiers in this foundational area.

It’s worth mentioning that the owners of these three Kingdom Knight domains are all captives of Su Li. They were raised from ordinary Knights and servants to Kingdom Knights with their own fiefs due to their distinguished military achievements in the early campaigns of Baron Grant. They each own small estates, have a few armed servants, possess the right to tax their subjects, and have the obligation to provide military service during wars for their higher lord, Baron Grant.

They are the actual rulers of the locality and the backbone of the baronial army.

The three individuals are Sir Edgar Hawk the "Strong Shield", Sir Leonard Bran the "Array Breaker", and Lady Isabella Viller the "Reed Shadow".

Sir Edgar Hawk the "Strong Shield" is not of noble birth; he was once a resolute Long Halberd Soldier under Baron Grant. His turning point occurred during the "Frost Fang Mountain Battle" against large-scale Beastman raids. When the defense line collapsed and the commander died, Edgar stood up, picked up the Sword and Shield of a fallen Knight, shouted the Baron’s name, and organized the remaining forces to desperately defend an abandoned mill. They utilized the terrain, fought fiercely for hours, and held off a Beastman horde several times their number, buying crucial time for the main force to regroup. Edgar himself sustained multiple severe injuries, his shield was battered beyond repair, yet he miraculously survived.

To commend his extraordinary courage, leadership, and absolute loyalty to the Lord, Baron Grant personally knighted him as a Kingdom Knight and awarded him a fertile land on the southeastern shore of Blue Mirror Lake, known for producing high-quality wood used for making shields. The remnants of his shield were hung in the baron’s hall as a tribute.

Once ennobled as a Kingdom Knight, this knight became known for his steady, pragmatic, and resilient nature. He meticulously managed his territory, cultivated wastelands, encouraged farming, and justly resolved disputes among his subjects. Though his manor was not luxurious, it was sturdy and practical. Militarily, he excelled in defensive warfare and positional command, with his territory supplying well-disciplined Long Halberd Soldiers and Sword and Shield Soldiers. His subjects regarded him as a reliable protector, and his capture sent panic through the eastern territory.

During the Battle of Rapids Castle, he led his army to tenaciously defend the castle gate. Facing the overwhelming forces of Hesse Territory, they fought bravely until he was heavily wounded and captured.

Due to his esteemed status within the territory, Su Li accorded him the treatment befitting a noble. Su Li was impartial in this regard, sparing the lives of all the nobles within Blue Mirror Territory. The warfare between both sides was respectable, and even in defeat, the opponents deserved respect.

However, Sir Edgar is no longer the lord of this land. He sold the territory to Su Li and earnestly persuaded the local subjects to accept the rule of Hesse Territory. He aided Orstein in smoothly taking over this border territory and gained the allegiance of over 400 local subjects.

The reason for Sir Edgar’s willing compliance and his active assistance in Hesse Territory’s takeover was not due to any disloyalty to Baron Grant or any particular charm of Su Li that made him welcome an invading army with food and drink.

It was entirely because he couldn’t afford the ransom of 1,500 Golden Crowns. Thus, he had no choice but to sell his castle, manor, and farmlands to Su Li.

This was not a political maneuver but a straightforward fair trade. From the perspective of this world, it was a very rational situation.

Even though Edgar sold his territory to Su Li, it did not prevent him from escaping back to Blue Mirror Castle and continuing to serve Baron Grant loyally.

In fact, after completing the transaction and redeeming himself, this knight indeed chose not to pledge allegiance to Su Li. Instead, he resolutely rode back to Blue Mirror Castle to continue serving Baron Grant, commanding the troops with loyalty and diligence.

Moreover, Baron Grant would scarcely suspect that his actions were aiding Hesse Territory and continued to trust him greatly. It can only be said that in some parts of this world, the political struggles are indeed different from those on Earth, as the civil wars within the Human Empire have not reached a life-and-death extremity.

The second Kingdom Knight, Sir Leonard Bran the "Array Breaker", hails from a declining border Knight Clan. He received formal Knight training from an early age, becoming highly skilled in martial arts with a fiery and impulsive character. However, he possesses genuine chivalric values and a thirst for glory. During Baron Grant’s campaign against the Green-Skinned Beastman Tribe entrenched in the Sand Shadow Forest, Leonard served as a Vanguard Knight. In a critical skirmish, the baron’s main forces were cunningly divided and surrounded by the Beastman warlord, Shattered Teeth Groom, putting them in grave peril. Witnessing this dire situation, Leonard, without waiting for orders, charged with a roar beneath the baronial banner, leading his only dozen Knights and riders in a near-suicidal assault. They pierced through the chaotic green skin allegiances like a dagger, aiming directly for Groom. In a heart-stopping duel, Leonard beheaded the monstrous Groom, causing the Green-Skinned Army to collapse in an instant.