The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

"Varcey Knight's Loyalty Song" was a thoroughly laughable stage play, yet it still represented a new form of art.

And it had won applause from the town officials.

"Wow, what a great performance, such a respectable Varcey knight, he should be a role model for all the knights in the land!" Goltai exclaimed loudly.

"When Varcey fought the robbers, I felt my blood boiling. If Fresh Flower Town encountered robbers, I would definitely pick up a spear and fight them to the death!" Nemo, the Defense Officer, declared earnestly. In truth, he was just an Apprentice Knight who was getting fatter by the day and probably found it hard to even ride a horse.

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"The performance by Miss Avril deserves my applause, she is very beautiful, and having such a wife is the source of Varcey's vigorous fighting spirit."

"I like this play... yes, drama, it's not as funny as a farce, but it made me get involved, I truly wish I were Varcey Knight!"

"It's a pity that the battle scenes are hard to watch, they don't even know Dou Qi."

"Don't be too picky, the comic actors are just ordinary people, they don't have Dou Qi at all."

Such feedback surprised Liszt; he had expected the play to be popular, but he hadn't anticipated that such a low-quality drama could actually reap applause and positive reviews.

It could only be said that the entertainment activities in this world were indeed very limited.

Music and dance had certainly developed, with pianists holding a status comparable to nobles, and social dances were a must-have for the aristocracy, but there was still a pressing need for more entertainment among the nobles. It was the same for the commoners, and this need was not something outdated farces could satisfy.

The birth of drama had a foundation to become popular.

"It looks like the drama will become fashionable quickly. Should I let them explore and develop on their own, or give them a few pointers?" The Smoke Mission had been completed, and Liszt's enthusiasm for the drama had suddenly dropped by fifty percent, "Better give them a few pointers, one shouldn't do things halfway."

After summoning Avril and the others, Liszt began to give his advice.

He didn't know much about drama, but he at least knew what the modern form of drama looked like, how the content should be structured with a beginning, development, turn, and conclusion, and how the performance should be naturally engaging. He also knew about the use of props and lighting on stage, and he could even add unique elements of Dou Qi and Magic to this world.

However, such stage plays were costly.

Before the plays matured, there was no need to get too complicated.

After giving his advice to the Black Horse Island Drama Troupe, he finally had time to focus on the new mission.

"Mission: The number of serfs in the territory has increased dramatically, as has the number of orphaned children. The boarding system can no longer sustain such a large number of children, and as the future of the territory, the children deserve the landlord's care in establishing an orphanage to provide them with a proper education. Reward: One Elf Bug."

The reward was an Elf Bug, which Liszt particularly liked.

The content was to build an orphanage.

He had no hesitation, "Indeed, we need to build an orphanage. During their growth, children must feel the landlord's care for them. Only in this way, when the orphans grow up, will they be loyal to me." In fact, many great landlords would build orphanages to gather the orphans of their lands.

Well-raised orphans have a much higher level of loyalty than the average citizen.

For both emotional and rational reasons,

Liszt had to build an orphanage.

He assigned the task to Goltai, "Consultant Goltai, select a suitable location around the port town of Black Horse Island. I want to build an orphanage. This orphanage should accommodate all the children of the territory and be staffed with Dou Qi teachers, Serpent Script teachers, and craftsman skill teachers."

"My lord, I will start working on the orphanage right away."

After Goltai left,

Liszt was still in deep thought.

The buildings required for the development of his territory clearly went beyond just the new castle, Mage Tower, and orphanage. There would also need to be a Knight Academy, municipal building, watchtowers, squares, theaters, hospitals, waterworks, exchanges, and other facilities. He was not an ordinary landlord who allowed the city to develop amid filth and excrement.

He intended not only to construct a modernized castle but also to modernize the accompanying city.

While he had no intention of revolution, he still took the basic welfare of his subjects seriously, ensuring at the very least that the serfs of Black Horse Island could lead stable lives without suffering from hunger and cold. They should be able to receive treatment when sick, and while major illnesses might be incurable, minor ones must certainly be treatable.

However, the road must be taken one step at a time; the main issue in his territory at the current stage was to solve the clothing, food, and housing needs of the serfs.

"Clothing, food, and housing can be arranged by the officers. I'll start by planning out the orphanage and Knight Academy system… Call together the main officials and Earth Knights of the territory for a full meeting," he decided.

His attitude was to act upon decisions immediately.

The next day, in the port town's temporary administrative building on Black Horse Island, the meeting took place. The building had a large meeting room specifically for such occasions, big enough to accommodate eighty to ninety attendees—the territory had a total of seventy-nine Earth Knights, including twelve Elite Earth Knights.

"The purpose of today's meeting, which I have convened, is to discuss the construction of the orphanage and the Knight Academy. The purpose of the orphanage and Knight Academy is clear to all, to train future knights for the territory. Therefore, I hope to establish a complete knight training system within the territory," he stated.

…

The meeting did not last very long.

Borrowing practices from other territories, a new system was quickly established.

As the main institution for knight training, the Knight Academy covered the entire curriculum needed to train a knight. In fact, even before Liszt discovered Black Horse Island, he had already secretly formed the Knight Academy. This time, he finalized all affairs regarding the institution's teaching staff and construction standards.

Naturally, Liszt assumed the role of dean of the Knight Academy.

Port town consultant Goltai and Elite Earth Knight Marcus both took up the positions of vice dean, with Marcus in fact serving as the chief vice dean in charge of daily operations.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

The Knight Academy offered courses in loyalty, Dou Qi, warfare, administration, arts, navigation, and culture, known as the seven knight courses.

Under the Knight Academy were established the orphanage, responsible for the adoption and educational arrangements for orphans; the Craftsman Institute, dedicated to training in handcraft, agriculture, and commerce; the Apprentice Institute, responsible for the early education of the children of the territory's subjects; the Administrative Institute, tasked with training administrative personnel for the territory; and the Elite Institute, responsible for the exchange and management of Elite Earth Knights.

By then,

The structure of the seven courses and five institutes of the Black Horse Island Knight Academy had taken shape, and it would continue to provide a steady stream of talent for the territory.

The Craftsman Institute and Administrative Institute were advocated by Liszt himself.

The Craftsman Institute would be independent of the Knight Academy, employing local craftsmen to teach civilian apprentices, with job placements arranged upon the completion of their training. The Administrative Institute was designed for knights with insufficient talent in cultivation, who would undergo a period of administrative training before taking office, becoming familiar with the affairs of the territory.

The old way of knights charging on horseback and administering off horseback was rather crude.

Liszt hoped knights would specialize in charging into battle, advancing toward regular military personnel, while administrative officers would specialize in management, ascending the ranks as officials—of course, regular knights who retired would also enter the official hierarchy and receive preferential treatment. Liszt also stipulated that only nobles could hold significant positions among officials.

Significant positions mainly referred to the roles of consultant and Administrative Officer.

With nobility in short supply at the current stage, apart from Goltai, all town Administrative Officers could only bear the title "acting."

Including the elders Isaiah and Blair.