Chapter 349: Bull Slays the Dragon Plan

Cris Truth woke up.

Although her body was still weak, she had managed to sit on a stool, thanks to the help of a local farmwoman, and was now able to undergo questioning by Liszt.

"So, Cris Truth is your name?"

"Yes, Lord Baron," Cris nodded and said in a voice still hoarse, "I thank you for rescuing me from the sea. Such grace—I do not know how to repay you."

Liszt suggested, "How about repaying me by working for Flower Town?"

"Ah?" Cris didn't react immediately. By common courtesy, there should be at least a few polite words before discussing repayment. "Of course, Lord Baron, I owe my life to you. I’d be happy to work for you... But I’m concerned it might put you in danger."

The recruitment seemed successful, and Liszt asked, "Put me in danger?"

Cris nodded, "Aren't you curious about why I ended up stranded at sea?"

"Quite curious, you can tell me. I would like to know."

"I... Since you are my savior, I shouldn't hide anything from you. The matter is very serious and involves a lot. I hope you, Lord Baron, will keep this to yourself and not let a third person know."

"Is that so? You can tell me, and I will decide how to handle it."

Cris took a deep breath, a momentary look of confusion in her eyes, and then slowly said, "I thought I was going to die, frozen by ice magic and drifting with the sea currents until I reached Coral Island, Flower Town. Lucky to have met you, Lord Baron—you have given me a second life."

She paused, taking a moment to gather her thoughts before continuing, "Coral Island is in a remote location within the Sapphire Duchy. By the time the news reaches here, it might already be too late."

"What news?" Liszt couldn't help but urge.

Cris carefully looked around the room to ensure no one was eavesdropping, then leaned forward and said in a low, serious voice, "Lord Bull Marquis is planning to assassinate the Duke of the Sapphire Duchy's dragon!"

"What!"

Liszt exclaimed, then also lowered his voice, "Cris, are you joking with me?"

"I am not, Lord Baron. I wish this was a false rumor, but... I was personally involved in this matter, and it is all true!" Cris's face turned grim. "The magicians of the Goat Gathering thought they were just researching topics related to dragons. On the final day, we realized that the Bull Marquis was using us to assassinate the Duke's dragon."

"Goat Gathering?"

"A gathering of magicians, mainly conducting research on Iron Horse Island. We secretly received funding from the Bull Marquis."

Liszt tried not to make too many assumptions but continued to ask, "Are you talking about the gathering formed by the Magic Goat family?"

"Does Lord Baron know about the Goat Gathering as well? I thought it was a secret magician organization. Yes, the Goat Gathering originated from the Magic Goat family over a hundred years ago. After a clan-destroying disaster, the Goat Gathering was forced to relocate."

They moved to Iron Horse Island.

For decades, they hid, until one day, the leader of the Goat Gathering established contact with the previous Bull Marquis.

From then on, the magicians could safely remain on Iron Horse Island and continue their research. Over time, they grew stronger. Cris joined the Goat Gathering fourteen years ago when she was only ten and still a magic apprentice. At seventeen, she was promoted to magician.

This year, she just turned twenty-four.

"I always thought the Goat Gathering was just an ordinary magician exchange organization. We occasionally shared magic, and the great magicians in the gathering would assign us young magicians research topics. I was assigned a topic on 'whether souls could be stored'... Ah, did my soul storage vessel fall into the sea?"

She just remembered she had a soul storage vessel magic equipment.

"Not in the least bit embarrassed," Liszt said, "Is it the copper kettle? One of my servants might have taken it and stored it in the castle’s warehouse. Do you need it?"

"That kettle is a magical artifact, part of the great magician Rashid Truth's collection. After assigning me my research project, he gave me the soul storage container to study. But I hated him for betraying the Goat Assembly, so when I ran away, I took the soul storage container with me."

She added cooperatively, "Now that I no longer intend to study souls, it can stay in Lord Baron’s warehouse."

With a slight smile, Liszt gestured, "Go on with your story."

"Well," Cris glanced at Liszt, a faint blush appearing on her face, "We young magicians were diligently working on our research projects every day. But there was a magician, Flow Truth, who was very active and constantly interacting with each of us... He discovered that all our individual projects could be combined into a larger one—how to deal a severe blow to a dragon’s soul."

This kind of project wasn’t particularly shocking.

Just as many knights dreamed of becoming dragon slayers, magicians often fantasized about how to kill or cripple a dragon.

But Flow had other ideas. He began secretly investigating and uncovered a massive conspiracy—the Bull Marquis was plotting to slay the dragon. Not only did he not report it, but he also joined in the plan, as slaying a dragon was one of his dreams.

However, just as the research was nearing completion, the leading magicians of the Goat Assembly began capturing magicians scattered across different locations.

They were silencing them.

"Flow warned us to escape. My own teacher became my pursuer, and just when I thought I was going to die, she cast the ice-type magic 'Eternal Freeze' on me and pushed me into the sea... The blessing pendant is a gift from my teacher; it protects me from harm. It saved me that day."

Cris took out the silver coin pendant from her neck, her eyes growing dim. "I know my teacher is now involved in the Bull Marquis’s plan to assassinate the duke’s dragon, alongside the great magicians of the Goat Assembly... I don’t know if they succeeded."

Liszt furrowed his brows.

His heart was in turmoil. The news of the dragon slaying had caught him completely off guard. "Cris, I need to know why the Bull Marquis would want to slay the dragon. He’s of the Sapphire Family bloodline!"

The first Bull Marquis was the youngest and favorite son of the founding duke. He was granted the title of Bull Count upon coming of age and later became the Bull Marquis when Iron Horse Island was enfeoffed.

The current Bull Marquis, Andy Sapphire, had grown up in the palace. He was a childhood friend of the current duke and served as the duke’s personal guard, being extremely close to him. The Bull Family had never changed their surname and had established the Oxhorn Academy to train servants for the palace.

It could be said that the Bull Family and the Sapphire Family were intertwined, sharing the same fate.

It made no sense for the Bull Marquis to slay the dragon and cut off his own lifeline.

Cris shook her head. "Probably because of... immortality. My teacher once mentioned that the Magic Goat family possessed the technology to transform into liches. The Goat Assembly used this technique to establish contact with the Bull Marquis."

Liches!

Liches again!

Liszt’s expression darkened, his eyes sharp. This Magic Goat family was like a shadow that refused to leave them alone.