Chapter 8 Commentary

Casius, being a border noble, wasn't particularly interested in the promotion to Marquis because he was a very thorough pragmatist.

The borderlands were free of formalities; everything was about surviving the competition with numerous Monster Clans and then expanding more territory.

The promotion of a noble title, in Casius's eyes, wouldn't bring any substantial help or change to his domain or himself. Instead, traveling to and from the Capital would waste a significant amount of time and put his domain in danger.

Dealing with those parasites in the Capital only gave him a headache thinking about it, so naturally, he wasn't interested in a promotion.

"A waste of time? Wouldn't the Capital give corresponding rewards for making you a Marquis?"

Noah found it hard to understand.

"Rewards? Maybe a few thousand gold coins, then transferring all nearby lands under my control, elevating my domain to a Marquis Domain, but those lands..."

Casius let out a cold laugh. The surrounding territories had long been swept through numerous times by him and his Knight Order, leaving no high-level monsters except for the mid to low ones.

The reason for not occupying was the lack of population in his lands, so his outings to hunt monsters could only be called hunting, not expansion.

"What you need is more population and knights to defend the territory."

Noah knew what the border nobles needed most.

"Indeed, I need a large population and more military, but I can't get those in the Capital."

This man, with an imposing aura as towering as a mountain range, gave off a sense of inaccessibility. An expression of concern appeared on his face, and he sighed lightly.

Noah sensed his foster father's helplessness. His personal combat power was unparalleled in this region, and the Knight Order under his command was top-notch among the surrounding border nobles.

But the most critical issue was, he could conquer any part of this fertile and vast land, but after doing so, who would guard it?

No matter how fertile the land, it needs enough people to develop it, but the population of the Augustus family's territory was hardly enough to hold the existing lands, let alone keep up with the Lord's conquest pace.

The lands left by the slain Monster Clans would be occupied by other monster groups if humans didn't claim them, and the resources produced by the land would nurture new monsters.

"Going to the Capital may not mean you won't get these; I think you should make a trip to the Capital."

Noah thought for a moment and gave his suggestion. After saying this, before his foster father could respond, he extended a Dragon Claw and pointed to the monster corpses laid before him, allowing him to choose freely,

"Besides, now is also a good time, isn't it? You've already cleaned up the surroundings of the territory once; I think, in the short term, there shouldn't be such a level of powerful monsters threatening the territory."

"How can I get more population and military in the Capital?"

Casius did not dismiss Noah's suggestion because he was a young dragon. Instead, he earnestly sought advice.

Noah had no intention of hiding or feigning ignorance, as he was a born and self-aware Golden Dragon. No matter how intelligent he appeared, all creatures took it for granted, including his biological parents.

"You may not necessarily achieve your goal in the Capital, but after becoming a Marquis, you definitely can."

Noah was eager to try to influence more beings, especially a powerful noble lord like his foster father. He wanted to see what feedback the Golden Tree could provide him.

"You don't value noble titles, but other nobles in the Kingdom do."

The five noble ranks of Duke, Marquis, Earl, Viscount, and Baron make the Earl a somewhat awkward rank, being neither here nor there. Taking another step to become a Marquis would barely put him among the ranks of the major nobles.

"And what if they value it?"

Casius, who had just been quite amiable, let out a disdainful laugh, his contempt for the Kingdom's nobility evident.

Such an arrogant stance reminded Noah of his own parents, who had the same attitude towards all things in the world, though they were good at concealing their disdain outwardly.

His foster father felt like a certain Pure-blood Dragon Clan member in disguise.

"After becoming a Marquis, you could marry into those major noble families, forming alliances, obtaining resource support, and further expanding your territory."

Although he knew his foster father was unlikely to accept this suggestion, Noah still stated it,

"No need, the Augustus family's territory will be expanded by swords and blades."

This was Casius's response, sincerely looking down on the kingdom's nobles from the heart.

Noah understood why his parents entrusted him to the man before him. In some ways, he was too much like the Dragon Clan.

"You don't like political marriages, but the Marquis title can also be used in other aspects."

"Oh?"

Although he had rejected Noah's previous proposal, Casius was still willing to listen patiently.

"You can unite with the border nobles to establish an alliance for mutual defense. At that time, you can use the Marquis title to occupy a dominant position and mobilize resources on the southeast border of the Kingdom."

Noah proposed again with what would be considered outrageous remarks.

This was his suggestion based on the actual situation. Expansionist nobles had near-unlimited freedom, not restricted by feudal nobles within the Kingdom, but this was mere superficial glory. If given a choice, most border nobles would want to escape.

Expanding the frontier for humanity might sound like it brings unlimited glory, perhaps even immortalizing one's name in history.

But in reality, it's a path filled with endless blood and bones, with countless people falling within it. This was a battle for survival against other species; in the face of survival, few would retreat and would fight to the death instead.

Therefore, those confined to the border were mostly minor nobles, the largest being an Earl, with more Viscounts, Barons, and numerous Knight Domains.

The real major nobles would never stay on the borders of civilization, allowing their military forces to be consumed endlessly by the flood of monsters.

"A mutual defense alliance? There have long been similar offensive and defensive agreements between the border nobles."

Upon hearing this, Casius became more serious.

"But such agreements rely solely on the self-awareness of the border nobles, having neither mandatory force nor the ability to concentrate all forces within a certain time frame. In the face of greater crises, it may lead to very undesirable outcomes."

Noah pinpointed accurately, saying that agreements relying solely on self-awareness are a test of human nature, which is the least reliable, especially in times of crisis.