Rise of the Northern Warlord: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Weir’s story began two years ago, the day orcs attacked his village.

He was only ten then, still a child who understood nothing, when he lost all his relatives and friends, and his former home became ruins.

Only his mother, dragging her weary body, brought Weir to escape into the forest.

Without food or water, they could only survive by scavenging fruits.

However, misfortune didn’t stop there.

Soon after, they were captured by a group of passing slave merchants.

His mother tried to make Weir escape, but ultimately they were both taken to the slave market.

Weir only remembered being displayed like merchandise before those cold buyers.

Wearing rough cloth, hungry to the point where his stomach touched his back, even basic dignity stripped away.

His mother held Weir tightly, silently enduring it all.

Until fate’s turning point appeared—the great Lord Vaerik appeared at the slave market, buying hundreds of slaves including himself.

Vaerik brought them to Crimson Tide Domain, giving them a warm home.

For the first time, Weir ate his fill, wore warm clothes, and felt long-lost security.

His mother began working at Crimson Tide Domain’s smoked fish workshop.

Every dawn, she busied herself—washing fish, pickling, smoking—never slacking in any process.

Though hard work, she strived to survive with her own hands, finally gaining some dignity and stability.

Her efforts weren’t in vain.

After hearing of her performance, Vaerik decided to cancel his mother’s and Weir’s slave status, granting them free person status.

That day, his mother, who never shed tears, held Weir and wailed.

From then on, Weir had a life goal—to become someone who could repay Lord Vaerik’s kindness.

Weir stood in the crowd, eyes fixed tightly on that blood-dripping stone.

The opportunity had come—Lord Vaerik was selecting knights.

As long as he could be chosen, he could serve the great lord, repaying everything he had given his mother and himself.

Only then could he stand beside Lord Vaerik, only then could he change his fate.

Finally, he was called.

"Weir." The teacher called softly.

Weir’s heart nearly leaped from his chest. With heavy steps, he walked toward the platform.

The great lord was right before him, somewhat dazzling.

Following the rules, he gently cut his finger with a dagger, letting blood drop onto the blood-dripping stone.

"Must succeed, must succeed..." he kept chanting silently, almost unable to breathe.

The moment blood contacted the blood-dripping stone, some subtle reaction seemed to occur.

The stone’s surface glowed slightly, red light flickering.

Weir’s eyes widened, hardly daring to believe the scene before him.

"Success, success." He couldn’t help but murmur quietly, excited tears flooding his eyes, unconsciously kneeling down, both knees touching the ground.

"I... I really succeeded... great Lord, I pledge my loyalty to you!"

Vaerik gently helped him up: "No need to be so excited."

Weir’s voice carried trembling: "Thank you... thank you, my lord! I will do my utmost to protect Crimson Tide Domain!"

Vaerik had long known that Weir possessed the potential to become a peak knight.

When Weir was still a slave, the Daily Intelligence System had already alerted him.

Weir was a knight candidate with super talent, capable of becoming a peak knight, who would be Crimson Tide Domain’s future top combat power.

The testing continued for an entire morning. Of over two hundred children, ultimately eight were selected with the talent to become knights.

"Eight knights..." Vaerik murmured quietly, satisfaction flashing in his eyes.

Though this result wasn’t very many, for a new territory, it was already quite a considerable harvest.

In fact, cultivating knights required massive resources. Though Crimson Tide Domain’s resources were tight, with family support, it could still afford this.

Those southern minor nobles with several generations of accumulation might only have dozens of knight apprentices, over ten formal knights, plus several elite knights.

Compared to these minor nobles, with family support, Vaerik’s current military strength was already not inferior to theirs.

The only difficulty was that Crimson Tide Domain was located in the Northern Province, this land not only desolate but also dangerous.

Orcs, barbarian tribes, bandits, even surrounding other lords—all were potential threats.

For example, according to Daily Intelligence System alerts, the Snow Swearers had recently been frequently raiding Northern Province territories, lately seeming to have gone mad, though fortunately they were relatively far from him.

To survive in such an environment, Vaerik had to be more careful and cautious, relying on the troops and resources in his hands to gradually establish a firm foothold here.

Vaerik stood on high ground at the training field, looking at the eight children.

These children would not only be Crimson Tide Domain’s future knights, but also his closest force, the future guard regiment.

Vaerik entrusted these eight gifted children to Barnes, the formal knight.

Barnes possessed rich combat experience and teaching ability—the best choice for cultivating this batch of future knights.

Their first lesson was practicing breathing techniques.

"Breathing techniques are the foundation of knight cultivation, determining how far you can go."

Barnes demonstrated how to use the Stream Breathing Technique, this skill originating from the Tudor family.

Though not as good as the Tidal Breathing Technique that only family core members could practice, it was already powerful enough, ranking as a first-class breathing technique.

"There are seven energy pulse points on the human body. By operating breathing techniques to activate them, you can convert energy from the air into battle energy, entering the body and activating bloodlines."

Barnes explained while demonstrating breathing movements, taking deep breaths with his chest rising and falling slightly, then slowly exhaling.

"Each deep breath absorbs energy from the atmosphere. This energy will ultimately be converted into your battle energy."

The children earnestly imitated Barnes’s movements, trying to sense changes within their bodies.

Initially, the children felt nothing, but as time passed, some children finally detected subtle changes within themselves.

Weir was the first to sense it. He said quietly: "I... feel energy entering my body!"

Barnes nodded with satisfaction: "Very good, this is the first step."

In subsequent training, Barnes required the children to practice continuously, constantly deepening their understanding of breathing techniques.

He emphasized: "Breathing techniques are not only means to increase battle energy, but also the process of tempering your spirit and will."

When several days of training ended, the children could all sense changes in air currents within their bodies, initially mastering the core of the Stream Breathing Technique.

Barnes expressed satisfaction with their performance: "You have taken the first step toward becoming knights."

This was just the beginning. Only by continuously polishing these children could truly loyal and capable knights be cultivated for Crimson Tide Domain.