[{"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-338":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},2338801,4572,"Chapter 338: The Secret of the Treasure Map!","warlord-starting-with-daily-intelligence-chapter-338",338,"\u003Cp>“You’re the navigator adventurer who has the treasure map?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Y-yes, noble young master!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, Columbus finally stopped walking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had no choice but to stop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because after the previous eight men left, the noble young master’s knights had blocked his path.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Carefully glancing at the young noble before him, Columbus couldn’t help but speculate about his origins.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Earl’s son?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No, he must be the son of a marquis or duke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An earl’s family couldn’t possibly have such depth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But there didn’t seem to be any ducal or marquis families in the southern region—so how had this noble young master come to Iron Wolf City, and how had he found me?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then sit down! Let’s talk!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gervas immediately invited Columbus to sit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I have to say, the other person's name is still quite auspicious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Columbus, the Western navigator who discovered the American continent in his past life, bore the same name.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, the servant had carefully approached with a tray.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The tray held a silver wine jug and two crystal cups.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After placing the cups, the servant carefully filled both to the brim.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The crystal cups were instantly filled with beautiful red wine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Columbus was familiar with this wine—it was the Red Marquis the noble young master had mentioned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a wine brewed from wheat and roses, originating from the Rose Marquisate in the kingdom’s central region.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With its excellent taste, lacking bitterness, it was highly prized by nobles and well-known in the south, valued at ten silver coins per jug.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the past, after a successful adventure, he would extravagantly order a jug.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But since half a year ago, he hadn’t smelled the scent of Red Marquis again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the servant finished pouring and respectfully withdrew, Gervas gestured to him, then lifted the Red Marquis and took a sip.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sweet with a hint of tartness, the bitterness was extremely light, and there was a faint rose aroma.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clearly, in this medieval era, achieving this quality made ten silver coins per jug about worth it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Columbus, however, wore a complex expression, inhaled deeply the wine’s aroma, then raised it to his lips and drank it all at once.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Columbus set down his cup, Gervas personally lifted the jug and refilled his glass, under Columbus’s puzzled gaze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re Columbus, right? I heard you’ve been seeking wealthy patrons because your treasure map leads to a vast fortune. Can you tell me the details?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing the noble young master’s question and observing his unusual demeanor, Columbus seemed to make up his mind, his expression finally relaxing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Noble young master, I do possess a treasure map, which I purchased for two hundred gold coins from a destitute descendant of an earl.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“According to him, his family originally was a coastal viscount family owning just one ship, making money through maritime trade.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But once, their merchant vessel was caught in a storm and lost in the vast ocean.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Just as their fresh water and food were nearly exhausted, they discovered an island, where they found an old ship stranded on the shore.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“On that ship, they discovered many gold coins and valuable goods.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But their own vessel was severely damaged and couldn’t carry much cargo; to return safely, they needed enough fresh water and food.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So they took only one-third of the gold coins, burying the remaining two-thirds along with the other treasures on the island.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The treasure map was drawn secretly by his grandfather, marking the return route.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Later, his grandfather successfully returned and used the three thousand gold coins to elevate his family’s status.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Three thousand gold coins? Logically, if they left two-thirds of the treasure, it should have been six thousand gold coins—so why do rumors say your treasure is only three thousand?” Gervas asked sharply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Columbus remained calm. “Because if I’d said too much before, no one would’ve believed me—and it might have endangered my life.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gervas understood—he was a clever man.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Six thousand gold coins were enough to make powerful families envious—like ducal or marquis houses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With their own mature fleets, they might learn of this and come to seize the map outright.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With Columbus’s status, he couldn’t resist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But if the treasure was only three thousand gold coins, the risk of attracting such attention dropped drastically.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, the unknowns and dangers of sea exploration were immense; under such profit margins, it was easier to fund Columbus than to risk a direct takeover.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Columbus succeeded, they’d take only five or six hundred gold coins—the bulk would remain theirs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then why are you telling me now?” Gervas pressed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Because I’ve decided to give up. If you’re willing to fund me, I’ll go find it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But if you’re not funding me and only want the map, my demand is simple: pay me any amount, and I’ll sell you the map.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright, we’ll decide on that later. Continue—since there was so much wealth on the island, why did he sell the map?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And how can you be sure the map is real, and not something he made up to trick you?” Gervas said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Because I’ve been to one of the islands marked halfway on the map…” Columbus continued.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The reason the earl’s descendant was willing to sell the map was because his family’s rise and fall were both tied to it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After his grandfather returned, he used the three thousand gold coins to strengthen the family.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Naturally, he became obsessed with the treasure left on the island.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So he later bought two more ships, forming a fleet of three to search for it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But because the area lay in deep ocean and was frequently plagued by storms, every expedition ended in failure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This pattern repeated several times, even resulting in the loss of one ship—so his grandfather abandoned the search.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When his grandfather died, he passed the map to his father.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His father was poor at business; seeing the family’s income dwindle until it could no longer cover expenses, he revived the idea of the treasure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The outcome was predictable: the ship and his father were lost at sea, never heard from again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, his father had been cautious—he took only a copy of the map; the original passed down by his grandfather remained in the family.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the ship gone and his father dead, the family collapsed entirely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Later, unable to pay taxes, their title was stripped repeatedly until they became barons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even as barons, they lived in poverty, so he finally decided to sell the map.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unfortunately, no one wanted to buy it—everyone who knew him understood why his family had fallen so far.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those who didn’t know him naturally assumed he was a fraud; after all, a treasure map priced at two or three hundred gold coins? Few dared to buy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eventually, someone heard Columbus was an adventurer and came to him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Columbus initially paid no attention—but after seeing the map, he realized he had been to the halfway island marked on it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That place was remote, perpetually battered by storms; no ordinary person could reach it, and no common fraudster could possibly sketch such a route.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Convinced the map was genuine, he negotiated the price and spent most of his savings to buy it.\u003C\u002Fp>",1202,"2026-06-20T22:44:02.338Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","027a3fd2226d3d47935952d710690a73a22ab6562f6da658a8dd6f4e9a539b6f","warlord-starting-with-daily-intelligence-chapter-339","warlord-starting-with-daily-intelligence-chapter-337",521,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fwarlord-starting-with-daily-intelligence-cover.jpg"]