Chapter 204 You two come together

Bang!

The knight’s lance collided once again, and Rondo felt his hand starting to tremble. The force transmitted through the lance was unimaginably immense and scorching.

After just two clashes, he realized that he had underestimated the young lord of Flower Town.

"Is this the difference in bloodline? He is only sixteen, and I am already twenty-one, yet I can barely withstand his two strikes." Rondo felt a chill in his heart, with despair rising within him.

As a bastard son, his sole source of pride was his noble bloodline. But this point of pride meant nothing before Liszt, who was the son of an Earl, possessed the lineage of a Sky Knight, and was even the Marquis’s grandson.

"Come on, come on!"

Liszt’s shout pulled Rondo back to reality. He quickly reined in his horse, suppressed the trembling in his arms, and raised his lance to meet the attack.

His relaxed mindset vanished, replaced by utmost caution and bitterness.

As an Earth Knight with earth affinity, Rondo excelled in defense. Defeating him within a short time was indeed troublesome for another Earth Knight of the same rank.

But facing Liszt, he seriously doubted whether he could withstand the third strike.

Indeed, when their steel lances clashed, he felt an overwhelming force surge forth, followed by searing heat that forced him to lose his grip on the lance.

Clang!

The knight’s lance flew high into the air, and Rondo himself was sent flying as well. The sky spun violently around him, and before he could gather his thoughts, he crashed heavily onto the ground, his organs jolted painfully. Staring blankly at the sky, he remained motionless for a long while, unable to comprehend how he had been defeated in just three strikes.

On the other side, Liszt shook his head.

He sensed that Rondo’s strength weakened with each strike, becoming almost negligible by the third one. Liszt hadn’t even unleashed half of his true power to send Rondo flying. If he had exerted his full strength, he could have pierced a hole through Rondo’s body and impaled him on the lance.

Since it wasn’t satisfying, he turned his gaze towards Lasse. "Lasse, you’re up next!"

Lasse’s scalp tingled. He had seen clearly how Liszt had defeated Rondo with just three strikes and knew he wouldn’t be a match either, but he had no choice but to accept the challenge. "Lasse challenges Sir Liszt!"

The two riders crossed paths.

Auric energy erupted, flames bursting forth. Lasse, enveloped in the fiery auric energy, flew out like a kite cut loose, following in Rondo’s footsteps.

And Liszt had only used his first strike.

"I…" Lasse lay on the ground, wanting to say something but found himself speechless.

After a moment, Rondo and Lasse finally recovered from the shock. Their gaze toward Liszt no longer held any sense of equality; only awe for a superior being. Liszt’s bloodline was nobler than theirs, his status higher, and his strength greater. They had no choice but to show reverence.

"I am stronger than I imagined. All along, I’ve underestimated myself."

Feeling pleased inwardly,

Liszt did not let it show on his face. With the soul of an adult, he knew how to control his emotions. He calmly said, "Since leaving the Knights Academy, I haven’t engaged in any real combat training. We didn’t display our full strength earlier. This time, both of you attack me together, and we’ll train once more!"

"Yes, Sir Liszt!" they responded in unison.

The battle began, with double attacks coming at Liszt. Initially, he was caught off guard, but the disparity in strength was too evident. After two rounds of charges, he adapted to the dual attacks, wielding his steel lance to create a storm of flames.

Clang!

Clang!

After two strikes, Rondo and Lasse were sent flying again, crashing heavily onto the ground. They were insufficient to pose any threat to Liszt.

When they got back up, Liszt did not show any joy in victory, maintaining his standard noble smile. "That’s enough training for today. You’ve only recently arrived in Flower Town and don’t have enough teammates to practice with. For now, focus on honing your auric energy. If you want to go to the battlefield, you still have a significant gap to bridge."

Both harbored some opportunistic thoughts, believing that Flower Town lacked manpower and that joining early would allow them to share in the glory.

But today’s training made them realize that without sufficient strength, they wouldn’t achieve good results anywhere. Putting aside their frivolous thoughts, they responded solemnly, "Yes, Sir Liszt!"

They had not chosen to swear allegiance, and similarly, Liszt had not accepted them.

Whether they could establish a master-follower relationship in the future depended on their performance. Based on their current display, Liszt truly looked down upon them.

Of course, he did not outright dismiss them.

He planned to wait for Marcus to return and fight him to gauge his own strength. Marcus’s combat prowess clearly reached the level of Coral Island’s elite knights. The Earl had specifically assigned him to protect Liszt and serve as his tutor, valuing his abilities.

Thus, Marcus could be used as a benchmark.

…

The session ended.

Everyone returned to their quarters.

This battle might not have been entirely satisfying, but the process was exhilarating. After a bath, Liszt leaned back in the living room chair, recalling the details of the fight and contemplating areas for improvement. Summarizing and analyzing helped him identify his weaknesses and improve accordingly.

While reminiscing, he might have been a bit distracted.

The smoke task quietly appeared, quickly catching Liszt’s attention: "Complete the task, reward: a corn grass sprite bug."

The reward was unsurprising, just as the corn grass sprite bug itself was unremarkable.

"It seems the task of planting a hundred acres of corn grass has been completed. Excellent. The corn grass sprite bug is my tenth sprite bug… No, ninth sprite bug, since Thorn Bug has evolved into a Thorn Sprite."

He waved his hand.

A new smoke task had already been issued.

"Task: Still not satisfied with roasted meat and seafood? As a noble lord, your diet should include chicken, fish, meat, and eggs. With this year’s bountiful harvest, raise over a thousand chickens in Flower Town to provide ample eggs and chicken meat. Reward: special mineral vein."

"Hmm?"

"A special mineral vein?" Liszt was pleasantly surprised. "The reward is actually a mineral vein. The last reward was a tiny deposit of saltpeter; this time, it's a special mineral vein. I wonder what kind of mineral vein it is... Right, could it be related to the basalt pillars of Black Horse Island?"

He could only think that what might be related to the mineral vein were the basalt pillars that made up the main body of Black Horse Island.

Perhaps, the special mineral vein was buried within these basalt pillars.

Regardless of what it was,

as long as it was a mineral vein, he had to secure it: "It’s just raising chickens; distributing a thousand chickens among the serfs, with each household taking about ten, should be more than enough!"