The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

Red and blue Dou Qi.

Continuously striking.

The onlookers were left agape; this was clearly a duel between two Sky Knights, rather than the expected situation between an Earth Knight and a Sky Knight.

"Am I seeing things?"

"The sword combat strength of Viscount Liszt is terrifying to this extent!"

"With such fierce attacking power, can an Earth Knight achieve this?"

"Such surging Fire Attribute Dou Qi, inconceivable."

"Formidable!"

Everyone exclaimed at that moment, all knights seasoned with broad experience, having fought countless battles on the battlefield, they were well aware of the gap between the sky and the earth.

It was an absolutely insurmountable ravine.

But Liszt forged a bridge across it with sheer force, transforming the impassable gulf into a thoroughfare, achieving an unexpected stance of equal confrontation.

Unfortunately.

No sooner had the cries of astonishment fallen silent.

Than the scene drastically changed in an instant; the balance that had been maintained for less than ten seconds collapsed as Liszt's Dou Qi could no longer hold up and was engulfed by a blue and white mist of vapor.

There was a clang of metal against metal.

An overwhelming force struck, involuntarily making him release his longsword, stepping back six paces, nearly tumbling over the ship's railing into the sea. By grasping the railing just in time, he stabilized his body.

"Huff!"

After exhaling a breath of turbid air and wiping the sweat from his forehead, he deeply understood the gap between himself and the Sword Saint—if Li Weiliam got serious, his burst of combat power was something he couldn't even withstand a single move against.

But for the Sword Saint to kill him in one move was almost impossible.

He could still hold out for two or three more moves before being slain.

If it were an average-level Sky Knight, he might be able to resist head-on, sustaining about a dozen or twenty rounds: "Without ascending to a Sky Knight and the ability of Soaring Flash, it's very difficult to contend with a Sky Knight... Intermediate Fire Attribute Primary Dragon Dou Qi, no matter how resounding the name, is still just Intermediate Dou Qi.

He felt some disappointment in his current strength; the "Dragon Dou Qi" offered only a limited boost to his power.

However.

Unbeknownst to him, his performance had already astonished the onlookers.

Even Li Weiliam, who was retracting his longsword, looked at him with a highly complex expression. As an almost two-decade-old veteran Sky Knight, he was undoubtedly clear about his own strength. Yet today, an Earth Knight had given him a feeling of "meeting an equal."

And it was his own seventeen-year-old son!

Even if it was just a temporary moment of equal footing, it was enough to astonish him, almost to the point of disbelief.

He turned and addressed the surrounding onlookers, "Alright, disperse now, everyone go back. Don't crowd the deck, let the workers repair the damaged planking." The battle wasn't heart-stopping, but it had still caused extensive damage to the deck. The deck, crafted from rockwood, couldn't withstand the aftermath of their exchange.

He dismissed the crowd.

Li Weiliam turned to Liszt, who seemed a bit disheartened, and said, "Come with me to the cabin."

In the cabin, the Retainer Knights brought two cups of coffee. Li Weiliam took a sip and then scrutinized Liszt, "You're right, your strength truly cannot be underestimated. If it had been me twenty years ago, just after being promoted to a Sky Knight, a moment of carelessness might even have resulted in my defeat by you."

"I thought I was strong, but I didn't expect there to be such a big difference between me and the Sky Knight," Liszt shook his head.

What he meant was actually his dissatisfaction with the "Dragon Dou Qi."

However, to Li Weiliam's ears, it sounded different, "You shouldn't think that way. You are in the process of being promoted, but you haven't succeeded yet; you are still just an Elite Earth Knight. Being able to wield such powerful combat ability is already an impressive feat."

"I understand," Liszt replied, "I just thought I would be a bit more of a genius."

The Earl was taken aback.

There was an illusion of being blindsided, "How much more of a genius do you want to be? Being promoted to a Sky Knight at the age of sixteen and becoming a candidate for the Dragon Knight of the Continental Kingdom? In fact, your performance doesn't fall short of those candidates at all. The leap from an Earth Knight to a Sky Knight has taken you less than two years!"

He seemed indignant, "Do you know that in over forty years of my life, I have never heard of such a feat!"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Liszt wanted to say something.

But the Earl gave him no chance to interject, "Even a seventeen-year-old Sky Knight, I have not heard of such a case in the history of the Duchy of Sapphire!"

"Actually, geniuses do exist. The grandson of Marquis of the Bull is one such genius."

"Oh?"

"The grandson of Marquis of the Bull, Andre Sapphire, could forge Mithril Armor at the age of twelve, which shows his cultivation in Dou Qi is very strong. If his talent continues, becoming a Sky Knight by sixteen will not be difficult, and he might even become a candidate for Dragon Knight."

Praised so highly by the Earl, Liszt felt somewhat embarrassed and shifted the topic to the Marquis of Bull.

The Marquis of Bull had been taken by the Grand Duke, and his fate was unknown. His son had died in battle, but his grandson and his close confidants had left Iron Hoof Island early and disappeared without a trace. Even the Grand Magicians of the Goat Assembly were now clueless about their whereabouts.

The assassination incident involving the Sapphire Dragon came suddenly, escalated quickly, but its conclusion remained a mystery.

"How do you know this?"

"I once took a set of Mithril Armor from the study of Marquis of the Bull at Juniper Castle. It was engraved with the phrase—'Iron Knight Andre Sapphire, in the autumn of the year 149, completed the creation of the first set of Mithril Armor, a gift to my grandfather.'

The Earl paused to ponder, "I know about Andre; indeed he was twelve in the year 149. A twelve-year-old Iron Knight is indeed a genius, nearly equal in performance to you... Perhaps one day he will pose a threat to the Sapphire Family, but with the Grand Duke riding the dragon to protect us, there is no need for us to worry."

"I am not worried. No matter what happens in the Duchy of Sapphire, the strength I cultivate on my own is the foundation for standing in this world," Liszt responded.

"The fact that you can think this way proves you have indeed matured," the Earl commented.

The subject did not linger on the Marquis of Bull for long, and soon the attention returned to Liszt, with the Earl making a detailed inquiry into the state of Liszt's Dou Qi. They reached the same conclusion that Liszt indeed was in the process of being promoted to a Sky Knight, and there were indeed no barriers in his way.

"Such a smooth promotion process, Liszt, even I'm starting to be envious. When I was promoted to Sky Knight, it took a whole month, and I don't know how many magic potions and much effort it took to break through the barriers between Intermediate and Advanced Dou Qi to achieve success," said the Earl.

"Perhaps I'm standing on the shoulders of giants, with your cultivation experiences making it more comfortable for me," Liszt stated.

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"I prefer to believe it's the favor of Knight's Glory. Indeed, you are the Son of Glory, the pride of the Tulip Family," the Earl patted his shoulder with an increasingly gentle tone, "Your future is destined to be more splendid than I imagined, and I hope to see the day you surpass me."

Such an emotional, warm moment.

Made Liszt somewhat uncomfortable as he found it hard to immerse himself in father-son affection. So after struggling for a while, he simply uttered, "It won't be long, after all, 'my quest lies in the stars and the sea.'"