[{"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-38":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},2338501,4572,"Chapter 38: Capture the Demon Swift Eagles!","warlord-starting-with-daily-intelligence-chapter-38",38,"\u003Cp>At noon, Thomas returned to the castle, having completed the tasks assigned by Gervas that morning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My lord, I’ve recruited fifty elderly fishermen and peasant women, and woven these twenty-five hemp nets—would they suffice?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gervas inspected the craftsmanship and size; they met his requirements exactly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Good, Thomas. Reward every peasant who helped weave with one pound of smoked meat!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My lord, isn’t that too generous? Even a single black bread would be plenty!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Didn’t you say some of them are elderly? Give them smoked meat to strengthen them!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You are truly a benevolent lord!” Thomas’s eyes brimmed with emotion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though the reward wasn’t for him, Gervas’s kindness toward the peasants made Thomas, a low-ranking civil official himself, feel it deeply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thomas had no idea this was also a case of paying a thousand gold for a dead horse’s bones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It would let every peasant know: if you work for the lord, rewards will never be lacking—future initiative will soar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once the population grows, we’ll establish strict reward-and-punishment systems, and the entire domain will brim with vigor and drive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the nets ready, Gervas wasted no time and ordered all subordinates to take the nets out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the column marched toward the red mangrove forest, laden with nets, Lei Meng and others assumed Gervas meant to fish.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even Mi Gen and Lei Meng felt no disdain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For anyone from this world, picking up dozens or even hundreds of pounds of fish scattered on the ground was a luxury.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Food in this world was simply too scarce.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But soon, everyone realized today’s task was unlike what they’d imagined.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My lord, aren’t we here to fish? Why are we hiding the nets in the mangrove branches?” Mi Gen asked, puzzled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Who said we’re here to fish?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Not to fish?” Mi Gen and the others visibly deflated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gervas found this amusing. “How could such a bountiful catch happen every day? What are you dreaming of? If fish were that abundant daily, who’d bother farming?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Mi Gen and the others humiliated, Gervas changed tone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But today’s target, though not fish, is far more valuable than those sea creatures!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“More valuable than sea fish?” Mi Gen and the others gasped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do you know what a Demon Swift Eagle is?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Demon Swift Eagle? The second-rank bird most commonly ridden by the Sky Knights of the high nobility?” Lei Meng exclaimed in shock!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Precisely—the Demon Swift Eagle, a mount. Do you think its value is lower than sea fish?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My lord, if it’s truly a Demon Swift Eagle, its value certainly exceeds sea fish. One adult Demon Swift Eagle is worth at least fifty to sixty gold coins—only slightly less than a Flame Horse!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ten of them would be five to six hundred gold coins—far surpassing the value of last time’s fish!” Lei Meng replied immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Fifty to sixty gold coins each?” Mi Gen and the others, lacking exposure, had never heard of Demon Swift Eagles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the figure of fifty to sixty gold coins gave them a concrete value anchor—eyes widened in disbelief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Now you understand the value. Get to work and set it up properly!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Learning that Demon Swift Eagles might arrive, the subordinates’ enthusiasm surged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the setup was complete, Gervas led his men to collect shells along the tidal flats.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Demon Swift Eagle’s beak is extremely sharp; shellfish and shrimp along the coast are among their favored foods.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That’s why they choose to rest here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To lure these Demon Swift Eagles, we must set bait, just as we did for the Flame Horses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, this world’s oceans remain undeveloped, and the mangrove shores still hold abundant shellfish.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, over a dozen baskets of shellfish were gathered near the trap and scattered across a specific area.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Next came camouflage and ambush—critical.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The grasslands had bushes and trees for cover, but the mangrove forest did not.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The branches were sparse, and Demon Swift Eagles flew overhead; simple leaf camouflage would be instantly spotted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Everyone, smear mud over yourselves!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gervas had thought of a foolproof solution.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As their lord set the example, the guards and knights dared not complain about the dirt or discomfort.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even Laurent, fearing it wasn’t enough, rolled himself several times in the mud, turning himself into a mud-algae monster, before finally feeling reassured.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everything was now set. All that remained was waiting for the Demon Swift Eagles to appear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whether due to their sincerity or not, the Demon Swift Eagles arrived astonishingly fast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only half an hour after they crouched in the mud beside the tree roots, dark shadows swept overhead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though sunlight made details unclear, their three-meter wingspans revealed the birds’ staggering size.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My lord, they’re here!” Mi Gen, farther off, grinned widely, teeth gleaming.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gervas blinked slightly, signaling he understood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Splash!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps because the view was so open, the Demon Swift Eagles deemed this grove safe—one quickly landed on a mangrove branch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After observing briefly, though it noticed the coiled hemp nets, the eagle’s instincts told it threats came only from living creatures or massive plants—so it ignored the nets entirely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a flap of its wings, it landed on the ground and began pecking at the seafood “buffet.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the first Demon Swift Eagle feasted, the others circling above could no longer resist—they began landing one after another.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eventually, all Demon Swift Eagles landed—eleven in total, exactly as the system had indicated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gervas slowly raised his hand, buried in mud, and held up five fingers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then five, four, three, two, one!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Now!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the instant Gervas finished counting, everyone hidden in the mud around the mangrove forest surged upward and yanked the ropes before them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Splash! Splash!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the ropes pulled taut, over a dozen hemp nets unfurled with spring-loaded openings, blocking the mangrove branches.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Demon Swift Eagles, startled by the sudden commotion, shrieked in terror and flapped desperately toward the sky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But their bodies were too large to pass through the nets—they veered sideways, trying to escape.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Too late. The guards had prepared: half, led by Lei Meng and the knights, pressed forward with sharpened wooden spears, forcing the eagles back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Quick! Lower the nets!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing the Demon Swift Eagles mostly contained, Gervas shouted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even without his order, over a dozen guards already scaled the branches and sliced the spring knots with broken blades.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the tension gone, the nets dropped, enveloping the Demon Swift Eagles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One, two, three… soon, ten Demon Swift Eagles were fully trapped in the nets.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The guards hauling the ropes rushed forward, wrapping the birds tightly in the mesh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Trouble!” But the eleventh Demon Swift Eagle presented a problem.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This one was half a size larger than the others—clearly their leader.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With violent struggles, it flung off two guards and barely escaped the net.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a cry, it soared into the sky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The guards turned pale with fear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Moonchaser!” Gervas would not let his prize fly away—he shouted.\u003C\u002Fp>",1150,"2026-06-20T22:44:01.160Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","c50b58c50dff2698591779dbbbc3b11677a26b380e65b02330242b7fcdffd8a9","warlord-starting-with-daily-intelligence-chapter-39","warlord-starting-with-daily-intelligence-chapter-37",521,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fwarlord-starting-with-daily-intelligence-cover.jpg"]