The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

One Millet Greater Elf, a type of grain, valued highly.

Five Millet Minor Elves, two Barley Minor Elves, and one Wheat Minor Elf, all grain types, and all highly valued.

One Jasmine Minor Elf and one Half-Lotus Minor Elf, both are Magic Potion types, highly valued.

One Tomato Minor Elf and one Apple Minor Elf, both fruit and vegetable types, decently valued.

One Black Tea Tree Minor Elf, used as a common source of tea by Nobles, similarly valued decently.

One Sempervivum Minor Elf, one Lithops Minor Elf, and one Campion Minor Elf, all ornamental types, with average value.

Also, there were one hundred thirty-six Elf Bugs, among which about ten were Magic Potion types, all fairly valued. In total, the resources scavenged from Hot Spring Island were enormous and could be said to have fattened Liszt in one gulp. All of these resources were readily usable.

"This Greater Elf shall be named Tick, the Harbinger of Doom, Fiddlesticks."

In "League of Legends", Fiddlesticks is a scarecrow.

After seeing the farms around Hot Spring Castle filled with millet and many scarecrows, Liszt named the Millet Greater Elf this new name.

The only regret was that the Millet Greater Elf Tick was already one hundred fifty years old, and according to the two-hundred-year lifespan of Greater Elves, it had only fifty years left. Moreover, its personality was somewhat rigid. The Count of Hot Springs regarded Elves merely as tools, so they were all quite wooden.

Not lively enough.

But now, having become Liszt's Elf, they would enjoy better living conditions and a happier and comfortable environment.

The Count of the Hot Springs had four followers who were Viscounts.

Liszt had planned on a thorough cleansing, but these four Viscounts reacted swiftly, kneeling before Liszt even before the Flame Territory's Knights could charge. Pleading ignorance, they sought Liszt's forgiveness and pledged their allegiance to the new landlord.

They each proclaimed their willingness to migrate to Flame Island and develop the abundant lands for the Flame Family.

Seeing their former landlord executed, they harbored no thoughts of retaliation; after all, they faced a Dragon Knight. The dealings between the Count of Hot Springs and the Eagle Kingdom were too clear for them to deny, and they had no loyalty to the Count of Hot Springs.

Knights boast of loyalty, but how much truly remains when a ransom can redeem them?

Interests are the only values tirelessly pursued by the Nobility.

In any case.

The banner atop the castle had changed.

Besides the downfall of the former rulers of Hot Spring Island, not much else had changed. The Knights were reorganized but still stationed on Hot Spring Island, and the Serfs who were meant to farm still had to farm—the migration would have to wait until the Magic Teleportation Array was operational.

Currently, there wasn't the transportation capacity to relocate the manpower and resources from Hot Spring Island to Flame Island, and with spring plowing already past, the crop growth could not be delayed.

After cleaning the Hot Spring Castle, it had become Liszt's palace, the Elves still housed there but now guarded by specialized Servants and Knights.

Liszt stayed there for two days, then set off.

He had to transport new food supplies to Flame City, which although had just harvested a crop of potatoes, was facing a burgeoning population nearing three hundred thousand after the winter campaign against the Moon Slayers. The Knight Order, busy gathering food in the forests, still couldn't sustain the increasing food consumption.

...

Meanwhile, Liszt was reveling in the spoils of his search.

Prince Alex of the losing party in the battle against the dragon, along with Alonso and the dragons, headed straight back to the King's Castle of the Eagle Kingdom.

The fate of the Grey Iron Dragon and Duke Pierrot remained unclear.

The news of the Dragon Knight's return wasn't leaked; only a few in the Court were aware. The King had summoned Prince Alex and Marquis Alonso to the palace.

When the corpse of Loyle Purple Copper, the Purple Copper Dragon Knight, was carried into the great hall, the King immediately furrowed his brow, a bad premonition rising in his heart.

Afterwards,

He heard from Alex the full details of the battle against the dragon.

"So, Duke Loyle has died in battle, and the enormous national effort invested in this battle against the dragon has failed again?" The Eagle Kingdom's King, his thick beard masking his expression, his eyes devoid of much color, asked as though inquiring about something trivial.

But Alex and Alonso, who were familiar with the king, both knew that he was extremely angry.

Alonso immediately knelt on one knee, "Your Majesty, Alonso has mishandled his duties, delaying the Kingdom's war efforts, and is willing to accept your punishment!"

As a Prince, Alex did not need to kneel; he merely clasped his fists and said, "Your Majesty, I am not shirking my responsibilities. The reason for our defeat in this battle lies more with the appearance of the Formless Dragon. Who could have expected that Liszt would possess a Formless Dragon as his mount?"

"Formless Dragon!" The Eagle Kingdom's King slammed his scepter heavily onto the floor, "Who can tell me why the Sacred Dragon was born in the Sea of Azure Waves, and why it has fallen into Liszt's hands!"

At this moment, excuses like the favor of a knight's glory clearly wouldn't suffice.

Alonso said gravely, "If I am not mistaken, Liszt has already taken control of a relic from the era of the Ancient Moon Empire. The legend of the Sacred Dragon prevailed during the Moon Empire era and has not appeared for many years. The birth of Archmages must also be related to the relics of the Moon Empire!"

Changes in the Magic Web shrinking were not unfamiliar news to Dragon Knights.

The advancement of a new Archmage did not mean the recovery of the Magic Web, so Alonso believed that Ach's advancement as an Archmage was achieved through the relics of the Moon Empire era.

Such a speculation couldn't be considered wrong; indeed, it was through the Divine Artifact, Mermaid's Tears, that Ach touched the Magic Web, laying the foundation for his advancement. The Fish Ugly Temple and the Moon Empire are more or less connected, saying that it pertains to relics from the Moon Empire era wasn't wrong either.

However, they all overlooked the reasons behind Liszt as an individual—his entire strength originated from personal struggles, after all, the Smoke Mission was a part of his body, and the Power of Destiny had long merged with him.

But strictly speaking,

The death of the Smoke Dragon and the remnants of the Power of Destiny also seemed related to the Ancient Moon Empire.

Alonso's speculation on the general direction had not been incorrect.

"The Moon Empire... an ancient empire that has decayed who knows how many years ago, Alonso, do you think this reason can convince me?" The King of the Eagle Kingdom spoke in a stern tone, "For this battle against the dragon, how many resources has the Kingdom consumed, how many relationships utilized! Now can you tell me how great the losses of the Kingdom are from the failure of the battle against the dragon!"

"Please punish me, Your Majesty!"

"Would punishing you help the situation?" At this moment, the Eagle Kingdom's King still did not know that the Grey Iron Dragon had encountered issues. "The Purple Copper Duchy has always been the western barrier of the Kingdom, Duke Loyle was a strong supporter of mine, but now he is dead, how am I supposed to explain to my aunt and cousin!"

The King of the Eagle Kingdom's cousin was none other than the wife of Duke Loyle, the Duchess.

Prince Alex sighed, "This matter is because I did not support in time, Your Majesty, please allow me to personally escort Duke Loyle's body back to the Purple Copper Duchy. Regardless of what the Purple Copper Family requests, I will do my utmost to satisfy them!"

The Eagle Kingdom's King looked at Alex, without speaking.

After a long while, he finally sighed deeply, "Alonso, rise. Tomorrow, return to the frontier to continue your duties... As for the sacrifice of Duke Loyle, I will personally contact my aunt... Now I need you to immediately come up with a response plan, I want to know how we can curb Liszt's growth!"

He paused.

The Eagle Kingdom's King murmured softly, his tone exceedingly somber, "If he continues to grow, I feel a thorn in my back…"