Chapter 911: One Word

It was thrilling, no doubt.

But not far away, Rio let out a dissatisfied roar, deeply resentful toward Liszt's growing number of dragons. This put Liszt in a tight spot, gradually feeling the strain on his energy.

An ordinary Dragon Knight would spend a lifetime managing just one dragon, yet he had to develop so many in such a short time—truly a challenge.

For now, he could only hope to quickly imprint his presence in the minds of some utility dragons and then find suitable knights—or more accurately, poop-scoopers—for them.

Emily was tentatively assigned as the Dragon Knight for the Lightgreen Gem Dragon Ethan, and Ethan was also close to forming a psychic bond.

"Still not enough. Emily alone is far from sufficient to share the burden of caring for all these dragons. It seems I’ll have to select a group of talented orphans for focused training after returning. Hopefully, in a few years or a decade, some qualified Dragon Knights can emerge from them."

The qualifications for a Dragon Knight were exceedingly strict. Many kingdoms had Dragon Knight pipeline programs, yet not every dragon could find a suitable rider.

Some dragons had even gone without a knight for decades or even centuries.

Without a Dragon Knight to cooperate, relying solely on the psychic bonds left by the First Dragon Knight posed significant problems—kingdoms couldn’t freely command these dragons. Some dragons, when angered, wouldn’t even spare the king’s dignity, and kingdoms had to bankroll their lavish lifestyles.

"Perhaps I should issue a few decoy quests to scout for talent, ensuring no diamond-in-the-rough types are overlooked."

In any case, as he rode more and more dragons, Liszt found himself loving and hating every minute of it.

As the sun rose and set, by early June, Liszt left the Orichalcum Dragon Marta and the Lightgreen Gem Dragon Ethan to rest in a forest, called back his Fire Drake Rio, and rode the Invisible Dragon Bard with Acheronides straight to the designated coordinates.

It was a small town in the WindSnow Mountain Duchy—the territory of a viscount.

Yevich, posing as an exploration team from the Kingdom of the Eagle, had ingratiated himself with this viscount to discuss smuggling along the border. Thus, he had temporarily settled in this small city called "Mother-of-Pearl City"—named after the peacock-sized, chicken-shaped birds abundant in the region.

Viscount Kansas Barley, the lord of Mother-of-Pearl City, owned a barley spirit bug—though whether barley here was the same as common barley remained unclear.

In a manor outside the city, purchased by Yevich, Liszt and Acheronides stepped through the dimensional boundary and reunited with the Clearwater Sword Saint, Yevich Shui Huasheng, who they hadn't laid eyes on in over half a year. Also present were two other Sky Knights and a large group of expedition members.

"Your Highness!"

Meeting their Lord in a foreign land thousands of miles away had Yevich pumped, as did his expedition team.

"Yevich, your dedication during the voyage has pleased me greatly, and your contributions to expanding the Fire Kingdom’s territories are immense. I hereby formally confer upon you the title of Earl. Once the Fire Kingdom is established, land and titles will be granted immediately." Cutting straight to the chase, Liszt dangled the carrot to reward his knights.

Yevich was damn near bawling. "Thank you for your grace, Your Highness! Yevich will ride straight into hell for you!"

He had risen to fame early in the Dragon Knight pipeline program but faced setbacks, unstable titles, and poor relations with several lords. Having figured he'd die a nobody, he was unexpectedly granted an earldom in the still-on-the-drawing-board Fire Kingdom.

"This title and land are what you’ve earned. The Fire Kingdom will continue to rely on your fervor in the future."

After comforting Yevich, Liszt turned to the two Sky Knights who had surrendered to him during the Great Sea War and later joined the expedition fleet. Their efforts in discovering the Third Archipelago, the Supply Island, and investigating the Huangshi Plain Kingdom had earned them the restoration of their former titles as viscounts.

Land would likewise be granted after the kingdom’s founding.

Other knights of the expedition fleet were respectively ennobled as barons or knighted as lords, while sailors born in chains were promised freedom and land—indeed, anyone with Fire Kingdom citizenship would gradually work their way up to freemen, laying the groundwork for a future knightly class.

The indigenous Moon-Slayer tribesmen would form the backbone of the serf-class cannon fodder.

However, a handpicked bunch of Moon Slayers would also be groomed as knights to keep them at each other's throats. Should any among them display exceptional talent, they might even be promoted as Dragon Knights—like the young girl named Hippolyta, one of the first Moon Slayers Liszt had chosen to train.

Due to sheltering several spirits, he held great favor for Hippolyta and had already decided to raise her to nobility.

The little girl's magic talent was abysmal, so she had switched to learning battle aura instead, though it remained uncertain whether she would achieve anything notable.

"Rest assured, your efforts will not go unrewarded. As your Lord, I will never forget any knight who fights for me—land, wealth, women, spirits—whatever you desire, as long as you follow and dedicate yourselves to me, I shall grant it all!"

"We charge for our Lord!"

The newly promoted or elevated knights roared in excitement, their fervor so intense they could hardly wait to mount their steeds and charge into battle, even to die in service to their Lord.

After the uproar died down,

the knights were dismissed to resume their duties—gathering intelligence.

Liszt, however, kept Yevich and the two other sky knights behind to inquire about the detailed findings of their investigations.

Yevich began reporting: "As per Your Highness's instructions, we conducted thorough scouting on the WindSnow Mountain Duchy and the Huangshi Plain Kingdom. However, due to time and manpower constraints, most of the information was obtained through local noble channels and may not be entirely accurate."

In an era where travel relied mostly on foot, vast, empty lands greatly hindered the flow of information.

It was likely that the knights of the WindSnow Mountain Duchy had no knowledge of the existence of the Sapphire Duchy across the sea, nor that a dragon war had taken place there—the WindSnow Mountain Duchy had no official diplomatic or trade relations with the Kingdom of the Eagle.

"Summarize the key points."

"The Huangshi Plain Kingdom has six subject nations, though the status of their dragons and dragon knights remains unknown. Among them, the WindSnow Mountain Duchy lies in the northern reaches of Huangshi Plain, but due to the frozen wastes barrier and the unsettled southern frontier of the Kingdom of the Eagle, communication between the two nations is scarce. Huangshi Plain primarily interacts with the Kingdom of the Eagle through another subject nation—the Dragon Spring Lake Duchy."

The Dragon Spring Lake Duchy was said to possess two dragons and bordered both the Kingdom of the Eagle and the Blastfurnace Kingdom, serving as the only official link between Huangshi Plain and the Kingdom of the Eagle.

Given the vast distance, learning more from that region proved difficult, and Yevich knew little about it.

His focus had been on the WindSnow Mountain Duchy, most of which stood atop high plateaus—hence its name, derived from the endless blizzards and towering peaks.

The dragon-rearing family bore the surname Cornflower, with the current duke named Skora Cornflower. Cornflowers were ordinary blue wildflowers found throughout the Legendary Continent. The family was not named after the flower itself but rather because they raised a Cornflower Sapphire Dragon.

"Cornflower" referred to a shade of blue deeper than the ordinary hue.

The WindSnow Mountain Duchy was impoverished—its knights were poor, and so was the duke. With trade limited to the Huangshi Plain Kingdom, even its native produce, including Cornflower sapphires, was undervalued, leaving the duchy in poverty and backwardness. If conquest was the goal, a simple golden strategy would suffice to sway half its knights to surrender.

With enough gold, the WindSnow Mountain Duchy might even dare to rebel against Huangshi Plain—Duke Skora had once launched a war against Huangshi Plain.

Though he ultimately lost and was forced to pay a heavy price.

Considering all this, Liszt felt confident that he could quietly absorb the WindSnow Mountain Duchy, just as he had done with the Gray Iron Duchy.

Then, using the WindSnow Mountain Duchy as a cover, he could swiftly plant his banner on the Legendary Continent.

"Yevich, do you intend to return to work on Fire Island, or would you prefer to remain here? I plan to seize the huge stretch of coastal wilderness at the intersection of the Kingdom of the Eagle, the WindSnow Mountain Duchy, and the Huangshi Plain Kingdom, claiming it for the Fire Kingdom. From there, we can expand trade—or war—with these two great kingdoms!"

On the crude map Acheronides had just sketched, he casually drew a circle encompassing an area of over a million square kilometers.

His message was clear—seize it!

The sea could no longer satisfy his ambitions; now, he would stake his claim on land. Of course, for now, it was unwise to provoke open conflict and risk being crushed between two powerful kingdoms.

Only after solidifying Fire Island as his stronghold in three to five years could this plan be safely executed.

"With Huangshi Plain, we can first establish contact through the WindSnow Mountain Duchy, using its name to claim land. As for the Kingdom of the Eagle, war is inevitable sooner or later. When the time comes, we’ll strike without hesitation—what’s the worst that could happen? Another dragon war or two!" Liszt proclaimed, stabbing a finger at the map.

His gaze burned with unconcealed ambition: "I have the invisible dragon. I have multiple dragons. What I want, no one can stop!"

Yevich and the two sky knights, now viscounts, drew sharp breaths—their Lord’s formidable strength and limitless ambition made him the ideal leader for knights seeking glory. Only war could bring them the riches and rank they fought for.

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