Chapter 241 The Dead and the Conferred

That evening, Liszt hosted a banquet for his friends at Tulip Castle, a total of fifteen people. They were all descendants of knights who could not inherit titles or apprentice knights currently studying at the Knights Academy.

Among them, Liszt held two Earth Knights in high regard: Rick Footprint, who had previously expressed his desire to follow him at a nobleman's estate, and Griffin Haystack, an orphan.

Griffin’s Aura attribute was Lightning. He had just turned twenty and possessed good combat skills, with his only flaw being a stutter.

Nobles valued both appearance and posture, allowing ugliness but not disability, and stammering was categorized as a disability. Therefore, Griffin failed to join the Coral City Knight Corps, which saddened him for a long time. Liszt’s predecessor had once mocked Griffin as well.

However, he later found Griffin to be a good person, very honest and hardworking, which gradually evoked a sense of empathy in him—perhaps also because having a disabled person around made him feel better about himself.

The current Liszt was quite satisfied with Griffin.

His honest and diligent nature, along with his regard for Liszt as a "kindred spirit," made him an ideal follower, ensuring loyalty.

Besides Rick and Griffin, the rest were apprentice knights.

They might be sufficient as officials, but they were far from qualified to join the Knight Squad.

"Counting Marcus, Lasse, Rondo, Rick, and Griffin, I already have five members for my Knight Squad. If I can gather seven more, we can form a team." After seeing off his drunk friends, Liszt returned to the room where he had lived for over a decade and quietly pondered.

Knights operate in squads, practicing combined attack techniques, blending their Auras into a single force.

Possessing a Knight Squad qualifies one for battle. As for Liszt himself, his safety could be entrusted to Hiddleston and the hired Parris. He believed that the combined strength of one person and one dog would allow him to escape even if pursued by a Sword Saint.

"Moreover, I am the son of an Earl, so logistics are my responsibility!"

Liszt could not afford to be outdone by Levis in logistics on the battlefield, so he must take charge of it.

...

The next day was the victory banquet.

All the nobles from near and far in Coral Island gathered at Tulip Castle, bringing their servants, making the entire castle as noisy as a market.

The knight corps members who participated in the battle, those without titles and confirmed not to receive any, collected their gold rewards and returned home.

Seven knights without titles remained.

These seven knights had distinguished themselves in battle and were to be ennobled as Baronet Knights, basking in immense joy and eager for the investiture ceremony to begin.

In fact, three more knights could be ennobled, but they were followers of two Viscounts and could not attend the Earl’s victory banquet.

Currently, Tulip Castle hosted three Viscounts: Tric Grass, Jonas Gravel, and Levis Tulip.

There were sixteen Barons, including Liszt Tulip; seventy-six Baronet Knights, plus the newly promoted seven, making eighty-three in total.

"If I remember correctly, the Earl used to have eighty-two Baronet Knights. It seems six Baronet Knights fell in battle this time."

The sacrifice of knights was common, and the death of Baronet Knights was not rare. The death rate of nobles at the Baron level and above was much lower, as they were all lords responsible for commanding their followers. Dangerous charges were left to the followers, not the lords leading the charge.

Just like Liszt, he never intended to include himself in the Knight Squad.

He had his reasons for not participating in battles. Riding Hiddleston, he became a stabilizing presence: "With me here, don’t panic, charge forward!"

It is said that leaders have two types of charisma: "Follow me" and "Charge for me."

Leaders who say "Follow me" earn the loyalty and affection of their subordinates, thereby unleashing great combat power. However, Liszt still chose "Charge for me." Can a peasant’s life compare to a noble’s? Leaders who say "Follow me" often end up on monuments, while those who say "Charge for me" remain your leader!

"Actually, this classification is not entirely accurate. Lords should be divided into three types."

The first type says, "Everyone, follow me, share the benefits"; the second type says, "Everyone, charge for me, share the benefits"; the third type says, "Everyone, charge for me, all benefits go to me."

"I most want to be the third type of lord, but let’s start with the second type."

...

The investiture ceremony before the victory banquet was lively. The seven new Baronet Knights, holding the badges symbolizing their new titles, were moved to tears.

The gap between commoners and nobles is vast, often requiring several generations of effort to bridge.

But once one has a title, even if they die in battle, their descendants will inherit it, a hereditary and unshakable honor unless they die childless or commit a grave offense, in which case the title might be revoked.

"We swear to serve you to the death, my Lord!"

The seven Baronet Knights knelt on one knee, performing the standard knightly oath of allegiance to the Earl.

The Earl sat in the main seat, accepting their oaths calmly, delivering words of encouragement and warning, essentially hoping they would serve him faithfully, reminding them that he could grant and revoke their titles, urging them to maintain humility and adhere to the virtues of knighthood, and not to disappoint him.

After the investiture ceremony, the atmosphere reached its peak.

Baronet Knights drank and boasted downstairs, while Barons, Viscounts, and the Earl drank and boasted upstairs. Whether they had distinguished themselves in battle or not, everyone was enjoying themselves.

Liszt was still not accustomed to such boisterous banquets and fell back into a silent state. He only raised his glass when others toasted him, exchanging a few flattering words. The current Liszt was no longer just the Earl’s useless son but a rising future Viscount.

Even Baron Henderson, who had loudly criticized Liszt’s greed in the fief, found an opportunity to smile ingratiatingly and toast Liszt rather than complain to the Earl.

"Baron Liszt, may your business in Flower Town flourish."

One does not hit a smiling face, and Liszt responded simply, "May your fief’s business also flourish."

Baron Henderson wanted to say more but opened his mouth and said nothing, instead finishing his drink and smiling ingratiatingly before returning to his seat.

The most prominent young figure at the banquet was not Liszt but his brother Levis.

This time on the battlefield, although Levis was primarily responsible for logistics and communication, he had seen blood and killed, becoming a qualified heir in the eyes of the Earl’s followers. With the Earl’s stern demeanor and barely touching his drink, the followers naturally focused their attention on Levis.

Liszt was merely caught in the crossfire.

However, no matter how silent and inconspicuous he tried to be, by the end of the victory banquet, he was thoroughly drunk.

When he was half-carried to bed by a servant, his drowsy mind held only one thought: "Sooner or later, I will rise to the rank of an earl, where I will be the one toasting others, and no one will dare to urge me to drink!"

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