Chapter 697: Blood Shadow at the Port

This chapter is an extra update for the "From Today Onward" reward.

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Parris's Light-Magic Swordsman cultivation system is worth following up on, though for now, her power is greatly weakened. Her path of cultivation has just begun, leaving little to observe.

She is already twenty-one years old and will turn twenty-two after the New Year; her body no longer as resilient as in her late teens. Moreover, as a woman who experiences monthly cycles, it's hard to guarantee how far she can go on the path of a Light-Magic Swordsman. Her path is more about breaking new ground.

Just after finishing the conversation with Parris, a new group of mages arrived on the road in front of the castle, followed by several carriages.

Cris led the group and hurried over to greet Liszt upon seeing him: "My Lord Viscount, are you preparing to go out?"

"I'm planning to find a quiet place to train. Are you here to set up the magic barrier array?"

"Yes."

Magic barrier arrays can be set up around the castle's perimeter, typically using magical barriers to protect the castle's safety. The materials required for such arrays are precious, drawing on their own magic power to form barriers. While the defense is solid, the cost-effectiveness is low, and most castles are reluctant to deploy them.

During the siege of Ironhoof Island's Pinefort, Liszt encountered such a magic barrier array—Bull Marquis was clearly loaded.

Liszt couldn't yet be considered wealthy, living on a tight budget, but he also had no intention of setting up a magic barrier array like Pinefort's. The array planned for deployment here was enhanced by Acheronides. Its purpose wasn't to protect the castle's safety but rather the security of the fifth-floor laboratory.

When mages experiment with magic, magic backlash is inevitable, and accidents can lead to explosions.

Even as an Archmage, Acheronides dared not be careless, especially since the insect rooms were directly below. Harming the spirit bugs would crush Liszt, hence the need for a magic barrier array to safeguard the laboratory. In fact, during the lab's construction, the surrounding walls and floors were heavily reinforced.

A great magician's magic couldn't destroy the lab's outer walls.

For riskier spells, Acheronides wouldn't conduct them in the Thorn Fort laboratory. This array was more about providing a second line of defense.

With Acheronides and Cris overseeing these matters, Liszt didn’t need to worry.

After exchanging greetings, he left Thorn Fort and headed into the wilderness of Black Horse Island, calling forth Fire Drake Rio to begin Dragon Knight synchronization.

Every time he entered Dragon Knight mode and observed the world through Rio's eyes, he felt an overwhelming sense of awe, as if gaining a deeper understanding of the essence of things. Every strand of magic became visible under the Magic Eye in this state.

He called this state "Dragon-Eye Trajectory" and included it in *The Complete Handbook of Liszt's Dragon Knight Training*, listing it as the seventh training method.

Dragon-Eye Trajectory wasn’t focused on cultivation but rather on deciphering the world’s secrets—observing spirit bugs, magical beasts, gems, magic, and everything else that could be seen.

Even Acheronides had been observed.

Under Dragon-Eye Trajectory, a stationary Acheronides appeared as a dense, blue-white aura of magic. But when she cast spells, her body transformed into a radiant orb, extending countless dense threads as if drawing high-energy magic from the void.

Liszt wasn’t sure if this was seeing the Magic Web, but at the very least, he witnessed how Acheronides drew high magic from it.

With Dragon-Eye Trajectory, Liszt could precisely locate all magic nodes. Applying slight force to these nodes could trigger chain destruction—a crucial trump card. No matter how strong other Dragon Knights were, without the Magic Eye to execute Dragon-Eye Trajectory, they couldn’t identify such nodes or exploit weaknesses.

"Rio!"

"Scarlet Sunburst!"

Wielding the Frostbite Dragon Slayer Sword and riding Fire Drake Rio, Liszt unleashed a charged attack. A surge of Fire Dragon Aura erupted like a crimson sun, exploding in the air ahead and scattering indomitable flames. Had a sky knight been in front, the blast alone might have torn them apart.

But Liszt wasn’t entirely satisfied.

"The Frostbite Dragon Slayer Sword packs a punch as a Grand Sprite weapon, but it's more suited for sword duels between sky knights rather than mounted dragon combat."

He sighed slightly while looking at the azure greatsword in his hand. "I need an absurdly long knight’s lance—at least ten meters—to unleash the Dragon Knight’s strongest attacks. For more flexible combat, it could be slightly shorter, around seven meters."

The dragon-riding lance used by knights can be called a dragon lance.

Liszt needed a high-quality dragon lance, but he didn’t have the technology to make one—or rather, the entire Sapphire Duchy lacked this knowledge.

Creating a seven or ten-meter-long dragon lance that wouldn’t easily break or wobble was an enormous technical challenge. It would likely require using indestructible magical metals like orichalcum to forge a stable shaft with a solid grip, just to ensure the lance remained steady during use.

Otherwise, a lance made of wood or ordinary metal would shake constantly in combat, making it hard to use effectively.

“I wonder if the dragon knights trained by those kingdoms actually have dragon lances as weapons. If they do, I should just steal one.” For some reason, whenever something was missing from his arsenal, his first thought was to go out and take it—even though he saw himself as a peaceful person at heart.

Without a proper dragon lance, a regular knight’s lance wouldn’t cut it. So he continued training with the Frostbite Dragon Slayer Sword instead.

It was nearly dark by the time he got back to Thorn Fort.

To his surprise, Mary Dawnbreak—whom he had sent out not long ago—had already returned and was waiting for him in the castle: “My lord, I have important news to report.”

“Speak.”

“Our blood servants have discovered traces of vampires on Coral Island.”

“Vampires?” Liszt’s expression remained unchanged, but his eyes flickered slightly. “Where were they found? How did you handle it? Did they notice you?”

“They were spotted at Coral Island’s harbor. Hamill was about to board a ship when he suddenly recognized a familiar face—his former colleague Bruto the Black Knight, nicknamed ‘Mad Ghost’ Haben. Hamill reported to me, and I immediately assigned him and Uso to keep tabs on Mad Ghost Haben without tipping him off.”

“Are there any other vampires?”

“Unknown. But I’ve instructed Phoebe to investigate taverns and other locations near Coral City, while Vansa is checking Black Horse Island. If any vampires have infiltrated, we’ll pin them down.”

“Just keep monitoring and report their movements to me at all times. Make sure you don't get spotted. Also, send people to investigate Iron Hoof Island.”

“Peggy and Wimbleton went to Iron Hoof Island, and Seth went to Blue Dragon Island. I've kept them there for now.”

“Double-check everything. I’ll have Captain Marcus coordinate closely, and I’ll also notify Tulip Castle to stay on high alert around Coral Island and Black Horse Island.” Liszt signaled for Mary to continue monitoring the new vampire leads while he proceeded to enjoy the evening banquet as usual.

But his thoughts were churning: “Vampires have come to Coral Island—what's this about? Could it mean the Black Knight family is investigating the deaths of the two purebloods, Tubote and Famur? More likely, though, it has something to do with Alonso Cyclamen.”

The smoke mission hinted at a lurking crisis with major consequences.

If it were just a few vampires too afraid to reveal themselves, it wouldn’t even qualify as a crisis. And since the mission involved a choice of stance, the target was clear—the real threat was Alonso Cyclamen, the Bronze Dragon Knight of the Kingdom of the Eagle and who owns the Dragon’s Trap Iron Mine.

“There’s no doubt that the Bull Marquis and the Goat Assembly are backed by Alonso. Now I’ve taken his iron mine and captured two of his sky knight followers.”

Liszt’s eyes gleamed with calculation. “So now I'm in his sights?” Want to discuss "The Dragon Hangs" with more like-minded people? Follow "Hot Web Novels" on WeChat to chat about your favorite books with fellow readers.