The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

Apart from Elite Earth Knight Veddry Woodkindle, Liszt had also selected four other Earth Knights. Including the three chosen by the Earl and the fifteen selected by the Viscount, that left eight other old and weak Earth Knights for the Barons to choose from.

Thus,

his first recruitment of Knights was complete.

The loyalty of these Knights could not yet be guaranteed; it had to be determined by their performance. As for the Knights who chose to pay a ransom, they were simply bound. But there was no need to worry, for Knights are a rather trustworthy group on the battlefield.

Being captive wasn't a big deal.

One could still eat, drink, sleep, and even attend banquets—just pay the sufficient ransom when the time came.

In this era, nationalism hadn't taken root, and the feudal system meant that national identities were not very strong, so the most fervent ideologies of nationalism and patriotism had not emerged. The wars of the Knights were for mutual benefit, a struggle among Nobles.

Similar to an arm wrestling match.

The victorious side would not mistreat the captives, who thus did not need to plot escapes but could eat, drink, and wait for their families or Landlords to deliver the ransom so they could return home happily.

Just as long as they didn't die in battle.

The battlefield was as leisurely as a vacation—of course, once defeated and captured, one had to bleed a great deal of money for their ransom.

Watching in the Castle, as the five Earth Knights who had just sworn loyalty quickly mingled with the Knights of the Fresh Flower Squad, raising their cups together, Liszt still found it absurd how the serious matter of war seemed like mere play to these Knights.

"Perhaps it really is just a game, a game of plundering... Attacking the Sardine Bay Area is inherently to plunder resources, not to occupy the land," he thought as he lifted his cup and took a sip, responding to a newly loyal Earth Knight who had toasted him.

Suddenly, he felt this was also good. Should he ever be defeated, he could also pay a ransom to release himself; survival was the best outcome.

"My lord, Veddry has a request, and I wonder whether you would permit it," Veddry Woodkindle suddenly said formally, speaking in Serpent Script.

The Sardine Bay Area was near the Steel Ridge Kingdom and bordered the Rooster Pheasant Hills, so many Knights were fluent in both Wind Language and Serpent Script.

"Speak, Knight Veddry."

"On the eve of war, my family had just moved. I had them hide in the village of a nearby small town. I ask for your permission, my lord, to bring them here and, after the war, to return with you to the Duchy of Sapphire."

The families of loyal Knights.

Of course, he had to permit it; with family ties, their loyalty would not be too low.

At least when Knights were defeated, they were very likely to choose to pay a ransom—provided they had enough money for it. It was precisely because the local Viscounts had died in battle, and there were no Landlords to pay their ransom, that these landless commoner Earth Knights readily chose loyalty over stubbornly awaiting death.

"Teacher Marcus, I need you to take a trip. Have Veddry write a letter to fetch them, then have them leave this place by ship with the serfs, returning to the domain," Liszt decided, not trusting Veddry enough to let him fetch his family himself.

He planned to take their families to Black Horse Island first.

This way, Veddry, free from worries, could quickly integrate into the Knight Squad.

Then he turned to the four Earth Knights: "What about your families? Do you need them taken as well?"

Three Earth Knights disclosed their families' hiding places, but one hesitated: "My lord, I am a bastard and not held in high regard within my family; they're just strangers to me. My mother was a serf and has passed away."

"In my domain, being a bastard does not serve as an obstacle," Liszt raised an eyebrow, "You're still young. Following me, you will see plenty of opportunities to change your fate."

The Earth Knight immediately knelt on one knee: "I will serve you, my lord!"

His expression was extremely excited.

Once, as a second son of a noble, he was not valued, even suppressed, and the landlord he followed also did not take him seriously; changing his fate seemed almost hopeless. After losing the battle, he couldn't even afford the ransom and thought he would be sent to work in the mines or workshops until death.

Unexpectedly, he could now choose to pledge his allegiance anew—this was practically great news. The former Duchy of Sapphire did not allow the recruitment of captives; either ransom was paid, or captives were sent to toil as laborers.

What was even more important was,

the landlord did not care about his illegitimate status.

...

Weapons, armor, equipment, food…the collected resources were immediately apportioned to each knight according to their military achievements after being tallied.

Of course, these resources wouldn't be distributed right away but were all transported to a small port city by the sea. There, numerous Mercenary Corps and second-hand dealers would come to trade—gemstones, crystals, jade, metals were all part of the trade, and of course, serf trading was also included.

"Father, I don't need other materials, I only want serfs," Liszt stated his intention clearly.

"I will have Captain Mickey convert your portion of the spoils entirely into serfs. The merchant ships brought along will also be reallocated to transport the serfs for you,"

"Thank you, father."

"Don't forget to pay the rental fee."

"You have to give me a discount, at least 20 percent cheaper than if I were to rent my uncle's merchant ships."

"Ten percent, and not a penny more. If you were not my son, I would charge a premium of three times the fee,"

"All right then." Negotiating business deals between father and son was also a common practice among the nobility, after all, Liszt had been enfeoffed and was an independent entity.

He tasked Marcus to handle the serf trading separately from his Knight Squad.

"Teacher Marcus, accept all serfs delivered by the Mercenary Corps, as long as they are not ill. Even if a serf is disabled, as long as they have some skill, they can be sent to Black Horse Island,"

"My Lord, I understand!"

...

The serf trade had already begun.

And the pace of the war advanced rapidly as well, maintaining contact with other Knight Orders. After resting for a night at River Bay Fort, the Coral Island Knights set off again, attacking a broader territory, plundering every wealth from the Earth. The knights' forces of the small landlords could not stop their offensive.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Especially Liszt, who always led nine Blizzard Beasts into the charge and with a barrage of Rock Spikes, always managed to disrupt the enemy knights' formations and achieve a rout.

He reaped one glorious victory after another.

Even if those Knight Orders took refuge in castles, they could hardly resist the Earth System Magic of the Blizzard Beasts. For a time, they were unstoppable, with him as the arrowhead, the Coral Island Knights took down four small cities in succession, directly pressing towards the first major city—Falconseen City, the territory of Peregrine Count.

The name of Falconseen City stems from being witnessed by the peregrine, naturally referring to Peregrine Count—Tasker Scentcartleaf.

At this moment, within Scentcartleaf Stronghold on the eastern hillside of Falconseen City,

Peregrine Count's face was somber as he convened a meeting with his followers, "We have received a warning from Rattlesnake Marquis; the disgusting flies of Sapphire are here again, this time choosing the Sardine Bay Area. And the Wildfowl Marquis has come as well, so all of us landlords in Sardine Bay must unite!"

His followers howled in response, "We'll heed your command, my Lord!"

Tasker's eagle-like gaze swept over all the knights, revealing a satisfied smile, "Very well, then, what follows is... we defend Scentcartleaf Stronghold to the death!"