The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

```

Riding on Rainbow Whale Rose, Liszt sped across the sea for an hour and a half to reach Fresh Flower Port.

Then, switching to the Landwalker Bird Loki, he galloped across the land for an hour before arriving at Tulip Castle.

Setting out at seven, Liszt had already made his appearance in the living room of Tulip Castle by ten. There, he met the Court Envoy representing the Sapphire Duke, a middle-aged man.

"Liszt, let me introduce you. This is Jonas Glaux, Earl of Moonlight City, serving as the Duke's Court Envoy to inspect your territory on Black Horse Island," Earl Li Weiliam said.

Jonas had a head of thick hair and a full beard.

He looked somewhat unkempt.

Liszt knew him, one of the Earls of the Blue Blood Alliance, an old-brand Sword Saint powerhouse of the Grand Duchy. He had met Jonas's daughter, a plain-looking noble lady, Joanna Evening Primrose. She had been a bridesmaid for the Princess at Meioubao's wedding.

At Long Taro Castle, Joanna had not sparingly thrown flirtatious glances at Liszt.

"Welcome, Earl Jonas."

Liszt greeted Jonas, adhering to the standards of noble etiquette. Compared to the bearded Jonas, whether in appearance or in demeanor, he was the perfect embodiment of a noble. Even as the minor Baron of Fresh Flower Town at banquets and other occasions, he always managed to steal the spotlight.

Now, esteemed as a "Half-Step Dragon Knight," his confidence shone even brighter, naturally elevating his aura.

Upon their first meeting, he made Jonas seem inferior by comparison.

Seeing the young Liszt—who inspired envy due to his youthfulness—the bearded Earl felt as though he was the true Noble, while he was just a down-and-out small noble.

However, Jonas, experienced as he was, naturally would not let a young man suppress his own spirit and, assuming the air of an elder, he said warmly with a smile, "Hello, young Sky Knight, Viscount of Black Horse Island, Liszt."

"I heard that you arrived on Coral Island four days ago, Earl. It's a pity that I had left my territory and couldn't receive you in time," Liszt said.

"Don't mind it. Your father has been very hospitable. In these past few days, we have discussed cultivation matters together, which has been very beneficial. Moreover, the Duke had me come as the Court Envoy to visit the beautiful Coral Island as a guest, which has been a rare moment of relaxation," Jonas said with a smile. "I was also hoping to see the Grand Duchy's youngest Sky Knight sooner."

"You're too kind, Earl Jonas. Compared to a Sword Saint like yourself, I still need more experience," Liszt replied.

Such is the way of noble society.

You praise me, and I praise you, Liszt could handle such interactions with ease. Typically, however, he was not inclined to engage in such insincere pleasantries. Now, as a Quasi-Dragon Knight, proud and haughty, he was even less inclined. After briefly exchanging courtesies, he shifted the focus of the conversation back to Earl Li Weiliam.

Yet clearly, as a young and promising man, he couldn't simply be the invisible man.

The conversations always seemed to revolve around him.

Fortunately, they were limited to topics like "glory," "honor," "military achievements," and "titles," which were all handled by Earl Li Weiliam, with the help of his brother, Levis, from time to time. Liszt only needed to maintain a smile and gracefully nod his head now and then.

Not until Lady Marie came to announce the start of the luncheon.

Earl Jonas didn't bring up the matter of his followers—this was his main mission.

In the traditions of the Continental Kingdom and the Duchies, for followers who are close rivals to their lord, the lord would recommend them to their own superior, which is called "Honorary Nomination." This usually happens when an Earth Knight is promoted to Sky Knight, the only time when there is a substantive increase in strength.

```

``` Your journey continues at empire

Liszt indeed meets the criteria for honorary nomination.

However, Li Weiliam did not honorably nominate him, but the Sapphire Duke directly conducted an "honorary inspection" instead.

This kind of honorary inspection often occurs with the offspring of loyal followers of the nobility and is considered a very honorable action—generally, such inspections are more about conferring titles on the offspring of loyal followers as an act of grace. For someone like Liszt, who meets the criteria for honorary nomination to undergo an honorary inspection, it is quite rare.

After the luncheon.

The group decided that in the afternoon, Earl Li Weiliam and Liszt, along with Count Jonas and several court scribes, would go to Black Horse Island for an inspection.

"Is this your mount, Liszt?" Upon departure, Jonas couldn't help but curiously ask when he saw Liszt riding a magnificent giant bird with long legs, "Colorful feathers, a very beautiful bird, I have never seen one like this before. Is it a low-level magical beast or an intermediate magical beast?"

Loki is an intermediate dragon breed magical beast.

But there was no need to mention that. Liszt simply said, "It's a landwalker bird. When I caught it from the mainland, it was probably still a low-level magical beast. But, I was lucky to find a Bloodline Fruit and I fed it to it, making it an intermediate magical beast."

"Indeed, just as the nobility discussed, you are a Son of Glory... To have an intermediate magical beast as a mount, and a bird-type mount at that, there are not many in the entire kingdom. Even I, once a member of the Hemp Eagle Knights, still keep that old Ashen Hawk that is too old to fly, reluctant to abandon it."

The Hemp Eagle Knights are an elite unit of the Grand Duchy, using artificially trained low-level magical beasts, the Ashen Hawks, as their mounts. The unit is made up of only twenty-five members, primarily tasked with messenger duties.

Four hours later.

The group finally arrived in Fresh Flower Town, though it was not part of Liszt's territory; he had only rented it long-term. Therefore, the group stayed in Liszt's Nameless Castle—since the castle was too small, only Earl Li Weiliam and Count Jonas stayed in the castle, while their entourage and the court scribes stayed in the town.

Before dinner, Jonas watched with enthusiasm as Liszt trained the Blizzard Beasts.

"Earl Li Weiliam, are all these Blizzard Beasts intermediate magical beasts? I heard that Liszt once used a Blizzard Beast to help the First Prince break through the walls of Juniper Castle?"

"You see that largest Blizzard Beast? That's Douson, a Fierce Earth Dog that ate a Bloodline Fruit. Its evolution has been quite outstanding, and it's an excellent intermediate magical beast. The other eight Blizzard Beasts are the offspring of Douson and Fierce Earth Dogs, and although they can also use two types of magic, they are more of an intermediate-between-low-level."

"Douson could still mate with the Fierce Earth Dogs, couldn't it actually produce more offspring?"

"It's quite difficult. It seems only before Douson had completely evolved was it able to impregnate the Fierce Earth Dogs. Once Douson completed its evolution, it could no longer impregnate them, and its offspring, despite also having been bred, didn't have any reproductive capabilities," Li Weiliam said regretfully.

Li Weiliam and Levis were even more enthusiastic about Blizzard Beast reproduction than Liszt was.

As soon as the Eight Tiny Ones turned one year old and became adults, Tulip Castle immediately captured several female Fierce Earth Dogs and sent them to mate with the Eight Tiny Ones.

Alas, despite round-the-clock mating attempts, not a single Fierce Earth Dog became pregnant.

It can be almost definitively determined that the Eight Tiny Ones have lost their ability to reproduce. Strictly speaking, they are similar to mules on Earth—offspring of horses and donkeys—a mule is bigger than a donkey, stronger than a horse, with greater vitality and disease resistance, far outliving horses and donkeys in terms of service life.

Unfortunately, because of reproductive isolation, their pelvic bones cannot open and close, rendering them unable to produce offspring.

Upon hearing this, Jonas sighed, "That is truly regrettable. Such excellent earth attribute magical beasts are very valuable for sieges. If they could be artificially bred, the nobles would definitely be willing to pay a high price to purchase them."

Li Weiliam deeply shared this sentiment, "Indeed, it's a great pity."

Liszt had once promised him and Levis that if the Blizzard Beasts had offspring, he would give a batch to Tulip Castle—now it seems, there's no chance.

```