The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

The strength of low-level magical beasts was not weak, especially the flying low-level magical beasts; they could easily take on an Earth Knight in single combat. Unfortunately for this group of Black Bats, they encountered Li Si Te, who was one of the elite Earth Knights even among those who relied heavily on drugs.

He was even a knight whose Dou Qi was transforming towards "Dragon Dou Qi."

Furthermore, the Landwalker Bird he rode, when executing the Light Body Skill, could leap to astonishing heights, scattering the group of Black Bats completely. One after another, they were cleaved by the Sky-Cleaving Greatsword and fell to the ground; in a moment, twelve Black Bats lay dead. By then, the remaining Black Bats had already fled far away, beyond reach.

"Damn, the prey that was in my mouth slipped away!"

Out of the group of twenty or thirty Black Bats, not even half were left behind.

He quickly switched to the Swift Shadow Bow, attempting to shoot down one or two more, but the Black Bats, equipped with ultrasonic location, were least afraid of arrows; not a single one was hit.

Counting the three Black Bats he had shot before the Bloodline Fruit matured, he picked up a total of fifteen Black Bat corpses—as large as piglets, they could provide quite a bit of Magical Beast Meat, and many scraps suitable for Magicians to create Magic Arrays. A single one was worth at least ten Gold Coins.

Fifteen amounted to one hundred and fifty Gold Coins, a considerable profit akin to the ransom of five Earth Knights.

The combat in the jungle was also over; eight juvenile Blizzard Beasts, with the strong bloodline and bodies of Intermediate Magical Beasts, had nearly annihilated the twenty-odd Wind Blade Wolves that had invaded. Only three Wind Blade Wolves managed to escape, with the remaining eighteen left behind.

This was close to two hundred Gold Coins in earnings.

"Gather all the Black Bats and Wind Blade Wolves' corpses, and allocate one Black Bat and two Wind Blade Wolves for tonight's extra meal for the Knight Squad."

"Thank you, my lord!" Charles and the other knights replied with great excitement.

Having not exerted much effort, they were indeed happy to enjoy delicious Magical Beast Meat. The group quickly returned, laden with spoils, busying themselves in sorting out the non-edible materials and the edible Magical Beast Meat, preparing for the evening feast.

Li Si Te did not participate.

He was observing Loki, who had eaten the Bloodline Fruit.

This Landwalker Bird was extremely excited, and unlike Douson, who had fallen straight to sleep after ingesting the Bloodline Fruit, it had no intention of sleeping but kept hopping excitedly. Using the Eye of Magic, he could see that the Magic Power within it was boiling.

Like water awaiting the boil.

"Loki needs to release some energy, so I might as well make the effort and go a little wild with it to help process the powerful effect of the Bloodline Fruit," Liszt decided. He mounted the Landwalker Bird and began to race and leap across the wilderness.

Loki was too excited to stop its feet.

Liszt just gripped its neck, but his thoughts drifted elsewhere, "The five-minute maturation time of the Bloodline Fruit is indeed too brief. Once contested by magical beasts, there's no time to organize a hunting operation properly. I should have stayed by the Bloodline Fruit myself, ready to pick it as soon as it matured."

Then he could distribute it to his own pets and mounts, which would be safer than letting Loki eat the Bloodline Fruit on its own.

"Right, although the Bloodline Fruit starts to lose Magic Power once it matures, there's still a five-minute window. If I can store it in the Gemstone Space the moment it's ripe, could I preserve its medicinal effect? Then I can calmly allocate it to the one I most want to give it to," he thought.

The one he most wanted to give it to had an excellent candidate—Earth Matron.

Once Earth Matron broke through the restrictions of her bloodline and became a Blizzard Beast, he would have a complete Blizzard Beast Legion. Douson and Earth Matron could continuously produce offspring, and even if the offspring weren't as exceptional as them, they would definitely be stronger than the low-level magical beasts, the Fierce Earth Dogs, from before.

Thinking of this, he immediately felt regret so strong it was like a toothache, "I thought I was so cunning, why did I forget about my Space Gem at such a critical moment?"

A single, small Bloodline Fruit could potentially represent the loss of an entire Blizzard Beast Legion.

"Next time I get a Bloodline Fruit, I must store it in the Gemstone Space to see if it continues to lose Magic Power... Logically, it shouldn't, as the Gemstone Space is formed by the Magic Power of the Formless Dragon, definitely the most miraculous and incredible gemstone."

What was done was done, and regrets were useless now.

He could only hope that the next Smoke Mission would continue to reward Bloodline Fruits or that he could obtain them through other channels—the price of one thousand Gold Coins was still acceptable compared to the Blizzard Beast Legion.

His thoughts were still soaring.

Loki was still excitedly hopping around.

After more than an hour of continuous bouncing that almost made Liszt vomit, Loki finally exhausted all its strength and returned to its nest in Nameless Castle to rest.

Feet on the ground.

Liszt steadied his still wobbling body and used the Eye of Magic to observe the Magic Power within Loki's body once more. The blue Magic Power was a bit thicker, no longer boiling, but slowly seeping into its body. This was the medicinal effect of the Bloodline Fruit settling, which would continuously improve its bloodline over the coming period.

"I hope you can become an Intermediate Dragon Beast soon."

After personally feeding it grains and fruits, Liszt then left.

...

The banquet.

The Magical Beast Meat from Black Bats and Wind Blade Wolves made the Knights eat with passionate exuberance.

This period of leisure was nothing like being on the battlefield—only the Knights of Coral Island, relying on the supplies captured from Scentcartleaf Stronghold, could enjoy such a delightful life. Other Knight Orders were still constantly plundering, trying to obtain more wartime merit and supplies through the Pioneer Mandate.

"The Grand Duke has ridden the Sapphire Dragon to the war front to discuss a retreat with the Dragon Knights of the Steel Ridge Kingdom," Viscount Jonas mentioned in passing when he stopped by Nameless Castle after raiding a small city.

Among the Knights of Coral Island, only Viscount Jonas and his Knight Order were still fervently on the move—having suffered heavy losses in the battle of Iron Hoof Island, he took this opportunity to make up for the loss.

"The Grand Duke riding a dragon? Has he really become a Dragon Knight?"

"I don't know, that's what I heard from others."

Jonas wasn't sure.

Liszt left Nameless Castle and went to ask his father.

Li Weiliam's answer was also somewhat vague, "There is a very good chance, yes, but the Grand Duke has not revealed his current status to us. His Sapphire Dragon is also somewhat different; the broken parts of its body have not healed and still look... quite ferocious."

Half rotten, half intact.

This was the deep impression left on Liszt when he first saw the Sapphire Dragon; he didn't expect that after so long, the Sapphire was still in such dire straits.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

It seemed the surprise attack from the Goat Assembly had left the Sapphire Dragon with irreparable injuries.

Li Weiliam quickly added another conjecture, "Now that the Grand Duke dares to ride the Sapphire Dragon out, it indicates the dragon should be alright. Those Continental Landlords who want to take advantage of the turmoil within our Kingdom probably need to extinguish their thoughts... We can rob them, but they can't rob us."

A Grand Duchy protected by Dragon Knights was indeed difficult to conquer. The Dragon Knights of all countries, as the ultimate deterrent force, were monitored by enemy forces, making it hard to go on an expedition easily.

Moreover, mainland countries generally did not manufacture large sailing ships, leaving Knight Orders without the capability to sail the high seas.

Still, Liszt was a bit speechless—was it really okay to bluntly state, "I can rob you, but you cannot rob me" like this?

Regardless.

Three days later, on December 6th, the Grand Duke returned from the front line meeting and officially announced the end of this year's Pioneer Mandate; it was time to go home.