Choosing a Pioneer Territory

Twenty years ago, the Northern Province was opened up. Yet after two decades, the entire Northern Province still remained a savage wilderness, with only Loren City, the provincial Municipal Center, bearing any traces of civilization.

Yet they were merely traces.

Compared to Frost Moon Province, with its noble-held territories, Loren City still appeared chaotic, barbaric, and filthy.

Yes, filthy.

The roads were piled with excrement, and foul stench filled the air. If Frost Moon Province clearly displayed the kingdom's brighter side, then Loren City was undoubtedly its most dilapidated face. Filthy water flowed everywhere, while the freemen on the streets were as sallow and emaciated as the serfs of Frost Moon Province. Clearly, even as freemen, they lived extremely difficult lives here.

It could not be helped. As the kingdom's newest province, this place had no protection from the kingdom's laws. The local lords were the absolute rulers here.

Oppression, exploitation, and chaos were the main themes of this land.

Under such circumstances, even Loren City, as the city housing the Municipal Center, naturally had an extremely difficult standard of living.

This was already the ninth day since Thor and the others had entered the Northern Province.

The journey had taken forty days in total, and they had finally crossed the long road to reach Loren City.

Yet the moment they entered Loren City, the entire party could not help falling silent.

Even Ryan was the same.

His own life had already been extremely difficult, yet compared to the freemen here, he seemed to have had it far better.

He could clearly sense that the people here seemed to have lost all light from their eyes.

When their group arrived, figure after figure merely stepped aside numbly.

"My lord..."

Ryan spoke in a low voice, his youthful face clouded with heaviness.

"Let's go. We'll register at the Municipal Center first."

Thor was silent as well. Though he had learned something about the Northern Province from books, the direct impact before him left him somewhat speechless.

But this was clearly not something he could interfere with.

Not even his father would have the right to meddle in the affairs of the Northern Province.

After all, a Marquis was stationed here.

"Yes!"

Ryan nodded.

After Thor arranged for his Knight Order to set up camp, he took Ryan and Steve toward the center of Loren City.

Loren City was not large, and the Municipal Center was easy to spot.

Amid the low, plain houses, the Municipal Center was built entirely from bluestone, carrying an air of splendor and solemnity.

As the three approached,

they were quickly stopped by two guard knights.

"Gentlemen, I am Thor Dressrosa. I have come to register as a Pioneer Knight."

Thor spoke and then displayed his family crest. To avoid unnecessary trouble, he had not worn it during the journey, but now that he had arrived in Loren City, he needed to reveal his identity.

The eagle crest was particularly eye-catching beneath the sunlight.

The two knights were startled and hurriedly offered Thor a knight's salute.

"Honored Knight Thor Dressrosa, forgive my offense. Please, enter."

One of the knights spoke respectfully, though he felt somewhat uneasy inside.

The Dreyrosa Family was renowned throughout the kingdom. He did not dare offend them.

"Thank you for your trouble."

Thor nodded.

"You honor me too greatly, my lord. This way, please!"

The knight hurriedly replied before leading the three into the Municipal Center.

The entire Municipal Center was enormous.

Its grounds were nearly no smaller than Dreyrosa Castle.

Inside the main hall, figures came and went.

There were staff members, as well as knights.

As Thor approached, the family crest on his chest immediately drew many gazes.

Some even stopped in their tracks and offered Thor a knight's salute.

Although the Dreyrosa Family was merely a count's family, its reputation was already comparable to that of some marquis families. Even a Pioneer Knight from the Dreyrosa Family was enough for them to treat seriously.

Thor returned each salute.

Then, led by that knight, he arrived at a service window.

"Hello, honored Dreyrosa Knight. These are the areas in the Northern Province that have not yet been opened up. You may choose one and register it."

At the window, a blonde girl spoke cautiously, her manner full of humility.

"Thank you."

Thor nodded and accepted the map the blonde girl handed over.

As a Pioneer Knight, one naturally could not simply open up land wherever one pleased.

The kingdom had established a complete set of rules.

Anyone who became a Pioneer Knight had to register in Loren City and select the target of their expansion.

Usually, this would also become the core of their future territory.

Only after fully opening up the chosen location could one be considered to have completed a Pioneer Knight's mission.

Thor was naturally very familiar with this.

He reached out to take the map, his gaze unconsciously settling upon it.

The map was large and far clearer than he had imagined.

The entire Northern Province was marked with green circles and red circles.

The red circles represented areas that had already been chosen, while the green circles represented areas that had yet to be chosen.

At a glance, the eastern and southern parts of the Northern Province were already almost entirely occupied by red circles. Only the west and north still held a large number of circles.

This was perfectly normal.

Although only a few dozen people in the Northern Province had truly received noble titles, that only counted those who had been ennobled. It did not represent the number of Pioneer Knights. Though Pioneer Knights died at an extremely high rate, their ranks continued to grow through a steady stream of replacements.

From what Thor understood, there were probably no fewer than a thousand Pioneer Knights across the Northern Province.

It could not be helped. The Northern Province was simply too vast. In terms of his previous life, it was nearly twice the size of the Northern Border. Such a broad territory could not be occupied by a few dozen or even a few hundred people.

Even with over a thousand people now, less than one-tenth of it had been developed.

Of course, none of that had much to do with Thor.

Information flowed through his mind as the intelligence from the past few days continued to intertwine. Meanwhile, his gaze swept over the green circles on the map one by one.

Unlike others, who could only choose blindly, he was different.

With the Intelligence System—and especially after deliberately organizing things over the past few days—he had a certain direction to guide his choice.

Now, all he needed to do was narrow it down.

Time slowly passed.

The blonde girl waited without daring to urge him.

Only after Thor had examined all the red circles did he make his decision.

"Let it be the Maine River Valley."

Thor spoke softly and handed the map back to the blonde girl.

"Yes, honored Knight Thor Dressrosa. I will handle it for you immediately!"

The blonde girl quickly nodded and promptly got to work.