Chapter 57

Chapter 57: Selection of Young Knights

Mission accomplished. Reward: a potato elvish insect.

Mission: Your territory is always in danger without the defense of knights. Your squires have no potential, but more talents are waiting for you to find them. Please select suitable young people for training. Reward: the egg of a monster bird that’s about to hatch.

The misty Ophidian words gradually dispersed.

Liszt returned to himself. The mission in Potaton was accomplished very easily. As a matter of fact, none of the misty missions were really challenging. He only needed to do what he must.

A monster bird about to hatch? In other words, I’ll have a flying monster.

Looking at Dudderson which was crouching next to his foot, he suddenly pictured himself going hunting with the dog and the bird in the future.

The dog already had conditional reflexes after training. As long as Liszt gave an instruction, it would lunge, bite, sit, crouch, jump, and climb. It was much smarter than regular dogs.

However, the dog still hadn’t been able to release Rocky Spur yet.

I know how to train a dog but not how to train an eagle. I wonder whether this monster bird is clever enough. If it can’t be tamed, I’m afraid I can only roast it and eat it. Liszt licked his lips subconsciously.

Few hens were kept in Flower Town, and their eggs were important. He had never seen a duck or a goose.

There were a lot of wild animals on Thorn Hill. It was more than easy for Marcus to shoot a few birds, but he was too proud to be a hunter.

Nobles could go hunting for fun, but since he was not a noble, hunting was only demeaning.

For Liszt, it was a hilarious idea, but for Marcus, it was his lifelong belief. So Liszt did not want to ask Marcus to shoot a few birds for him to eat.

I didn’t plan to establish a knight squad so soon, because my subjects are too few and there can’t be too many talents. However, now that the mission is released, I’d better make one. There should be several hundred young people in the town. I’ll select twelve of them and make a squad.

Every knight squad was made of twelve people, including a captain, a deputy captain, and ten members.

The grand nobles would set up knight academies. Children would be trained and eliminated in these academies until qualified knights were picked. Marcus was one of such knights. His father sent him into a knight academy when he was very little.

The sons of many nobles would also study in knight academies. Liszt was once in a knight academy, too.

It was impossible to establish such a school in Flower Town. He could only choose a few healthy young men and train them for now in order to accomplish the misty mission.

…

“My lord, you’re going to select new squires and establish a knight squad?” Thomas grew excited after learning of Liszt’s intention at dinner.

“There’s more food in Flower Town now. We can afford more people. The patrolmen are unreliable. Carl and the other squires haven’t grasped combat aura yet. I need new forces to defend Flower Town… Winter is only half a year away.”

Liszt blinked as he continued, “Also, I will march to Thorn Hill sooner or later. It’s an obstacle for the development of Flower Town. Marcus, I need you to supervise the selection and training of the knight squad.”

Marcus immediately bowed and said solemnly, “Rest assured, my lord. I will pick qualified candidates and train them well!”

“I’ll ask Mr. Goltai to cooperate with you. Make them excel, Mr. Marcus.”

“As you wish, my lord!”

Marcus left the castle with his head held high. He had been gloomy since he came to Flower Town, doing nothing more than protecting Liszt and training the squires every day.

He had seen Liszt’s intelligence and luck. He had known Liszt’s ambitions. He had pledged his loyalty to him.

He was also convinced of the wealth of the ocean by Liszt.

However, he found himself in an awkward position, wondering what his role could be in the town. Liszt wouldn’t go to any battlefields for now, not until he had enough knights, so Marcus couldn’t contribute. Marcus also thought of clearing Thorn Hill, but the task was too much for him to accomplish alone.

Now, he finally had a chance. Liszt had decided to establish a knight squad, the very first step toward expansion. He couldn’t wait to select the qualified squires, train them, and clear Thorn Hill.

At night, he got the census result of Flower Town from Goltai.

All the young men between ten and sixteen were notified. On the next day, he sent the four squires to bring the young men to him.

Under the scorching sun, the young men, 233 altogether, stood proudly and solemnly.

There was eagerness and anxiety in their eyes. They had been informed that their lord was going to pick squires from among them.

They knew what squires meant. Even if they didn’t, their parents and neighbors had told them.

Squires were divided into two categories.

The first category included people like Carl Hammer and Rom Barrel. They were serfs that had been sold to nobles. Their main job was to carry equipment, cook food, and do other chores for the nobles.

The second category included people like Marcus. They were free folk, and their main job was to fight.

The sons of a lot of nobles would serve other nobles as squires to learn battle skills and noble etiquette, until they inherited the title at home or distinguished themselves in the battlefield.

Basically, squires were the first step toward becoming nobles.

Serfs would be given freedom if they made contributions as squires, and knighted if they made even more.

Even if they didn’t make a lot of contributions, they could still keep their bellies full by following the nobles.

So all the young men stood straight, trying to make themselves look better. They all knew that they would never have another opportunity like this to change their fate.

Marcus observed the young people on his horse and vaguely saw himself in them. Many years ago, it was through exactly the same process that he was chosen by the earl’s captain.

Of course, he had studied for two years in the academy, but the young people he saw here knew nothing about knighthood.