The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

The Magic Web was a new discovery, neither Chris nor Ach had explored it, so the two of them needed to search on their own. But Liszt, inspired by internet nodes, had his own set of conjectures about the Magic Web.

On the spot, inspiration burst forth, and he prepared to write a speculative book on the relationship between the Magic Web, Elves, and Dragons.

Although he was a true Knight — a Half-Step Dragon Knight.

That didn't hinder his achievements in the field of Magecraft. The two books involving magic theory, "Three-Phase Magic Array and Reality Interaction Theory" and "The Unification of Triangular Theory and Magic Array Structures", were enough to secure his position within the circle of "Truth."

Even Chris and Ach, both Grand Magicians, gave ample affirmation to his theories.

This was much more significant than what those ordinary magicians were fumbling with, such as nonsensical alchemy or enhancing Fireball Technique, because his writings looked at the essence through the phenomena. It was like Einstein's treatise "The Theory of Relativity" in the physical sciences, a study of theoretical physics.

He, on the other hand, pursued the study of theoretical magic power.

Nowadays, he had yet another new theory to put forth and was preparing to take time to write the book "The Conjectures on the Nexus of the Magic Net, Elves, and Dragons".

Maybe in a thousand years, many Grand Magicians would rely on this magic book to advance to the level of Archmage.

Perhaps humanity could use this book to mass-produce Elves and Dragons.

"No, this book can be written, but must not be published; like my previous two treatises, it can only circulate within my domain. This knowledge isn't ready to be disseminated. If it were to inspire magicians from other lands, it wouldn't be a good thing." Fundamentally, Liszt still distrusted magicians.

He certainly didn't want to repeat the mistakes of the Sapphire Duke and the Sapphire Dragon, to have another dragon-slaying incident caused by a magician.

Time whisked by.

Before even starting on his new work, he rode the Rainbow Whale Rose alongside Ach to Dodo Island. Upon arriving, he summoned the Little Fire Dragon Leo at the volcano crater.

"Oh hoo!"

Flames burst out of the lava, forming a Fire Dragon clad in black and red scales.

It might have been an illusion, but Liszt noticed that, having not seen Leo for just a few days, he seemed larger. After consulting Ach, it was clear that Leo indeed grew larger. It was evident how crucial a volcano, alive with magma, was for the growth of a Fire Dragon.

"Eat up, this is beef transported from Red Crab Island. To get you your favorite beef, I've bought all the available cattle on Coral Island." As Leo ate, Liszt took the opportunity to stroke him lovingly, to deepen their bond.

Without looking up, Leo responded: "Oh hoo!"

"There's hardly any beef left on Coral Island now, I had to buy it at a high price from Red Crab Island. It's not easy to feed you. And I only come here to train with you every five days; once I receive the Pioneer Mandate, I may not even be here for months. Without my support, how could you live so comfortably?"

Perhaps language didn't have as much effect as food, but long-term, subtle influences would definitely have a brainwashing effect, making the Little Fire Dragon Leo eventually accept him.

He had come to see.

Dragons were too proud by nature, even juvenile ones retained an intrinsic aloofness.

To succeed in Dragon Riding, one needed to deepen the bond over years, gradually softening the Dragon's pride, eventually becoming partners who fought side by side.

Even then, he vaguely discovered something, that there was a flat spot on the back of a Dragon, right at the scapula, which seemed ideal for riding — possibly related to Dragon Knights — to be precise, likely a "contract" spot. Once mounted, unexpected changes might occur.

As for why he thought so.

It came to him as he reflected carefully, after his enthusiasm for Dragon Riding cooled down.

Because when he had seen the Sapphire Duke riding the dragon at Juniper Castle, he had clearly observed that the Sapphire Duke was standing on the dragon's back, not sitting. Whether it was the Sapphire Dragon, the Formless Dragon, or Little Fire Dragon Leo, the neck and shoulder areas of these dragons all had a spot suitable for riding.

The Duke didn't need to show off, standing on the dragon's back instead of sitting in the right spot.

"So, the Duke might not have become a Dragon Knight at all, but rather, he might exist in another way—as the Dragon Domain Landlord!" Liszt speculated in his heart.

Years ago, when Annute Lanbao sought to become the Dragon Domain Landlord, with the annihilation of him and the Magic Goat Family, it's likely that the technology to be a Dragon Domain Landlord had fallen into the hands of the Sapphire Family.

Perhaps the attack on the Sapphire Dragon by the Marquis of Bull and the magicians of the Goat Assembly, which left it gravely wounded and transformed into a Lich, prompted the Duke to pick up this technology and become the Dragon Domain Landlord. That would explain the scene where he turned the tide of battle, sending the Marquis of Bull back to his original form and capturing him.

However, Liszt could not guarantee his conclusion was correct.

He had never seen what a Dragon Knight looked like, so whether the Duke standing on the dragon's back represented a Dragon Knight or a Dragon Domain Landlord was hard to say.

But this did not prevent him from coveting the spot above Leo's shoulder blades.

He could now touch Leo's body at will but couldn't climb on and ride yet, so uncovering the secrets of that spot would still take time.

"Whether riding up there establishes the 'contract' of a Dragon Knight will surely be discovered by me one day!"

His heart was burning with passion.

Yet his reasoning remained calm, not rushing to ride the dragon.

After making sure Leo was well-fed and content, the training officially began. He started with Dragon Breath Tempering, pushing Leo to the brink of exhaustion. Then he gave the dragon a short rest and a snack of magic potions. Next, he merged with the flame and absorbed it into his body, performing another exercise—Dragon Magic Refining Qi—and continued to consume Magic Potions to enhance his Dragon Dou Qi.
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"Oh-ho!"

After a night had passed.

Feeling refreshed, he bid farewell to Little Fire Dragon Leo and officially concluded this round of training. At the foot of the mountain, he collected a large batch of Hemp Rope Vine seeds before leaving Dodo Island.

The Hemp Rope Vine sample had already been studied, with tensile strength comparable to iron wire of the same thickness and great flexibility. Especially with advice from a master who knew how to make hemp ropes, it could be treated with oil to prevent decay and maintain the vine's flexibility. It definitely could replace hemp rope and become an important resource.

So he planned to plant a large batch of Hemp Rope Vine in his domain, add more fertilizer, and strive to cultivate an Hemp Rope Vine Elf Bug at some point.

"Ach, have you seen those two Advanced Magical Beasts, the Water Explosion Giant Whales, since last time?" Liszt asked, gazing at the calm and vast sea.

He had named those two gigantic whale Sea Monsters Water Explosion Giant Whales and identified them as Advanced Magical Beasts—believing he was the discoverer, and under Earth's academic rules, the discoverer had the naming rights. The name was based on the Sea Monsters' Vacuum Water Burst Magic.

These were only the second Advanced Magical Beasts he had seen.

Ach shook his head, "No, they might have left already. Didn't you say that whales can migrate thousands of miles in the ocean, Brother?"

"Indeed … what a pity to have only glimpsed an Advanced Magical Beast and missed each other in a fleeting moment," Liszt sighed.

He had watched documentaries where some whales migrated from tropical seas to Antarctic waters, and some even swam from the Pacific to the Atlantic. Other documentaries claimed that whales are social animals, though the range of their 'group' might span hundreds to thousands of kilometers.

It was a rare opportunity to see an Advanced Magical Beast that passed by in a flash.

However, what he didn't expect was that within a couple of days of returning to his domain, the Giant Algae Greater Elf's vocabulary had broken through a thousand words, then the Smoke Mission was completed, and the new mission was related to Advanced Magical Beasts.