Chapter 541: Followers’ Surprise

After training Pyke for a while, the sun quickly dipped below the horizon. Liszt also had to return to the port town to rest on land, but he was worried about Rainbow Whale Rosi. Although they had a pleasant time together today, if Rosi wandered off and couldn’t be found the next day, it would be a problem.

So.

He decided to leave Rosi in Acheronides’ care, just as he had left all the sea spirits in her care: “Rosi, don’t wander off; you’ll live in the waters around Black Horse Island. I will treat you well in the future, and Acheronides will take good care of you.”

“Jiyou…” Whether the Rainbow Whale understood or not, it showed great joy. (Note: "Jiyou" is an onomatopoeic sound.)

At first, it had been hostile toward Acheronides, who was determined to hunt it, but now it had completely warmed up to her and accepted her hugs and caresses.

When they reached the shore, Liszt stood in the shallow water and waved to the Rainbow Whale.

The Rainbow Whale didn’t dare swim ashore, but it swam in the shallow water, reluctant to part with Liszt. Only when Liszt left the shore with the waiting footmen did it, urged by Acheronides, reluctantly return to the sea. Led by Acheronides, it swam towards Red Tree Island.

Meanwhile.

As soon as Liszt returned, Advisor Gort came to see him.

The territory advisor had been in high spirits lately. His wife and children had moved from Coral City to settle in Flower Town, and then he quietly moved his mistress Frya and their illegitimate son Donald to the port town. When he went to Flower Town, it was with his old wife and their two grown children; when he returned to the port town, it was with his young lover and their two-year-old illegitimate son.

He was constantly enjoying the pleasures of family life.

“My lord, I heard you tamed a sea monster out at sea?”

“It seems you already know. Yes, it’s a Rainbow Whale, which has become my mount. I can ride it and roam the vast sea, which is like my own backyard.” Liszt raised his eyebrows, looking quite proud, and indeed he had reason to be.

Advisor Gort was taken aback: “Can a sea monster become a mount?”

“There’s no difference between a sea monster and a magical creature. If I can ride a magical creature, naturally I can ride a sea monster. Advisor Gort, shift your focus from the land to the sea. What the land has, the sea also has—magic herbs, spirits, sea monsters, and those pearls.”

“I understand, my lord, it’s just a bit sudden. You actually discovered two small spirits and four spirit bugs in the sea, all Giant Kelp Spirits, which can cultivate Magic Giant Kelp. It’s simply incredible.”

“Your information is a bit outdated. I now have three Giant Kelp Sprites and five Giant Kelp Spirit Bugs, and…”

Liszt paused for dramatic effect.

It wasn’t exactly a pause for effect, but he was weighing the pros and cons of whether to reveal the existence of the Giant Kelp Grand Sprite Pyke now. But after ten seconds of thought, he decided to reveal it. The principle of ‘not flaunting wealth’ could apply to Fire Drake Leo. As for a Grand Sprite, there was no need to be so cautious.

As a Sky Knight, acquiring a Grand Sprite was no big deal.

So, while Advisor Gort listened attentively, he said calmly, “I also contracted a Giant Kelp Grand Sprite in the Giant Kelp Forest.”

As expected.

Advisor Gort nearly jumped out of his seat: “What? My lord, you, you, you mean a Giant Kelp Grand Sprite? A Grand Sprite, that kind of… Grand Sprite?” He was stammering incoherently, full of shock and disbelief, his eyes extremely astonished.

“No need to be shocked; it’s indeed a Grand Sprite—not a spirit bug or a small spirit, but a Grand Sprite.” Liszt picked up the green tea on the table and took a sip, “Its name is Pyke. Since it’s a wild Grand Sprite, it hasn’t learned to speak yet and needs time to adapt to human life.”

“Yes, yes, a wild Grand Sprite—it needs time.” Advisor Gort swallowed, still not recovered from the shock.

Liszt directly called his personal footman Thomas: “Go and gather the town’s officials; I need to hold a meeting.”

“Yes, my lord.”

A moment later.

The officials staying in the port town arrived in turn, led by Marcus and Blair.

Liszt didn’t waste any time and directly said, “I’ve summoned you here tonight to share some good news. Today, I discovered a Giant Kelp Grand Sprite in the sea and have already completed the contract. The first Grand Sprite in our territory has been born, and its name is Pyke.”

“What?”

“My lord, did I hear that correctly?”

“A Grand Sprite!”

“A Giant Kelp Grand Sprite?”

“Unbelievable!”

“A Grand Sprite! How much Magic Giant Kelp can it produce?”

Exclamations of shock and awe erupted one after another. The officials were all left stunned by this unexpected news of a Grand Sprite.

A Grand Sprite symbolizes a great noble family. Families that possess a Grand Sprite can almost effortlessly accumulate military honors and be granted the title of Earl. After all, a Grand Sprite represents continuously accumulating wealth, and it takes generations of noble cultivation to nurture one. Some Marquis families possess only one or two Grand Sprites.

Liszt is merely a Viscount, having held the title for less than a year.

But he has already become a sky knight and has obtained a Grand Sprite capable of cultivating Magic Giant Kelp. The future brilliance of such a lord is almost beyond imagination. And as his followers, serving a lord with boundless prospects naturally brings many benefits.

At this moment, all the followers were grateful for the blessings of The glory of knighthood!, including those knights who had been incorporated.

Unseen, the loyalty of the followers increased significantly.

Liszt was pleased with his followers’ reactions, but he maintained his usual noble composure: “I will send a knight to Tulip Castle to arrange a time for the celebration. Master Marcus, I entrust this task to you.”

“As you wish, my lord!” Marcus, visibly excited, knelt on one knee and performed a knightly salute.

Observing Liszt, who sat calmly in the main seat sipping tea, he seemed to envision The glory of knighthood! like a cloak draped over his student.

He was once a commoner student at Coral Island Knight Academy. Though not top-tier in strength, he was a cultivation genius among commoners. After advancing to an elite Earth Knight, he was appointed by the Earl as Liszt’s family tutor, responsible for teaching Liszt knightly cultivation.

At their first meeting.

He was ambitious, prepared to help Liszt achieve great deeds. After all, he was not a noble and had no right to serve the Earl’s heir, Levis. The second son of the Tulip family was his best option for allegiance. A second son needed to constantly engage in wars to earn noble status.

However, the Liszt of that time was just a young man with poor talent and a timid nature, not favored in Tulip Castle.

Ultimately, Liszt was granted the title of Baron, sparing him the struggle, but Marcus was far from pleased. He doubted Liszt would go to war to seek glory, and following such a lord would never allow him to achieve his noble ambitions.

Before departing for Flower Town, he was on the brink of despair.

But he couldn’t defy the Earl’s orders.

However, the Liszt who arrived in Flower Town seemed transformed, maturing both inside and out almost overnight.

Even more surprising was that, starting with raising Hiddleston, The glory of knighthood! seemed to shower endlessly upon the territory and the lord. Within a year, the once mediocre Liszt grew at an astonishing rate into an elite Earth Knight and even defeated him in a direct confrontation.

Then, in two subsequent wars, he performed exceptionally.

During his first participation in the Expansion Decree, he broke through to become a sky knight, stunning the entire Coral Island. One could imagine that even in the entire Sapphire Duchy, nobles would talk about the seventeen-year-old sky knight Liszt, signifying the rise of another noble star in the country.

And today, the youngest sky knight has contracted another Grand Sprite.

Those Grand Sprites that great noble families need generations to cultivate were obtained so effortlessly, as if two or three years had compressed the struggles of several generations.

“No title but the Son of Glory suits him!” Marcus’s heart burned with passion, filled with anticipation for the future. To be a follower of the Son of Glory, glory was within reach!

He even couldn’t help but wonder: “As the Son of Glory, how long will it take for Liszt to become an Earl, and how long to become a Marquis? He became a sky knight at seventeen, could there be a possibility of… riding a dragon in the future?”

Riding a dragon might be a distant dream,

but he believed that Liszt’s future would at least lead him to become a Marquis.