The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

This chapter is an additional update for the 20,000 coins reward of "The Battle Song of Glory".

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"Complete the task, and you will be rewarded with a large stretch of Hemp Rope Vine."

Liszt had exhausted quite a bit of effort to collect three strands of Hemp Rope Vine and a large batch of capsules.

The Hemp Rope Vine awarded from the Smoke Missions was truly extraordinary. The thickest vine was no more than the thickness of two fingers, yet he could not break it no matter how hard he exerted his Dragon Dou Qi. Even those vines thinner than a pinky finger could not be snapped immediately, and the vine tendrils, fine as threads, were also incredibly sturdy.

Even when cutting them with a knife, it was very difficult to sever them, and they were much stronger than hemp ropes in every aspect.

"If they don't rot quickly, they would definitely be a valuable specialty, far exceeding the value of hemp ropes," Liszt was very satisfied with this reward. He planned to plant them on a large scale in his domain to replace hemp ropes, "It's just a shame there are no Hemp Rope Vine Elf Bugs; that would make cultivation a bit troublesome."

The effects of fertilization alone were far inferior to the influence of elves.

However, it was already excellent to have the seeds to plant, so he did not ask for more. He took the specimens and returned to the log cabin to wash up for a moment. In the dawn's sunlight, he mounted the Rainbow Whale alongside Ach and left Dodo Island.

He returned to his domain.

Calculating the time, he had been away from his domain for six days. Including the return trip, he spent a week on Dodo Island. Although the process was complicated, the outcome was positive. The Little Fire Dragon had reached a preliminary agreement, so he no longer had to worry about future cultivation, and as for dragon riding, there was still plenty of time.

In addition, he took a Human Skull Worm and a batch of Hemp Rope Vine seeds, reaping a rich harvest.

On the other hand, Ach had researched the Advanced Magic-Water Vortex Fusion and was pondering other new magics, gaining a deeper understanding of the Magic Array.

It was laying the foundation for her future promotion to Archmage.

Liszt had no doubt about Ach's talent to advance to Archmage; such talent, even if only shown in the Water System, was still astounding.

Of course.

No matter how exceptional Ach's performance was, it was not as fast as Liszt's progress.

He was now a "Quasi-Dragon Knight." In the popular language of novels, he could be described as a Half-Step Dragon Knight. Even though he was just a half-step into the role, he was much stronger than a Completion Level Sky Knight, truly a powerhouse second only to one in the Grand Duchy of Sapphire.

Second in the world.

"Hmm."

"If the Marquis of Bull were still alive and retained the power of the Lich, I likely still couldn't surpass him."

"But the gap to the level where one could take on several dozen Sky Knights is not far now. I feel that I could take on seven or eight Earls at the level of Sword Saints."

His ambition soared to the clouds with full confidence, and he even wanted to spar with the Grand Duke to see how strong a real Dragon Knight was—if the Sapphire Duke had indeed succeeded in dragon riding.

He had speculated more than once about this outcome, "Has the Grand Duke succeeded in dragon riding? Earl and Marquis Merlin seem to speculate that the Grand Duke has succeeded, but... I've been struggling to ride a month-old Little Fire Dragon, which shows how difficult it is to ride an adult dragon." Your journey continues with empire

With the human and material resources of the Sapphire Family, aside from the First Grand Duke who was a Dragon Knight, the following second, third, and fourth generations of Grand Dukes all failed to succeed in dragon riding.

The current fifth-generation Grand Duke had likewise been unable to ride a dragon in the first half of his life; his only chance was through the injury of the Sapphire Dragon, meeting the conditions for dragon riding. It remains unknown why the Sapphire Duke has neither announced his success as a Dragon Knight nor denied his success in dragon riding.

Hence the Grand Duke could be referred to as "Schrödinger's Dragon Knight"—Schrödinger's cat might be dead or alive; the Grand Duke might have ridden a dragon, or not at all.

...

The sea breeze brushed against my face.

Waves tumbled over themselves.

The Rainbow Whale, whether swimming underwater or at the surface, maintained a steady speed of eighty kilometers per hour and could swim continuously for a day and a night. Landwalker bird Loki and Rainbow Whale Ros, both Dragon Beasts, one excelling in explosive power and the other in endurance.

The azure sea was vast and empty.

Only white clouds drifted overhead.

Liszt still pondered over the Sapphire Duke and the Sapphire Dragon; the reason he revisited this matter was due to the new Smoke Mission.

"Mission: The Grand Duke's envoy is visiting Tulip Castle. His presence carries the will of the Grand Duke; this is a choice of allegiance. As a follower, you have one opportunity to choose. Make your decision quickly—join the Grand Duke's faction, or remain with the Earl's. Reward: Blue Blood Knight Suit."

This concerned the choice of faction.

Liszt had long made his decision: he would continue to follow the Earl, aiding him in his pursuit of the Marquisate. Now, he just needed to reply to the Grand Duke's envoy to complete the mission.

A smooth refusal or delay was required; he couldn't afford to offend the Sapphire Duke just yet.

However, deep down, Liszt had no desire to follow the Sapphire Duke—for no other reason than that the Sapphire Duke had a dragon, and he too had a dragon. Everyone was a Dragon Knight, and no one's dragon outmatched the other's. How could a proud Dragon Knight declare loyalty to another?

He would rather continue to follow his own blood father, to avoid such a dignity-damaging allegiance.

"Once I become a true Dragon Knight, possessing the strength to defend myself and capable of triumphing in the Dragon Fight, I will leave the Duchy of Sapphire to carve out my own nation."

"Moreover, perhaps I could even choose to topple the Sapphire Family and dominate the Duchy of Sapphire for myself?"

...

When he arrived at the New Port of Black Horse Island, it had been eleven hours and the evening was upon him.

The officials in charge of the construction at New Harbor Town swiftly came forth to pay their respects. Liszt didn't disturb them and went straight to the dockyard to inspect.

The Sunset, a Sky Ship rebuilt from a sunken ship, was already preliminarily assembled. In about a week, it could probably be put to water for testing. But to truly become Liszt's flagship, braving the waves, it would likely take a great deal of time to experiment and repair.

The person in charge of the dockyard was Captain Kostor. The former captain of a merchant fleet from Little Papa Island had grown into the high-ranking official echelon of the territory.

He not only had to oversee the training of seamen but also the shipbuilding experiments, always busy from dawn to dusk.

"My lord, the Sampan Workshop can now produce single-masted sailboats. Although they can't make long voyages, their efficiency in nearshore operations far exceeds that of ordinary sampans."

"Keep up the great work. The single-masted sailboat is only a beginning; we need to learn to make double-masted sailboats as soon as possible. While refurbishing the Sunset, we must also accumulate experience in constructing three-masted sailboats... I will try to recruit a group of shipbuilding workers from other island's shipyards to fill our technological gaps."

"As you wish, my lord!"

Without staying for dinner in New Harbor Town, he rode a common horse directly to Black Horse Ranch, switched to King of Black Blood Treasure Horses Lightning, and sped off to Port Town to enjoy dinner and a hot bath.

Collected the newly produced Giant Algae Magic Potion from the Mage Tower.

He then learned about the Court Envoy's situation through Consultant Gao Ertai.

The Court Envoy had already arrived at Coral Island three days ago, preparing to represent the Grand Duke on an inspection visit to Black Horse Island and to discuss the allegiance matters. However, since Liszt was not in his territory, the Court Envoy had stayed at Tulip Castle waiting.

"I'll meet with the Court Envoy tomorrow morning and complete the faction choice."