The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

The final conference concluded that Coral Island would devote its full strength to the Pioneer Mandate, a campaign scale even larger than the battle of Iron Hoof Island and the extermination of the Marquis of Bull.

Since many Earth Knights were recruited during last year's Pioneer Mandate, this time nearly eleven hundred Earth Knights could be sent into battle.

Among them, Liszt led sixty Earth Knights on the campaign, also taking on the role of Captain of the Black Knights. However, his main task remained sword fighting, directly handing over command of the Knights to Marcus. Until Emily could rise to assume the position, Marcus was always his Chief Knight.

The well-trained Blizzard Beast Squad would soon make their full appearance—it was time for the nobles of the Eagle Kingdom to experience the terror of a big dog wreaking havoc at home.

The conference ended.

The nobles returned to their own lands to prepare their Knight Orders.

They were set to depart on July 20th, and there was not much time left until departure. Fortunately, Liszt had prepared in advance, so he was not very busy and continued his routine life. He made two trips to the Dodo Island Volcano, severely exploiting Little Fire Dragon Leo, enhancing his own strength even further.

Then, he entrusted Leo to Ach, delivering food every few days, lest the Little Fire Dragon starve to death upon his return from the war of the Pioneer Mandate.

"Don't worry, brother, Ach will take good care of Leo."

"You should also take extra care of Pike and the others," continued Liszt.

"Mhm," Ach suddenly remembered something, "Are you taking Ros with you, brother? Ros could protect the fleet in the sea."

"Ros? No, let her stay with you," Liszt said.

Liszt had no intention of bringing Rainbow Whale Rose along; apart from the twenty-some days of the round trip, he wouldn't be at sea the rest of the time, and since battles would occur on land, Rose would be of little help.

"By the way, Ach, have you started writing your book yet?"

"Ach is currently organizing the categorization of the books to be written. There are so many ideas; there will be a lot of Magic Books to author. By the time brother returns from the war, Ach should be able to complete a part of it."

"Then, when I return, I will be looking forward to enjoying your work."

...

In the blink of an eye,

The day of departure was fast approaching.

All the affairs of the domain had been meticulously delegated: with Goltai overseeing the officials as a whole, if not ambitious, at least he could ensure that everything proceeded as usual. Paris, in her role, was securing the safety of the territory, while Ach also guarded in secret.

Paris, transformed into a Black Dragon Wraith, was a force not to be underestimated, and Ach, as a Water System Grand Mage, was very powerful in water-based combat.

If pirates did assail Black Horse Island, Ach alone could likely resolve the situation. Standing in the midst of the sea, with high-level Magicians casting spells in succession without Sky Knights to block them, there was no stopping Ach. And the Rats he had covertly sent would be exposed under Paris's search.

For Paris, who could become invisible, investigating a person could not be simpler.

Adding to that the Grand Magicians of the Mage Tower, led by Chris Truth, the safety of the domain required no concern from Liszt.

The only thing that troubled him was the Tulip Bug, which, under pressure, had advanced into its Fat Pupa Stage, and despite Liszt's daily encouragement, its Magic Power continued to wane day by day. By the time of departure, the magic of the fat, wilted Tulip Bug was becoming barely perceptible.

"This is dangerous, could it be about to fail?"

Liszt felt uneasy within; he could no longer sense the emotions of the Tulip Bug, and its will to live was almost gone. No matter how he tried to reach out, he could not elicit any response from the Tulip Bug.

"Why is this happening?"

"Even though the Smoke Mission stirred the threads of destiny, the Tulip Bugs still continued to wither?" His expression grew increasingly grave as the Fat Pupa Stage Tulip Bugs inside the castle were clearly continuing to perish.

In the fields of Tulip flowers at the Fresh Flower Farm, the Tulip Cordyceps too began to curl and yellow, its leaves gradually withering and the flower atop its head listless. Even as Liszt tried tirelessly to replenish it with fertilizer, sprinkle Jade Powder, and even grind up numerous Magic Potions infused with Chaotic Magic Power to supplement the Cordyceps with magic energy.

It still could not reverse its decline.

In the end, under Liszt's helpless gaze, the evening before he set out. The magic power of the Fat Pupa Stage Tulip Bug completely dissipated, and with a gentle touch, its plump body immediately turned to ash, vanishing into the air. The Tulip Cordyceps in the tulip fields also dispersed with the wind.

Since his transmigration, it was the first time one of his own elves had died.

Evolution failure seemed to erase them completely, leaving no trace of Tulip Bugs other than his memory.

"Master."

Standing behind Liszt, Carter called out softly, wanting to offer some comfort—For those who were not bound by a contract, the life and death of Elf Bugs did not have much impact. They had never experienced that wonderful feeling of a heartfelt connection and naturally did not have deep feelings.

For many people, the failure of an elf's evolution was a very normal phenomenon.
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The chance for an Elf Bug to evolve into a Little Minor Elf was only a few percent. Most Elf Bugs failed to pass this stage of evolution. For instances like Jela and Mickey in the castle to succeed continuously in their evolutions, it was attributed to the favor of a knight's glory and was otherwise inexplicable. Even many small Nobles would suppress the evolution of their Elf Bugs.

They would rather the Elf Bug live out its ten-year lifespan to the point of old age, rather than having it die early due to evolution.

"I'm all right, Mr. Carter, just feeling a bit down," Liszt said, looking at the empty box and taking a deep breath to rally himself. "It's just one Elf Bug. I saw many Tulip Bugs fail to evolve back when I was a child at Tulip Castle... There will be more and more cases like this in the future."

"Indeed, all beings experience birth, aging, illness, and death, and elves are no different."

"I am leaving tomorrow. I leave the castle in your hands."

"Please rest assured, Master."

"There is nothing to worry about. At the seaside villa on the other side, have someone clean it occasionally according to my previous arrangements, and don't let just anyone get close."

Butler Carter nodded, "As you wish, Master."

Liszt turned his head and smiled, "I know what you're thinking, Mr. Carter. I have many secrets, and I trust you'll keep them for me, won't you?"

His behavior often differed from that of ordinary people. As a trusted butler, how could Carter not notice?

The white-haired Carter chuckled playfully, "From the Sapphire Duke to a serf in the fields, everyone has secrets. The Master's secrets are Carter's secrets, hidden in the cellar of the castle. There is only one key to open it, and one day, it will accompany Carter to be buried in the ground."

"You will live a long and healthy life."

Liszt smiled knowingly, "Don't work too hard, take good care of yourself. My castle cannot do without you. Leave those trivial tasks to the servants."

...

Talking with Butler Carter lightened the heaviness in his heart.

After returning to his study, Liszt sat in his chair, lost in thought for a moment, before he called up the Smoke Mission—this was the first time the mission had failed, and hence he wondered how the Smoke Mission would change.

With intense concentration.

The ethereal, shifting smoke slowly rose and quickly twisted into Serpent Script.

"Mission failed, Tulip Spirit Bug died."