Chapter 894: Dragon Pit Mega Mine

"The magic portal is already completed? So quickly?" Marquis Niuwei exclaimed in surprise.

Liszt leisurely sipped his tea: "Father, aren't you aware of my efficiency? It's just a teleportation array—Acheronides and I made quick work of it. You can start sending the family's knights and serfs to Tulip Island via the Xinlu Teleportation Array."

"That's excellent. With the Xinlu Teleportation Array, I won’t need to keep pouring effort into Niuwei Territory. Next, I plan to retain only a portion of knights to maintain trade while relocating the rest, along with the serfs, to Tulip Island. Sound good?"

"It’s doable. Iron Hoof Island will eventually be returned to the Sapphire family, so there's no need to invest further. Black Horse Island and Coral Island are future concessions of the Fire Kingdom, so there's no reason for you to stay either. Developing Tulip Island is more important... If we don’t grow at home, trade will keep favoring the Sapphire family."

A trade focus on the Sapphire family would only enrich them further, which was not what Liszt desired. He hoped the bustling Shell Sea would soon surpass the Azure Wave Sea, and the Fire family would quickly outpace the Sapphire family—after all, the Sapphire family was merely his follower.

Big brothers should always outshine their little brothers!

"Which continental nation borders the Fire Islands?" Marquis Niuwei suddenly asked.

"It's near the border between Huangshi Plain Kingdom and the Kingdom of the Eagle, though the terrain is rugged and sparsely populated—still largely wilderness. A few hundred clicks inland, you’ve got the WindSnow Mountain Duchy, a very weak minor state. I’ve got Yevich looking into it before making any decisions."

In truth, he had an idea—why not just grab a huge chunk of land on the Legendary Continent and establish a kingdom spanning both land and sea?

The border between the two nations was desolate, with plenty of unclaimed territory.

As for war? He wasn’t scared!

He was just short of an excuse to seize knightly resources—in his eyes, knights were a resource. Once the Fire Kingdom absorbed the Moon Slayers, the shortage of serfs would be resolved. But without enough knights, encouraging reproduction would take at least a generation or two to yield results. So stealing them was the fastest way.

As for knightly loyalty—loyalty goes to the highest bidder, so who cares?

Unaware of Liszt’s thoughts, Marquis Niuwei expressed concern: "Is the entire coastline barren? That’s troublesome—trade will be difficult to establish."

"Relax. We’ll build up our own turf first—I’ll handle trade matters later."

"Very well."

Once they’d talked, a servant cut in to say Lady Penelope had arrived, so Liszt spent some time with the elderly lady. At noon, they caught a new play in the indoor theater at Tulip Castle.

After the show, they made small talk before Liszt departed.

Upon returning to Black Horse Island, he found large groups of knights and serfs assembled, ready to board ships bound for Mind Island. They would cross the Xinlu Teleportation Array to reach Fire Island and support its large-scale development. Workshops and agricultural operations would gradually relocate over the next year.

Though this was a concession, Liszt didn’t trust leaving his assets here—moving them to Fire Island was far safer.

"Commander Marcus, Commander Parris, Commander Charles, I entrust the knights and serfs to your leadership. Be careful crossing the Xinlu Teleportation Array—abort at the first sign of trouble."

"You got it, Your Highness!"

"Good. Move out."

Orders given, Liszt didn’t hang around. Hopping on Bard the Invisible Dragon, he shot into the void, located the exit of the great vortex teleportation array, and swiftly crossed over to Fire Island.

He headed straight for the Giant Elephant Knights’ position.

The smoke mission’s reward seemed to have been discovered by Emily—"Mission complete. Reward: Dragon Pit motherlode."

Moreover, a new smoke mission had been issued upon the completion of the Xinlu Teleportation Array.

"Mission: Delegations from the Eagle Kingdom, Steel Ridge, and High Furnace Fort are on their way. The northeast corner of the Legendary Continent needs a new order—and the sea’s ruler must flex their might. Force the three kingdoms to recognize the Fire Kingdom. Reward: Dragon Fear hidden in the bones."

This new reward seemed tied to the Dragon Pit motherlode as well.

...

"Here we are, Captain!" The knight climbed out of the pit and reported to Emily.

"Prepare to surround the pit. The Giant Elephant Knights must immediately dig channels and flood the trenches—this time, we absolutely cannot let the maneating trees escape again!" Emily ordered coolly.

Before her lay a valley.

In the distance, a mountain range split into two branches, forming this sprawling valley thick with greenery. Hidden among the greenery were countless craters, the smallest over 800 meters in diameter, the largest stretching up to ten kilometers.

The colony of maneating trees had been fleeing, only to be driven into by the Giant Elephant Knights in this valley full of pits. They were finally trapped in a pit one and a half kilometers in diameter.

The Giant Elephant Knights had dug trenches around the pit. Once filled with water, the maneating trees would be completely trapped—like fish in a barrel.

With a thunderous rush.

A river in the valley rapidly flooded the trenches, filling them in no time.

Watching the overflowing water, Emily tightened her grip on her Redblood Sword and declared, "Knights, with me! Search the area!"

The circular pit, one and a half kilometers in diameter, covered about seven square kilometers—over ten thousand acres, equivalent to the combined area of several small villages. The knights spread out in formation and soon found traces of the maneating trees. Those unable to burrow stood exposed among the woods.

Though many maneating trees were discovered, the Dragon Spirit remained elusive. Emily was certain it was here.

"Still hiding? Fine, then we'll resort to the direct approach—cutting down the forest in this pit." She made the decision decisively. Liszt had emphasized that the Dragon Spirit must not be harmed under any circumstances, which was why they opted for cutting rather than burning the forest outright.

Serfs attached to the Giant Elephant Knights were quickly mobilized, starting to chop from the edges toward the center, leaving only sparse maneating trees.

The felled trees were hauled away, turning the pit into a bustling with activity.

Knights moved systematically, searching for any signs of the maneating trees or the Dragon Spirit, while Emily patrolled among them.

When Liszt arrived riding the Invisible Dragon Bard, he saw the bustling scene. As soon as he revealed himself, Emily rushed over: "My Lord!"

"So this is the valley full of pits?"

"Yes. We've trapped the colony of maneating trees in this pit, but the Dragon Spirit remains hidden. My plan is to clear the trees first. If the Dragon Spirit still doesn't appear, we'll start digging." Emily spoke seriously.

Hearing this, Liszt suddenly had a thought: *Emily's loyalty is beyond doubt—should I teach her the Mana Technique 'Magic Eye'?* he thought. Though *Magic Eye* was a rare and valuable Mana Technique, it wasn’t entirely unknown outside. After all, Liszt himself had discovered it in a book cover; its previous owner was said to be a sky knight from the Blastfurnace Kingdom—Stefan the Vulture.

"Let’s discuss it later."

He still hadn’t made up his mind, deciding to first investigate the Vulture family. If they still existed and the *Magic Eye* technique hadn’t spread, he would seize the family and make *Magic Eye* an exclusive skill of the Flame family.

*Magic Eye*, with its synergy with dragons, was far too powerful to risk exposure.

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