Chapter 360: Serving as the Head of the Knights

"The Duke's dragon must be having issues—this was Father's speculation. He believes that if the Sapphire Dragon were unharmed, the Duke would never have issued a decree to suppress Marquis Bull. The Duke would have directly commanded the Sapphire Dragon to destroy everything on Iron Horse Island to intimidate the enemy."

When Lister arrived at Tulip Castle, he found his older brother, Levis, busy receiving the constant stream of arriving nobles.

Levis took the opportunity to fill him in on what had happened—a letter from the Sapphire Duke had arrived, summoning all his followers to Iron Horse Island to suppress Marquis Bull.

"Can we deduce what exactly is wrong with the Sapphire Dragon?" Lister asked calmly.

"At least injured... The knight who came to inform us was a viscount from the Blue Blood Alliance. He was very tight-lipped, and we couldn't extract any useful information."

"So, is Father planning to follow the Duke's orders and participate in the suppression as per the original plan?"

"In times of uncertainty, this is the most appropriate choice. Father has already begun communicating with several marquises and counts. Once we reach Horn City, we'll carefully consider the next steps. However, the war is basically confirmed. Lister, you're only seventeen. Are you really planning to participate?"

He felt a twinge of discomfort. As someone who had been hailed as a 'genius' from a young age and the family's heir, Levis hadn't gone to war until he was twenty-three.

Lister had no idea what Levis was thinking. He simply said lightly, "As the second son of a noble, the only opportunity to change my fate is through war... I don't have much time to waste."

"Alright."

...

The meeting was held in the evening.

The Count of Coral Island, Lee William Tulip, announced the Duke's orders and then began arranging the selection of knights for the expedition: "Everyone will participate in the war, bringing themselves and their followers. As long as they are not elderly, weak, or disabled Earth Knights, they must appear on the battlefield."

He looked around at all the nobles. "My plan is to form six knight regiments—one elite knight regiment and four ordinary knight regiments. These five regiments will directly participate in the war; there will also be a regiment responsible for patrolling, garrisoning, and defending Coral Island."

Six knight regiments, six commanders.

Coral City advisor Jacob was appointed commander of the defense regiment, staying behind to ensure the safety of Coral Island.

The remaining five regiments already had commanders. Lee William Tulip would naturally lead the elite knight regiment, while Yunas, Trick, and Levis each led one regiment.

Now, only the commander for the last regiment was missing.

"Count, please allow me to lead it," Lister said without much hesitation. "Although it's my first time going to war, I have a mid-level magical beast as a pet, with combat power comparable to an ordinary sky knight. I believe I am capable of leading a knight regiment to earn glory."

Lee William Tulip looked around at the attendees. "Is there anyone else who would like to volunteer as a regiment commander?"

A few elite Earth Knights with baron titles had been eager to try, but after Lister's self-recommendation, they immediately backed down.

Not to mention that Lister had already been hailed as a future viscount, and just the fact that he was Lee William Tulip's son made it difficult for anyone to compete with him. No one would be foolish enough to think they held a higher status in the Count's mind than Lister, not even Mary's brother.

Mary's brother was also an elite Earth Knight and had inherited the baron title, enjoying considerable prestige on Coral Island.

He was eager to vie for the position of regiment commander, as it was the best opportunity to earn military merits. However, now he could only glare angrily at Lister.

He didn't dare to challenge further, knowing that Lister wouldn’t hesitate to unleash Hiddleston on him.

Whenever Lister went out, he brought Hiddleston along, making sure everyone knew he had a mid-level magical beast. Naturally, this approach had its advantages.

No one raised any objections at the meeting, so Lister smoothly became the new regiment commander.

The meeting then moved on to discuss how many Earth Knights each lord could contribute to the war effort and their assignment to one of the five knight regiments. It was clear that the regiment under Lister’s command wasn’t very appealing, with only a few nobles showing interest.

Lister wasn’t particularly concerned. He wasn’t overly worried about his own knight squad either; Hiddleston was his most reliable asset.

In the end, it was the Count who made a decisive arrangement: "Captain Leiden, as a seasoned and reliable elite Earth Knight, you will lead a squad of knights to assist Liszt in decision-making. Copper and Nash, you will each lead a knight squad and also join Liszt's knight regiment."

Captain Leiden, who had long served as the knight captain of Coral Island’s elite knights, was essentially assigned a squad from the elite knights to Liszt's regiment by the Count.

Copper and Nash, seasoned barons with their own knight squads, also counted several elite Earth Knights among their followers.

Additionally, since each knight regiment was fixed at ten knight squads, but there was an extra squad, the Count waved his hand and added it to Liszt's regiment. As a result, Liszt's knight regiment now consisted of eleven squads, totaling 142 knights.

The Count gazed intently at his son. "Liszt, remember that the honor of these knights rests on your shoulders."

Liszt responded calmly, "I am with the knights!"

The knight regiments were uniformly distinguished by color.

The Count led the red regiment, Levis led the yellow regiment, Eunas Stonebreaker led the grey regiment, Trick Hops led the cyan regiment, and Liszt led the black regiment.

Everything was settled.

The Count stood up and solemnly announced, "My followers, you have two days to prepare. By 10:00 AM on June 7th, all regiments must be assembled at the port of Coral Island. May the glory of knighthood be with us all as we fight side by side for honor!"

Everyone rose, including Liszt, and placed their right hands over their chests in a solemn salute. "We are ready to charge for you, my lord!"

The meeting ended, and a simple dinner was held at Longtaro Castle.

That night, they returned to their respective territories.

Despite the late hour, Liszt immediately called a meeting with all the Earth Knights and town officials. The meeting lasted only half an hour, as everything had already been prepared; this was just a repetition. After finishing these tasks, he took a shower and lay in bed.

The smoke mission was called forth.

As expected, with him securing the position of knight regiment leader, the mission was completed: "Mission completed, reward: settlement of Mallards."

"I wonder where the green caterpillar and mallard are. Tomorrow, I'll send people to search Flower Town. If they’re not found, they’ll likely be on Black Horse Island. I don’t have time to search there, so I’ll delegate that task to Gort."

He clenched his fist. "War is now my top priority."

The smoke shifted, forming new serpent tongue symbols.

"Mission: War has arrived! Being a knight regiment leader has paved the way for your path of glory. Now, lead your knight regiment and successfully set foot on the port of Iron Horse Island to begin your war journey! Reward: the awakening of Virginia Truth."

"Virginia Truth?" Liszt remembered—the 36D phantom restored to her original appearance, a member of the Magic Goat family.

After placing her in the soul jar, he had almost forgotten about her.