Chapter 561: Honor Inspection

Riding the Rainbow Whale Rosi, they sped across the sea for an hour and a half, arriving at Flower Harbor.

Then, switching to the land bird Loki, they raced across the land for an hour, reaching Tulip Castle.

Departing at seven, it took only three hours for Liszt to appear in the living room of Tulip Castle. There, he met a middle-aged man, the court envoy representing the Sapphire Duchy.

"Liszt, let me introduce you. This is Count Jonas Yuejiancao, the Earl of Moonlight City, who serves as the court envoy of the Duchy, here to inspect your territory on Black Horse Island," introduced Earl Lee William.

Jonas had a thick head of hair and a full beard.

He looked somewhat unkempt.

Liszt knew of this man, one of the earls of the Blue Blood Alliance and a seasoned sword saint of the Duchy. He had met Jonas's daughter, an ordinary-looking noble lady, Joanna Yuejiancao. Joanna had been the bridesmaid for the princess when Meopo got married.

At Longyu Castle, Joanna had often flirted with Liszt.

"Welcome, Count Jonas."

Liszt greeted Jonas with the standard noble etiquette. Compared to the bearded Jonas, Liszt was the epitome of a perfect noble in both appearance and demeanor. Even as the most minor baron of Flower Town, he could steal the spotlight at any banquet.

Now, as a "half-step dragon knight," his confidence was even more outstanding, and his demeanor naturally elevated.

Upon their first meeting, Jonas felt overshadowed.

The bearded earl felt that the young, enviable Liszt was the true noble, while he was just a down-and-out minor noble.

However, Jonas, seasoned by many storms, naturally wouldn't let a young man suppress his aura. He adopted a senior's stance and smiled warmly, "Hello, young Sky Knight, Viscount of Black Horse Island, Liszt."

"I heard that you arrived at Coral Island four days ago, but unfortunately, I had some matters to attend to outside my territory and couldn't receive you in time."

"Don't worry about it. Your father's hospitality was very warm. We've been discussing cultivation matters these past few days, and it's been very beneficial. Moreover, the Duke has sent me as a court envoy to visit the beautiful Coral Island, which is a rare relaxation," Jonas said with a smile. "I also hope to see the youngest Sky Knight of the Duchy as soon as possible."

"You flatter me. Compared to a sword saint like Count Jonas, I still need more experience."

Noble interactions are mostly like this.

You flatter me, I flatter you, and Liszt could handle it skillfully. However, he usually didn't like such hypocritical pleasantries. Now, as a quasi-dragon knight, he was even more unwilling. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, he handed the main role of the interaction to Lee William.

But obviously, such a young and outstanding figure could no longer remain unnoticed.

The conversation always revolved around him.

Fortunately, it was just about topics like "glory," "honor," "military exploits," and "ennoblement," which Lee William handled, with the assistance of his brother Levis. Liszt only needed to smile and nod gracefully from time to time.

Until Lady Mary announced the start of the luncheon.

Count Jonas did not mention the matter of followers, which was his main mission.

In the traditions of the continental kingdoms and duchies, for those followers whose momentum rivals that of the lords, the lords would recommend them to their superior lords, known as "honorary recommendation." This usually happens when a land knight is promoted to a sky knight, as only this promotion brings a substantial increase in strength.

Liszt qualified for an honorary recommendation.

However, Lee William did not recommend him; instead, the Duke directly conducted an "honorary inspection."

This kind of honorary inspection usually occurs on the descendants of the lord's followers and is a very honorable move. However, such inspections are mostly for granting titles to the descendants of followers as a favor. It is rare for someone like Liszt, who qualifies for an honorary recommendation, to undergo such an inspection.

After the luncheon.

After discussion, it was decided that Lee William and Liszt would accompany Count Jonas and several court scribes to inspect Black Horse Island in the afternoon.

"Is this your mount, Liszt?" Jonas couldn't help but ask curiously as they set off, seeing Liszt riding a magnificent long-legged bird. "With its colorful feathers, it's a very beautiful bird. I've never seen it before. Is it a low-level or mid-level magical beast?"

Loki is a mid-level dragon species magical beast.

But there was no need to mention that. Liszt simply said, "It's a land bird. When I caught it from the mainland, it was probably still a low-level magical beast. But I was lucky enough to find a bloodline fruit and fed it to the bird, turning it into a mid-level magical beast."

"Indeed, as the nobles have been discussing, you are a son of glory... Having a mid-level magical beast as a mount, and a bird at that, is something very few in the entire country can boast of. Like me, I was once a member of the Gray Falcon Knights, and I still keep that old, flightless gray falcon, unable to bear to abandon it."

The Gray Falcon Knights are an elite unit of the Duchy, with mounts being artificially trained low-level magical beasts, the gray falcons. The unit consists of only twenty-five members, primarily tasked with delivering messages.

Four hours later.

The group finally arrived at Flower Town, though Flower Town is not part of Liszt's territory, merely leased by him long-term. Thus, the group stayed in Liszt's unnamed castle—too small to accommodate everyone, so only Earl Lee William and Count Jonas stayed in the castle, while their attendants and court scribes lodged in the town.

Before dinner, Jonas watched with great interest as Liszt trained the Snowstorm Beasts.

"Earl Lee William, are all these Snowstorm Beasts mid-level magical beasts? I heard that Liszt once used a Snowstorm Beast to help the Crown Prince breach the walls of Juniper Fort?"

"See that largest Snowstorm Beast? That's Hiddleston, a violent earth hound that ate a bloodline fruit. Its evolution is quite remarkable, an outstanding mid-level magical beast. The other eight Snowstorm Beasts are descendants of Hiddleston and violent earth hounds. Although they can use two types of magic, they are more between mid-level and low-level."

"If Hiddleston can still mate with violent earth hounds, doesn't that mean it could produce more offspring?"

"It's very difficult. It seems that only before Hiddleston fully evolved could it impregnate violent earth hounds. After Hiddleston's successful evolution, it could no longer impregnate them, and its offspring, having also been bred, none have the ability to reproduce," Lee William said regretfully.

Regarding the breeding of Snowstorm Beasts, Lee William and Levis are more enthusiastic than Liszt.

Upon reaching adulthood, Tulip Fortress immediately captured several female violent earth hounds and brought them to mate with the eight young ones.

Despite constant mating day and night, none of the violent earth hounds became pregnant.

It can be basically concluded that the eight young ones have lost their reproductive ability. Strictly speaking, they are similar to mules on Earth—offspring of horses and donkeys—larger than donkeys, stronger than horses, with greater vitality and disease resistance, and a service life far exceeding that of horses and donkeys.

But unfortunately, due to a reproductive barrier, their pelvises cannot open, making it impossible for them to give birth.

Jonas sighed upon hearing this, "That's truly a pity. Such excellent earth-element magical beasts are very valuable for sieges. If they could be bred artificially, nobles would certainly be willing to pay a high price for them."

Lee William agreed deeply, "Indeed, it's a great pity."

Liszt had once promised Lee William and Levis that if the Snowstorm Beasts had offspring, he would send a batch to Tulip Fortress. Now, it seems, that's not going to happen now.