The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

Among the nightfall.

Liszt pulled out two Hand Magic Tubes—as the name suggests, Hand Magic Tubes are flashlights that use magic power to emit light. Unscrewing the cap of the flashlight, the light converged into a beam within the crystal-carved shade, its brightness comparable to a car's headlamp. Undoubtedly, this was a new product developed by the Magic Guild.

He and Ach each held a Hand Magic Tube.

Following the Lightning Dragon Turtle ashore, it seemed that the presence of the Lightning Dragon Turtle stirred the other Dragon Turtles of varying sizes in the vicinity. Within the view of the Eye of Magic, pulsating purplish-white lights could be seen, indicating that the Dragon Turtles were preparing to cast magic.

However, with a roar from the Lightning Dragon Turtle that sounded like "Angchi," the other Dragon Turtles immediately ceased their unrest and slowly approached the Lightning Dragon Turtle.

After several "Angchi" roars from the Lightning Dragon Turtle, all the other Dragon Turtles returned to their spots and continued to settle down.

Holding the Hand Magic Tube, Liszt jumped off the back of the Lightning Dragon Turtle and inspected the quiet Dragon Turtles. He noticed that they were eighty percent similar in appearance to the Lightning Dragon Turtle, but their shells were different. The shell of the Lightning Dragon Turtle had three raised ridges, while the other Dragon Turtles had shells that were very smooth.

He really wanted to kill a few Dragon Turtles to study their internal structure, but with the Lightning Dragon Turtle nearby, he didn't have the nerve to kill—after all, who knew if these counted as its offspring or not.

"Actually, they probably don't."

After observing for a while, Liszt concluded, "These Dragon Turtles fundamentally differ from the Lightning Dragon Turtle in terms of lineage. The hatchlings of the Flame Dragon Bird are High Magic from birth, with the seven feathers at the end of their tails being distinctive; whereas these Dragon Turtles are merely Low Magic, with no special qualities to their shells."

Reaching this conclusion, he actually felt quite disappointed; he had hoped to find a large group of Lightning Dragon Turtles, only to discover they were just a bunch of Magical Beasts.

"Ach, take note, judging from the size of this group of Dragon Turtles, the largest one approaches a diameter of twenty meters and should be classified as Advanced Magical Beasts... They haven't reached the level of Super Magical Beasts, let alone Super Dragon Beasts."

"Okay, brother."

After observing the Dragon Turtles, Liszt prepared to inspect the island, which he had named "Dragon Turtle Island." However, after sweeping back and forth with the Hand Magic Tube, he quickly realized that the island was simply a desolate one, devoid of trees and composed entirely of stones and sand.

Without trees, it meant there were no Elves, Magic Potions, or other resources; in essence, it lacked value.

Therefore, after a brief inspection, he did not continue, and returned to the Lightning Dragon Turtle's location, where Ach was sitting on the shell, sketching and writing. A Crystal Lamp illuminated the small table in front of her, the white paper notebook and quill pen continuously producing Serpent Script and drawings as she charted the nautical map.

In fact, she was predominantly using the nautical map to compose books about celestial navigation.

The ships of the Duchy of Sapphire had begun to use the stars to navigate, and after Liszt taught Ach astronomical knowledge, she combined the knowledge of her predecessors with that of Liszt to create a completely new form of astrology—currently, the new astrology only served the purpose of determining location.

"Brother, according to Ach's measurement and calculation of the constellations, Dragon Turtle Island is about one thousand eight hundred and fifty kilometers away from Black Horse Island in a straight line."

She waved her hand casually.

A Telescope formed from condensed water flow appeared before her eyes, scanning across the sky before dissipating just as quickly.

In her hand, the quill rapidly produced a clear picture: "Brother, look, this is the grid map of the Sea of Azure Waves that Ach drew based on the longitude and latitude you taught."

The difficulty of measuring longitude and latitude made them temporarily impossible to record, so a coordinate system was established for preliminary application instead.

Within the grid of coordinate lines, there were several small dots, representing the discovered islands.

Black Horse Island was at the northernmost end of the grid, the Three Islands were in the center, and Dragon Turtle Island was positioned to the southeast, forming a blunt-angled triangle with the other two points.

"Hmm, this is drawn quite well, very lifelike," Liszt praised.

Ach spoke again, "Brother, I am prepared to dive into the depths of the sea now. I want to investigate the submarine part of Dragon Turtle Island to see whether it is still within the continental shelf or has approached the continental slope... According to the boundary you use the continental slope to define, Liszt—the near sea, the Sea of Azure Waves and the deep sea, the Devil's Sea, it's very likely that Dragon Turtle Island lies at the juncture of both seas."
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"Let's go tomorrow instead; it is night time now. Rest well for now and don't wear yourself out," Liszt said.

"Brother, you go ahead and rest. Ach isn't sleepy at all."

"If you're not sleepy, do something else. Don't go into the sea at night," Liszt said. Although Ach was the ocean's ruler by night as much as by day and sea monsters posed no threat to her, Liszt just felt the sea at night was dangerous and unsuitable for random wanderings.

Ach didn't insist. After chatting with Liszt for a while, she continued to look up at the starry sky at a 45-degree angle, probing the secrets emanating from the cosmos.

...

The next day.

Ach dove into the vast sea early in the morning to proceed with the task she could not accomplish the night before, investigating the geographical position of Dragon Turtle Island. Liszt, on the other hand, continued to inspect the island. In the daylight, the view was wide, allowing an unobstructed view of the entire island—a desolate one devoid of life.

Only a group of dragon turtles inhabited this place.

But as the sun rose higher, the dragon turtles also entered the sea, and soon there was only a Lightning Dragon Turtle left on the island. The Lightning Dragon Turtle nestled in its shell, deep in sleep and yet to wake. Since it had landed on the island the previous evening and let out a few "Angchi" cries, it hadn't moved once.

Perhaps for a Lightning Dragon Turtle of such colossal size, remaining still was the major part of its existence.

In the afternoon.

Liszt was eating lunch.

Ach returned and brought the information she had gathered: "To the west of Dragon Turtle Island is the continental shelf, and to the east, the continental slope. This is indeed the boundary between the near sea and the deep sea; further east lies the Devil's Sea."

Legend has it that the Devil's Sea is capricious, and storms are a constant occurrence.

As if to underscore Ach's investigation, shortly after she finished speaking, a storm rolled in from afar, enveloping the clouds and furiously assaulting Dragon Turtle Island. The island shook in the ferocious wind and thunderous lightning, leaving it quivering in extreme weather. Far from being frightened, the Lightning Dragon Turtle awoke from its deep slumber.

Purple-white lightning-attributed Magic Radiance continually rose from its shell, drawing lightning from the sky and using the power of the storm to strengthen its own aura.

"Ach, I'm suddenly feeling that the so-called Super Dragon Beasts aren't infected by dragons, but by the Superior Magic that nature ferments... Can you feel it? Every bolt of lightning is brewed with a vast amount of thunder-attribute Superior Magic, which the Lightning Dragon Turtle captures," Liszt said.

"Ach can only feel it vaguely," she replied.

"The Lightning Superior Magic can't be stored within its body, but during the breakdown process, a great deal of High Magic borne from lightning becomes nourishment for its growth... Perhaps this is why it evolved from an ordinary Dragon Turtle into a Lightning Dragon Turtle, its bloodline forged by postnatal factors," Liszt mused.

Liszt realized the essence of the Super Dragon Beasts: "It has mutated!"

Looking at the Lightning Dragon Turtle bathing in lightning.

His eyes slowly sparkled with the luster of wisdom, and he was struck with a multitude of inspirations in an instant.

He summoned Little Fire Dragon Leo directly: "Leo, the elves depleted by the volcanic eruption should have recovered by now. Let's embrace the storm together to refine the fourth move of "Fire Dragon Knight-Dragon Qi's Manual"... I have figured this one out, to strangle everything by leveraging the force of nature—it shall be named—Sea-Boiling!"