Chapter 650: Guardian of the Ugly Fish

Regarding the information about the Magic Web, Liszt needed time to digest it thoroughly, hoping to draw inspiration for his own knightly cultivation—after all, Acher had said that in her perception, he resembled an independent, smaller version of the Magic Web. There might be noteworthy similarities or differences worth exploring compared to the real Magic Web.

However, his immediate concern was Acher: "Acher, can you still reach the Magic Web?"

"Earlier, I could touch the Magic Web thanks to the magic array activated by the mermaid's tear. Now, there's no way to enter it again. But I've memorized the 'entry point' of the Magic Web. With some preparation, I should soon be able to access it freely."

"So, you're about to advance to Archmage soon?"

"Mhm!" Acher couldn't suppress her smile and chuckled quietly. "Brother is a Dragon Knight, and I will be an Archmage!"

Liszt, grinning fiercely, took her hand: "Haha, exactly!"

A Dragon Knight paired with an Archmage—with such formidable strength, what was there to fear? Whether it was the Sapphire Duchy attempting to seize his "Ghostblade Inheritance" or Alonso Cyclamen potentially launching a dragon-hunting campaign, neither would pose a significant threat anymore.

Perhaps Leo was still too young, and Liszt himself was only a rookie Dragon Knight, unable to guarantee victory against veteran Dragon Knights. But with Acher assisting him, under the barrage of magic, even Dragon Knights would have to carefully consider whether they could withstand the onslaught. Dragon Aura could disrupt magic, but spells cast through the Magic Web functioned at a higher tier.

"Acher, keep working hard and advance to Archmage as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, I'll strive to earn Leo's recognition and become a true Dragon Knight!"

"Mhm!"

"Tonight, we'll rest above the Undead Yuchou's temple. Tomorrow, we'll see if we can convince Is to relocate to Black Horse Island... By the way, Acher, I noticed that even though both of you are mermaids, you don’t seem to feel any kinship toward her. Why is that?" Liszt voiced his confusion.

"I’m not sure either. Though I am a mermaid, I don’t feel she is of the same lineage." She pondered carefully. "Perhaps it’s like how spirits don’t necessarily see each other as kin. Mermaids are like spirits of the ocean, so they share a similar way of thinking."

Hearing this, Liszt understood.

Acher was born from a scallop shell, while Is emerged from a conch shell—they weren’t truly of the same lineage.

The two hurried out of the Undead Yuchou's temple. As they did, Liszt noticed the harpoon planted at the entrance and suddenly recalled that the reward for the Smoke Task was "Guardian Undead Yuchou."

"Could it be this harpoon?" He signaled Acher to wait, then pulled out the enormous harpoon. Its size was akin to a pillar, with five sharp prongs at the tip.

It measured about five meters in length.

Rather than being forged from metal, it was crafted from an unusual bone-like material, polished and pieced together.

Under the observation of the Magic Eye, faint mana radiated within it—a pale blue hue, likely water-attributed mana.

Amid the pale blue light, there was also a wisp of pale green light, somewhat resembling the magic aura of liches like Curtis Truth.

"Could the Undead Yuchou be hiding inside this harpoon?"

He wasn’t in a hurry to investigate further. First, he dragged the harpoon to the surface, launched the sampan, and then took his time studying the harpoon and the Guardian Undead Yuchou.

At the same time, he summoned the Smoke Task.

Sure enough, it was already completed: "Mission accomplished. Reward: Guardian Undead Yuchou."

A new mission swiftly appeared, invigorating him: "Mission: Since Acher has already gained the ability to advance to Archmage, as an aspiring Dragon Knight, you must also strive harder. The young Fire Drake, Leo, is your first dragon—by any means necessary, conquer it first before considering anything else. Reward: Perfected Mana."

"Conquering Leo—it seems the Milon Mind Fruit will serve as a tranquilizer!" Liszt suppressed his excitement, refusing to let it overwhelm him.

Everything would wait until Leo was conquered.

By then, he wouldn’t just be a Dragon Knight—he would also be a perfected Sky Knight.

Acher sat in her shell, lost in thought. Touching the Magic Web had left a profound impact on her, and she needed time to process it and rediscover a way to access the Magic Web, truly advancing to Archmage.

Meanwhile, Liszt enjoyed a hearty feast before turning his attention to studying the harpoon.

This harpoon is undoubtedly a magic-powered weapon, and the Undead Yuchou, called a guardian, should be controllable.

Typically, such research matters would be handed to Acheronides or Cris.

However, Acheronides was lost in thought, so Liszt decided not to disturb her and opted to study it himself. He stepped back to avoid disturbing her.

He then poured mana into the harpoon, attempting to activate it.

Unfortunately, his fire-attribute mana conflicted with the harpoon’s nature. Instead of activating it, the infusion of mana caused the harpoon’s magic power to surge violently, nearly destroying the weapon in the resulting conflict.

"Never mind, I’ll figure it out another time."

He carefully shifted things around in the gemstone space, finally clearing enough room for the five-meter-long harpoon. Wrapping it in mana, he stored the harpoon inside the gemstone space.

The night went by without incident.

Early the next morning, the two continued their journey, back to where they’d met Is.

Unfortunately, Is was no longer there, and Acheronides couldn’t sense her presence either: "Brother, Is has already left these reefs."

"I see." Liszt was disappointed. Though Is was elderly, she still had her uses.

But since she had left, it was clear she had no intention of reconnecting with human society.

So Liszt didn’t press the matter: "If she doesn’t want to come back with us, then let’s go. No need to worry about her anymore."

...

On the evening of the second day.

Liszt and Acheronides returned to Flower Town.

Surprisingly, the Count still hadn’t returned. Calculating the time, his expedition to excavate the Yuchou Temple had taken about a week. The voyage from Roaring Estuary to Coral Island required ten days, so unless the Count and his party had departed early, they naturally wouldn’t be back so soon.

Nothing major had happened in the territory, but two main things stood out.

One was that Marcus had tallied up the battle merits of the knights who participated in the pioneering campaign. Once the Duke finalized the iron ore rewards, they could distribute them proportionally.

The other was that a field inspection turned up two unusual plants. One was a huge, thriving peanut plant in the peanut plantation of New Port Town on Black Horse Island. The other was a noticeably taller and thicker oat plant in one of Flower Town’s few remaining oat fields.

Since the territory lacked an oat bug, and with the presence of a wheat spirit bug and two Wheat Bugs, the officials had decided to cease oat cultivation—this was their last crop.

Unexpectedly, this very crop had spawned an oat bug. Liszt personally inspected and confirmed its existence.

After instructing Flower Town’s Administrator Isaiah to guard the bug-infested plants, he didn’t head to Black Horse Island the next day to check for a potential peanut bug.

Instead, he set off directly with Acheronides for Dodo Island. At this point, riding a dragon took priority over everything.