The investiture ceremony was grand yet simple. After swearing loyalty before Quentin Shadowflame's statue, Russell officially became the sixth baron of the Shadowflame Grand Duchy.
Baron Thunderflame.
The Elder Council then announced the rewards bestowed upon Russell Fluorite Mushroom, Baron of Thunder Flame: two Warm Enclaves, Blackfire Land and Thunder Marsh, which was only to be expected. In addition, Russell was permitted to adopt a noble surname—but he already had one and had no intention of changing it.
Thus, on the Grand Duchy's Golden Seal decree, Baron Thunderflame's noble surname remained "Fluorite Mushroom."
Finally came the highlight of the rewards.
"In recognition of Baron Thunderflame's great contributions to the realm, following unanimous approval by the Elder Council and review by the Regent Lady, Russell Fluorite Mushroom is hereby awarded sixty-five thousand serfs, three hundred plow oxen, and five hundred dragon-blood warhorses!"
The announcement stunned the guests.
It could be said that this directly spared Russell the time needed to build up his territory, allowing him to reach the level of most barons in one stroke.
Take Guangguang River Valley, for example. After more than seventy years of development, it had accumulated only eighty thousand people.
Yet Russell had received sixty-five thousand serfs at once, equivalent to decades of growth and accumulation.
The guests were deeply envious, but none dared question it.
His glorious feat of slaying three dragons with a single sword had spread throughout the Shadowflame Grand Duchy alongside Baron Davis's funeral. Russell had now replaced Count Merlin as the undisputed foremost figure of the Shadowflame Grand Duchy.
And Russell was not yet eighteen years old. That meant that for the coming decades, every knight in the Grand Duchy would have to live beneath his shadow.
Who would dare question such a powerhouse?
"He's soaring, he's soaring!" Charles, standing