Chapter 367: Chapter 0364: Bull Hooves, Bull Tail, and Bull Horns (Second Update)
 

The Sapphire Duke was not in Bull Horn City.

In fact, the Duke had not left Blue Dragon Island at all, and the one who came to oversee the encirclement campaign on Iron Hoof Island was his eldest son, Anthony Sapphire.

This 32-year-old heir to the Grand Duchy had already reached the level of a Sky Knight of the Sword Saint Level, and was gradually taking over the management of the Blueblood Knight Order from the Duke.

If nothing unexpected happened, he would be the Sixth Duke—but now it was hard to say, as the unexpected had already occurred.

He was stationed in the largest coastal city to the southwest of Iron Hoof Island—Bull Hoof City.

“The port of Bull Hoof City is the last stop for the Pioneer Mandate each year. We must prevent the Marquis of Bull from fleeing from Bull Hoof City and also defend against any possible intervention from the Eagle Kingdom. Therefore, the First Prince must personally take charge,” Levis commented after mingling in Bull Horn City’s castle before returning to his seat.

Iron Hoof Island is known as the barrier of the Duchy of Sapphire, being the island closest to the mainland. It only takes six days to sail from Iron Hoof Island to the coast of the Eagle Kingdom.

As the nearest seaport facing the mainland, Iron Hoof Island is where the fleets carrying out the Pioneer Mandate replenish their supplies before heading to the mainland.

For this reason, the island was granted to a branch of the Sapphire Family, and has been controlled by the Bull Family. Unfortunately, it is now the once most trusted Bull Family that is rebelling against the Sapphire Family, led by none other than the current Duke’s closest partner and comrade in arms—Andy Sapphire.

Liszt did not walk back and forth as he was not very keen on mingling, and as a follower of Coral Island’s Count, he was also not suitable to interact with nobles from other islands.

“So, who is in charge of Bull Horn City?”

“Marquis Glendenton,” Levis replied, his expression not very pleasant, “the leader of the Blue Blood Alliance, the deputy commander of the Blueblood Knight Order, the father-in-law of the eldest princess.”

Glendenton Red Maple Leaf, one of the seven Marquises of the Grand Duchy, with his domain in Red Maple City. The Red Maple Leaf Family is one of the two major Marquis Families in the Blue Blood Alliance, and the Grand Duke’s eldest daughter, Princess Annie Sapphire, is married to Glendenton’s son, the future Marquis of Red Maple City.

Levis glanced toward the young man in the hall, surrounded by others, his demeanor quite arrogant: “See that? That’s Glendenton’s son, just an ordinary Sky Knight propped up by his family and magic potions. Look at how smug he is, as if he’s the next Dragon Knight.”

The tone was one of discontent.

Clearly, Levis’s interaction with the other party was not so pleasant.

The Blue Blood Alliance and the landed Nobles have never been on friendly terms.

Even a Marquis in the Blue Blood Alliance only has one castle; even a Viscount who is a landlord owns either a small island or a city. One depends on the Sapphire Family, akin to a servant, wealth entirely reliant on plunder and rewards; the other follows the Sapphire Family, akin to a vassal, almost a little king in his own domain.

They could never really get along.

Thankfully.

The noble knights of the Blue Blood Alliance did not give Levis much face, but the noble knights of the landlord Nobles frequently greeted Levis.

Even Liszt received quite a few greetings.

Moments later, Liszt caught sight of the Earl, trailing half a step behind an elderly Noble and a middle-aged Noble. He understood that the elderly Noble must be Marquis Deep Throat—Wallace Pineapple Green; the middle-aged one was the Marquis of Red Maple City—Glendenton Red Maple Leaf.

There were also several Nobles walking shoulder to shoulder with the Earl, likely all bearing the title of Earl.

As this group of Nobles entered the hall, the Knights who were previously busily engaged in conversation quickly returned to their seats, and the room fell silent in an instant.

Marquis Glendenton unhesitatingly walked to the main seat, clad in bright silver armor, with deep wrinkles that made him look exceedingly stern, “Tonight is the welcome banquet for Earl Li Weiliam Tulip of Coral Island. With the arrival of Earl Li Weiliam, the battle array of Bull Horn City is now fully assembled. The war begins next!”

He paused.

He continued, “After the banquet tonight, starting tomorrow, each Knight Order will be assigned their own direction of attack, waiting for the troops from the other ports to assemble completely. Together, we will launch an offensive and sweep Iron Hoof Island! We must fulfill the Grand Duke’s wrath and annihilate everything of the Bull Family!”

“Furthermore, everyone must take note that all spoils of war from Iron Hoof Island are prohibited from private trafficking. These are the internal resources of the nation and must be personally allocated by the Grand Duke! Should anyone break the rules, do not blame my longsword for drinking their blood!”

Having said this, Marquis Glendenton waited for everyone to digest the information briefly before he continued speaking.

“Now, let the banquet begin!”

…

Sitting in his place.

Liszt was very unhappy in his heart; he had made full preparations, intending to transport a batch of serfs back to Fresh Flower Town. He didn’t expect that before the battle even began, his plan to plunder serfs was already blocked.

This made him dissatisfied with the Sapphire Duke—wishing the horse to run, yet not wanting the horse to eat grass.

In addition, the dishes served were not to his taste, so he felt no joy throughout the welcome banquet. His enthusiasm for the war cooled rapidly. Now, the only reason that sustained his drive was the path of achieving military merit—he still needed to secure the Viscount title of Black Horse Island as soon as possible.

After the banquet, people returned to their barracks.

The Earl summoned Liszt and others to a room for a brief meeting, “Marquis Glendenton is known for his iron fist. You must restrain any acts of private plundering… There will be spoils of war, and after the struggle ends, you will not miss what you deserve, so do not slacken.”

Jonas asked, “Earl, what exactly is the current situation? I’m still unclear about it.”

It was not just Jonas who was unclear; Liszt was equally in the dark, knowing only that the Grand Duke had issued an order to besiege, and so the Knights of Coral Island hurried to assemble in Bull Horn City.

After a moment of consideration, the Earl said, “Judging from the information revealed by Marquis Glendenton, the Sapphire Dragon is wounded and temporarily unable to mobilize, and the Grand Duke is healing the Sapphire Dragon. After the Marquis of Bull and his party initiated the attack, they have fled Blue Dragon Island and holed up back on Iron Hoof Island.”

The situation was somewhat perplexing, and the Earl could only simplify it to one clue, “So what we need to do now is follow the command, sweep Iron Hoof Island… and believe that the situation will soon become clear.”

Although the overall picture was still unclear.

But everyone felt somewhat relieved, knowing that the Sapphire Dragon was not dead, meaning that the Duchy of Sapphire would not be unstable for the time being. The siege of Iron Hoof Island would continue without overthinking.

…

However, just as everyone was confident and pondering how to crush Iron Hoof Island, suddenly shocking bad news arrived.

Second Prince Angus Sapphire, stationed in another port city, Bull Tail City, was ambushed by the elite Knight Order of Marquis of Bull due to a rash attack. Three hundred knights of the Blueblood Knight Order, along with eight hundred knights of the fief, were completely obliterated. Only Prince Angus himself managed to escape back to Bull Tail City with the desperate protection of his guards.

“The Wrath Knight Order, under the direct command of the Marquis of Bull, is attacking Bull Tail City, attempting to breakthrough from Bull Tail City. The First Prince has already issued an emergency secret order, calling for reinforcements from each city to support Bull Tail City!”

The messenger was a Sky Knight, who descended from the sky—he was a true “Sky” Knight, mounted on an Ashen Hawk, a low-tier Magical Beast that could be tamed.