Chapter 197: Improvement

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

【Rank】: 4-Bronze Knight (344/800); 4-Great Mage (0/1200)

【Attribute Point】: 564

【Energy Essence】: 1941

Today is January 15th; the first two Warm Heart Gift Packs of this month brought him 40 and 50 Attribute Points and Energy Essence respectively.

Added to the check-ins at other times, as well as the newly obtained achievement rewards, his current Attribute Points and Energy Essence have once again grown to a very considerable number.

"Over five hundred Attribute Points is enough for me to max out my Knight Rank!"

He did not delay, directly consuming all of his Attribute Points.

【Rank】: 4-Bronze Knight (800/800); 4-Great Mage (108/1200)

In an instant, mysterious energy born from nowhere entered Luoning's body and was completely absorbed by his internal organs.

Luoning only felt his heartbeat thumping powerfully, his blood flowing more fiercely through his body; it felt as if he could release endless strength if he wished.

At the same time, the increase in Mental Power also made Luoning's five senses more acute.

He could clearly perceive the touch of the wind brushing against his skin, hear the chirping of birds in the distance, and everything around him seemed to become clear.

Luoning stood up, picked up the Liuyan Sword, and went to the courtyard outside the house, unreservedly practicing his Level 4 Battle Technique and Magic, quickly diluting the pleasure brought by the rapid improvement.

Chahar, who was waiting in the distance holding a water jug and a towel, realized that he didn't know since when he had become completely unable to evaluate the Lord's strength rank.

After a while, Luoning stopped his training, and while wiping away his sweat, he said to Chahar, "Go notify Ruidar; I have something to find him for."

The Energy Essence had accumulated to nearly two thousand points; it was time to consume a wave of it.

Previously, considering his own low strength and the dangers surrounding him, Luoning had invested all his Energy Essence into Maiken, which allowed the other party to leap over the Bronze rank and directly become a Silver Knight.

However, the situation is a bit different now.

Luoning's own strength has improved; as a Bronze Peak Knight and a Great Mage, enemies that could leave him without any power to resist—whether Magic Beasts or assassins—are not common.

At least within his own territory, he can move about completely freely, without the need for anyone's protection.

Because of this, Luoning's reliance on Maiken has decreased significantly.

On the contrary, as the territory develops further, Ruidar's importance will become higher and higher.

Coupled with this expedition to the Heiling Tribe, the Commander has made contributions, so even if he treats the Energy Essence as a reward, it is time for Luoning to share some with Ruidar.

Besides Ruidar, the improvement of Aierlong's abilities must also be planned.

After all, whether Lulansi can be healed is closely related to the rank of this Light Attribute Mage.

"My Lord, you summoned me."

That night, Ruidar came to Luoning's room.

"How was the patrol of Zhaoze Town these past two days?" Luoning asked.

The public security problems in Zhaoze Town are more serious than in Shanlin Town; on one hand, there are many people here and the residential areas are very concentrated, and on the other hand, the Lord has just changed, so some people might think the new Lord is easy to talk to, thus deliberately bullying neighbors and causing trouble these past few days.

Luoning noticed this problem and had Maiken take the cavalry and Infantry to be responsible for the public security here, catching all those who were arguing or fighting and making them do labor.

Besides public security issues, there are also threats regarding survival.

The swamp is not peaceful; dangerous wild beasts and Magic Beasts may exist, and the Hunter Squad organized by Ruidar is responsible for these types of problems.

"These past two days, I have already taken the Knights to search the dangerous areas reported by the residents."

Ruidar reported, "Three of the places did not have any danger, but in another place, we found a three-meter-long crocodile, which has already been killed and brought back."

Luoning raised an eyebrow; a three-meter-long crocodile is not large, but it still poses a threat to the residents who farm and fish in the swamp.

"Is it a Magic Beast?"

"No, it's just an ordinary wild beast."

Ruidar shook his head and added, "Jennie knocked it unconscious with two Water Arrow Techniques."

Jennie is a Water Attribute Mage; the environment of Zhaoze Town is quite good for her, allowing her speed in meditation and Refining Magic Power to increase quite a bit.

If Luoning establishes a new city elsewhere later, he could have Jennie take over Zhaoze Town.

"My Lord, after we finish the clearing of Zhaoze Town in a few days, I plan to take the Knights and act in separate groups."

Ruidar reported, "Qiaofuli will take a group of people back to Shanlin Town to clear the area from the Ironwood Workshop toward Wushan, while I will take the remaining people north from the Heiling Tribe."

Luoning nodded.

Hong Knight and Qiaofuli had both mentioned that many people from the former savage tribe died in the woodlands further north; what dangers are there, or what other situations exist, still requires Luoning's people to investigate.

Now that the Wubei Territory is all Luoning's domain, it is time to walk it properly.

"That's fine, you can be responsible for these matters. If the hunted prey are Magic Beasts, you can hand them to me; if they are ordinary wild beasts, you can divide them among yourselves."

Although the leather of ordinary wild beasts can be sold for some money, the price is limited, and Luoning is not short of those gold coins.

"Yes, my Lord."

Ruidar smiled and agreed, "I really want to use that crocodile skin to make a small piece of Leather Armor."

Luoning smiled without a word.

Although these three subordinates of his were all summoned, they are living people with their own personalities, not NPCs, so it is normal for them to have their own thoughts.

"For such things, you can let Chahar help handle it, or entrust it to Ms. Lia, Tangmu's mother."

Luoning said with a smile, "Anyway, you all have salaries every month; if you have money, are you afraid you won't find someone to work for you?"

"The Lord is right."

Ruidar said with a smile, "I just hope there will be more incoming Caravans in the territory, so it will be more convenient for us to buy things."

"There will definitely be Caravans."

Zhaoze Town is not as remote as Shanlin Town; merchants will definitely be willing to come.

"Moreover, we will also organize a Caravan; in the future, if you have anything special you want to buy, you can entrust our Caravan to purchase it, or ask for leave to go to Muma City to buy it yourself."

The two exchanged some more words, and Luoning found that Ruidar indeed understands a lot about commanding and governing a territory, making him worth investing more in.

Luoning glanced at the other's cultivation progress, which was now at 29/800, basically increasing by +1 every day.

"There is another matter for which I have summoned you here."

Luoning pulled the topic back from the training of Archers.

Ruidar stopped speaking and gazed at the Lord, thinking the other had tasks to arrange.

Yet he did not expect that a mysterious and unfathomable energy would descend upon him, causing all the Battle Qi and blood within his body to become active, as if they were water boiling more and more intensely.

"This is?"

In the long time since his summoning, Ruidar had never experienced the pleasure brought by adding points; this was his first time.

"I will first raise your strength to Silver Grade."

While explaining, Luoning invested 771 points of Energy Essence into Ruidar, allowing him to directly bypass the Bronze peak and successfully promote to a Silver Knight.

Hum~

As his level promoted, mysterious silver-white patterns emerged on Ruidar's skin; this was the mark of a Knight promoting to Silver.

"Truly miraculous!"

Ruidar clenched his fists, his knuckles popping, "With every breath, my skin and internal organs have received an incredible strengthening!"

He had heard Maiken and Aierlong mention it and knew the Lord had such a miraculous ability, but experiencing it for the first time today, he still felt it was inconceivable.

Luoning asked with satisfaction: "Ruidar, do you have the confidence to challenge a Golden Grade across ranks?"

Back then, Ruidar had defeated the Bronze-level Leisen with the strength of an Advanced Knight, and it was even across a major rank.

Hearing this, Ruidar closed his eyes and pondered for a moment; with this breakthrough, he naturally awakened a segment of memory, which was helpful for his combat performance and daily training.

When he opened his eyes again, he shook his head, "In my current state, it is very difficult, unless the opponent is not skilled in combat."

Luoning nodded slightly.

Golden Knights have generally been through decades of struggle; there are naturally those who are not skilled in combat, but there are not many, and most have some real ability.

Asking Ruidar, a Knight who had just entered Silver, to challenge them across ranks was indeed quite difficult.

"It doesn't matter, time is on our side."

Luoning was not at all discouraged by this.

If he really wanted to let Ruidar win against a Golden, he could just invest the remaining 1170 Energy Essence into him.

It was just that the current Wubei Territory did not have such an urgent need for a Golden Knight.

After all, for a Viscount territory with a population of less than twenty thousand to possess two Silver Knights at the same time, this was already a very rare thing. (End of chapter)