New Intelligence

Louis's gaze flickered as he studied the three entries displayed by the Daily Intelligence System.

[1: The chief of the Cold Moon Tribe has been poisoned to death. The Cold Moon Tribe has descended into civil war.]

[2: There is a pack of Tundra Wolves at Blue-Rock Rift, most of them cubs.]

[3: In four days, Jack will sell cranberry seeds in Frost Glaive City. Mixed among them are a dozen or so Frostblood Redberry seeds.]

Louis raised an eyebrow. Usually, the system's intelligence contained plenty of irrelevant trivia.

Yet all three entries today were valuable.

The Cold Moon Tribe?

Louis recalled what he knew about this barbarian tribe of the Northern Frontier.

The Cold Moon Tribe had long been one of the Northern Frontier's most formidable powers, renowned for its Blood-Boiling Berserkers and archers.

It had raided the Ironblood Empire's Northern Frontier Province many times, earning Duke Edmund's bitter hatred.

Now that its chief had been poisoned to death, the tribe would inevitably fall into chaos. If the unrest persisted, it might even split apart.

For the Northern Frontier as a whole, this might herald an approaching storm.

But for Louis as he was now, this affair was still far beyond his reach.

After all, he was only a small fry just getting started. He lacked the resources to influence the barbarians' fate.

All he could do was build his strength as quickly as possible and prepare for whatever upheavals the future might bring.

Next came the second piece of intelligence: there were Tundra Wolves at Blue-Rock Rift.

The cubs were the key!

Tundra Wolves were apex predators on the Northern Frontier's snowy plains. Adults were enormous, astonishingly fast, and capable of surviving extreme cold.

More importantly, their keen sense of smell made them ideal for scouting and combat.

Adult wolves, however, were extremely difficult to tame. Humans could scarcely hope to control them.

Cubs were different. If tamed from a young age, they could give the Red Tide Fief a unique fighting force-wolf cavalry!

Louis suspected that these cubs' parents were the Tundra Wolves they had killed on their journey to the Red Tide Fief.

What a stroke of fate.

"I'll take some men out tomorrow," Louis murmured to himself.

The final piece of intelligence brought a broad smile to his face.

Frostblood Redberries were an extremely rare variety of mutated berry.

They resembled ordinary cranberries, but their fruit was deep red, with thick juice rich in magical power.

Most importantly, they could strengthen a bloodline knight's Battle Aura and advance their cultivation!

If he could grow them on a large scale, they would become the Red Tide Fief's most valuable specialty!

But Louis realized there was a problem. Even traveling at full speed, he could not reach Frost Glaive City within four days.

Arriving even a day late could easily mean someone else beat him to them.

The Frostblood Redberries were too valuable. He had to make sure they ended up in his hands!

Louis could not take that risk.

He immediately summoned Lambert and two other Elite Knights.

Lambert was his sworn guardian knight. With him leading the expedition, Louis could rest easy.

"Lambert," Louis said gravely, his gaze solemn, "the three of you must head to Frost Glaive City as quickly as possible. Make certain you arrive within three days."

He paused, then continued, "On the eastern side of the market, there's a merchant named Jack. He'll be selling cranberry seeds in four days.

"Arrive two days early and keep watch at the market. Make sure you buy his entire stock the moment it goes on sale!"

Lambert was briefly taken aback, but immediately nodded firmly. "As you command, my lord."

He could not understand why his lord attached such importance to a few berry seeds, but he accepted the orders at once without question.

Every decision Louis had made along the way had ultimately proven correct!

It suddenly occurred to Louis that, since they were going to Frost Glaive City, they might as well take care of a few other matters.

He took a sheet of parchment from his desk and began writing a letter.

The letter was simple: first, let his family know he was safe; second, squeeze some gold out of them.

Although he was not sure whether his coldhearted father would respond, there was no harm in trying.

Even a modest fortune would help the Red Tide Fief develop a little faster.

Once he finished, he sealed the letter, stamped it with his personal seal, and handed it to Lambert.

"When you reach Frost Glaive City, give this letter to the manager of our family's trading company. Have them send it home as soon as possible."

Lambert accepted the letter, carefully tucked it away, and nodded. "Understood."

"Make absolutely certain nothing goes wrong," Louis repeatedly stressed.

"Understood!"

The three mounted their warhorses and galloped toward Frost Glaive City.

Early the next morning, Louis rode across the frozen ground with five seasoned hunters and eight Official Knights, heading straight for Blue-Rock Rift.

"Have you confirmed it?" Louis glanced sideways at Aig, the hunter leading the group.

Aig replied respectfully, "As you ordered, we sent men to investigate last night. The pack has lost its leader.

"Most of those remaining are cubs and a few elderly females, hiding in a rocky den deep inside the rift. It's a good opportunity."

Naturally, the goal of this expedition was to capture the Tundra Wolf cubs.

The party cautiously approached the rift. Wolf tracks and bloodstains covered the snow, as though a fierce struggle had taken place just the night before.

Aig pointed to a patch of churned snow. "Look, my lord. These tracks are all over the place. The wolves may have been fighting among themselves."

"With their leader killed and no one to lead the pack, infighting is only natural."

"We'll split into two groups. One will make a commotion to draw the adult wolves' attention. The other will slip into the den and bring out the cubs." Louis looked at the hunters and said evenly, "Get started."

Several hunters scattered the blood and animal remains they had prepared outside the cave, then tied the largest pieces behind the knights' horses.

The fresh venison and animal bones carried a heavy scent of blood, enough to stir the adult Tundra Wolves' hunting instincts to the fullest.

A strong stench of blood soon filled the air.

Before long, low growls sounded from deep within the cave, and pairs of eerie green eyes opened in the darkness.

"Here they come," Aig whispered.

Five enormous adult Tundra Wolves slowly emerged from the cave, scanning their surroundings warily as low growls rumbled in their throats.

Their eyes fixed on the animal remains in the distance, and they quickened their pace, running toward the prey.

The knights immediately urged their horses into a gallop, dragging the remains behind them on ropes to lure the wolves away from the cave.

The lead wolf sprinted after the knights, with the other adults close behind.

It was, of course, a carefully laid trap.

Once the adult wolves were far from the cubs, the knights abruptly hauled on their reins and wheeled their horses around.

Their longswords gleamed coldly as they slashed down!

Shhk!

Before the lead wolf could even react, a sword pierced its throat.

The other adult wolves roared furiously and tried to fight back.

Unfortunately for them, these were no ordinary hunters, but Official Knights who wielded Battle Aura.

The stench of blood filled the air as the wolves fell one after another in a one-sided slaughter.

Within mere minutes, the knights had eliminated every adult wolf.