Chapter 735: First Move: Dragon Slash

This chapter is a bonus chapter sponsored by reader "20180919064605873."

After pushing off all the boring social duties to Marquis Niuwei, Liszt had originally planned to visit Crystal Cyathea and the filled-in pit on Soul Island again.

But then something unexpected happened.

Mary Dawnbreak, who had only recently begun investigating vampires, soon reported: "Your Highness, I've already found traces of the Black Knight family's vampires. About two purebloods and five half-bloods are hiding out in a small town near Hoof City."

"They didn't run away but actually dared to spy on Hoof City? Don't they know I'm here?" Liszt narrowed his eyes.

"Perhaps they're unaware of Your Highness’s deeper connection to the Black Knight family. They don’t know Tubote is already dead. I successfully lured the Black Knight vampires by mimicking Tubote’s blood magic aura."

"Tell me their current location."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Liszt was a man of swift action. Just half an hour after learning the vampires’ whereabouts from Mary, he was already heading out with Acheronides to where the vampires were hiding—a town of fewer than 5,000 people. The half-bloods were scattered throughout the town, while the purebloods gathered together.

"Right here. I just used blood magic, and they responded," Mary guided.

The town was filthy, and the street they stood on was even worse. Liszt had to wear a mask just to breathe. "Acheronides, wait outside as backup. If you sense any bats trying to escape, kill them immediately. I’ll go in first to talk with these two purebloods—hopefully without a fight."

That hope was dashed.

As soon as they saw Mary—and Liszt behind her—the two purebloods transformed into bats and tried to escape. Clearly, they recognized Liszt, the newly ascended Dragon Rider. But recognition came too late. Liszt released a blast of Dragon Aura, instantly destroying all bat forms.

The two purebloods collapsed onto the floor, mortally wounded.

After having Mary extract their hearts, Liszt began the interrogation: "Names."

The two struggled briefly, but with their hearts in Mary’s grasp, they chose survival over defiance.

"Your Highness, I am Horos Black Knight."

"I am Brutus Black Knight."

"Where are the other vampires from the Black Knight family?" Liszt recalled Mary mentioning these two—both were non-native purebloods, transformed from human mages with potential.

"The family’s vampires have already left Sapphire. Only we two remained to closely monitor events here."

"Tell me what you know about Prince Alonso’s invasion plans."

"We don’t know much. The Black Knight family is merely Prince Alonso’s vampire underlings, tasked with gathering intelligence. However, the invasion of Sapphire was a plan Prince Alonso had prepared for years. Our original mission was to assist the kingdom’s knights in securing Blue Dragon Island."

Clearly, Alonso had intended to eliminate the Sapphire family after the dragon-slaying victory.

Yet it was the Kingdom of the Eagle that suffered a crushing defeat. Seeing the situation turn dire, the vampires quickly fled, leaving only Horos and Brutus to watch Hoof City. However, the two were too fearful to show themselves openly there, especially with the Grand Duke and the Sapphire Dragon still stationed in the city.

Unable to get anything more useful from them, Liszt waved his hand dismissively.

"Mary, these two are yours to manage now. The five half-bloods as well—you'll hold their hearts."

Mary’s tongue darted unconsciously across her lips. With more blood servants under her control, her power would inevitably grow, filling her with excitement. "Your Highness, rest assured. Mary will manage the blood servants flawlessly. Here, there is no Black Knight family—only Dawnbreak!"

Mary was a capable woman, and her strength had risen to pureblood level. Liszt trusted she could tame Horos and Brutus.

If she truly couldn’t, he could always kill the two purebloods and use their hearts to cultivate new ones. As long as he held a vampire’s heart, betrayal was unlikely—though no method could guarantee loyalty against overwhelming external forces.

His task was to ensure Mary’s loyalty, and through her, the loyalty of the other vampires. Alonso likely operated the same way—securing the allegiance of the Black Knight family’s leader while letting the other vampires act freely. After all, low-ranking vampires were disposable. Their deaths or captures were minor losses, easily replaced with new recruits.

"By the way, Mary, there's something I need you to handle."

"Your orders, my lord."

"I have an address in the Kingdom of the Eagle—Burning Mountain. Dispatch your blood thralls to locate its exact position and map it out. Also, discreetly gather information from locals about the legend of the drake 'Phoenix.' Be cautious and avoid exposing your identity or intentions."

"Rest assured, my lord. Mary will arrange for the blood thralls to carry out the task immediately."

"And don’t forget to gather detailed intelligence on the reactions from various factions following the Kingdom of the Eagle’s defeat in the dragon-slaying war. The more detailed, the better. Report any significant findings at once."

"Yes, my lord."

The plan to capture the drake Phoenix at Burning Mountain was a major priority for Liszt. Despite having encountered many dragons in his life, he had never seen a drake, nor even a magic beast of super or high rank. He was eager to confirm whether drakes possessed true dragon bloodline.

In theory, dragons could infect small beasts or magic creatures.

But drakes were formidable in rank—even if they couldn’t defeat a dragon, they shouldn’t be easily infected. Besides, high-level magic beasts would flee at the sight of a dragon rather than linger to be transformed.

Perhaps these mysteries would unravel once he captured the possible drake Phoenix.

At the very least, the fire-attributed drake Phoenix would provide a substantial boost for him and Rio. Back when Rio was still a fire seed, he had successfully hatched into a magic form—the Fire Drake—by absorbing the magic power of a Phoenix Feather.

...

Heart Island remained largely unchanged.

The LightgreenGem Dragon was still incubating, and the Crystal Cyathea (crystal ferns) continued to grow, though none had yet matured into a true pure-crystal tree.

The large pit filled with soil showed no signs of sprouting either.

Of course, it had only been two days—far too soon for any noticeable changes.

Upon returning to Oxhoof City from Heart Island, Liszt was surprised to find the Sapphire Dragon already awake. The Grand Duke was preparing to disband the knight contingents of the various lords and declare the war over.

The knight contingent and fleet of the Tulip family were also set to depart for Coral Island at dawn.

With the final banquet concluded, ships began leaving Oxhoof City's crowded harbor at dawn the next day. Liszt did not ride a dragon or travel by shell but instead stayed quietly aboard *Sunset* with Acheronides. They enjoyed four peaceful days of sailing with favorable winds.

During these four days, Acheronides would disappear for hours at a time—either to observe and record the growth of the Crystal Cyathea on Heart Island or to document the condition of the LightgreenGem Dragon on Dodo Island.

Liszt, meanwhile, spent his time steadily reading and taking notes.

Occasionally, he would summon the Fire Drake Rio to soar into the clouds and train for a while.

He was compiling the *Dragon Aura Manual for Fire Dragon Knights*. By the end of the four-day voyage, he had successfully devised the first technique: "*Dragon Slash.*" This move utilized Rio’s high-speed flight and sudden turn, with Liszt’s lance tracing a lethal arc in sync.

"*Dragon Slash!*"

In the clouds, Rio executed a swift turn as Liszt brandished *Wrath of Thunder*, the spear tip gathering raging Dragon Aura to carve out a crescent of fiery red.

The crescent shot through the clouds at high speed, its contact with moisture producing a thunderous crackling sound. It traveled over two hundred meters before dissipating.

Witnessing the power of *Dragon Slash*, Liszt couldn’t help but feel triumphant. "*This move has immense force. Had I mastered it earlier, I might have even been able to hold back Alonso!*"