206: Chapter 206 Changes in the Situation

Outside the window, the blizzard howled past, the white, biting chill beating against the glass with a "thud, thud" sound.

Exactly five days, just as the divination said, the blizzard descended once more upon this vast land of the Western Frontier Territory.

Its power was even greater than before, as if the five days were not its resting period, but its brewing period.

"The harsh winter to come is probably the hardest to endure."

Accompanied by the faint morning light filtering in from outside the window, Lister, who had woken up early, stood by the windowsill, his deep eyes gazing through the hazy wind and snow toward Blackwood Town.

On the soft, large bed beside him, Flora was still fast asleep, her delicate face exuding a strong sense of tranquility and serenity, resembling a sleeping beauty.

These past few days of intimate interaction between him and Flora had caused the feelings between the two to heat up rapidly, and the young girl grew increasingly gentle like water.

In contrast, inside the territory it had been as stable as usual over the past few days, but quite a few things had happened outside the territory.

According to the divination, Primo, who had previously come to seek cooperation, went to other territories after being rejected by him, and altogether managed to gain the troop support of nearly ten lords.

Such a scale was already considered a considerable force in the Pioneer Territory, and the threat to the surrounding tribe forces rose sharply.

He still acknowledged the rallying ability and personal charm that Primo displayed in this matter.

However, as for whether this force could inflict heavy losses on the Giant Elephant Tribe as Primo wished, he still privately felt it was practically impossible.

It was true that the Giant Elephant Tribe was having a dispute with the Shadow Leopard Tribe, but apart from the initial competition being somewhat fierce, the subsequent conflicts had been in a standoff.

At the beginning, the Giant Elephant Tribe was indeed at a disadvantage, but after he led people to trigger a beast tide to make a fuss at the Shadow Leopard Tribe's encampment last time...

...the current standoff between these two tribes had almost reached a balance of power.

The recurrent blizzard made the bitter winter of the Western Frontier Territory even harsher, completely unsuited for a prolonged military standoff.

In a few days, both sides would likely shake hands and make peace, discussing the ownership of the fine iron mine. Judging from the divination of the past two days, he estimated it should be a fifty-fifty split or a sixty-forty split.

Originally, the alliance of lords like Primo might not necessarily be able to do much to the Giant Elephant Tribe, let alone a Giant Elephant Tribe without strong enemies holding them back.

When Primo came to seek cooperation earlier, fearing that Primo's coalition might pose a threat to the Giant Elephant Tribe, he had actually thought about revealing the matter of the Beast Tribe squad's raid to Primo.

But in the end, after careful deduction and analysis, he still didn't say it out loud.

First, based on his deduction of the combined military forces of the surrounding territories, although it would cause considerable trouble for the Giant Elephant Tribe, it was not yet fatal.

Second, he needed someone to help him hold back the surrounding tribe forces, yet without creating any major chaos—lords like Primo were just right.

Thus, overall, the Giant Elephant Tribe was held in check by Primo and the others, the Black Wolf Tribe was beaten back to recuperate, and there was also the White Cat-Ear Tribe acting as a vanguard.

The most powerful Shadow Leopard Tribe was also silently licking its wounds because of the beast tide.

Although the chieftain Boras was furious and secretly sent people to investigate the mastermind behind it, there was no possibility of further large-scale military actions.

With several factors compounding, the surrounding tribe forces all fell into an unusual state of docility, and the situation had become entirely favorable to him and the Iron Thorn Territory Branch.

"It seems that what I've done during this period was not in vain." He couldn't help showing a faint smile, murmuring to himself.

Aside from the issue of the tribe forces, the divination had also mentioned some matters regarding the northwest frontline over the past few days.

Currently, the war on the northwest frontline had become increasingly deadlocked.

Thanks to Count Theodore's "military conscription", a large number of Pioneering Lords had rapidly rushed to reinforce the frontline battlefield, greatly increasing the frontline's defensive strength.

Wells's delayed appearance made the Beast Tribe side dare not act rashly either, plunging both sides into a slightly bizarre situation.

Thinking of this, he summoned the white ancient book in his mind: "I hope today's divination can have more useful information."

With a gentle movement of his mind, four divination messages slowly emerged on the blank pages, drawing all his attention over.

[Divination 1: The Knight Squad sent by Count Theodore will arrive at the Western Pioneer Territory today, and will launch a counterattack with the already united Pioneering Lords.]

[Divination 2: Dozens of Beast Tribe squads bypassed the due western defense line, rapidly raiding towards the southwest Pioneer Territory from the border between the Pioneer Territory and the tribe forces.]

[Divination 3: The two Golden Knights successfully mobilized by the royal family's person in charge stationed in Coridinglo will arrive at the northwest frontline in three days.]

[Divination 4: Sensing that the ambush plan has been leaked, the Beast Tribe High Priest Bartholomew, together with the chieftain Gustat and others, after discussion, decided to launch a surprise encirclement and suppression against Montgomery tonight.]

Swiftly glancing past the first divination message and looking at the second, Lister couldn't help showing a look of surprise, mixed with a hint of joy at the same time.

It was unexpected to him that the Beast Tribe squads directly bypassed the defense line and raided from the border.

But he had to admit that although this approach took a bit more time, it could greatly avoid the counterattack of Theodore's subordinate knightly order.

Moreover, the number of squads that bypassed was not large. With his current overall strength, as long as all the orc squads didn't attack together, he could take them down with almost zero pressure.

However, the fact that these orc squads could attack so quickly meant their strength might be even more formidable than he had anticipated, adding a sense of caution to his heart.

Judging from the marching speed of these Beast Tribe squads, he estimated they would arrive at the southwest Pioneer Territory region in just a few days.

Through intelligence gathering over the past few days, he had already learned about the situation of some lords north of the Iron Thorn Territory Branch.

Most lords had already led their armies to respond to the "military conscription", and not many lords remained behind.

The pioneer territories in the entire west and southwest would be in a relatively weak state for the next period, and their defensive strength would be greatly discounted.

When these dozens of Beast Tribe squads raided, the territories blocking the front of the Iron Thorn Territory Branch would clash with them first.

Based solely on their current number and strength, it would probably be very difficult for them to hold on, and those territories without the protection of lords and military forces would likely be even more miserable.

At the same time, he knew that the reinforcement routes of most lords responding to the "military conscription" had a high probability of conflicting with the attack routes of the Beast Tribe squads.

Under such circumstances of meeting first, the Beast Tribe squads probably wouldn't hold back; after all, their purpose was to hold down the reinforcing lords.

However, he wasn't too worried about this. It was true that the Beast Tribe squads had impure motives, but those Pioneering Lords who hadn't gone to support the frontline certainly weren't fools.

Their refusal of Count Theodore's "military conscription" might be to preserve their strength, out of fear of death, or for some other reason.

But no matter what the reason was, they certainly wouldn't fight to the bitter end when facing a formidable enemy; after all, losing a Pioneer Territory wouldn't result in a death sentence.

At most, they would pay a fine and then return to Coridinglo to await subsequent arrangements.

As a result, these dozens of Beast Tribe squads would soon slaughter their way to him, and by then, who exterminated whom might be a different story.

"Beast Tribe squads, let me truly experience your strength."

Accompanied by the howling sound of the violent wind and snow sweeping past his ears, Lister's eyes grew increasingly profound, faintly tinged with a thick look of anticipation.

Shifting his gaze downward to look at the third divination message, his eyes lit up slightly.

Two Golden Knights!

Currently, the Golden Knights on the northwest frontline were only Montgomery on the surface and Wells, who had been hiding in the shadows without showing his face.

Because Wells could not show his face casually, the frontal pressure Montgomery had to face was immense.

Now with two Golden Knights going to reinforce, plus Count Theodore holding down the fort in Coridinglo...

...the high-end combat power of both sides was completely equal, and the originally declining situation was suddenly reversed.

The ambush and encirclement previously planned by the Beast Tribe naturally turned into a mere bubble.

However, he had previously thought that Count Theodore could find a few more Golden Knights to launch a counter-ambush against the five High Orcs of the Beast Tribe.

Now it seemed that this was probably just his wishful thinking; how could there be so many mobilizable Golden Knights in the kingdom right now?

"I was still being a bit presumptuous." He shook his head with a self-deprecating smile.

Then he looked at the last divination message, his expression suddenly tightening.

The divination didn't mention that High Priest Bartholomew obtained the intelligence, which meant that the confidentiality work for mobilizing the two Golden Knights was done quite well.

Yet Bartholomew's perception and reaction speed far exceeded his expectations, especially since it so decisively and quickly facilitated the encirclement operation.

Two Golden Knights confronting five High Orcs head-on—the gap in strength could not be considered small, and there was a high probability of causing deaths on the side with fewer people.

It would be fine if Montgomery and Wells could detect it in advance; they could just turn tail and run.

As long as they weren't entangled, he believed the two of them could definitely escape, but right now he was afraid that the two hadn't noticed.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help falling into a speechless silence——

After a long while, he let out a helpless, long breath of white steam: "It's too late to find a way to inform them now; let's leave it to their own luck."

Rubbing his brow, he left the windowsill and walked over to the large sofa, sitting down cross-legged.

Slowly closing his eyes, soon under the operation of the "Silver Wolf Breathing Technique", his chest and breathing began to rhythmically expand and contract, inhale and exhale, and the Dou Qi Energy within his body began to surge wildly.

Ever since activating the "Nether Moon Wolf Bloodline", he could clearly feel that after operating the "Silver Wolf Breathing Technique"...

...his breathing had become smoother and more skillful than before, and each time he absorbed power, there seemed to be some unknown special energy added.

He couldn't determine whether the quality had improved, but judging from the training progress, the absorption amount of Dou Qi Energy, and its purity, it was definitely much stronger than before.

This unexpected huge harvest completely compensated for the slight disappointment he felt last time when he only gained memories from awakening his bloodline.

As the Breathing Technique continued to operate more deeply, the Dou Qi Energy absorbed within his body became more and more abundant.

If previously it was like drinking with a straw, now it was like pouring it in with a bowl, and the speed was getting faster and faster.

However, the Dou Qi Energy absorbed into his body during this period had all undergone a certain special fusion and conversion with his original Dou Qi Energy inside.

The total amount of Dou Qi in his body hadn't increased by much now, but its purity had greatly improved.

At the same time, an unknown special energy appeared within it, mixed with a sternness similar to the dark night and the purification of the moon, as well as a sense of overbearing dominance.

After careful perception, he found that this energy not only made his Dou Qi Energy pure and profound, but also his magic power as well.

He knew this must be a special mutation brought by the "Nether Moon Wolf Bloodline". From all perceptions, it was completely favorable to his cultivation.

The "buzz, buzz, buzz" vibration sound of the window continuously resounded, and the light shining through the thick clouds grew a bit brighter.

One hour later, he slowly opened his eyes to end his cultivation, his spirits becoming even more vigorous.

Standing up to feel the changes within his body, he couldn't help showing a faint smile of satisfaction.

Raising his head, a pair of watery, beautiful young girl's eyes intersected with his.

Having dressed in her attire and arranged her makeup, Flora walked slowly towards him with gentle footsteps.

"Lord Lister, Flora shall serve you in dressing."

"Sorry to trouble you." Lister responded with a gentle smile while extending his arms to make it convenient for Flora to serve.

Flora's movements were very gentle, yet not slow, orderly helping him put on his clothes one by one.

Suddenly thinking of something, Lister looked down at her pretty face and asked: "Flora, have you exchanged letters with your family recently? How are they doing?"

"Thank you for your concern, Lord Lister." Flora's face revealed a moved expression: "Not long ago, I already exchanged letters with my family. They are doing very well now."

"Father and mother are both working very happily in their respective posts. Not only is their income affluent, but they can also save a lot. Grandpa is also doing some small business in the market, and his income is also very good."

"Because of your magnanimity and grace, my younger brother Saul also entered the new school in Ironthorn Town for free to study."

"Every day now, he studies cultural knowledge hard, as well as the foundational knowledge before knight cultivation taught by the school, wanting to become your knight in the future and pledge allegiance to you."

"I heard from the teacher that in Knight Dewey's basic cultivation instruction class, because of learning swordsmanship, he won the praise of Knight Dewey, who said he has a very good talent for swordsmanship."

"Won Dewey's praise?" Lister's expression was slightly surprised.

Although Dewey was currently only at Bronze Rank 9, his talent for practicing swordsmanship was very good. Moreover, he was usually a very serious person and generally wouldn't easily praise others.

Nodding slightly, he showed approval and said: "Then it seems Saul is indeed very good; in the future, we can nurture him more in this direction."

"There are many kinds of Transcendents, and one doesn't necessarily have to become a knight; a swordsman is also a very good direction."

"When he grows up a bit more and builds a good physical fitness foundation, I will find a good Transcendent swordsmanship teacher to specially instruct him."

"Thank you, Lord Lister. I will definitely make Saul work doubly hard, striving not to live up to your cultivation and trust, and to become your most loyal warrior as soon as possible." Flora looked up in pleasant surprise and bowed to thank him.

"Good, I look forward to that day's arrival."