Chapter 863: Corki and Poppy

"Who is the principal of the Moon Killers school?" Liszt inquired after Hippolyta was sent away.

"It's Baron Rick Footprint."

"Rick..." Liszt recalled that this was his former classmate at the knight academy, who had followed him since the days of Flower Town. Rick nearly died from severe injuries in his first battle, leaving lasting health issues, which led him to pursue an administrative path. "Tell Rick to educate Hippolyta well. She is someone I’m paying special attention to."

"Understood, Your Highness!"

With the continuous integration of the Moon Killers, the number of Moon Killer serfs in the territory had already exceeded 200,000, including 4,000 archmages. In contrast, the number of knights, mages, and commoners—collectively known as "Flamefolk"—who had migrated from the Flamelands was less than 20,000.

Such a disproportionate ratio made the Flamefolk's rule precarious.

Although, in terms of elite combat strength, he and Acheronides alone could suppress any uprisings, they couldn’t be everywhere at once. Stability still relied on the Flamefolk. However, as the Moon Killers continued to grow in number, the Flamefolk's control over them would inevitably weaken.

The Moon Killers were distributed across the Flame Island, likely numbering in the millions, possibly even tens of millions, given their presence in most forested corners of the island.

Meanwhile, the Flamefolk’s population, even with the opening of magic gates and maximum immigration efforts, would struggle to reach hundreds of thousands in a short time.

With the Moon Killers vastly outnumbering the Flamefolk, Liszt felt he needed a more stable method to control Flame Island. His plan was to assimilate the Moon Killers, integrating them into the knight system and turning them into loyal subjects. At the same time, he needed to divide and disperse the Moon Killers.

Standing on the castle balcony, gazing at the still-bright sun that offered little warmth, his thoughts were clear:

"Total equality is a fantasy. The hierarchical gaps under the knight system must be maintained, but we can mitigate class conflicts through paths to advancement... Nobles, Flamefolk, and Moon Killers form three distinct classes, but each should have a path to nobility..."

His gaze shifted to the distant plantations, where a squad of knights patrolled while Moon Killer serfs, under the supervision of Flamefolk overseers, busily tilled the land in preparation for the upcoming spring planting.

"Especially young Moon Killers like Hippolyta—we can groom a handful to join the knight class."

As for the Moon Killers' ancient mage class, it would be allowed to die out. Without the practice of killing spirit bugs to produce magic powder, Moon Killers had no greater magical aptitude than Flamefolk.

Of course, the cultivation of Moon Killer knights would still prioritize talent. Those without talent would remain serfs.

"The younger generation is the true future of the Burning Legion’s knights. They will embrace the new ideals I bring, rather than clinging to old knightly codes."

"Ang-chi, ang-chi, klang-chi!"

The cries of Grand Sprite Kuchy snapped Liszt out of his thoughts, bringing him back to reality. Kuchy was pulling another Grand Sprite of similar height toward him.

"Liszt!" Kuchy arrived at the balcony, chuckling warmly.

After being captured by the Sacred Tribe, Kuchy had endured a harrowing ordeal until Liszt rescued him, restoring his happiness. Recently, Liszt had assigned him a task: helping newly arrived spirit bugs adjust to Emberkeep’s ways.

Spirit bugs had been rescued from various Moon Killer tribes one after another.

However, among the Grand Sprites and spirit bugs, only the one large and three small ones brought by Hippolyta remained. The Grand Sprite had a small sapling with large leaves on its head, from which a tiny bunch of bananas hung upside down—this was a Banana-Fruit Grand Sprite. Bananas were a fruit, and the favorite food of the Shoveltusks.

The arrival of the Banana-Fruit Grand Sprite provided a stable food source for the Shoveltusks.

"Poppy, say... Liszt." He coaxed the shy Grand Sprite, who, due to its recent contract, was still shy and unfamiliar with Serpentongue.

Its name was Poppy.

Hippolyta had given it this name, and Liszt found it fitting, so he didn’t change it.

"Hippo... Pop-pee," Poppy mumbled in the language it knew, then, compelled by the contract, attempted, "Lee... Sst...?"

"It’s Liszt," Kuchy corrected beside it.

"Lee... Sst..."

"Liszt."

"Lisst."

"Bobby’s such a dummy." Kuki mocked, continuing to correct, "Liszt, Liszt Flame, Liszt belongs to Kuki!"

Bobby seemed to understand the mockery and angrily shouted, "Hippo Bobby."

"Alright, go play." Liszt didn’t mind Bobby’s learning progress. Once the spirit bugs got planted, they could do whatever they wanted—not much point in teaching them anyway.

Aside from Grand Sprite Bobby the banana, there were three spirit bugs: the Corpse Flower spirit bug, the Honesty plant (Lunaria) spirit bug, and the Giant Allium spirit bug.

The Rafflesia is a parasitic plant, usually attaching to roots, stems, or branches of other plants, somewhat similar to mushrooms. But it is undeniably a plant, with flowers big as a washbasin and classified as a magical herb. This makes the Corpse Flower spirit bug a highly valuable magic-herb spirit bug.

Only catch is it’s difficult to cultivate, requiring a large host tree.

The Lunaria is an ornamental plant, with fruits that resemble silver coins or small silver fans when mature. The Giant Allium is also an ornamental plant, kinda like onions but not the same, featuring a cylindrical, stem tall as a kid’s waist topped with a purple spherical flower cluster—pretty funny-lookin’.

The value of these two spirit bugs has yet to be discovered.

As for the other two spirit bugs, there’s no need to elaborate—so far, over forty spirit bugs have been rescued from Moon Killers’ camps, most of which ain’t worth squat.

...

Coral Island, Flower Town, a small tavern near the dock.

Two merchants, dressed like regulars, sat in a corner of the tavern, whispering.

"Got the information?"

"Did you bring the gold?"

"Relax, you’ll get your cut. Here!"

"Heh, gold talks, pal... I’ve confirmed that the knight returns to Black Horse Island two or three times a week, though the schedule’s unpredictable, the pattern is consistent. The other mage hasn’t appeared yet, stuck on Flame Island."

"What’s his mount? What does he do each time he returns?"

"No mount ever seen, but he always transports goods—sometimes food, which is tough to pin down. He stays overnight at Thorn Castle before leaving the next day. I didn’t push my luck, so the exact shipping method is unclear."

"Keep investigating. I need a clearer grasp of that knight’s movements!"

"Heh, Black Horse Island’s household registration, they track folks tight. I’m risking my neck for this info. If you want more, you’ll have to pay extra!"

"As long as the intel is valuable, remember—money isn’t an issue!"

Shortly after, the two merchants parted ways, each purchasing goods before leaving Flower Town. One headed for Black Horse Island, the other for Coral City.

Upon reaching the dock, the merchant bound for Coral City immediately wrote a letter, handing it to another merchant to deliver on a long voyage to the Kingdom of the Eagle. Eventually, the letter arrived at a grand castle, where a bronze dragon slumbered on the nearby mountainside.

The castle’s lord opened the letter, expressionlessly read its contents, then burned it.

Sitting in silence, he finally murmured softly after a long pause, "Liszt Flame... the humiliation you’ve inflicted on me, I’ll repay tenfold. Just wait..."

————

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