The Mighty Dragons Are Dead-Chapter 666 - 0663: Girlish Heart (Third update, 1/5 celebration for Alliance Hierarch Little Ruizi’s Kitchen)
Chapter 666: Chapter 0663: Girlish Heart (Third update, 1/5 celebration for Alliance Hierarch Little Ruizi’s Kitchen)
This chapter is an additional update sponsored by the Alliance Hierarch “Little Ruizi’s Kitchen.” For now, just one update, with the remaining four to follow.
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The celebration ceremony was undoubtedly a success.
The ennoblement of ten Honored Knights ignited everyone’s aspirations for nobility, while the Gold Coin and material rewards for the Earth Knights made every commoner green with envy and students’ eyes red with desire, wishing they had been the ones fighting on the battlefield—even the knights and officials who stayed behind received rewards, but far less than the battlefield knights.
It was precisely this imbalance in rewards that made all knights long for the battlefield, ignoring the solemn moments previously observed for those who had fallen.
Following the ceremony came the banquet.
On the eve of the banquet, Liszt gathered the ten Honored Knights in the administrative conference hall. In the center of the hall was a massive four-square-meter sandbox, with the complete topography of Black Horse Island mapped out to scale, including towns, rivers, and roads all clearly visible.
“Gentlemen, this is the sandbox map of Black Horse Island. You have become Honored Knights, and I will reward you with land. From today onwards, you will all be Landlords with your own territories… most of the waste land is marked with red lines, and you may choose your fiefs from there.”
The fiefs of the Honored Knights were generally centered around villages and settlements.
All ten Honored Knights, including Marcus, stared intently at the sandbox map.
Liszt actually didn’t like the feudal system. The land in his hands could yield the greatest output; once given to others, it was hard for him to intervene freely.
However, he had a plan in mind.
He delivered his prepared remarks: “The era of Black Horse Island as a fief is running short on time. As my father is set to go to Iron Hoof Island and rise to the rank of Marquis, I will also follow him there to manage a new fief. Therefore, Black Horse Island is just a transition.”
The Honored Knights watched Liszt, awaiting what he would say next.
“I offer you two options, one is to manage the fief on your own, with no difference from the previous Noble lands; the other is to hand over the land to my Territory Officers for unified management, and you will receive a share of the profits from the land each year, free from the tediousness of direct management.”
What he ultimately wanted to establish was a titular fief system—where knights would still enjoy the privileges from their fiefs but would not be involved in management.
Like shareholders of a company, no meetings, no voting, no involvement in the operations, just waiting for the dividend distribution when the time comes.
Of course.
If this system faced resistance, it didn’t matter, for one day he would establish his own country. Then, he would find an island as large as Blue Dragon Island to serve as a family enterprise, while other barren islands would be left for the ennobled nobles to manage. Everyone would play their part, and it would be interesting to see who would become richer.
However, the anticipated resistance did not arise.
All Honored Knights chose the second option, to hand over their territories to the Territory Officers for unified management—they were not foolish, aware that following in Liszt’s footsteps was far more important than a few pieces of land. Moreover, they knew that Black Horse Island was bound to be handed over eventually, and even if managed well, it would be difficult to pass on to their descendants.
Most importantly, all the towns on Black Horse Island were not only free from the dirty and chaotic environment but, on the contrary, well-equipped, clean, and tidy, which made them far more livable than the countryside.
These knights had grown accustomed to living in towns and thus did not care much for the rural life.
Upon understanding this.
Liszt couldn’t help but smile: “As expected, living in a city for too long makes one reluctant to return to the countryside. People always prefer to migrate from less developed areas to more developed ones, but the reverse seldom happens. The towns of Black Horse Island are paragons of civilization, making everyone long to stay.”
…
The celebration ceremony concluded successfully.
The atmosphere in the territory flourished with the birth of the new nobility. The students of the Knight Academy, without the need for instructors to urge them on, all diligently practiced their knight lessons, fantasizing about the day it would be their turn to enter the battlefield and achieve victories that symbolized the highest glory.
Everyone was aware that their lord was the Son of Glory, the brightest new star among the Sapphire nobility.
The title of Viscount was just a brief transition; the position of Earl was within easy reach, and rumors suggested that even becoming a Marquis would be simple for Liszt—because strength represented potential for the future, and he was already recognized as the second strongest in the Duchy of Sapphire, second only to the Grand Duke.
The knights wished they could practice twenty-five hours a day.
The officers worked just as hard. Compared to officers from other territories who could only gain merit on the battlefield, Liszt declared that officers who performed exceptionally in the daily governance of the territory could also earn military achievements. With the possibility of gaining merit and rising to nobility without going to battle, how could the officers not be diligent?
This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.
Thus, a day ended.
The next day, he took another full day to inspect his territory.
He visited the Magic Academy to review the work of the three Grand Magicians, the training of the Blood Servant, the study progress of the twin sisters Lucy and Ruth, and discussed his latest research on the Magic Web with Chris Truth—actually, it was Ach’s latest research.
Of all the caster professions, Ach was undoubtedly the one Liszt trusted the most, closely followed by Chris Truth.
If possible, he hoped that Chris would also aim for the title of Archmage—though it would probably be difficult, as Chris’s talent fell far short of Ach’s.
He then made a trip to visit the Knight Academy.
He discussed the formation of the Adventure Fleet with the interim knight course instructor, Yevich Water Peanut, and visited the two captive Sky Knights, Garcia and Fox, who were also temporarily instructing. The letter for the captives’ ransom had been sent out, all that remained was to see when Alonso would pay the ransom.
Afterwards, he went to personally guide Emily in her training.
Emily was temporarily learning knight courses from Yevich, Garcia, and Fox, three Sky Knights. Moreover, she was enhancing her Dou Qi capacity scientifically through the consumption of medicines provided in “The Earth Chronicle of Liszt.” The young girl had immense talent and an even more terrifying diligence.
Her training was almost like self-torture—every day, apart from eating, drinking and sleeping, all her time was spent in training.
“It’s best to combine work with rest, Emily. Don’t ruin your health, and make sure to relax appropriately,” Liszt said seriously as he patted the girl’s head.
Towards Emily, he felt a mix of paternal and mentor-like sentiments.
This young female slave was someone he had personally watched evolve step by step from an ordinary person into today’s Elite Earth Knight, all in just over a year.
However, when urging Emily to relax, he always felt somewhat embarrassed.
He considered his own training to be serious, but in comparison, he seemed like the epitome of laziness and lack of ambition—every day, apart from eating, drinking, and sleeping, a significant portion of his time was spent enjoying himself, with only two or three hours devoted to real training.
If the weather was bad or his mood was off, he might even train for only half an hour.
Shaking her head, Emily replied, “My lord, I must seize every second to make myself stronger as quickly as possible! I hope to aim for Sky Knight before my menstruation begins!”
Her menstruation was expected to come around at the age of fourteen. With the year ending soon for her current age of twelve, that meant she had about a year and a half left.
Liszt wanted to ask her if she knew what it meant to be a Sky Knight at fourteen, but ultimately, he didn’t pose the question, deciding to wait and see—for according to the regulations of the Eagle Kingdom and Steel Ridge Kingdom, a Sky Knight under sixteen could join the Dragon Knight reserve program.
As for a Sky Knight at fourteen, the odds of riding a dragon were evidently much greater!
