Fantasy Lord: Starting with Daily Information

Chapter 74: One Month Later, Crisis Approaching

A large amount of gold was spent, and all the gold that was acquired was used for procurement. Under Thor's careful arrangements, time slowly passed, and in the blink of an eye, a month had gone by.

This month, the entire Maine River Valley remained exceptionally quiet, with no disturbances. Since Thor had already subdued the three major noble families, even the other frontier lords in the Maine River Valley didn't dare to harbor any thoughts against Eagle Ridge. As for the three major noble families, they also took no further actions. With the contract firmly established, violating it would bring consequences they simply couldn't bear.

The Maine River Valley was relatively calm, but other places were far from peaceful.

In the northwest of the Maine River Valley, slaughter was spreading.

Huge flames engulfed the entire territory, chaos and cries spreading everywhere. This was clearly the territory of a noble lord. However, the once-prosperous land was now ablaze, with people fleeing in all directions.

An hour ago, this territory was attacked by a Minotaur tribe. Baron Rothschild, the lord of the land, was killed on the spot, and the territory soon fell to the Minotaurs. A large number of the territory’s residents were torn apart by the Minotaurs, while the women were captured.

If things go as expected, these women would soon become breeding tools for the Minotaurs. Unlike magical beasts, Orcs and Elves are not reproductively isolated from humans. Due to their special nature, Orcs often capture human women as breeding tools. In fact, Orcs use secret methods to drain the life force of human women to continuously reproduce their kind.

This Minotaur tribe had fled far after being defeated in a tribal war. Though they had escaped, they had lost many members and were in desperate need of replenishment. They saw this baron’s territory as a prime target, and everything went surprisingly smoothly.

“Blessed by the Titan God!” shouted the leading Minotaur, its voice filled with cruelty and excitement under the blazing fire. Meanwhile, screams of pain and agony echoed from the houses, coming from the women within.

As the night fell, the entire territory was devoid of any signs of life. Large bonfires blazed, with charred human forms roasting over them, sizzling and dripping with fat. Their innards were discarded carelessly nearby, and drool dripped from the mouths of the Minotaurs.

Small Minotaurs began to emerge from the houses, leaving behind the bodies of women who had died horribly.

That night was destined to be a celebration for the Minotaurs.

By the next day, news of the attack swept through the Northern Province like a whirlwind. Every noble lord in the northwest became extremely anxious. Some lords even began to evacuate overnight, while others quickly sent letters requesting aid from the Flying Eagle Knights, or sent people directly to seek help.

However, these efforts were in vain. The letters seemed to disappear into the void, and the messengers never even made it to the Flying Eagle Knights.

This situation plunged the entire northwest into chaos. More and more people began to abandon their territories. Although they had spent years and vast amounts of gold building these lands, survival took precedence. After all, lost territories and gold could be regained, but if they lost their lives, everything would be lost.

This panic quickly spread from the northwest to even farther regions.

Rachos Assad, who was developing trade routes, soon received this news. Upon learning of it, even Rachos was startled. It wasn’t just the problem of the Minotaurs; what shocked him more was that Thor had warned him about this possibility a month ago. It was as if Thor had known in advance, leaving Rachos both shocked and awed.

Amidst his shock, he did not dare to slack off and immediately began to investigate further. After gathering enough information, he abandoned his trade efforts and returned to Eagle Ridge.

Half a month later, Rachos Assad arrived back at Eagle Ridge and reported the situation to Thor.

“A Minotaur tribe of only second-tier strength?” Thor was surprised and looked at Rachos Assad. In the Orc tribes, there was a strict hierarchy, or rather, humans had given them a strict classification. A tribe with strength equivalent to a Grand Knight was considered second-tier, while those comparable to an Earth Knight were third-tier.

Thor was surprised that this Minotaur tribe was only second-tier. Unlike Goblins, Minotaurs could grow as powerful as fourth-tier beings. Second-tier Minotaur tribes were rare. Moreover, how could a second-tier Minotaur tribe pose a significant threat to the Maine River Valley or to him?

With his current strength, he might struggle against a third-tier Orc tribe, but he was confident he could handle a second-tier one. Theoretically, there shouldn't be a crisis.

“Yes, it's only second-tier, but it seems to be a stronger variant, likely a remnant of a defeated third-tier Minotaur tribe. It’s said there are seven or eight second-tier Minotaurs, including two peak second-tier Minotaur leaders,” Rachos Assad replied cautiously, still sounding concerned.

“I see!” Thor nodded, a look of understanding crossing his face. A second-tier tribe formed from the remnants of a third-tier one made sense. Even in defeat, a former third-tier tribe would naturally pose a significant threat to the Maine River Valley and Eagle Ridge.

“Rachos, my friend, I must ask you to continue monitoring the situation,” Thor said gravely, taking a deep breath and speaking earnestly to Rachos Assad.

“Of course, I’ll do it,” Rachos Assad nodded without hesitation. At this point, he and Thor were allies with shared interests, and he naturally didn’t want anything to happen to Eagle Ridge.

Rachos Assad soon left again, while Thor resumed his preparations.

The danger was real, but as he had anticipated, it wasn’t insurmountable. If he could gather the strength of the Maine River Valley, especially that of the three noble families, along with the five magical crystal cannons, they might have a good chance of fending off the Minotaur attack. 

After all, while the Minotaurs had seven or eight second-tier warriors and even a second-tier peak leader, the combined forces of the four territories already included four Grand Knights. Adding Ryan, who was now very close to becoming a Grand Knight, they had five powerful warriors.

In terms of high-level combat strength, they were not far behind the Minotaurs. While the magical crystal cannons’ power was limited by the use of only second-tier magic cores, they would still be quite effective.