The Knight of Light plants the sun in the eternal night.

The convoy sped along the dimly lit roads.

Pluto felt a sense of disorientation, as if he had returned to a month ago, when Leo had just been granted his fiefdom and it was he who escorted him to the Swamp Manor.

At that time, he was the only Grand Knight, escorting the caravan with four other knights.

At that time, the caravan consisted of ten horse-drawn carriages.

This time, however, the caravan consisted of thirty carriages, and the number of escorting knights far exceeded that of the previous one, enough to form a twelve-man knight squad.

There are three Grand Knights: him, Old Knight Rhodes, and Knight Harrison.

In addition to the "Four Vanguard Knights", three more pioneer knights were added: Mudell, Charlton, and Francis.

Seven Tier 1 Knights, three Tier 2 Grand Knights, plus Leo who has already advanced to Tier 1 Knight, that makes eleven Knights. If only one more Knight joins—Pluto has already calculated it, and Camille should also be breaking through.

In this way, it becomes a full-strength knight squad.

"From a meager start to a complete knightly squad, it only took a short month." Pluto's heart surged with excitement. "If what Franken said is true, the Baron can truly go even further..."

Thinking of this, Pluto quickly dismissed the thought.

I can't think about it anymore. If I keep thinking about it, I'm afraid I'll go crazy on horseback.

He composed himself, swiftly galloping his steed, a blur of light and shadow, from the front of the column to the back. He carefully inspected the situation, then coldly barked, "All coachmen, pay attention! Don't fall behind!"

He then rushed to the front of the group and demanded, "Oden, has the road ahead been checked?"

"It's been checked, Knight Commander," Oden replied.

"We must check on them regularly, without any slackening," Pluto said sternly. "What happened last time was a disgrace to us. If it happens again, we won't need your punishment; we'll commit suicide to atone for our sins!"

"yes!"

Oden and the others were awed.

In the group, the old knight Rhodes chatted with Leo. Seeing the situation ahead, he smiled and said, "Pluto is more composed than ever before. If he is properly trained, he could be competent to serve as the captain of the Knights."

"Unfortunately, I don't have any knightly orders under my command," Leo shook his head.

"Young Master Leo, although the current conditions are difficult, you must not be discouraged. Great nobles all started from humble beginnings, but you already have a solid foundation," Rhodes encouraged. "Moreover, the Baron will always be your strong support."

Leo understood what Rod meant.

Rumors have already spread across the territory. The Glowing Mushroom family has accumulated enough merit to kill enough Shadow Monsters and expand enough land to rank among the top in the many baronial families.

Therefore, the Baron was determined to make progress.

What's lacking now is nothing more than the military achievements of expanding territory.

However, we are currently in a time of peace, and the White Rose Kingdom has not started any wars. The Glowing Mushroom Family has no chance to gain military merit. Ultimately, it depends on the king's mind and whether he is willing to support the Glowing Mushroom Family.

Coincidentally, Baron Lenard had served as a guard for the king in the palace for many years when he was young.

He had a good relationship with the king.

If the king intends to promote several barons to earls, the Fluorescent Mushroom family has a great chance of being selected.

But such things are hard to say, and Leo didn't want to dwell on it, so he asked, "If I were to leave the family and start a new business, would I still be in a position to serve the country and the White Rose royal family?"

"Start your own business away from the family?" Rod shook his head. "Young Master Leo, that's really not a good choice, at least not now."

Why?

"Because of peace."

"Uh...that's true." Leo nodded. That's the downside of peacetime—there's a lack of opportunities for advancement.

Most of the earls and barons in the White Rose Kingdom rose to prominence during the war years. Otherwise, relying solely on pioneering and hunting shadow monsters, their achievements would at most qualify them as knights directly under the kingdom's command.

It can be inherited, but a large inheritance tax must be paid.

If a generation cannot pay the inheritance tax, they will lose their knighthood and fall back to the commoner class.

Leo is already a knight-lord, so seeking a direct knighthood with the kingdom is simply not worthwhile. Therefore, if he can't obtain a baronial title, he'd be better off remaining in the Firefly Wilds, loyal to his family.

Rushing as fast as possible.

At five o'clock in the evening, the convoy successfully arrived at Leo Loyalty's Swamp Manor. Butler Decker, along with the servants, stood under the oak tree and cordyceps at the entrance of Sunflower Castle to warmly welcome them.

Besides Olivia and Mrs. Abby, there were five boys and five girls, ten children in their late teens, standing timidly in the line, wearing loose uniforms.

This is clearly a newly recruited servant of Butler Decker—currently just a trainee servant, and whether he can stay depends on his learning progress over the next few months.

"Let's dig holes first and plant the linden trees properly." Leo's first task was to lead the people in planting the trees. He had already chosen the planting locations for the linden trees on the way. "We'll plant them right in the center of the square, 250 meters from the castle gate."

The castle's perimeter is 500 meters in radius.

Outside is the fortified village under construction.

The linden tree, standing twenty meters tall, emits a light brighter than a kilowatt light bulb. Planted between fortresses and castles, it can illuminate the entire square—the linden tree is not only a barrier against shadowy monsters, but also a source of light in daily life.

With many hands making light work, Pluto and other knights personally took part and dug a circular pit ten meters deep with shovels.

The serfs lined up and used buckets to scoop the water out of the pit.

Leo then extended his hand in invitation: "Lord Lamar, please help me plant some linden trees."

"It's my duty, Master Leo." Lamar directed the group to place the miniature linden tree into the pit, then cast a spell with his magic wand, and holy light poured from his hand onto the linden tree.

Then the linden tree sapling gradually grew larger and quickly returned to its original height of twenty meters.

The enormous light caused the gathered serfs to erupt in cheers.

"So bright!"

"It's so beautiful!"

"Praise be to the Holy Light! Praise be to the Glowing Mushroom Family!"

"May the Holy Light forever bless Young Master Leo!"

Lamar then directed the serfs to fill the pit with soil, shovel by shovel, restoring the ten-meter-deep pit to its original level.

He cast the Holy Light spell again to maintain the vitality of the linden tree, then clapped his hands: "Alright, young master Leo, if the leaves of the linden tree don't dehydrate overnight, it will be planted."

"Thank you very much." Leo extended his hand in invitation, "Please come into the castle to rest; the dinner will be ready soon."

"You're too kind, Young Master Leo."

Lamar spoke politely, but his demeanor was relaxed. He went to the castle to rest on his own. Even in the Glowing Fungus, a priest like him was a guest of honor of the baron and held a very respected position.

Leo did not rest.

He also had to supervise the unloading. The goods in the thirty wagons far exceeded the capacity of the castle's storeroom, so many rooms in the castle had to be cleared out temporarily to store the goods.

"Professor Franken."

"I'm here, Leo."

"I'll trouble you tonight. Conscript serfs to serve overnight and set up a batch of tents to provide shelter from the wind and rain. We still have a thousand serfs waiting to be received." Leo said with a happy worry.

Just a few days ago I was lamenting that there were too few people in the territory.

In just a few days, the population is about to explode. The food, clothing, housing and transportation of a thousand people is a considerable burden.