Chapter 630: Watch and Learn Well

The traces of a powerful Magic Beast.

In fact, ever since arriving at Dragonfang Mountain to guard the iron mine, Liszt had been sending knights to search the surrounding mountains daily. Officially, it was to scout for possible signs of enemy knights, but in truth, he was more interested in finding Intermediate or Advanced Magic Beasts. He had yearned for a Magic Beast mount for many years.

In the Sapphire Duchy, Magic Beasts were rare, and few knights rode them. Moreover, for coordinated cavalry charges on the battlefield, knights typically rode horses.

Only Sky Knights rode various Magic Beasts into battle.

For example, the enormous tiger ridden by the Raging Wave Marquis was a wind-attribute Intermediate Magic Beast—the Giant-Claw Tiger. However, Intermediate and Advanced Magic Beasts generally dwelled deep within ancient forests. Even assembling a knightly order or mercenary group to hunt them down was extremely difficult, let alone capturing them alive.

Even if captured, taming them was no easy feat.

Back when Liszt captured the low-level Magic Beast—the violent earth dog, Tupo—it took Hiddleston repeatedly asserting physical dominance and an enormous amount of time to break its wild nature. Though Tupo no longer harmed people, getting it to obey Liszt’s commands remained challenging.

If a low-level Magic Beast was this wild, one could imagine how much worse Intermediate and Advanced Magic Beasts would be.

Liszt’s ability to possess the Blizzard Beast unit was partly because Hiddleston had been a blind newborn cub of a low-level Magic Beast, and partly because it had evolved after consuming a bloodline fruit. If Hiddleston had been an adult, taming it completely would have been far more difficult. As for the landwalker Loki and the rainbow whale Rosi, their naturally rideable disposition was likely a gift from their draconic bloodline.

Even noble creatures like dragons could be ridden, so dragonkin naturally inherited this trait.

Non-draconic Magic Beasts, however, were entirely different. When the Raging Wave Marquis attacked Riverheart Keep, he rode an Intermediate Magic Beast—the Giant-Claw Tiger—but did not fight alongside it. This suggested he had directly tamed an adult Giant-Claw Tiger for riding, but could not command it in battle as effortlessly as wielding his own limbs.

Moreover, capturing even one Giant-Claw Tiger was no easy feat, let alone breeding its offspring—that was even more challenging.

Magic Beasts with strong bloodlines often suffered from reproductive difficulties.

"If Magic Beasts were so easy to capture and tame, the great noble lords of the Kingdom of the Eagle would have long since formed Magic Beast knight orders… The Magic Beasts around Dragonfang Mountain would have already been roasted and eaten by those two sky knights." Liszt mused when the Marquis invited him to hunt for Magic Beasts.

In an instant, countless thoughts flashed through his mind.

Of course, he didn’t voice them aloud, merely internally scoffing at the Marquis’ somewhat naive idea. Finding a powerful Magic Beast didn’t guarantee it could be tamed into a mount. At the very least, one needed to be "blessed by the glory of knighthood" to obtain excellent mounts like Hiddleston, Loki, and Rose.

Exiting the study,

he still agreed to the hunting invitation. If possible, he would capture a Magic Beast for the Marquis, sparing him from incessantly obsessing over mounts and eyeing Liszt’s own mounts—Hiddleston, Loki, and Rose—with envy.

"Father, if we leave Dragonfang Mountain, won’t its defenses be compromised?"

"Don’t worry. The Crown Prince has already dispatched a falcon knight to deliver a message. He is sending an elite knightly order for reinforcement while organizing fleets from various lords to support iron ore transportation. From here on, we no longer need to stay on high alert—it’s time to share some profits with others."

"I understand the reasoning, but the importance of the iron mine is undeniable. What if nearby lords resort to desperate measures to seize it? Wouldn’t that diminish our battle merits?"

"If no one steals it, it’s a blessing from glory. Even if someone does, it’s not the worst outcome. Over the past few days, we’ve already transported three hundred thousand tons of iron ore. These battle merits are enough for me to accumulate enough favor for a Marquis title within two or three years, while you’ll also gain resources for development… Too much success isn’t always a good thing."

The Marquis had his reasons.

He only knew that Liszt was the heir to the ancient warrior tradition, originating from the Ghost Swordsman from Arad. While this could help the family rise, they still had to rely on the favor of Dragon Knights to survive.

Thus, keeping a low profile and steady development was wise.

Liszt remained noncommittal. In truth, he wouldn’t mind pushing Lee William straight to the rank of Marquis while promoting himself to Count, continuing to follow Lee William. This would prevent the Grand Duke from forcibly recruiting him as a follower upon seeing his excellence—a situation that would be quite awkward.

After all, regardless of strength, he was at least a Dragon Knight of equal status!

However, since the Marquis preferred to proceed cautiously, Liszt didn’t forcefully oppose him. Thus, the two left the nameless castle together and met up with Mexiro at the knightly order’s camp.

"Liszt, ready to go? Let’s hunt us a big one!" Mexiro approached, clapping Liszt on the shoulder.

The whole situation felt surreal.

The once timid and unwelcome nephew at Tulip Castle had grown into a top-tier warrior, reaching heights even he, the Marquis' heir, could only aspire to. His higher rank gave him no edge, for Liszt's future was destined to be that of a Marquis.

As a formidable inheritor of the ancient warrior legacy, a Marquis title was the highest honor the Sapphire Duchy could offer.

Fortunately, Mexiro could still speak to Liszt as an elder and had to rely on familial bonds to maintain their relationship. Marquis Merlin was on his deathbed, and while Meopo remained untested, the Longyu family's rule over Red Crab Island urgently needed Liszt's support.

Otherwise, given the princess's powerful background, Red Crab Island might soon change from "Longyu" to "Sapphire" in a few years.

Especially since, so far, the princess showed no signs of pregnancy—divorce was obviously out of the question. Who would dare abandon the Grand Duke's daughter? The most likely outcome was the replacement of the family's bloodline. By then, the only one who could uphold justice for the Longyu family would be Liszt. Mexiro had pondered this issue more than once.

Just as his expression flickered slightly in distraction—

Liszt had already greeted him.

He didn’t know what his uncle was thinking, but he could sense the warmth in his uncle’s attitude—clearly an attempt to win him over. The feeling was actually quite pleasant.

Glancing at the accompanying squire knight, he said to Xavier, "Go fetch Emily and tell her to join me for a hunt in the forest."

"Yes, my lord!"

Moments later, Emily arrived on horseback. The twelve- or thirteen-year-old girl was in the midst of a growth spurt, shooting up almost daily, now nearing five-seven. Her talent had stunned Liszt yet again—after just a few battles, she had already reached the threshold of mana mastery.

She was becoming an elite Earth Knight.

Had Liszt not known that all her training resources came from him, he might have suspected that Emily was the true inheritor of the ancient warrior legacy.

"My lord!" Emily bowed respectfully.

Liszt nodded faintly, finding increasing joy in mentoring her, though his face betrayed nothing. "Emily, follow me on this hunt. Remember—observe carefully and learn."

Emily replied excitedly, "As you wish, my lord!"

She knew Liszt intended to personally instruct her—the opportunity every knight coveted. A nearly invincible knight giving personal instruction!