Chapter 363: Chapter 0360: Becoming the Knight Order’s Commander (First Update)
 

“The Grand Duke’s Dragon must have encountered some problem, that’s my father’s speculation,” said Liszt calmly. “He believes that, given the Grand Duke’s temperament, if the Sapphire Dragon were unharmed, he would never have issued an order to suppress the Marquis of Bull. The Grand Duke would have directly commanded the Sapphire Dragon to annihilate everything on Iron Hoof Island as a deterrent to his enemies.”

After rushing to Tulip Castle, Liszt encountered his brother Levis, who was busy receiving the continuously arriving nobles.

Taking the opportunity, Levis told him what had happened—the Sapphire Duke had sent a letter, summoning all his followers to assemble at Iron Hoof Island to annihilate the Marquis of Bull.

“Have you deduced what exactly has happened to the Sapphire Dragon?” Liszt asked with a steady gaze.

“At the very least, it’s injured… The knight who came to inform us is a viscount from the Blue Blood Alliance, and he was very tight-lipped. I wasn’t able to extract any useful information from him.”

“So, is father planning to proceed with the original plan and follow the Grand Duke’s command to join the suppression?”

“When the situation is unclear, that’s the most appropriate course of action. Father is already in communication with several marquises and earls, and after reaching Bull Horn City, we’ll carefully consider how to proceed with the second step. However, the war is essentially set in stone. Liszt, you’re only seventeen; are you really planning to go to war?”

He felt a bit displeased. As someone who had been called a “prodigy” and as the family’s heir since childhood, he had only gone to battle at twenty-three, and now seventeen-year-old Liszt was about to go to the battlefield.

Liszt was unaware of what Levis was thinking; he simply said indifferently, “As a noble’s second son, the only chance to change my fate is through war… I don’t have much time to waste.”

“Alright then.”

…

The meeting convened at dusk.

Earl Li Weiliam Tulip announced the Grand Duke’s orders and immediately began arranging which knights would be deployed. “Everyone will go to war. Bring yourselves and your followers. All Earth Knights who are not old, weak, sick, or disabled must appear on the battlefield.”

He looked around at all the nobles. “My plan is to form six Knight Orders, one elite Knight Order and four regular Knight Orders that will directly participate in the war, and one more to patrol within the island, to garrison and defend the security of Coral Island.”

Six Knight Orders, six Commanders.

Coral City Advisor Jacob was appointed as the Commander of the defensive Knight Order, to stay behind and ensure the safety of Coral Island.

Of the remaining five Knight Orders, four Commanders had already been selected. Li Weiliam himself naturally led the elite Knight Order, while Jonas, Trick, and Levis, the three viscounts, each led one Knight Order.

Now only the last Knight Order’s commander was needed.

“Earl, please allow me to lead it,” Liszt said without much hesitation or conflict. “Although this is my first time on the battlefield, I have an Intermediate Magical Beast as a pet, with combat power on par with an ordinary Sky Knight. I believe I am fully capable of leading a Knight Order to vie for glory.”

Li Weiliam looked over the attendees. “Is there anyone else who intends to volunteer as a Knight Commander?”

Indeed, several barons who were elite Earth Knights had been eager to try, but after Liszt volunteered, they immediately backed down.

Not to mention that Liszt had already been hailed as a future viscount; just by virtue of being Li Weiliam’s son, it would be very difficult for anyone to contest with him. After all, no one would be foolish enough to think that they ranked higher in the Earl’s eyes than Liszt, even though he was Lady Marie’s brother.

Lady Marie’s brother was also an Elite Earth Knight and had inherited a baron’s title; his prestige on Coral Island was not insignificant.

He was very keen on securing the position of Knight Order Commander, it being the best position to earn military honors, but now, he could only look at Liszt with resentment.

He dared not vie for the position anymore — Liszt was known to set his dog on people.

He always brought Douson with him whenever he left home, as if worried others wouldn’t realize he owned an Intermediate Magical Beast. Of course, the benefits of doing so were quite apparent.

No objections were raised during the meeting, so Liszt smoothly became the new Knight Order Commander.

The meeting then began discussing how many Earth Knights each landlord could dispatch to participate in the war and then allocate them subjectively among the five Knight Orders. Evidently, the Knight Order led by Liszt was not very attractive, as not many nobles were willing to join, and the response was sparse.

He didn’t mind.

He wasn’t even that concerned about his own Knight Squad—only Douson was his greatest reliance.

Ultimately, it was the Earl who made a forceful arrangement, “Captain Layden, you are an experienced and prudent Elite Earth Knight; you will lead a Knight Squad to assist Liszt in decision-making. Cobalt, Nash, both of you lead your Knight Squads and join Liszt’s Knight Order as well.”

Captain Layden had always been the Knight Captain of Coral Island’s elite Knight Squad, which meant the Earl had directly supplemented Liszt’s Knight Order with an elite Knight Squad.

Cobalt and Nash, on the other hand, were established Barons, each with their own Knight Squads, including Elite Earth Knights among their followers.

In addition, since each Knight Order had a fixed ten Knight Squads but there was still an extra Knight Squad, the Earl made a grand gesture by slotting it into Liszt’s Knight Order—thus, Liszt’s Knight Order ended up with eleven Knight Squads, totaling one hundred and forty-two people.

The Earl looked deeply at his son, “Liszt, please remember that all the glory of these Knights is tied to your person.”

Liszt replied calmly, “I stand with the Knights!”

The Knight Orders were distinguished by color.

The Earl led the Red Knights, Levis led the Yellow Knight Order, Jonas Shattered Stone led the Grey Knight Order, Trick Weed led the Green Knight Order, and Liszt led the Black Knight Order.

All was agreed upon.

The Earl stood up, announcing solemnly, “My followers, you have two days to prepare. At 10 a.m. on June 7th, all Knight Orders must assemble at Coral Island Port. May the glory of knighthood bless us all and may we fight side by side on the path to glory!”

Everyone, including Liszt, stood up and solemnly saluted with their right hand to their chest, “Ready to charge for our lord!”

…

The meeting concluded, and they had a simple dinner at Tulip Castle.

They returned to their own lands overnight.

Liszt, regardless of it being one o’clock in the morning, quickly gathered all the Earth Knights and town officials for a midnight meeting. The meeting lasted only half an hour since everything that needed to be prepared had been ready; it was merely a repetition. After taking care of these matters, he took a bath and lay down in bed.

He called forth the Smoke Mission.

Unsurprisingly, as soon as he secured the position of Knight Commander, the mission was completed: “Mission completed, reward: settlement of the Green-headed Duck.”

“Not sure where the Green Caterpillar and the Green-headed Duck are, I’ll send someone to look for them in Fresh Flower Town tomorrow. If they can’t be found there, they’re probably on Black Horse Island…There’s no time to search Black Horse Island; I’ll leave Goltai in charge of it. Whether it’s the Green Caterpillar or the Green-headed Duck, neither is likely to be an impressive reward.”

He clenched his fist, “War is now my utmost priority!”

The smoke shifted, forming new Serpent Script.

“Mission: War has arrived! Serving as a Knight Commander has paved the way for your path of glory; now lead your Knight Order to set foot triumphantly on Iron Hoof Island’s port, and start the steps of your own war! Reward: The awakening of Virginia Truth.”

“Virginia Truth?” Liszt suddenly remembered that this referred to the Magic Goat Family girl who used to be the 36D Ghost and had regained her appearance.

After placing her into the Soul Storage Vessel, he had almost forgotten about her.