The Mighty Dragons Are Dead-Chapter 1055 - 1052 Eighth-Rank Noble

Chapter 1055: Chapter 1052: Eighth-Rank Noble

Chapter 1055 -1052: Eighth-Rank Noble

The list contained not only the information of every noble ennobled but also the detailed “Ennoblement Regulations” that introduced the noble ranks of the kingdom, which Liszt read with great seriousness.

The noble ranks of the Flame Kingdom were formally designated as eight grades.

The highest rank was King, followed by Prince or Grand Duke as the second rank, and Duke as the third rank; these three ranks belonged to the senior nobility. The King followed a primogeniture system and was the only rank; all knights of the kingdom must follow the King, conditioned or unconditioned, and obey the King’s dispatch.

Princes and Grand Dukes were of the same rank; Princes needed to possess the royal bloodline, specifically the Flame Family bloodline, and become a Dragon Knight. Grand Dukes had no bloodline restriction but had to ride a dragon not owned by the kingdom—that is, a dragon knight trained by the royal family could not obtain the rank of Grand Duke.

In other words, without a dragon of one’s own, one could not aspire to become a Grand Duke and establish a new nation.

The rank of Duke was somewhat more complicated, with three main sources.

First, if a Grand Duke’s offspring could not become a dragon rider, they would be demoted to the rank of Duke and continue to manage their nation; second, a dragon knight trained by the royal family could attain the rank of Duke after distinguished military service; third, Domain Knights who repeatedly earned military accolades could also be considered for promotion to Duke.

However, aside from the offspring of Grand Dukes, as Dragon Rearing Families, any qualification could be inherited unchallenged for the Duke rank.

For the other two types of Dukedoms, the offspring must become Domain Knights to smoothly succeed the title—to prevent the situation where the Duke dies unexpectedly and the offspring are too young and not sufficiently trained, a relaxation is allowed for one generation. That means the son of a Duke remains a Duke, but if he fails to become a Domain Knight, the grandson will only be a Marquis.

…

On the list,

There were no Princes, no Grand Dukes.

There were only three proposed candidates for Duke.

Among them, Duke Anthony Sapphire was merely listed by name and was not included in this enfeoffment—as an independent vassal state, the Sapphire Duchy required no enfeoffment.

The other two,

Duke Li Weiliam Tulip of Tulip Island, with the fief Tulip Island, the second-largest island of the Flame Islands, an area of 450,000 square kilometers; Duke Piero Grey Iron of Phoenix Tree Island, with the fief Phoenix Tree Island, the seventh-largest island of the Flame Islands, an area of 170,000 square kilometers.

The Tulip Family and Grey Iron Family both had the “Domain Knight Manual.” As long as the descendants weren’t too incompetent, it wasn’t difficult to train to become a Domain Knight, and the Duke rank could be inherited unchallenged.

“Father, promote Bruposy the Marquis of Salty Sea to Duke of Mermaid City, and let the fief be Mermaid City,” Liszt pondered and added a content.

“According to the Kingdom’s ‘Ennoblement Regulations,’ city ennoblement only goes up to Marquis; Duke of Mermaid City does not comply with the ‘Ennoblement Regulations,'” Li Weiliam said.

The “Ennoblement Regulations” had been previously reviewed and approved by Liszt. Although he was frequently fickle and acted on whims, it was not good to contradict himself too often. Therefore, after a moment of contemplation, he said, “Then, let’s enfeoff Bruposy as the Mermaid Territory Duke.”

“But the Mermaid Territory belongs to Flame Island, didn’t you say that Flame Island would not enfeoff nobles outside of the Burning Legion?”

“Um…” Liszt hesitated for a moment, then continued, “The enfeoffment of the mermaids can be added as an exception to the ‘Ennoblement Regulations.’ Since it’s not yet officially printed, there’s room for modification. In the future, the enfeoffment of mermaid territories will just nominally encompass the surrounding seas of the Flame Islands.”

After a pause, he continued, “Bruposy’s title will be the Salty Sea Duke, and as for the Salty Sea, there’s no need to inquire where it is; his fief revenue can be chosen from Mermaid City.”

So after all this talk, he was still negating the previous “Ennoblement Regulations.”

Li Weiliam, the younger son, had probably grown accustomed to his brother’s way of doing things and didn’t mind the need to amend the “Ennoblement Regulations” again.

Instead, he asked, “Bruposy is ennobled as a Duke, should the other six Mermaid Marquises be enfeoffed as well?”

“There’s no need, Bruposy stays in the Flame Kingdom, managing Mermaid City diligently and contributing to the nation. The other six mermaids have gone to travel the world; how can such irresponsible people be enfeoffed with dukedoms… Their mindset is still living in ancient times; they must understand that only by integrating into the Flame Kingdom can they obtain status and resources.”

The mermaids were touring the seas, and once gone, they would be away for nearly a year.

Although charged with the task of mapping the coastline of the Legendary Continent, it was obvious they enjoyed themselves outside, no longer longing for home, and the cartographic work was barely touched.

The 𝘮ost uptodat𝑒 novels are pub𝙡ished on freeweɓnovēl.coɱ.

Liszt was very dissatisfied with this and urged them several times, but he couldn’t get them to focus.

Therefore,

with quite a bit of resentment, he only enfeoffed one mermaid to Bluposi.

…

In the Flame Kingdom, the fourth rank of nobility was Marquis and the fifth was Earl, both of which were middle-ranked nobles.

Originally, Liszt planned to divide the rank of Duke into upper and lower grades. The upper Dukes, who hold territories, were to be the upper nobility, while the lower Dukes, without territories, were to belong to the middle nobility. This would complete a system of nine ranks of nobility, with three ranks each for the upper, middle, and lower echelons.

But in the end, he didn’t do so, because instead of distinguishing upper and lower Dukes, it was more straightforward to create a new title.

Moreover, he had another thought—to intentionally downplay the status of vassal states, emphasizing the King’s authority. After all, the rulers of Duchies were Dukes, and the landlords of many fiefs held the same title, reducing vassal states to nothing more than larger fiefs, even if they belonged to Dragon Rearing Families and were merely followers of the King.

Thus, in the end, the middle nobility comprised only Marquises and Earls.

To inherit these two titles, one had to reach the level of a Sky Knight, with a one-generation leniency period. However, if a Sky Knight was not born in the following generation, a demotion was compulsory.

On the list,

the first-ranked Marquis was the Jade City Marquis, Emily Flame—as a Light Green Sapphire Dragon Knight, Liszt asked her if she wished to become a Feudal Noble, but Emily decided to join the Burning Legion and hoped to follow Liszt for life.

So, Liszt granted her the surname “Flame” and enfeoffed her Jade City, located near the Dragon Nest Jade Mountain where Ethan lived.

The second-ranked Marquis was the Pea Island Marquis, Dimaria Jasper, whose territory was half of Pea Island. Pea Island was the eighth largest island in the Flame Islands, covering 150,000 square kilometers. Besides Dimaria, no other nobility were enfeoffed on Pea Island.

As one of the earliest Marquises to pledge allegiance, Liszt had already promised Dimaria that once the Jasper Family accumulated enough military achievements, he would be promoted to the Duke of Pea Island.

The entire Pea Island would become the Jasper Family’s fiefdom.

The third-ranked Marquis was the Gemstone Left Territory Marquis, Geoffrey Begonia, with his territory being half of Gemstone Island, or the Gemstone Left Territory. Gemstone Island was the sixth largest island in the Flame Islands, spanning 220,000 square kilometers, divided into two domains—the Gemstone Left Territory and the Gemstone Right Territory.

Geoffrey was a Completion Level Sky Knight who had been captured as an Earl in the Eagle Kingdom and surrendered, performing excellently afterwards.

The fourth-ranked Marquis was Heroic Yellow City Marquis, Yevich Shuihuasheng, whose fief was the Flame Kingdom’s gateway to the Legendary Continent, Heroic Yellow City—surprisingly, Yevich chose not to become a Feudal Noble, but to join the Burning Legion, becoming a town-serving noble instead.

He still disguised himself as a Noble from the Eagle Kingdom, stirring internal strife within the Snowstorm Mountain Duchy.

The fifth-ranked Marquis was Flame City Marquis, Paris Flame, whose fief was Flame City. Like Emily, Paris, a Great Light Magic Swordsman and one of Liszt’s lovers, chose the town-serving nobility and also received the surname “Flame” granted by Liszt.

The sixth-ranked Marquis was Gemstone Right Territory Marquis, Durt Red Apricot, one of the earliest Eagle Kingdom captives who began the development of Flame Island. Initially an Earl, he earned his Marquis title through repeated military achievements over the years.

The seventh-ranked Marquis was Thorn Upper Territory Marquis, Mendes Cabbage, whose territory was a third of Thorn Island, also known as Thorn Upper Territory. Mendes was previously a Marquis of the Grey Iron Duchy and a Completion Level Sky Knight, but after joining the Flame Kingdom, he didn’t make much of an impression.

Thorn Island was the fourth largest island in the Flame Islands, covering 270,000 square kilometers, and divided into three territories—the Thorn Upper Territory, Thorn Left Territory, and Thorn Right Territory.

The eighth-ranked Marquis was Dragon Valley City Marquis, Nickel Bellows, whose fief was Dragon Valley City, located next to the Dragon Pit Great Mine. The Bellows Family belonged to the Iron Knight Family, and originally the Sapphire Duke supported Liszt’s nation-building by transferring the Bellows Family to him; they served diligently over the years and thus deserved a Marquis title.

The ninth-ranked Marquis was Thorn Left Territory Marquis, Amat Ice Shield, who was Yevich’s father-in-law and a Marquis from Snowstorm Mountain Duchy who covertly pledged allegiance to Liszt. For the time being, Amat continued to serve as a Marquis in the Snowstorm Mountain Duchy, colluding with Yevich to incite conflict between the First Prince and the Second Prince.

Ranked ten to fifteen were all mermaids.

Marquis Great West-Etenia, Marquis Fisherman – Gulvig, Marquis Aquamarch – Tibidais, Marquis Sea Trench – Sharivara, Marquis Fugitive – Viswinti, and Marquis Lost – Coquelix.