BXBX NOVEL Chapter 107: Correcting the Attitude of the Knight Squad
Another day.
The sun rose in the east.
In the horse field, Liszt shouted, “Multiple Phantom Arrow!”
Six arrows emitted a fierce whooshing noise as they chased one another in the sky, colliding in an instant, then scattering in disarray, without formation.
Only two arrows had struck the target a hundred meters away.
“Failure,” he shook his head. It was the expected result — another failure. His current level of archery was not sufficient to wield the essence of “Multi-Arrow” — Multiple Phantom Arrow.
Having not touched bow and arrow for several days, his skill had even regressed slightly.
Just as sailing against the current, if you do not advance, you will fall back, and the practice of Dou Qi techniques was the same. Fortunately, he was already quite adept at the most basic part of “Multi-Arrow”, the Double Arrow.
On the battlefield, for an Earth Knight to effectively execute the Double Arrow, that was enough.
Glancing over at a distance, Marcus was training the Knight Squad. Just yesterday, another young member had developed Dou Qi, becoming one of his Retainer Knights. Out of twelve members, half had become Apprentice Knights with Primary Dou Qi. Once all of them developed Dou Qi,
It would be time to set out to clear Thorn Ridge.
“Before this winter, we must take Thorn Ridge!” Liszt didn’t disturb Marcus’s teaching. He handed his gear to a Retainer Knight and rode back to the Castle at a leisurely pace.
Take a bath.
Prepare for breakfast.
Butler Carter stood to the side and reported, “My lord, Baker Reynard and Mrs. Abbie have successfully created a new type of bread in town. Would you like to try it now?”
“Oh? The bread is ready? Bring it quickly.”
The new bread did not resemble the meat floss bread he had envisioned, but was round like a bun. The surface was cracked, revealing a creamy filling oozing from within.
“What kind of bread is this?”
“It doesn’t have a name yet; it’s waiting for you to name it, my lord. Mrs. Abbie said it’s made with flour, eggs, and cream… separated into inside and outside parts. The outer part is a bit more of a hassle to make, but the baked cracks are quite attractive,” explained Carter, detailing the process of making the new bread.
Liszt had already picked one up and taken a bite.
Instantly, the creamy taste mingled with the bread’s aroma in his mouth, tantalizing his taste buds, far more delicious than plain white bread.
This taste, this appearance.
Liszt directly said, “Mr. Carter, tell Mrs. Abbie and Reynard to call it — Pineapple Bread!”
“Pineapple Bread, a very vivid name.”
“From now on, replace the white bread in my breakfast with Pineapple Bread, but there’s no need to change my lunch and dinner. Contact Sherlock, let Thorn Caravan try to collaborate with Reynard and see if they can market Pineapple Bread in North Valley City,” Liszt instantly planned the sales strategy for Pineapple Bread.
After some thought, he continued, “Also, tell Reynard and Mrs. Abbie that as a reward for inventing the new bread, give each of them… ten silver coins, and tell them to continue to innovate. The more varieties of bread flavors, the better.”
He had initially wanted to award each person a Gold Coin.
Having recently made money from selling Black Pearls, he felt flush with cash and generous.
But a reward of a Gold Coin would be on a par with the rewards for discovering the Elf Bug and cultivating Magic Potions, which would be too extravagant. It was just bread to satisfy a craving, not worth too much of a reward.
So he amended it to ten silver coins.
Carter left.
He slowly savored the Pineapple Bread, very satisfied that he hadn’t been overly generous: “You never know how expensive household supplies are until you run a household. Even the Lord’s house doesn’t have endless supplies.”
Gradually,
A wisp of smoke appeared before him, twisting and writhing, forming into a strand of Serpent Script.
“Complete the task, reward: Sunken Ship Treasure.”
A moment later, the text dispersed, and the smoke regathered to set forth a new mission: “Mission: Captain Kostor has been quite troubled lately. Since he began teaching the Knight Squad in sailing, the instruction has proved challenging as the young knights look down on the knowledge of sailing. Please correct their attitudes. Reward: Mutated Thorn.”
“So, the Sunken Ship Treasure is finally within reach… The Knight Squad unwilling to learn about sailing? It seems that the rewards from the task and the new mission might be linked. Probably, only Captain Kostor could locate the Sunken Ship Treasure.” He shook the bell and called his butler, who hadn’t gone far, back.
“My lord.”
“Send someone to bring Captain Kostor here, I have some questions for him.”
“Yes, my lord.”
About half an hour later, Kostor hurried to the castle: “Apologies, Lord Landlord, I was diving near the shore and got delayed.”
“Diving?”
“I’ve been training my aquatic abilities and underwater fighting skills. Even though I am not a knight, I still desire to be able to fight.”
“How’s the Knight Squad’s learning progress with you recently?”
“This…” Kostor hesitated.
“Speak your mind.”
“Your Retainer Knights have a very unfriendly attitude toward the study of sailing. They are not even keen on learning to swim, let alone instructing them in sailing. They always have the saying ‘Knights rely on warhorses, not sailboats’ on their lips. Moreover, Mr. Marcus occupies much of the knights’ time.”
Liszt immediately understood.
Although Marcus had been subdued by him and started to follow and show loyalty, understanding that the sea could also yield wealth, deep down he still esteemed the glory of knights and the charge of warhorses, thinking that vessels were merely a means to transport them to land battles and there was no need to learn sailing.
Thus, he passed his views to the Retainer Knights and even encroached on Kostor’s teaching time.
Regarding Marcus, Liszt sighed slightly — changing a person’s identity is simple, but changing a person’s mindset is somewhat difficult.
Fortunately, he could exercise the authority of a landlord.
He immediately summoned Marcus and the whole Knight Squad to assemble at the entrance of the castle.
Liszt began to lecture them, “Starting today, all of you will spend half of your time learning about sailing with Captain Kostor. Within three days, you must learn how to swim. Those who can’t will receive fifty lashes. A week later, I will quiz you on your sailing knowledge, ten lashes for every question you fail!”
The young men wanted to speak but stopped themselves.
Liszt did not pay them any heed but called Marcus into the study: “Teacher Marcus, you should know why I have summoned you.”
Marcus solemnly said, “My lord, I do not believe that knights need to be distracted by learning to sail. Indeed, we need to travel by ship across the ocean to the mainland. Let common sailors handle the vessel while we knights concentrate on fighting; the Coral Island Knights have always operated in this manner.”
His words were sensible.
Knights are part of the land forces, and Liszt was asking them to serve as a navy, naturally, they were unwilling.
However, Liszt had his own thoughts, “How many of these Knight Squad members do you think can become Earth Knights? Or when will they become Earth Knights?”
“I think, by the age of twenty, some people should be able to become Earth Knights, Philip and Zavier possess noteworthy talents,” Marcus answered.
“Only two… I have worked hard to train them, and I can only reap two Earth Knights. So, can they form a Knight Squad and head to the mainland battlefield?”
“Ready to fight to the death for you, my lord!”
“I appreciate the sentiment, but that would be a foolhardy act borne out of impetuosity. Fresh Flower Town is still developing. I have purchased a large number of serfs; in the future, I will select vigorously, choosing suitably outstanding youngsters for training. But now, what I need are instructors with various basic skills, not experts in combat who are useless for anything else.”
“What do you mean?”
“Teacher Marcus, some members of this batch of the Knight Squad will become the backbone of the Knight Order, while others will steer ships in the future, transporting my knights to the mainland to compete for mines… Division of labor, each performing his own duty. Do you understand what I’m saying now?”
Liszt’s expression was indifferent, but his eyes were stern.
Marcus took a deep breath, knelt on one knee, lowered his head, and responded earnestly, “Marcus has misunderstood your will, my lord, and passively resisted your arrangements for the Knight Squad. I await your punishment!”