On the snow-covered ground, a team of over forty knights slowly approached Frost Halberd City.In the center of the team, a paint black carriage moved steadily, a banner with a crimson moon crest hanging from its roof.Such a grand display naturally caught the attention of the city gate guards, who watched the newcomers warily.As they neared the city gate, a tall, slender young man slowly alighted from the carriage.He raised his hand and removed his hood, revealing a handsome face: “I am Louis Calvin, a Frontier Baron enfeoffed by the Empire, here to pay my respects to Duke Edmund.”The soldiers exchanged glances, surprise in their eyes.The Calvin Family was one of the Iron-Blood Empire’s eight great families, and even in the North, they had some renown.Although they didn't know the young man's status within the Calvin Family, he was not someone ordinary soldiers like them could afford to slight.One soldier turned and entered the city to report.After a short while, a middle-aged official hurried out to greet them: “Lord Louis, His Grace the Duke is aware of your arrival; please follow me into the city.”Thus, led by the official, Louis and his party passed through the heavy city gates and entered Frost Halberd City.The streets within the city, though wide, were full of potholes, with snow and muddy water mixed together, leaving a trail of muddy footprints after being walked upon.Most of the houses were constructed from stone and wood, crude and dilapidated, and one could even see collapsed ruins in the wind and snow.Pedestrians on the streets were sparse, roughly divided into two types.One type was the Northern Border soldiers dressed in fur coats; their faces were etched with fatigue, and their eyes held the indifference brought by long experience on the battlefield.The other type consisted of commoners wrapped in coarse cloth, their expressions numb, focused only on hurrying along.Louis’s gaze swept over these sights, but his heart remained undisturbed.Considering the Northern Border’s scarce resources and frequent wars, maintaining the current order was already quite remarkable.“Duke Edmund is inside.” The official led Louis and his party to the Governor’s Office.The room had no excessive luxurious decorations, only a heavy, large desk, several old bookshelves, and a dark blue military flag hanging on the wall.Behind the desk sat a middle-aged man whose face bore a hideous saber scar, extending from the corner of his left eye all the way to his jaw, making his already stern face even more sharp.His presence was like an unmoving fortress, exuding a suffocating pressure.This man was the ruler of Frost Halberd City, the de facto controller of the Northern Border Province—Duke Edmund.“Intermediate Formal Knight…” He scrutinized Louis, his gaze tinged with disdain, “A Calvin Family brat?”Louis’s expression remained unchanged; he nodded slightly: “Yes.”“You are quite handsome, though.” Edmund’s lips curled slightly, his tone carrying disdain and mockery, “Compared to your elder brother, who is renowned for his military achievements, you certainly look more like a nobleman.”Louis was not surprised by his disdainful attitude.After all, this was a world where the strong preyed on the weak, and strength was the most powerful proof.It was normal for his weak strength to be looked down upon by a famous Peak Knight.So, he didn't bother to waste time on pleasantries, taking out the pioneering certificate stamped with the royal seal, and said: “I am here to register my pioneering territory.”Edmund took the pioneering certificate, casually flipped through it, confirmed Louis’s identity as a pioneering lord, then pulled out a map from a stack of documents on the desk and spread it out.“Aside from the areas marked with red circles, all other places are available for selection.”Louis looked down; it was a detailed map of the Northern Border Province.The Northern Border Province was vast and boundless, roughly half the size of Russia in his previous life.However, there were only a dozen or so red circles on the map, designated as unselectable areas.There were many places to ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ choose from, which excited Louis somewhat.To facilitate this reclamation plan, the Empire had issued a complete “Northern Territory Reclamation Order.”One of its provisions clearly stated: All newly appointed pioneering lords must go to the Governor’s Mansion to register and choose their initial pioneering land, with priority given to those who arrive first.It seemed he was one of the earliest pioneering lords to arrive.As for the other noble scions sent by their families, they were probably delaying, unwilling to come to the Northern Border, hoping to postpone it as long as possible, not taking this matter seriously at all.For him, this was excellent news.Louis gazed at the complex map, lost in thought.For the past few days, he had been sifting through the various intelligence provided by the system, all for this moment.The various pieces of information brought by the Daily Intelligence System quickly intertwined in his mind, and he continuously filtered and compared, searching for the most suitable territory for development.In fact, he already had several ideal targets in mind.Therefore, this selection did not take too much time.He reached out, circled a location on the map, and looked up at Edmund: “This is it.”Edmund looked down at the location Louis indicated, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.It was located in the Southeast of the Northern Border, at the junction of the Green Rock Rift and the Gray Moss Tundra, seventy-five kilometers from Frost Howl Fjord.This kid actually picked a good spot at first glance?This area possessed one of the Northern Border’s rare slightly warmer regions, allowing for the planting of some cold-resistant crops during seasons other than deep winter.This alone made it much better than most places in the Northern Border.Moreover, there was a small stream nearby, ensuring an ample water supply and allowing for fishing to sustain life.More importantly, there were some cold iron ore veins; although extraction was extremely difficult, if a suitable method could be found, there was still immense development potential.In the Northern Border, this perpetually frozen, resource-scarce, bitter cold land, this place was undoubtedly one of the few “fertile” areas.The Duke raised his head and re-examined the young man before him.He had initially thought him just an ordinary dissolute noble, but he hadn't expected him to understand how to choose a territory location; it seemed he was not as simple as he appeared.Duke Edmund watched Louis with interest, and, uncharacteristically, praised him: “A good choice.”Louis did not show any smugness upon hearing Edmund’s praise: “Thank you for the Duke’s compliment, but I merely did my best to make the most suitable judgment.”Edmund admired Louis even more, patting his shoulder: “If every pioneering lord had your foresight, the Northern Border would be saved.”He casually picked up a steel seal and pressed it firmly onto Louis’s pioneering lord registration document, officially confirming Baron Louis’s sovereignty over this territory.Louis took the document, his fingertips brushing over the steel seal embedded with the Frost Halberd emblem.He appeared calm on the surface, but his heart was already celebrating with fireworks.The land chosen based on the Daily Intelligence System could not be an ordinary territory.If Edmund knew its true value, he would never let it easily fall into someone else's hands but would hold onto it tightly himself.

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