154: Chapter 154 Tiffany Ferdinand

"I'm sure, Earl."

Lister nodded, his expression calm, making it impossible to tell why he had chosen this particular territory.

Theodore felt somewhat surprised by this and reminded him, "While choosing a territory is your freedom, based on my friendship with your father, I still must warn you."

"This territory might have resources, but it is too close to the forces beyond the Western Border; the danger is more than just a level higher."

"I presume you are well aware of what that means, so are you sure you still want to choose it?"

"Yes," Lister nodded, his expression remaining indifferent, making it impossible to see what he was thinking.

Seeing him so persistent, Theodore didn't say anything more.

After all, he only had a friendship with Lister's deceased father and was not Lister's relative, so he could only offer his advice.

Lowering his head, Theodore took out a pre-prepared Pioneer Order scroll from his drawer and placed it against the giant map at the location of the territory Lister had just chosen.

Immediately after, white magical light radiated outwards, and a few moments later, a complete territory diagram emerged in the blank space reserved on the surface of the Pioneer Order scroll.

Then Theodore signed his name in the lower-left corner of the Pioneer Order, moved it in front of Lister, and said, "This is the Western Frontier Development Order for a lord. Lister, sign your name on it, and the territory you've chosen will officially become yours."

Without the slightest hesitation, Lister picked up a quill pen and signed his name with a flourish in the bottom right corner of the Pioneer Order.

Seeing this, Theodore said solemnly, "Lister, from this moment on, the territory you have chosen belongs entirely to you. I hope you can pioneer more land for yourself and the Kingdom. May the holy light god be with you."

"Thank you, Earl," Lister said as he put away the Pioneer Order.

At this moment, his heart was exploding with excitement, and the corners of his mouth wanted to curl up, but even so, he tried his best to endure it and acted very calm.

Theodore didn't sense anything wrong and took out a large scroll, handing it to Lister, saying, "This is the map you wanted; it's exactly the same as mine."

Seeing this, Lister finally couldn't help but show a look of excitement as he carefully took the map and examined it closely.

After confirming there were no issues, he took out a thousand gold coins and some resources of equivalent value from his storage ring.

These were resources he had carefully considered just now and felt he wouldn't be able to use for the time being, so it was a good time to clear out his inventory.

When Theodore saw Lister actually take out gold and resources worth two thousand gold all at once, his eyebrows couldn't help but twitch.

The thousand gold worth of resources, in particular, couldn't help but cause a bit of surprise in his heart.

He had long since learned about the Ironthorn Territory and knew very well how barren it was. Although it bordered the Hengduan Mountains, resources weren't something you could find just because you wanted to, not to mention the high level of danger within.

He had thought that what Lister brought out would be cash, and most likely a mix of gold, silver, and copper coins.

But now Lister had not only produced resources worth a thousand gold but also a thousand gold coins.

For a moment, Theodore felt in his heart that he had still greatly underestimated Lister's abilities.

Lister was unaware of Theodore's thoughts and simply said, "Earl, I still need to go back and make preparations, so I won't disturb you further."

Theodore smiled warmly and said, "I will be holding a banquet for pioneer lords at the manor tonight. If you have time, you can come and see."

A banquet?

Lister was stunned, unsure of Theodore's intention, but after thinking for a moment, he shook his head and said, "Thank you for your kindness, Earl, but I still have many matters to handle and won't be able to attend. Please forgive me."

He wasn't lying; he indeed had many things to prepare before setting out, and he also knew the nature of such banquets—they were optional.

Theodore nodded, not feeling displeased by the refusal. After all, this kind of banquet was just a private gathering for pioneer lords to exchange information; its importance was not actually that high.

Furthermore, the primary initiator of this banquet was the Royal representative stationed in Coridinglo; they were merely using his venue.

Seeing this, Lister took his leave and, with Red and Odinton, turned and left the Earl's office.

Watching the backs of the three as they disappeared, the thick look of praise in Theodore's eyes only slowly faded away.

After leaving the room, Lister's group of three walked quickly toward the main gate of the Earl's manor.

Not long after they walked out, a young woman wearing armor, with a heroic yet feminine face, appeared outside the door of the Earl's office.

"Greetings, Miss Tiffany."

Hearing the guard Soldiers' greeting, the young woman, who was watching the backs of Lister's group, turned her head and nodded slightly in response before walking into the Earl's office.

Seeing it was his precious daughter, the corners of Theodore's mouth, which had just fallen, turned up once more as he said,

"Haha, Tiffany is here."

"Greetings, Father."

After the greeting, Tiffany looked curious and asked, "Father, I see you are in a good mood. Is it because of those three people just now?"

"Haha, you guessed right."

Theodore replied with a smile, "That was the Lord of the Ironthorn Territory, Baron Lister Howard, who came to obtain a Western Frontier Development Order permit from me."

"The two people beside him are his Knight Captain and magistrate. His father and I were once comrades-in-arms."

"I see," Tiffany nodded. The next second, she suddenly reacted and said in surprise, "Father, are you saying that Lord Howard already has a territory?"

Seeing Tiffany's surprise, Theodore was not caught off guard and said, "That's right. Lister already has a territory within the Kingdom. His coming to the Western Border to pioneer also surprised me quite a bit."

"Although he didn't say it explicitly, I estimate he wants to temper himself and further expand his influence."

"Moreover, he picked a territory with very high danger, located very close to the forces outside the Western Border."

Speaking of this, Theodore couldn't help but praise him again, "To have such character and courage at the age of eighteen, he is not at all inferior compared to those few noble children with stunning talent."

"Father, is that Lord Howard really as good as you say?" Tiffany was somewhat surprised.

This was the first time she had seen Theodore give such praise to a noble child, aside from those sons of Dukes and Earls.

Theodore took a sip of fruit tea and said with a smile, "Tiffany, don't underestimate Lister. You are currently only a Bronze Tier 6 knight, but he is already a Silver Knight. Furthermore, if my perception is correct, he should have also studied magic."

"A Silver Knight! Magic!" Tiffany's surprised mouth formed an 'O' shape, and she even wondered if she had misheard.

A Silver Knight at only eighteen, and likely capable of magic—in her impression, there seemed to be very few people who could achieve that.

Anyone who could do so was undoubtedly someone who had left a illustrious name in the history of the Kingdom.

One must know that as the most beloved and exceptionally talented daughter of the Frontier Earl Theodore, she was only Bronze Tier 6 at seventeen.

This kind of talent was already considered quite good among noble children; those with top-tier talent were mostly just High-Rank Bronze at this age.

For a moment, a deep sense of curiosity toward Lister, of whom she had only seen the back, arose in her heart.

Seeing Tiffany dazed, Theodore coughed and asked, "Tiffany, you must have come to see me for something, right?"

"Uh, yes."

Coming back to her senses, Tiffany said seriously, "Father, I also want to become a pioneer lord. Please grant me this."

"What!" The fruit tea Theodore had just sipped almost sprayed out, and he said with a flustered expression, "Tiffany, you didn't just suddenly decide to do this because of what I said, did you?"

"No, Father, this is a decision I've thought about for a long time," Tiffany shook her head.

Seeing this, Theodore shook his head and said in a firm tone, "No, I don't agree. Right now, all the territories close to Coridinglo have been taken."

"Although there are some territories with good resources left, they are all quite far from Coridinglo and are easily harassed by forces from outside the Western Border; the safety is very poor."

"Furthermore, your current strength is only Bronze Tier 6, and your ability to protect yourself isn't strong enough. You should give up on this idea."

"With your talent, staying in the territory to cultivate properly, you'll be able to become a Silver Knight in less than two years. Wouldn't that be better?"

Although Theodore deeply admired Lister's character and courage, that admiration was for someone outside his family.

Tiffany was his most precious daughter. Although she had inherited his style since childhood, even so, he was still not comfortable placing her in such a dangerous place outside the Western Border.

Even though he knew very well that the Western Border was a good place to temper a person and allow them to grow quickly, with his protection now, there was absolutely no need for Tiffany to take such a risk.

Seeing Theodore's serious and determined look, Tiffany stepped forward, shaking his arm and acting spoiled, "Father~, just let me go. Do you think your daughter is inferior to those playboys who just eat and wait to die every day?"

At this moment, if the knights and servants outside saw Tiffany's demeanor, they would surely be shocked. When did the heroic female knight become like this?

It must be said that Tiffany's acting spoiled was very effective. Under her persistent persuasion, Theodore eventually agreed.

However, while agreeing, Theodore also set many conditions, all of which Tiffany agreed to one by one.

With a look of helplessness, Theodore took out the map of the area outside the Western Border and began to carefully select with Tiffany.

The excited Tiffany suddenly thought of something, turned to look at Theodore, and asked, "Father, where did Lord Howard choose his territory?"

"He chose here," Theodore replied, moving his finger to an area obscured by mist.

Tiffany looked over and found that, just as Theodore had said, the territory Lister chose was very close to those foreign race forces.

Scanning the area, she found that there were still many unchosen territories around that one, so she pointed her finger at a territory with a good geographical location that wasn't too far away.

"Father, I choose this territory."

Seeing this, Theodore looked closely. Although this territory wasn't the closest to Coridinglo, in terms of terrain, resources, etc., it was considered the best in this area.

"And in front of it, there are several lords with decent strength."

"In case of harassment by foreign forces, it could serve as a good buffer."

Tiffany has a good eye!

But praise aside, he still felt this territory was a bit too close to the foreign forces, which was quite worrying.

As if sensing his thoughts, Tiffany quickly said, "Father, you just promised me, you can't go back on your word."

"——Sigh, alright."

Theodore hesitated for a moment but still agreed to her. Although he loved Tiffany dearly, as a battle-hardened Frontier Earl, Theodore knew very well that flowers in the warm sun cannot grow into resilient winter blossoms.

Furthermore, the glory of the family also made him hope to see his child become a respected lord who could stand on her own.

After leaving the Earl's manor, Lister's group of three did not return directly to the inn but instead went to the Slave market.

After all, they were going to pioneer a territory, so population was naturally indispensable. Although there might still be some remaining locals in those pioneer territories,

that was only his guess, and it was never wrong to prepare in advance.

As the primary fortress city of the Western Border, compared to Aetheria, Coridinglo's Slave market looked much cruder, but it was significantly more bustling.

Not only that, as soon as he stepped into the Slave market area, Lister saw many races he had never seen before, such as Half-Orcs, Goblin Race, and so on.

Especially the beautiful Cat-girls who exposed a lot of skin and only covered the essential parts, making even Lister unable to help but take a few extra glances.

After searching purposefully for quite a while, Lister's group of three arrived in front of a Slave trader in the north corner.

According to the divination instructions from a few days ago, the Slaves sold by this trader were of the best quality, including many talents with various skills.

Looking at the richly dressed Lister before him, the Slave trader Walker's face immediately piled with smiles, and he said proficiently, "Noble Lord, welcome. Please come with this lowly one, and I will introduce these Slaves to you."

Nodding, Lister followed him and began to look at the Slaves in the cages one by one.

Just like the Slaves he had seen before, every one of the Slaves before him had a numb expression and a weary face.

Lister's heart had long since become accustomed to this, and his face showed no emotion.

Under Walker's introduction, Lister quickly gained a general understanding of the identity information of these Slaves.

Many of the Slaves indeed had skills, which would be of great help in pioneering the territory.

After making up his mind, Lister looked at Walker and said, "I'll take all of your Slaves. Give me a price."