The Defeated Dragon

Stupidwoman's status in Flower Town was pitiful. Since being caught, she has not only been used as a fertility machine for Tremblingwoods , but has also been confined in the back room all the time. It's animal nature has long been consumed leaving only servility.

It's life-destroying. It's an obliteration of its nature.

If the island had an Animal Protection Organization of some sort, Liszt  would have long been nailed on the pillar of shame, enjoying the treatment of thousands of people who are cursing him. Unfortunately, the island citizens don't have any sympathy for the beast, since for them, it was born to be killed by humans for their meat and make money out of it.

The snow was very thick in the doghouse, and no one came to clean it these days.

Although Stupidwoman no longer releases magic and has almost forgotten what a rock thorn is, it is still a great threat to any ordinary person who sees it.

“Lord…will it… it …really not kill me?” Old Defoe followed Liszt and walked into the dog prison trembling. “I..I…can still see the dog even from outside the dog house…”

“Don't be nervous  Old Defoe, what are you afraid of when I'm here?” Liszt said gently. “This time I want you to take a closer look and see the approximate gestation age of Stupidwoman … don't be nervous, you see, I'm standing right here. Has she done anything for you to be afraid of her like this? “

Old Defoe wanted to move, but his legs refused to obey. “My Lord… Lord, pregnant mothers… strangers… she will be furious.”

“Stupidwoman won't do anything.”

“I, I …”

Slap!

Losing his patience, Liszt kicked old Defoe's a.s.s directly with his boots. “When I say you come forward to observe, you will come forward to observe!  Or else you will go directly to my squire knight and get a hundred whips!”

Even a strong man can be beaten to death with a hundred whips.

Old Defoe was kicked in a staggered way and he finally got rid of his fear of Stupidwoman. He carefully began to check her situation by lurking around the cage.

Stupidwoman turned her head and looked at Old Defoe, her mouth opened slightly, and she let out a low growl.

Liszt threw in a piece of jerky at her, and the next moment, the roaring woman began to chew the dried meat with her tail wagging. Tremblingwoods reached out his claws from outside the cage and wanted to grab the jerky. It never knew what compa.s.sion was.

After a while.

Old Defoe gave the conclusion he had observed. “My Lord, judging from the change of Stupidwoman's body shape and the signs of wetness in her private parts, she is not yet ready for childbirth.  It will take about half a month more for her to be in full term. But I can't guarantee that, for she may also deliver prematurely. “

Generally, dogs give birth after two months.  However, Stupidwoman is a magical beast hence, her pregnancy would be longer, but after all, it is still a magical beast and it won't take long for the babies to grow.

Old Defoe, who has kept dogs for many years, has experience in the pregnancy and birth  of ordinary dogs. But he can only guess about the magical beast type of dogs. This time,  there was no guarantee.

Liszt had something in mind.

What worries him about Stupidwoman's delivery is that when the pups would open their eyes, he would not be the first person they see. After all, the reason why Tremblingwoods was so loyal to him was because he was the first person it saw when it opened its eyes.

If Stupidwoman gives birth at least ten days after today, Liszt could still come back in time from Red Crab Island and be there when the pups' eyes open.

Or else, he will  miss the time when the pups open their eyes. Of course, it can be tamed and domesticated from a young age, but loyalty is not guaranteed anymore. Liszt does not like this kind of unguaranteed loyalty – people can easily be kidnapped with interest and affection.  It will be hard by then to restrict the magical beast's loyalty to the Lord.

Marcus, for example, whose family is in Flower Town, is loyal to him because Marcus's betrayal cost is so expensive that even Liszt can hardly afford it.

Basically, all these officials and knights would be difficult to turn against Coral Island's Tulip family.

Another example is Paris with her sister Maggie. As long as Mrs. Harriet and her family can establish an unbreakable kinship with Maggie, it would be difficult for Paris to betray them. Of course, there was still some risk of her betrayal. After all, it will take time to build up genuine trust.

As for her being a black dragon, she has a high research value, and it is reason enough for Liszt to keep her by his side at his own risk-  she will also be studied in detail later.

The servants were carefully cleaning the dog prison when Liszt led Tremblingwoods  away from the reluctant Stupidwoman.

————-

The night before he left  Flower Town.

The Flowers was still berthing on Black Horse  Island, so Liszt could not get back the Calm Pearl from it. He should have long invited Granny Truth again to Flower Town to make more Calm Pearls for him. Without it, Liszt did not quite feel safe to travel on sea.

Arriving at Tulip Castle, he met Ranieri, deputy housekeeper of Long Taro Castle.

Ranieri has the most delicate curly hair and the most popular Steel accent among the upper-cla.s.s society. He even speaks more n.o.bly than Liszt. “Master Liszt, Ranieri wishes you well.”

“Mr. Ranieri, how is my grandfather?”

“The old man can already get out of bed and walk, but he was seriously injured when he was younger, leaving behind a dark illness. Even the high-level qi in his body cannot repair it. It has also severely damaged his health.” Ranieri said heavily. As a veteran sky knight, Merlin Longtaro battled the north and south in his youth and was inevitably injured.

Although qi can repair the body's wounds, it is difficult to heal wounds that have seriously injured the internal organs. Qi is more effective in healing skin injuries.

“I believe Grandpa is powerful enough to overcome any dark disease and his health will be restored soon.”

“Thank you for your blessing. We all think so too.”

After greeting Ranieri, Liszt found Levis and Lvera and asked them about their gift arrangements. As the heir of Tulip Castle, Levis had a lot of gifts, all of which were high-end and priceless, including the gifts that the Count wanted to give to the old man.

Lvera's gifts were much lighter, but it was more intentional and full of sentiment. She is a n.o.ble lady after all, her gifts would surely be appreciated.

“Let me see your gifts.. Flower soap and Flower Town oyster sauce? And egg rolls, bread, and longevity noodles?” Lvera checked Liszt's gift list. “What are longevity noodles?”

“It's just a very long noodle… Oh, I forgot you don't know what noodles are yet… Well,  noodles are Mrs. Abby's newly invented dish. It is a long piece of wheaten food, boiled in water, added with condiments. It  can simply be added with two eggs, and it would make a very delicious meal. Long noodles also symbolize longevity. “

“Very creative. I'm jealous. You have a chef like Mrs. Abby. My chef can only make bread. I can't even make him learn to do scrambled eggs. But don't you think these gifts are too light? Grandpa sent you a gem weapon. Are the gifts you sent even worth a gold coin? “

“Probably … worth two gold coins.” As soon as Lvera pointed it out, Liszt started to feel ashamed. These gifts were special products at best, but cheap local goods at worst.

After thinking, he added, “I added a black pearl.”

Black Pearls the size of a fist can be made into a magical equipment for self-defense, and it could easily be worth at least a hundred gold coins. In this way, his gifts will have both heart and value and not be considered 'light'.

“You have so many good things.” Lvera said with envy. "Grandpa will feel your heart, and maybe he will send you another gem equipment. What he gives me are always some new styles of clothes from aristocratic celebrities … I can make my own clothes! “

Ships from Red Crab Island have sails that were almost blocking out the sun.

It is embroidered with a giant “blue gem” logo, representing the court, as well as the integrity and authority of the Sapphire family.

“The ship is really big, much larger than the Tulip's.” For the first time, Paris saw such a huge ship and felt it was refreshing to see something that big.

Liszt ignored the n.o.ble image and sat on the deck steps of the bow with his back against the soft fur on Tremblingwoods'  belly.

The wind blew strongly, which made him meticulously comb his constantly flying light golden hair. “This is a fast sailing ship of the court, the speed of which can reach 10 knots. My grandfather once held the court navy. A few fast sailing ships were donated right after his term. “

The Longtaro family has always been known for being savvy and a loyal follower of the Grand Duke. When Marquis Merlin's father was a count, he gave up all his money to support the previous generation's Grand Duke in waging a war.

In the end, the marquis t.i.tle and the huge Red Crab Island was bestowed in exchange for such loyalty.

After the new Grand Duke came to power, he relied heavily on Marquis Merlin to take charge of the royal navy. It should be noted that the navy is the most indispensable part of the Sapphire Grand Duchy cross-sea operations. 

However, Marquis Merlin fell ill and no longer served in court.

As for Liszt's uncle, Messillo Longtaro, although also a Sky Knight, he did not inherit his father's martial arts skills. 

He was already 35 years old when his family's magic drugs were poured on him so he could break through to a high-level qi. Leewilliam, at this age, has already created the Coral Island line with the strength of a Sky Knight.

Despite Messillo's poor talent, it is said that he has good skills and even when he was 25 years old, he already had touched the critical point of being a Sky Knight.

There may be breakthroughs at any time.

One has to say.

At this level of wealth of the Longtaro family, even a pig can acc.u.mulate into being a Sky Knight. There may be a gap between Messilo and a gifted player like Leewilliam, but the continuity of the family does not pose a problem at all. If the family would do their best to train the next generation, they would still be able to maintain the family's prosperity.

“Your name is Paris?” Liszt did not know exactly when Lvera came on deck, but she smiled at Liszt and started talking with Paris.

“Yes, Baron Lvera.”

“You are not from Coral Island. Your accent is quite different from us here. “

“I came from the Eagle Kingdom.”

“Serf?”

“No, I am a mercenary.”

“There are many mercenaries on the mainland. How did you come to Coral Island and got under my brother's employment?”

“By boat, my sister was sold to Flower Town.  I tracked her down there and accepted the Baron's employment.”

“How is your skill?” Lvera suddenly had the urge to test her.

Liszt watched Lvera's efforts to woo Paris. He did not say anything but instead smiled faintly and tickled Tremblingwoods .

He actually wanted to see if Lvera can bring Paris over to her side and it would also be a test of Paris's loyalty.

Paris glanced at Liszt, who she saw was busily combing Tremblingwoods' hair. She  turned back and said to Lvera, “I'm an elite earth knight, Baron Lvera, do you want to fight me?” 

“I haven't reached the elite level. I just want to ask you for a lesson!”

“As you wish.”

Immediately, the two women took out their swords and began to fight. They were like  thunderbolts clapping and b.u.mping against each other, all of it ending with Lvera's swords being knocked off.

Paris's sword has left her hand as well.

The light and shadow trick was not used. She directly used his physical ability to beat Lvera, who used body qi.

After the compet.i.tion, Lvera praised Paris aloud, had a few words with Liszt, then left the bow to return to the cabin without saying anything else. This was proof already that Lvera had abandoned her street-like behavior and no longer robbed Liszt of the good things right in front of him.

“Your sister is far inferior to your strength.” Paris said suddenly.

“She was promoted to the earth knight level before she was a teenager. Among the female knights, she is a very talented genius.” Liszt smiled and said calmly, “but my talent is even better.”

Paris did not overdo it and  didn't answer Liszt.

————-

After the mercenaries left, except for a few sailors working on deck, only Liszt and Tremblingwoods remained.

Tremblingwoods  was too big to stay in the cabin, so Liszt did not return to the cabin and continued to accompany Tremblingwoods  on deck.

Sailing on sea is a very boring activity. Liszt dozed off and thought about some things that he didn't have.

While on this long trip to Longtaro Castle, his thoughts went to not knowing when he would see Athena Salmon again. This beautiful young girl had left a deep impression on him. But he was embarra.s.sed to ask the a.s.sistant housekeeper Ranieri about Athena .After all, at Athena's age, it would be difficult for her to stay single.

After all, Athena was not a picky person like Lvera.

“It can't be said that Athena is not picky but she will definitely choose me from a crowd, which shows that her standards for a partner are very high.”

Liszt was fantasizing about seeing Athena again and expressing his love.

Suddenly, he heard the lookout at the top of the mast exclaim, “It's the devil's cloud!”

The lookout then blew the horn.

The deep, penetrating horn sound instantly woke the entire ship from drowsiness and everyone hurried out of the cabin. Liszt certainly understood the meaning of this horn, it meant that the ship was in danger. He stood up quickly and looked around nervously, taking Tremblingwoods with him.

From his observation, he saw that the sky was gloomy ahead, right on the ship's course.

It was dark clouds rolling, mixed with a flash of lightning, rolling over the skyline.

“The Devil's Cloud!”

“It's the devil's cloud!”

The sailors exclaimed in succession but were stopped by the captain's voice, “Don't panic! Lower the sail! Anchor! The bow anchor sinks immediately so keep the stern anchor ready. “

The sound was not loud, but it made the trained sailors immediately calm down and began to lower the sails. A group of strong sailors turned the winch and dropped the bow anchor. The huge wooden chain, driven by the anchor, made a harsh frictional sound and quickly sank into the sea floor.

There was a scarcity of iron hence all the anchors were made of wood.

But although it was a wooden anchor,  it belonged to the iron wood type.

A wooden anchor may weigh as much as half a ton and would sink immediately into the water. With great towing force, the sailboat will immediately stop sailing and be fixed on the sea surface.

Liszt's heart was a bit nervous.

He was already uncomfortable not bringing the Calm Pearl and now they are facing danger at sea. It would be easy for the vast sea to swallow the whole ship.

Seeing Levis rushing towards the captain's room, he followed his brother  and rushed over as well, just to hear Levis drunk talk, “What is a Devil's Cloud?”

The captain took out his hip flask and took a swig of wine.

He then settled down and said, “Dear n.o.ble masters, don't panic, it's just a sea storm. In my life, I have encountered more storms than I have eaten white bread. The Cancer was once a palace sailing ship. It can resist the Devil's Cloud! “

Listening to his words, the people calmed down a little.

But Liszt keenly observed that the captain was not completely at ease and so he had his turn to ask. "Captain, tell us what the Devil's Cloud is!”