The First Step of a Pioneer Knight

In a narrow stream, an entire section had been completely dammed off. The Formal Knights' eyes were shining.

A moment later.

An excited voice rang out.

"My lord, we caught one!"

"It really is a Thorn Butterfly Fish!"

At the excited cries, Thor, who had been resting, immediately rose to his feet and strode over.

In the stream, a knight was holding a strange pale-blue fish about the size of a palm.

"My lord, I caught one too!"

Soon after Thor approached, another knight cried out excitedly.

"My lord!"

"My lord!"

Voices rang out one after another. Within moments, seven or eight knights had cried out in surprise.

But there were only seven or eight of them. Only a few Thorn Butterfly Fish had appeared in this stream.

Even so, that was enough to delight everyone.

These were Thorn Butterfly Fish. Each one could sell for five thousand to ten thousand gold coins at the kingdom's top auctions. More importantly, they were incredibly valuable. Even if they only slightly improved a knight's talent, the improvement was permanent.

Everyone swallowed as they stared at the Thorn Butterfly Fish.

And when they looked at Thor, their eyes held nothing but admiration.

They had no idea how their lord had known there were Thorn Butterfly Fish here.

They only knew that their lord had brought them here, told them there were Thorn Butterfly Fish in this place, and there really were.

Their lord was making his first journey to the Northern Province.

At that thought, they could not help feeling shocked and filled with longing.

They had originally been somewhat uneasy about heading to the Northern Province, but that unease quietly faded at this moment.

Of course, Thor had no time to care about that. With a wave of his hand, he had the knights prepare the Thorn Butterfly Fish for a meal.

He had no intention of keeping the fish for himself. He planned to distribute them among everyone.

For one thing, only the first Thorn Butterfly Fish was effective. For another, after entering the Northern Province, Thor could sense the unease among the knights. The appearance of the Thorn Butterfly Fish would undoubtedly ease their anxiety.

More importantly, these people would form the foundation of his future forces, and they were knights he could trust. Naturally, he had to reward them.

There were only seven fish in total. Once divided, each person would probably receive no more than a taste, but having some and having none were entirely different matters.

And that was indeed the case.

When Thor decided to share the Thorn Butterfly Fish with them,

more than four hundred knights erupted into cheers.

If loyalty and morale could be seen at that moment, their values would have been rapidly rising.

Even without seeing them, however, everyone could clearly sense the change in the crowd.

Thor smiled as he tasted his own portion.

The Thorn Butterfly Fish's flesh was tender and melted in his mouth. The moment he swallowed it, Thor felt a warm current spread through his limbs and body, while a cool sensation filled his mind.

The Life Source Power within him began to spread uncontrollably.

Thor did not dare delay. He quickly sat cross-legged and began circulating the Knight's Breathing Technique.

Time passed slowly.

About half an hour later, Thor abruptly opened his eyes, a trace of delight on his face.

His Life Seed had grown another notch, bringing him another step closer to the middle stage of Apprentice Knight.

At this rate, by the time he reached Loren City, he might be able to break through to the middle stage of Apprentice Knight.

But before that delight could spread,

the next moment,

a surge of Life Source Power burst forth beside him.

Thor's delight came to an abrupt stop. He looked to the side, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

Ryan had opened his eyes as well. Green radiance shimmered around him, a sign that Life Source Power was overflowing.

That meant Ryan had officially broken through to the late stage of Apprentice Knight.

Yes, the late stage of Apprentice Knight.

Before they had set out, Ryan had broken through to Apprentice Knight in one go with the aid of an Intermediate Life Potion. On the tenth day of their journey, he had gone from the early stage of Apprentice Knight to the middle stage. Now, in less than twenty days, he had broken through again, advancing from the middle stage to the late stage.

At this pace, by the time Thor broke through to the middle stage of Apprentice Knight, Ryan would probably already be at the peak of Apprentice Knight.

That cultivation speed left him speechless.

When people were compared, one could die of envy; when goods were compared, one could throw the inferior away.

After taking a deep breath, Thor shook his head.

"My lord!"

Ryan, who had just broken through, was delighted as well. Only when he noticed Thor's gaze did he hurriedly bow.

"Not bad. Keep working hard. Strive to reach the peak of Apprentice Knight by the time we arrive at the territory."

Thor composed himself and spoke gently.

"Yes, my lord!"

Ryan answered excitedly and respectfully.

At that moment, he felt nothing but reverence for Thor.

If loyalty could be seen, his would certainly have been at its maximum.

Thor offered a few more words of encouragement.

Then he led everyone onward once more.

Along the way, Thor collected the two Boar Beasts mentioned in the intelligence.

That made the group of knights cry out in surprise again, and everyone enjoyed another hearty meal.

The bitter days they had expected did not arrive. Instead, their first day in the Northern Province was spent reaping one harvest after another.

The more than four hundred knights no longer felt uneasy about the future. Instead, they were filled with anticipation.

At that moment, everyone seemed to feel that a bright future was beckoning to them.

Expectation, longing,

and aspiration

replaced their earlier unease, tension, and uncertainty about the future.

And that was precisely what Thor needed.

Building a territory was the process of starting from nothing.

The hardships they would encounter along the way were beyond imagination.

And the first hurdle was the resolve within the Vassal Knights' hearts.

Vassal Knights were human too. They were not Guardian Knights who had sworn under the witness of the Goddess of Life. They had signed contracts and would never betray him for life, but that only meant they would not betray him. Nothing more came with it.

Whether he could stir their initiative was undoubtedly the first problem every Pioneer Knight needed to solve.

Thor, who had reviewed a great deal of information, naturally understood this.

Fortunately, with Daily Intelligence, solving it was far easier for him than for other Pioneer Knights.

Night gradually fell.

Their first day in the Northern Province slowly passed, and soon the second day arrived.

Just like the first day, they also gained quite a bit on the second.

Although their harvest was not like the Thorn Butterfly Fish, which could directly improve a knight's talent, it was still considerable, and everyone received a share.