Chapter 527

Of course, the lava channel was nowhere to be found.

Using the Magic Eye to search for a couple of spirit bugs also turned up nothing. The Toothless Mountain, being a long-dead volcano, had weathered into an ordinary mountain range over time, with no trace of magma or even geothermal activity.

No hot springs, no steam, no caves—just your average mountain range.

"Leo, let's go back!" Liszt called out. The Fire Drake, which had been circling and chasing birds in the sky, immediately swooped down. Just three meters away from Liszt, it suddenly burst into a ball of flame, crashing into Liszt's body with a loud bang, nearly knocking him over.

Taking two steps back to steady himself, Liszt mentally scolded the Fire Drake: "Be more careful! How many times have I told you? Land gently when we get home!"

"Oh, roar!"

The Fire Drake responded, but without any emotion, clearly not paying attention to what Liszt had said.

Training it like he had trained the Blizzard Beast was no easy task. Perhaps because dragons have such long growth cycles, they are intelligent but adapt over years... In any case, after over a month of training, the Fire Drake's biggest change was accepting its new name.

Leo!

As for why Liszt had chosen this name for the Fire Drake, only Liszt himself knew.

Leaving Toothless Mountain.

Liszt rode Loki and flew toward the southern beach of Coral Island to visit the mid-level magical beast, the Purple Sand Crocodile. The crocodile was leisurely sunbathing on the beach but immediately became alert when Liszt arrived, raising its head and adopting a defensive posture.

"I really want to kill it, skin it, and eat it, but it feels a bit off. I somewhat understand that the Count probably intentionally left the Purple Sand Crocodile here to maintain the magical beast population on Coral Island."

On the mainland, the relationship between humans and magical beasts is one of hunting them down wherever they are found.

But in the Sapphire Duchy, isolated overseas, magical beasts are a rarity. Often, they are tamed, bred, or their habitats are protected to ensure their continued reproduction, providing a steady supply of magical beast meat. Liszt's previous approach of wiping out the magical beasts in Thorn Ridge was a big no-no.

Unaware of what the human before it was thinking.

But the Purple Sand Crocodile instinctively sensed danger. It opened its mouth and cast a spell—Water Wave Shield—instantly enveloping itself in a light blue aura.

Seeing this,

Liszt slowly drew his Skycleaver Sword, the surging Dragon Aura within him poised to strike.

Boom!

The first to attack was not him but the Purple Sand Crocodile. The massive crocodile frantically cast a spell—Water Arrow Barrage—countless water arrows shooting toward Liszt like sharp arrows.

With a leap, Liszt dodged the crocodile's attack.

The Skycleaver Sword swung through the air, unleashing a 'Crimson Blaze' that shot out like a fiery line, crashing into the Purple Sand Crocodile's Water Wave Shield.

Boom!

The Purple Sand Crocodile's Water Wave Shield couldn't hold, shattering in just one second.

The remnants of the high-level fire-attribute Dragon Aura scattered across its purple-glowing scales, instantly burning them.

"Grooowl!"

The Purple Sand Crocodile let out a pained cry. It couldn't withstand Liszt's single strike, though this was only a superficial wound. Seeing its condition, Liszt landed gently, sheathed his Skycleaver Sword, whistled for Loki, mounted it, and left the beach without looking back.

He could already feel his power exploding with growth. Ordinary mid-level magical beasts could hardly withstand a single charged strike from him.

This was just a test of his attack power; there was no need to kill the Purple Sand Crocodile.

"I wonder how many of the Earl's strikes I can withstand now? If the Sapphire Duke arrives, without relying on the Sapphire Dragon, and only using Dragon Aura and mana techniques to fight, could I withstand two or three strikes from him? The Sapphire Family must have mana techniques focused on lethality. Although I have two mana techniques, they are of auxiliary nature..."

Using the Earl as a measure, Liszt's strength has already surpassed all sky knights. But against a Duke who might become a dragon knight, he cannot measure up.

"My current strength is still far behind that of the Marquis of the Bull."

Back then, the Marquis of the Bull fought dozens of sky knights single-handedly. Although he was eventually forced to flee, his strength after transforming into a lich is undeniable.

Liszt is now confident he can overpower two or three sky knights, but any more than that, and he would have to flee in defeat, still far behind the Marquis of the Bull.

Of course.

His strength is rapidly increasing, improving every day.

After all, he is a dragon knight about to ride his dragon.

...

This confident, yet still dragonless, dragon knight.

After returning to Flower Town, his mood soured, for a simple reason: his magic potions were out of stock again. The Fire Drake began to howl for its medicine, and his own cultivation slowed down without the aid of potions. The abrupt halt to his upward momentum was very unpleasant.

"It's mid-April now, about five or six months away from the expedition order... I really want to charge into the Kingdom of the Eagle, plunder a batch of resources, and preferably capture one or two Marquises or Earls. The ransom alone would probably be enough to keep me well-fed!"

Without magic potions to take,

Liszt always unconsciously thinks of plunder.

While suppressing his greed, he sighed: "No wonder wars erupt every year. The resources consumed by knight cultivation constantly drive nobles to compete. Even someone like me, raised in peace, can't help but get involved."

Enduring.

Night falls.

When he visits the seaside villa to chat with Acheronides.

Acheronides suddenly mentions an interesting story: "Brother, Acheronides found a colorful big fish near Black Horse Island. It was like a beautiful Rainbow Dolphin, definitely a sea creature. Acheronides wanted to catch it and give it to you, but it swam too fast and disappeared into a large patch of seaweed, lost from sight."

Rainbow Dolphin?

What kind of sea creature is that?

Liszt's surprise at the Rainbow Dolphin was fleeting, and his attention quickly focused on another point: "A large patch of seaweed?"

"Yes, there's a very large patch of seaweed under that part of the sea, like an underwater forest. Acheronides nearly got lost in it. It's very strange seaweed; it's the first time Acheronides has seen so much seaweed gathered underwater, with many fish living in it."

These two details quickly entered Liszt's mind, reminding him of his smoke mission. Without much thought, he immediately summoned the smoke mission.

Sure enough, the mission content had changed.

"Complete the mission, reward: Giant Kelp Forest."

About a thousand acres of mushroom greenhouses were built, so a new mission was immediately issued: "Mission: The mermaid's keen senses have detected something unusual about the Giant Kelp Forest, but she hasn't cultivated the Magic Eye and can't see its essence. Perhaps you need to dive in and explore it yourself, to uncover the secrets of the Giant Kelp Forest. Reward: a spirit bug."

A spirit bug is hidden within the Giant Kelp Forest.

Most likely a Giant Kelp Worm. Although Liszt is not yet ready to develop underwater agriculture, he still looks forward to every spirit bug: "Acheronides, where did you find the Giant Kelp Forest?"

Acheronides thought for a moment and replied, "About five hundred meters from the southeast corner of Black Horse Island, at a depth of about thirty meters, with many rocks on the seabed. The giant kelp grows on those rocks, like ropes extending towards the surface, densely packed without end."

"Guide me, Acheronides, I want to go and explore it myself!"