Chapter 560: Faction Choice

This chapter is a bonus update sponsored by the 20,000 coin reward for "The Song of Glory."

Mission complete. The reward is a large patch of Hemp Rope Vine.

After much effort, Liszt collected three Hemp Rope Vines and a large number of seed pods.

The Hemp Rope Vines rewarded by these smoke-related tasks are indeed very impressive. The thickest one is only as thick as two fingers, but even with his strength amplified by Dragon Aura, he couldn't break it. Even vines thinner than a pinky finger couldn't be snapped easily, and even the thread-like tendrils were incredibly tough.

Even cutting them with a knife was tough, and in every way, they outperformed regular hemp ropes.

"If they don't decay too fast, these vines are a highly valuable specialty, far surpassing the worth of ordinary hemp ropes," Liszt was very satisfied with this reward and planned to plant them on a large scale in his territory to replace hemp ropes. "It's a shame there are no Hemp Rope Vine spirit bugs, which makes cultivation a bit tricky."

Fertilization alone pales in comparison to the influence of spirit bugs.

But having something to cultivate was already a win; he didn't push his luck. He gathered the specimens, returned to the cabin to freshen up briefly, and then, bathed in the morning sunlight, rode the Rainbow Whale off Dodo Island with Acheronides.

Returning to the territory.

All told, he'd been away from his territory for six days, and with this return trip, a full week had been spent on Dodo Island. Though the process was a bit involved, the outcome was worth it. The Fire Drake had finally come around, and future training wouldn't be an issue. As for riding a dragon, there was plenty of time.

On top of that, he took a Skull Bug and a batch of Hemp Rope Vine seeds—quite the haul.

On the other hand, Acheronides had developed an advanced spell—Water Vortex Fusion—and was exploring other new magics, deepening her understanding of magic arrays.

This was setting the stage for her eventual promotion to Archmage.

Liszt had no doubt Acheronides had what it took to become an Archmage; her talent, even limited to water magic, was nothing short of astounding.

Of course.

No matter how impressive Acheronides' progress was, it couldn't match Liszt's rapid advancement.

He was now a 'quasi-dragon knight,' or in popular novel terms, a half-step dragon knight. Even as a half-step dragon knight, he far outclassed a full-fledged sky knight, solidifying his position as the second strongest in the Sapphire Duchy, just below the Duke.

The second most powerful in the world.

"Hmm."

"If the Bull Marquis were still alive and wielding the power of a lich, I'd probably still be outmatched."

"But I'm not far from being able to take on dozens of sky knights single-handedly. I feel like I can now handle seven or eight sword saints like a count."

Filled with pride and confidence, he even considered challenging the Duke to a sparring match, eager to gauge the strength of a true dragon knight—assuming the Sapphire Duchy had indeed succeeded in taming a dragon.

He'd pondered this question more than once: "Has the Duke truly succeeded in riding a dragon? The Count and Marquis Merlin seem to think so, but... even riding a dragon less than a month old is a challenge, let alone an adult one."

Despite the Sapphire family's vast resources, only the first Duke had ever become a dragon knight; the second, third, and fourth Dukes all fell short.

The current fifth Duke, for the first half of his life, also failed to ride a dragon. His only chance came when the Sapphire Dragon was injured, creating the perfect opportunity. But for some reason, the Sapphire Duke neither announced that he had become a dragon knight nor denied that he had not succeeded in riding a dragon.

So the Duke could now be dubbed a "Schrödinger's dragon knight"—just as Schrödinger's cat might be alive or dead, the Duke might have tamed a dragon or not.

...

Sea breeze brushing his face.

Waves rolling.

The Rainbow Whale, whether in water or on the surface, swims at a speed of 80 kilometers per hour and can swim continuously for a day and night. The Land Bird Loki and the Rainbow Whale Rosi are both dragon beasts, one excels in explosive power, the other in endurance.

On the azure sea, there was nothing but emptiness.

Only white clouds drifted overhead.

Liszt was still pondering over the Sapphire Duke and the Sapphire Dragon. The reason he revisited this issue was due to a new mission involving smoke.

"Mission: The Duke's messenger is currently a guest at Tulip Castle. His arrival carries the Duke's intentions, presenting a factional choice. As a follower, you have the right to make a choice. Please quickly decide whether to join the Duke's faction or remain with the Earl's faction. Reward: Blue Blood Knight Armor."

This was a matter of faction choice.

Liszt had already made up his mind; he chose to continue following the Earl, helping him pursue the position of Marquis. Now, all he needed to do was respond to the Duke's messenger to complete the mission.

He needed to tactfully decline or postpone, as he could not afford to offend the Sapphire Duke at this time.

However, in his heart, Liszt did not wish to follow the Sapphire Duke for no other reason than that the Duke had a dragon, and so did he. Both were dragon knights, and neither had more dragons than the other. A proud dragon knight would never swear fealty to another.

He preferred to continue following his father by blood to avoid such a demeaning allegiance.

"When I become a true dragon knight, with the strength to protect myself and to win a dragon-slaying battle, I will leave the Sapphire Duchy and establish my own country."

"Furthermore, perhaps I could choose to overthrow the Sapphire family and rule the Sapphire Duchy myself?"

...

By the time he arrived at the new port of Black Horse Island, it was already evening, eleven hours later.

The officials in charge of construction at New Port Town quickly came to pay their respects. Liszt did not disturb them and went straight to inspect the shipyard.

The Sunset, rebuilt from the wreckage of the Sky Ship, had been preliminarily assembled and would likely be ready for a trial launch in another week. However, it would still require extensive exploration and repair before it could truly appear on the sea as Liszt's flagship, riding the wind and waves.

The shipyard was managed by Captain Costo, who had grown from a merchant captain of Little Papa Island to a high-ranking official in the territory.

He was not only in charge of sailor training but also shipbuilding experiments, busy every day without a break.

"My lord, the boat workshop can now produce single-masted sailboats. Although they cannot sail far, their efficiency in coastal operations far surpasses that of ordinary boats."

"Continue your excellent work. The single-masted sailboat is just the beginning; we must learn to build double-masted sailboats as quickly as possible. During the transformation of the Sunset at the shipyard, we should also accumulate more experience in building triple-masted sailboats... I will try to recruit a group of shipbuilders from the outer island shipyards to fill the technical gaps."

"As you wish, my lord!"

Without staying for dinner at New Port Town, he directly rode an ordinary horse to Black Horse Ranch, switched to the black-blooded horse king, Lightning, and then galloped to Port Town to enjoy dinner and a hot bath.

He retrieved the newly produced Giant Kelp Magic Potion from the mage tower.

He then learned about the situation of the court envoy through Advisor Gort.

The court envoy had arrived at Coral Island three days ago, ready to represent the Duke in inspecting Black Horse Island and discussing the matter of allegiance. However, since Liszt was not in the territory, the court envoy had to wait at Tulip Castle.

"I will meet the court envoy tomorrow morning to finalize my faction choice."