The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

After retrieving the recently stockpiled magic potions from the magic workshop, Liszt returned, ready to continue ingesting drugs.

The castle’s kitchen was busy preparing for a banquet, and Butler Carter was ready to report on recent work, but Liszt declined, "We’ll talk about it tomorrow, I don’t want to discuss work today."

He wasn’t a workaholic; after fighting for over a month, he just wanted to relax.

"Please have Mrs. Morson make me another cup of milk tea, I want to rest in the study for a while. If the saltpeter powder from last year can still be used, make some frozen fruit juice; if not, take some crushed ice from the ice cellar."

"Yes, my lord."

A moment later, the milk tea was served, but the frozen fruit juice would take some time to prepare.

Suddenly, Liszt asked, "Is Mr. Elkeson in Fresh Flower Town?"

"Mr. Elkeson visited a week ago; if needed, I can notify the caravan to relay the news of your return," replied Butler Carter.

"Please do so."

"Very well."

Once the frozen fruit juice also arrived, Liszt closed the door of the study, savoring the frozen fruit juice to fight off the heat. It was now July, the hottest month of the year, and life would be unbearable without ice. He sat in a rocking chair, swaying back and forth, letting his thoughts drift.

But soon, he became bored.

He decided to take out a soul storage vessel shaped like a teapot from the gemstone space: "Virginia Truth has been awake for a long time; I’ve been busy with the war and haven’t had the chance to talk to her again."

Now that he had free time, it was the perfect opportunity to chat and have Virginia contribute the Dragonbone Stabilizer Technique.

He tipped the teapot, and a stream of smoke formed into light was poured out, quickly taking on the shape of a human’s upper body, indeed the previously seen Virginia Truth, the specter with the majestic 36D.

"We meet again, Virginia. Should I address you as Miss Virginia, or perhaps as Your Excellency?" Liszt said, watching as clarity returned to Virginia’s eyes.

"It’s as if I was in a very long dream... Sir, since you already know my identity, I am a magician from the Magic Goat Family, Virginia Truth, dead from an accident." Virginia gave a slight bow and then looked at her body, "Was I previously sealed in a Dragonbone Stabilizer?"

"Yes, I salvaged you from a sunken Dragon Beast Sailboat," Liszt said.

Virginia nodded, calmly replying, "I remember now; it was Curtis Truth who killed me... My memory was lost thereafter, but I believe I was stripped of my soul by the evil hands of Curtis Truth and sealed within a Dragonbone Stabilizer... Thank you for freeing me from perdition, sir."

Liszt smiled, "I am Liszt Tulip, Baron of Fresh Flower Town, soon to become Viscount Black Horse Island."

"Viscount Liszt... How is the Magic Goat Family doing? Have you heard of my sister, Curtis Truth? She should have unified the Goat Assembly by now... Is Prince Annuette Sapphire well?" Virginia asked tentatively, probably thinking she hadn’t been dead for long.

He cleared his throat.

Liszt felt a bit reluctant to tell this poor lady about her plight but knew there was no point in lying, so he still said, "The Magic Goat Family, about a hundred years ago, was exterminated by the third-generation Sapphire Duke for their involvement in a court coup."

"What?"

The magician composed of smoke and light trembled, her radiance flickering on and off.

Just when Liszt thought she was about to faint again and retreat back into the soul storage vessel, her body finally stabilized, although her tone was still one of shock and disbelief, "Over a hundred years ago? Viscount Liszt, are you deceiving me?"

"I have no need to deceive you. You are merely a remnant soul residing in my soul storage vessel. In fact, I have little curiosity about events from over a century ago. The Magic Goat Family is like a ship that sank into the sea, which might have remained unknown if it hadn’t suddenly been stumbled upon."

"Over a hundred years... forgotten... this..." Virginia took several sharp breaths, even in her soul state, the violent rise and fall of her chest was clearly visible, "I apologize, Viscount Liszt, I... I’ve lost my composure. I didn’t realize I had been asleep for a century."

"It’s alright."

"Could you tell me, if you know, what exactly happened to the Magic Goat Family?"

Such a request was not excessive, and Virginia in her soul state was a good confidant to talk to about the past. Once they were better acquainted, he could glean the Dragonbone Stabilizer Technique from her, "To aid Prince Annute, your sister Curtis, along with Marquis Cohen, decided to seize the lifespan of the Dragonstone Dragon."

"They wanted to make Prince Annute the Dragon Domain Landlord?"

"Yes, but their plan fell short. The second-generation Grand Duke discovered their plot and personally put an end to the Magic Goat Family. The Grand Duke himself was injured in battle and abdicated in favor of the third-generation Grand Duke, Andite... By the way, is Andite Annute’s older or younger brother?"

"Younger."

"The third-generation Grand Duke exiled Annute’s soul, and your sister Curtis probably escaped. Instead of seeking revenge, she delved into lich experiments, ultimately transforming herself into a lich and sacrificing a vast number of magicians and civilians to turn the Goat Vessel into a Ghost Ship bound for the Exiled Lands."

"Lich... Ghost Ship... Exiled Lands..." Virginia murmured to herself, "She really was a terrifying woman, dragging the entire family into a grave for her own love."

"This is just some basic information I know. Now, as Curtis’s sister, could you tell me about the circumstances of that era?"

Virginia nodded, her gaze sinking into reminisce.

After a long pause, she began to recount the story of the Grand Duchy of Sapphire from over a hundred years ago—a flourishing era when the Duchy of Sapphire was vigorously developing its sea trade, and the Magic Goat Family was following the trend.

After the Sapphire Family developed the Three-Masted Ship Technique, the Magic Goat Family went on to invent the Dragonbone Stabilizer Technique and founded the Goat Assembly, an organization of magicians. The initial purpose of the Goat Assembly was to nurture magicians for the family and to participate in the construction of Dragon Beast Sailboats.

"My father was Cohen Magic Goat, a marquis of the Grand Duchy. Curtis was my cousin; she grew up with me and was the pride of our family with her magical talent—she became a Grand Magician at the age of sixteen... Her romance with Prince Annuette was blessed by everyone."

Virginia’s voice was somber and fleeting, "As for me, I was just an inconspicuous member of the family, arranged marriages and shipbuilding were probably all there was in my life... I had never left the City of Thousand Sails, where I grew up, lived, and worked. Studying magic was the happiest time for me, until one day, Curtis came."

"She ordered all of us to stop our work and assist her in some cruel experiments and to secretly research the Sapphire Dragon... We didn’t want to, and my teacher ousted her from the Goat Assembly... Then she massacred those of us who did not comply, and I could never imagine she would turn on me."

And then.

Virginia’s story came to an end—she died.

"So, you know the Dragonbone Stabilizer Technique?" Liszt asked.

"Yes."