Chapter 370: Dividing the spoils privately

It seemed that Captain Leiden noticed some hesitation in Liszt's expression. He stepped closer and quietly reminded, "Lord Commander, the Duke's order is to not take any prisoners."

The Duke's dragon was still alive, and he remained the sole authority in the Sapphire Duchy.

Liszt wouldn't have a "conscience" flare-up, of course. He wouldn't release these people. From the moment they decided to resist, it became a fight to the death. Traitors were unforgivable. It was unfortunate that they had followed the wrong lord and couldn't turn back in time.

His gaze swept over the group of people kneeling on one knee.

He spoke slowly, "Captain Leiden, give each of them a chance to write a last letter, hand over the elf bugs, and then let them end their own lives. Copper, Nash, take over the castle and eliminate the threats. We'll rest in the castle for a day. Marcus, lead the knight squad and follow me to inspect outside."

Liszt no longer concerned himself with how these surrendered knights would end their own lives.

He headed straight to the large barley field on the other side of the castle. The message from the rats had revealed that the barley field was nurturing a spirit insect. He intended to secretly bind this spirit insect as his personal spoils of war. No one else knew about this spirit insect, so taking it for himself wouldn’t be a problem.

The large barley field was easy to find. After using the Magic Eye to survey the area, he quickly discovered the protected barley worm.

The huge barley ears were filled with magical light. This barley worm hadn't been born yet, but it should be soon, possibly within a day or two.

The inability to immediately take the spirit insect annoyed Liszt.

He was in a hurry to head to Niu Mao City and meet with the Count to sweep through Count Snide's knight squad together, seizing glory and rewards. He didn't have time to linger here.

But since he didn't plan to leave today, he could still wait a little longer.

He decided, "If the barley worm hatches by tomorrow morning, I’ll bind it right away. If not, Marcus will stay here until it does."

Digging out the worm grass was troublesome and could potentially damage it. The best method was to reward it to a subordinate for contracting and let the spirit insect move the worm grass by itself.

Spirit insects could be given as reward items to followers.

However, no lord was usually willing to do so.

Because spirit insects could only be contracted twice. The lord had already contracted it once, and after the second contract, the spirit insect would significantly depreciate in value.

The spirit insects sold in the market were wild ones that had never been contracted.

The barley worm in front of him clearly met the conditions for rewards, but Liszt didn’t want to give it to his subordinates. He would rather give his subordinates a large amount of gold coins to buy spirit insects than let go of the spirit insect he had found.

"Philip, lead two squires and stay here to watch closely for the birth of the barley worm."

"Yes, Lord."

After inspecting the barley worm, Liszt quickly led the knight squad back to the castle. By this time, the castle had already been replaced with the Black Tulip flag.

Captain Leiden came forward to welcome him, "Lord Commander, all the knights from Mane City have committed suicide. We've gathered a group of commoners from Mane City to drag the bodies away for burial. We've started inventorying the castle's storage. There's enough food and water, but there are no spirit insects."

"None?"

"Yes, these knights had received news early on and had already transferred the spirit insects to their wives and children. We didn’t bother questioning their families because spirit insects can’t be bound a third time."

Liszt nodded.

Clearly, these knights had prepared well in advance. It was unknown how many benefits Marquis Bull had promised them, encouraging them to dare resist the Sapphire Duchy and defend Iron Horse Island. Under normal circumstances, except for Marquis Bull's most loyal followers, other nobles should have surrendered early to welcome the royal army.

After all, the Duke had a dragon.

Perhaps, as the message brought by the rat suggested, the children of large lords like Snide were by Marquis Bull's side, and their wealth had probably been transferred to Iron Horse City. They could only choose to serve faithfully and dare not betray Marquis Bull, as betrayal would leave them with nothing.

Their only hope was for continuous glory once they succeeded.

Liszt didn't care how these knights felt, nor did he want to. He had come to gain credit, and the desperate resistance of lords like Snide made it easier for him to claim glory.

He had already dispatched two Earth Knights to rush to Niu Mao City and report to Count Lee William the intelligence he had gathered. There had been secret exchanges between magicians and Snide, mentioning a major event and claiming that Snide would be promoted to Marquis after its success.

As for what this major event was, it remained unclear.

Let the Count worry about that.

As they followed Captain Leiden into the unnamed castle, a stench of feces and urine hit Liszt, making him want to vomit. Too many people had been living there, turning the castle into what felt like a giant latrine.

"Have the third floor, where I will be residing, cleaned thoroughly—immediately!"

...

The third floor was continuously flushed with water, clearing the waste from the hallways and rooms.

Though a faint odor lingered, it was now livable. Liszt sat behind a noble's desk, its original owner long forgotten.

He listened as Captain Leiden and the others reported on the spoils of war.

As a small city, the spoils from Mane City weren't particularly rich, especially since the elves had been transferred away early. After some thought, Liszt gave his orders: "Divide the gold coins equally among the knights, and make sure they all keep their mouths shut about their shares."

This was private distribution of war spoils, going against the Duke’s directives.

However, Count Lee William had previously mentioned that while they should "exercise restraint" in grabbing spoils, it wasn't strictly forbidden. It was something that couldn't be entirely prevented. Without the promise of loot, why would the knights put in the effort? After all, equipment and supplies were self-funded by the lords and knights—including their lives.

No one trusted that handing over the spoils would result in fair distribution by the Duke.

Captain Leiden smiled and replied, "The knights understand, sir. When they get their share, they'll keep quiet."

Liszt nodded. "Replenish the lost weapons from Mane City and restock the consumed food from there as well... Oh, and bring Marcus to me."

Marcus arrived promptly.

Liszt signaled for him to close the door before saying, "Marcus, I need you to do something. Search Mane City for skilled artisans. Ordinary craftsmen won't do. I want artisans of a certain caliber, especially those not found in Flower Town—papermakers, salt producers, and the like."

Marcus asked, "My lord, can we bring these craftsmen back with us?"

"Tell them that after Iron Horse Island falls, everyone will face the Duke's wrath as traitors, but Flower Town can offer them protection... As for getting them off the island, the sea is wide. We’ll find a way to get them aboard a ship."

Taking large quantities of supplies off the island without using the port would be difficult.

However, taking a few craftsmen and their families wouldn't be too hard.

Marcus nodded. "As you command, sir!"