The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

The Marquis of Bull was shackled, bound by metal handcuffs and shackles.

After the Sapphire Duke extracted the sapphire from his chest, his body rapidly withered away, with his armor nearly falling off. The blue flames gradually disappeared, turning into faint green light that emerged from the gaps in the armor, just like Liszt had initially seen in Curtis Truth.

"This is probably the true appearance of the Lich, the faint green glow of the soul. The blue flames of the Marquis of Bull before were the result of the Sapphire Dragon’s power being conferred upon him."

Liszt glanced at the listless Lich Andy, then paid him no more heed.

Activating his Eye of Magic, he repeatedly scanned the rotting Sapphire Dragon, overlooking no detail of its body, from head to tail, from outside to inside.

The Grand Duke quickly stuffed the sapphire into the mouth of the Sapphire Dragon.

The Sapphire Dragon opened its mouth and inhaled, and the sapphire entered its belly, vanishing from sight. Afterwards, its eyes, as tough as krypton, continued to stare at the Marquis of Bull, or to be precise, at the blue-flaming greatsword that had fallen to the ground. The blue fire on the sword had already extinguished, revealing a white blade.

A knight picked up the greatsword and presented it to the Grand Duke.

The Grand Duke fondled the blade.

The Sapphire Dragon became inexplicably irritable, its broken front limb shaking violently.

In the next moment, the Grand Duke already held the great sword up to the mouth of the Sapphire Dragon. The dragon inhaled and swallowed the sword into its belly. Opening its mouth, it let out a roar of dragon song, spread its wings fiercely, and with its hind legs pounding on the ground, it leapt into the sky amidst a raging wind and flew away without looking back.

The dark clouds had already scattered from the sky, and the sunlight shone on its broken body, making it glitter with splendid sapphire blue, shining brilliantly.

Transforming into a blue dot, it finally disappeared in the sky.

From its appearance to its departure, it took no more than five minutes, yet its figure was firmly imprinted in the hearts of all the knights, making every one of them boil with blood.

Riding dragons, it is definitely the lifelong achievement every knight dreams of.

Most knights might never see a dragon in their lifetime, but these ten thousand or more knights were fortunate, almost coming into zero-distance contact with the only known dragon within the territory of the Duchy of Sapphire.

The Grand Duke didn’t say anything appropriate to the occasion.

After sending off the Sapphire Dragon, he went straight into the dilapidated Juniper Castle and convened his direct followers to discuss the aftermath of the war at Juniper Castle.

As for the others, they rested outside, pitched camp, and incidentally cleared the battlefield.

As a small landlord, Liszt naturally didn’t need to be busy; he gathered with Levis, Jonas, and Trick to chat idly about the topic of the Sapphire Dragon.

Levis had seen the Sapphire Dragon, and he could discern the changes in the Sapphire Dragon more clearly.

"This is quite different from the Sapphire Dragon I saw on Blue Dragon Island. At that time, the Sapphire Dragon was clad in exquisite scales, like a giant sapphire… I wonder what it went through to become what it is now, still majestic but with a bizarre appearance."

"It must be Marquis of Bull’s assassination attempt that caused the Sapphire Dragon to be gravely injured and disfigured," Liszt said. "Did you notice the relationship between the Grand Duke and the Sapphire Dragon?"

"Are you talking about Dragon Might?" Trick keenly observed this point, "The Sapphire Dragon is gone, but the Dragon Might it possesses is still stimulating my skin."

"The Grand Duke has Dragon Might as well."

"Then he..."

The three of them didn’t continue the topic. This wasn’t the appropriate occasion to discuss the ruler of the nation, and they quickly moved on to talk about the war.

Jonas spoke with a hint of regret: "It’s a pity that I didn’t manage to kill a Grand Magician; my merit isn’t enough to compensate for the losses of the Grey Knight Order."

"But we’ve completed the encirclement of Iron Hoof Island, and the Grand Duke’s Dragon is alive and well. The Duchy of Sapphire will soon be able to flourish again, and in the future, Earl will lead us to continue to expand the continent," Trick consoled. "Earl, together with Lord Mesiro, followed the First Prince into battle. This time, our achievements in war may far exceed our expectations!"

The Marquis of Bull made a shocking appearance and used the news of the Sapphire Dragon’s death to shake the besieging knights.

Mesiro was the first to attack with the First Prince, and Li Weiliam was the second. The facts proved that their gamble was a success, and this unhesitant loyalty was worth more than a glorious victory in battle.

Jonas suddenly said excitedly, "Do you guys think that Earl, because of this war, might be promoted... to be the new Marquis of the nation?"

Trick contemplated.

Levis rubbed his palms together, starting to waver with apprehension. "That, that shouldn’t be likely, right?"

Liszt glanced at his brother and thought he was getting carried away. He couldn’t help but interrupt his fantasy, "Indeed, that’s not possible. The Marquis of Bull is just a Marquis. All nobles in the country are involved in the attack, and without creating resources or new territories, how could one be granted a Marquisate?"

The veteran Marquises all followed the Grand Duke of old to the continent, snatched up a great number of resources, and supported the Duchy of Sapphire before they were promoted.

Currently, it’s just an internal rebellion. Unless Li Weiliam leads the Knight Order alone and obliterates Iron Hoof Island, there won’t be any chance of accruing the merits to become a Marquis.

After analyzing the reality, he offered Levis a glimmer of hope: "But our father will definitely become a strong contender for the next Marquis in the eyes of the Grand Duke and the First Prince. As long as he accumulates sufficient merits, his ennoblement as a Marquis is as good as done." For such a loyal follower, the landlord has no reason to suppress.

Given equal conditions, Li Weiliam is definitely one step closer to that achievement.

For a landlord, sometimes a follower’s loyalty is more important than strength.

Suppressing his undue greed, Levis regained his clarity of mind and couldn’t help saying to Liszt, "Regardless, once you return, you should be the new Viscount."

Trick and Jonas both nodded in agreement.

Liszt’s contributions were evident—during the battle at Bull Hair City, it was thanks to Douson’s siege efforts and his assistance with Li Weiliam in slaying Count Sned; at Bull Ridge City, he scraped together some kills, and the same at Bull Rump City, though the merits were not significant; however, at Bull Tendon City, also known as Juniper Castle, his role was crucial.

The breach in the walls of Juniper Castle was caused by Douson’s destruction, and the First Prince personally acknowledged this contribution.

Initiating the coordination of the Knight Order’s attack on the castle was Liszt’s suggestion, demonstrating not just merits but also loyalty—not everyone has the guts to oppose the Marquis of Bull, who has become a Lich.

The only regret was not breaking the Magic Array and killing a few Grand Magicians. Now that the battlefield has died down, it’s uncertain who will capture the escaping Grand Magicians.

All things considered, the title of Viscount is virtually in Liszt’s grasp.

Suddenly.

Levis thought of a question: "If the First Prince remembers you, it’s very likely he will recruit you as one of his followers. Liszt, would you accept the First Prince’s ennoblement?"

For followers like Jonas and Trick, it would be challenging to change allegiances.

But in cases like Liszt’s, as a second son directly descended from the landlord’s bloodline, changing allegiances is easy, and the family would support such behavior.

However, Liszt just shook his head, "I plan to choose an uninhabited island near Coral Island as my domain."

"Are there still uninhabited islands near Coral Island?" Levis asked curiously. "We’re already at the northeasternmost corner of the Grand Duchy. Father said it took him a long time to find a suitable Earl’s domain. Other than Viscount Trick’s Beer Island, he didn’t find any new islands."

"There will always be some, the Sea of Azure Waves is so vast."

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