Chapter 714: Wrath of Thunder

The Dragon Slaying Battle ended without slaying a dragon, which was a regret for Liszt. But being able to kill a Dragon Knight and defeat two dragons with the strength of a juvenile Dragon Knight and a newly promoted Archmage was already a glorious victory.

"Brother, didn't you lack a dragon lance? Acheronides will retrieve that Dragon Knight's silver dragon lance," Acheronides suddenly said as they flew over the battlefield previously ravaged by magic.

Liszt nodded. "And bring up Ka Erluo's body as well."

"Mm."

The sea here wasn't deep, only about two or three hundred meters—a depth no different from strolling through one's backyard for the siren Acheronides. In the blink of an eye, a five-meter-long silver dragon lance and a fresh corpse were retrieved, both handed over to Liszt for handling.

He had Leo hold onto Ka Erluo's body while he grasped the dragon lance himself.

Five meters long and as thick as a wrist, the silver shaft seemed forged from a mix of orichalcum and mithril, adorned with intricate engravings inlaid with magical beast materials. Upon closer inspection, these patterns and materials intertwined, faintly forming four words etched by the wind:

*Wrath of Thunder.*

"A good name. I like its commanding presence," Liszt murmured, stroking the shaft with satisfaction before shifting his gaze to the lance's tip.

The tip appeared to be forged from adamantite and mithril, gleaming coldly, yet its very point was made of bone.

"Is this made by grinding down a dragon's tooth and then coating it with mithril, orichalcum, and adamantite? So, does that make Wrath of Thunder a Dragonfang weapon?"

Dragonfang weapons were a tier above Grand Sprite weapons.

However, weapon classifications were rather vague. Weapons forged from different materials had distinct properties, blurring the lines between categories and making precise distinctions impossible.

But regardless,

Liszt could feel that this was a dragon lance of formidable power.

Because the moment he held Wrath of Thunder, he was overcome with an unshakable, conqueror's conviction—a sense that with this lance in hand, all beneath the heavens was his to command.

In mere moments,

Liszt and Acheronides had returned to the original battlefield of the Dragon Slaying Battle, where a chase was now unfolding.

The ships of the Kingdom of the Eagle were scattering in panic, pursued relentlessly by the fleet of the Sapphire Duchy—with the battle concluded, the Sapphire Duke, riding his battle-scarred sapphire dragon, had returned and immediately ordered the fleet to attack. The knights of the Kingdom of the Eagle, having lost sight of their Dragon Knight, were routed and demoralized, focused solely on fleeing.

Scanning the retreating ships,

Liszt spotted no new Domain Knights or bearers of ancient warrior lineages—no targets of value—so he saw no reason to engage, merely soaring overhead.

Now that his identity as a Dragon Knight was exposed, there was no need for discretion. As a Dragon Knight, he held himself with the dignity befitting his station, considering it beneath him to strike at ordinary knights.

He glided ominously above,

while Acheronides stood atop a white seashell, riding a churning waterspout as she raced closely behind Liszt.

Their awe-inspiring spectacle was so intimidating that many fleeing knights of the Kingdom of the Eagle were on the verge of abandoning ship. They dared not even breathe too loudly,

fearful of provoking the Fire Dragon Knight gliding through the sky and the Archmage of unknown identity—any mage capable of harnessing a waterspout must surely be the caster behind the earlier reality-warping magic.

None would dare cross an Archmage who had participated in a Dragon Slaying Battle.

"Sheer terror!"

"The might of the Sapphire Duchy is overwhelming!"

"Phew, phew—the dragon knight and archmage didn’t even notice us."

"Did you see it? The fire dragon’s claws were clutching someone!"

"Ah, silver helm and armor—that’s... Lord Ka Erluo?"

"Impossible!"

"Lord Ka Erluo, how could you—"

"It’s true, damn it. That fire dragon knight is holding a silver dragon spear—Ka Erluo’s weapon."

A split-second look, but it told them everything. At the very least, the Eagle knights who saw Liszt soaring past on his dragon had already guessed the outcome of the dragon-slaying battle.

They knew one result: the Pale Emerald dragon knight, Ka Erluo Violet, was dead.

A dragon knight—dead!

No dragon knight had fallen in decades, aside from natural death. You can bet this would send shockwaves through the Kingdom of the Eagle once word got back. The knights couldn’t even imagine what kind of reception awaited them after such a disastrous invasion.

How furious would the king be?

Worst of all, the kingdom kept nine dragons to protect its borders and had six dragon knights guarding its frontiers. Now that Ka Erluo Violet was gone, who would take his place? Without a dragon knight watching over it, chaos would follow.

Dragon knights were the backbone of the kingdom.

Once one died, it would set off a chain reaction. The Kingdom of the Eagle would plunge into chaos, and even Steel Ridge and Blastfurnace would be dragged into turmoil, pulling their vassal states into the storm with them.

No one knew what came next.

But these Eagle knights understood one thing—now that the fire dragon knight and archmage had appeared in Sapphire, the kingdom probably no longer had the strength to conquer these seas. Their coastal heartlands would keep getting picked at by Sapphire’s forces like vultures, draining resources from the vast empire.

But what really gnawed at them was the identity of the fire dragon knight and the archmage. Before long, those two titans at the top of the food chain would become legends known across the world.

…

Not finding the Tulip fleet among the fleeing ships, Liszt flew straight toward the port at Oxhoof City aboard Leo.

Honestly, the best move now was to call Leo back so he could rest and recover inside Liszt’s body.

But Liszt wanted to make an entrance.

Because next came dividing the loot and negotiating with the Sapphire Duke. He needed to make the temporarily relieved duke understand the situation clearly—he could skip seizing the Sapphire Duchy and build a kingdom overseas instead, but these seas must kneel to their new lord.

He’d single-handedly saved the Sapphire Duchy,

and he wasn’t leaving without his full cut of the rewards!

The harbor came into view.

There—the Tulip ships. And not far from the port, the sleeping Sapphire Dragon lay sprawled out. Liszt flew slowly, making damn sure everyone saw who truly won the dragon hunt—it was him, Liszt Tulip.

At the same time, he used this moment to pull up the smoke mission. A fight like that had to earn him something incredible.

The smoke curled upward,

only he could see it.

"Mission accomplished. Reward: *Dragon Knight Mana Manual*."

"Hmm..." Liszt, having read the contents clearly, didn't show much surprise. He had already planned to ask the Grand Duke for the *Dragon Knight Mana Manual* after this dragon-slaying battle—after all, the Grand Duke would have no reason to refuse. So in his mind, the manual was practically already his.

Handing it out again as a reward seemed kinda lazy.

But the new phantom mission quickly swept Liszt’s disappointment away.

"Mission: After winning the dragon-slaying battle, your name will spread to every corner of the sea. Founding a new kingdom would be child's play. However, considering the nation's long-term development, resources are of utmost importance. Perhaps the Lightgreen Gem Dragon can provide them—it is hiding on one of your territory's islands. Reward: A Lightgreen Gem Dragon."