The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

Early June, dry and tinder.

The early morning sun rose, sweeping away the coolness and replacing it with heat that would last all day.

Clad in black Magical Beast Leather Armor with the Gemstone Weapon, the Bloodsword, hanging at his waist, and sapphire-colored eyes sparkling with exuberance, the handsome face wore a solemn expression.

Awakened early to heed commands at the Castle, Goltai looked at the Landlord of Fresh Flower Town in front of him, and for a moment, he was lost in thought—even Coral Island’s Count did not possess the aristocratic charm that Liszt exuded at that moment.

When it comes to looks, out of a perfect score of one hundred, Liszt could earn ninety-nine, the one point less being a precaution against pride.

Good looks can’t be eaten, but they do bring happiness.

Every morning, when he looked at himself in the mirror, Liszt always started the day in a good mood.

His personal servant, Thomas, meticulously smoothed out the wrinkles on Liszt’s leather armor, as maintaining the appearance of nobility was a servant’s main duty.

“Teacher Goltai, according to the original plan, relocate the households of the cow farm to other settlements and enforce a full-day lockdown. No resident of the town, for whatever reason, may leave their home. The patrol team is to suspend patrolling and wait for my command in the administration building until the lockdown is lifted,” Liszt ordered.

“Understood, Liszt. I will carry out the order right away,” Goltai replied.

Goltai turned around and rode out the door.

All the townspeople were perplexed by the Landlord’s decision, but obedience was ingrained in their bones. Once the command was given, Fresh Flower Town quickly fell silent.

The silence was like the deep sleep of night, punctuated only occasionally by the barking of a dog.

Not many could afford to keep a dog, so these few sounds were inconsequential.

The sun continued to climb in the east, and Liszt personally fitted the Fire Dragon Horse with a bridle, forbidding it from making any noise: “Mr. Carter, do you remember what I said?”

“Master, you said that today we need to shut the castle gate tightly, keep Douson and the horses confined, and try to keep them as quiet as possible. If there is danger, take all the servants to hide in the cellar and do not venture out until the master returns. Only then can the castle resume its regular operations,” replied Carter.

“Good, that’s right,” said Liszt.

Worry etched Carter’s face: “Master, is there danger on this journey?”

“A little, but I have made all necessary preparations, so don’t worry about me, Mr. Carter.”

On the side, Thomas hesitated before speaking: “Master, you really should take me with you. I may not be skilled in many things, but I could buy you some time if we’re in danger.”

“I’m pleased to hear you say that, Thomas, but it’s not necessary.” Liszt raised his riding crop and gently tapped the horse’s hindquarters, and the Fire Dragon Horse dashed out like a streak of flame.

The wind whistled past his ears as the horse’s hooves kicked up clouds of dust.

On the roads of the town, not a single pedestrian could be seen, evidently having received the command to stay dutifully at home.

With a heart full of turbulent emotions, he galloped all the way to the cow farm. Wearing a mask, Liszt climbed up the Beacon Tower. He planned to have a servant light it, but to minimize the risk of leaking information, he decided to do it himself.

On the Beacon Tower, there were two jars filled with ground Smoked Grass Juice.

Shading his eyes from the sunlight, he looked around, then without further hesitation, he opened the jars and poured the liquid over two old dairy cows below.

The pungent odor spread rapidly.

The cows thrashed wildly, trying to escape, but the ropes were tied tightly, leaving them only to endure the irritation in agitated suffering.

Even with the mask, Liszt nearly vomited from the smell, but he bore the urge and quickly set the Smoked Grass hay alight on the Beacon Tower until the flames rose high.

He leaped down swiftly.

Mounting the equally restless and fleeing Fire Dragon Horse, he headed straight for the Thorn Forest.

Upon reaching the Thorn Forest, he tied up the Fire Dragon Horse, took a deep breath to suppress the feeling of nausea, and looked around to make sure everything was perfectly safe. Then, from his bosom, he took out a Jade Box containing Thorn Bugs.

“Man proposes, God disposes. Success or failure rests on this move.” Opening the box, he said to the plump Thorn Bug inside, “Come on, little fellow, make yourself at home.”

They were in complete accord.

The Thorn Bug crawled onto his hand, opened its mouth, and spat out Cordyceps, which landed in the small shrubbery and quickly took root and sprouted.

Meanwhile, Li Si Te (Liszt) had already swiftly ducked into the tunnel, bent over and running towards the bunker. By the time he got inside the bunker, the Thorn Cordyceps should have grown sufficiently. He forced himself to calm down, focus his mind, and summon the Smoke Mission.

The smoke twisted for a moment, forming Serpent Script.

“Task completed, reward: the Formless Dragon’s invasion.”

Seeing the task completed, he didn’t wait for the new mission to be issued; he simply wiped away the smoke. He circulated his Dou Qi, employing the Eye of Magic, and looked up into the sky.

The thick smoke from the burning Smoked Grass, swaying as it rose with the gentle breeze.

Even inside the bunker, he could smell that half-year unwashed sock odor, a persistent nausea-inducing stench. Without a telescope, he could only rely on his own sight. Below the Beacon Tower, two old dairy cows seemed to be choking from the smoke, incessantly drooling white foam, which made Li Si Te extremely worried that they might be smoked to death before the Formless Dragon appeared.

Seconds and minutes passed.

Just as the Eye of Magic’s duration was nearing its limit, he still had not spotted any trace of the Formless Dragon.

“Logically, once the task is complete, the reward should appear synchronously, just a matter of timing before it comes into my possession. So why hasn’t the Formless Dragon invaded Fresh Flower Town yet?”

“Could there be a delay in the appearance of the reward?”

“If the information about the Formless Dragon is true, it should be attracted by the Smoked Grass as soon as it appears.”

His eyes grew more and more tired, and just as he felt he couldn’t hold out any longer and was about to disperse the secret technique, suddenly, next to the smoke column of the Smoked Grass and facing the sunlight, a faint shadow in the sky caught Li Si Te’s attention.

The shadow was initially very small and faint, but then it began to enlarge, eventually forming a light grey dragon shape.

A pair of massive wings and a streamlined body.

It circled around the smoke column as it descended.

His heart thundered: “The Formless Dragon!”

“It really is the Formless Dragon!” Li Si Te clenched the Crimson Blood Sword, attempting to keep the scarce Dou Qi remaining in his body running, continuing to support the Eye of Magic as he observed the Formless Dragon.

This was his first encounter with a dragon!

The dragon that represented the world’s ultimate power!

Even though he could see only the magic power on the dragon, not the dragon itself, he was still so excited that his blood boiled: “Just like described in ‘The Adventure of Ranger Griffe,’ the Formless Dragon isn’t large. Compared to a thatched hut, it’s only about the size of a single house, with wings that would perhaps span two to three houses.”

But that proud demeanor exuded an unrivaled majesty.

Despite being quite far away, Li Si Te could still feel his body tensing in response to the dragon’s might—this was Dragon Might!

It was said that wherever a dragon went, all living beings would submit to it.

“It’s coming down along with the smoke from the Smoked Grass…” Li Si Te’s Eye of Magic had collapsed, his body couldn’t sustain the Dou Qi Secret Technique any longer, and the form of the Formless Dragon disappeared without a trace.

But without a doubt, the information provided by the Smoke Mission was correct; the Formless Dragon liked the smell of Smoked Grass.

Rubbing his sore and swollen eyes, Li Si Te looked with his naked eyes towards the direction of the Beacon Tower. He couldn’t see the Formless Dragon, but the commotion there indicated that the Formless Dragon was wreaking havoc—the smoke was scattered every which way, the old dairy cows were prostrate on the ground crying piteously, and in a moment, even the Beacon Tower began to collapse with flames roaring up.

“Woooooah!”

An eerie, piercing, goosebump-inducing howl rose amidst the flames—that was the voice of the Formless Dragon.