Chapter 613: A Bold Idea

"Of course, considering you answered my questions earnestly and provided much valuable information, I won’t demand the moon. Everything can be negotiated." Liszt was quite satisfied with Yevich’s attitude, apart from the information about dragon knights and those clad in bear pelts.

Yevich also detailed the situation regarding the Marquis of Surging Tides and the surrounding territories near the River’s Source, which was highly valuable to Liszt.

Thus, he didn’t intend to exploit Yevich too harshly—only demanding two spirit bugs and waiving all craftsmen fees entirely.

Then, ignoring Yevich’s dejection, he turned and left the cell, preparing next to meet Deborah Yuhuashi. Compared to the penniless Yevich, Deborah was undoubtedly rolling in it!

The holding cells were separate to prevent collusion or escape attempts between the two.

As he walked, he called up the smoke mission: "Mission complete. Reward: Iron Knight Alvin Eaglesword."

"Hmm?"

"Alvin Eaglesword?"

"That surname is quite unusual—derived from a sword's name, no less. And isn’t 'Eaglesword' the name of most standard magic-powered longswords in the Kingdom of the Eagle?" Liszt was familiar with these, having confiscated plenty of equipment from the Kingdom’s knight orders. He’d acquired quite a few Eagleswords.

The Eaglesword was a magic-powered weapon. Though nothing to write home about, its materials were common and its craftsmanship refined, making it widely popular.

Many elite Earth Knights preferred wielding the Eaglesword.

Compared to the standard magic-powered longswords forged in the Sapphire Duchy, the Eaglesword was slightly shorter but broader in blade, needing more muscle to handle effectively.

Of course, there was no fixed standard for knightly longswords. The knight orders of the Sapphire Duchy emphasized speed and mobility, rarely engaging in head-on clashes, hence their longer, narrower blades suited for thrusting and maneuvering. The Eaglesword, with its heft and power, was better suited for charges and castle defense.

"For this Iron Knight to be named after the Eaglesword—he’s certainly no small fry... Though, then again, only major families can typically raise Iron Knights."

His thoughts drifted only briefly before focusing on the next mission.

"Mission: Upon receiving news of the fall of Little Riverheart Keep and the capture of Deborah Yuhuashi, the Marquis of Surging Tides is furious and has led his elite knight order on a hundred-mile charge to reinforce Little Riverheart Keep. This will be a do-or-die situation. Repel the elite knight order of the Marquis of Surging Tides. Reward: An unknown number of spirit bugs."

"An unknown number of spirit bugs?"

Liszt was first delighted, then frowned. "Does this refer to Deborah Yuhuashi’s ransom?"

At first, he thought there might be freshly hatched spirit bugs awaiting discovery. But upon reflection, the most likely opportunity to obtain spirit bugs recently was clearly Deborah’s ransom. Given the nature of the smoke missions, rewards never appeared from nowhere—they always aligned with circumstances and pointed the way forward.

And right now, the most fitting direction was undoubtedly Deborah’s ransom.

The Marquis of Surging Tides wouldn’t hold back just because a hostage was in Liszt’s hands—this was his nephew, not his son. He would surely choose to break the Coral Island Knights first before considering Deborah’s ransom. Liszt had already invaded his territory; there was no reason to retreat.

At least by the rules of knightly warfare, once a knight was captured, the battle was effectively over, awaiting only the payment of ransom.

If he could defeat the Coral Island Knights, perhaps no ransom would be needed at all. And if he captured Liszt, then it would be Liszt’s turn to worry about raising his own ransom.

"The Marquis of Surging Tides is a veteran sky knight at the peak of his power, once known as the Surging Sword Saint in his youth. His elite knight order, the Roaring Knights, is named after the Roaring River and should be formidable!" Liszt pondered intently. The Coral Island Knights clearly couldn’t stand up to the Roaring Knights.

They weren’t on the same level.

A Marquis’s elite knight order was filled with elite Earth Knights.

"If I lead the Blizzard Beast squad in the charge, I wonder if that could help the Coral Island Knights hold their ground against the Roaring Knights... If not, I’ll have to step in myself. With my strength, I should be able to take on an entire elite knight order alone!" After all, he was halfway to dragon knight status.

Liszt had that confidence. He didn’t go to see Deborah immediately but instead took a moment to mull things over.

Combining Yevich’s information with the smoke mission’s parameters, a daring plan soon emerged: "Little Riverheart Keep... Great Riverheart Keep... Roaring Fury City, Three Dragons City... Yevich mentioned the secret iron deposit hidden in Dragon-Trapping Mountain!"

Pushing aside his thoughts,

He summoned five vampires, including Bloody Mary: "How is the compilation of the blood magic book coming along?"

"My lord, we vampires lean more toward violence. Writing books is *work for* mages, and we haven’t practiced it for years, so it will take some time."

"No rush... Now, I have a new task for you. According to the information I’ve obtained, west of Three Dragons City lies Dragon-Trap Mountain, which harbors a secret iron mine. Investigate the mountain for me, locate this secret mine, and assess its defenses!"

"Yes, my lord!"

The five vampires had adapted well to their roles as blood-bound servants. Ever since witnessing Liszt’s sheer power, they no longer harbored any ill intentions.

Once the blood-bound servants departed,

Liszt hurried to find the Marquis to discuss countermeasures against the Raging Waves Marquis leading the Roaring Knights in their attack. At the same time, he shared his bold idea with the Marquis.

"Father, based on my assessment of the Raging Waves Marquis, he has already led the Roaring Knights to intercept our Coral Island Knights."

"I suspect the same. So once the supplies are packed and transported, we’ll leave Riverheart Keep and strike other cities and castles." Hit-and-run tactics were the essence of campaigns under the Expansion Decree, and Lee William, with his years of combat experience, was well-versed in this. When weaker in numbers and strength, one must avoid direct confrontation.

But Liszt shook his head. "I don’t wish to leave Riverheart Keep. We should use its walls to our advantage and launch a preemptive strike!"

"Preemptive strike?"

"Yes. With our telescopes, we can observe the movements of the Roaring Knights in advance. Why not ambush them with two knight groups attacking from the flanks while you lead the charge in the center, and I command the Blizzard Beasts squad to assist? Once the knight groups clash, I’ll step in to suppress them!"

The Marquis hesitated. "You’re far too bold. We shouldn’t engage the Raging Waves Marquis head-on."

"If we follow the same pattern as every campaign under the Expansion Decree—looting some supplies and leaving—then of course we wouldn’t need to face the Marquis. But if we want to expand our military achievements, the fastest way is to seize mines." He pulled out the map confiscated from Riverheart Keep and pointed at the Roaring River.

Carefully outlining a blueprint for war,

"The Roaring River is a golden trade route. Its breadth allows House Tulip’s fleet to sail from the sea to the upper reaches. As long as we secure the Roaring River, the entire river basin will be ours to dominate! Moreover, with this golden trade route, we can use Three Dragons City upstream as a springboard for a large-scale campaign!"