Worthless Scions Gather in the North

Louis sat cross-legged and steadied his breathing, the Tide Breathing Technique circulating naturally within him.

"Exhale, inhale."

Deep, drawn-out breaths resonated in his chest like the ebb and flow of the tide, drawing in and refining the energy from the northern crystal cod.

The Tide Breathing Technique was the Calvin family's hereditary breathing technique.

Its core lay in making the blood surge like ocean tides, emphasizing an endless cycle: unleashing power as the tide rose, then returning to stability as it receded.

As this gentle yet ferocious energy washed through him, Louis felt as though his bloodline was being reshaped.

He could feel his blood flowing faster and his meridians opening more freely. Even his bones grew faintly hot, as though he were undergoing a transformation.

Finally, he exhaled slowly. The heat within him gradually settled and subsided into calm. He had advanced.

Mid-Rank Official Knight.

At his young age, such strength would have marked him as a one-in-ten-thousand genius among ordinary people.

Yet among Duke Calvin's children, he remained the worthless son at the very bottom.

After all, his eldest brother was already a Peak Knight, with illustrious military achievements and outstanding service to the empire.

In this world, a knight's power came from the awakening of their bloodline.

Not everyone could become a knight. Only those with a sufficiently powerful bloodline could awaken the dormant knightly power within them.

Once someone embarked on the path of knighthood, there were six main stages: Apprentice Knight, Official Knight, Elite Knight, Transcendent Knight, Peak Knight, and Legendary Knight. An enormous gulf separated each stage.

Of course, Louis was no longer in any hurry.

With the daily intelligence system at his disposal, he would have no shortage of opportunities in the future.

After fully absorbing the essence of the fish soup, Louis slowly stopped practicing the Tide Breathing Technique and opened his eyes.

He immediately noticed the knights around him looking at him with admiration.

The next moment, deafening cheers rang through the camp: "Long live our lord!"

Only upon hearing those thunderous cheers did Louis breathe a sigh of relief.

This meant he had begun to establish his authority. At least for now, he no longer needed to worry about the knights' loyalty.

Once the cheering subsided, Louis turned to Lambert beside him and asked, "How far are we from Frost Glaive City?"

Lambert answered respectfully, "About two hundred kilometers."

"So, five or six days' travel." Louis nodded slightly, then gave a decisive order. "Pick up the pace. Aim to arrive in the afternoon three days from now."

Lambert responded respectfully, "Understood!"

Under normal circumstances, the party could never have traveled so quickly, especially across this frozen wilderness.

But now the knights' morale was at its peak. They were more than capable of meeting that marching target.

Frost Glaive City was the capital of the Northern Province and the northern frontier's most important military and political center.

Louis's main task on this journey was to choose the territory he would develop. Naturally, the sooner he made his choice, the more he stood to gain.

But what truly made him eager to reach Frost Glaive City were the three pieces of intelligence the system had refreshed that day:

[1: Three days from now, Vale, who has the potential to become a Peak Knight, will be brought to Frost Glaive City's black market by a slave trader.]

[2: Three days from now, Silco, an apprentice alchemist wanted by the Golden Marrow Guild for stealing a secret formula, will disguise himself as a slave and be brought to Frost Glaive City's black market by a slave trader.]

[3: Duke Edmund is furious because the major families are sending their wastrel scions to the northern frontier.]

The first piece of intelligence alone was a delightful surprise to Louis.

In this world, Peak Knights were already top-tier, T1-level combatants, though they fell short of the exceedingly rare Legendary Knights.

Still, almost every Peak Knight was an army commander, a pillar of a kingdom. Any faction would regard one as a cornerstone.

Vale likely had yet to develop his abilities, but his talent for reaching the rank of Peak Knight alone made him worth Louis's investment.

The second piece of intelligence was also extremely valuable.

The "alchemists" of this world were much like chemists. They specialized in handling all kinds of magical items and could even turn cheap materials into valuable goods, making them rare talents that every major faction fought to recruit.

The entire Calvin family had only three fully qualified alchemists.

Although apprentice alchemists had yet to fully develop their skills, they were still exceptionally scarce.

Louis's plan was simple: buy Silco as though it were a casual purchase, then secretly observe him.

If he truly had potential and posed no danger, Louis would keep him and nurture his talent.

After all, a slave probably would not cost much.

As for the third piece...

Even without the intelligence system, Louis could have guessed this would happen.

With the major families scrambling to dump their useless offspring in the north, Duke Edmund, the provincial governor, was naturally furious.

But from Louis's perspective, this was not necessarily a bad thing.

Handled properly, it could instead become part of his plans.

With so many opportunities hidden in Frost Glaive City, I have to get there as soon as possible!

"Damn it! Those bloodsucking parasites! The empire told them to send people to defend the northern frontier, not a pack of useless gluttons to drag us down!"

In the governor's office, thick reports were slammed onto the desk one after another.

Sheets of paper scattered through the air, framing Duke Edmund's enraged face.

A rebellion two years earlier had nearly torn the entire northern frontier from the empire's control. The rebels had even breached Frost Glaive City's outer wall!

Duke Edmund had led his elite troops through three months of bloody fighting before barely managing to suppress those traitors.

But at what cost?

The border fortresses had been destroyed, the granaries burned, and more than half his army lost. His only son had died as well.

Order had still not been fully restored across the northern frontier.

This time, the emperor had finally realized that stationing troops there alone could never maintain stability.

So he had devised a strategy of sending noble scions to develop territories in the north, using their strength to secure the frontier.

But those idiotic noble houses!

Would they really send their families' finest to risk their lives in the north?

What a joke!

They had sent a pack of good-for-nothings to the northern frontier. There were a few normal people among them, but only a few.

So furious that he laughed, Duke Edmund grabbed a report and flipped it open. "Look at the specimens they've sent us."

The Erwin Family's third son was reportedly a compulsive gambler whose gambling debts were enough to buy three mansions in the imperial capital.

The Grant Family's youngest son was said to be only fifteen, yet he was already a favored guest at all the empire's major brothels.

Duke Calvin's eighth son spent his days idling about. Despite relying on his family's resources, he was only a Low-Rank Official Knight-a complete waste.

"These are supposed to be noble scions? They've sent me whoremongers, gambling addicts, and useless drunkards!

A bunch of pampered idiots! Their ancestors forged the empire with iron and blood, yet all they know now is fighting over power and profit, scheming against one another.

With nothing but their own families' interests in their eyes, where is there any room for the empire's safety?"

Beside himself with rage, Duke Edmund slammed his fist onto the desk. Even the thick wooden desk groaned under the blow.

The atmosphere in the room was so oppressive that it was hard to breathe. His advisers kept their heads lowered, not daring to speak.

After a long while, Edmund drew a deep breath, forcibly suppressed his anger, and sat back down, his gaze icy.

"Forget it. Since these idiots have dragged themselves here, let them fend for themselves. We'll still have to rely on ourselves to hold the northern frontier."