Chapter 624: The Earl’s Teachings

"If the plan goes smoothly, Mary, I will reward you with this heart belonging to Tubote. As for the rest of you, continue to prove your worth—Famur's heart may belong to one of you."

Relying solely on the stick may instill fear in the blood thralls, but it won’t necessarily make them work hard.

Yet with the carrot added, these vampires will surely exert their utmost effort to obtain the heart of a pureblood vampire—a rare delicacy.

Judging by the expressions and gazes of Bloody Mary and the four blood thralls, it was clear the tactic had taken effect.

After dismissing the blood thralls,

Liszt sat atop Deborah’s former mount, focusing his mind to summon the serpentine smoke task.

As early as during his bath, he had already received the task completion alert: "Mission accomplished. Reward: spirit bugs (quantity unknown)."

The ransom negotiations for Deborah had yet to begin, so the reward for this mission remained uncertain.

However, Liszt was in no hurry. He even planned to deliberately delay the ransom exchange to lull the Raging Tides Marquis into complacency, allowing him to execute his assault on Three Dragon City and Dragon-Trap Mountain. Ultimately, he aimed to buy enough time to transport the iron ore—there was simply too much of it. Even with a large fleet mobilized, hauling away such vast quantities of iron ore would be no easy task.

Shipbuilding technology in this world was underdeveloped—it was said that the treasure ships of the Ming Dynasty’s Zheng He could reach a displacement of 2,500 tons. Even a ship one-tenth that size would still carry 250 tons.

Yet here, a two-masted merchant vessel could only transport over a million tons of cargo. Over a million tons of iron ore would require thousands of voyages. The Tulip family had roughly a hundred merchant vessels, the Longyam family about seven hundred, and the Golden Wheat family around eleven hundred—totaling nearly two thousand combined.

However, once the iron ore was transported to the mouth of the Roaring River, the overall commander of this expedition, the Grand Prince, would surely organize additional fleets to assist in the transportation.

With over a century of frontier campaign experience, the Sapphire Duchy had turned such operations into second nature.

Liszt didn’t need to worry about the final transport. He only needed to secure about ten days—enough to ensure the Dragon-Trap Mountain iron mine was stripped bare before Dragon Knights could intervene. Then, by assisting the Grand Prince in shipping the ore back to the kingdom, the battle’s merits would be entirely his.

"Every extra day we can delay the news, the better... By leveraging the strength of the Longyam and Golden Wheat families to blockade the Roaring River’s banks, sever communications between Dragon-Trap Mountain and Dragonlock City, and deploying blood thralls to assassinate messenger knights, we should be able to buy some time."

If the delay succeeded, the Dragon Knights would need time to receive the news and travel here. By then, the Dragon-Trap Mountain iron mine would long have been emptied.

He gazed at the serpentine smoke text now floating before his eyes.

"Mission: The scale of war continues to expand. As a future Dragon Knight, the battle plans under your command grow ever more complex—a necessary lesson for any Dragon Knight. Coordinate the iron ore plundering operation in its entirety and seize the Dragon-Trap Mountain iron mine. Reward: advanced mana cultivation manual."

The mission reward held little surprise for him. With the *Crimson Sunflare Surge* manual, he had no need to train in additional techniques.

Besides, he also possessed the Count’s *Tidal Surge Shatters the Sea* and the reward from slaying Count Snider, *Thunderous Strike Shakes the Void*. One more manual would merely serve as backup.

What truly captured his attention was the mission itself.

"Even the serpentine smoke task is urging me to plunder the Dragon-Trap Mountain iron ore. This operation must not fail! Whether it’s the Longyam family or the Golden Wheat family, they must strictly obey my orders—otherwise, I won’t hesitate to show them a taste of the Ghost Swordsman’s power."

His battle with the Raging Tides Marquis had made him realize his strength was still insufficient. Had it not been for his archery skills turning the tide, the entire campaign might have ended in failure.

The war had sanded down his arrogance.

Yet victory had ultimately been his, so he still retained a measure of adventurous spirit in his heart—unwilling to cower and play the fool. This, perhaps, was the dignity of a Dragon Knight, leaving no room for further humility.

...

By nightfall at Riverheart Castle, the solemn cremation ceremony had concluded, and the knights had regained their cheerful spirits.

They drank deeply,

roared, celebrating their victory in battle. Defeating the Roaring Knights despite being outmatched was naturally a feat to be proud of—even if most of the credit belonged to Liszt, their own contributions had been significant. Holding their ground against the Roaring Knights’ charge ensured the battle didn’t collapse outright, paving the way for Liszt’s counterattack.

"A toast to Lord Liszt—may he soon ride a dragon and reach the zenith of knighthood!"

"May Lord Liszt tame a dragon soon!"

"May the lord tame a dragon soon!"

The knights roared, splashing beer everywhere—taming a dragon was a common toast among knights. They had witnessed firsthand how Liszt overcame the formidable Marquis of Raging Tides. In their hearts, if the Sapphire Duchy were to acquire a new dragon, the next rider would undoubtedly be Liszt.

Of course.

In truth, no one truly believed Liszt could tame a dragon. Dragons were far too rare, and taming them was nigh impossible—many didn’t even have a clear concept of what a dragon was. Dragon-owning nobles hoarded their secrets jealously, ensuring the prestige and authority of dragons remained unchallenged.

Or rather, nobles maintained strict secrecy over anything that could threaten their status.

Spirit breeding was kept secret, knight training was kept secret, iron knight training was kept secret, cultural knowledge was kept secret—and dragons were the most closely guarded secret of all.

At this very moment.

Liszt, who was being loudly cheered by the knights, was in his bedroom, conversing with the convalescing Marquis.

"The battlefield has been cleared. Our losses numbered over five hundred, but we captured more than eight hundred. I’ve only replenished the Black Horse Island Knight Order to full strength, while most of the knights have been allocated to compensate for your losses. Viscounts Yunas and Terek are satisfied with the distribution."

"You’ve established such authority they dare not challenge, so naturally, they won’t object to your decisions. And I trust your judgment as well." The Marquis’ injuries looked severe, but they were mostly superficial. After some rest, his complexion had returned to normal, and he would fully recover in a few days.

"The plan to seize the Iron Mountain Mine is already prepared. Once the Long Taro family and the Golden Wheat family have assembled, we’ll begin execution."

"Since you defeated the Marquis of Raging Tides, our odds of success have greatly improved. I have no objections."

"The feasibility is indeed high, and everything is under my control. However, I shall require your assistance, Father, to coordinate more with the Long Taro and Golden Wheat families to ensure they don’t impede our efforts."

"Rest assured."

"By the way, Father, after witnessing my duel with the Marquis of Raging Tides, have you any counsel for me?" Liszt intended to ask the Marquis about Domain Knights.

But the Marquis looked somber. "I have nothing to teach you. Your duel with the Marquis was beyond my comprehension."

"Father, in your many years of war under the Expansion Decree, have you never encountered a Domain Knight like the Marquis of Raging Tides?"

The Marquis looked bewildered. "Domain Knight?"

"A Perfected Sky Knight, once in resonance with their knight order, can condense a mana domain, amplifying their power. Such a Perfected Sky Knight is called a Domain Knight. There are several Perfected Sky Knights in the kingdom—your grandfather is one. Have none of them cultivated a mana domain?"

"Perhaps you should wait until Roderick arrives and ask him..." The Marquis leaned back against his pillow, staring blankly at the ceiling. "I’ve fought in nearly twenty Expansion Decree campaigns, but I’ve always avoided direct confrontation with marquis-level forces. If not for your insistence, I would never have agreed to face the Marquis of Raging Tides head-on."

The implication was clear—Lee William had always adhered to a strategy of "Preying upon the weaker," focusing on guerrilla raids for supplies.

So while he might have clashed with Perfected Sky Knights before, he had never faced one in the midst of a full-scale knight order charge. Thus, he had never experienced the might of a Domain Knight, nor did he know that beyond the Perfected Sky Knight level, there existed Domain Knights.

He let out a long sigh.

Then suddenly, he turned to his young but mature second son. "When Roderick and Mexiro arrive, they’ll likely ask how you became so powerful. Perhaps you should tell me how the Glory of Knighthood has blessed you."

Liszt fell silent for a moment.

Then, with utmost seriousness, he said, "I hadn’t planned to speak of this, but since you’ve asked, I shall conceal nothing... The truth is, I’ve received the inheritance of the Ghost Swordsman!"

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