[{"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-517":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},2338980,4572,"Chapter 517: Catherine","warlord-starting-with-daily-intelligence-chapter-517",517,"\u003Cp>\"But Gervas, besides the Chaos Wasteland, your other half of the territory is at sea...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mil and the others believed that, given Gervas’s strength, securing the Chaos Wasteland should be possible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But what about the sea?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if Gervas’s subordinates were formidable, could they possibly conquer the ocean?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides, the sea holds nothing at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At best, there are a few islands; everything else is useless seawater.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for treasures beneath the waves?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Are you afraid there aren’t enough fishfolk and sea monsters to go around?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The sea... fine, we can just give up the sea—it’s only the size of a single earldom anyway!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If I develop the land properly, my earldom will be larger than anyone else’s!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gervas couldn’t possibly explain his cooperation with the fishfolk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, the ocean could still be under his control.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But secrets succeed in silence—he still needed to lie low, and the fewer who knew, the better.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Enough! Gentlemen, in short, I’m quite satisfied with this territory. Let’s speed up our journey! Once we reach Wolf City, I’ll take you for a couple of strolls through town!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And when we get there, I won’t spare a single gold coin on the finest cuisine in the East District!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, though Mil and the others remained disgruntled, Gervas himself had no interest in continuing the discussion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They could only fall silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In truth, Gervas knew better than anyone that he had been manipulated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, the morning’s intelligence had fully detailed everything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for this manipulation, even if he wished to retaliate, he could only wait for a suitable opportunity in the future.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, he truly had no complaints about his current territory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, with his intelligence network, he could truly develop it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sheer scale of this territory even filled Gervas with particular satisfaction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps this was the Chinese obsession with land.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The return journey was smooth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Originally, after leaving Eagle City, Gervas planned to meet Catherine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, before departing, he had instructed Old John not to inform Catherine of his campaign, to spare her worry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Surely, after so long without word from him, Catherine would think he was deliberately ignoring her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He still held a certain fondness for this cold, beautiful countess.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So he must meet her in person, and explain the situation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But when Gervas arrived at the Violet Earldom, he learned Catherine was not at the castle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She had gone to her own Storm Earldom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Lord Gervas, the countess said several days ago that you hadn’t replied to her letters, so she asked the storm earldom’s serfs transporting crystal ore—they only said you were busy!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So she decided to go to the Storm Earldom herself to see what you were really up to.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Violet Castle steward’s gaze turned slightly strange.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, over these past two months, his own countess had written Gervas multiple letters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each one had vanished into the void, with no reply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To him, this was simply unthinkable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, since the countess had publicly revealed herself as Duke Hernand’s granddaughter, noble youths had flooded in seeking her hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He himself had turned away hundreds of visitors on her behalf.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet the countess treated only this Lord Gervas differently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And yet, Lord Gervas didn’t appreciate it!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meeting the steward’s strange gaze, Gervas felt somewhat embarrassed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’d clearly been mistaken for a faithless lover.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Steward Malick, the truth is this—I didn’t ignore Catherine’s letters on purpose. I was away on business, to the Northern Frontier...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Gervas explained how Willard had framed him, forcing him to become a conscripted noble and march to the Northern Frontier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...So I merely instructed my subordinates not to tell Catherine, to spare her worry!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This... this...\" The Violet Castle steward stared wide-eyed, momentarily speechless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now he noticed Gervas had come from the north.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And Gervas’s party carried a count’s banner—who was this count?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Lord Gervas, I misunderstood you earlier! Please forgive me!\" The Violet steward, realizing both he and the countess had misjudged Lord Gervas, bowed deeply before him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though he himself had said nothing bad about Gervas,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>he still felt guilt for having wrongly suspected him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Northern Frontier!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How dangerous a place!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And yet Gervas, to spare the countess worry, had not told her at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How deeply he cared for her!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Otherwise, any other man with such a connection to the countess would have rushed to beg for help.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, the countess was Duke Hernand’s granddaughter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, the Violet steward’s gaze toward Gervas became one of profound reverence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, the Violet steward did not know that Gervas hadn’t wanted to ask Catherine for help—he simply hadn’t had time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The conscription order had been issued that morning; he had to depart the next day, or risk missing his deadline to report to the Northern Frontier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So since he was already on his way, asking Catherine for aid would have been too late anyway—better not to trouble her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gervas naturally didn’t hold a grudge against a mere steward. Confirming Catherine was absent, he prepared to take his leave. \"Steward Malick, since Catherine isn’t here, I’ll be going.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the Violet steward immediately stopped him. \"Lord Gervas, how can you leave without lunch? Please stay and eat!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Otherwise, when the countess returns and learns I didn’t even offer you a meal, she’ll scold me!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Besides, your party includes another count and several viscounts—guests must be properly hosted. If I neglect them, word might spread and damage the countess’s reputation!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Violet steward spoke earnestly, but Gervas truly had no time to waste.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, Mil and the others were even more eager than he was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, the grant decree was already in hand; each of them was desperate to return and confirm their new territories. \"Steward Malick, I truly won’t eat lunch. And my companions are my allies—they won’t say a word, so don’t worry!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That’s right, steward! We all know the relationship between Gervas and Countess Catherine—we won’t gossip!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Besides, the count in our party? That’s Gervas himself—Gervas is now a count-lord!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mil and the others stood over ten meters away, their hearing sharp; hearing the conversation, they immediately laughed in agreement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What? Lord Gervas is already a count? This... this...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing Mil’s words, the Violet steward froze in shock.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only when he processed it did his eyes snap wide open, fixed on Gervas in utter disbelief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gervas smiled. \"I earned a small merit in the Northern Frontier, so His Majesty granted me the title. I am indeed a count-lord now.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gervas smiled, “I earned a small merit in the Northern Frontier, so His Majesty granted me a title—I am indeed a Count Lord now.”\u003C\u002Fp>",1110,"2026-06-20T22:44:02.688Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","bc058e6e5cbcc635a999ee535d10c6c057ed3813fd1a691343c85e9557c84dcc","warlord-starting-with-daily-intelligence-chapter-518","warlord-starting-with-daily-intelligence-chapter-516",521,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fwarlord-starting-with-daily-intelligence-cover.jpg"]