[{"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-57":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},2338520,4572,"Chapter 57: War Tree!","warlord-starting-with-daily-intelligence-chapter-57",57,"\u003Cp>Bick’s tears were unexpected by Gervas; he had indeed been cultivating an image, but this was just the daily life of a lord!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, he understood the emotional outburst of someone who had endured immense pressure for days and now faced the risk of execution.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He offered no comfort, letting Bick release his stress—less than half a minute later, Bick had regained composure and repeatedly apologized and begged for mercy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only then did Gervas help him up with both hands, and under Bick’s eyes, bright with awe and faith, Gervas and his party headed toward the apple orchard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, before leaving, Gervas dispatched Knight Captain Lei Meng to fetch water from Tianehu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because the Caoyi Swan's settlement was still in a critical phase, it could not be disturbed by major commotion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t trust others to supervise it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My lord, this is the withered apple orchard—all the apple trees on this hill have withered!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Bick, do you remember where the apple trees first began to wither?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My lord, the first trees to wither were clustered at the hilltop—three of them had yellowing leaves at first; I thought it might be insect damage.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But later we found no insects, no disease—and yet the withering could not be stopped!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gervas nodded; discovering the blight on the first day proved Bick was truly diligent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Remember, the combined orchards of several wealthy households spanned over a thousand mu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though other serfs helped out, manpower was still tight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He went straight to the hilltop, closed his eyes, and carefully sensed—immediately, he detected something unusual.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At a specific spot on the hilltop, elemental and magical fluctuations were extremely intense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Following the sensation, Gervas arrived at the epicenter of the strongest elemental and magical surge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ground showed no visible anomaly yet, but with system data, Gervas could verify whether the War Tree was here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Lei Meng, have them start bringing water!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, my lord!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then the serfs lined up to draw water from the carts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One basin after another of Tianehu spring water was poured into the spot Gervas specified.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As this proceeded, the magical and elemental fluctuations grew ever more intense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even Lei Meng noticed something was amiss.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My lord, this… what is this?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Such obvious magical and elemental fluctuations could only occur on a beast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the problem was, the fluctuations came from beneath their feet—if it were a beast, that made little sense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Lei Meng, you’ll know soon enough!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gervas didn’t spoil it; otherwise, he couldn’t explain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the answer came quickly—after pouring over two carts of spring water, the ground suddenly rose slightly, like a spring bamboo shoot about to break through the soil.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, the area of upheaval was larger—at least the size of a washbasin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And the emergence continued, visibly accelerating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Puff!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The soil was fully pushed aside, and a patch of green appeared on the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The green grew upward steadily until it stood over ten centimeters above the soil, then stopped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This… this is the War Tree?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though the War Tree sapling was only ten centimeters tall, it was already unmistakably different from ordinary trees.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First, its most striking feature was its thickness—the stout trunk looked like a small stump; it was a sapling, yet shaped like a thousand-year-old tree!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Second, its trunk bore faint human faces, and symmetric, fan-like branches—large as palms—grew on both sides; below, two thick roots protruding slightly from the ground resembled powerful legs ready to lift off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though all had seen the War Tree for the first time, they could identify it at a glance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This cry of astonishment came from Knight Captain Lei Meng—his shock revealed just how precious the War Tree was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“L…Lord, is this truly the War Tree?” This time it was Mi Gen asking; no longer did they need Lei Meng to explain—they’d all heard of the War Tree’s fame.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Correct. When Zhui Yue told me earlier, I already suspected this—now it’s clear Zhui Yue’s guess was right!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Good heavens, it really is the War Tree! This is a fearsome weapon only the elves possess! Legend says the mightiest War Trees can fight even ninth-rank beasts!” Mi Gen and the knights stared, eyes gleaming.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It can indeed fight ninth-rank beasts—but that requires a War Tree of at least several hundred years.” Gervas said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My lord, ninth-rank beasts are too distant for us, but legend says a War Tree reaches maturity in over a hundred years—then it can at least handle seventh- or eighth-rank beasts.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And if we lower our standards further, in just forty or fifty years, it can fight fifth- or sixth-rank beasts—and take on several at once, rivaling several Golden Knights!” Lei Meng added.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gervas nodded; the War Tree was thick-skinned, high-health, and an absolute multi-target asset—grow it forty or fifty years, and it would truly rival several Golden Knights.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The elves’ population was nowhere near that of humans or beasts, yet they could stand against both—this was thanks largely to the War Tree’s protection.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So once it matured, placing it at the castle gate would make it a mighty guardian.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was another way to make the War Tree grow stronger quickly: the Life Spring.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Legend says, in ancient times, the elves faced annihilation—and used the Life Spring to rapidly grow countless mature War Trees, saving their race from extinction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gervas decided he must find a way to obtain some Life Spring in the future.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the War Tree’s location confirmed, next came protection and care.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The War Tree was still in its sapling stage—lacking consciousness, unable to move.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Old John, when we return, notify the Civil Officer to send men tomorrow to remove all the withered apple trees, then build a wall along the hill.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“From now on, no one may enter without permission!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, my lord!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gervas turned to Bick. “Bick, from now on, you are responsible for watering this War Tree.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You need at least three carts of Tianehu spring water daily! I’ll have the Civil Officer assign you carts and personnel!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, my lord! I will care for the War Tree with all my heart!” Bick was overwhelmed with emotion—he’d heard every word of the lords’ conversation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was a treasure worth over a thousand gold coins—a sum he’d never dared dream of.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“By the way, Old John, what was Bick’s daily wage before?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My lord, ten copper coins per day.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Raise it to match the castle servants—twenty copper coins daily! And add three jin of smoked dried meat monthly!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thud!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thank you, my lord, for your grace!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bick had knelt on the ground—not because his knees were weak, but because his lord’s favor was beyond repayment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ten copper coins a day was already generous—it fed his whole family, kept them from hunger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But compared to castle servants, it was still far less.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Castle servants already surpassed over 99% of serfs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Above them were the elite—such as Old John or Carol’s personal maid—positions ordinary people could never attain in a lifetime.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So upon hearing Gervas had raised him to castle servant status, even if Bick were ordered to die now, he wouldn’t flinch.\u003C\u002Fp>",1184,"2026-06-20T22:44:01.160Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","3f5f70b88c12dc59b3653fb0138511c96955193a186d8cfee6241ef239c7a7d9","warlord-starting-with-daily-intelligence-chapter-58","warlord-starting-with-daily-intelligence-chapter-56",521,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fwarlord-starting-with-daily-intelligence-cover.jpg"]