Chapter 792: Dragons are Capricious

During the return voyage.

Liszt was brimming with ambition. The sea battle had concluded smoothly, with the maritime forces of the Kingdom of the Eagle nearly obliterated. The Sapphire Sea had once again become the inland sea of the Sapphire Duchy, open for unrestricted travel.

Maritime trade had become far safer.

Currently, the trade of glass, white paper, and sea salt from the Flame Territory was gradually expanding. With no ships from the Kingdom of the Eagle on the sea, smuggling serfs, the trade goods Liszt coveted most, between him and the Marquis of Raging Waves became far more convenient. You could never have too many people.

Moreover, in this great sea battle, almost every shipbuilding craftsman of the Kingdom of the Eagle had been captured by him.

With ten thousand shipwrights, Flame Territory’s shipbuilding would flourish, providing more ships for the territory in the near future. Coupled with the captured sailors and captains, a massive fleet could be assembled in a short time, readying the territory’s relocation and the exploration of new islands.

"Population is still the biggest bottleneck. In the future, such naval battles and expansion campaigns must be initiated frequently. We must strike while the Eagle Kingdom is weak to take a few juicy bites. Otherwise, even if I occupy an island larger than the Sapphire Duchy, development will still be impossible."

However, upon closer reflection, building a nation was likely just Liszt’s way of proving himself, not necessarily about building a perfect state.

If it could feed dragons, that was enough.

After a moment of excitement, he summoned the smoky mission interface.

"Mission: As Acheronides continues to care for the increasingly lush mangrove forest, and with the successive growth of ducklings and firebirds, Nami the mangrove sprite stays cheerful every day. Let her keep it up. Reward: One Grand Sprite of the Mangrove."

The mission was still incomplete.

Liszt wasn’t overly anxious about it. After all, a Grand Sprite’s evolution takes time. However, he was concerned about another matter.

"In previous years, during festivals or wars, there would always be missions with unknown rewards. Why hasn’t one appeared this time?"

"Is it because Nami’s evolution mission isn’t completed, delaying the unknown reward mission? Or is it because I’ve already become a Dragon Knight and can control the war’s outcome, so there’s no need to wait for its conclusion?"

It was unclear.

He could only wait for the next war to see if the unknown reward mission would reappear.

...

He had thought nothing would happen during the return voyage, but Acheronides surprised him with an astounding revelation. Every day, she controlled waterspouts to propel the Flame, mastering her water magic beyond compare. She frequently practiced advanced magic to familiarize herself with its properties.

Finally,

During today’s voyage, inspiration suddenly dawned on her.

It brought her a profound realization: "Brother, Acheronides understands now. I understand how water-attribute magic power transforms into ice-attribute magic power. It’s the movement of magic power particles that manifests different properties... And for Acheronides to switch the magic properties of her elemental avatar, she must fundamentally alter the movement of particles."

"Hmm, isn’t that what I mentioned to you before? About the connection between particle movement and magic properties?" Liszt recalled discussing the concept of particle motion with her.

He had even tasked Acheronides with conducting specialized research to confirm the existence of magic power particles.

Acheronides nodded. "Brother did mention it, but before, Acheronides thought particle movement was just simple motion. This time, the particle movement I envisioned is the motion within the particles themselves. A more vivid analogy would be: previously, particles moved like orbiting planets, but now it’s like a planet’s rotation."

Revolution, rotation.

With this explanation, Liszt instantly understood. "Ah, I see. So, have you completed the switch to the ice-attribute elemental avatar?"

"Mostly, brother. Please observe with the Magic Eye."

Acheronides stood at the ship’s bow and raised her left hand. Her slender, snow-white palm remained still, but through the Magic Eye, the pale blue water magic gradually faded, turning whiter until it became snow-white. The switch in magic properties had clearly been completed.

Soon, the ice-attribute properties spread across her left arm.

Magic power surged excessively at the elbow, while the rest of the body remained water-attributed: "Brother, Acheronides' elemental form is still a bit challenging, but I can already cast ice magic now!"

Magic energy circulated.

The Magic Web manifested.

The next moment, a water spout rose up, and as it reached the bow of the ship, a sharp crackling sound rang out as it rapidly froze into ice.

*Plop!*

The frozen ice pillar fell onto the deck, shattering into several pieces.

"Marvelous!" Liszt exclaimed loudly. "That's my brilliant Acheronides—your talent in magic surpasses any other mage. I can already imagine how formidable you'll become once you master the transformation of all magical attributes."

Acheronides flashed a slightly mischievous smile. "Heehee, can Acheronides beat Brother then?"

"Hmm, don't get ahead of yourself, little girl. I'm a Fire Dragon Knight, and my strength will only grow stronger in the future... But I do look forward to the day when both of us break through the constraints of Dragon Knights and Archmages, reaching even greater heights. This world is vast, and we must explore it."

"If Brother wants to see the world, Acheronides will go with him."

"Of course I’ll take you along."

...

As the fleet continued sailing across the sea, Liszt had already returned to his territory aboard the Flame Dragon. Ever since Acheronides became an Archmage, sea travel was like taking a high-speed train for him.

During the naval battles, he even had Acheronides return to the territory multiple times to gather supplies and tend to the Lightgreen Gem Dragon on Dodo Island. After half a year in slumber, the Lightgreen Gem Dragon had recovered well over the past month, regaining enough energy for short flights.

However, another piece of news was less welcome.

The exploration team led by Yevich Shui Huasheng had spent several days scouting the waters around the new island but still found no sign of a second island. It was now almost certain that this was a lone island, not an archipelago. With its limited potential for development, the once highly anticipated island lost much of its value.

"Regardless, continue searching for archipelagos! I’ll dispatch a few more Fast Royal Yachts to assist in exploring the seas, working to find a suitable island chain as soon as possible."

That said, once the voyage exceeded five thousand kilometers, Liszt planned to abandon the southern waters and turn back to explore the northwestern seas of the Sapphire Duchy. Those vast oceans may hide archipelagos, albeit in less favorable locations.

By then, Liszt might no longer be facing the Kingdom of the Eagle, but the Kingdom of Steel Ridge.

"But who cares? With two dragons and an Archmage by my side, even the Kingdom of Steel Ridge won’t stop me from taking what I want!"

More dragons means more might!