One, Shrade, nicknamed Fatty Shrade, a Gold One-Star, chief knight of the
Two, Grey Potterfeng, shortened to Bog, a Gold Three-Star, of commoner origin, former battalion commander of the White Lion Legion in the Krisen Empire, and the first Golden Knight to swear allegiance to Lorist.
Three, Rod Wells, known as "Fierce Tiger Rod," at the peak of Gold Three-Star, son of a famous mercenary, he grew up to join the military and became a fierce general of the former White Lion Legion. He later followed his friend Potterfeng to join the Norton Family.
Four, Mons Malek, nicknamed "Iron Face," a Gold Two-Star, of commoner origin, former deputy commander of the enforcement battalion of the White Lion Legion. After the White Lion Legion was disbanded, he followed his friend Fierce Tiger Rod to serve Lorist.
Five,
Six, Zeno Farea, a Gold Three-Star, a former mercenary who was thrown into a penal labor camp for resisting a noble. When Lorist led his convoy north, he rescued Zeno's entire family, and Zeno followed him northward to become a Golden Knight of the Norton Family.
Seven, Belunek, shortened to Beck, nicknamed "White Hair," a Gold Three-Star, originally a squire of the Norton Family who had become a
Eight, Brennan Evanport, known as Al, a Gold One-Star, formerly the leader of an underground gang. He later followed his friend Lorist northward, becoming a Silver Knight of the Norton Family, and was promoted to Golden Knight ten years later.
Nine, Vepray
Ten, Ewen Reeds, nicknamed
Eleven, Pacheco, a Gold One-Star, of commoner origin, captured as a prisoner by the Norton Family's Eldest Young Master during the imperial civil war. After the Eldest Young Master fell in battle, Pacheco remained true to his oath, and when Lorist returned to the family's territory, he was taken in as a Family Knight.
Twelve, Samba Wood, a Gold Two-Star, of pirate origin. While engaged in sea raids, he was conscripted by Lorist and compelled to serve the Norton Family. He eventually became fully devoted and was appointed corps commander of the naval corps.
Thirteen, Jeds, a Gold Two-Star, of slave origin, formerly a wandering knight who was captured by slavers and forced to become a slave gladiator. After Lorist led the family's armed forces to destroy the slave kingdom and set him free, Jeds swore allegiance to Lorist.
Fourteen, Mason, a Gold One-Star, of slave origin, formerly a village garrison captain who was attacked by slavers and made into a slave gladiator. After Lorist led the family's armed forces to destroy the slave kingdom, the homeless Mason offered his services to the Norton Family.
Fifteen, Ovekis, nicknamed "Big Beard," a Gold One-Star, of bandit origin. After surrendering to Lorist, he served diligently and faithfully, earning Lorist's trust and being accepted as a Family Knight.
Sixteen, Dorles, a Gold One-Star, of commoner origin. While at Dawn Academy, he admired Lorist's swordsmanship and followed him northward. He was given important responsibilities, organized the war chariot corps, and performed great deeds during the northern expedition, becoming one of Lorist's most trusted generals.
These were the sixteen Golden Knights under Lorist's command. For now, they were only slightly known or completely obscure, and even they could never have imagined that they would one day become the legendary Sixteen Wings of the Raging Bear King in the tales of future generations. But as the Norton Family's strength continued to grow and its claws grew ever sharper, the day when Lorist decided to expand the family's influence—and their names shook the Galentea Continent—was fast approaching.
...
This was the dormitory of the guard battalion. Lorist strode along the corridor and stopped before a red door, which was slightly ajar and unlocked. Pushing it open, he saw a person lying on a large bed against the wall, face turned inward.
"I already told you, I don't want to eat right now. Stop bothering me." Without turning around, the person on the bed spoke at the sound of the door.
On the bedside table sat a tray bearing golden-brown honey bread, oatmeal porridge, meat soup, a roasted herring, and two boiled apples. Beside it, a wide-mouthed glass jug held half a jug of lukewarm goat milk.
"Heh heh, not bad for sickroom fare—much better than what I had back at Dawn Academy. I remember those black bread and oatmeal meals; I practically had tears streaming down my face while eating them." Lorist stood before the table, eyeing the food on the tray with a smile.
The person on the bed was shocked and hurriedly sat up: "M-My Lord, what are you doing here?"
"Obviously I've come to see how you're doing. I heard you've been feeling dejected, sulking all alone, and refusing to eat—is that right?"
The person on the bed was none other than
"...we will do everything in our power to assist with your next advancement attempt..."
"My Lord, I was wrong. I shouldn't have taken my frustration from the failed advancement out on others, and I shouldn't have hidden in my room all day refusing treatment..." Jim hung his head.
Lorist sat down and reached for Jim's left hand: "Good that you know your mistake. Now finish your food, recover your body, and you will become my Golden Knight. Let me see what went wrong inside your body."
The methods of combat force cultivation could be broadly divided into three types. The first was to practice the most fundamental universal combat force cultivation method after awakening combat force. This basic combat force was the simplest and easiest to master, and it didn't require distinguishing the practitioner's combat force attribute. However, it was generally only cultivated up to the Black Iron stage. To advance further, one needed to switch to an intermediate or high-level combat force cultivation method in order to break through to the Silver or Gold rank.
The second type was the military combat force used across the various nations of the continent, largely similar in form. This military combat force was relatively more complex than the basic kind, placing heavy emphasis on practicality and offensive power, and it lacked the gentle, broad nature of basic combat force. If not cultivated properly, it could easily leave hidden injuries within the body. Similar to basic combat force, it didn't require distinguishing the practitioner's attribute, and it could generally be cultivated to the peak of Silver. Potterfeng, for example, had used the military combat force to reach the peak of Silver before switching to the high-level combat force manual—matched to his attribute and given to him by Lorist—to advance to Golden Knight.
The final type of combat force cultivation was the method employed by noble families from childhood: using the foundational cultivation techniques within their inherited high-level combat force manuals to nurture the younger generation who had awakened combat force. The advantages of this approach were, first, purity, which enhanced the power of the combat force attribute, and second, reduced difficulties during advancement. Just as Potterfeng, accustomed to the military combat force cultivation method, had needed to spend considerable time and willpower adapting to the high-level manual—relearning how combat force circulated through his blood according to the manual's grand blood circulation pattern—and once he reverted to the military combat force's blood circulation, the consequences would have been like Jim's: not only would advancement fail, but it would also cause severe damage to the body.
This was why many peak-Silver cultivators needed extended periods of seclusion when attempting to advance to the Gold rank. From Bronze to Silver, advancement rarely caused problems, as the grand blood circulation was relatively progressive. But at the Gold rank, the complexity of the grand blood circulation essentially doubled, and without spending ample time mastering and adapting to the new circulation, advancement to Gold was impossible.
For example, the Bronze rank required a grand blood circulation through twenty nodes in the body, the Black Iron rank needed twenty-eight nodes, and Silver required anywhere from thirty-six to forty-five nodes. The Gold rank's grand blood circulation demanded at least eighty to over a hundred nodes. Only when one had fully adapted to the new grand blood circulation—ensuring that combat force would no longer revert to the old pathway—could one be considered to have successfully advanced to Gold rank. This was the primary reason so many people failed their advancement.
Jim's situation was exactly this: while adapting to the new grand blood circulation, he had accidentally allowed his combat force to revert to the old circulation pathway, causing a blood reversal that ruptured his blood vessels and severely damaged his body, resulting in his failed advancement. He was now like a cripple, his combat force entirely gone. However, as long as he rested for half a year to recover from his injuries, he could begin cultivating combat force again. Moreover, this time he wouldn't need to use basic or military combat force—he could start directly from the foundational cultivation of the high-level combat force manual. From Bronze to Silver, it would take roughly eight months to a year to recover his strength. And if he attempted advancement again, the experience gained from this failure would make it twice as effective. That was a blessing in disguise.
After examining Jim's body and offering a few words of comfort and encouragement, Lorist departed only once he saw that Jim had regained his spirits and finished all the food on the tray. Back at
"My Lord, the detailed battle report has arrived." Tagel stood at attention and reported.
"Give me the report. You've worked hard—go rest," Lorist said.
It was a detailed report on the destruction of the Melein Duchy. Grand Duke Melein had been a Grade Two Great Swordmaster, hailed as one of the three military gods of the former Krisen Empire.
The first of the former Krisen Empire's military gods was the Knight Military God, Grand Duke Yanginov, the Empire's Marshal. Unfortunately, during the empire's last great war against the Commercial Alliance over thirty years ago, the empire's only Sword Saint fell into a trap and perished. Grand Duke Yanginov, having made faulty arrangements, suffered defeat and was stripped of his titles and territories, passing away in sorrow less than a decade later. His death removed the restraint on the ambitious Eldest and Second Princes, setting the stage for the imperial civil war.
The second military god was that old fox, the Grand Duke of Fisablen, known as the Military God of the Grasslands. He had been the empire's bedrock against the barbarian cavalry raids from the steppe. However, he had remained in his family's territory, clinging tightly to the border patrol cavalry legion and keeping the imperial court at arm's length.
The third military god was Grand Duke Melein, known as the Storm Military God—a title somewhat unearned. The main reason was that he had served for nearly ten years as corps commander of the Gale Legion, one of the empire's three great legions. Unlike the Royal Guard Corps stationed in the capital and the White Lion Legion that fought external wars, the Gale Legion's specialty was suppressing internal rebellions and eliminating bandits and pirates. Even a hundred victories in such campaigns couldn't compare to a single triumph of the White Lion Legion in foreign wars. That said, under Grand Duke Melein's command, the Gale Legion had always been renowned for its flexibility, mobility, and fierce offensive strikes.
During the imperial civil war, Grand Duke Melein had firmly sided with the Third Prince, fighting endlessly against the
After the civil war ended, Grand Duke Melein established the Melein Duchy. He had originally maintained friendly relations and active trade ties with the four central duchies. But when His Highness the Second Prince raised his army to reunify the former Krisen Empire, Melein threw his enthusiastic support behind the cause. After His Highness the Second Prince was besieged in the Fedeliga royal city, Melein unhesitatingly sent troops into the Sabagi Duchy, hoping to relieve the siege. However, years of warfare had left the Melein Duchy destitute, and aside from gaining four additional enemies, he could do little to help His Highness.
The four central duchies captured the Fedeliga royal city and destroyed the Second Prince's remaining forces. Though they couldn't find the Second Prince himself, they considered the situation stabilized and turned their sights on the Melein Duchy, which had not been on their side. Perhaps they believed there was a strong possibility that the Second Prince was hiding in the Meishan Castle of the Melein Duchy. Uproot the weeds without removing the roots, and they will grow back when the spring wind blows—the Second Prince's whereabouts were a thorn in the side of the four central duchies. So they contacted the Grand Duke of Fisablen and launched a surprise invasion of the Melein Duchy, catching Grand Duke Melein completely off guard.
Besieged in Meishan Castle, Grand Duke Melein discovered that his forces were far too few to withstand the combined assault of the four central duchies and the Fisablen family. He abandoned Meishan Castle and attempted to break through the encirclement, only to be caught and surrounded by the Fisablen family's patrol cavalry legion at Lifadema Mountain. Exhausted and with his horses spent, Grand Duke Melein was struck by dozens of arrows, his blood staining the battlefield...
The report stated that the Melein Duchy's Meishan Province and Limad Province were absorbed by the Sabagi Duchy, while the Fisablen family escorted over a hundred thousand Melein Duchy civilians to resettle in the Eastern Wasteland Province. This was said to be one of the terms in the agreement between the Grand Duke of Fisablen and the four central duchies.
What a blunder! Lorist sighed deeply. The Grand Duke of Fisablen had successfully deceived his intelligence network, leaving him completely unaware of the true intentions of those two counts from the central duchies who had traveled to the Windbury royal city. He had assumed they were there to attend the knight tournament, with the same goal as himself—to seek a marriage alliance with the Fisablen family and win Princess Silvia's hand.
Had he known their target was the Melein Duchy, he could have seized Winston Province and the Southern Province after the Fisablen family dispatched their troops, trapping their expeditionary forces in the Melein Duchy and forcing the Fisablen family to agree to his demands. He might even have had the opportunity to seize Muye Plains Province, compressing the Fisablen family's sphere of influence into the Eastern Wasteland Province and the newly established Jinchuan Province, making them dependent on the Norton Family for survival. He could have eliminated the greatest threat at his back...
Once the initiative was lost, everything fell into a passive position. Previously, the Northland had been actively absorbing refugees from Winston Province and the Southern Province. The Grand Duke of Fisablen had known the importance of manpower but was powerless, because his family had no money. Now, having conquered the Greater and Lesser Jinchuan region, he had solved his financial crisis. With money in hand, he could first purchase standardized military equipment from the Norton Family to strengthen his family's armed forces, and second, resettle people from the Melein Duchy into the Eastern Wasteland Province, solving his manpower shortage.
Most importantly, with the Melein Duchy gone, the Fisablen family now had a reliable trade route to the four central duchies. They could even transport livestock from the grasslands in an endless stream without passing through Winston Province, exchanging them for the various daily necessities and urgently needed supplies their family required—no longer dependent on the Snow Salt Trading Company. In effect, the Snow Salt Trading Company's monopoly had been broken, and the leverage of material supply and trade over the Fisablen family had been lost...
Studying the map, Lorist shook his head. If the family were to send troops in the future to destroy the Iberia Kingdom, they would surely encounter fierce resistance from the Fisablen family. Things were no longer as they once had been. With the four central duchies as their backing, there would certainly be major battles in Winston Province and the Southern Province. The consequences of losing the initiative were beyond imagination!
"Someone, summon the three great legions and all commanding knights to Rock Fortress for a strategic conference. And send messengers to our three allies—request that Count Kemace, Baron Feilim, and
...(To be continued.)