[{"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-78":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},2338541,4572,"Chapter 78: The Druid","warlord-starting-with-daily-intelligence-chapter-78",78,"\u003Cp>Milson was a devout follower of the Nature God.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After attaining the beginner level of the Way of Nature, he began traveling the continent according to the teachings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Preparing to find a territory to settle permanently and help the local nobility and serfs enrich the land.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Milson initially chose the border region because it was sufficiently barren and agriculture underdeveloped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So he first selected a baronial domain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a year of hard work, with his help and guidance, the baronial domain achieved a bountiful harvest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But just as the entire domain rejoiced, a band of bandits arrived upon hearing the news.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The town was breached, the noble died in battle, and the newly harvested wheat was looted clean.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not only was the year’s labor stolen, but the serfs either died or fled—the domain lay in ruins and was reclaimed by the kingdom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Milson believed he had brought disaster upon the baronial domain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The harvest, more than double last year’s, had drawn the attention of powerful bandits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He reflected deeply and then chose a viscountial domain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under his aid, that viscountial domain also flourished, achieving a harvest three times greater.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, as a viscountial domain, it had sufficient troops, and no foolish bandit group dared to raid it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But just as Milson thought he might finally settle down permanently, a horde of demons attacked the viscountial domain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The demons were countless; in the darkness, only screams and wails could be heard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Milson remembered only the final moment: the viscount sent back a bloodied knight to escort him, the druid, away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The knight carried him ten li out; when he turned back, the viscount’s castle was already engulfed in roaring flames.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two days later, Milson returned to the castle and found it reduced to ruins.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for the viscount and his knights, it was said that both wheat and humans were the demons’ favorite food…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From then on, Milson understood: the border was too dangerous; a domain’s bounty might not bring benefit to serfs or lords.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instead, wealth beyond one’s capacity to protect became the root of disaster.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So he decided to leave and seek a territory in the kingdom’s heartland to settle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Today’s Storm Domain would be his final stop on this border journey.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a brief rest, he would head north along the coastline, seeking barren lands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eating black bread, a knightly detachment from the castle halted not far from him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From their gazes, Milson knew they had come for him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was normal—any noble with even a trace of lineage recognized a druid’s attire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And every druid was unquestionably a noble’s honored guest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For druids cultivated the Way of Nature, devoted solely to aiding agricultural development; they would even forgo salary, asking only for enough black bread to avoid starvation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beyond that, the Church of the Nature God never recruited followers—they pursued nature and bestowed abundance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, a druid who could aid a domain’s growth without demanding anything in return, nor spreading doctrine to undermine noble rule, was every noble’s dream helper—anyone who encountered one wished to keep them in their domain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Druid Lord, allow me to introduce myself—I am Baron Gervas of Storm Domain. I am delighted you have come to my domain!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Indeed, the noble approached with great politeness, never treating Milson as a common peasant or serf despite his linen robe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Milson knew the noble’s intent, so to avoid trouble, he said bluntly: “Greetings, Noble Baron Gervas. I am Milson, a devout follower of the Nature God. I am honored to pass through Storm Domain, but…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He paused, then continued, “But I shall depart soon, heading for the kingdom’s heartland. My journey to the border was solely to gather crop seeds.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My mission is complete. I return to the domain where I reside!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With that, Milson bowed deeply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a gesture signifying he already served a noble.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though a lie, it was a kind one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It spared both the noble and himself trouble, so Milson felt no shame.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Indeed, the noble frowned slightly, then nodded in farewell: “I see, Druid Milson. Then I shall not disturb you further.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With that, the noble ordered his knights to leave behind a loaf of white bread and a piece of greasy roasted meat wrapped in oiled parchment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thank you for your generosity, Noble Baron Gervas!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s truly a pity—he already has a patron domain, my lord! A druid! I’ve heard domains with druids become prosperous, and serfs live carefree lives!” As they moved away from Milson, Migen couldn’t help lamenting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My lord, why not try again? I heard Viscount Pat’s grandfather was once merely a baron—until a druid arrived and aided him.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Within thirty years, he transformed the domain into one of the rare fertile regions nearby, and Viscount Pat’s father leveraged that accumulated wealth to elevate the family to viscount status!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Knight Captain Leimeng  also spoke up, unusually.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though poaching a druid from another domain was dishonorable, Leimeng  understood better than Migen what a druid’s aid meant for domain development.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His former lord, the Pat family, had risen from baron to viscount precisely because of a druid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gervas sighed helplessly: “That druid sincerely has no intention of staying in our domain—otherwise, he wouldn’t have lied to me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What? The druid lied?” Migen and the others were stunned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Correct. He claimed he came to the border to gather seeds. I ask you—if true, shouldn’t the noble have sent knights to guard him?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why didn’t the noble simply dispatch knights directly? Gathering seeds—given a name and portrait, even knights in the Chaos Wastes could find them!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is a druid! What a waste!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Migen and the others suddenly understood, their disappointment deepening.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though Gervas primarily deduced the druid’s lie through his intelligence network, his reasoning alone was enough to expose it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And the fact that a druid would lie proved he was determined not to settle in Storm Domain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Could they simply watch this druid leave?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The answer was no—Gervas would never accept it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So he must devise a way to convince the druid to stay.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Migen!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My lord? What is it?” Startled by Gervas’s sudden pause and sharp call, Migen jumped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Go immediately to Magistrate Thomas. Tell him to begin fertilizing at once, and transport a cart of bird droppings past the square. And tell the serfs passing the square that…”\u003C\u002Fp>",1054,"2026-06-20T22:44:01.160Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","cdbbe6736a34551013d78e69b6232405b2b40b50738f1a503b09475a9457f2ec","warlord-starting-with-daily-intelligence-chapter-79","warlord-starting-with-daily-intelligence-chapter-77",521,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fwarlord-starting-with-daily-intelligence-cover.jpg"]