Ron's gaze slightly intensified as he fell into deep contemplation.
"The first path is to wait until I become a squire and then attempt to redeem Alice with money."
After becoming a knight, even the lowest-ranking squire would experience a significant surge in strength.
By that time, even if he couldn't redeem Alice, he would at least have the ability to protect himself and make other plans.
"The second path is to find a way to rescue Alice from the Sar family by force."
Thinking of this, Ron couldn't help but shake his head slightly.
This path was far more difficult; the former required only money and strength.
The latter, however, in addition to money and strength, also needed detailed intelligence and a flawless plan.
If there were any loopholes in the plan, not only would Ron himself be in danger, but he would also fail to save Alice.
"Therefore, no matter which path I choose, the priority is to quickly enhance my strength."
Ron shook his head vigorously, forcing himself to stop thinking further.
With his current cultivation speed, he estimated that it would take at most ten days to reach the rank of a high-priced knight squire.
As for becoming a knight…
Ron thought of the elemental fruit left by Pok and silently set a date in his heart.
"Half a month! At most half a month, I will definitely become a knight!"
To become a knight in half a month was an incredibly fast pace.
Even among the great nobles who cultivated genius knights, it would be hard to surpass this speed.
"Besides cultivation, perhaps I can find other ways to enhance my strength…"
Ron mused, thinking of the longsword and armor worn by knights.
The Wild Wolf Breathing Technique he was currently cultivating, although of a lower rank, was very comprehensive.
It not only served for cultivation and strength enhancement but also included a series of combat techniques such as boxing, swordsmanship, horsemanship, and spear techniques.
"If I could have a suitable weapon and a set of fitting armor, I could at least increase my strength by more than fifty percent!"
"If this weapon or armor could reach the level of an alchemical item… then defeating enemies of a higher rank would not be impossible!"
Ron thought to himself, but unfortunately, alchemical items were extremely rare and precious.
In the entire Hipu Town, the total number of alchemical items might not even reach five.
It had been very fortunate for Ron to obtain that alchemical mask in the first place.
If he wanted to acquire a second alchemical item, especially one that could directly boost his combat power, it would be nothing short of a pipe dream…
"Wait!"
Ron suddenly paused, recalling the thought he had when he first obtained the alchemical mask.
"If I was right back then…"
"Then, perhaps I really do have a chance to obtain more alchemical items?"
Ron's expression turned strange, and his thoughts began to race.
When he first got the alchemical mask, he had made some guesses about his intelligence system.
The system's daily intelligence releases, although different each day and seemingly completely random,
actually followed a certain pattern.
This pattern was that the intelligence released each day was closely related to Ron's actions, intentions, or thoughts from the previous day.
For example, when Ron had just arrived in this world, he had his property taken by Barto, lost his place to stay, and even eating became extremely difficult.
Thus, the intelligence released by the system those days was related to how he could survive.
For example, there was an abandoned cabin in a certain direction in the wild where he could take shelter.
Or there were bird eggs or raspberries on a certain tree that could barely satisfy his hunger.
Later, when Ron's survival problem was solved, he began to consider how to take revenge on Barto.
Thus, he obtained the patrol route of Barto's fields and severely injured him with a trap.
After that, Ron wanted to enhance his strength and become a knight.
So he obtained the drop location of the Wild Wolf Breathing Technique and the location of the elemental fruit.
"So, if this pattern is correct."
"Then what I need now is something that can enhance my strength outside of cultivation…"
Ron kept repeating this in his mind, and gradually, only one voice echoed in his head.
After a long while, Ron came back to his senses.
"Let's see if the intelligence tomorrow will follow the pattern and give me a hint as I think."
"If it does, then from now on, this seemingly random daily intelligence might become…"
"A kind of search and answer platform, in a certain sense?"
Thinking of this, Ron became excited.
After he adjusted his emotions, he continued to read on.
"Miral, that shameless woman, is really without shame…"
"Was Halington's novel written anonymously? Otherwise, no matter how bad the writing is, it wouldn't be ignored! After all, it's the work of an alchemical master!"
"The Thieves' Guild is going to withdraw from Kurah City? And the knights are going to disband too? Then the inspections at the city gates and the night curfew will also stop?"
The last few pieces of intelligence were of little use to Ron.
So, after calculating his test plan, he went straight to bed.
The next day, after Ron woke up, just like yesterday, he sent Lisa to school after having breakfast.
Then he came back, tidied up briefly, and opened the shop door to wait for patients.
After sitting with Liton for the morning, he had lunch and took a break at noon.
In the afternoon, Ron stayed at home by himself. If any patients came, he would first ask and record their information.
Liton, on the other hand, went to the patients' homes for treatment according to the appointments made the day before.
These patients were mostly wealthy people from Hipu Town.
They could afford the house call fee, and Liton naturally would not refuse.
In the evening, after work was over, Ron went to pick Lisa up from school and they went home together.
After the three of them had dinner, they each went to rest.
"Tonight, when the intelligence refreshes, I will know if my guess is right or not," Ron thought to himself.
During the time waiting for the intelligence to refresh, he didn't idle but continued to practice his breathing technique.
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Gwath, along with a group of knights, returned from the Clear Spring Forest.
They also brought back something with them: the mutilated and incomplete corpse of Nemo, which had been gnawed on by wild animals.
"Alas… poor Nemo, in his haste to find a doctor for Barto, he took the shortcut through the Clear Spring Forest.
As a result, he unfortunately encountered a wild beast and ended up like this. It's truly heartbreaking…" In front of everyone, Gwath sighed deeply and lamented.
Some onlookers, unaware of the truth, seeing Gwath's seemingly sorrowful expression, thought he was genuinely saddened by Nemo's death.
Therefore, they all offered their condolences, saying:
"Mr. Gwath, please take care of yourself and don't be too upset."
"Yes, please don't be too saddened. Perhaps this was Nemo's fate…"