The Founding of the Knight Academy (9)

This had originally been a simple knightly exchange.

But over the past two days, its nature had gradually begun to change.

The students of the Imperial Knight Academy were as excited as if they had been injected with stimulants. That excitement did not come from the Knight Academy itself, but from their bloodlines—the sudden attention their family names had received.

Many people who had originally occupied marginal positions within their noble territories had suddenly been received by important figures from their noble families, even by the nobles themselves.

The encouragement in their words and the orders they gave filled these knight students with excitement, making them offer twelvefold effort and confidence to demonstrate their loyalty and absolute obedience to their lords.

"Swear to defend the glory and splendor of the 'family' unto death."

One impassioned oath after another revolved around family names, ancestors, and descendants. It was an enthusiasm the Knight Academy's instructors could never have stirred up.

Naturally, they also received help from their own lords, obtaining Magic Potions that aided knight training.

Looking at those costly items, the knight students who had been forced to take the Imperial Capital route because of their marginal status in their territories felt dazed, as though the rumors that production of Knight Life Potions in Neichiu Province had declined were all lies.

In any case, this simple exchange had changed direction. The nobles had become proactive. If not for concerns over face and honor, they might even have sent their own elite bloodline members back to the Knight Academy.

Just as the Imperial Knight Academy instructors had hesitated over.

None of this depended on the Imperial Knight Academy itself, but on the Empire's true rulers—the noble lords.

They had discussed matters among themselves for days without reaching any conclusion, yet once the