The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

Gulvig had just been liberated from a curse and was extremely weak, needing a long time to recuperate.

Liszt talked with her for a long time, and although the information Gulvig knew was primarily limited because the Sea Kingdom established by mermaids was collapsing and secluded from the world, some historical truths were still recovered.

Firstly,

during the era of the Moon Empire on the Legendary Continent, the influence of the Archmages was recognized even by the ocean itself; secondly, on the other side of the Devil's Sea was the Mafa Continent, which once housed a Sun Empire similar to the Moon Empire, another magic civilization established by humans; the Moon and Sun Empires collapsed around the same time.

According to the analysis of available information, a legendary war had occurred between humans and dragons on the open sea.

Taking into account the severed hind legs of the Jade Dragon, legends handed down by the Moon Slayers about killing the Moon Dragon, remains of dragons found in the Dragon Pit Great Mine on Flame Island, and the origins of the Fire Dragon and Smoke Dragon. Moreover, with the Cursed Dragon dying at sea and polluting it, it was clear that this legendary war marked the turning point of the collapse of the magic civilization.

Afterwards, the inconspicuous Knight Class rose on the Legendary Continent, while Druid Magic, designated as the Child of the Sun, propagated in the Mafa Continent.

Due to the pollution from the Cursed Dragon, mermaids, Naga, and Yu Chou were on the brink of extinction, while fallen monsters converged in the Devil's Sea.

"The mightiest kings among the mermaids, capable of fighting alongside Archmages, are naturally what you call creatures of the Superior Magic level. We, like your human Magicians, mostly draw our Magic Power from the Magic Web. Over extensive periods, the Magic Web has provided us with less and less Magic Power."

Gulvig was deeply touched, "The last seven of us mermaids thought it was the pollution from the Cursed Dragon that severed our link to the Magic Web, only to realize that it's the Magic Web itself that is shrinking, making us unable to counteract the pollution from the Cursed Dragon."

"So, Gulvig, how strong were you at your peak?"

"Far from an Archmage, but those Super Sea Monsters you described? I could easily slay them."

"In that case, your strength is roughly equivalent to that of a Domain Knight, perhaps even stronger, but there's still a significant gap between you and an Archmage or Dragon Knight." Liszt struggled to properly describe Gulvig's power; she had Superior Magic, but it originated from the Magic Web.

Mermaids were not inherently composed of Superior Magic entities.

In other words, mermaids, as a species, ranked lower than dragons, phoenixes, and unicorns. However, as an intelligent race, mermaids could also cultivate, and a highly trained mermaid was comparable to a human Archmage.

"King Liszt, I'm sorry I can't help you much with the pollution from the Cursed Dragon and my six sisters, I leave that in His Majesty's care."

"King Gulvig, there's no need for formality, this is my duty."

"Please stop calling me a king, there is no longer a kingdom in the sea. If you, King Liszt, can cleanse the crisis in the sea, Gulvig is willing to follow you and offer the Heart of the Mermaid to restore order to the sea." Gulvig struggled to stand up and deeply bowed to Liszt.

"The Heart of the Mermaid?" Liszt raised an eyebrow and inquired, "What is that?"

The reward for the Smoke Mission was the Heart of the Mermaid.

"The contract of the mermaid race. During the era of the Moon Empire, many mermaids had given their hearts to human Archmages, following them and seeking the Truth."

Ach curiously asked, "Is it like an Elf contract?"

But Gulvig was confused, "Elf contract? What is an Elf contract, do those creatures also have contracts?"

It was now Liszt and Ach's turn to be puzzled. As the monarch of the sea, it was unbelievable that Gulvig had never heard of Elves having contracts.

"You don't know about the Elf contracts? Although humans exploit Elves quite often, there are many Elves in the sea that enhance the growth of plants; haven't you mermaids ever utilized Elves, or do you also turn Elves into Magic Dust?"

"We don't need Magic Dust to aid in our cultivation; we mermaids are naturally able to communicate with the Magic Web, and I've heard that humans like to turn Elves into Magic Dust."

"But isn't it cruel to make magic dust from elves?"

"Cruel? They're just some bugs," Gulvig said, not understanding.

"How can you describe elves as bugs... Elves are beautiful creatures, evolving from Elf Bugs to Little Minor Elves gaining intelligence, and further evolving into Greater Elves and Dragon Elves, nearly indistinguishable from intelligent species like humans and mermaids," Liszt was speechless.

It felt like the ancients in the era of magic civilization had distorted aesthetics; they all looked down on elves.

Gulvig became even more confused now, "King Liszt, what are you talking about? What do you mean elves evolve from Elf Bugs into Little Minor Elves and Dragon Elves? I don't understand what you mean."

"You don't even know that Elf Bugs can evolve?"

"I've never heard that elves can evolve; they're just small bugs to me, the most common practice material for magicians. Moreover, King Liszt, I've never seen any evolving elves, though I've only lived for 142 years, I have never seen any evolved elves in the sea."

Hearing this,

Liszt and Ach exchanged glances, both feeling that Gulvig was lying. They had encountered Pike, the Giant Algae Greater Elf, around Black Horse Island, it was a joke that Gulvig living in the sea had never seen any Little Minor Elves or Greater Elves.

"Wait a minute, I'll bring over a Greater Elf," Liszt decided to expose Gulvig's lies with facts.

Ach promptly said, "Brother, let Ach bring Nami over, she has just harvested some Magic Medicine Mangroves."

"Um, good, bring Nami over."

He was not surprised about Nami harvesting Magic Medicine Mangroves because there was a Smoke Mission earlier that rewarded the new species of red trees.

With Ach riding Unicorn Charlie, the round trip would take just over two hours. When Mangrove Greater Elf Nami sat on Ach's shoulder, curiously examining the mermaid Gulvig,

Gulvig was also curiously looking at Nami, "Is this what you call a Greater Elf? A Greater Elf evolved from an Elf Bug?"

Her tone of surprise seemed genuine,

as if it was truly her first time seeing a Greater Elf.

Nami hid behind Ach's hair, expressing fear of this ugly-looking mermaid, "Ach, what is that?"

"She is the mermaid Gulvig; He Zhunstost, Bragi, Grett, Valkyria... Gulvig."

...

"Gulvig, have you really never seen Greater Elves or Little Minor Elves? I find it hard to believe. Among us humans, although the evolution of elves is a rare event, Little Minor Elves and Greater Elves are not uncommon and are very ordinary creatures. There are also many elves of varying sizes in the sea."

"I truly have never seen them, in my time, the Fisher Ocean was full of Elf Bugs, yet besides serving as food for some sea monsters, they had no other uses. In my time, the Fisher Ocean even traded Elf Bugs with humans, but that trade has been nonexistent for many years since the ocean was cursed,"

said Gulvig, shaking his head.

And after thorough communication,

soon, Liszt derived a shocking fact—the Elf Bugs did not evolve during the Moon Empire era; the evolution probably happened after that great war!

————

Recommend my friend's latest masterpiece "My Otherworldly Backyard," a very powerful book!