48: Kill three birds with one stone

[Divination 1: This evening, the messenger Soldier Tony Matthew will arrive at Aetheria, the main city of the Tulip Territory. Upon receiving the news, Count Elsid will immediately dispatch Ellis Clifford, the Golden Knight and Commander of the Radiant Knight Order, one of the three great knight orders of the Tulip Territory, to lead a team. They will reach your territory in three days. While passing through the Mist Forest, they spent some time locating and slaying the Black Flame Demon Bear that attacked Daisna.]

[Divination 2: A certain Ironthorn Grass deep within the Ironthorn Forest, having been nourished by elemental energy for many years, will transform into a rare spiritual plant this afternoon.]

[Divination 3: Kim Cole, the Deacon of the Slave Merchant Guild, having had a very pleasant transaction with you last time, has once again chosen to pass through your territory on his way to the Royal City. However, in the afternoon three days from now, while passing through the buffer zone west of Baron Grant's Territory, he will be attacked by five low-rank Ironclad Crocodiles. His Slave guards will suffer heavy casualties, among them a Slave named Jimur Arnold, a forging genius with Dwarf blood.]

Upon seeing the first divination message, Lister’s eyes were practically burning with envy.

He hadn’t expected Count Elsid to dote on Daisna to such an extent.

Even a Golden Knight, the commander of a knight order, was sent to avenge his daughter.

And it was the renowned Ellis Clifford, under whose leadership the Radiant Knight Order had achieved countless victories in battles against the Northern Orcs.

The sheer number of Orcs he had slain made him one of the most hated and feared knights by the Orcs, and he was also a beacon of aspiration and reverence for every young man in the kingdom who had just begun their knight cultivation.

Therefore, even if the Black Flame Demon Bear's strength had fallen to that of a Silver Knight due to injury, it would still not be Ellis Clifford's opponent even at its peak.

“This Black Flame Demon Bear didn’t die in vain.” Lister even began to feel regret for the Black Flame Demon Bear.

Suppressing the envy that was almost turning into jealousy, he looked at the second divination message.

Unexpected!

Very unexpected!

He had originally thought that the barren land of the Ironthorn Territory had no rare resources at all.

After acquiring the Green Sprite Lianna, he had searched every inch of the Ironthorn Territory through Lianna’s unique abilities, but unfortunately found nothing.

Now it seemed it wasn't that there were none, but that they were pitifully few, just like drawing cards; whether you get one depends entirely on luck, and his situation was even worse, with no guaranteed pull.

But it was, after all, a rare resource that he could obtain effortlessly, so he was already very content.

In a good mood, he continued to look at the last divination message, and the familiar name Kim Cole immediately caught his eye.

Seeing that he was going to pass through his territory again, Lister couldn't help but smile. Sure enough, being generous had its benefits.

See? The man remembered him and specifically chose to travel to the Royal City through the Ironthorn Territory.

It was not easy for such a clever and well-resourced Slave merchant to truly remember a Baron, especially a Baron of such a barren territory.

After all, not everyone had the ability to sell Slaves to the Royal City, so there was no shortage of buyers.

Such valuable connections were crucial and rare in any world, so he would undoubtedly seize them firmly.

Quickly scanning all the content, his expression became even more delighted.

A forging genius with Dwarf blood!

Dwarves, a race with a resounding reputation in human kingdoms, whose forging talent was envied by all races.

This race lived in the mountains west of the kingdom, was obsessed with forging, and rarely had conflicts with other races.

Therefore, Dwarf Slaves were almost never seen, and even if there were any, they were all bought by major noble families.

So, whether to solidify his relationship with Kim Cole or to acquire a forging genius, he had to intervene and save them.

As for the five low-rank magical beasts, he no longer paid them any mind; instead, they could even be used as rewards for the knights.

It was simply three birds with one stone!

As he rejoiced, Thomas brought him a cup of warm milk.

“You’ve worked hard, Thomas,” Lister said with a smile, taking the milk.

Thomas showed a relieved expression, yet still respectfully replied, “It’s what this old servant should do.”

Smiling, Lister said no more. He drank the milk in one gulp, then got up and headed to the training grounds... As the footsteps of the Winter Goddess deepened, the weather grew colder, and the morning training grounds appeared somewhat desolate in the howling cold wind.

However, the resolute knights and Soldiers were not defeated by the cold.

Upon arriving at the training grounds, Lister saw Red and other knights cultivating, and in the large open space below the castle slope, ordinary Soldiers could also be seen drilling.

Lister was naturally pleased to see their diligence; after all, the daily meals he provided them could absolutely meet their high-intensity training needs.

After responding to the greetings from Red and the others, he went to the open space behind to begin his own cultivation.

As the Breathing Technique deepened its circulation and his longsword continuously swung, the faint chill within his body was completely dispelled.

Through yesterday's battle with the Orcs, his understanding of swordsmanship had deepened by another increment.

Although he still hadn’t touched the threshold of the Mastery realm, he could feel that he was indeed steadily improving.

His Spearmanship cultivation, however, remained the same, with little progress, a fact he had grown accustomed to.

It was the sword skill 'Flame Cross Slash' that had made the most progress, its power significantly stronger than before.

Morning training wasn't long, but good news kept coming.

As the first beast roar echoed from the training grounds, Locke exclaimed with pleasant surprise, “I’ve successfully advanced to Bronze Rank 7!”

His excited shout filled some of the resting knights with envy.

A moment later, three more beast roars consecutively blasted forth, and Carlyle and Spartacus also broke through one by one.

And the last Apprentice Knight of the initial contingent, Hill Rijeve, successfully advanced to Bronze Rank 1.

Four people breaking through in such a short morning training session showed how much yesterday’s battle with the Orcs had improved everyone.

By now, all the Apprentice Knights Lister had brought had successfully advanced to Full Knights.

Since his arrival at the Ironthorn Territory, it had only been a little over ten days; this success rate and breakthrough speed were definitely enough to make him feel proud.

After a generous round of encouraging praise and seeing everyone's excited expressions, he nodded in satisfaction and slowly left the training grounds.

When he returned to the castle, Daisna had just woken up. Accompanied by the beauty, he leisurely enjoyed a delicious and aesthetically pleasing breakfast.

Immediately after breakfast, Brutus and Malo, the foreman, appeared at the castle gate.

After nodding to them both, Daisna bid farewell to Lister and departed.