Chapter 197: Chapter 196: Advancement

Ronin opened his Attribute Panel only after Wilson and the others had left.

[Level]: 4-Bronze Knight (344/800); 4-Great Mage (0/1200)

[Attribute Points]: 564

[Energy Essence]: 1941

It was now January fifteenth. The first two Monthly Care Packages this month had given him 40 and 50 Attribute Points and Energy Essence, respectively.

Combined with his daily login rewards and the achievement he had just earned, his Attribute Points and Energy Essence had once again grown to a considerable amount.

’More than five hundred Attribute Points… That’s enough to max out my Knight Level!’

Without hesitation, he spent all of his Attribute Points.

[Level]: 4-Bronze Knight (800/800); 4-Great Mage (108/1200)

In an instant, a mysterious energy surged out of nowhere and entered Ronin’s body, where it was completely absorbed by his internal organs.

Ronin felt his heart begin to beat with immense power. His blood coursed more rapidly through his veins, and it seemed as if he could unleash endless strength at will.

At the same time, the increase in his Spiritual Power made his five senses much sharper.

He could clearly feel the wind on his skin and hear the chirping of distant birds. Everything around him seemed to snap into focus.

Ronin stood up, grabbed his Flowing Flame Sword, and went out into the courtyard. He began to practice his Fourth-level Combat Skills and Magic without reservation, quickly tempering the exhilarating rush from his rapid power-up.

Waiting in the distance with a water kettle and a towel, Chahar realized that at some point, he had become completely unable to gauge his Lord’s level of strength.

After a while, Ronin stopped his Cultivation. Wiping the sweat from his brow, he said to Chahar, “Go get Ridder. I need to see him.”

He had accumulated nearly two thousand Energy Essence. It was time to spend some of it.

Previously, considering his own weakness and the constant danger, Ronin had invested all his Energy Essence in Macken. This was what had allowed Macken to skip the Bronze Level entirely and become a Silver Knight.

Things were different now, however.

Ronin’s own power had increased significantly. As a Bronze Peak Knight and a Great Mage, it was rare to find an enemy—be it a Magical Beast or an assassin—that could leave him utterly helpless.

At least within his own territory, he could move about freely without any need for protection.

As a result, Ronin’s reliance on Macken had greatly diminished.

Conversely, as the territory continued to develop, Ridder’s importance would only grow.

Plus, the Commander had distinguished himself in the campaign against the Black-collar Tribe. It was about time Ronin gave Ridder a share of the Energy Essence, even if only as a reward.

Besides Ridder, he also needed a plan to enhance Elron’s abilities.

After all, Lurans’s recovery was directly tied to the Light Attribute Mage’s level.

“My Lord, you were looking for me.”

「That night.」

Ridder came to Ronin’s room.

“How have the patrols in Swamp Town been these past couple of days?” Ronin asked.

Swamp Town had more severe public security problems than Mountain Forest Town. For one, it was more populous, with everyone living in a concentrated area. For another, the lordship had just changed. Some people, perhaps thinking the new Lord was a pushover, had spent the last few days deliberately bullying their neighbors and stirring up trouble.

Ronin had taken note of the problem. He tasked Macken with leading the Cavalry and Infantry to maintain order, arresting anyone caught arguing or fighting and putting them to work.

In addition to public order, there were also survival threats.

The swamp was far from safe, potentially harboring dangerous beasts and Magical Beasts. The Hunter Squad that Ridder had assembled was responsible for handling such problems.

“Over the past two days, I’ve led the Knights to search the dangerous areas reported by the townsfolk.”

Ridder reported, “We found nothing dangerous in three of the locations. In another, however, we did find a three-meter-long crocodile. We’ve already killed it and brought it back.”

Ronin raised an eyebrow. A three-meter-long crocodile wasn’t massive, but it was still a threat to the people who farmed and fished in the swamplands.

“Was it a Magical Beast?”

“No, just a regular beast.”

Ridder shook his head and added, “Jenny knocked it out with just two Water Arrow Skills.”

Jenny was a Water Attribute Mage, so the environment in Swamp Town was actually quite beneficial for her. It had significantly increased the speed of her meditation and Mana refinement.

’In the future, if I establish a new town elsewhere, I could have Jenny take over Swamp Town.’

“My Lord, after we finish clearing the area around Swamp Town in a few days, I plan to split up the Knights.”

Ridder reported, “Joffrey will take a group back to Mountain Forest Town to clear the area from the Ironwood Workshop toward Wushan. I’ll lead the remaining men north from the Black-collar Tribe’s former territory.”

Ronin nodded.

Both Horn Knight and Joffrey had mentioned that many members of the former Wilderness Tribe had died in the Forest Land farther north. Ronin’s men needed to investigate to find out what dangers—or what else—lay there.

Now that the entire Wubei Territory was his, it was time to properly explore it.

“Alright, you can handle all of that. As for the game you hunt, if it’s a Magical Beast, bring it to me. If it’s a regular animal, you can divide it amongst yourselves.”

Regular animal hides and the like could be sold for money, but the price was limited, and Ronin wasn’t short on a few Gold Coins.

“Yes, my Lord.”

Ridder agreed with a smile. “I was actually hoping to use that crocodile hide to make a piece of Small Leather Armor.”

Ronin smiled without saying a word.

’Even though these three subordinates of mine were all summoned, they are living people with their own personalities, not NPCs. It’s only normal for them to have their own ideas.’

“You can have Chahar help you with that, or you could commission Tom’s mother, Lady Leia.”

Ronin said with a smile, “Besides, you all get a monthly salary. With money, you won’t have any trouble finding someone to do the work for you, will you?”

“You’re right, my Lord.”

Ridder said with a smile, “I just hope more merchant caravans from outside start visiting the territory. It would make it much more convenient for us to buy things.”

“There will definitely be caravans.”

’Swamp Town isn’t as remote as Mountain Forest Town. Traveling merchants will surely be willing to come here.’

“And we’ll be forming our own merchant caravan as well. In the future, if there’s something special you want to buy, you can have our caravan purchase it for you. Or, you could take some leave and go to Pasture City to buy it yourself.”

The two spoke for a while longer, and Ronin found that Ridder truly knew a great deal about command and governance. He was worth a greater investment.

He glanced at Ridder’s Cultivation progress. It was now at 29/800, and it seemed to increase by one point almost every day.

“I called you here for another matter.”

Ronin steered the conversation back to his original purpose.

Ridder stopped talking and looked at his Lord, thinking he had some task to assign.

To his surprise, a mysterious and unfathomable energy descended upon him. The Fighting Qi and blood within his body surged to life, like water coming to a roaring boil.

“This is…?”

In all the time since he had been summoned, Ridder had never experienced the exhilarating rush of a direct power infusion. This was his first time.

“First, I’m going to raise your strength to the Silver Level.”

As he spoke, Ronin invested 771 Energy Essence into Ridder, allowing him to bypass the Bronze Peak and smoothly advance to become a Silver Knight.

VMMMM~

As he leveled up, mysterious, silver-white patterns appeared on Ridder’s skin—the mark of a Knight’s ascension to the Silver Level.

“How incredible!”

Ridder clenched his fists, his knuckles cracking loudly. “In just a few breaths, my skin and internal organs have been strengthened to an unbelievable degree!”

He had heard Macken and Elron talk about their Lord’s miraculous ability, but experiencing it for the first time was still mind-boggling.

Ronin asked, satisfied, “Ridder, are you confident you could challenge someone at the Golden Level?”

After all, Ridder had once defeated the Bronze Level Reisen while only being an Advanced Level Knight—a jump across a Great Tier.

Hearing this, Ridder closed his eyes in thought. This breakthrough had also awakened a new set of memories within him, which would aid his combat prowess and daily training.

When he opened his eyes again, he shook his head. “In my current state, it would be extremely difficult. Not unless my opponent was poor at fighting.”

Ronin nodded slightly.

Most Golden Knights were veterans who had fought for decades. While some might not be skilled in combat, they were few and far between. The vast majority were formidable opponents.

For a newly-minted Silver Knight like Ridder to challenge one of them was indeed a monumental task.

“It doesn’t matter. Time is on our side.”

Ronin wasn’t the least bit discouraged.

If he really wanted Ridder to be able to defeat a Golden Level opponent, he could just invest the remaining 1170 Energy Essence into him.

It was just that the Wubei Territory had no urgent need for a Golden Knight at the moment.

After all, for a Viscount’s Domain with a population under twenty thousand to possess two Silver Knights simultaneously was already an exceedingly rare accomplishment.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep