Chapter 364: Ox Hoofs, Ox Tail, and Ox Horns

The Duke of Sapphire is not in Horn City.

In fact, the Duke has never left Blue Dragon Island. The one overseeing the Iron Horse Island campaign is his eldest son, Andy Sapphire.

This thirty-two-year-old heir to the Duchy has reached the level of a sword saint-level sky knight and is gradually taking over command of the Blueblood Knights from the Duke.

Barring any accidents, he will be the sixth Duke, but now it’s hard to say. An accident has already occurred.

He is stationed in Niudi City, the largest coastal city on the southwestern side of Iron Horse Island.

"Niudi City port is the last stop of the Expansion Fleet every year. We must not only prevent Marquis Bull from escaping Niudi City but also defend against potential interference from the Kingdom of the Eagle. Therefore, the Crown Prince needs to be personally stationed there," said Levis, returning to his seat after some socializing at Horn Castle.

Iron Horse Island is known as the shield of the Sapphire Duchy and is the closest large island to the mainland. It takes only six days to sail from Iron Horse Island to the coastline of the Kingdom of the Eagle.

Iron Horse Island is the nearest harbor to the mainland. The Expansion Fleet replenishes supplies here before heading to the mainland.

Because of this, the island was granted to a branch of the Sapphire Family and has been controlled by the Bull Family. Unfortunately, it is now the Bull Family, once the most trusted, who have rebelled against the Sapphire Family. Leading them is none other than the Duke's closest companion and comrade, Andy Sapphire.

Liszt did not move around. He was not very keen on socializing, and as a follower of the Coral Island Count, he was not suited to mingle with nobles from other islands.

"So, who is in charge of Horn City?"

"It's Marquis Grendanton Red Maple," Levis said, his expression grim. "The chief of the Blueblood Alliance, the deputy commander of the Blueblood Knights, and the father-in-law of Princess Anne Sapphire."

Levis glanced at the proud young man flanked by people in the hall: "See that? He's the son of Grendanton, just an ordinary sky knight propped up by his family and potions. Look at how smug he is, as if he's the next dragon knight."

His tone was resentful.

Obviously, Levis had not had a pleasant exchange with the other party just now.

The relationship between the Blueblood Alliance and the fief lords has never been friendly.

Because even the marquises in the Blueblood Alliance only have one city; fief lords, even if they are just viscounts, have an island or a city. One relies on the Sapphire Family like a servant, their wealth dependent on plunder and rewards; the other follows the Sapphire Family like a subject, ruling their own land like a small king.

They could never harmonize.

Fortunately.

The noble knights of the Blueblood Alliance didn't give Levis much face, but the noble knights of the fief lords frequently greeted Levis.

Even Liszt received quite a few greetings.

After a moment, Liszt caught sight of the Count. He was slightly behind an elderly and a middle-aged noble. Liszt understood that the elderly noble was probably Marquis Wallace Pineapple Green of Deep Throat Island; the middle-aged noble was Marquis Grendanton Red Maple of Red Maple City.

There were also several other nobles walking alongside the Count, likely all of count rank.

As this group of nobles entered the hall, the knights who had been engaging in lively conversations returned to their seats and fell silent.

Grendanton took his place in front of the main seat without hesitation, his bright silver armor and deep creases around his mouth making him appear particularly serious: "Tonight is the welcoming banquet for Count Lee William Tulip. With the arrival of Count Lee William, the combat sequence of Horn City is now fully assembled. The war begins from here!"

He paused.

Then continued, "After tonight's feast, starting tomorrow, all knight regiments will be assigned their respective attack directions. Once the troops from other ports have assembled, we will launch a full-scale offensive to sweep Iron Horse Island! We must fulfill the Duke's wrath and annihilate everything of the Bull Family!"

"Furthermore, everyone should note that all spoils of war on Iron Horse Island are prohibited from being privately transported. These are internal resources of the nation and must be distributed by the Duke himself! If anyone breaks the rules, don't blame my sword for shedding their blood!"

Grendanton waited for a moment for everyone to digest his words before continuing to speak.

"Well then, let's start the banquet!"

...

Sitting in his seat.

Liszt was feeling incredibly frustrated. He had meticulously planned to transport a group of serfs back to Flower Town. Unexpectedly, before the war even started, the plan to plunder serfs was shut down.

This caused him to harbor dissatisfaction towards the Sapphire Duke—wanting to have his cake and eat it too.

To make matters worse, the dishes served didn’t suit his taste, so he felt no joy throughout the entire welcoming banquet. His initial excitement about the war quickly waned. Now, the only reason driving him forward was to earn military honors and secure the title of Baron of Black Horse Island as soon as possible.

After the banquet, everyone returned to their garrisons.

The Count gathered Liszt and others into a room for a brief meeting: “Greendanston is known for his iron-fisted rule, so you all need to refrain from private looting... You will receive your share of the spoils after the war, so don’t slack off.”

Eunas asked, “My Lord Count, what exactly is the situation? I’m still confused.”

It wasn’t just Eunas who was unclear; Liszt was equally in the dark. All they knew was that the Duke had issued a siege order, and so the knights of Coral Island had hurriedly gathered in Horn City.

After some consideration, the Count said, “Based on the intel we’ve gathered from Greendanston, the Sapphire Dragon was injured and is temporarily unable to act. The Duke is currently healing the Sapphire Dragon. The Bull Marquis and his forces have retreated from Blue Dragon Island and are now holed up in Iron Horse Island.”

The situation was somewhat perplexing, and the Count could only roughly outline the thread: “So what we need to do now is follow orders and sweep through Iron Horse Island... I believe the situation will become clear soon.”

Although they were still confused, everyone calmed down a little. At least they knew the Sapphire Dragon wasn’t dead, which meant the Sapphire Duchy was still stable for now. They should keep focusing on besieging Iron Horse Island without overcomplicating things.

...

Just when everyone was getting confident and planning how to crush Iron Horse Island, suddenly a devastating piece of news arrived.

The second Prince Angus Sapphire, who was stationed in another port city, Cowtail City, had been ambushed by the Bull Marquis’ elite knight group due to his rash advance. Three hundred Blueblood Knights and eight hundred feudal knights were utterly annihilated. Only Prince Angus, shielded by his guards, managed to escape back to Cowtail City.

“The Bull Marquis' elite Fury Knights are now assaulting Cowtail City. They are preparing to break through the city. The Crown Prince has issued an emergency order to mobilize garrisons from various cities to support Cowtail City!”

The messenger was a Sky Knight who truly lived up to his name, descending from the skies on his grayish-brown eagle.