Chapter 602: The Earl Comes to Share the Air Conditioning

The vampire assignment reached a pause.

As dawn broke, the fleet docked at the harbor of Hoof City set sail one after another, with the *Sunset* following the *Tulip* fleet out of the port.

The ship sailed into the open blue sea.

The vampires aboard the *Sunset* were given a new task.

This was the first assignment Liszt had given them: *"Compile all the blood magic you are familiar with into a book, including exact casting methods for every spell, as well as comprehensive information on rituals like reincarnation. Also include the structure of the Black Knight family and any other vampire clans you know of."*

The vampires were taken aback, unsure of the purpose behind this task.

Only Bloody Mary, thinking herself clever, asked with gleaming eyes, *"My lord, do you intend to establish a new vampire family?"*

Liszt gave a noncommittal nod.

Blood magic was eerie.

A vampire’s blood runs cold, and during the day, they need to hide in dark places to maintain their frigid body temperature. "Cold-blooded" usually means sneaky and untrustworthy—whether this notion holds truth or not, Bloody Mary and her companions certainly gave him that impression.

Thus, he had no real intention of forming a new vampire family. However, using the idea as bait could serve as motivation for these five to work diligently.

His true goal was to compile blood magic into a tome.

He would then hand it over to Acheronides, Cris, and others for study, extracting meaningful insights to lay the foundation for their advancement to *Archmage*—Cris might lack the innate talent, but Acheronides had great potential to ascend to *Archmage*.

In the following days,

the five vampires secluded themselves in the ship’s lower decks, slaving away on the book Liszt had titled *The Essence and Evolution of Blood Magic*.

As they neared the Roaring Estuary, a new battle plan was distributed to all vassal lords under the *Sapphire Duchy*. Lee William quickly rallied his men aboard the *Tulip* for a meeting, then assigned missions to the *Coral Island Knights*.

*"We will hit the Roaring Estuary’s coastal stretch, coordinating with the Crown Prince. Among all coastal cities, I have chosen Frostpear City. It is the territory of a viscount—from what I’ve heard, this viscount was only enfeoffed to Frostpear City in the past two years. His castle is Snowpear Castle, and he is known as the *Clearwater Sword Saint*."*

Being called the *Clearwater Sword Saint* naturally meant he was a Sword Saint-ranked Sky Knight, likely one specializing in water attributes.

*"A Sword Saint stuck as a viscount?"* Eunas Stonebreaker asked curiously.

*"Perhaps he offended a high noble and was demoted."*

*"That’s certainly possible."*

Liszt wasn’t particularly curious about this—after all, he was a Dragonrider and still just a viscount. So he cut straight to the point: *"Even if he’s a Sword Saint, a viscount’s castle won’t withstand a Blizzard Beast’s rampage. We’ll take Frostpear City first as our opening victory!"*

Lee William, well aware of Liszt’s strength, readily agreed: *"Nothing like kicking things off by taking down a Sword Saint!"*

The meeting soon concluded.

Back on the *Sunset*, Liszt summoned the five vampires who had been diligently working on their book: *"Put the book on hold for now—it’s a long-term project, no need to rush. We’re closing in on the coast, and I need you to infiltrate Frostpear City to gather intelligence, especially regarding mages."*

*"Frostpear City? The fief of the *Clearwater Sword Saint*, Yevich Shui Huasheng?"* Nightfiend Wimbleton blurted out.

*"You know this man?"*

*"Yes, my lord. I’ve heard of the *Clearwater Sword Saint*. He’d been in the running to be a Dragonrider in the *Kingdom of the Eagle*, but once he grew up, he partied too hard and wasted his talents. His character is also questionable—he served three Marquis in succession, and burned bridges with all of them. That’s how he ended up in Roaring City, following Marquis Dimaria Rainstone, who made him a viscount."*

The Kingdom of the Eagle was crawling with Marquis.

Many nobles in the Kingdom of the Eagle might not even know exactly how many Marquises there are.

Just around the Roaring Estuary alone, the territories of five Marquises are encompassed, with the Marquis of Raging Tides being one of them. His territory is called the Alluvial Plains of Impact, stretching from the estuary of the Roaring Great River (RGR) upstream to the Tri-Dragon Fork, with the main city being Roaring City.

The name "Roaring Estuary" originates from the Roaring Great River, a river far larger than the Yangtze, Nile, or Amazon on Earth.

The downstream alluvial plains are also incredibly vast.

Icepear City is a small-to-medium-sized city located on these alluvial plains.

Nightfiend Wimbleton continued the introduction: "The Clearwater Sword Saint is very powerful. As a former Dragonrider candidate, it would be difficult for us to infiltrate close to him."

"You don’t need to confront him directly. Just find out if there’s a great magician in the city."

"As you command."

...

The vampires left the Sunset at dusk, flying toward Icepear City.

Liszt stood at the bow of the ship, not resting. The land was only a mere ten-odd kilometers away, and they could launch an attack at any time.

It was the first of August, and the night weather was still quite cool.

Suddenly, a figure rushed through the sky, enveloped in billowing water-aligned mana—it was the Sword Saint of Waves, Lee William.

Liszt turned and greeted him: "Father, what brings you here?"

Lee William gestured for the servants and others on the ship to leave, leaving only the two of them on the bow: "The vampires have been sent out?"

"Yes."

"Liszt, what are you worried about? Following past conventions, we should make a frontal assault. This is just a small city. What about the Clearwater Sword Saint warrants such caution from us?"

"Father, isn’t it better to be steady? No matter what, he was once a Dragonrider candidate."

"Dragonrider candidate?"

"I asked the vampires. Yevich Shui Huasheng, the Clearwater Sword Saint, had immense talent in his youth and was one of the Dragonrider candidates. But as he grew older, he let his talents rust, and his base character led him to a scrappy middle age, barely scraping by to earn the title of Viscount."

"It seems that despite his downfall, his strength is still formidable. We should indeed mind our steps." Lee William nodded, then sighed. "The Grand Prince has likely already taken several other small cities and is resting on land. Even after decades, I still can’t get used to shipboard life."

"It’s just one more night."

Once Lee William boarded the ship, he had no intention of leaving soon. He glanced at the sterncastle: "Your ship is quite unique. Is that where you live?"

"Yes."

"You are a noble who has refined tastes. Let me take a look at your room."

Upon entering the sterncastle, despite his forewarning, Lee William was still stunned by the room’s conditions. A full set of bramblewood furniture, exquisite glassware, curtains woven from cyan silk, carpets lined with monster pelts... Most importantly, the master bedroom was unnaturally cool.

It was only the first of August, and the weather was still hot.

Yet Liszt’s quarters were crisp and comfortable, without a trace of warmth.

"What is this? A warding circle?" Lee William stood in the room, feeling the almost chilly temperature, and asked in surprise.

"An artifact of magic."

Liszt smiled awkwardly, with the embarrassment of being caught stealing a chicken leg: "In the waters of my territory, there is a species of golden-lipped clams that produce Golden Pearls, which can be crafted into magic equipment to control temperature. I call it the Thermostatic Pearl. Currently, the yield is very low, and I only brought one with me."

"How is the yield of Golden Pearls? Liszt, I need them!" Lee William asserted his paternal authority. "Of course, I won’t take them for free. I’ll buy them from you at market price."

"No need for money. I originally planned to gift two Thermostatic Pearls to you and grandmother as birthday presents."

"That’s thoughtful of you. But only two? I’d like to have Thermostatic Pearls in the bedroom, study, dining room, and preferably the living room as well."

The earl sure had big demands.

Liszt cut him off directly: "Apologies, Father. Golden Pearls are extremely rare. Even my Thorn Castle can’t meet the demand... Here’s what I’ll do: whenever new Golden Pearls are produced, I’ll prioritize selling them to Tulip Manor." Golden Pearls would certainly be sold in the future, but his own comfort came first.

The earl couldn’t insist, and seeing that Liszt had no intention of gifting him the Thermostatic Pearl on the Sunset, he said, "Then how about this? I’ll bunk with you on the Sunset. You don’t mind, do you?"

*He minded!*

But he couldn’t say it out loud. He could only reply, "Of course not. I’ll have servants arrange a room for you and place the Thermostatic Pearl between our two rooms."