Chapter 828: Tremors in the Heart

Anthony Sapphire brought Liszt a piece of bad news.

Liszt's proposal to join forces with the Sapphire family for a major venture was politely declined by the Sapphire Archduke. The reason was that the Blastfurnace Kingdom and the Kingdom of Steel Ridge were experiencing friction, and this year's Pioneering Decree might not be issued as hoped.

"It's unclear what benefits the Kingdom of the Eagle promised the Blastfurnace Kingdom, but they successfully provoked a standoff between the Blastfurnace Kingdom and the Kingdom of Steel Ridge. Six dragon knights have already gathered in the border regions between the two countries. As a result, the border pressure on the Kingdom of the Eagle has suddenly eased, allowing them to redirect forces to defend their coastal hinterlands."

"What a pity," Liszt said without pressing further.

The Sapphire Archduchy, though hailed as the maritime overlord, is after all merely a duchy. Seeing no opportunity, they withdrew their support.

As for Liszt, with the situation unclear, he wasn't foolish enough to venture alone into the Kingdom of the Eagle for plunder.

Neither he, nor the Fire Drake Rio, nor the Invisible Dragon Bard were fully matured yet. The Lightgreen Gem Dragon Ethan was still recovering from severe injuries and hadn't fully regained his strength. With such combat capabilities, they could handle ordinary knights, but facing dragon knights would leave them at a disadvantage. Thus, it was better to focus on developing Flame Island.

He was frank with Anthony: "The Sapphire family should handle the serf trade. You must already be aware of the news about the Flame Islands—I am currently working on its development and may leave the Sapphire Archduchy at any time."

Anthony nodded. "Yes, we are aware of this news. Your and Marquis Niuwei's knight movements were not particularly concealed."

"Regarding the development of the Flame Islands, I haven't yet conducted a comprehensive survey, so the matter of founding a nation and relocating will have to be postponed for a few years. During this time, I hope the Archduke will continue its support."

"Your Highness can rest assured. The Sapphire family will fully support the Flame family in establishing a nation."

"Good. Since you’ve come all the way to Black Horse Island, why not stay for a few days and enjoy the local cuisine?"

...

After Anthony left satisfied after the feast,

Liszt and Acheronides also departed Black Horse Island, sailing toward the Vortex Islands with the third batch of framed ships. After unloading the supplies to Ember Town, he summoned the Invisible Dragon Bard and spent his days with Acheronides studying the Magic Teleportation Circle.

His enthusiasm stemmed from a new smoke task.

"Mission: The Great Vortex Magic Teleportation Circle, under Acheronides' research, has gradually become clearer and ready for experimentation. This is a major research project crucial for the future. Why not work with the Invisible Dragon to fully support Acheronides in completing the first experiment? Reward: Deep comprehension of the magic web."

This mission indicated that Acheronides' research had entered a new phase.

The reward was also intriguing, similar to a previous reward for traversing the Great Vortex. That time, it was a deep comprehension of the Magic Teleportation Circle; this time, it was a deep comprehension of the magic web.

Undoubtedly, this reward deeply captivated him.

He had pondered the magic web countless times and had asked Acheronides about it more than once. But beyond knowing that the magic web was a field-and-web structure enveloping the entire world, existing between matter and mana, possessing high-energy mana and the ability to affect reality, he knew little else.

Yet, there was no doubt that the magic web was an integral component of this world. If he wanted to surpass the dragon knight system, he would have to delve into the magic web.

Thus, this reward was not to be missed.

"Acheronides, is the experiment ready to begin? Are there any oversights?" At the vortex entrance of Vortex Mountain, Liszt watched as Acheronides directed knights and magicians to set up the experimental apparatus. Unable to suppress his nervousness, he asked.

"Brother, Acheronides has thoroughly reviewed the procedure of the 'Matter-Mana Node Observation Experiment.' With Bard's assistance, there shouldn't be any accidents."

"Alright."

Time swiftly passed into the sweltering August heat.

After a week of preparations, countless magic arrays personally set up by Acheronides around the vortex entrance were finally completed, completely enclosing the entrance within the range of the magic arrays. Once all the knights and magicians withdrew from the vortex entrance, only Acheronides, Liszt, and the Invisible Dragon Bard remained.

"Woo-ya!"

Bard could hardly wait any longer. It used its abilities to constantly provide information for the experiment and, through Liszt's communication, understood the content and purpose of the "Matter-Magic Node Observation Experiment"—to create an opportunity for it to observe the "boundary" of the physical realm.

Only by observing the boundary of the material world could it tear through it, locate the boundary, and open the Magic Teleportation Circle.

"Brother, let's begin!"

Acheronides nodded.

Liszt cast aside all distracting emotions, leaped onto the dorsal platform on Invisible Dragon Bard's back, and quickly entered Dragon Rider resonance mode. Meanwhile, Acheronides continuously activated the complex magic arrays around the vortex entrance. These arrays gradually flickered with intricate magical glows, and countless streams of arcane power began converging toward the vortex.

Suddenly.

Liszt felt his body expanding—or rather, Bard's body was expanding. The arcane power from the arrays was channeled into its body, helping it rapidly amplify its strength in a short time.

However, the arcane power was too chaotic and needed refinement and condensation.

Bard itself lacked this ability, so Liszt fused the invisible dragon's Spatial Magic with his Dragon Aura, swiftly unifying the arcane power through high-speed motion. Serving as a conduit for the arcane power, the invisible dragon could steadily absorb the stimulation of magic, its strength escalating exponentially.

"Woo-ya!"

Its body began to grow—originally only 15 meters in length and wingspan, it now expanded to 20 meters in both dimensions, roughly its full adult size.

An adult invisible dragon!

The Crystal White Trace-enhanced vision also underwent continuous changes, shifting from a rough crystalline world to an intricate one. Combined with Liszt's activation of the Crystal White Trace, the world appeared even more surreal, as if every strand of matter and magic was decomposed into the finest crystalline structures.

The magic arrays continued to activate, flooding the vortex entrance with even more arcane power. Just as Liszt was immersed in the invisible dragon's surging strength and novel vision, he suddenly heard Acheronides' clear command: "Brother, start guiding the arcane power for high-frequency resonance! Dissolve the material boundary and find the nodes at the boundary!"

"Understood!"

Liszt snapped out of his power-drunk state, circulating his Dragon Aura as the invisible dragon's Spatial Magic swiftly merged with the surrounding environment, beginning to manifest its dominion over space.

Wings flapped, magic surged.

The space inside the vortex cave undulated like liquid. As the invisible dragon's power swelled relentlessly, the invisible boundary of matter was gradually stripped away, revealing the scenery beyond. At the same time, a glimmering wormhole space also began to emerge.

"Push harder, Bard!"

Liszt shouted, and together with the invisible dragon, they violently channeled their Dragon Aura. The power of space relentlessly tore at the material boundary until—with a thunderous rupture—it was forcibly ripped apart.

The wormhole space stood revealed before the Crystal White Trace.

The next moment.

Man and dragon flapped their wings and flew into the wormhole space. Behind them, the magic arrays at the vortex entrance seemed unable to withstand the tearing force of the magic tide, disintegrating instantly. But by then, the arrays were now irrelevant—Liszt had already entered the wormhole space as an adult Invisible Dragon Rider.

The Crystal White Trace continued to operate, revealing every detail of the wormhole space under his gaze.

A vast, profound magic net enveloped the wormhole space like a cosmic filament. But when Liszt's eyes probed deeper into the magic net, scanning until he found something, his pupils abruptly dilated.

An uncontrollable tremor rose from the depths of his heart.

"The horror is unimaginable!"