The dragon-slaying battle on Dodo Island had not taken place in full public view, so Sapphire's nobles still knew nothing of this world-shaking battle.
But the Flame Territory's knight regiment had openly wiped out Hot Spring Island without making any attempt at concealment. Spread by the island's merchants and covert rats, the news reached the ears of nobles great and small throughout the Sapphire Archipelago in scarcely a week.
"What is going on?"
"Why did the Flame Marquis wipe out Hot Spring Island?"
"Even a dragon knight cannot be so brazen, can he? Is the Grand Duke simply going to do nothing?"
"The Count of Hot Spring Island is an upright and sincere man. The Flame Marquis may be powerful, but he cannot bully the weak like this!"
"This is trampling upon a knight's dignity!"
Many noble lords did not dare comment publicly, but after social gatherings, they inevitably pointed fingers and passed judgment under the influence of drink, denouncing the Flame Territory for throwing its weight around and bullying the weak. Some noble lords even directly petitioned Grand Duke Sapphire, hoping he would step forward and put a stop to this.
Yet just as the news of the Flame Territory's destruction of Hot Spring Island began to spread, merchants and rats soon brought another explosive piece of news—Oxtail Territory's knight regiment had wiped out Square Island in a single day. The attack had been carried out openly and without concealment, and likewise without the permission of the Marquis of Deep Throat Island.
The Viscount of Square Island was a follower of Marquis Wallace Pineapple Green of Deep Throat Island. Destroying him naturally required Wallace's permission; otherwise, it was a provocation.
On one side, dragon knight Liszt had openly wiped out the follower of another dragon knight.
On the other,