The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

It could be imagined how long they must be and how large the skeleton they formed.

Marcus glanced at the room door as if ensuring no one was eavesdropping behind it, then spoke carefully, “I think they might be dragon bones!”

“Dragon bones!”

Liszt was suddenly startled, but then he suppressed his surprise and excitement, voicing his doubts, “If they are dragon bones… was there any sign of mineral deposits in that valley?”

“Well… it seems no mineral deposits have been discovered. We’ve excavated the bones, dug several meters deep until rock stopped us, and found no ores like metals, nor any signs of crystals or gemstones.”

“Is that so? Dragons can infest their surroundings. If the remains were of metal dragons or gemstone dragons, Black Horse Island would likely become a minefield. Since it hasn’t turned into a mine, these bones should not be from a metal dragon or a gemstone dragon.”

Marcus speculated, “Perhaps they are the remains of elemental dragons?”

“Elemental dragons are also unlikely. I’ve talked with Elkerson; he has seen a book written by an archmage, which mentioned that the magic power of elemental dragons lingers for a long time, similarly infesting the surroundings. The Windhowl Valley in the Neverfall Empire was formed after a battle with a wind dragon, and to this day the winds still roar.”

After several such discussions.

The species of the bones in life had half the possibility of being dragons ruled out.

“Could they be left by a super dragonkin magical beast?” Marcus proposed another possibility, “I’ve only heard of high-level dragonkin magical beasts, but an advanced magical beast, no matter how large, wouldn’t likely have a bone diameter of one meter seventy… thus, I speculate it’s a super dragonkin magical beast, but that seems to be a creature of legend.”

The classification of magical beasts: low-level, intermediate, advanced, and super.

In fact, the distinction between advanced magical beasts and super magical beasts is quite vague. This is because there haven’t been enough observations of individuals, and no standard as to whether the categorization should be based on combat ability or size. Basically, humans do not wish to provoke powerful magical beasts.

Moreover, it’s rumored.

In the Duchy of Sapphire, not a single super magical beast exists.

The mainland is infinitely vast, and it’s only in knight’s novels that super magical beasts frequently appear. Even the Earl, who invades the Eagle Kingdom every year and is well-travelled, has never heard of a super magical beast residing anywhere in the Eagle Kingdom.

Let alone a super dragonkin magical beast.

At the level of a super magical beast, the bloodline is already incredibly powerful, and the chance of being infected by dragons seems purely theoretical.

After much discussion, the two of them were unable to come to any conclusion and could only guess what creature those five massive bones might have belonged to.

“Tomorrow I’ll go to Black Horse Island myself to see what is so peculiar about these five bones!”

…

When he said he would go, he went.

After instructing the town officials to ensure the serfs in Barley Hamlet cultivated the corn grass,

Liszt took a ship directly, taking Douson and Marcus with him, heading for Black Horse Island. A half-day’s sailing went smoothly, bringing them to their destination.

A simple dock had already been constructed out of wood, floating on the water’s surface and swaying slightly as they walked on it. As for Douson, he had to be transported by wooden boat due to his excessive weight that the floating dock couldn’t bear.

Upon landing, they saw a row of brand-new wooden houses erected not more than a hundred meters from the dock.

There were serfs clearing away rocks and weeds in the area.

A very rudimentary base.

But it signified that Liszt had now firmly planted one foot on Black Horse Island.

Without delay, taking advantage of the time left, he headed straight for the valley where the five large bones had been found. En route, he happened to meet with the herd of Black Blood Treasured Horses. The Horse King was somewhat unfamiliar with Liszt, but once Liszt mounted it, they quickly became accustomed to each other. Carrying Liszt, they continued to sprint and loop back throughout the journey.

On the way, Marcus took the opportunity to report to him the findings from the past few days’ exploration of Black Horse Island.

“There are no Magical Beasts on the island, or at least none have been found yet, only some small carnivorous and herbivorous animals. The largest animal is the Black Blood Treasured Horse. The vegetation is also quite monotonous; trees are rare, consisting mostly of miscellaneous ones that no one recognizes, with few branches.”

He pointed to a tree by the road.

This was the miscellaneous tree he mentioned, with a very straight trunk and branches high up, which were not lush. It bore neither flowers nor fruit, was not very tall, and its leaves were already turning slightly yellow, seeming to be a deciduous tree.

Utterly ordinary.

Marcus continued, “There are many weeds on the island. Apart from the forage in the grasslands, the rest are common weeds which the Black Blood Treasured Horses do not eat. Removing them would be the best choice.”

Finally, he added, “My lord, I am currently drawing a map of Black Horse Island, but it has not yet been completed.”

Liszt suddenly asked, “Have you chosen a place for building the castle?”

“Not yet, the island lacks defensive terrain. There are no high hills, nor steep terrain. It is not possible to build a castle as precipitous as Tulip Castle, and it may not even compare to the terrain of Beer Castle. I think, if we are to build a castle, it can only be built on flat ground, with thickened walls and a moat excavated for protection.”

Not every castle can rest against a cliff; most are built on flat ground.

Liszt was just casually inquiring.

Soon, under the setting western sun, the group arrived at the valley where the five bones had been located, situated between Ice Grass Hill and Needle Grass Hill.

Because the weeds were deep and the bones buried deep as well, they were hard to spot.

“I was riding Black Fiend to survey the terrain when I found these remains and these five bones,” said Marcus, patting his mount, Black Fiend, and walking into the center of the valley where the weeds had been cleared.

Behind him was a newly dug large pit, with a huge grey-white broken bone diagonally embedded deep into the ground at the center of the pit.

Around it were four more bones poking out a section and numerous bone fragments scattered all around.

It was as if some creature had perished here and, over time, weathering had caused most of its bones to decay, leaving only these five bones still erect—though they must have decayed too, for the reward of the Smoke Mission explicitly mentioned that these were five decayed bones.

Dismounting.

Approaching the large pit and stepping on the rocks at its bottom, Liszt advanced step by step towards the bone.

The closer he got to the bone, the more he felt his own insignificance, as if standing before a giant stone column. He reached out and touched the bone’s surface; it was as hard as rock. When he knocked on it, it emitted a sound similar to that of stone.

He used his Eye of Magic to examine the five bones and the scattered bone fragments.

No trace of magical power was found.

“This bone must have fossilized, right?”

But he quickly shook his head in denial—fossils were fused with the rock, and this bone clearly had a part that was exposed to the outside.

“Teacher Marcus, have you tested the bone fragments on the ground?”

“They are hard, suitable for making fine Bone Utensils,” Marcus replied succinctly. The term ‘fine Bone Utensils’ was enough to illustrate the quality of the bones, indicating they were at least of a quality corresponding to that of Low-Level Magical Beast bones.

Clang, clang, clang!

Liszt knocked on the bone again. For a moment, he was left shocked and confused, clueless as to what use the reward of the five bones from the Smoke Mission could be for him.

“Could it be that it knows my territory is short on iron and wants me to break these down to take back and forge a batch of fine Bone Utensils?”