Chapter 329: Chapter 326: Winning Over

As Ronin placed the Laurel Crown on Blanche’s head, the tournament’s championship match came to an end. King Bruno and some of the other nobles began to leave.

But the tournament was not over yet.

Next was the match for third place between Franz and Missy, as well as some arranged duels among the young nobles, which were akin to exhibition matches. The entire tournament grounds remained bustling with excitement.

While Blanche invited a group of noblewomen to visit Moon Shadow Palace, Ronin left the viewing stands and headed toward the area where the Horn Bay Extraordinary Academy was situated.

“Ronning Count!”

“Flame Knight!”

Seeing Ronin approach, the students and teachers of the Extraordinary Academy greeted him one after another. The academy’s dean even gave him a warm invitation to tour the campus.

Ronin naturally agreed. His gaze swept through the crowd a couple of times, but he didn’t see Karda.

“Where has Knight Karda gone?”

“There, over that way,” someone said, pointing to the outskirts. “Honorary Baron Philimon is talking with him.”

Someone said with envy, “Even though Karda just lost to you, his performance in the duel must have caught the eye of many influential people.”

“He’s always wanted to join the Royal Knight Order. It looks like he has a good chance this time.”

“I’m so envious.”

Hearing their words, Ronin’s heart skipped a beat. ’No way. The man I was just about to recruit is going to be snatched up by His Majesty the King first?’

’That can’t happen!’

He nodded to the students and teachers of the Horn Bay Extraordinary Academy, then walked toward Karda and Philimon, who were talking on the outskirts of the tournament grounds.

Noticing Ronin’s approach, the two of them turned around.

Philimon smiled. “What’s this? Has our Flame Knight come to have another chat with his opponent?”

Karda, for his part, gave Ronin a slight nod.

“My apologies for interrupting your conversation.”

Ronin smiled and walked up to them. He looked at this man—His Majesty the King’s personal guard and the Leader of the Royal Knight Order. He’d heard that Philimon was a Golden Knight on the verge of reaching the Meteor Level, so his strength was not to be underestimated.

“You’re not wrong, sir. I did indeed come to find Karda.”

Philimon was very courteous toward the future King’s Son-in-Law. “Well then, in that case, I won’t disturb you.”

As he spoke, he turned to Karda and added, “Come find me again after you become a Golden Knight!”

With that, he left.

Watching Philimon’s retreating back, Ronin said, “Should I congratulate you on successfully joining the Royal Knight Order?”

“It’s still too early for that.”

Karda denied it concisely. “Only after I become a Golden Knight will I be qualified to apply to the Royal Knight Order.”

’What a relief…’

Ronin breathed an inward sigh of relief. He had thought Philimon and Karda had already come to an agreement.

“The Royal Knight Order’s requirements are truly strict, demanding that applicants be Golden Knights just to be eligible. How many people are in the order? Is every single member a Golden Knight?”

An entire order composed of Golden Knights… Ronin couldn’t even imagine its combat strength.

A Meteor Knight would probably have to steer clear of an order like that.

“Of course not.”

Karda spread his hands, his tone tinged with resignation. “That’s just a specific condition set for me personally.”

He said “me personally,” not people from a common background as a group.

It seemed there were other reasons, unknown to Ronin, why Karda had been unable to join the Royal Knight Order all this time.

“Even though the Royal Knight Order has extended an olive branch to you, I still want to ask.”

Ronin paused, looking Karda directly in the eye. “I wonder… am I qualified to recruit you to join my territory?”

He highly valued the other man’s potential.

If Karda were to join the Wubei Territory, the young knight, who was in his twenties, would be the person with the most potential for growth after Ridder. His aptitude definitely surpassed Macken’s.

Although the Wushan Territory seemed stable for now, there would inevitably be conflicts and wars in the future.

Local geopolitical conflicts could perhaps be handled by the five Knight Orders of Wushan Castle, but if Ronin wanted to obtain the title of Kingdom Marquis, he still needed his own Power.

Besides, Ronin’s goal was not as simple as just becoming a Marquis.

To advance even further would mean that the continent would have to fall into turmoil. Only through the outbreak of large-scale, widespread battlefields would the existing balance of power have a chance to be reshuffled and rebuilt.

At that time, Ronin would need more Knights, especially stronger ones.

Someone like Karda was clearly the most suitable candidate.

“You’ve misunderstood me.”

Karda explained, “The qualification I spoke of doesn’t refer to being superior in ’strength.’ After all, many nobles aren’t that strong themselves, are they?”

“Oh?”

Ronin said in surprise, “If not personal strength, then the strength of the territory?”

“You can rest assured on that front. Although my territory is still in its early stages, it is vast and has immense potential for growth. For the Knights who follow me, there will certainly be more opportunities!”

Considering that Karda came from a commoner background and would likely be more concerned about remuneration, Ronin said,

“A Silver in my service receives an annual salary of 336 Gold Coins, and a Golden Knight receives 1680 Gold Coins. On top of that, there are stipends based on position, and spoils of war are calculated separately.”

He said bluntly, “You don’t have to worry about me being unable to afford my followers’ salaries. I have Golds and silvers among my followers, and I have never once been delinquent on their pay.”

’I’ve laid out the current salary and future prospects. He should have a good idea now.’

Karda chuckled but still shook his head.

“I have never doubted your financial strength.”

He sighed and said frankly, “To be honest, over the years, I have considered serving nobles other than those in the Royal Knight Order, but it has never worked out.”

“Why?”

Karda said helplessly, “Someone is interfering. Even if I wanted to follow you, you would change your mind because of him.”

’Something like that is happening?’

This baffled Ronin. Who could possibly interfere with the decisions of other nobles?

His first thought was the King, but on second thought, that seemed unlikely.

Then it occurred to him. ’Could it be that a suitor of Karda’s secret love is pressuring other nobles, leaving this brilliant young talent with no one to turn to?’

“Who is interfering?” Ronin asked.

Karda gave a mysterious smile. “I imagine he will come looking for you soon. If you still wish to recruit me after you’ve met him, then I think we can talk.”

For this commoner knight, what he wanted most was to cross the class divide.

For a Professional Knight with great potential and strength, this was a task as difficult as it was easy.

But for Karda, it was an insurmountable mountain—he didn’t even have the chance to get close to noble circles, let alone enter them.

In his eyes, Ronin had background, strength, and a future. In the past, someone like him would have absolutely been on his list of nobles worth following. However, Karda had been stood up too many times and had promises broken too often. He didn’t believe Ronin would be any different from the other nobles who only prioritized their own interests.

Given the circumstances, he was better off choosing the Royal Knight Order. After all, Knight Philimon had already said that as long as he became a Golden Knight before applying again, he would have a high chance of being accepted.

Only by successfully following a noble would he have the opportunity to earn merits, become an Honorary Knight, and then, a step further, a noble himself.

Otherwise, until he became a powerhouse so strong that people had no choice but to take him seriously, he would at most be a Knight with some money and strength, but one who could never cross the class divide.

Watching the commoner knight’s retreating back, Ronin couldn’t help but ask, “I heard you’re secretly in love with a noblewoman. Can you tell me who she is?”

In his view, a humble and polite commoner knight so eager to enter noble circles was unlikely to offend a noble. Therefore, there was likely only one reason a noble would target him like this.

Karda’s steps faltered. He hadn’t expected Ronin, who had never been to Golden Feather City before, to know about this.

“Today, she was your opponent.”

’Her?’

The image of the Missy Knight immediately surfaced in Ronin’s mind.

A good friend of Her Highness the Princess, a member of the Royal Family’s elite Griffin Knight Order, a rare Silver Level Female Knight, and born into a noble family…

Comparing the two, Karda and Missy were indeed not a good match in terms of social standing.

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