Number 1: Shredder, nicknamed Fatty Shredder, 1-star Gold rank, Chief Knight of the Norton Family. He was born into a merchant family and was formerly the head of Dawn Academy's law enforcement department. He was also a close friend of Laurist.
Second, Gurley Boddfinger, or Borg for short, 3-star Gold rank. Born as a commoner, former captain of the White Lion Legion of the Christen Empire, and the first Gold Knight to pledge his loyalty to Laurist.
Third, Rod Wales, also known as the Ferocious Tiger Ross, was at the peak of 3-star Gold rank. His father was a famous mercenary, and after he grew up, he joined the army and became a valiant general of the White Lion Legion. After that, he followed his good friend Bofinger to join the Norton family.
Fourth, Mons Malek, nicknamed Iron Mask, 2-Star Gold rank, born as a commoner, former Vice Captain of the White Lion Legion's Law Enforcement Team. After the White Lion Legion disbanded, he followed his good friend Ross the Ferocious Tiger and pledged his loyalty to Lollister.
No.5, Josk, nicknamed Joe, 3-star Gold rank, known as the Invincible Archer. Born in a family of knights, he was later adopted by nobles. In order to avenge a blood feud, he swore loyalty to Loriste. After his revenge, he swore to be single for the rest of his life in memory of his deceased fiancée.
6. Zino Freya, 3 Star Gold. Mercenary background. Due to rebelling against nobles, he was thrown into the labor camp. After that, Laurist led the convoy north to rescue his family. He then followed them north and became a Gold Knight of the Norton Family.
Seven, Beluniac, Beck for short, nicknamed White Hair. 3-star Gold rank, Norton Clan's squire, Silver Knight. He was poisoned and bedridden for several years. Later on, he was treated by Leurist and was bestowed with a high-ranked Dou Qi manual, advancing to a Gold Knight.
Number 8: Brunan Evan Burt, also known as El, 1-star Gold rank. Originally the leader of an underground society, he followed his good friend Lorist to the north and became a Silver Knight of the Norton Family. Ten years later, he was promoted to a Gold Knight.
Number 9: Wybori Terman, 1-star Gold rank, born in a family of free knights. As a good friend of Laurist in the Dawn Academy, he was the first to follow Laurist to the north. He was deeply trusted and became the leader of the Norton Family's Bear Fury Knights.
10, Ewen Leeders, nickname Yuri, 1 Star Gold, born as a grassland herdsman. He was one of Laurist's good friends in Dawn Academy. He followed Laurist to the north and became the commander of the light cavalry scouts.
Number 11, Pacico, 1-star Gold rank, born as a commoner. During the empire's civil war, he became the captive of the Norton family's eldest young master. After the eldest young master died in battle, he kept his promise. When Leurist returned to the family's territory, he accepted him as a family knight.
Twelfth, Sunbarwood, 2-star Gold rank. Born as a pirate. While plundering at sea, he was recruited by Loriste and forced to work for the Norton Family. In the end, he became a Knight of the Norton Family and was appointed as the Commander of the Marine Legion.
Thirteen, Jades, 2-star Gold rank, born as a slave. Originally a wandering knight, he was later captured by a group of slave hunters and was forced to become a slave gladiator. After Laurist led his family's armed forces to destroy the Slave Kingdom and rescue him, he pledged his loyalty to Laurist.
14, Mason, 1-star Gold rank, slave origin. He was originally the captain of a village garrison, but he was attacked by the slave hunters and became a slave gladiator. After Laurist led his family to destroy the Slave Kingdom. Homeless, he joined the Norton family.
Fifteen, Ovis, nicknamed Big Beard, 1-star Gold rank, born a bandit. After surrendering to Laurist, he worked conscientiously and loyally under him, gaining Laurist's trust and becoming a family knight.
Sixteen, Dolles, 1-star Gold rank. Born as a commoner, he followed Laurist to the North because he admired his swordsmanship in the Dawn Academy. He was put in an important position and formed a team of warships. He made great contributions to the North and became Laurist's trusted general.
These were the 16 Gold Knights under Laurist. At the moment, they were only slightly famous or unknown. Even they themselves did not expect that they would become the Sixteen Winged Generals of the Angry Bear King in the future. But as the Norton Family grew stronger and stronger and sharpened their claws, when Laurist decided to expand his family's power, the time for them to become famous throughout the Galinthea Continent was also near.
…
This was the guard camp's dormitory. Laurist strode along the corridor and stopped in front of a red door. The door was ajar and not locked. Pushing the door open, he saw a person lying on a large bed against the wall, his face facing inside.
"Didn't I say that I don't want to eat now? Don't disturb me," the person lying on the bed said without turning his head when he heard the door open.
There was a tray on the table beside the bed. On it was burnt honey bread, oatmeal, meat soup, a grilled herring, and two boiled apples. There was also a glass pot with a wide mouth that was half filled with warm goat's milk.
"Hehe, the food of a sick person is not bad. It's much better than what I had in the Dawn Academy. Thinking back to the black bread and oatmeal, I cried when I ate it. "Laurist stood in front of the table and looked at the food on the tray with a smile.
The person on the bed was shocked. He quickly turned around and sat up. "My, my lord, why are you here?"
"To see you, of course. I heard that you are very depressed and sulking alone. You don't even want to eat, right?"
The person on the bed was Jim, who had failed to advance to the Gold rank. Laurist had specially come to see him.
"I'm very disappointed, Jim. I'm not disappointed that you failed to advance, but I'm disappointed in your current situation. So what if you failed to advance? At most, you can recover and try again. As the vice-commander of my guards, don't you even have the courage to face failure? Vasima, Peter, and a few others have failed like you. However, they are not as pessimistic and hopeless as you. Instead, they are prepared to learn from their mistakes and try again after they recover. The family trusts you and will do our best to help you advance again … "
"My lord, I was wrong. I shouldn't have vented my anger on others, and I shouldn't have hid in the room all day and refused to cooperate with treatment …" Jim lowered his head.
Laurist sat down and grabbed Jim's left hand. "It's good that you know you're wrong. Eat your food later and recover. You will become my Gold Knight. Now, let me see what's wrong with your body. "
There were three ways to cultivate Dou Qi. The first way was to practice the most basic Dou Qi cultivation method after awakening. This kind of basic Dou Qi was the simplest and easiest to master. Moreover, it didn't depend on the Dou Qi attribute of the cultivator. However, this kind of basic Qi could only be trained up to Iron-rank. If one wanted to advance further, they would need to switch to a mid-to-high-rank Qi training method to advance to Silver or Gold rank.
The second type was the military Dou Qi that was more or less the same in every country on the continent. This type of military Dou Qi was more complicated than the basic Dou Qi. Moreover, it focused more on the practicality and attack power of the Dou Qi. Without the basic Dou Qi, if Wen Ping Guang did not practice it properly, it would easily leave internal injuries in his body. Similar to basic Qi, there was no need to differentiate the attribute of the person's Qi, and most people could train it to the peak of Silver rank. For example, Boddfinger used military Qi to train to the peak of Silver rank, and then used the high-ranked Qi manual that Laurist gave him to advance to a Gold Knight.
The last type of Dou Qi cultivation method was passed down by the noble families from a young age. It was used to cultivate the younger generation who had awakened Dou Qi. The benefits of this kind of Qi training was that it was pure and could strengthen the attribute of Qi, and it also reduced the difficulty of advancement. Just like Boddfinger, who was used to the military Qi training method, changing to a high-ranked Qi manual required a lot of time and determination. He had to get used to the circulation of Qi in the blood according to the manual, and once he returned to the military Qi's blood circulation, he would end up like Jim. Not only would he fail to advance, but his body would also be heavily injured.
This was the reason why many Silver rank practitioners needed a lot of time to train to advance to Gold rank. From Bronze to Silver rank, there were few problems during advancement, and the blood circulation was considered to be gradual. However, at Gold rank, the complexity of the blood circulation was doubled. Without spending a lot of time to master and get used to the new blood circulation, one would not be able to advance to Gold rank.
For example, Bronze rank only required 20 points of blood circulation, while Iron-rank required 28 points of blood circulation, and Silver rank required 36 to 45 points. On the other hand, a Gold-ranked Blood Circulation required at least eighty to a hundred nodes. Only after getting used to the new blood circulation would the Qi circulation not follow the old path of blood circulation. Only then would one be considered to have successfully advanced to Gold rank. This was also the main reason why many people failed to advance.
Jim's situation was like this. In the process of familiarizing himself with the new blood circulation, he had accidentally let his Qi circulate in the old blood circulation again. As a result, it caused his blood to flow in reverse, causing his veins to burst, and his body to be heavily injured, thus failing to advance. Now, he was like a cripple, with no Qi left. However, he only needed to rest for half a year to recover from his injuries, and he would be able to cultivate Qi again. This time, he did not need to use basic Qi or military Qi to train. He could start with the basic training of high-ranked Qi manuals. From Bronze to Silver rank, he would need about eight months to a year to recover his strength. If he advanced again, with this experience, he would be able to achieve twice the result with half the effort. This was a great fortune amidst misfortune.
After checking Jim's body and giving him a few words of encouragement, Laurist only left after seeing that he had recovered and finished the food on the tray. When he returned to his study in Monolith Castle, he saw Tagger waiting by the door.
"My Lord, the detailed battle report has arrived," Tagger immediately reported.
"Give me the report. You've worked hard, go and rest," Laurist said.
This was a detailed battle report regarding the destruction of the Merlein Duchy. Duke Merlein was a rank 2 great swordmaster, and was known as one of the three War Gods of the Empire during the era of the Crimson Empire.
The first to be known as the War God of Knights was the former Marshal of the Empire, Duke Yang Jinov. Unfortunately, in the last battle between the Empire and the Trade Union more than thirty years ago, the only swordmaster of the Empire fell into a trap. Because the empire's only Sword Saint fell into a trap, Grand Duke Yang Jinov lost the battle due to his carelessness and was deprived of his title and territory. He died of depression in less than ten years. His death caused the ambitious eldest and second princes to lose their restraints, thus opening the curtains to the Empire's civil war.
The second to be known as the War God was the old fox, Duke Fisablun. He was known as the War God of the Grasslands, and was the stabilizing force of the former Empire against the grassland barbarians. However, he always stayed in his family's territory, not letting go of the Rangers at the border, and kept a respectful distance from the Empire.
The third God of War was Grand Duke Merlein. Although he was called the Storm God of War, he did not live up to his name. The main reason was that he had been the commander of one of the three Great Armies of the Empire for nearly ten years, the Gale Army. Unlike the Imperial Guards and the White Lion Legion, the Gale Legion specialized in suppressing internal rebellions and exterminating bandits, the White Lion Legion's specialty was to suppress internal rebellions and exterminate bandits. Even if the White Lion Legion won a hundred battles, it wouldn't be as glorious as a single victory in a foreign war. However, under Duke Merlein's tutelage, the Gale Army was known for its nimbleness and ferocity.
When Duke Merlein married his sixteen-year-old daughter to the third prince, Andinac, he lost his position as the commander of the Gale Army and could only return to his family's territory to retire. During the outbreak of the Empire's civil war, Duke Merlein stood firmly on the side of the third prince and fought against the second prince. Although he lost, the final result was the destruction of the southern province, successfully suppressing the second prince. However, because Duke Fisablun stood on the second prince's side, he could not do anything to the second prince.
After the civil war ended, Duke Merlein established the Merlein Duchy. He was originally on good terms with the four central duchies and had trade relations. However, when the second prince was preparing to unify the former Crimson Empire, he enthusiastically responded. It was only when the second prince was trapped in the capital of Felicia that he sent troops to the Sabaji Duchy without hesitation, hoping to rescue the second prince. However, after many years of campaigning, the Duchy of Merlein had long run out of money and people. Other than adding four more enemies to himself, he could not help the second prince in any way.
After the four central duchies took over the capital of Fedeliga and destroyed the remaining forces of the second prince, although they couldn't find the second prince's whereabouts, they had at least settled down. Therefore, they set their sights on the Duchy of Meishan, which wasn't on the same side as them. Perhaps they thought that there was a high possibility that the second prince was hiding in the Meishan Castle of the Duchy of Meishan. If they didn't get rid of the roots, the second prince's whereabouts would be a big worry for the four central duchies. Thus, they contacted Grand Duke Fisablun and attacked the Duchy of Merlein by surprise, catching Grand Duke Merlein off guard.
Besieged in the Meishan Castle, Duke Merlein realized that his troops were few and far between. He could not defend against the combined forces of the four central duchies and the Fisablen Family. Thus, he abandoned the Meishan Castle and decided to break out of the siege. In the end, they were surrounded by the Fisablen Family's Ranger Legion on Mount Rifama. The exhausted Duke Merlein was hit by dozens of arrows and his blood stained the battlefield …
According to the battle report, the Meishan and Rifama Provinces of the Merlein Duchy had been taken over by the Sabaji Duchy. Meanwhile, the Fisablen Family escorted more than a hundred thousand civilians of the Merlein Duchy to the Eastern Wasteland Province. It was said that this was one of the agreements signed between Duke Fisablen and the four central duchies.
What a miscalculation! Buckingham sighed. Duke Fisablen had successfully deceived his eyes and ears, causing him to be completely unaware of the true intentions of the two Counts from the four central duchies heading to the capital of Winderbri. He had always thought that they were there to participate in the Knight Tournament, and that their goal was the same as his — to form a marriage alliance with the Fisablen Family and marry Princess Sylvia.
If he had known that their goal was the Merlein Duchy, he could have seized the Winston and Southern Provinces after the Fisablen Family sent out their troops, trapping the Fisablen Family's troops in the Merlein Duchy and forcing the Fisablen Family to agree to his demands. Perhaps, he would have had the opportunity to seize the Muano Province and restrict the Fisablen Family's sphere of influence to the Eastern Wasteland Province and the newly built Jinchuan Province. That way, they would have to rely on the Norton Family to survive, and Buckingham would have been able to get rid of the biggest threat behind him …
In the past, the Northern Lands had absorbed the refugees from the Winston and Southern Provinces. Although Duke Fisablen knew the importance of manpower, he was powerless because his family had no money. Now that he had seized the Jinchuan region, it was equivalent to solving the shortage of money. With money on hand, he could first purchase standard military equipment from the Norton Family to strengthen the family's military strength. Secondly, he could migrate from the Merlein Duchy to the Eastern Wasteland Province to solve the shortage of manpower.
Most importantly, without the Merlein Duchy, the Fisablen Family would have a reliable trade route to the four central duchies. They could even transport livestock from the plains without passing through the Winston Province, exchanging them for the various daily necessities and urgently needed supplies that their family needed. They would no longer need the Snow Salt Chamber of Commerce to provide them. This meant that the Snow Salt Chamber of Commerce's monopoly position had been broken, and they had lost the ability to use supplies and trade to control and threaten the Fisablen Family …
Looking at the map, Laurist shook his head. If the family wanted to send troops to destroy the Iberian Kingdom in the future, they would definitely encounter the resolute resistance of the Fisablen Family. Things were different now. The Fisablen Family had the support of the four central duchies, and there would definitely be a war in the Winston Province and Southern Provinces. The consequences of losing the initiative would be hard to predict!
"Someone, summon the family's three main armies and all the commanders and knights to Monolith Castle for a strategy meeting. Also, send a message to the allies of the three families. Tell Earl Kenneth, Baron Filim, and Baron Shahin to come and discuss the expansion of the family's power."
…
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