On the road outside the Golden Feather Palace, Ronin and Blanche were sharing their final farewells.

After spending five or six days together, which included some moments of intimacy, their relationship had deepened quickly. Now, as they parted, both were reluctant to leave.

However, being in public, they could only exchange a few words of parting and refrained from any overly intimate gestures.

Not far away, Missy Knight watched them, a flicker of envy in her eyes.

A moment later, Ronin waved to Blanche, then turned, mounted his horse, and led his party toward Horn Bay.

"I didn’t expect His Majesty the King to have you lead the knights accompanying me out to sea."

Ronin rode side-by-side with Missy.

To be honest, when he heard that Missy would be leading the Royal Family’s Knights, he had been quite surprised by Bruno’s arrangement.

’For him to make such an arrangement, knowing full well about Karda and Missy... Is Bruno some kind of avid matchmaker now?’

"I didn’t expect it either."

Her expression was hidden behind her helmet’s visor. "But, I should still thank you."

"Thank me for what?"

Ronin couldn’t help but tease, "For creating an opportunity for you and Karda?"

Missy glanced over at Ronin. Though her eyes held a warning, she didn’t deny his words.

"Sometimes I despise the distinction between nobles and commoners. It makes my father see only profit, not his own daughter. It also restricts my freedom and keeps me from doing what I truly want."

"That’s dangerous thinking, Missy Knight," Ronin cautioned. "Don’t tell me you’re planning to overthrow the nobility."

These were words Ronin himself would never dare utter, yet here they were, spoken by a woman.

To overthrow the nobility would be to threaten the interests of the entire class, a move that would surely invite retribution from every noble house.

"Haha, you must be joking."

Missy shook her head. "I was just venting. Where would I get that kind of power?"

It was because of Blanche and Karda that she felt a certain kinship with Ronin, which was why she had voiced such thoughts to him.

All she had ever tried to do was strengthen herself and take control of her own destiny; she had never actually considered overthrowing the nobility.

Ronin proposed, "Missy Knight, if you and Karda end up together, how about you both pledge your allegiance to me? His Majesty the King has promised me a few Griffins, and when the time comes, I’ll put you in charge of them."

When a woman married, she was generally expected to go and live with her husband.

In other words, if things worked out between Karda and Missy, Wubei Territory would gain a young Silver Female Knight—one with many years of flying experience, no less.

Missy’s cheeks flushed beneath her mask. Ignoring Ronin, she spurred her horse slightly to move ahead.

But in her heart, she was already mulling over the possibility of what Ronin had said.

...

While Ronin was still on the road to Horn Bay, Reis Dennis, who had arrived ahead of him, had already met up with his family’s forces.

On the deck of the Denis One, he met with the captain of Sharp Horn City’s First Knight Squad, who was also his childhood teacher: Baron Lu Qi Boggs.

At that moment, however, they were in the middle of a dispute.

"Reis, forgive me for being blunt. While we do have a feud with the White Whale Pirate Gang, you should have discussed this decision with your father, Lord Vitorino, before making it."

Baron Lu Qi Boggs was protesting to Reis.

His mission was to safely escort Reis back to Sharp Horn City; Viscount Vitorino had never ordered him to wipe out the White Whale Pirate Gang, much less land on Rapids Island.

He might have grudgingly accepted a mission to destroy the White Whale Pirate Gang, as they had attacked the Dennis Clan at sea and become their sworn enemies.

But supporting Ronin’s expedition to Rapids Island had nothing whatsoever to do with Sharp Horn City.

Even though he was the captain of the Knight Squad, he dared not act rashly without a formal order from Viscount Vitorino.

It made no difference that the one proposing this action was the future heir of Sharp Horn City.

He could not bear the responsibility for any major losses.

"Rest assured, Teacher. I’ve already sent a letter to my father. I trust he will reply by today or tomorrow."

Reis didn’t have the authority to command the Knight Squad directly, so accompanying Ronin out to sea would require Lu Qi’s cooperation.

After some negotiation, he finally persuaded him.

"Very well, I will agree to your arrangements for now. I’ll have the crew prepare the provisions for the voyage at Horn Bay. This will take a day or two."

Lu Qi sighed. "But I must say, regardless of your friendship with Ronin, nobility is a matter of interests. In this business with Rapids Island, we stand to gain nothing. Instead, we’ll be wasting our funds and asking our Knights to risk their lives."

Reis nodded. "I understand. I’ll present the conditions you just mentioned to Ronin."

Lu Qi’s loyalty was to Sharp Horn City, so his actions were always based on its best interests.

Thus, during their discussion, he had proposed three conditions based on the situation:

First, Ronin would need to cover all operational expenses for any actions taken after destroying the Pirate Gang, primarily the cost of provisions and supplies.

Second, if there were any casualties during combat, Ronin would need to pay the appropriate compensation.

Third, if more than one ship was lost in battle, Ronin would have to provide compensation for the additional ship(s).

These three conditions were not complex, and each was quite reasonable.

After all, while Ronin was of the Wushan line, he was not the Lord of Sharp Horn City. Without explicit authorization from Wushan Castle, he had no right to issue a summons to them.

Under these circumstances, asking for their help meant he would need to provide appropriate payment.

Lu Qi’s three conditions were, in fact, rather tactful.

The third condition was especially lenient; Lu Qi had likely proposed the "more than one ship" clause because Ronin had captured a vessel for Sharp Horn City in the previous naval battle.

Therefore, when Ronin arrived at the docks and heard the three conditions from Reis, he immediately nodded in agreement.

"I’ll take full responsibility for all three."

Ronin agreed. "You can tell Lu Qi that in addition to the support from the Royal Family’s Knights, we will also have Baron Melonika’s protection. The overall risk isn’t that high."

Reis nodded.

He knew of Melonika’s combat prowess, as did Lu Qi.

However, only Ronin knew that the unassuming Baron had already become a Meteor Knight.

To be honest, he had been stunned for a moment when he first read about it in a letter from Lurans.

He hadn’t expected that with Lurans gravely ill and Ossen crippled, the Wushan Territory would still produce a third Meteor Knight.

As a man loyal to Wushan Castle, Melonika’s advancement was clearly a great advantage.

Moreover, if Lurans ever recovered, Wushan Castle would then have two Meteor Knights on its side, both of whom were formidable fighters.

And if one were to add Ronin, Elron, and Ridder—and even Macken—to the count...

The Wushan Territory’s number of Seventh-level Transcendents would reach an astonishing six!

That was a staggering amount of power, no matter where you went.