The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

After training Pike for a short while, the sunset was rapidly sinking towards the sea's horizon.

Liszt also had to return to the port town, back to land to rest, but he was worried about Rainbow Whale Rose. Although they'd had a pleasant time today, it would be embarrassing if Rose were to wander off and couldn't be found the next day.

So.

He planned to entrust Rose to Ach, just as he entrusted all those sea elves to him: "Rose, follow Ach and don't run around. You'll live in the waters around Black Horse Island. I'll treat you well with good food and drinks in the future, and Ach will take good care of you."

"Jiyu..." The Rainbow Whale didn't know if it understood, but it seemed very cheerful.

It originally held great hostility towards Ach, who was bent on hunting it, but now it had completely forgotten and was able to accept Ach's embraces and petting.

Upon reaching the seaside, Liszt stood in the shallow water and waved to the Rainbow Whale.

The Rainbow Whale dared not swim ashore, but it lingered in the shallow water, unwilling to leave, and clearly reluctant to part from Liszt. It wasn't until Liszt left the shore with the waiting servants that it, urged by Ach, reluctantly returned to the sea and was led by Ach toward Mangrove Island.

Meanwhile.

Upon Liszt's return, he was immediately visited by Consultant Goltai.

This territory advisor had been very spirited recently. His wife and children had moved from Coral City to settle in Fresh Flower Town, and then he quietly moved his mistress, Freya, and his illegitimate son, Donald, to the port town. When he went to Fresh Flower Town, he was with his aging wife and two grown children; when he returned to the port town, he was with his young lover and a two-year-old illegitimate son.

The joy of family life was unending.

"My lord, I hear you subdued a sea monster out on the ocean?"

"It seems you've already heard. Yes, it's a Rainbow Whale, and it has become my mount. I can ride it to roam the vast and boundless ocean, which to me is like a backyard," Liszt said, his brows raised in pride. He indeed had reason to be proud.

Goltai expressed his amazement: "A sea monster can become a mount?"

"There's no difference between a sea monster and a magical beast. If I can ride a magical beast, naturally I can also ride a sea monster. Consultant Goltai, look beyond the land for a moment, and consider the sea. Everything the land has to offer, the sea has as well—magic potions, elves, sea monsters, and even those pearls."

"I understand, my lord. It's just a bit sudden. You actually discovered two Little Minor Elves and four Elf Bugs in the sea, all Giant Algae Elves that can cultivate Magic Medicine Kelp. It's simply incredible," Goltai said.

"Your information is a bit outdated. I now have three Giant Algae Minor Elves and five Giant Algae Elf Bugs, and moreover..."

Liszt left a bit of suspense.

It wasn't exactly suspense; he was weighing the pros and cons of whether to reveal the existence of Giant Algae Greater Elf Pike right now. But after ten seconds of deliberation, he decided to reveal it. The concept of "hidden wealth" could be applied to the Little Fire Dragon Leo. As for a Greater Elf, there was no need for such caution.

As a Sky Knight, acquiring a Greater Elf was no issue at all.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

So, while Goltai listened earnestly, Liszt spoke calmly: "I also contracted a Giant Algae Greater Elf in the Giant Algae Forest."

As expected, the response was spectacular.

Goltai nearly jumped: "What? My lord, you, you, you mean, a Giant Algae Greater Elf? A Greater Elf, as in... that kind of Greater Elf?" He became incoherent, stammering with surprise and disbelief, his gaze filled with utter astonishment.

"There's no need to be surprised. It is indeed a Greater Elf, not an Elf Bug or a Little Minor Elf, but a Greater Elf." Liszt took a sip from his green tea on the table, "Its name is Pike, and since it's a wild Greater Elf, it hasn't yet learned to speak and needs time to adapt to human life."

"Yes, yes, wild Greater Elf, needs time," Goltai managed to say, still not recovered from his shock.

Liszt called for his personal servant Thomas: "Summon the town's officials here; I want to hold a meeting."

"Yes, my lord."

A moment later.

The officials remaining in the port town arrived one by one under the leadership of Teacher Marcus and Blair.

Liszt wasted no time, stating directly: "I've summoned you here tonight to share some good news. Today at sea, I discovered a Giant Algae Greater Elf and have completed a contract with it. The dominion's first Greater Elf has been born, and its name is Pike."

"Ah?"

"My lord, did I hear that correctly?"

"A Greater Elf!"

"A Giant Algae Greater Elf?"

"Incredible!"

"A Greater Elf, oh, how much Magic Medicine Kelp it could produce!"

Gasp of shock and exclamations of astonishment intermingled, rising one after another among the officials, all dizzy from the unexpected news of the Greater Elf.

The presence of a Greater Elf signified a Nobles family, as families that owned a Greater Elf could almost effortlessly accumulate military achievements and be ennobled as Earls. After all, a Greater Elf represented a wealth accruing over time, which nobility had to cultivate over generations. Some Marquis families possessed only one or two Greater Elves at most.

Liszt was merely a Viscount, an ennobled Viscount of less than a year.

Yet he had become a Sky Knight and even obtained a Greater Elf that could cultivate Magic Potions. The future of such a landlord was so dazzling, that it hardly took any thought to imagine. And as his followers, serving a landlord with limitless prospects naturally came with many benefits.

At this moment, all followers were thankful for the favor of knightly glory, including those knights who had been won over.

An increase in the followers' loyalty followed, as if by an unseen force.

Liszt was satisfied with his followers' reactions, but he still maintained his usual noble composure, unruffled and nonchalant, "I shall send a knight to deliver a message to Tulip Castle, setting a date for a celebration. Teacher Marcus, I entrust you with this task."

"As you wish, my lord!" Marcus responded, exhilarated, as he knelt on one knee, performing the knightly salute.

Watching Liszt, sitting in the seat of honor, calmly sipping his tea, he seemed to see the glory of knighthood as a cloak, draped over his own student.

Marcus himself had once been a commoner student at the Coral Island Knight Academy. Though not among the top in strength, he was considered a practice genius among commoners. After advancing to an Elite Earth Knight, he was assigned by the Earl to be Liszt's home tutor, responsible for teaching Liszt's knightly practice.

At first sight,

he had lofty ambitions, prepared to assist Liszt in accomplishing great deeds. After all, being a commoner himself, he wasn't eligible to follow the Earl's heir, Levis, the second son of the Tulip Family. The second son needed continuous war to earn nobility.

However, the initial Liszt was simply a youth with poor aptitude and a timid character, not favored in Tulip Castle.

Indeed,

ultimately Liszt was made a Baron, bypassing the process of struggle, but Marcus couldn't be happy at all. He didn't believe Liszt would participate in wars, vie for glory, and following such a landlord would not allow him to achieve his noble ambitions.

Before departing for Fresh Flower Town, he was often in despair.

But he couldn't defy the command of the Earl.

However, the Liszt who arrived in Fresh Flower Town had changed, as if a completely different person, maturing inside and out in an instant.

Even more surprising, starting with the rearing of the Fierce Earth Dog Douson, knightly glory had been lavished upon the land and the landlord like water, without cost. In just one year, Liszt, originally of mediocre talent, had grown at a startling pace into an Elite Earth Knight and had even defeated him head-on.

In the two subsequent wars, his performance was nothing short of exceptional.

On his first participation in the Pioneer Mandate, he broke through and became a Sky Knight, dazzling all of Coral Island. It's also imaginable that even across the Grand Duchy of Sapphire, there would be Nobles discussing the seventeen-year-old Sky Knight Liszt—this signified the rise of another nobility star within the nation.

And today, the youngest Sky Knight had made a pact with a Greater Elf.

Such a Greater Elf, that Noble families need generations to bring forth, was obtained so effortlessly, as if crossing the struggles of several generations within a mere two or three years.

"Apart from 'Son of Glory,' no other title could describe him!" Marcus felt a fiery passion in his heart and brimmed with expectations for the future; becoming a follower of the Son of Glory, glory was within grasp! Explore new worlds at empire

He even couldn't suppress the thought: "As the 'Son of Glory', how long will it take for Liszt to become an Earl, to become a Marquis? He became a Sky Knight at seventeen, is there a possibility of... Dragon Riding in the future?"

Dragon Riding might be remote,

but he believed at the very least, Liszt's future would see him become a Marquis.