The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

"Mathew of the Red and White Roses, head of the envoy group from the Steel Ridge Kingdom, greets His Highness the Dragon Knight."

"Bruce Silverhand, head of the envoy group from the Blast Furnace Fortress Kingdom, greets His Highness the Dragon Knight."

In the reception hall of Thorn Castle, Liszt met the leaders of the two nations' envoy groups, a young and handsome knight, and an elegant middle-aged knight.

He greeted them with a smile and gestured for them to sit down, "There is no need for formalities, please, take a seat."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Mathew hails from the Red and White Rose Family, prominent in the Steel Ridge Kingdom, while Bruce was born into the Silver Hand Family, a ducal family without dragons, akin to a distant relation of the Golden Crown Family of the Blast Furnace Fortress Royal Family, similar to the relationship between the Blue Blood Alliance and the Sapphire Family.

Such distinguished representatives clearly show the high regard that the Blast Furnace Fortress Kingdom and Steel Ridge Kingdom had for Liszt—or rather, their respect for the invisible entities like Formless Dragon Bard, Little Fire Dragon Leo, Light Green Gem Dragon Ethan, and Grey Iron Dragon Ornn behind him, and the regard for Archmage Archy.

Before any formal discussion on the intentions of the envoy groups, both nations presented their gifts.

The King of Steel Ridge Nation brought a batch of grains, metal resources, and several strands of twinkling golden wool. This was wool from the Earth Attribute Super Dragon Beast, Golden Mountain Goat, akin in importance to the Phoenix Feather of the Flame Dragon Bird—an offering on par with the gifts from the previous envoys.

The Blast Furnace Fortress Kingdom came without grains and metals since they had arrived on a Floating Colossal Kite and could not carry much.

However, the gift from the king was a batch of Magic Books, which included some unique and bizarre spell plans, magic arrays, and several books authored by archmages. The value of the gifts was outstanding, especially since Archy as an archmage could maximize the potential of these Magic Books.

"Thank you for the gifts from King Osborne, King Helder. It's getting late; perhaps everyone would like to dine and drink freely, and the formal envoy documents can be submitted in the afternoon."

"As Your Highness commands."

The banquet was rich and sumptuous, and the envoys dined happily. However, Liszt was not quite satisfied—Mrs. Abbie's chef team had already gone to Flame City, and those left at Thorn Castle were her apprentices, whose skills were somewhat lacking.

With cups and dishes interchanging, there naturally came much flattery and bootlicking.

Especially Mathew of the Red and White Roses, who showed an outsized enthusiasm toward Liszt, making him naturally think that they might want to marry off their sister to him.

But such a blind arranged marriage was not to Liszt's liking, so he chose to deal with it tepidly.

He barely managed to play along until the banquet ended and wanted to take a good nap, but Mathew came seeking him again, "Your Highness, the gifts from the Steel Ridge Kingdom have been presented, but the Red and White Rose Family's gifts have yet to be given to Your Highness, please allow me to present them personally."

"The Red and White Rose Family prepared gifts for me too?" Liszt pretended to be surprised—he already knew the family was wealthy and liked to throw money around.

And now they indeed intended to shower him with money.

Thinking about it, Liszt felt a bit excited.

Mathew smiled proudly, "My parents hold Your Highness in high esteem, my sister admires Your Highness greatly, and I, too, admire Your Highness's distinguished qualities from our frank discussion. Therefore, my family intends to foster good relations with Your Highness, and these humble gifts are merely a token of our goodwill, not worth mentioning."

Soon thereafter,

The knights of the Retainer Knights from the Red and White Rose Family brought batches of gifts, announcing the name of each item as they presented them.

"Twenty rubies, and thirty other gemstones of eleven different colors."

"One ton each of mithril, mountain copper, and fine gold."

"Three pairs of adult Low-Level Dragon Falcon Dogs, twenty puppies."

"Fire Attribute Abandoned Bug Grass - Red Pen Ghost, Dark Attribute Abandoned Bug Grass - Black Tiger Palm Spores, nutrients, and twenty Serfs for cultivation."

Every time a gift's name was mentioned, Liszt's heart inevitably raced.

The value of fifty gemstones was over tens of thousands of Gold Coins, three tons of Magic Metal was priced nearly at one hundred thousand Gold Coins, the capabilities of the Low-Level Dragon Beast Falcon Dog were unknown, but the value of a breedable Dragon Beast was definitely not low, including the generally valued Abandoned Bug Grass with the Dark Attribute.

The Light and Dark Attributes were rare to see, corresponding to very high prices of Magic Potion, thus the value of Black Tiger Palm was huge, definitely exceeding tens of thousands of Gold Coins.

Before Liszt could recover,

Another knight came over holding a large box and loudly exclaimed, "One thousand Platinum Magic Potions!"

Hearing this gift, Liszt's eyebrows rapidly rose. Platinum Magic Potion, made from the White Rose that was part of the origin of the surname of the Red and White Rose Family, claimed to have the best amplification effects. Many grand nobles' families were willing to spend countless Gold Coins to purchase Platinum Magic Potion for their offspring.

The best descriptor was — Steel Ridge Kingdom's designated Magic Potion for the Dragon Knight reserve plan!

It was said that one Platinum Magic Potion in Steel Ridge cost five hundred Gold Coins, and the value of one thousand Platinum Magic Potions was five hundred thousand Gold Coins.

While he was stunned by the Platinum Magic Potion, another knight brought another large box, handing it to Mathew who personally shouted the name of the gift: "Two hundred bottles of Red Dragon Water!"

"Red Dragon Water!"

Liszt abruptly stood up, unable to maintain his composed demeanor, and swallowed hard, "Mathew, the Red and White Rose Family actually brought out Red Dragon Water as a gift?"

Red Dragon Water, another Magic Potion made from the Red Rose, another surname origin of the Red and White Rose Family, whose effect on enhancing a dragon's Magic Power was terrifying — since it could also boost the Dragon's Super Magic, it counted as a strategic material in war strategies. Generally, Steel Ridge Royal Family purchased all the Red Dragon Water, and it was rare to see any sold externally.

Occasionally, one or two bottles would be released, priced in Dragon Coins.

One Dragon Coin equaled ten thousand Gold Coins!

Red Dragon Water was always priceless.

"Your Highness, the Red and White Rose Family is even richer than the Platinum Family, these gifts are worth nearly five million Gold Coins, but it's just a friendly gesture from the family to Your Highness," Mathew handed the box to a castle servant who did not know what Red Dragon Water was, with a warm smile on his face.

Seeing the shocked expression on Liszt's face, he felt quite proud inside.

Perhaps his own talent was not that outstanding, being a member of the Dragon Knight reserve plan, yet Dragon Riding remained distant, but he had his own confidence and backing.

Nothing else.

The family was wealthy.

Having grown accustomed to using money when power couldn't handle things, the Duke of Rose, in his time, had used wealth to sway the Princess of Steel Ridge Kingdom, then further used money and kinship to sway the King, preserving the status of the Red and White Rose Family.

Thus, the offspring of the Red and White Rose Family, what they liked to do most and were best at, was using money to influence people: "The Red and White Rose Family wishes to foster a closer friendship with the Flame Family, with the wealth of the Red and White Rose Family and the power of the Flame Family, this friendship will surely bloom with dazzling light."

"Indeed, the wealth of the Red and White Rose Family is astonishing," Liszt exhaled a breath heavily, having to admit he was truly nearly swayed by the onslaught of money.

Mathew flicked the collar of his Flack·Abaie, smiled, and asked, "I wonder, Your Highness, if you are satisfied with the gifts from the Red and White Rose Family?"