"Milord, is this a Seven-Colored Life Flower?"
When Belder saw what was inside the box, his jaw dropped in shock.
Apart from Orlando and Hebrew, the other eleven were equally stunned. As they stared at the flower radiating an uncanny glow from within the box, their hearts pounded wildly.
During their training at Windsor Castle, they had been fortunate enough to hear their instructors explain it.
This magical plant, which existed only in legends, had actually appeared before their eyes. It was simply unbelievable.
"That's right. This is a Seven-Colored Life Flower."
As Velin nodded in confirmation, he released his Battle Qi, displaying irrefutable proof that he was a Silver Knight.
This action left Belder and the other twelve even more shocked.
Just one day ago, their lord had been High-Bronze Tier. Now he had become Silver Low-Tier. Moreover, the Battle Qi they sensed was completely unlike that of someone who had just entered the Silver rank—it was not at all unstable, but exceedingly steady.
"Today, each of you will receive a Seven-Colored Life Flower to enhance your talent and strengthen yourselves."
Upon hearing this, everyone was overwhelmed with gratitude. They immediately dropped to one knee. "Thank you for your gift, milord."
"For knights loyal to me, I will never begrudge the resources needed to nurture them. Your loyalty is the finest repayment you can offer me."
Afterward, Velin summoned each knight to his side, granting them Seven-Colored Life Flowers one by one and offering them his blessings.
Once all fourteen had received a Seven-Colored Life Flower, Velin looked at the exhilarated group and immediately dismissed the meeting, telling them to return and consume the flowers, improve their talents, and raise their strength.
After everyone had left, Velin looked at the eight Seven-Colored Life Flowers remaining in the box and fell into thought.
"I should store them away for now."
Having made up his mind, he decided that regardless of whether someone possessed cultivation talent, as long as they proved their loyalty and value, they would receive a Seven-Colored Life Flower from him.
Over the next few days, the twelve knights led by Belder consumed the Seven-Colored Life Flowers and broke through one after another, becoming Silver Knights.
Judging by numbers alone, among barons, Lake of Praying Stars could rank among the top three in Cadro Province in terms of Silver Knights.
As a result, the military strength of the entire territory developed a glaring gap.
"This won't do. There isn't a single Bronze-grade fighter in the territory. Things will become troublesome if this continues."
Velin then issued an announcement in his capacity as lord, allowing Belder and the other twelve to recruit Knight Squires. Each could recruit no more than six, and Velin would provide the corresponding resource allotments.
At present, Velin could not gather several thousand Knight Squires in one place as Windsor Castle had done, then have dedicated Silver Knights train them.
On one hand, he lacked the necessary personnel. On the other, he did not have the resources to support such an undertaking.
Therefore, he could only rely on this ancient inheritance system, using a one-to-many model to slowly cultivate Bronze Knights.
To spur their enthusiasm, Velin also issued an announcement: within one year, whichever knight trained the most Bronze Knights, with the highest quality among them, would receive a magical plant as a reward.
Thus, Belder and the others began selecting promising candidates throughout the territory and recruiting Knight Squires.
In a short time, everyone in the territory was fired up. Whether Freemen or serfs, warriors or commoners, everyone dreamed of becoming a knight.
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At Lake of Star Prayer, slave shackles could be removed. As long as one became a Knight Squire, one would regain freedom. This further stirred the young serfs.
Of course, those like Bandit Slaves, who were Third-class slaves, had no hope whatsoever.
The population age structure of Lake of Star Prayer was very healthy, with most people between fifteen and twenty years old. This was thanks to Velin's particular demands when seeking ransom from defeated nobles.
As the territory entered a period of rapid development, Belder led troops on daily patrols around the area, hunting down beasts and monsters that had wandered in and maintaining security in the surrounding region.
Andrew was stationed at the Salt Mine, leading a company of infantry to oversee the Third-class slaves mining and ensure the daily output of Rock Salt.
Randolph took over Belder's duties, leading two companies of infantry, one company of archers, and three hundred serfs in diligently mining the Mithril Ore, striving to finish excavation as quickly as possible and avoid any accidents.
Greg organized the Freemen and serfs of the territory into groups for gathering work. Within ten kilometers of Lake of Star Prayer, they collected food while implementing a scorched-earth policy—leaving no grass by the roots and no bark on the trees.
The remaining eight knights each had their own duties, overseeing every aspect of the territory and ensuring the normal operation of Lake of Star Prayer.
That day, after finishing his rest, Velin sensed another significant increase in strength. He could not help sighing again over how greatly improved talent allowed him to achieve twice the results with half the effort in cultivation.
"Milord, Chief Steward Eunice, who is in charge of castle construction, requests your presence."
"Alright, I understand."
After the reporting soldier withdrew, Velin wiped the sweat from his body, put on his shirt, picked up his sword, and headed for the castle construction site.
Along the way, Velin looked at the clean and orderly roads with great satisfaction. Unlike in other territories, the streets were not covered in excrement, nor did they reek to high heaven.
"Sure enough, solving sanitation problems at the source produces remarkable results."
As the saying went, if one could not solve the sanitation problem, could one not solve the people creating the sanitation problem?
At Lake of Star Prayer, anyone who relieved themselves in public or dumped waste indiscriminately would receive three iron-whip lashes for the first offense, confiscation of property for the second, and demotion to Third-class slave status for the third, forever losing the hope of becoming a Freeman.
After this decree was issued, no one dared violate it.
They had all once been slaves, so they naturally understood that losing freedom and hope meant a life of painful torment, one without the slightest light.
After walking several hundred meters, Velin arrived at the castle construction site.
Before him stood two staggered walls of different heights: the Outer City Wall and the inner wall. Ballistae were being installed on the protruding platforms, their firing angles adjusted.
When the half-elf girl Eunice, who had been waiting at the city gate, saw Velin arrive, she stepped forward and bowed. "Lord."
"Mm. Eunice, you've done very well. You completed the construction of both walls so quickly." Velin withdrew his gaze and looked at the beautiful, charming half-elf girl before him, praising her without reservation.
"You flatter me, Lord. I am only the chief steward. Those who truly contributed their strength are these diligent workers." After a period of adjustment, Eunice no longer seemed as distant as before, and her tone was calm.
"They will receive the rewards they deserve." Velin smiled. "What I want to know now is how the progress is coming along."
At his words, Eunice had someone bring over a table and spread out the planning map, which had been marked in two colors.
"Please look, Lord. Black markings indicate completed construction, white indicates unfinished work, and green indicates projects currently under construction."
Velin lowered his head and looked. The first-phase construction plan they had previously determined—the Outer City Wall, inner wall, water storage area, granary, and latrines—had all been completed. The weapon repair area and Stable were still under construction.
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