Chapter 33: Chapter 33: Griffin Advanced Mount · Death’s Claw
From the Thorny River Valley of Bauhinia Earl’s Territory heading south, lies the renowned Giant Snake River Mouth, where three rivers merge and the land is fertile, belonging to the long-established noble territories of the Empire, with its prosperity surpassing even Bauhinia Earl’s Territory.
The world generally follows a rule: humans dominate plains and valleys, beasts rule mountains and cliffs, elves govern forests, and various peculiar races occupy plateaus, swamps, deserts, and underground.
Entering a bustling noble domain, if one does not leave the main road to enter the forest, there’s hardly anything to be gained. Most information shown in the Daily Intelligence System occurs in the forests or on the cliffs.
Su Li did not want to stray too far from the main road for mere profit, especially since his supplies were not very ample.
Therefore, he quickened his pace, and in just six days, he left the far-reaching Giant Snake River Mouth.
Crossing south of the Giant Snake River Mouth lies a desolate land, where the environment is ill-suited for human survival. Getting lost within could easily cut off supplies. Su Li dared not wander off the main path, and in six days of orderly marching, he covered nearly 1000 imperial miles, leaving behind the yellow sand and desert.
By this time, the terrain had begun to rise as the desolate land is a plateau, with the towering black mountains faintly visible further south.
Over twenty days after leaving Bauhinia Earl’s Territory, Su Li finally reached the Empire’s Black Volcano Pass, and crossing south from here means stepping beyond the Empire’s borders.
Bauhinia Earl’s Territory is situated in the southeast, not quite the heartland. Su Li marched 3,000 imperial miles to barely leave the Empire’s border, showcasing the vastness of the Empire’s territory.
In this immense territory, countless beasts, monsters, thieves, war gangs, and goblin tribes hide among cliffs and dense forests, posing constant threats to Imperial villages and towns, which cannot be solely managed by the Emperor’s Forbidden Army.
Thus, feudalism was adopted as the Empire’s compromise with reality.
However, after long feudal history, there is little territory left within the Empire to allocate to its massive knightly class.
Those with foresight have already discerned the Empire’s determined intention for the Border Prince’s Territory.
But to reduce conflict, the Empire opted to send numerous Pioneer Knights to seize territories bit by bit within the Border Prince’s Territory.
Many Kingdom Knights and Barons fight here, with the final strong individual unifying the entire Border Prince’s Territory, akin to the Returning Righteous Army, bringing back thousands of miles of territory to the Empire.
On the day of victorious accolades, perhaps the returning Prince may be acknowledged as a new Elector of the Empire, eligible to be voted as the Emperor.
Of course, this grand plan of the Empire’s high ranks is still rather distant for Su Li. For now, he just aims to swiftly reach Marle Castle for a good respite.
He indeed had enough of the arduous wandering life where meals were uncertain. If not for the Daily Intelligence system’s assistance, allowing him to lead his troops to hunt for wildlife, they might not have endured this journey successfully.
His troop’s scale was simply too large, and having so many Elite Knights and Standard Knights placed a heavy burden on their supplies. The size of his troop should not have been what Pioneer Knights from Count’s Territory could possess, hence leaving Thorny River Valley made his supplies continually challenging.
It was then that Su Li understood why the term "marching to battle" always has marching first, battle second; successfully leading troops to the battlefield surpasses ninety percent of generals in history, and is at least on par with Flying Generals.
However, due to the pressure of supply, he gained some benefits, scavenging for food everywhere, acquiring many precious items along the way.
Upon exiting Black Volcano Pass and reaching Marle Castle, his troops had expanded to include a newborn young Griffin, three Horned Horses, five pounds of Dragon Blood Grass, thirty pounds of Star Iron, and two sets of Fine Armor.
These two sets of armor were found in the nests of magical beasts after the battles and deaths of Ranger Knights during their travels and challenges, with one located near the Griffin’s nest.
Since the Griffin’s nest was high up, built in over two thousand meters high cliff caves, Su Li didn’t send anyone to climb up but stationed below to rescue a fallen young Griffin.
Griffins are quite vindictive creatures; if someone intrudes into their nests and steals their eggs, they will follow the trail and seek revenge all the way. A pair of tiger-striped Griffins lurking in the skies can deal catastrophic damage even to Bloodthirsty Barbarian Bulls. Su Li’s subordinates, apart from Knight Oerstein, could hardly defend against them, and given their speed, it’s near impossible to escape from them.
More importantly, Su Li was now personally nurturing the young Griffin, which stayed in his tent. He would not want two Griffins to ambush him during midnight knight training. Knight Oerstein is the Knight Commander, not his personal bodyguard, and cannot constantly guard his tent.
However, if no traces are left within the cave, Griffins will examine at the sight of eggshells, search around the cave, and if unsuccessful, abandon their search, assuming their fallen offspring were devoured by beasts.
This young Griffin was nurtured by Su Li himself, and he named it Death’s Claw.
Griffins are highly perceptive, aware of Su Li’s life-saving grace towards it, resulting in a close bond with Su Li. Su Li carried it everywhere, a symbol of the great nobility and quite impressive. After entering Marle Castle, the sight of it on the street drew quite a stir, with many people flocking to admire it.
By reaching Marle Castle, Su Li’s pressure eased significantly; he left the troop outside the city and only brought Oerstein, Schwartz, Frederick, and Hilude into the city.
Though small in number, each knight wore Vibranium Rune Armor, with Champion Knight and Griffin in the ranks, shining with golden splendor; a clear display of noble prestige, causing all in the city to stand in respectful awe upon seeing them.
After purchasing a map of the city, Su Li arranged tasks for Schwartz and Frederick: "You two, go procure a batch of food and seeds, and handle the precious materials we’ve gathered on the way. I’m heading to the City Hall with Oerstein, and we’ll meet later at the slave market."
The identity of Pioneer Knights is highly valued by the Empire, with empire high officials resolute in acquiring the Border Prince’s Territory, encouraging every Pioneer Knight entering to register at Marle Castle.
Should a Pioneer Knight establish a foothold in the Border Prince’s Territory, thriving and reaching specific standards, the Empire may bestow titles above that of Kingdom Knight within two years, without an upper limit. This ensures that the Lords occupying the Border Prince’s Territory would be Imperial vassals.
This also has benefits for the Lords. An Imperial-granted noble status is respected everywhere.
Moreover, to encourage Pioneer Lords to serve the Empire and expand territories, when bestowing titles upon Pioneer Lords, the Emperor and the Imperial Council formed by Electors will honor Pioneer Lords. Even if the title granted is just a Kingdom Knight, the Empire will generously reward at least one team of Knights of Chivalry. The rewards for Barons and Counts would be more substantial. Yet, to date, there are only a few dozen Pioneer Lords within the Border Prince’s Territory who have earned Imperial titles.
This implies there remains ample territory to choose from within the Border Prince’s Territory, and Su Li seeks to pick a prime location in this vast domain, possibly acquiring a bit of help from the scribe.