Chapter 61 - 59: Flying Dragon Knight, Sword of National Defense

Chapter 61: Chapter 59: Flying Dragon Knight, Sword of National Defense

It took Roy six days to grind his Forging Skill to Tier Two.

Although he hadn’t gained any special effects, he could now be considered a very competent Blacksmith.

Forging weapons, armor, or anything else posed no problem for him.

If there was any shortcoming, it was that the items he forged were all rather conventional, not quite Masterpieces.

However, he was still very satisfied with his progress.

Compared to other Blacksmith Apprentices, his progress was already astonishing.

Besides, as long as he continued to cultivate his Forging Skill, becoming a Master Blacksmith was only a matter of time.

Closing the Skill Proficiency Panel, Roy turned his head and glanced at Miria, who was standing behind him.

When she met his gaze, Miria subconsciously lowered her head, not daring to meet his eyes at all.

Roy had thought Miria would be back to her usual self in a few days.

However, it turned out he had been too optimistic.

After he had attacked her with Dragon Mighty, Miria had stayed in her room for three whole days before coming out.

On the surface, Miria seemed to have completely recovered.

But whenever she encountered him, whether he was sizing her up or just getting near, Miria would instantly become incredibly withdrawn.

Clearly, the earlier Dragon Mighty had left her with a psychological Shadow that wouldn’t fade anytime soon.

Roy didn’t know how long this psychological Shadow would stay with Miria.

However, seeing her current state, he couldn’t help but feel a little bad.

Time trickled by.

After William II had given a passionate and stirring speech from the high platform for over ten minutes, the pre-expedition address, which Roy found incredibly boring, finally came to an end.

What happened next was very simple.

The Eldest Prince, serving as Commander-in-Chief, rode a majestic black steed. Leading the Minister of Military Affairs and a group of generals, he was the first to leave the square, proceeding down the main street that connected the Royal Palace to the city gate and heading outside.

The Official Knights of the Royal Family followed close behind, and bringing up the rear were the vassal forces, which included Roy.

As for the Royal Army, composed of common soldiers, they had already assembled outside the Royal Capital early that morning.

Sent off by the cheering residents of the Royal Capital lining the streets, Roy’s contingent left the city. They met up with the forces waiting outside and began their march south along the Golden Avenue, the road connecting the Morning Star Plain to the Southern Province. The mighty procession advanced toward the Tulip Domain.

Traveling from the Royal Capital to the Tulip Domain would only take seven days if the entire army were mounted and performing a forced march.

But clearly, the Laine Kingdom was not wealthy enough to equip every soldier with a Warhorse.

...

「More than half a month later.」

The expeditionary force arrived at the border of the Tulip Domain and made camp on the spot.

Over the past half-month, Roy had not neglected his Cultivation. He entered the Chaos Square to cultivate every night.

Although his Cultivation time was a bit less than before, he didn’t particularly mind.

With his current strength, he would feel no fear even if he encountered the Kalin Kingdom’s strongest Knight, the Silver Great Knight Derek Kote, known as the "Sword of National Defense."

Besides the title Sword of National Defense, Derek was also known as the Flying Dragon Knight and the Flying Dragon Duke.

First, the Flying Dragon Knight.

He was called the Flying Dragon Knight not because he cultivated a "Flying Dragon Breathing Technique," but because he had a Two-legged Flying Dragon as a mount.

As for the Flying Dragon Duke.

That was because he held the title of Duke and was one of the five Dukes of the Kalin Kingdom.

’Could he defeat Derek? Roy didn’t know.’

’But he was certain of one thing: if he wanted to leave, not even Derek’s Two-legged Flying Dragon mount could stop him.’

’There was indeed a huge gap between a Bronze Great Knight and a Silver Great Knight.’

’But he was no ordinary Bronze Great Knight.’

’More importantly, he had the Chaos Square, his Golden Finger.’

’Whenever he wished, he could instantly enter the Chaos Square with a single thought.’

Beyond that, there was another reason Roy didn’t fear Derek: the man was no longer in his prime.

Compared to ordinary people, a Silver Great Knight’s lifespan was indeed longer, but they still couldn’t escape the ravages of time.

More than twenty years ago, Derek was already a Silver Great Knight.

Unless he had broken through to the level of Golden Great Knight.

Otherwise, now that he was nearly ninety years old, it was impossible for him to have remained at his peak.

The reason the Laine Kingdom lost the first Tulip War to the Kalin Kingdom was twofold.

On one hand, they were caught off guard by the Kalin Kingdom, whose national strength was already a cut above their own.

On the other hand, Derek had eliminated the Laine Kingdom’s greatest combatant: the Golden Deer Knight, also known as the "Wall of the Kingdom" and the "Royal Guardian."

Although Derek achieved the final victory, the Golden Deer Knight’s dying counterattack had also severely wounded him.

In recent years, because he rarely appeared in public, there were even rumors that he had already died.

After dinner, Roy returned to his tent.

He didn’t immediately enter the Chaos Square. Instead, he lay down on his simple campaign bed, still wearing his armor.

’The army has already reached the border of the Tulip Domain.’

’In other words, the second Tulip War will officially begin tomorrow.’

’Although I have no loyalty to the Royal Family, I don’t mind earning some merits in the war to help raise the Wesley Clan’s title and territory as much as possible.’

After some thought, he set a goal for himself.

’Duke!’

’Before I leave this continent to search for the trail of the Wizards, I’ll turn the Wesley Clan from a Baron Clan into a Duke Clan!’

If anyone else knew of his ambition, they would only think it was a delusional fantasy.

’But for me, obtaining the title of Duke is not a difficult task.’

’As long as I continue my Cultivation, forget becoming a Duke of the Laine Kingdom—even establishing an Empire of my own wouldn’t be a problem.’

The Flying Dragon Duke, Derek, had earned his ducal title through sheer strength.

Derek came from the Cote Clan, a Count Clan in the Kalin Kingdom, and he was the Count’s youngest son.

Knowing from a young age that the title would never be his, he devoted all his energy to Cultivation as soon as he turned twelve, smoothly advancing to Peak Knight before the age of thirty.

Then, under the combined pressure of his older brothers, he left the clan and began a life of wandering.

In the decade or so he spent wandering the outside world, he gained some fame but never managed to advance to Great Knight.

The Breathing Technique he cultivated was an Excellent Level Bloodline Breathing Technique, which should have been sufficient for him to advance to Great Knight.

However, it wasn’t until he defeated that Two-legged Flying Dragon that he crossed the threshold that had held him back for over a decade and officially advanced to Great Knight.

Besides him, no one knew how he, still a Peak Knight at the time, had managed to defeat the Two-legged Flying Dragon.

The only thing people knew was that he had not only defeated the Two-legged Flying Dragon but had also earned its recognition, gaining a rare and powerful Flying Mount.

From then on, his destiny, like his soaring Two-legged Flying Dragon, took flight.

Age 43, advanced to Black Iron Great Knight.

Age 48, advanced to Bronze Great Knight, returned to his clan, became the Clan Leader, and inherited the title of Count.

Age 61, advanced to Silver Great Knight.

Age 65, defeated the other Silver Great Knights of the Kalin Kingdom to become the Kingdom’s strongest Knight, was ennobled as a Duke, and simultaneously received the title "Sword of National Defense."

Age 70, defeated the Laine Kingdom’s strongest knight, the Golden Deer Knight, forcing William II to sign a ceasefire agreement and surrender the Tulip Domain.

If one were to make a list of people William II hated, the Flying Dragon Knight, Derek, would definitely be in the top three.

As for number one on that list, it would of course be the King of the Kalin Kingdom, Hiram Thompson, who had presented him with such a "generous gift" less than half a year after he inherited the throne!

...