The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

Chapter 373 : 0370: Dividing the Spoils of War (First Update)

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Seeing Liszt seemed hesitant, Captain Layden approached and reminded in a low voice, "Commander, the Grand Duke's order is to accept no captives."

As long as the Grand Duke's dragon was not dead, he remained the sole authority of the Duchy of Sapphire.

Liszt, of course, would not have a "conscience" attack and release these men. From the very moment they resolved to resist, it became an outcome of life or death—traitors are unforgivable. It was their fault for following the wrong landlord and for failing to turn back in time.

His gaze swept over the group of people kneeling on one knee.

He spoke slowly, "Captain Layden, give each of them a chance to write a final letter, surrender the Elf Bug, and then let them end their own lives. Cobalt, Nash, take control of the castle, clear any threats, and we will rest here for a day. Marcus, you lead the Knight Squad to patrol the surroundings with me."

He no longer concerned himself with the fate of these surrendering knights and how they would end their own lives.

Liszt headed straight for the barley fields on the other side of the castle. According to the rat's intel, an Elf Bug was gestating in the barley field—he planned to secretly contract this Elf Bug as his personal spoils of war. Since no one else knew about this Elf Bug, swallowing it posed no problem.

The barley field was easy to find. Casting the Eye of Magic and scanning the area, he quickly found the Cordyceps being protected within.

Within the huge barley ears, Magic Radiance abounded. The Barley Bug had not yet been born, but it should be soon, probably within the next day or two.

Finding the Elf Bug but unable to take it away immediately was frustrating for Liszt.

He was also eager to get to Bull Hair City to meet up with the Earl, to jointly raid Count Sned's Knight Order, and to seize glory. There was no time to linger here.

However, since he was not planning to leave today, it was still possible to wait.

He thought, "If by tomorrow morning, the Barley Bug has matured, I will contract it immediately; if it has not by then... then I will leave Marcus to station here temporarily to care for the wounded until the Barley Bug matures, then dig up the Cordyceps and bring it with us."

Digging up the Cordyceps would be troublesome and might harm the Cordyceps itself. The best approach would be to award it to a subordinate for contracting, and then have the Elf Bug relocate the Cordyceps itself.

Elf Bugs could be given as rewards to followers.

But typically, no landlord wanted to do this.

Because Elf Bugs only have two chances for contracting. After a landlord has contracted once and then released it, the Elf Bug could only be contracted one more time, which would significantly decrease its value.

The Elf Bugs sold in the market are all wild ones that have not been contracted before.

This Barley Bug clearly met the criteria for an award—but Liszt was not willing to award it to a subordinate. He would rather give his subordinates a large amount of Gold Coins to buy an Elf Bug than let go of one he had encountered himself.

"Philip, you lead two retainers to keep watch here, and pay close attention to the birth of the Barley Bug."

"Yes, my lord."

Having inspected the Cordyceps, Liszt quickly led the Knight Squad back to the castle, which by then had already been adorned with the Black Tulip Banner.

Captain Layden greeted him, "Commander, all knights from Mane City have committed suicide. A batch of civilians from Mane City have come to drag the bodies away for burial. We've started tallying the castle's stores; there's plenty of food and water, but no Elf Bug."

"No?"

"Yes, these knights had received word in advance and transferred the Elf Bugs to their own wives and children early on. And their wives and children—we did not inquire, as the Elf Bugs can no longer be contracted a third time."

Liszt nodded.

These knights had obviously prepared early. It's unclear how many promises the Marquis of Bull had made to persuade them to take the risk of opposing the Duchy of Sapphire and die defending Iron Hoof Island. Normally, other than the die-hard followers of the Marquis of Bull, the nobles should have surrendered early and welcomed the royal forces.

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After all, the Grand Duke has a dragon.

Perhaps, just as the rat's message indicated, significant landlords like Count Sned had their offspring by Marquis of Bull's side; their wealth was likely already transferred to Iron Hoof City. They could only pledge allegiance and dared not betray the Marquis of Bull—betrayal would leave them with nothing.

One could only pin their hopes on an unending stream of glory after "the matter" was accomplished.

Liszt didn't know how these knights thought, nor did he want to. He came here for the sole purpose of achieving merits. Landlords like Count Sned's determined resistance provided an excellent opportunity to vie for glory.

He had already dispatched two Earth Knights at breakneck pace to Bull Hair City, to report to Earl Li Weiliam the intelligence he had gathered—that magicians were secretly communicating with Count Sned, discussing a significant matter, and promising Count Sned's promotion to Marquis after its successful conclusion.

As for what this grand matter was, that was still unclear.

He would let the Earl worry about that.

Walking into the Nameless Castle with Captain Layden, he was immediately assaulted by a mix of excrement and urine, making him feel nauseated. The castle must have housed too many people, resulting in the unbearable stench.

It was like a massive castle-sized toilet.

"Have someone immediately clean the third floor where I'll be staying!"

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The third floor was continuously washed with water to cleanse the filth from the corridors and rooms.

While the faint odor couldn't be dispelled completely, it was tolerable enough to reside in questionably, and Liszt sat behind a desk that once belonged to some noble.

He listened to reports about the spoils of war from Captain Layden and others.

As a small city, Mane City did not boast a vast treasure, especially since the elves had long been moved away. After some consideration, he issued an order, "Divide the gold coins equally; remember, let every knight keep their own mouth shut and hide their share of the gold coins well."

This act of privately dividing the spoils of war was in defiance of the Grand Duke's orders.

However, Earl Li Weiliam had previously mentioned that the plundering of spoils should be "restrained," but it wasn't strictly forbidden—such actions couldn't be stopped. Why would knights exert themselves in a war without benefits? After all, they were responsible for their own equipment, logistics, including their own lives.

Nobody would believe that after handing over the spoils to the Grand Duke, they would get their fair share—the Grand Duke was sure to favor the Blue Blood Alliance.

Captain Layden replied with a smile, "Sir Commander, all knights understand; when they benefit, they'll keep their mouths tightly shut."

Liszt nodded, "Replace the weapons we lost from Mane City's stores, and replenish our food supplies from here... Oh, and call Marcus for me."

Marcus arrived promptly.

Liszt gestured for him to close the door before he spoke, "Teacher Marcus, I have a task for you. Go to Mane City and search for craftsmen. Ordinary craftsmen aside, we must find craftsmen of high calibre, especially those not available in Fresh Flower Town, such as Paper Craftsmen, Salt Makers, and the like."

Marcus asked, "Sir, can we take these craftsmen with us?"

"Tell them, once Iron Hoof Island falls, everyone will bear the Grand Duke's wrath for their treachery. Fresh Flower Town, however, can offer them better sanctuary... And as for taking them away, with the sea so vast, we'll always be able to get them on a ship."

Taking a large amount of goods off the island without going through a port was challenging.

But taking away a few craftsmen, including their families, wasn't very difficult.

Marcus accepted the task, "As you wish!"