Chapter 291: Paving the Way

The victory banquet reached its climax with the birth of the new Count of Wushan Territory.

Amidst the cheers and applause, Luoning accepted the golden medal symbolizing his rank and the letters of enfeoffment handed to him by Lulansi.

In an instant, two lines of text appeared in his field of vision:

【"Famous Throughout the World" achievement unlocked, Attribute Point +500, Energy Essence +1000】

【Monthly Sign-in Mechanism updated, reward multiplier +2】

【"Gongchengluedi" achievement unlocked, Attribute Point +200, Energy Essence +400】

Luoning felt a surge of joy.

Both the achievement and sign-in mechanisms were linked to his noble rank; now that he had become a Count, the effects were triggered naturally.

Now, Luoning could obtain 417 Attribute Points and 345 Energy Essence every month; without counting the Attribute Points gained through achievements, he would only need one year to cross Level 6.

If he completed other achievements during this period, this time would be further shortened.

Lulansi patted Luoning on the shoulder and offered a few words of encouragement.

The enfeoffment was not over, but compared to the ennoblement, the subsequent process for conferring Honorary Knights was much simpler, not nearly as formal or grand.

However, for those crossing the class threshold, rising from commoners to the lowest rank of nobility as Honorary Knights, it was still an important moment.

Although they had no territory, this was a step that many Professional Knights could not cross in their entire lives.

The six Honorary Knights excitedly shouted their oaths of loyalty to Wushan Castle and kissed their medals.

After finishing all this, Lulansi picked up his wine glass, drank a toast with everyone, and left the banquet hall; he would leave the celebration to this group of young people.

"Haha, congratulations, Lord Count!" Mawen was the first to come over and offer his blessings.

Luoning smiled and said, "Uncle Mawen, please just call me Luoning."

Mawen raised his glass and sighed, "I still remember the scene of you buying horses at my ranch, but I never expected you to go from Baron to Count so quickly!"

"This is a Legendary tale that could be written into a knight's novel by a bard!"

Many people crowded around, vying to offer their congratulations.

While expressing his gratitude, Luoning also offered his blessings to the nobles and knights who had been enfeoffed today.

The atmosphere in the hall was lively, but not everyone had a joyful mood beneath their smiles; some people felt bitter inside.

For example, Viscount Dennis of Jianjiao City.

Back when they were resisting the Bolante Bandit Group, the Silver-grade Viscount Weituolinuo was counted among the top combat forces.

It was just that later, due to some matters, Viscount Weituolinuo did not participate in the battle and only sent a team of knights and soldiers.

He should have personally participated in the war to annihilate the Bolante Bandit Group, but he did not participate due to some matters.

Now, as he held his glass and congratulated the Silver Knights who had been promoted to Barons, such as Feilipu, he wondered if he could have received generous rewards had he participated in the battle.

While becoming a Baron was impossible, could he have obtained a piece of land like Mawen?

After all, there were quite a few villages next to Anbian City.

However, it was clearly useless to regret such things now; he could only feel envious.

Besides Viscount Weituolinuo, the representatives of the Haide Family were naturally unhappy as well.

Those who received enfeoffment this time were basically from the Southwest Territory battlefield; on the Southeast Territory front, apart from Meilongnika, no one was promoted to Honorary Knight, let alone granted land.

Wushan Castle would likely have to manage the two newly recaptured territories itself, but considering the long-term harassment by the Black Gold Brotherhood, Weijinsi likely wouldn't put much effort into those two Baron Territories.

There were mainly two reasons for the large gap in enfeoffment between the two sides.

On one hand, the military achievements in the Southeast Territory were indeed not as good as those in the Southwest Territory; the Black Gold Brotherhood mainly provided support this time, and facing the offensive led by Meilongnika, they fled to Black Pine Ridge without much resistance.

On the other hand, Lulansi had arranged it this way intentionally.

The great victory on the Southwest Territory front relied mainly on Luoning; this group of people who received Honorary Knight titles and noble ranks basically knew that they were benefiting from Luoning's light, and they would surely feel grateful to Luoning in their hearts.

With this relationship, people like Feilipu and Thorstein would likely become Luoning's unwavering supporters in the future.

Lulansi setting the two people's territories in Kaxier Town and Sali Town, which were close to Chishan Town, actually took this consideration into account as well.

At the same time, such enfeoffment also let people know that there were benefits to following Luoning.

The banquet in the hall was still going on lively, and the invited performance troupe was staging lively programs.

Amidst the melodious music, some people were clinking glasses, some were going outside to spar and exchange pointers, and others were wandering on the dance floor to the dance music.

In a corner of the hall, Ailin watched Luoning, who was chatting happily with many nobles, her eyes full of envy.

"Hi, little beauty, won't you come and dance?"

Maijinni sat down to the side in a relaxed manner and picked up a wine glass, preparing to have a drink with Ailin, only to find that the latter was holding juice.

"Not drinking?"

Ailin shook her head embarrassedly, "Lord... Luoning said I am still young, and drinking alcohol affects my growth."

Hearing this, Maijinni couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"My younger brother would actually say something like that?"

She looked Ailin up and down and teased, "You have developed quite well; you don't need to worry."

Ailin blushed, not knowing how to answer, but she learned the identity of this mature woman.

"Are you Lord Luoning's sister?"

"Of course, his own sister!"

Maijinni's gaze turned to Luoning in the crowd, and her tone suddenly became somewhat wistful:

"Perhaps it is because our mother and grandfather died early that Luoning never lived in Sali Town. Otherwise, he should have incorporated his mother's hometown into his own territory."

Sali Town, which had been occupied by the Bolante Bandit Group all along, was the territory of Luoning and Maijinni's maternal grandfather, Amosi Sari, and this time it had returned to the embrace of Wushan Territory.

It was just that Sali Town had been desolate for these years, with neither much population nor special resources, so Luoning did not pay much attention to it.

She sighed, "If I had known, I should have let Kabier follow Luoning this time and let Viscount Mawen go to the Southeast Territory; that way, perhaps Kabier could have been promoted to a noble, and I could have lived in Sali Town."

Kabier was stationed in Cuican City and controlled quite a lot of wealth.

However, like Tolu, he was of humble origin; things only gradually improved after Maijinni married him, but even now he is only an Honorary Knight and has not become a Baron.

This time, a chance was indeed lost.

Ailin comforted her, "Now that Sali Town has been taken back from the Bolante Bandit Group by us, I think with your status, you should be able to go back and take a look at any time."

Maijinni nodded slightly; she had originally thought the girl who walked out of the mountains would be somewhat timid, but after communicating, she discovered that although the other party was a bit shy, she did not stutter and struggle to speak like children from many commoner families.

"Yes, this time it is all thanks to Luoning; I never expected him to grow so quickly!"

Maijinni looked at Luoning in the crowd and suddenly felt that her younger brother had become so tall and handsome without her noticing.

She could not help but be full of hope: "He has already become a backbone of the Wushan Family! I believe in the near future, if he successfully marries Princess Blanche, the Wushan Family will once again welcome glory!"

Ailin was stunned for a moment and asked subconsciously, "Marry Princess Blanche?"

"You don't know?" Maijinni asked in confusion.

People in Wubei Territory had heard that Luoning rescued Princess Blanche when he was promoted to Viscount, but they did not know the two had a marriage alliance.

"That is true, the matter is not yet settled, so Luoning would not speak of it recklessly to outsiders."

Maijinni nodded slowly: "However, in my view, there should be no changes to this matter."

Ailin's expression suddenly became somewhat unnatural. (End of chapter)