Chapter 822: Only One Hegemon

Several pieces of light green gems were placed on the table by Liszt.

"These are light green gems cultivated for me by the Lightgreen Gem Dragon. If the dragon knights of the Kingdom of the Eagle dare to provoke another dragon-slaying war against me, they’ll likely end up gifting me another dragon."

Even if he hadn’t produced the light green gems, Mexiro and the other two men would have believed he had three dragons. However, the impact of the gems was undoubtedly far greater.

"A Lightgreen Gem Dragon! Who would have thought that after all the effort the Kingdom of the Eagle put into launching the dragon-slaying war, they not only gained nothing but also lost a dragon and a dragon knight!" Mexiro looked at Liszt, his esteem for his nephew skyrocketing. "You could single-handedly oppose a kingdom now!"

"This is just the beginning. Island nations can’t compete with mainland nations in growth potential. Sooner or later, I will march into the Legendary Continent and establish a vast kingdom spanning both sea and land!" Liszt boasted freely, spinning grand tales without hesitation—after all, talk was cheap.

"The territories of the Legendary Continent are likely already occupied by various kingdoms. Finding new land won’t be easy for you to establish a country," Mexiro mused, still feeling the need to advise Liszt to temper his ambitions.

Meopo, though, was pumped. "Liszt, if you can establish a kingdom spanning both sea and land, I’ll join you when the time comes!"

"Of course, cousin. If you come to my kingdom, you won’t do worse than in the Blue Gem. Even now, the Flame Isles boast richer land than Red Crab Island."

It would naturally be a huge advantage if the Tulip family were willing to abandon Red Crab Island and pledge allegiance to him.

The Flame Archipelago was vast, and what he lacked most was population. Even with his own followers, subjects, and those of the Tulip family combined, they’d barely hit 800,000 people. Developing a five-million-square-kilometer archipelago with so few people was staggering.

The per capita land area in the Flame Archipelago exceeded 6.25 square kilometers—versus China’s paltry 0.0054 square kilometers per person.

That was why he kept recruitment open, welcoming any knight who pledged allegiance, as long as they brought more people with them.

However, the Tulip family had deep roots in Red Crab Island, having built their industries over generations. Plus, with princess Angela’s connections to the Blue Gem, it would be difficult for them to sever those connections.

Mexiro wasn’t rushing to decide.

Only Rolly Pinecone had already decided to follow Liszt to Flame Island seeking opportunity. Liszt immediately declared, "Uncle Rolly, if the Pinecone family is willing to assist in developing Flame Island, I’ll grant you an earldom. As for your current title of viscount, it can be passed on to your son, Russell."

Viscount Rolly and his wife, Aunt Melinda, had two sons: Russell and Rolly.

Russell could inherit his father’s title, while Rolly would have to earn his own merits. Now, Liszt was not only promising the Pinecone family an earldom but also adding a viscounty to sweeten the deal.

The offer was irresistible.

Viscount Rolly was exhilarated, though a flicker of doubt nagged him—the earldom had always been out of reach. "Liszt, I... I’m only an elite Earth Knight. Can I really be promoted to earl?"

"Normally, only sky knights can be elevated to earls. But in my kingdom, what I say goes. You can become an earl, Uncle. However, if the Pinecone family fails to produce a new sky knight within three generations, the title will be demoted to viscount in accordance with knightly traditions."

Liszt greatly admired this system where incompetence led to demotion. He had no intention of supporting a group of useless followers who enjoyed the resources of their fiefs without contributing any achievements.

Rolly immediately vowed, "Rest assured, though I have no hope of becoming a sky knight in this lifetime, and Russell lacks the talent for it, the Pinecone family will go all-in to raise a sky knight heir by the third generation!"

"In that case, once Grandfather’s funeral concludes, Uncle, you should prepare to depart for Flame Island. The sooner you participate in its development, the more justified I’ll be in granting you the earldom."

"Agreed!"

Once this topic was settled, Meopo could no longer contain his curiosity. "Liszt, since you already have three dragons, what’s the third one?"

Liszt smiled faintly. "That’s a secret for now."

...

After spending a night at Longtu Fortress, Liszt set off the next day. The funeral wasn’t until July 15th; today was just the 7th—eight days to go.

He had come early merely to make his presence known and signal his protection over the Tulip family. After bidding farewell to Mexiro and the others, he headed back to Black Horse Island with Acheronides. He had originally intended to speak with Marquis Niuwei, but the marquis had gone to Niuwei Territory, and even Levis and his wife had accompanied him.

Thus, he spent his time resting on Black Horse Island.

"My Lord, as per your instructions, Black Horse Island has been organizing various industries. Here is the list of industries arranged for transfer in short, medium, and long-term phases." Administrator Isaiah of Giant Kelp City presented a detailed inventory to Liszt.

The document meticulously recorded all the industries of the Flame Dominion, with each entry marked by approximate relocation dates. As the development of Flame Island progressed, these industries could be gradually transferred, eventually leaving behind a deserted territory to be returned to the Sapphire Duchy—though the relocation wasn’t urgent.

For now, Liszt intended to utilize the Sapphire Duchy’s resources for a few more years.

In fact, he had already decided not to return Black Horse Island at all. He wanted to wait and see if Ach, with the help of the Invisible Dragon, could develop the Magic Teleportation Circle soon.

Once the Magic Teleportation Circle was perfected, establishing a link between Black Horse Island and Flame Island would effectively merge the Sapphire Archipelago and the Flame Archipelago. This would align perfectly with Liszt’s ambition to establish a kingdom, allowing him to recruit the Sapphire family as his vassals, swearing fealty and paying tribute.

"One ruler of the seas is enough. Grand Duke Andrew won’t live much longer, and Anthony certainly won’t be able to ride the Sapphire Dragon. Making him my underling would be fitting."

Back then, Anthony had wanted to make Liszt his subordinate. Now that Liszt had tamed dragons, he planned to turn the tables and make Anthony his subordinate.

To dominate the seas and rule the blue waters, the Sapphire Duchy was a thorn he had to remove.

After a night’s rest, Liszt didn’t linger long at Thorn Castle. Along with Ach, he led ten skeletal vessels toward the Whirlpool Archipelago, arriving at the Great Whirlpool a day later. Following the same procedure as before, he successfully transported the ten skeletal vessels through to Whirlpool Mountain on Flame Island to support the construction of Ember Town.

On July 11th, he and Ach set out to sea again, this time to locate the fleet of Duert Hongxingguo, which was sailing across the vast ocean.

Ach manipulated waterspouts to increase the fleet’s speed, but due to the sheer number of ships, she couldn’t provide a significant boost. It took a full three days just to guide the fleet to the Whirlpool Archipelago. The fleet would leave behind a group of knights and laborers to establish Whirlpool Town, while the rest continued sailing—not through the Great Whirlpool, but by sea toward the Flame Archipelago, eventually landing at the estuary of the Whirlpool River.

Settlements would be established along the Whirlpool River, eventually merging with Ember Town.

After delivering the fleet to the Whirlpool Archipelago, Liszt and Ach departed once more, returning to Red Crab Island for Marquis Merlin’s funeral.

Upon arriving at Red Crab Island, Ach took out the magic console to contact the mages at Ember Town and inquire about several experimental progress reports. Unexpectedly, she received a message from Black Horse Island—the new-style schooner, painstakingly researched by the shipbuilders at Port Town Dockyard, had been launched for trial voyages.

Kosto and others were busy collecting navigational data for the schooner.

Liszt couldn’t help but summon the ethereal task log to check its progress and confirmed that the task was indeed completed.

"Quest complete! Reward unlocked: new-style schooner."