[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-warlord-starting-with-daily-intelligence":3,"chapter-warlord-starting-with-daily-intelligence-warlord-starting-with-daily-intelligence-chapter-11":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Warlord: Starting with Daily Intelligence",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2338474,4572,"Chapter 11","warlord-starting-with-daily-intelligence-chapter-11",11,"\u003Cp>“So you knew I was coming?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, my lord. Two days ago, a messenger delivered word of your arrival to every villager. We’ve memorized your name!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clearly, the kingdom’s administration still functions reliably.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Stand up, all of you!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thank you, my lord!” The villagers rose, trembling yet exhilarated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, beyond the villagers’ excitement, the knight retainers were equally stirred.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>None of them had ever imagined that they were sent to manage a small estate—only for Young Master Gervas to become a baronial lord!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was no less than a wild chicken turning into a phoenix.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And as their subordinates, they too would rise with him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing the knight retainers’ dazed expressions, Gervas said: “Earlier, I told you we were going to manage the viscount’s estate—that was just to fool Lady Mary, and also a test for you. Congratulations—you’ve passed my trial!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“From this day forward, you are my official subordinates! And when you advance to full knights, the position of my Guard Knight will be open to you!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The knight retainers grew even more excited.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every noble’s Guard Knight count is limited, for maintaining even one knight costs a fortune in gold coins.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Knights demand high salaries.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They also require horses and retinue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It takes at least ten gold coins a year, minimum.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That’s for a common minor noble’s Guard Knight. For a great noble’s, dozens or even hundreds of gold coins per knight is normal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, many knight retainers spend their entire lives as retainers, with no position open for promotion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What? Young Master Gervas is a lord?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing the village’s monsters cleared, Old John and Caroline drove their cart into town—only to hear this shocking news.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially Caroline, who stared at Gervas in disbelief, her expression unreadable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She had long dreamed of marrying a noble and becoming a noble lady.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet now, the very Young Master Gervas she had despised these past days had become a baronial lord.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Who among you is the village head?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My lord Gervas, the village head is not here!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gervas did not dwell on titles—he needed to understand the state of his domain first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Where is he?” Gervas frowned. At such a dangerous moment, had the village head fled?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My lord Gervas, the village head and the wealthy families, seeing the monsters breach the village, fled through the rear gate under their guards’ protection.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gervas then remembered the hundred-odd people he’d seen earlier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had mistaken them for ordinary villagers—but they were the village head and the town’s wealthy elite.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After asking for more details, he learned that due to the dangers of Stormlord’s Domain, this village had been without a lord for two years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As a result, Karil and a few wealthy families had seized control.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The village head and the wealthy colluded: they seized vast farmlands, oppressed the villagers, and treated the place as their private garden.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Bring them back to me!” Gervas’s face turned icy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But there was no need to call them—upon seeing Gervas and his men join the battle and wipe out the monsters, the fleeing caravan had already turned back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, they arrived before him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Esteemed noble lord, thank you for saving Wheatfield Village. I am the village head, Karil. May I ask your name?” Karil stepped forward with a beaming smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Gervas Gail, Lord of Stormlord’s Domain!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Karil’s smile froze. The other wealthy men froze too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a moment, Karil recovered, forcing an even more fawning smile: “Your humble servant Karil greets my lord! It is such a blessing to see you! Wheatfield Village has been without a lord for two years!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gervas sneered. “Karil, as village head, do you know what crime it is to abandon your villagers and your domain and flee alone?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This… my lord, I did not flee! I merely went to seek aid from neighboring domains!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is that so? You dare lie to my face? Deceiving a noble doubles your crime. Lei Meng, seize him!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, my lord!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You can’t arrest me! I’m a royal-appointed village head! You have no right!” Karil resisted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But against a Bronze Knight like Lei Meng, capturing him was like grabbing a chick.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sword scabbard smashed straight into Karil’s face—blood spurted, teeth rattled loose.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While Karil staggered dazed, Lei Meng seized his collar and hurled him beside Mi Gen and the others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mi Gen and his men pounced, binding him like a beast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Royal-appointed village head? This land is now mine—Gervas’s. Even if I can’t punish you for desertion, your deception of a noble is contempt of nobility—enough to justify my arrest!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And I’ll hang you from a gallows.” Gervas waved to Mi Gen and the others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Karil never imagined this new lord was so ruthless—he’d never been so terrified.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Noble, this is illegal! You have no right… Lord Kodo, save me! Lord Kodo!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing reason was useless, Karil turned to a middle-aged man among the wealthy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the man’s eyes flickered—then he said not a word.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, under Mi Gen’s men’s coordination, Karil was hanged from a nearby wooden pole.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re Kodo? What’s your position?” Gervas turned to the man Karil had called out to.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Respected my lord, we are all commoners!” Kodo bowed low. The other wealthy men did the same.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Commoners, are you? Then I suppose I can’t blame you for failing to defend the village!” Gervas’s tone was mocking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Whose houses are those?” He pointed toward the castle, where a small hill held several spacious courtyards.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My lord, those courtyards belong to us and Village Head Karil!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your courtyards? I, Gervas, declare—from this day forward, they are castle property!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This… my lord, we are commoners! Those are our legal assets, protected by royal law!” The wealthy men turned pale.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I know you’re commoners. Had you not been, you’d already be hanging beside Karil!” Gervas sneered. “As for legal ownership—can you produce land deeds? I suspect these lands were always castle property, merely seized privately by you and Karil.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The wealthy men’s faces changed again and again—they’d been guessed right.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gervas was so certain because, by custom, all land within a mile of the castle belonged to the lord.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was tradition—not only for defense, but for convenience: these lands produced food to supply the castle’s daily needs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“By the way, I have another matter to announce: Do you hold vast tracts of Wheatfield Village land?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ll give you one chance: each of you may keep five mu. Return everything else, and I’ll overlook your crimes these past years!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Impossible! We may lack deeds for the houses, but the farmland was legally purchased—protected by royal law!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gervas was demanding their livelihoods—they could never agree.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gervas had expected this. He wasn’t angry. “Fine. I won’t force you. But bear the consequences yourselves.”\u003C\u002Fp>",1122,"2026-06-20T22:44:01.160Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","3b619c3a3ce19e6a7b68044f723536f01f911ea814c054de2a2d1258cd42a080","warlord-starting-with-daily-intelligence-chapter-12","warlord-starting-with-daily-intelligence-chapter-10",521,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fwarlord-starting-with-daily-intelligence-cover.jpg"]