Chapter 204 You two come together

Bang!

The knight’s lance collided once again, and Rondo felt his hands beginning 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, the only thing he could be proud of was his noble bloodline. But this point of pride meant nothing before Liszt, who was the son of an Earl, possessed the bloodline of a Sky Knight, and was also the grandson of a Marquis.

"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 caution and bitterness.

As an Earth Knight with earth affinity, Rondo was always skilled in defense. Defeating him within a short time was quite troublesome for other Earth Knights of the same rank.

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

Indeed, when the two steel lances collided, he felt an overwhelming force surge forth, followed by a searing heat that forced him to release his grip on the lance.

Clang!

The knight’s lance soared into the air, and Rondo himself was sent flying. The sky spun violently around him, and before he could gather his thoughts, he crashed heavily onto the ground, his organs jolted painfully. He stared blankly at the sky, unable to stand up for a long while, bewildered at 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 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 next!"

Lasse felt a chill run down his spine. He had seen clearly how Liszt had defeated Rondo in three strikes and knew he wouldn’t be a match, but he had no choice but to accept the challenge: "Lasse challenges Sir!"

The two riders crossed paths.

Auric energy erupted, flames bursting forth as Lasse, enveloped in 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, trying 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 reverence remained. Liszt’s bloodline was nobler, his status higher, and his strength greater than theirs. They had no choice but to show respect.

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

Feeling pleased inwardly,

Liszt did not show it outwardly. With the maturity of an adult soul, he knew how to control his emotions. He calmly said, "Since leaving the Knights Academy, I haven’t engaged in any practical combat training. We didn’t display our full strength just now. This time, both of you attack together, and we’ll train again!"

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

A battle against two began. Initially, the dual attacks threw Liszt off balance, but the disparity in strength was too obvious. After two rounds of charges, he adapted to the dual attacks, wielding his steel lance to create a blaze 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 over his 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 refining your auric energy. If you want to go to the battlefield, your skills need improvement."

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

But today’s training made them realize that without sufficient skill, they wouldn’t achieve good results anywhere. They put aside their frivolous thoughts and responded solemnly: "Yes, Sir!"

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

Whether they could establish a master-servant relationship in the future depended on their performance. Based on their current showing, 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 true strength. Marcus’s combat prowess clearly reached the level of Coral Island’s elite knights. When the Earl designated him to guard Liszt and serve as his tutor, it was precisely because of this.

Therefore, Marcus could be used as a benchmark.

...

The session ended.

Everyone returned to their quarters.

This battle

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

While recalling, he might have been a bit distracted.

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

The reward was unsurprising, just another corn grass sprite bug.

"It seems the work of planting one hundred acres of corn grass has been completed. Excellent, the corn grass sprite bug, my tenth sprite bug… No, still my ninth sprite bug, since the 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 more than a thousand chickens in Flower Town to provide sufficient 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, but 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 was related to the mineral vein was likely the island's main body composed of basalt pillars.

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

Regardless of what it is.

As long as it's a mineral vein, it must be secured: "Raising chickens, just a thousand chickens, distributed among the serfs, with each household raising about ten chickens, should be enough!"