The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

Chapter 788: Chapter 0785: Anthony’s Pressure (First Update)
 

“Father’s intention is for you to suppress the naval warfare, with the Knight Order of Sapphire serving as the main force in the war, and we will split the resulting taxes equally between our two families.”

Anthony relayed the Sapphire Duke’s proposition for their mutual benefit.

In previous years, it had always been the Sapphire Duke who suppressed the situation, battling any potential Dragon Knights to ensure the battlefield remained at the level of ordinary knights. Consequently, all knight orders had to pay taxes on their earnings, especially on metals and other ores, which had to be distributed personally by the Duke after the war.

This time, the Sapphire Duke planned to have Liszt suppress the conflict, and then split the taxes equally, which was still a rather fair proposal.

After some thought, Liszt agreed, “That’s acceptable, but you need to present a more detailed plan. We need to know the exact number of ports, ships, and the distribution of shipbuilding technicians in the Eagle Kingdom. I hope to neutralize all their maritime forces in one battle, making them fear to tread the ocean for decades to come!”

“Your Highness’s ambition is admirable. As the overseer of this maritime campaign, I will certainly investigate all the details thoroughly,” Anthony replied solemnly.

Looking at the still somewhat youthful face of Liszt, but hearing his shrewd tone, he couldn’t help but be deeply moved.

…

Regarding Liszt himself, the core members of the Sapphire Family hadn’t ceased their discussions, particularly after the Dragon Slaying battle, when almost daily conversations about Liszt took place.

An eighteen-year-old Dragon Knight and possibly an even younger Archmage, it was beyond imagination.

The Sapphire Duke knew Earl William Lee of Coral Island very well, a man full of daring and not without talent, regarded as one of the most promising new nobles in the country. But his heir, Levis, was considered more of a conservative successor, and it was thought that it would take the Tulip Family several generations of hard work to ascend to the rank of Marquis.

But then a huge variable emerged.

Initially, Liszt did not attract much attention.

It was during the First Prince’s siege of Juniper Castle that he took a second look at Liszt, finding the young man promising and worth cultivating. Then before long, Liszt, as a part of the Pioneer Mandate, earned the title of Viscount and advanced to become a Sky Knight, claiming the title of the country’s youngest.

Only then did Liszt truly enter the eyes of the Sapphire Duke.

As the ruler of a nation, the Duke certainly had to pay attention to the country’s youth—these were the future noble candidates, as well as the recipients of his seeds of loyalty.

However, before the Duke could take any action, Liszt had already become an Inheritor of the Ghost Swordsman, capable of defeating top-tier warriors like Domain Knights. When the news reached him, the Duke called his staff together for two meetings to discuss Liszt, which Anthony also attended.

Ultimately, the Duke decided to personally recruit Liszt as a follower.

But Earl William Lee interrupted, using the reason “My son is planning to help me vie for a Marquisate before our family branches out,” a motivation the Duke couldn’t fault—he obviously believed that it was the position of Marquis left vacant after the defection of the Marquis of Bull that had stimulated Earl William Lee to make an agreement with his son to attain the Marquisate.

There was no fault in that, so the issue was temporarily set aside.

“At that time, Liszt was not even an Inheritor of the Ghost Swordsman but was probably already successful in Dragon Riding… A Dragon Knight would naturally not wish to pledge loyalty to my father,” Anthony’s thoughts flashed through his mind, “and Earl William Lee’s claim that Liszt was planning to pledge allegiance to me in a few years was just a ruse.”

With this thought, he couldn’t help feeling irked, played like a monkey.

However, as a worthy successor to a Dragon Rearing Family, Anthony didn’t let personal emotions affect him. After Liszt had succeeded in Dragon Riding and, together with an Archmage, killed a Dragon Knight, he had quickly adjusted his mindset, placing Liszt on an equal footing with his own father.

He never underestimated Liszt due to his youth.

He knew deep down that in the future, the seas would no longer fall under the dominion of the Sapphire.

During internal family discussions, his father had struggled to say, “The era of Sapphire’s maritime supremacy has ended, Anthony. When this country falls into your hands, you must learn to be patient, to compromise… Whether it’s aligning with Steel Ridge to suppress Liszt or joining forces with Liszt to counter Steel Ridge, you need to grasp the balance.”

And he himself asked with a furrowed brow, “Father, what if Liszt becomes aggressive after his rise to power?”

“Then distract him. With the Eagle Kingdom sitting there like a slab of meat, why would he bother gnawing on the tough and meatless bone that is Sapphire? Once Liszt establishes his own nation, he’ll realize that seafaring nations need to plunder continental resources to survive, relying solely on the sea is too difficult.”

“Only, Father, if I can’t become a Dragon Knight, I have no confidence in contending with a Dragon Knight and an Archmage,” he said.

The Grand Duke pondered for a long while before responding to his heir, “Adapt as circumstances change.”

…

Coming back to his senses from his thoughts, Anthony masked the sigh in his heart—he found Liszt’s ambitions were greater than he had imagined.

The goal of the Sapphire Duke was to annihilate the Eagle Kingdom’s fleet, but Liszt aimed to destroy even the ports, completely severing the Eagle Kingdom’s maritime force. This undoubtedly meant treating the sea as his personal garden, not allowing anyone else to tamper with it.

Today he wouldn’t let the Eagle Kingdom tamper with it.

So would he prevent the Duchy of Sapphire from tampering tomorrow?

With a melancholy deep in his heart, Anthony maintained an easygoing facade on the surface. After determining the general direction for the maritime battle, he engaged in jovial conversation with Liszt, discussing some fascinating noble gossip.

The luncheon was even more lively, with attendees jovially drinking and chatting.

Anxious to get back and draft the battle plans for the maritime campaign, Anthony took a ship back in the afternoon.

After his departure, Liszt, who personally went to the dock to see him off, watched the Court Fast Sailing Ship sail into the distance and said with much sentimentality to his followers, “Anthony is a fine man, a qualified successor to the Grand Duchy. Aside from being somewhat less gifted, he has no other flaws.”

His followers smiled awkwardly.

In this might-is-right knightly system, apparently being less gifted was the biggest flaw—of course, Anthony’s talents were not that mediocre. A Sword Saint in his thirties, he was sure to become a Completion Level Sky Knight in the future, fitting the stature of a monarch.

As for Dragon Riding, many heirs to the Grand Duchy couldn’t ride dragons, which was not a fault unique to Anthony.

However, looking at the Lord’s upright figure and commanding presence, the followers felt that what their Lord had said was not wrong—by Liszt’s standards, Anthony indeed had mediocre talent, or rather, 99.999% of the people in this world had mediocre talent.

So no one responded.

Following such a Lord was certainly a knight’s glory, but it was also an immense pressure, for fear of displeasing their Lord.

Unaware of the profound distress he had imposed on his followers, Liszt turned and gave a light command, “Captain Marcus, Captain Fox, ready the Knight Order as quickly as possible and form a combat force. It won’t be long before we welcome war once more!”

“As you wish, Your Grace!”