The Defeated Dragon

The ghost ship was actually like a ghost. It came quickly and went away fast. No one knew what actually happened on the ship except Liszt and Tremblingwoods .

There was no other trace of horror on deck aside from the corpses.

The surviving sailors, in cooperation with the trainee knights, began to clean up the dead bodies. In total, the ghost ship took 23 people. The victims included sailors, trainee knights and servants while many others were injured. Fortunately, there were no casualties among the four n.o.bles on board.

It does n't matter whether Captain Leiden lives or not, the n.o.ble children must never be in danger. Once something happens, not only will Marquis Merlin be furious, but also Leewilliam Tulip.

This time, however, a lot of people did perish.

“Liszt, what do you think?”

Levis' voice pulled Liszt back from a trance.

He was still thinking about the dog blood love between Curtis Truth and Annette Sapphire.

Being a woman who was crazy in love, she actually recovered the magical techniques of the ancient times, turned himself into a lich, and also brought out legendary things like ghost ships. Now the ghost ship has collapsed, but the sheep's head banner, the dragon bow image, the soul trap wood, and the sapphire ring were still in Liszt's gem s.p.a.ce.

This will always serve to remind him that the ghost ship was not an illusion.

No one had ever thought of meeting a ghost ship on this trip. Compared with sea monsters and storms, that experience really caught them off guard. Therefore, deputy housekeeper Ranieri asked the three siblings with a heavy heart whether they should continue to go to Red Crab Island or return to Coral Island immediately.

“What do you think, brother and sister?” asked Liszt, who had finally returned to his senses.

“I wanted to go back,” Levis said. “The atmosphere of the New Year is gone, and many people have died. However, this year's New Year may be the last New Year for Grandpa. If we can't be with him, it will be regretful for all of us.. And since we're okay now, I say let's move on……Lvera, what do you think?”

“You make the decision.”Lvera's face was still a little swollen.

Two slap marks were visible on her face, which Liszt had inflicted on her trying to wake her up.

Of course, Lvera did not know all this.

Liszt did not disclose the secrets of the ghost ship for it involved a court coup from a hundred years ago.  Doing so would just stir up trouble. And also, some of his secrets would also get revealed in the process. For his siblings, this was just another encounter in the fog.

No one else knew what the ghost ship was anyway.

When the fog clouded their faces, they were already under the illusion and were not able to see or hear what was happening. Even if the ghost ship crashed or Curtis let out another shrill scream before she died, they would have not noticed it.

Levis then made up his mind.

They would continue sailing to Red Crab Island.

Fortunately, Captain Morrodo did not join the casualties. The rest of the sailors were barely able to control the ship and their navigation was not greatly affected.

However, the atmosphere on the ship was not as cheerful as when they had first come in. Lvera, who initially liked to show off, was now on her weak side, hiding in the cabin  licking her wounds. Levis and Captain Leiden were also busy dealing with the dead on board.

Ranieri looked worried. Although he had nothing to do with the appearance of the ghost ship, this incident definitely did not gain him any points.

Liszt, with his hair still flowing in the wind, was on deck with Tremblingwoods .

His facial expression was also somewhat trance-like. While others have regarded the experience as a dream, he deeply experienced the secrets on the ghost ship. There were still many problems running in his mind. Liszt thought this world was the world of dragons, sprites, knights and wizards. Unexpectedly, ghost ships and lichs have also appeared one after another.

He thought again about the strange professions recorded in the magic book ” To His Royal Highness Annette – Curtis Truth”, Druids, Necromancers, Vampires, Wizards, Prophets, etc., places of exile, Dragon Realm Master Plan.. it all sounded very complicated.

“I hate the existence of such a mess. It's better to cultivate qi peacefully. What a mess magic is!”

His gaze fell back on deck where many trainee knights were still moving the dead bodies.

Paris went up to Liszt's side and saw that Liszt was somehow in a trance with his eyes on the corpses.

She asked aloud, “Lord Baron, are you sorry for Sean, York and Theodore?”

“Hmm?” Liszt came back to himself.

Sean, York, Theodore?

He just remembered that those three men were his trainee knights. Their deaths were indeed sad, and here he was just thinking about the ghost ship.

Liszt nodded lightly, his tone full of sadness. “They were still very young, not yet adults. They thought it was just a relaxing journey, but instead it took their lives.”

“No one wants to see such an accident, but you have done well enough. Sean, York and Theodore were lucky to follow a kind Lord.” Paris said.

Did I actually  do well enough?

What exactly have I done for those three people?

Liszt was a bit confused about what Paris was thinking, but he obviously felt that Paris' temperament towards him was getting closer and gentler.

Before the incident, he would've been quite pleased to win her over.

But seeing Curtis going crazy about love, he shuddered and felt that it was necessary to keep a proper distance from women, or female subordinates. It was better not to play with fire. Although women like Curtis are rare, who can guarantee that he would not meet a Curtis in his lifetime?

“I am ashamed that I have done only a little work.”

————–

The green flame of the sheep's head flag solidified, as did the green flame of the sapphire dragon bow.

In the gem s.p.a.ce, everything was still. On regular days, Liszt liked to take them out some items from the s.p.a.ce and see what changes have taken place, but this time, he did not take the risk.

For the rest of the voyage, he acted as discreet as anyone else.

He would read the magic book written by Curtis Truth in the gem s.p.a.ce, as he had only read it briefly before.

Now was the time to fully understand it.

To a non-wizard, reading the experimental content written by a great wizard is like reading a heavenly book. Many things were unclear, even if there are some ill.u.s.trations that were shown to explain them. More importantly, most of the contents of this book was about how to transform a wizard into a lich.

Liszt has no desire to become a lich, something that was neither human nor ghost.

“It is very interesting, however, to read about how to construct a ghost ship. Maybe I can find a wizard to study it in detail in the future. I can also make a ghost ship to see what the place of exile looks like … Unfortunately, there is no record of keel fixing technology in this book. Maybe Curtis has mastered the keel fixing technology.”

The keel fixing technique was owned by Marquis Cohen. His family mage can embed the bones of dragons, asian dragons, and dragon beasts into the keel of ships to expel sea monsters.

Liszt was hungry for this technology, but it was long lost. Curtis was possibly the only one who had mastered the technique, but he had killed her immediately.

“Forget it, I have fast-sailing ship skills anyway. I have the capability to build ships that are more suitable for navigation in the future. “

The day before the New Year's Festival, the three siblings finally arrived at Longtaro Castle escorted by the Red Crab Island knight's squad. The news of their encounter with the ghost ship quickly reached the ears of Marquis Merlin.

“Levis, Lvera, Liszt, I'm relieved to see you all safe and sound. You don't know how worried I was when I heard about the Ghost Ship.”

Cousin Meopal rode the long distance from Longtaro Castle to greet his cousins. When he saw the three siblings, he kept saying, “Grandfather,Father, and Mother are all worried about you. If I had known that you would encounter a ghost ship, I should have sent my family's fleet to pick you up. “

Whether it was aristocratic courtesy or true intentions, the three siblings were moved by Meopal's gesture.

The unpleasant encounter with the ghost ship also revealed one of the many disasters that is unavoidable by any traveller. They could only consider themselves unlucky and so there was no need to be angry with someone or blame others for what happened.

Besides, the siblings were not hurt.

The atmosphere returned to the normal harmonious nature.

At the gate of Longtaro Castle, Liszt saw his uncle and aunt. Uncle Messillo is tall, thin and handsome, somewhat similar to the portrait of Melissa in Tulip Castle. Although their Aunt has many crow's feet in the corners of her eyes, she is still a wealthy lady with a strong temperament.

“Young Liszt has grown up. You have inherited all of Melissa's advantages. You are more handsome than your cousin,” their aunt said kindly.

Liszt bowed his thanks. Someone would always praise him for being handsome.

“Mother, please don't praise others behind your son's back, it hurts my self-confidence,” said Meopal.

Seeing that everyone has already said their greetings, Messillo said, "Let's not just stand outside and talk, please come in. Your grandfather is waiting for you. He heard about the ghost ship incident and is worried about you.”

They all entered the magnificent Longtaro Castle.

The three siblings naturally went to visit first  the owner of the castle, Marquis Merlin, one of the seven Marquis of the Grand Duchy. Marquis Merlin now lives on crutches and is walking on the cloister of the castle. Once a respected sky knight, he now looks no different from an ordinary old man.

“Grandpa…” cried the three siblings.

The Marquis of Merlin pushed aside the servant who was there to a.s.sist him, the expression on his face was as majestic as ever. “Well, you are here, I know about the ghost ship encounter, were you scared?"

“Of course not. With a sword in hand and qi in the body, how can a ghost ship stand?” Levis boasted immediately even when he had nothing to boast.

But at least he showed enough courage when facing danger on board, which is something worthy of recognition.

The least Levis could have done was to recognize Liszt's efforts, who not only did not escape the scene, but also cared about his brother and sister's safety, which was originally Levis' responsibility.

“Well said, with charging and long swords, horses and pikes, knights are invincible.” Marquis Merlin held out his hand and slapped Levi's shoulder heavily. “It's a pity that I have not met a ghost ship for nearly 40 years.”

While others would run the other way, Marquis Merlin only felt regret.

One's view of the world would vary on their skill level. Perhaps the ghost ship is nothing unusual to Marquis Merlin.

At such a high level, one's understanding of the world would definitely be deeper.

After he had finished speaking, he said to Messillo, “Have you made any arrangements to send the Red Crab Island fleet and knights to patrol the sea to find the ghost ship?  Seize it if you can, or end it if you cannot.”

“I have informed Count Shaker to lead the investigation and I have also invited Grand Wizard Oak to accompany him.”

“Don't hesitate anymore. All the waters between Red Crab Island and Coral Island will be inspected at once! All pirates or ghost ships are to be directly destroyed. I don't care whether this is a natural disaster or a conspiracy. The anger of the Longtaro Castle must be vented!" the Marquis said lightly.

Messillo nodded hastily,  “Father, please rest a.s.sured that I will tell Count Shaker.”

“No, you will tell Shaker to come  see me first.”

“Yes.”

After dealing with the arrangements for the ghost ship, the Marquis said to the three siblings, “Forget about the ghost ship, and think about celebrating the New Year in Longtaro Castle! Aunt Melinda will bring her two boys here tomorrow. Young people always find happy things when they get together.”

“Okay, Grandpa.”

Their aunt came over and said, “Tea and refreshments have been arranged in the living room. Father, take the kids to chat in the living room. It's cold in the hallway.”

“Don't treat me like a waste, my qi is still boiling.” Having said that, Marquis Merlin did not refuse the proposal and returned to the living room surrounded by the three siblings.

They enjoyed drinking their warm tea while sharing gossip.

Auntie is a talkative lady who always leads the topic and asks about updates about the three siblings.

Liszt naturally talked about his Flower Town. He simply explained some of the town's development, such as the production of flower soap, the extraction of seafood oyster sauce, and the birth of the thorn sprite, Ella.

Marquis Merlin loved to hear this kind of talk, and he solemnly said, “Having a sprite who produces magic, Liszt, you are truly blessed by the knight's glory. However, it is more important to work hard yourself. Being a Sky Knight should be not just your brother's goal, it should also be yours too."

“Grandpa, of course. I understand that my talent is mediocre. But I do not have a narrow vision.”

At this moment, Meopal suddenly b.u.t.ted in the conversation. “Grandfather, you may not know that Liszt also brought a mid-level magical beast, and also that beast is his pet!”

“A mid-level magical beast as a pet?”

“It's name is Tremblingwoods , a wild dog I raised from its childhood. I accidentally gave it  the bloodline fruit and it evolved into a mid-level magical beast. However, it will only release one type of magic.”

“Bring it in here so I can see it.”

Marquis Merlin was unable to walk, so Liszt directly asked Thomas, the footman, to lead Tremblingwoods  to the living room. Fortunately, the living room in Longtaro Castle was quite large, and so Tremblingwoods'  huge size was not noticed.

“w.a.n.g w.a.n.g!”

It came immediately to Liszt's feet while wagging its tail. It was impossible for any human to ignore the beast, even those servants who came in and out of the living room.

“A big black dog! ” Aunt exclaimed. Obviously she has been a well-respected lady for many years, and has had her own share of magical beast meat. However, wild magical beast meat was something she has eaten very rarely. "It is bigger than a tiger and is really as obedient as a dog. Liszt, how did you tame it?”

Liszt smiled slightly, Tremblingwoods was his facade. "You raise it like a dog. Use a whip when it is being difficult and reward it with jerky when it is being obedient."

“It's incredible to raise a beast like a dog, Liszt. You've made my awe for the beast disappear.” Meopal exaggerated.

Messillo nodded and commented,  “In terms of size, it is indeed qualified as a mid-level magical beast, it is much larger than the ordinary Turkish dog.”

Marquis Merlin only glanced at Tremblingwoods . He has seen countless magical beasts and many advanced-level ones.

However, he spoke highly of Liszt's breeding methods. “You have a lot of ideas about breeding magical beasts. Sometimes we exaggerate the wit and danger of magical beasts when in fact, they are just beasts with a little magic in them … You should train them more on how to work with knights. In the future, it can play a role comparable to that of a Sky Knight on the battlefield.”

Liszt has no idea if Tremblingwoods would ever reach a Sky Knight level. It would have to wait until Tremblingwoods learns a new type of magic.

A beast with no magic is just a strong beast, and at that moment, Tremblingwoods was still very young.

After that talk, the conversation shifted towards the ghost ship.

"Morrodo is not crazy. I know him personally. He is an excellent sea captain.” Marquis Merlin had a good impression of Morrodo. "But his son was engulfed by the ghost ship, and he also encountered the ghost ship himself. It seems that he is not suitable to continue serving  as captain anymore and it might be time for him to retire.”

In between the lines, Marquis Merlin has decided Morodo's retirement.

“Grandfather, the ghost ship is the ship of the Marquis Cohen. Do you know Marquis Cohen? What kind of man is he?” Meopal asked curiously.

The Marquis sat on his chair with both hands leaning on the crutches, as if thinking.

“When Marquis Cohen was alive, my father was not yet born. My grandfather was still young then and the Longtaro family was only a Count. Marquis Cohen belonged to a family whose surname is Magic Goat. The Magic Goat family is very different from an ordinary knight family. They value magic very much. “

The Magic Goat family was a follower of Anderson Sapphire, the Sapphire Grand Duke and the dragon knight of the first generation. After the founding of the country, the family achieved a Marquis level. 

This family keeps a kind of magical beast called the Rock Goats, which they raised on a large scale. Rock Goat products sell well here and abroad. Blankets and quilts made of rock goat wool are also popular products for n.o.bles.

However, members of this family practice magic as well as cultivation of qi.

Men cultivate their qi while women practice magic.

Relying on magic to make fixed keels, the Magic Goat family ships can sail across the sea and help the knights of the Sapphire Grand Duchy to explore the mainland. It can be said that the Magic Goat family at that time was second only to the Sapphire family in authority. Both families got along quite well with each other.

“Cohen Magic Goat was a powerful Sky Knight, following the eldest son of the second-generation Grand Duke, Annette Sapphire. However, there was a problem. Annette was badly hit during the war and the court doctors have expressed that he will definitely die young after being diagnosed."

Marquis Merlin did not mind having a chat about the secrets of the court around family members.

n.o.bles like to talk about the secrets of the court when they have nothing else to do, just as servants always like to talk about the n.o.bles.

“To help Annette, the magicians of the Magic Goat family decided to steal the power of the Sapphire Dragon and integrate it with Annette, making Annette a Dragon Realm Lord, thus sharing half the life of a dragon. As far as I know, the emperor who ruled over the Glorious Empire was a dragon lord and he was in power for 200 years.”

Dragon Realm Lord!

This was the second time Liszt has heard of it. The first time he encountered  it was in Curtis Truth's magic book where she stated that such plan of theirs had failed.

Now, he discovers straight from the mouth of Marquis Merlin that the Dragon Realm Lord can actually share the life of the dragon.

This made Liszt's eyes open wide. If one could pursue immortality, who would be willing to die early? A mere 100 years of life is simply not enough.

It is meaningless to live forever if one becomes a lich that is neither human nor a ghost. However, it sounds like being a Dragon Realm Lord would allow one to  steal the power of the dragon as to guarantee eternal youth.

Marquis Merlin felt the young people around him were getting breathless from such news and bursted with laughter. "Becoming a Dragon Realm Lord really tempts people. When I was younger, I also wanted to deal with the Sapphire Dragon so I can share its lifetime. Ha ha ha ha.. But being a Dragon Realm Lord requires a lot.. and threatening a dragon never bodes well.."

The dragon is indeed a superior creature that tops others, for even the family that owns the dragon can't completely win it over.

Besides, a dragon can normally live for a thousand years and shelter a generation for hundreds of years. However, after sharing its lifetime with a Dragon Realm Lord, the dragon will only have half of it time for itself, which is obviously not worth it.

The Marquis leaned again on his crutches.

Marquis Merlin returned to the story. “The third-generation Grand Duke, that is, his younger brother, Lord Andy, discovered Annette's plan, hence angering the second-generation Grand Duke. The second-generation Grand Duke immediately exiled Annette's soul, pa.s.sed the Grand Duke's position to Lord Andy, and personally captured Cohen Magic Goat.”

"But of course, Cohen Magic Goat is quite powerful. With the help of the family's two great wizards, not only did they not give in easily, but they also attacked the second generation Grand Duke and had him seriously injured. If it weren't for the Sapphire Dragon's strong power to guard the second-generation Grand Duke at that critical moment, the result would have been unpredictable."

"In the end, Cohen Magic Goat and two great magicians were suppressed. The second-generation archduke died of serious injuries. The young third-generation police official took advantage of the situation to completely destroy the Magic Goat family."

More than a hundred years have pa.s.sed, and people have long forgotten the past except for a few  people.

“I didn't know that the ghost of Cohen Magic Goat had been roaming around for more than a hundred years, and yet, he still forgot to toss out the ghost ship.” The Marquis of Merlin snorted coldly, “It must be the doing of those mages. Mages are like madmen who like to study uncommon and evil magic.”

Although mages are sometimes needed to make magic potions and magic equipment, it does not prevent knights like Marquis Merlin from openly discriminating against them.

——–

The luncheon was a blast. It was only with family members but Liszt ate a lot more than the last time he had dined in the castle.

However, Liszt's had elevated to a more glamorous lifestyle than before. Thus, his taste has also improved and he did not feel how delicious the food was.

On the contrary, he was somewhat disturbed.

His thoughts were all about the Dragon Realm Lord that Marquis Merlin had mentioned a lot. He had no idea about it before having only read the book briefly. But now that he had acquired a lot of information, he could not stop thinking about it.

It was like another level was opened apart from being a Dragon Knight. 

He once felt that his greatest desire since he migrated was to become a dragon knight, and if he could ride a dragon, his life would not be a waste. He didn't have too much desire for eternal life since he thought it was impossible. 

After all, a Dragon Knight would still lose his might a hundred years later. Even if there is such a thing as a lich, after seeing Curtis's miserable appearance, Liszt did not aspire to become one.

However, the emergence of the Dragon Realm Lord suddenly inspired him to desire for eternal life.  After all, who would like to die if he could live in style for hundreds of years?

There's a good song that goes “I really want to live another 500 years……”

Liszt has been through the world of mortals and has seen the truth about  life and death. Of course he has very practical views about life thinking he has no chance to live forever anyway, but now, how can he not fight for it when he has the chance?

Slowly eating white bread, he suddenly set a new goal. “In this life, I must not only ride a dragon, but also become a dragon knight with superior  power. I'm going to conquer another dragon, a young dragon, and be a Dragon Realm Lord! The life of a dragon reaches thousands of years, I'll just have to borrow at least 400 years.”

400 years and 100 years sums up to 500 years.

It was not much. 500 years is barely enough.

To explore the world, to pursue the truth behind destiny, and also to solve the truth behind his crossing.

“Crossing the Devil's Sea … Climbing Mullah Gaod Mountain … Landing on the Moon, suddenly my life path is clear!”