Chapter 881: A Thorn in the Back

A Millet Grand Sprite, grain type, highly valuable.

Five millet spirit bugs, two barley spirit bugs, one wheat spirit bug, all grain types, highly valuable.

One jasmine spirit bug, one halfside lotus spirit bug, both medicinal herbs, highly valuable.

One tomato spirit bug, one apple spirit bug, both fruit and vegetable types, fairly valuable.

One black tea tree spirit bug, a common source of tea for nobles, also fairly valuable.

One sundew spirit bug, one Drosera spatulata spirit bug, one living stone plant spirit bug, all ornamental types, moderately valuable.

Additionally, there were one hundred and thirty-six spirit bugs, about a dozen of which were medicinal herbs, all still somewhat valuable. In short, the resources taken from Hot Spring Island were immense, allowing Liszt to get fat quick. These were all resources that could be put to immediate use.

"This Grand Sprite shall be named Tick, after Fiddlesticks, the Harbinger of Doom."

In *League of Legends*, Fiddlesticks is a scarecrow.

After seeing the fields around Hot Spring Castle filled with millet and dotted with scarecrows, Liszt decided on this new name for the Millet Grand Sprite.

The only slight regret was that the Millet Grand Sprite, Tick, was already one hundred and fifty years old. Given that Grand Sprites typically live up to two hundred years, it had only fifty years left. Moreover, its personality was rather stiff—the Earl of Hot Spring Island treated spirit bugs as mere tools, so they were all quite wooden.

Not lively enough.

But now, as Liszt's sprites, they would enjoy better living conditions and a happier, more comfortable environment.

The Earl of Hot Spring Island had four vassal viscounts.

Originally, Liszt had planned to purge them as well, but the four viscounts reacted too quickly. Before the knights of Flame Territory could charge, they all knelt before Liszt, pleading ignorance and begging for his mercy, then promptly pledged fealty to their new lord.

They even declared their willingness to migrate to Flame Island to help the Flame family cultivate the expansive lands of the new island.

Having witnessed their former lord executed by hanging, they harbored no thoughts of revenge—after all, their enemy was a dragon knight. Moreover, they could hardly claim ignorance of the Earl of Hot Spring Island's dealings with the Kingdom of the Eagle, nor did they have any desire to remain loyal to him.

Knights pride themselves on loyalty, but when ransom can buy their freedom, how much loyalty truly remains?

Profit alone drives nobles in their tireless pursuit of value.

In the end,

The castle changed lords.

Apart from the downfall of Hot Spring Island's former ruling family, little else changed. The knights, after being incorporated, remained stationed on Hot Spring Island, and the serfs kept to their plows—immigration would still happen, but only after the Magic Teleportation Circle was activated.

Currently, there was no capacity to transport Hot Spring Island's manpower and resources to Flame Island, and with spring planting already over, crop growth couldn't be delayed.

After being thoroughly cleaned, Hot Spring Castle became Liszt's secondary residence, where the spirit bugs were still kept, albeit with specially assigned attendants and knights guarding them.

Liszt stayed here for two days before departing.

He needed to transport new food supplies to Kindle City. Although a batch of potatoes had just been harvested there, the population had surged to nearly three hundred thousand after a winter of absorbing Moon Killers. The knights were busy hunting and gathering in the forests, but it still wasn't enough to sustain the ever-growing food demand.

...

Meanwhile, while Liszt was gleefully collecting his spoils,

Prince Alex, the losing side in the dragonslaying battle, returned to the capital city of the Kingdom of the Eagle with Alonso and the dragons.

He remained unaware of the whereabouts of the grey cast iron dragon and Duke Piero.

The news of the dragon knight's return was not leaked, known only to a few within the court. The king summoned Prince Alex and Marquis Alonso in the palace.

When the body of Copper Dragon Knight Loyel Zitong was carried into the grand hall, the king's eyebrows immediately twitched, a sense of foreboding rising in his heart.

Then.

From Alex's account, the king heard the full story of the dragon-slaying battle.

"So, Grand Duke Loyel fell in battle, and this costly, nationwide dragon-slaying campaign has failed once again?" The Eagle King, with his thick beard masking his expression, spoke with eyes betraying little emotion, as if discussing something trivial.

But Alex and Alonso, familiar with the king, knew he was furious.

Alonso immediately knelt on one knee: "Your Majesty, Alonso has failed in his duties, delaying the kingdom's war efforts. I submit to Your Majesty's judgment!"

As a prince, Alex did not kneel but clasped his fists: "Your Majesty, I do not shirk responsibility. The failure of this dragon-slaying battle lies largely with the appearance of the invisible dragon. None could have predicted Liszt possessing an invisible dragon as his mount."

"Invisible dragon!" The Eagle King slammed his scepter heavily on the floor. "Can any of you tell me why a sacred dragon would be born in the Azurewave Sea and fall into Liszt's hands?"

At this point, invoking the knights' honor clearly wouldn't suffice.

Alonso said solemnly, "If I'm not mistaken, Liszt has discovered ruins from the Moon Empire era. The legend of sacred dragons were common during the Moon Empire era, unseen for many years. And the emergence of the Archmage must also be tied to Moon Empire relics!"

The decline of the magic web was no secret among dragon knights.

The rise of a new Archmage didn't signify the web's restoration, so Alonso believed Acheronides' ascension was achieved through Moon Empire relics.

This speculation wasn't entirely wrong—Acheronides had indeed touched the magic web through the artifact Mermaid's Tear, laying the foundation for her advancement. The Fishman Shrine also had connections, however tenuous, to the Moon Empire, so calling it a Moon Empire relic isn't entirely wrong.

Yet they all overlooked Liszt's personal role—his strength stemmed entirely from his own efforts, as the Smoke Task was part of his being, the power of fate completely merged with his being.

Strictly speaking.

The death of the Smoke Dragon and remnants of fate's power also seemed linked to the ancient Moon Empire.

Alonso's guess wasn't far off in the broader direction.

"Moon Empire... a long-rotted ancient empire. Alonso, do you think this excuse satisfies me?" The Eagle King's tone turned icy. "For this dragon-slaying war, the kingdom expended vast resources and called in many debts! Now, can you tell me the extent of the kingdom's losses from this failure?"

"Your Majesty, I await punishment!"

"Will punishing you solve anything?" The Eagle King, still unaware of troubles with the grey cast iron dragon, continued, "The Purple Copper Duchy has long been the kingdom's western shield. Grand Duke Loyel was my loyal ally—yet now he's dead. How do I explain this to my aunt and cousin?"

The king's cousin was Loyel's wife, the Duchess.

Prince Alex sighed. "I failed to provide timely support. Your Majesty, allow me to personally escort Grand Duke Loyel's remains back to the Purple Copper Duchy. Whatever House Zitong demands, I will do my utmost to meet!"

The Eagle King fixed Alex with a silent gaze.

After a long pause, he let out a long breath. "Alonso, rise. Return to the frontier tomorrow and resume your command... As for Grand Duke Loyel's sacrifice, I will personally contact my aunt... Now, I need you both to formulate immediate plans. I must know how to check Liszt's rise!"

He paused.

The king murmured softly, his tone laced with threat: "If he continues to grow, I'll have a knife at my throat..."