Chapter 366: Chapter 0363: Covered with Dried Tulip Flowers (First Update)
 

Draped with stars and crowned with the moon, chasing the morning dew, the fish-belly white of the eastern horizon gradually turned into a red sky. By the time the red sun rose from the eastern skyline, the troop had already arrived at the Coral City Port.

The port had already gathered many knights, as well as their retainers.

“Captain Layden, I’ll leave the assembly of the Black Knight Order to you,” said Liszt as he saw Layden Pot, entrusting the task of assembly to him.

He then proceeded to discuss with Levis the allocation of his own ships.

The Tulip Family owned about fifty sea vessels, half of which were twin-mast cargo sailing ships; the remaining half comprised two-thirds twin-mast ordinary sailing ships and one-third twin-mast fast sailing ships. There were only two triple-mast ships, one being the Tulip— a triple-mast ordinary sailing ship, and the other being the Coral— a triple-mast cargo sailing ship.

Liszt certainly would not be assigned the triple-mast ships.

He was allocated a twin-mast fast sailing ship, two twin-mast ordinary sailing ships, and one twin-mast cargo sailing ship.

The cargo ship was used to transport food and water, ordinary ships for the retainer knights and horses, and the fast ship for nobles to ride in. Of course, Liszt had privileges—his knight squad and retainer knights also rode on the fast ship, serving him, even the Li Dragon Horse was placed on board.

Paris stayed next door, with Douson standing guard at the door.

Personal safety reached the highest level.

After he had negotiated with Levis which four ships belonged to the Black Knight Order, the Earl had already come over and, after delivering a speech at the port, took the lead to board the triple-mast ship Tulip.

Afterward, one by one, the sailing ships left the port.

In the rising sun, the Knight Order of Coral Island set sail, heading toward Iron Hoof Island.

…

Sailing was boring.

However, this time Liszt was somewhat busier, as he had to straighten out the Knight Order, so he kept gathering the one hundred and forty-two knights of the Black Knight Order on the ship. Charging together in training was impossible, but establishing various battlefield signals and slogans among one another, and building a simple trust, was feasible.

At the same time, it was a period to establish authority, as there were two other seasoned Barons on the ship besides him—Cobalt and Nash.

After a simple sword fight on the deck, they had to admit that even without relying on Douson, the intermediate magical beast, they were no match for Liszt.

Even two against one, they could not defeat Liszt.

“Knight Commander, are you sure you have not become an Elite Earth Knight?” asked Cobalt, very dejected after their sound loss in a two-against-one.

Liszt smiled faintly, neither denying nor confirming, “The combat power of a knight is not entirely based on the level of Dou Qi. All you need to know is that my strength is sufficient to shoulder the responsibilities of a commander. Follow me into the charge, and the glory on the battlefield will definitely belong to our Knight’s Spear!”

He had already begun practicing “Breath Decay”.

But he had not yet succeeded in his practice, and the effect had not been shown; the Dou Qi in his body was still continuously dissipating outward.

Before obtaining the Dou Qi secret technique, he thought this kind of waste was normal, but with the secret technique, seeing the Dou Qi dissipate made him uncomfortable—it was not just a little waste of Dou Qi; it was a waste of his strength, a waste of his gold coins.

Cobalt was thoroughly convinced, “Of course, I would not dare to doubt it now.”

Nash also replied, “With the Knight Commander’s mighty strength, I am even more confident in seizing glory; I will definitely follow the commander’s footsteps closely.”

Status, strength, both completely suppressed.

No one in the Black Knight Order dared to defy Liszt, so in just a short four-day journey, he had already successfully grasped the authority of the entire Knight Order.

There were no more voices of dissent.

“`

…

Encountering neither storms nor sea monsters, the expedition fleet from Coral Island arrived safely at the Bull Horn City Port, now flying the Sapphire Dragon Banner, on the night of the fourth day.

The vanguard Knight Squad landed at the port.

After a brief reconnaissance, they confirmed that the port was indeed occupied by the Knight Order of the Grand Duke.

Consequently, a series of flag signals were sent from the Tulip, and all the ships began to dock one after another, with five Knight Orders swiftly assembling at the port.

Liszt, clad in fine steel armor with a fine steel round shield in his left hand and a fine steel Knight’s Spear in his right, also had the Crimson Blood Sword hanging at his waist. The lining of his armor was made from the skin of the Six-Headed King Serpent, making its defense unparalleled. Mounted on his Li Dragon Horse, the unity of horse and rider exuded an imposing aura.

He rode around the assembled Black Knight Order, his face solemn beneath his lifted visor, his sapphire-colored pupils shimmering under the torchlight.

Once he was certain that all the knights had found their positions in the rows, he suddenly snapped his visor down and bellowed, “All units, close your visors and follow me!”

“Click!”

“Click!”

“Click!”

The crisp sound of metal fasteners echoed as over a hundred and forty knights in orderly rows quickly shut their visors, completely encased in their armor.

Following Liszt, they moved from the port towards Bull Horn City.

Bull Horn City is a major city on Iron Hoof Island and one of the renowned cities in the Grand Duchy of Sapphire, famous for the Bull Horn Academy at its edge. This academy supplies servants to The Court year-round, and numerous noble maidens come here to learn needlework.

It is also for this reason that many single nobles linger in Bull Horn City, hoping to court a well-born lady from the academy.

However, the once-busy Bull Horn City was now almost devoid of civilians, with well-armored knights being the main figures on the streets.

The knights stationed in Bull Horn City coordinated with the Earl and accommodated the Knight Orders from Coral Island in a common district.

“Knight Commander Liszt, the Earl has informed me that after you set up camp, you and the other commanders are to go to Bull Horn Castle for a welcoming banquet,” a knight relayed the message.

“I understand,” he replied.

He then called over to Captain Layden, “See to it that accommodations are arranged for each knight.”

Layden was not put off by Liszt’s delegating attitude; on the contrary, he relished the temporary authority, raising his voice as he directed the knights to their lodging.

Liszt instructed his Retainer Knights, “Ensure my room is thoroughly cleaned, call for water to wash the floor and furniture, and spread dried Tulip flowers liberally to dispel this nauseating stench!” Accustomed to the fragrant air of Fresh Flower Town, he struggled to endure the foul odor of excrement mixed with urine in the city.

Paris, who stood nearby, coughed.

Liszt casually added, “Also clean the room for Paris’s guard and sprinkle it with dried flowers as well.”

Paris gave a small curtsy, “Thank you, Baron,” her face unable to hide her amusement.

“Paris will accompany me to the banquet to ensure my safety. Zavier will take care of Douson, and Philip will look after the horses,” Liszt briefly ordered.

Having left the encampment of the Black Knight Order, he headed towards the area where the Yellow Knight Order was stationed. It so happened that Levis had also finished arranging his knights and was ready to set out with a few retainers. After a short wait for Viscounts Jonas and Trick, the four Knight Commanders made their way together to Bull Horn Castle.

To attend the welcoming banquet.

“`