[{"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-134":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},2338597,4572,"Chapter 134","warlord-starting-with-daily-intelligence-chapter-134",134,"\u003Cp>Amid the stunned stares of Mil and several barons, Catherine arrived at their table.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, Catherine’s previously icy expression softened, revealing a faint, polite smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This sudden change made the men feel as if they had stepped from a biting winter wind into a cozy room with a roaring fire—unanticipated, yet heart-pounding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as Mil and the others flushed red, unsure how to respond, Catherine finally spoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Baron Gervas!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Huh?!” The men turned sharply toward Gervas!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Lady Catherine, what can I do for you?” Gervas’s face remained calm, though his mind stirred with thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mil and the others found Catherine’s demeanor utterly unbelievable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Gervas knew this demeanor was merely the polite smile expected among nobles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Therefore, this could not be Catherine’s true attitude toward him before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Baron Gervas, I’ve come to inform you that the fifty gold coins you were promised for the intelligence you passed to my steward are ready.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If it’s convenient, I’ll send someone to deliver them to your camp later—could you tell me where your camp is?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My camp is beside the caravan market, third position at the gate fence, marked by a black-and-white flag.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Very well, Baron Gervas. Until later!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With that, Catherine nodded to Mil and the others, then departed gracefully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only after Catherine had vanished into the distance did Mil and the others snap back to reality, all turning to Gervas.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Gervas, you actually know Lady Catherine? And she’s giving you gold coins?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, Baron Gervas, what’s going on here? Could you give us even a hint?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gervas smiled. “We met once before. Didn’t Lady Catherine get kidnapped by the Scorpion Bandits? I was the one who sent word to the Violet Family’s steward.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I had a personal grudge against the Scorpion Bandits. Informing the Violet Family not only earned me a reward, but also let me use their hands to eliminate my enemy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So that’s why! All the nobles were puzzled—how did Lady Catherine return safely? It was because of your intelligence, ha!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After hearing Gervas’s explanation, Kane, Mil, and the other barons seemed to exhale deeply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gervas exchanged a few more words with them, then rose to take his leave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He also settled the tab on his way out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This further increased Kane, Mil, and the others’ goodwill toward Gervas.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leaving the tavern, Gervas arrived at the gate of his camp, where Catherine and her attendants were already waiting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After brief pleasantries, Gervas invited Catherine into the camp.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Baron Gervas, I apologize!” As soon as they entered the meeting tent, Catherine immediately spoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What’s wrong, Lady Catherine?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Baron Gervas, Count Farrio now knows of your existence.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As expected.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Catherine’s earlier odd behavior had already led Gervas to suspect this possibility.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But don’t worry, Baron Gervas—for now, Farrio only knows you leaked the Scorpion Bandits’ information.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The things I just said to you in the tavern were meant to send that message outward.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gervas understood—the reason Catherine fabricated the reward story in the tavern. “You want Farrio to believe I leaked the information out of personal grudge against the Scorpion Bandits, so he won’t harbor deep resentment toward me?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Exactly, Baron Gervas. I know this still puts you in danger, but it’s the best solution I could think of.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Here are fifty gold coins—take them first. Later, I’ll publicly reveal Farrio’s ties to the Scorpion Bandits.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then, use these fifty coins to beg Farrio’s forgiveness. I believe he’ll avoid escalating matters and won’t dare act against you openly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This lady baroness!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching Catherine speak with such sincerity, Gervas didn’t know what to say.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same time, from her words, Gervas sensed something unusual.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Lady Catherine, is Farrio still pressuring the Violet Family through his allied trading houses?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Catherine froze, then nodded, her eyes dimming.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes. Our Violet Family’s crystal mines are completely unsellable now.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Under Farrio’s covert threats, every trading house near Iron Wolf City refuses to buy our violet crystals.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She had come to the tavern to negotiate aid for the Violet Family with a count’s heir.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But that heir had demanded terms so outrageous she’d stormed out in fury.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gervas now understood why Catherine had exposed herself—Farrio was simply too ruthless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Lady Catherine, do you have concrete proof linking Farrio to the Scorpion Bandits?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No,” Catherine shook her head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Lady Catherine, since you have no proof, I advise you not to expose his connection to the Scorpion Bandits.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Doing so won’t harm Farrio—it will only force a complete rupture between you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Until you break the surface, Farrio still has some restraint and dares not act too openly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But if you expose him without solid proof to bring him down, he’ll have full license to strike you openly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Lady Catherine, Farrio isn’t just suppressing your crystal mines—he’s threatened to issue secret bans on all other Violet Family trades: grain, livestock, everything.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If that happens, your Violet Family may not survive.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A flicker of exhaustion passed through Catherine’s eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though a lord, she was still a woman—still only twenty years old.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In her past life, she’d have been a cherished child. Now, she bore the entire family’s burden.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gervas, though only seventeen, carried a soul that had lived two lifetimes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He understood her anguish and desperation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Remembering the single-tube telescopes his jewelers had completed before his campaign, Gervas said: “Lady Catherine, I have a way to free the Violet Family from Farrio’s oppression.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Catherine blinked, puzzled, looking at Gervas.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gervas feigned rummaging in his pocket, then silently withdrew a single-tube telescope from his space ring.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The telescope had two telescoping sections, crafted entirely of brass.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fully extended, it reached forty-five centimeters in length and weighed about twelve hundred grams.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though heavy, it magnified eightfold with exceptional clarity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The only flaw: due to haste, the tube had not been decorated—its bare, gleaming brass shell looked crude.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Catherine stared at the brass tube Gervas offered, unsure what it was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Lady Catherine, look at the moon through it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tonight, the sky was clear, the moon full and large.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though puzzled, Catherine followed Gervas’s instruction and raised the telescope toward the moon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moments later, Catherine’s body jerked violently. She snatched the brass tube away as if terrified.\u003C\u002Fp>",1027,"2026-06-20T22:44:01.160Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","85d775589d63ea77770ebc4c81e1dfe2c978fd1deaaabba9637202eb420e3a13","warlord-starting-with-daily-intelligence-chapter-135","warlord-starting-with-daily-intelligence-chapter-133",521,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fwarlord-starting-with-daily-intelligence-cover.jpg"]