Emily was assigned to a knight squad. As a female knight—and such a young one at that—she did present a few complications.
She had no independent finances to support herself, purchase weapons, or hire retainers. Liszt had to arrange all of it for her.
If not for the genius indicated by the Smoke mission, the potential she had displayed alone would not have been enough for Liszt to go to such lengths for her—at his current standing, he no longer needed to especially favor his followers. Rather, it was his followers who needed to do their utmost to prove themselves before him.
Everyone knew that following Liszt meant there would be no shortage of military merit.
He was the Grand Duchy's most promising viscount. Becoming a count was merely the lower limit; becoming a marquis would be perfectly normal.
But Emily had, after all, been singled out by the Smoke mission. Liszt believed fate would not idly pluck its threads and make him pay attention to a useless waste.
Perhaps the Grand Duchy's first female Sky Knight would one day be Emily.
From then on.
Together with the knight squad, Emily trained relentlessly at Black Horse Ranch on Black Horse Island. They drilled knightly charge formations, ever ready to clash in a charge against enemy knights. She needed to continuously improve her combat strength. No matter how great her advantage on the battlefield or how well she was protected, death was always possible.
She was not like Liszt back then, secretly protected by Black Dragon Thrall Paris. Once she truly entered the battlefield, Liszt would not go out of his way to protect her.
To survive meant growth.
To die meant Liszt's investment had failed, nothing more.
"Charge!"
Mounted on a warhorse, Marcus commanded half a knight regiment as they