The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

After a systematic study, Liszt had mastered the basic conversational ability in Moon Language. After deterring the Moon Slayer people of the Holy Tribe, he let Listener Su and the Ancient Mage stay behind.

"Su, my visit this time is to fulfill my promise to the Holy Tribe. Since you sincerely follow me, naturally I won't let the Holy Tribe decline. I will send the Knight Order to the Holy Tribe to teach you a brand new knight cultivation system to replace the obsolete magic system."

Su was still somewhat incredulous, "Seki, is magic really in decline?"

"The Magic Web is waning. How do you think a magician like you could ever achieve the level of power that I have reached now?" Liszt snorted coldly, very dissatisfied with Su's doubt—when had his followers ever questioned his words in his own territory, only these natives were dull-witted.

"Su dares not compare himself to Seki, but Seki, can Su also become trained as a knight?"

"You can't. You Ancient Mages are doomed to be eliminated by the times. Starting now, select excellent youngsters who are the seeds for receiving knight training. In the future, under my rule, the Holy Tribe will have a wonderful future, not one where they're chased by wild beasts in the forest."

When the knights began to teach, the talented young Moon Slayer children would learn Wind Language and Serpent Script, and they would be instilled with the concept of loyalty and patriotism.

When this group of Moon Slayer knights grew up, assimilation would also be complete.

By then, the superior-feeling Moon Slayer knights would surely exploit the ordinary Moon Slayer people even more ruthlessly—history has proven that the Banana People often treated their own kinsmen more harshly; ethnic Germans who joined the American forces in World War II fought the German army to the death, ethnic Japanese who joined the Americans fought fiercely as well, not to mention the Chinese who joined the Japanese or American forces.

Human nature is just like this.

You might not envy a stranger who has more money, but if Wang Gou Dan, who you grew up playing with, gets rich, you'd certainly be driven mad with jealousy. And how else to prove that kowtowing to foreigners was the right thing to do, if not by demeaning and crushing one's own people—not that everyone is like this, but most people certainly are.

Su felt very aggrieved by Liszt's blunt words as he didn't want to be eliminated, and he still wanted to serve as a Listener until death.

However, having held high positions for many years, Liszt had developed a piercing insight into the hearts of people, "Su, how many children do you have?"

"Su has one boy and one girl. The boy is fifteen and is learning magic, and the girl is twelve, learning to work with the women."

"The boy is fifteen, it's not too late for knight training. I will ensure that he receives special attention. In the future, he will become a noble of the Flame Kingdom, with his own lands and servants. The girl, at twelve, let her go to Flame City's girls' school to learn, so that she may marry a noble in the future."

As Liszt spoke, he turned to look at the other Ancient Mages whose eyes were filled with expectation, "It's the same for you. Your children will all become part of the Flame Kingdom's Knight Class. Remember, as long as you're loyal to me, you will all have a beautiful future."

Su and the Ancient Mages immediately began to trip over themselves expressing their loyalty.

After a session of flattery.

Liszt gestured with his hand for everyone to stop, no more brown-nosing, as these natives with limited vocabulary only repeated some common words like "great," "Seki," "handsome," with no novel or imaginative phrases, "I grant you a beautiful future, and I also entrust you with two tasks."

"Please speak, Seki."

"Biggleswade-Mountain Copper Dragon Mata will stay in the Holy Tribe, and its diet will be your responsibility. It represents my authority; its vision is my vision. Everything in the Holy Tribe will be in my sight. Do you understand?"

Mata had simple requirements for its Dragon Nest.

It was simply too lazy to move and liked to have someone bring food to it.

Staying in the Holy Tribe was a good choice, firstly to keep the news of the Mountain Copper Dragon under wraps, and secondly to suppress the Holy Tribe and facilitate the extension of its own authority.

"Understood, Lord Seki!" Su and the other Ancient Mages not only had no complaints, but felt an excitement that was almost suffocating—they would have the chance to assist the ancestor, Biggleswade, in battle and provide him with food, which felt awesome.

With a light smile, Liszt continued, "Your second task is to cooperate with the Knight Order I will dispatch here, subjugating the nearby Moon Slayer Tribes. Also, extend the reach of the Elf Ban, and make sure to strictly protect every Elf you find!"

"Ah, Lord Seki, the surrounding tribes may not heed the orders of the Holy Tribe."

"If they don't comply, invite their Listeners and Ancient Mages to visit the Holy Tribe and let them see Biggleswade...you needn't worry about this detail; my knights will faithfully execute my command, and you are to follow the arrangements of the knights."

After giving his orders, Liszt enjoyed various delicious fruits offered as tribute by the Holy Tribe.

Then Su brought over seven Elf Bugs that the Holy Tribe had found during the past half year, all of rare variety yet of little value.

Still, Liszt contracted the seven Elf Bugs.

After securing the Elf Bugs, he communicated his farewells to Mata, "You'll stay here. I will send people to take care of you. There will be Magic Potions, Jade, and delicious delicacies in abundance. What you need to do is to select a location nearby to produce Mountain Copper ore. When I find the time, I will build you a new Dragon Nest."

"Huh! Roar!" Mountain Copper Dragon Mata nodded happily, feeling rather pleased not to see Liszt.

This was likely a downside of using Bewildering Dragon Mind Fruit for Dragon Riding; the Dragon harbored grievances towards Liszt, the Knight. Over time, they would interact more closely, share their hearts, and ultimately leave behind a Mind Brand.

Waving his hand,

Amid the farewells of the Moon Slayers, Liszt mounted the Light Green Gem Dragon Ethan and continued eastward. When he passed near Jade City, close to the Flame Mountain Range, he stopped to inspect the city's development. He noticed rapid progress, with construction accelerating across several cities as more Flame People arrived.

Trade and commerce were also picking up as many specialties from Flame Island began to be transported outwards, transforming into economic value.

After a simple rest at Jade City for one night, Liszt set off the next day, first visiting Dragon Valley City to inspect the metal mining operations, as well as the excavation work on those large pits... Leaving Jade City, he then traveled to Flame City—its status had abruptly fallen with the opening of the Heart Reed Teleportation Formation.

It was now being repositioned and replanned as an agricultural city, with numerous plantations opening up here.

After inspecting Flame City, Liszt finally returned to Reed City for a brief rest before switching to ride the Formless Dragon Bard, traveling through space directly back to Black Horse Island.

Because at this point in time, the Envoy Group from the Steel Ridge Kingdom had finally arrived, and accompanying them was the Envoy Group from the Blast Furnace Fortress Kingdom—The Blast Furnace Fortress Envoy Group traveled on three huge Intermediate Dragon Beasts, Floating Colossal Kites, which were Wind Attribute creatures that resembled large, tailed flying saucers.

They looked somewhat like stingrays from Earth, possessing flat, round bodies more than ten meters in diameter, and solely relied on Wind System Magic for flight. They were swift flyers with impressive stamina.

These were Intermediate Dragon Beasts bred by the Blast Furnace Fortress Royal Family, weak in combat but surpassing airplanes as a mode of transport.

That's why the Blast Furnace Fortress Kingdom Envoy Group was able to rapidly cross tens of thousands of kilometers, arriving at Black Horse Island simultaneously with the Steel Ridge Kingdom Envoy Group.

Liszt returned to Black Horse Island this time to receive these two Envoy Groups.