Chapter 615: Legacy of the Ancient Warrior

After finalizing the plan, the remaining tasks could be left to the Earl to arrange. Liszt took the opportunity to visit Deborah Yuhuashi, the RiverSlaying Sword Saint, who was held in a cell but wasn’t being mistreated.

"You are strong!"

Upon seeing Liszt, his first words were low and measured: "I couldn’t even withstand a casual hit from you. It seems your origins are extraordinary. What ancient warrior lineage do you hail from?"

Ancient warrior lineage?

Liszt had never heard of it, but he cleverly didn’t reveal his ignorance, just smirking. "Guess."

"Bearskin wearers—unlikely, you aren’t berserk; wolfskin wearers—also unlikely, you don’t thirst for blood; boarskin wearers—doesn’t seem right either, you don’t transform into a blob of flesh... Could you be of the gladiator lineage? Or perhaps the Bronze Muscle Warrior lineage? Or maybe the Shadow Incarnation lineage?"

Bearskin wearers.

Wolfskin wearers.

Boarskin wearers.

Gladiators.

Bronze Muscle Warriors.

Shadow Incarnations.

Deborah rattled off six ancient warrior lineages, leaving Liszt deeply impressed. You’d have to go to the mainland to truly grasp the vastness of the world. In the Sapphire Duchy, he had assumed only mages and knights existed, yet on the mainland, weird training methods keep popping up.

"You’re quite knowledgeable about ancient warrior lineages?" Liszt inquired casually, as if making small talk.

Deborah snorted, his voice dripping with pride. "As a member of a great noble family with centuries of history, the Yuhua Stone Family is naturally familiar with ancient warriors and mages. It’s just surprising that even in nowhere like Sapphire, there exists an ancient warrior lineage."

"But you don’t know which lineage I inherit."

"So many lineages have been washed away by time—how could I possibly know them all? However, knights run the world now. Ancient warrior lines are dying out, all becoming mana techniques for knights to cultivate!"

Ancient warrior lineages ultimately transformed into mana techniques?

Liszt picked up another key detail—so-called mana techniques actually originated from ancient warrior lineages. It seemed the knight cultivation system had absorbed and folded most of these ancient legacies.

There was some logic to it.

He had trained in *Magic Eye* and *Aura Diminishment*, which differed greatly from mainstream mana manuals. Not only were they more difficult to master, but more importantly, mana techniques focused on weird side effects compared to ordinary mana manuals.

To continue probing, Liszt still revealed nothing, speaking indifferently: "Who knows what the future holds? Though dragon knights rule the world, how many dragon knights truly exist? Without a dragon as a companion, even the strongest knight is just a top-tier sky knight at best!"

"A few dragon knights are enough!" Deborah, though thirty-four years old, was as naive as a kid. "I admit, as an inheritor of an ancient warrior lineage, your strength is astonishing—but this is the limit. There’s nowhere left for you to go!"

For some reason, he oozed smugness, almost pitying Liszt as he said, "Only knights have uncovered how to harness the power of dragons. That’s why knights rule the world! Forget ancient warriors and mages—even magic users will eventually get folded into the knights, becoming part of the Iron Knights!"

"You folks on the mainland really know your stuff. Back home, I’ve never heard of these ancient warrior and mage lineages."

"Hah! Sapphire has only been a nation for a little over a century, isolated on the sea. Aside from looting like animals every year, what cultural heritage could it possibly have?"

"True enough. Stuck out here, I’m out of the loop." Liszt nodded solemnly, then added, "But you’re my prisoner. As a sword saint and a high noble, I’ve put a steep price on your head. You must offer four spirit bugs—specifically crop or potion kinds—as your ransom!"

*Pfft!*

Deborah, basking in his superiority, almost spit out his breath. "What?! My ransom is four spirit bugs—and they must be crop or potion kinds?!"

"Yes."

"Impossible, absolutely impossible!" Deborah's face darkened. "My uncle, Marquis Raging Tide, will defeat you, and then I won't have to pay a single ransom."

"I will defeat Marquis Raging Tide and even capture him as well!"

"Naive!"

"You've witnessed my strength. Do you think Marquis Raging Tide can escape me? Even if he brings a few Sky Knight retainers, I can still defeat them!" Liszt's expression was haughty, his tone triumphant. "Though I'm not a dragon knight, below dragon knight rank, I am invincible!"

"Naive, utterly naive!" Deborah laughed bitterly. "The Yuhua Stone Family is no ordinary noble house. You have ancient warrior heritage, and our family possesses Mana Techniques. The Roaring Knights will show you what it means to be unstoppable! Ancient warrior heritage cannot withstand a knight's charge!"

"This isn't naivety—it's confidence. As an inheritor of ancient warrior heritage, destroying the Roaring Knights would require only minor effort from me."

"You overestimate ancient warrior heritage. If it were truly so powerful, it wouldn't be facing extinction as it is now!"

"Ancient warrior and ancient mage heritages have not died out. This world still has many lineages!"

"They're merely barely surviving—few have truly achieved anything."

Liszt said dismissively. "You're just a count. You weren't even selected as a dragon knight aspirant like Yevich. How much could you possibly know about ancient warrior or mage heritages?"

"Hah! What could a sky knight like Yevich, of common birth, possibly understand?" Deborah sneered. "The bear-skinned, the wolf-skinned, the boar-skinned, the gladiator, the bronze-muscled warrior, the shadow avatar—I've encountered them all to some extent. Though I can't identify your lineage, it must be one of these."

...

When leaving the cell, Deborah was still fuming. He despised Liszt's arrogant attitude and that he looked down on everyone.

Though defeated by Liszt, he believed he had only lost to ancient warrior heritage. If he had obtained dragon knight heritage, killing Liszt would've taken no effort. In the end, it was just bad luck—The Glory of Knighthood had not favored him, but that didn't mean he was inferior in skill!

Yet he didn’t know.

After leaving the cell, Liszt mused. "Yevich once told me Deborah was a conceited, shallow fool. Turns out he was right... I just casually probed a little and gained so much knowledge about ancient warrior and mage heritages, as well as Mana Techniques."

These days, nobles loved guarding their secrets jealously, never easily revealing knowledge that could empower others.

Had Liszt asked directly, Deborah would've said nothing. But by pretending to be an ancient warrior inheritor and provoking him slightly, Deborah divulged numerous secrets even Yevich didn’t know—ancient warrior heritages hadn’t died out; most had transformed into Mana Techniques.

As for ancient mage heritages, they too seemed to have merged into knighthood, becoming part of the iron knights.

"Looks like I should visit and provoke Deborah a few more times. Who knows, he might even reveal his family’s Mana Techniques... But one thing’s certain—Marquis Raging Tide must possess Mana Techniques. How can I obtain the Yuhua Stone Family’s techniques?"

Shaking his head, he didn’t dwell on it too deeply.

Perhaps he’d capture Marquis Raging Tide on the battlefield, and then the techniques would be his to claim.

Thinking of ancient warrior and mage heritages, he suddenly remembered he still hadn’t received the reward from his last Smoke Mission—the iron knight Alvin Eaglesword.

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