Chapter 397 Dragon Knight Training Program

The night in Horn City.

The rain poured down, mixed with the howling wind.

Unable to venture outside, Liszt stayed in his room, tallying his spoils. Food, minerals, and other spoils could not be divided privately, and he had not brought much in the way of gold or silver coins.

Only near Niu Mao City did Marcus manage to find seven craftsmen and secretly send them to the ship.

He called forth the smoke mission, still inscribed in serpent tongue: "Mission: Searching for the Furious Knights and the Goat Assembly, in progress. Perhaps this is the end of the Bull Marquis, though no one can know the final outcome. Please wait patiently for the end of the war. Reward: Unknown."

He likely had to wait until returning to Flower Town for the mission to be completed.

Currently, the spoils he had obtained were found in the study and bedroom of Juniper Fortress. The pink gem embedded in the necklace of the Duchess's portrait in the bedroom likely originated from the "Pink Gem Dragon." After some examination, Liszt concluded that the nature of this pink gem was to enhance mental power.

To date, he had acquired four gems.

The Red Blood Sword was embedded with a ruby, which enhanced the effect of mana, making it very powerful; the Zankong Great Sword was embedded with a sapphire, which increased strength, equally formidable; a sapphire ring had been obtained from Curtis Truth through trickery, which not only increased strength but also enhanced the spellcasting effect of magicians.

Lastly, there was this pink gem that enhanced mental power.

"Gem Dragons are roughly a type of dragon that specializes magic power and solidifies it in the form of gems, equivalent to a nature-converting magic converter," he defined Gem Dragons as such.

In his understanding, dragons could be seen as magic converters.

Metal Dragons were material converters, transforming magic power into metal; Elemental Dragons were permanent converters, turning the temporary attributes of magic power into permanent attributes, allowing them to be engraved forever; Gem Dragons were nature converters, converting ordinary magic power into special magic power, forming gems.

As for Sacred Dragons, it was hard to say.

Of course.

These were just superficial insights; his understanding of dragons was still very limited. The great magicians of the Goat Assembly likely knew much more, but unfortunately, he had neither captured a great magician nor obtained their books and experimental notes.

He hefted the pink gem in his hand.

Liszt felt that this was undoubtedly an important spoil.

It could be used to create gem equipment, thereby increasing his mental power and allowing him to better control the flow of mana. It could also be given to magicians, as they had a great demand for mental power.

"Perhaps Acheronides would like it..."

Besides the pink gem.

A set of silver-white knight armor was also taken out by him. This set of armor, hanging on the study wall, appeared to be made of mithril.

The feel and texture matched those of the mithril armor he had discovered in the basement of the unnamed castle in Mane City.

After a while.

He helplessly declared: "This is truly just a set of mithril armor, a set of mithril armor with no special features... Bull Marquis, are you so full that you hang a set of ordinary mithril armor in your study?" The value of such mithril armor was equivalent to seven or eight sets of fine steel armor.

Not worth much.

"Not to mention acquiring a good set of magic equipment, at least it should be embedded with seven or eight gems to match the status of a Marquis!" Liszt was greatly disappointed.

Reluctantly, he continued to examine the equipment, and soon discovered why the armor had been hung up.

On the back shoulder blade of the armor, a small line of serpent tongue was engraved: "Iron Knight Andre Sapphire, completed in the autumn of the 149th year, the first set of mithril armor, gifted to grandfather."

"Is this the first set of mithril armor made by the grandson of the Bull Marquis?" Liszt pondered for a moment. This line of text revealed Andre's talent. "According to the information I have, the grandson of the Bull Marquis seems to be only fifteen years old this year? Three years ago, he was merely twelve, and he crafted mithril armor?"

The Iron Knight is akin to a blacksmith among knights, and his status isn't particularly high.

However, a twelve-year-old child being able to forge so well suggests that he has an extraordinary talent in mana cultivation: "This Andre, as long as he has enough resources, might become a sky knight before the age of sixteen, with the potential to ride a dragon."

Liszt has a knack for thinking outside the box.

He associates this with some kingdoms that have special knight systems and dragon knight training programs.

Not every royal has what it takes to ride a dragon; most have ordinary talents. Therefore, the kingdom picks some young folks with dragon-riding potential, trains them, and helps them become a formidable defense for the kingdom. One of the selection criteria is that they must become sky knights before the age of sixteen.

These dragon knights will serve the kingdom, and after their death, the dragons will be returned to the kingdom. It's unclear how they ensure dragon knights return the dragons, but it probably involves some soul-binding contracts.

"Maybe Marquis Bull has already sent his grandson off to some kingdom to be trained as a dragon knight candidate?" With the wealth of the Bull family, it might indeed be possible to gamble and cultivate a dragon knight descendant.

Perhaps in Marquis Bull's mind, becoming a lich and achieving immortality would allow him to oversee his grandson becoming a dragon knight.

Even the dragon-slaying plan might be one of the conditions promised by some kingdom for his grandson to become a dragon knight candidate.

Liszt's mind starts racing.

He even cooks up a conspiracy theory: some kingdom, presumably the Kingdom of the Eagle, to deal with the Sapphire Duchy, sends people to secretly revive the Goat Assembly and contact Marquis Bull. Using the lich as bait, they lure Marquis Bull into slaying a dragon, and then promise to train his grandson as a dragon knight.

So, Marquis Bull goes all-in, deciding to slay the dragon, and all these events unfold.

However, he quickly dismisses this conspiracy theory: "The conspiracy would have had to start at least thirty years ago, when Marquis Bull's grandson wasn't even born... But it could be written into *Dragons Battling in the Wilderness*, which would surely be captivating and add historical depth."

He gives his head a shake.

He stops worrying about where Andre has gone: "I'll find a chance later to erase this serpent tongue inscription and use it as an ordinary mithril armor."

He puts away the armor.

What remains are the books found in the study.

The first one, *A Night of Passion with Miss Havana in the Piano Room*, seems a bit suggestive from the title, but he still flips through it seriously.

Then.

He is utterly speechless.

This is just a smutty book, full of crude descriptions and lacking any real plot. The protagonist is a down-and-out knight without a noble title, who only knows how to play the piano. He is hired to teach a count's daughter how to play the piano. Because he plays the piano well, he ends up with Miss Havana in the piano room.

Repeating actions, over and over.

Composing this roughly thirty-thousand-word novel.

"Marquis Bull actually enjoys this kind of thing." Liszt thinks for a moment, takes out a small knife, and cuts open the cover... There are no hidden mana techniques.

This is simply a very straightforward pornographic book.