The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

"So..."

Liszt hesitated for a moment. He originally planned to slowly familiarize himself before inquiring about the Dragonbone Stabilizer Technique, but then he felt there was no need for such complexities when dealing with merely a remnant soul in his possession.

Thus,

he paused and directly asked, "Could you hand over the Dragonbone Stabilizer Technique to me?"

Virginia was taken aback for a moment, "I can... However, Viscount Liszt, hasn’t the Dragonbone Stabilizer Technique been disseminated in over a hundred years? I remember at that time my family had already conducted a technology exchange with the Sapphire Family. We acquired the technology to build three-masted sailboats, while the Sapphire Family received the Dragonbone Stabilizer Technique."

"There was a technology exchange?" Liszt was slightly surprised by her readiness, "I’m not very clear on the shipbuilding technology possessed by the Sapphire Family, but I hope to build my own technological reserves and eventually construct Dragon Beast Sailboats. Thank you for giving the Dragonbone Stabilizer Technique to me."

"It’s nothing, I should thank you for releasing me from my downfall, allowing me a moment of freedom... It’s just a pity, things have changed, the Magic Goat Family has been gone for over a hundred years."

"What do you plan to do next?"

"I... don’t know."

The atmosphere grew a bit silent, and the mage made of smoky light, with a lifelike expression, revealed her perplexity.

To the memories she possessed, she had just been killed by Curtis, her thoughts still stuck in an era from over a hundred years ago; but the reality was that the Magic Goat Family had vanished into thin air, and she became an isolated remnant soul. In this world, not a single person she knew existed anymore.

The stark contrast left her confused and at a loss.

Liszt also didn’t know how to comfort her, so he asked, "What does it feel like to live inside a Soul Storage Vessel?" He prepared to defuse the awkward atmosphere with a research-oriented attitude.

He was also curious to understand what it was like for Virginia to exist in a state of soul.

The independent existence of the soul, to Liszt before his crossing, seemed utterly impossible, but now he had to accept this reality and expand his own knowledge reserves.

The physical laws of this world were very different from those of Earth.

Virginia, snapping out of her daze, thought for a moment and replied, "It’s like entering sleep, feeling as though many dreams keep emerging, but once I come out, I can’t remember any of it."

Liszt couldn’t fully grasp that state but had a basic understanding.

It was probably similar to entering a state akin to "hibernation."

He then asked, "So with your current soul state, how long can you stay outside?"

"I could stay a bit longer, I don’t feel tired yet."

"Let’s do this: for now, you can serve as my private magical advisor. I’ll keep you by my side, and when there’s a chance, you can look at the outside world... You have plenty of time to ponder over your next steps in life. After all, you may exist in this way for a very long time."

"I understand," Virginia didn’t refuse, "Thank you, Viscount Liszt."

Liszt smiled faintly and asked, "Then in this state, can you touch objects that exist in reality? Like this book, can you turn its pages?"

Virginia was then floating above the desk, bending down to gaze at the knight’s novel named "Mad Sword Saint Shamate Sunflower."

She slowly reached out to touch the book.

However, her hand could not truly make contact with the physical object: "I... I seem unable to do it."

"Using your spiritual power?" Liszt suggested, remembering that specters could attack people, which meant they must have the ability to make contact with physical entities.

Moreover, both Lich Curtis Truth and Lich Andy Sapphire, who were in a similar soul form, could manipulate physical objects.

He didn’t know how Virginia’s current state differed from that of a lich, nor why her soul could exist while the souls of other deceased could not. These were research topics for his future, and if he had the time, energy, and strength, he would seek to understand it all.

Following Liszt’s advice, Virginia began to try to flip through the book using her spiritual power.

Magicians would all train their spiritual power. Perhaps they wouldn’t necessarily have a significant advantage over knights since knights also practiced daily to control Dou Qi with their thoughts, but compared to ordinary people, a magician’s spiritual power was extremely strong.

At first,

Virginia stared for quite a while without any movement from the knight’s novel. But, as Virginia began to shimmer with light, the book fluttered from beginning to end like it was caught in a gust of wind, and the other knight’s novels on the table also started flipping through their pages.

However, this force only lasted for less than ten seconds before disappearing, and everything returned to calm.

Virginia looked exhausted, gasping for breath, "Viscount Liszt, I feel very tired. I can barely hold on."

"Your mental control needs training. Once you’ve practiced, you should be able to use your thoughts to move some objects." Liszt evaluated, then added, "Since you’re tired, go rest in the soul storage vessel... By the way, can you come out of the soul storage vessel by yourself?"

"I don’t think so. After I go in, I feel like I fall asleep, and I can’t do anything."

"Hmm."

Watching Virginia turn back into a wisp of smoke and retreat into the soul storage vessel, Liszt was very satisfied with the effect of this special magic equipment, especially the part where the soul couldn’t leave on its own.

He stored it in the gemstone space.

The banquet then began.

...

The atmosphere at the banquet was quite lively.

In the dining room on the first floor, town officials, members of the knight squad, Paris, and Chris were all present. Like at Tulip Castle, they began with a moment of mourning for the two fallen Earth Knights, before moving to mingling and boasting with each other.

The participating members of the knight squad were all eager to brag about their performances on the battlefield, claiming all sorts of feats like skewering four enemies with one spear thrust, killing an elite Earth with a turnaround spear, breaking a long spear with a great sword to take a head, or shooting down an enemy’s throat amidst chaos.

Of course, while boasting about themselves, the Earth Knights did not forget to butter up their superior, lauding Liszt’s battlefield prowess.

"The lord is invincible!"

"With the lord riding on a landwalker bird and leading the Blizzard Beast, no one dared to face him in the charge."

"He was like a beam of light, guiding us forward!"

Liszt sipped his beer with a detached air, not saying much; he never enjoyed being overly active at parties. At Tulip Castle, many nobles were constantly toasting, making it hard not to respond. Here, he was the only landlord, and everyone else was a follower – so he could minimize the number of times he drank.

Or, like most leaders, he could take just a light sip.

The banquet lasted until eleven o’clock at night. After the guests dispersed, Liszt informed Butler Carter, then left the castle and headed towards the sea.

He was prepared to find the Sea Sprite Ake, help her with her magic problems, complete the Smoke Mission, and receive the reward.