Lord blessed by the elves

Chapter 42 Second Dragon
“Strength! In the end, it all comes down to strength!” Kruse clenched his fist.

No matter how meticulous the plan, one's own strength is the most important guarantee when it comes to execution.

If he could possess greater power, both the success rate of his actions and his ability to manage risks afterward would be greatly enhanced.

His gaze fell upon the system space. The ten energy crystals he had received as a reward for completing the guardian mission, plus the one he still had, made a total of eleven crystals, each crystal clear and containing pure energy, which were quietly floating in the air.

Without any hesitation, Kruze immediately began his secluded training.

He cleared his mind of all distractions, focused all his energy on circulating his fighting spirit, and guided the vast yet gentle power within the energy crystal to flow into his body, cleansing his meridians and nourishing his vortex.

The effects of energy crystallization remain astonishingly powerful.

Eleven crystals were successively refined and absorbed, transforming into pure battle qi that settled in his dantian.

When he opened his eyes again, his aura was noticeably more solid and substantial, and the light of his battle qi was also more profound.

A strong premonition rose in his heart: as long as he could successfully complete this combat branch mission of "If Kou can go, so can I," obtain the reward of ten energy crystals, and absorb and refine them again.

With the solid foundation built up by those twenty-one energy crystals, he was absolutely confident that he could break through the bottleneck and enter the realm of Bronze Knight in one fell swoop!
The increased confidence brought by his enhanced strength made the light in Kruse's eyes grow even sharper.

The following day, he summoned Wilstone and Rezal.

"How's the intelligence gathering going?" he asked bluntly, his tone tinged with impatience.

Wilstone immediately presented the initial information he had gathered, and Rezal was eager to try it out.

"The Wolfhair Knights Territory has fertile land and covers only half the area of ​​ours, about 500 acres. It has a total population of more than 300 people, two bronze knights, and 30 regular militiamen. Their weapons and equipment are similar to ours. Of course, this is also thanks to the young master's forging skills. Otherwise, we would not be able to compare with them at all."

Wilstone took the opportunity to flatter Kruse.

Kruze waved his hand, thought for a moment, and said, "My goal this time is to seize food and supplies, not to fight. I will try to avoid battle as much as possible."

Wilstone nodded, understanding what Kruse meant.

Rezal stood aside, listening to his brother and Wilstone discuss how to "obtain" resources from Wolfhair Territory, and a hint of disappointment was hard to hide on his face.

He had originally expected a grand, head-on battle, a chivalrous duel of honor, rather than this... more like scheming and plundering in the shadows.

For young people eager to prove themselves on the battlefield, this is inevitably not "satisfying" enough.

Kru keenly sensed his brother's emotions; he understood Rezal's yearning for traditional chivalrous honor. He smiled slightly, not directly refuting him, but cleverly shifting the angle, offering a more tempting goal:
“Rezal, think long-term. Wolfhair Territory is far wealthier than we are.” Kruze’s voice carried a hint of guidance. “Think about it, what if their warehouses were filled not only with grain, but also with surplus… ironware? What would it mean for us if we could ‘take back’ some iron, or even finished weapons and armor?”

This sentence was like a key, instantly unlocking Rezal's thinking.

铁！
In this world, especially for border knight territories like theirs, iron is a symbol of power and a guarantee of survival!

More iron means more soldiers to arm, better farm tools to build, and more wasteland to cultivate! Why is their Lion Tooth Territory so barren?

To a large extent, this is due to the extreme lack of iron resources! The little ironware the territory currently possesses was a reward my father, Sir Reyes, received for his military exploits when he served the Earl of Novocamp.

The reason why the Count of Camp Nou could be so "generous" was because of the powerful iron dragon he rode!
The strength of a country often lies in the number of dragons it controls.

Generally speaking, a duchy is considered to have a solid foundation if it has a real dragon as its guardian.

A kingdom must possess at least two true dragons to be able to awe all around it.

A vast empire might possess more than ten true dragons, a terrifying force capable of crushing everything in its vicinity.

But these supreme dragons usually only dwell deep within the palaces of kings or dukes.

In order to maintain their rule over vast territories and ensure the loyalty of their powerful vassals, monarchs would adopt a peculiar system of enfeoffment—they would bestow upon those followers who had made great contributions or held important positions the sub-dragons or secondary dragons that had evolved from the radiance of the true dragon's magic.

The "True Iron Dragon" owned by the Earl of Camp Nou was a sub-dragon.

It is not a true pure-blooded dragon, but rather a mutated and evolved form of a certain earth-dwelling magical beast under the influence of the magical radiation of the guardian dragon of the Duchy of Mark—the Ironmouth Dragon.

These sub-dragons or secondary dragons, which are "derived" from the superior true dragons, have a natural fear of their source of power and a subservience to their bloodline level.

This creates an extremely effective check and balance: if the Earl of Camp Nou dares to harbor any thoughts of rebellion against Grand Duke Mark, the Grand Duke only needs to summon the Iron-Mouthed Dragon, or even just issue an order imbued with the Iron-Mouthed Dragon's majesty, which could directly cause the Iron-Mouthed Dragon, which the Earl of Camp Nou relies on, to go out of control or even turn against its master!
This is both a blessing and an invisible yet incredibly strong shackle.

Having figured all this out, the disappointment in Rezal's eyes was gradually replaced by a deeper understanding and longing.

My brother sees far more than just the outcome of a battle; he sees it as the cornerstone of the territory's future development.

If a "dishonorable" act can bring crucial iron resources to Lionfang Territory, then this chivalrous grievance seems acceptable.

“I understand, brother.” Rezal nodded heavily, his eyes hardening. “We need iron!”

Kruse looked at his younger brother, whose fighting spirit had been ignited by the "ironware" and who had become full of energy. He couldn't help but smile slightly and almost burst out laughing.

This younger brother is simple-minded and straightforward. Although he can be a bit reckless at times, his purity and ease of guidance are sometimes really... incredibly cute.

Wilstone, standing to the side, was not so optimistic.

His brows were furrowed, his rough fingers tracing the simple map of the Wolf-hair Knights' Territory spread out on the open, his face filled with solemnity.

“Young Master,” his voice was low and serious, “please forgive my bluntness. Even though the main force of Wolfhair Territory is not here and the remaining forces are weak, with the combat power we can currently mobilize—even with you and Young Master Rezal added, the risk of launching a frontal attack or even taking down a well-prepared knightly territory castle in a short period of time is still extremely high, and the success rate is probably not high.”

(End of this chapter)