Chapter 54: 1 will be passed down forever

"Moo..."

With a mournful cry, Old Huo collapsed into a pool of blood.

Clutching the Crimson Blood Sword, Liszt once again activated his Magic Eye through the bunker's window, channeling his barely regained Aura.

His vision shifted, and beside the flames, an invisible grayish-white dragon composed of magic was tearing at Old Huo bit by bit. It had already devoured the entirety of Old Hei and was now feasting on Old Huo, occasionally lifting its head to survey its surroundings, showing high alertness.

Its form bore no difference from the illustrations of dragons that Liszt had seen in books.

It had the standard Western dragon physique, albeit more slender.

It possessed four limbs, but its wings didn't retract when it walked on the ground. The wings resembled bat wings with arm-like structures within, fingers spread apart to support the expansion of the fleshy wings. When the fingers opened, the wings spread; when they closed, the wings contracted.

However, due to the wing structure resembling arms, it couldn't fold them like a bird.

But it could fold them, similar to the bending of an elbow. At the position of the palm in the middle of the wing, a finger extended, resembling a hook or a scythe.

Using the hook on its wing, the invisible dragon sliced through the cow's flesh and bones. Then, with its two smaller forelimbs, it picked up the shredded meat and stuffed it into its mouth.

Its tail was exceptionally long, much longer than the typical illustrations of dragons depicted. Upon its head were not one or two pairs of horns but a whole row, with varying lengths—legend had it that dragon horns symbolized power, and royal scepters for grand ceremonies were often crafted from them.

However, under Liszt's magical gaze, the invisible dragon's most concentrated source of magic wasn't its horns nor its heart, but its teeth—the dragon's fangs.

Each fang held an extraordinary clarity of magic. Upon counting, there were forty-two in total. Aside from the four massive canines, the remaining teeth were also quite sharp.

"It's said that a dragon's soul resides within its teeth. By extracting the soul of a dragon and crafting divine weapons from its fangs, infusing the soul back into them would create the mightiest weapon," Liszt's heart raced momentarily as he contemplated killing the invisible dragon and extracting all its fangs.

Of course, it was merely a fleeting thought.

"Quickly eat and then leave," Liszt dismissed his magical gaze, resuming his observation of the dairy farm.

The invisible dragon ate at a leisurely pace, allowing him time to replenish his magic and summon the Smoky Task to view any new tasks he had missed.

"Task: The invisible dragon has appeared in Flower Town. Prepare its favorite smoked grass and its preferred beef. For the remaining time, wait patiently for it to finish eating and depart. This is the only thing you can do. Please avoid the invasion of the invisible dragon. Reward: The Gift of the Invisible Dragon."

"I've already done what needed to be done. I can complete this task effortlessly," he mused, directing his attention to "The Gift of the Invisible Dragon." "What could this gift possibly be?"

With a growing certainty in his heart.

In the following moments, Liszt observed the invisible dragon in silence. Whenever his Aura recovered, he would cast the Eye of Magic, and when it depleted, he would indirectly observe with his naked eye.

Approximately half an hour later, the flames had long extinguished, leaving only shattered skeletons of the two cows on the ground.

Liszt noticed the alfalfa on the ground being stirred by the wind. He immediately circulated the newly replenished Aura, enduring the soreness and ache in his eyes, and once again cast the Eye of Magic.

Through his vision, the invisible dragon had already soared into the sky, flying towards the east coast beyond Flower Town, getting farther and farther away until Liszt's Eye of Magic dissipated.

"It's gone..." Liszt felt a myriad of emotions.

There was relief after tension, a sense of loss after witnessing something beautiful depart, anticipation for the impending gift, and a sense of accomplishment for successfully defending against a dragon invasion.

"I'll wait a little longer to ensure the invisible dragon doesn't return."

He stayed in the bunker for another nearly half-hour before casting the Eye of Magic to carefully search the area, confirming that there were no traces of the invisible dragon.

Pushing aside the camouflage above the bunker, he emerged from it.

Bathed in the scorching sun, he stretched luxuriously and sighed, "So that's how my first intimate encounter with a dragon ended." He still had no idea what kind of dragon the Invisible Dragon was, but any dragon was an incredible creature, especially one that could turn invisible.

After returning to Thorns Ridge, he checked on the growth of the thorn insects and grass; they were thriving. Loosening the reins of the Fire Dragon Horse, he noticed that the mare had soiled herself—she must have been terrified by the Invisible Dragon's presence.

Fortunately, the horse's back was clean.

He mounted the Fire Dragon Horse and headed for the dairy farm, but the horse refused to approach the beacon tower, no matter how much List lashed at it with his whip.

"Dragon's aura… No, its scent has you this scared? Despite having the bloodline of a Lesser Flame Horse, a low-level magical beast," List muttered, dismounting and continuing on foot since he couldn't do anything else.

He couldn't detect the scent of the Invisible Dragon, as his nostrils were still filled with the smoky fragrance of the smoked grass.

The other eight cows at the dairy farm were nowhere to be seen. List hoped they hadn't ventured deep into Thorns Ridge, or they would surely become meals for magical beasts.

At the ruins of the beacon tower, List searched meticulously, leaving no ground unchecked. He even used a hoe to dig up the soil—partly to look for the Invisible Dragon's gift, and partly to obliterate any trace of the dragon's footsteps, erasing all evidence of its existence.

Innocent until proven guilty, but guilt lies in possessing something valuable.

Caution was key.

"Found it!" After a moment, Liszt discovered what he was looking for beneath a cow bone – a transparent gemstone.

It wasn't large, roughly the size of a fingernail. In comparison to the blood-red ruby as big as an infant's fist embedded in the Crimson Blood Sword, this gemstone was much smaller. It didn't possess any dazzling colors either; instead, it resembled a diamond, sparkling and crystalline with irregular, flat, and angular contours that refracted sunlight into tiny glimmers.

Somehow, Liszt was reminded of a famous advertisement slogan.

"Diamonds are forever, one is enough to last a lifetime."

Indeed, it would make for an excellent ring material. However, uncertain if the spatial properties were genuine, he didn't verify them immediately but carefully stored it away, continuing his search for a second gem. Unfortunately, after thoroughly combing through the fifty-meter radius where the invisible dragon had left its footprints, he couldn't locate another one.

Undeterred, he activated his Magic Eye once more, yet still came up empty-handed.

"It seems that the so-called gift was truly just this one gemstone," Liszt wiped the sweat from his forehead. His leather armor was now dirty, greatly diminishing his noble demeanor, but his face beamed with a radiant smile. "Regardless, the chapter on the invisible dragon has come to an end, and Flower Town is safe."

He stepped into a peasant's straw-roofed cottage to cool off and check for new quests.

"Quest completed. Reward: Gemstone of the Invisible Dragon."

"Quest: John Pole, the Tomato Planter of Tomato Village, has cultivated tomatoes of superior quality, greater yield, and faster growth compared to his neighbors. As a lord, how can one not investigate the reason behind this? Reward: A Fairy Worm."