The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

On the grasslands, if a gazelle is caught and killed.

Then the lion that made the kill would first enjoy the delicious parts, followed by the hyenas waiting to partake in the leftovers, then the vultures hovering ready to pick scraps from the bones, and finally the flies buzzing around the bones and remaining rotting flesh, laying maggots to partake in the final revelry.

Undoubtedly.

With the conquest of Scentcartleaf Stronghold and the plunder of Falconseen City, the Coral Island Knights were the predators, savoring the most delicious portions. Then came the mercenary corps and second-hand traders flocking in to share the remaining resources, and rats, thieves, and the like would come to divide whatever leaked out.

So much so that when Li Si Te witnessed such a scene, he felt that the fruits of their hard-fought battle, in reality, amounted to less than one-third of what they had to their mouths.

The rest was snatched away by mercenaries, traders, rats, and others.

This was the ecological environment of the hinterlands along the Eagle Kingdom's coastline—how many of these mercenary corps were fostered by the local landlords of Sardine Bay was hard to say clearly. One could say that these landlords themselves were also gnawing at each other's carcasses, becoming an important part of the entire ecological chain.

Without their channels, resources would be difficult to digest quickly.

Only by satisfying the demands of most "creatures" in the ecological chain could it continue to sustain itself and not collapse easily. Without mercenary corps to pass on losses, what the Pioneer Mandate would face annually would probably be fiercely resisting knight orders.

Although a large part of the resources were shared out.

Liszt was still satisfied with this Pioneer Mandate—he came for the serfs, and now thirty merchant ships were carrying nearly eight thousand five hundred serfs and more than five hundred knights' relatives back to Black Horse Island. Just this trip alone met his expectations before the war, the rest was all profit.

At the same time.

He received a verbal message.

It was from a knight of the Golden Wheat Sheaf Family who had participated in the Pioneer Mandate: "Viscount Liszt, I bring a message from Sir Roger. Hearing that you are renting merchant ships at a high price to transport food, Sir Roger is prepared to offer you thirty idle merchant ships, and you can defer payment of the rent."

Just as he was drowsy, someone brought a pillow.

Although Liszt knew that the two families had already formed an alliance, interests still had to be clarified in advance, "Sir Roger is offering such a huge favor, what does he need me to do?"

"Sir Roger hopes that you could bring your Intermediate Magical Beast Douson and help him conquer the castle of Count Feijiang—Hands Fort. He will calculate your battle reward based on the standard merits, and ensure the safety of both you and Douson," the knight conveyed.

"Wait, I need to consult with the Earl."

Liszt quickly relayed the message to his father.

Roger Golden Wheat was seeking help just to utilize Dorson's siege capabilities, along with protection, which seemed like an easy battle honor to pick up.

After hearing this, Li Weiliam said, "Just right, I don't plan on plundering any further. The Coral Island Knights' performance in conquering Scentcartleaf Stronghold was outstanding enough. If we make another big move, it will attract the attention of Marquis Snake Fang. According to exchanged intelligence, Marquis Roderick is facing off against Marquis Snake Fang, who is the lord of Peregrine Count. It's better for Roger to draw their attention instead."

Count Feijiang, Russell Finger Citron, was also one of Marquis Snake Fang's followers.

Marquis Snake Fang was one of the major landlords of the Sardine Bay Area, and his territory was a principal attack direction of the Duchy of Sapphire. The original battle plan was for Coral Island to restrain Peregrine Count, cutting off one of Marquis Snake Fang's arms. It's just that now the cut was a bit too severe, with Scentcartleaf Stronghold falling directly.

"Then I shall go and support Roger."

"Be careful, Russell Finger Citron is known as the Swift Flying Sword Saint; he possesses Wind Attribute Dou Qi and is as fast as Lightning," Li Weiliam warned.

However, he might as well not have mentioned it, because as soon he did, Liszt's eyes suddenly sparkled, "A Wind Attribute Sword Saint?"

In order to increase the safety of sailing, he had brought a Calming Wind Pearl this time. Imagine, once he took out the Calming Wind Pearl, all Wind Attribute Magic Power within a few hundred meters would be dispersed. Even if a Sword Saint's Dou Qi originated from within and could not be dispersed, the power of their Dou Qi moves would definitely be greatly reduced.

In that case,

Wouldn't that mean he could even catch the Swift Flying Sword Saint by surprise and, in cooperation with others, manage to detain him?

Li Weiliam seemed to have guessed Liszt's thoughts and couldn't help but warn, "I know you have the Black Pearl that can disperse Wind Attribute Magic Power, but I've experimented with it, and the reduction of a knight's burst of Dou Qi is limited. The Dou Qi of the Sky Knights is of a special nature, and the reduction will definitely be smaller than you imagine."

"I will proceed with caution, and if it's not feasible, I won't rashly act."

"Good... Once we've cleaned up the battlefield over by Scentcartleaf Stronghold, I will lead the Coral Island Knights to meet up with Marquis Roderick, and we'll see each other there."

"Yes, Father."

With all matters clearly explained, Liszt rode the landwalker bird Loki, and took Dorson along with nine Blizzard Beasts. He also led his own knight squad, which had expanded to over fifty men, and a fully staffed knight order, following the knights of the Golden Wheat Sheaf Family towards Hands Fort.

While galloping on the road, he occasionally took out his telescope to survey the surroundings.

This was to ensure that he wouldn't fall into an ambush, combined with the Eye of Magic's sensitivity to magic power, it wouldn't be easy for an enemy to ambush him.

During the journey, he still called upon the Smoke Mission from time to time to check on the progress of the mission.

It was at this moment that he noticed a sudden change in the Smoke Mission: "Complete the mission, reward with one Corn Minor Elf."

"Hm!"

His mood was immediately filled with surprise, "Getting a Minor Elf, and it's the expected Corn Minor Elf, such a Minor Elf is very valuable, representing a bountiful grain harvest! The food crisis of the land can finally take a breath, and the corn can feed more serfs!"

One could imagine, at this very moment, miles away, the Corn Grass Bug is probably entering its Fat Pupa Stage.

Unable to care for it from afar, and even the connection through the contract's bond becoming blurred and invisible due to the distance, he could only hope that under the influence of the Smoke Mission's Threads of Destiny, the Corn Grass Bug could smoothly evolve into a Corn Minor Elf.

Worrying is useless.

He wisely chose not to worry and began to look at the new mission.

"Mission: Count Feijiang is hiding in Hands Fort, constantly threatening the safety of the flanks of the Golden Island Knight Order and preventing Marquis Roderick from attacking Marquis Snake Fang's territory with full strength. His son Roger thus requests your help; please assist in capturing Hands Fort. Reward: A sprout of a Magic Fire Seed."

"Hmm?"

Liszt's gaze sharpened, the content of the mission was not surprising, but the promised reward set his mind racing.

The Magic Fire Seed had been residing in his heart for a long time, always competing with him for nutrients, yet not giving him any possibility to harness it. It was like growing a tumor, giving him both anticipation and a knot in his heart. He always felt that there was something uncontrolled inside his body, which was quite uncomfortable.

"The Magic Fire Seed is about to sprout, is it really going to grow into a tree, or will it suck my body dry?" After pondering for a long time, he finally shook his head in silence, not entangling himself with this issue.

He trusted that the Smoke Mission would not harm him.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Perhaps after the Magic Fire Seed sprouted, new discoveries would be made.