Published: March 12, 2025
CHAPTER 486: Reward
The king was quite satisfied with Zhao Hai's performance. While other dark mages struggled with dark magic, it seemed effortless in Zhao Hai's hands, indicating his strong abilities.
Moreover, Zhao Hai was the family head of the Budah Family, the son-in-law of the Karlqi Family, and had a good relationship with the Krook Family and was also close to Prince Charlie.
All of this made the king regard Zhao Hai highly. Although the Budah Family was a family of the Aksu Empire, that didn't matter; as long as Zhao Hai had the capability, the king wouldn’t care about his origins. Moreover, the king was certainly aware of the Budah Family's complicated history with the Aksu Empire. In his eyes, Zhao Hai likely held no affection for the Aksu Empire—if anything, he might harbor resentment. At this moment, bringing Zhao Hai to the Roson Empire would be beneficial for it.
The old king understood that Zhao Hai had offended the Church of Light and the powerful prince consort of the Aksu Empire. In this situation, if Zhao Hai wanted to settle down, it could only be in the Roson Empire; there was simply no possibility elsewhere.
Having such a person around gave the old king great reassurance. It was precisely this boldness in employing capable individuals that had always been the standard of the Roson Empire. They could overlook one’s background as long as the person had talent, and it was this principle that had allowed the Roson Empire to become the strongest nation on the continent.
After Zhao Hai dealt with the issue of the boat carver, the old king sent someone to bring up all the bodies of the Robert family so that Zhao Hai could turn them into undead beings, fearing that there might be any overlooked fish. Fortunately, the number of boat carvers was not large, and no one from the Robert family was found to be associated with them.
Once Zhao Hai had handled everything, the king nodded and turned to the Third Master. The Third Master immediately stepped forward and announced loudly, “Zhao Hai Budah, step forward to receive your award.”
Zhao Hai was taken aback for a moment but quickly responded, stepping forward and kneeling on one knee. This was the custom on the Ark Continent; when the king was bestowing a reward, one must kneel to accept it, signifying the importance of the award.
As soon as Zhao Hai knelt, the Third Master declared, “Zhao Hai Budah, a noble of the esteemed family, with outstanding abilities and extraordinary strength, is hereby awarded the title of first-class marquess by the Roson Empire, and the island of Golden Island is granted as a hereditary fief.”
Zhao Hai immediately replied, “Thank you, Your Majesty. I will certainly do my utmost to serve the Roson Empire!”
The awarding process on the Ark Continent was relatively simple, which Zhao Hai greatly appreciated. However, he hadn’t expected the king to be so generous, immediately granting him a marquis title and an island as a fief.
On the Ark Continent, the ranking of titles was as follows: duke, marquess, earl, viscount, baron, knight, with knights being considered supplementary nobles and barons being the lowest tier of nobility. The titles of duke, marquess, earl, viscount, and baron were the legitimate noble ranks, each of which was further divided into three tiers. The third tier was the lowest, while the first tier was the highest. Above the first duke was the grand duke, who could establish their own duchy, and above the grand duke was the prince consort, who typically relied on the king for authority, being part of the royal family. If the king didn’t grant them power, they could only be seen as a favored noble, unable to accomplish great deeds; although their title was high, their power could not compare to that of a grand duke.
Zhao Hai was a second-class earl in the Aksu Empire, not a top-tier noble, but in the Roson Empire, he was a first-class marquess, which was four ranks higher than the title he held in the Aksu Empire. This was a tremendous difference; it would take considerable effort for ordinary nobles to rise one class, let alone four.