Mount and Blade System: Start from Pioneer Lords

On the snowy ground, the two sat around a campfire, a well-tanned sheepskin spread beneath them, a kettle of mulled wine heating on a rack.

Panda and Leif sat by the fire, each lost in thought.

One was reflecting on his past arrogance.

The other was contemplating the information extracted from Tikri, the pig-headed leader.

They exchanged glances, and Panda spoke first.

"My Lord, I must thank you."

Panda was a Pandaren, and although highly valued by the Duke in White Rock City, he was still, in the end, a member of a foreign race, not even human. Most traditional nobles treated them coldly.

This world was, after all, a realistic one. Faced with such disparities in status and race, most nobles would at best remain indifferent.

But what had Baron Leif done? As soon as they arrived, he had generously provided wine and food to the weary travelers.

After the battle, the officers of the Thorns Legion had remained silent, with only Legion Commander Fojero offering a few words of encouragement.

Only this lord had not only comforted him but also brought him to drink and relieve his boredom, patiently listening to his ramblings.

Even the only shaman capable of healing had been arranged to treat his severely injured people first.

Although Fojero had also sent a healer, an Ice and Snow priest, the former had had no prior interactions with them.

The contrast was stark.

Pandaren were straightforward and sincere.

Everything Lord Leif had done had been seen and remembered.

"I suspect you want to know why," Leif said, sipping his warm wine. In the freezing cold, a sip of warm wine was as good as an old popsicle on the hottest summer day.

The lord exhaled contentedly.

"I am indeed curious," Panda admitted.

In truth, he had expected to lead a dull military life here, with most people treating them with indifference.

That is, not harboring malice towards their arrival, but also not feeling any joy.

Perhaps, to these humans, they were merely tools?

"Three reasons."

"First, seeing you reminds me of those cute, simple-minded folks back home. As a cog in the machine, sometimes it can heal my mental fatigue, so I have some compassion," Leif stretched out, lying on the ground, legs crossed, looking at the sparse stars in the sky:

"Second, my subordinates are also simple-minded like you. Seeing you naturally makes us fond of you. After all, who doesn't love a bunch of fools who are willing to give their lives for me, their lord, just for food and lodging?"

Perhaps finding the ground still cold even with the sheepskin, Leif suddenly sat up again, shrugged, and spoke with obvious sarcasm.

But the lord's smile was bright.

"What's the third?" Panda subconsciously thought the last one would be the most important.

After all, the implementation of any purpose requires possibility and drive. The first two were only possibilities, but they still lacked the final, strong driving condition.

"Panda, I'll be honest with you," the lord said, staring seriously at the massive Pandaren.

"Frankly, I like both your character and your bravery, so naturally, I want to recruit you all into my Highcliff Fortress."

The lord was always one to tailor his approach to the person. A strong woman like Frina couldn't be indulged. Sometimes, going against her could have unexpected results.

The more you obey, the more she looks down on you.

For someone as smart as Leah, but without much experience in the harsh realities of society, giving her enough face and going along with her, while still maintaining your own opinions, was a good way to get along.

As for Beatrice? That little girl was a pure follower. The lord only needed to praise her a little, and she would be so happy she couldn't sleep all night.

Back to the main topic, for Pandaren, the more honest you are, the better the effect.

Being secretive only makes them think you are cunning and not on the same wavelength as their straightforwardness.

The lord's honesty, however, left Panda somewhat at a loss. But he was also a sincere character and said earnestly.

"My Lord, I'll be frank, too. Duchess Frina has shown great kindness to our Panthera clan, so your idea is unlikely to be realized."

"I know," the lord said with a smile, nodding in agreement.

"Ah?"

The lord's expression of expectation surprised Panda.

In fact, he had thought they would haggle for a while.

After all, in human society, this is called playing hard to get.

It was like going to the market to buy tender bamboo. As long as he pretended to leave, the merchant would definitely try to keep him with a lower price.

The lord's current appearance was like a merchant who clearly wanted him to buy his goods, but when he prepared to leave to get a lower price, the merchant said nothing and let him go.

"Surprised I didn't try to persuade you more?" the lord asked with a mysterious smile, snapping his fingers: "As you said, Frina has only shown kindness to your clan of Pandaren."

"And as far as I know, Pandaren exist in family or tribal structures, which means there are other Pandaren clans besides you, and Pandaren often have connections with each other."

"So I only need you to help me connect with another Pandaren tribe."

In this world, another name for Panthera warriors was Pandaren, so Leif's words made sense to Panda.

"Ah?!"

The lord's words made Panda open his mouth even wider.

He had thought that Baron Leif would at most focus his attention on them, but he didn't expect him to bypass them and focus on those distant relatives instead.

After a long silence, he finally said, "I'll try."

Then he felt lost, feeling that Baron Leif was thinking too far ahead, far beyond his own capabilities.

The two put aside the topic and talked about other things.

Leif asked Panda about Qi.

It is said that too much chewing makes food indigestible, but the lord believed he had a good bite, and even stones had to be chewed first before giving up.

With the idea of the more, the better, he naturally wanted to learn Qi, a special extraordinary ability parallel to Battle Qi.

Panda was also very generous, explaining the entry methods of Qi in great detail, such as the idea being like water. When the water is rippling, it is difficult to see clearly, but when it calms down, the answer becomes clear.

After a while of meditation, his head suddenly dropped, and wiping the drool from the corner of his mouth, the lord realized a result with disappointment, that this thing was incompatible with him.

"I can't learn magic or Qi, only Battle Qi is left unlearned, but Holy Light is learned very quickly," the lord thought, stroking his chin, but suddenly he was shocked, and he discovered a tricky problem.

"Could it be that I am the most devout believer of the Goddess of Holy Light? That's why Holy Light can progress so quickly?"

"That's right, if I weren't the most devout believer of the Goddess of Holy Light, how else could I explain my unparalleled entry speed, apart from adding points?"

Leif nodded in agreement.

"So, Goddess, if you can hear my inner voice, please bless your most devout believer. I don't ask to be a Pope or an Archbishop or anything, just give me a Goddess' blessing that increases my cultivation speed or increases my strength," the lord prayed inwardly.

Since cultivating the "Glorious Holy Word Codex", he would pray in his heart every day.

Anyway, it doesn't cost any money, and saying some insincere words is nothing to him.

If it could really let this Holy Light Goddess hear, it would be a sure profit without loss.

After a night of fighting, most people were physically and mentally exhausted and fell asleep as soon as they hit the bed, but the energetic lord was stirred up and couldn't sleep.

He pulled Panda and Meer to play poker, and by the time it was almost dawn, Meer had a bald spot on his head, and even the lord had a tuft of hair in his hand.

In contrast, Panda, who had the most hair, didn't lose a single strand.

"Panda, are you cheating?" the lord asked, very depressed.

In terms of playing cards, it was the first time he had been defeated, and he was defeated by a novice.

This made it as unbelievable as seeing sows lined up and falling into a ditch.

"My Lord, this is power from the heart."

Panda just smiled and explained.

"What bullshit power of the heart, can't you consider a little science?" the lord muttered angrily.

Playing cards with Panda was very strange. This guy was like he had X-ray vision, able to clearly know the size of the cards in their hands.

So all night, this Pandaren basically didn't lose.

Why didn't his Holy Light have this effect? So far, besides being used as a light bulb, Leif found that this Holy Light was useless.

"Brother-in-law, I'm going to sleep first, I'm really too sleepy."

Meer, whose physique was not as good as the two, already had dark circles under his eyes and kept yawning.

Leif waved his hand, signaling him to go to sleep quickly. If he weakened this kid's body, he wouldn't be able to explain it to Tina when he got back.

"Boss, Fojero is looking for you."

Just then, Zart, who had been busy outside all night, opened the tent flap and said.

He had been organizing the Highcliff Fortress warriors to clean up the battlefield, set up catapults, and direct the auxiliary soldiers to build fortifications all night.

"Panda, let's go together. Fojero should want to deal with these wilderness natives today," Leif said with a laugh.

He hadn't forgotten the explanation Fojero had promised him.

The fact that he was only going now was to give him time to prepare, to see what kind of explanation this guy had made up.

Mainly because he had already obtained a lot of information from Tikri, Leif wasn't in a hurry.