The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

He simply wrapped them in his Dou Qi, pulled out the Goat Head Flag, and tossed it into the Gemstone Space; then he dismantled the Sapphire Dragon from the figurehead and threw it into the Gemstone Space as well.

The originally not so large Gemstone Space was almost filled to the brim after this frenzied stuffing.

With the suppression of the Goat Head Flag and the Sapphire Dragon ship figurehead gone, the fog that enveloped the Ghost Ship gradually dispersed, and the people trapped within the mist were about to awaken.

The planks were rotting, aging visibly fast.

“It’s finally over,” Liszt sighed in relief, wrapping his arms around Douson’s neck, savoring the enormous sense of accomplishment.

But suddenly, a sharp screech from the spectral mage reverberated in his ears, “No! Damned knight! You’ve destroyed the Goat Vessel! No! You cannot destroy the Goat Vessel!”

Liszt stood on the decaying deck.

Indifferent to Curtis’s screaming as the fog slowly thinned out.

He was immensely curious about Curtis, this type of “Lich”, and was filled with curiosity towards the “Dragon Domain Landlord plan”, and even wanted to slowly study the Ghost Ship beneath his feet. However, his opponent was very cunning; without any means of keeping the balance, staying would be suicide.

So.

“You’d be better off dead, not wreaking havoc in the Exiled Lands… not harming souls.”

“No!”

The piercing scream resonated from the cabin, as if it could perforate the eardrums. “Knight, no! Do not destroy the Goat Vessel, do not destroy my Soul Submerged Wood!”

Her voice was both dismal and shrill, “Knight, please stop! I will offer my Life Box, knight, take my Life Box!”

“Your Life Box is already in my hands, those pieces of Soul Submerged Wood.” Liszt scoffed coldly, at this point, the wicked magician still daring to deceive him, was simply insulting his intelligence.

“No!” the spectral mage screamed, “That is just where my soul slumbers in exile, it’s where I self-exile my soul. Before reaching the Exiled Lands, I need the Soul Submerged Wood to protect the integrity of my soul! My Life Box, I give you my Life Box, it’s the key to my returning to the real world!”

“Hmm?”

The shrill screams lingered in his ears, feeling as if the other party was still trying to deceive him.

But with the Ghost Ship about to collapse, according to the records in “To Prince Annuette—The Truth of Curtis”, even with the existence of the Soul Submerged Wood, she couldn’t maintain her “Lich” state once the Ghost Ship was lost; her soul would collapse and she would die—it was one with her.

It made no sense for her to be playing tricks at such a critical moment.

With this thought, he tugged Douson and went back down into the cabin. There he saw the spectral mage, whose body’s green light was unstable, trembling as if it might dissipate at any moment.

“Where is your Life Box?”

The spectral mage glared hatefully at Liszt, extended her left hand, and thrust it violently into her own chest.

At that moment, as if her chest was being torn apart, green light shone through, and she slowly drew out her hand. Clenching it into a fist, she rapidly presented it before Liszt, opened her fingers, and on her palm quietly lay a blue gemstone ring. “Take it, quick. Put the figurehead and the Goat Head Flag back. The Goat Vessel is about to collapse!”

The Crimson Blood Sword lifted the Sapphire Ring.

After making sure there were no traps, Liszt picked it up and took a look, seeing nothing special. “This thing is your Life Box? Don’t deceive me.”

“There’s no time to deceive you. This is the token of love Annuette gave to me… I have no grudge against you; I don’t even know you. All I want is to enter the Exiled Lands with my full consciousness intact, to search for Annuette’s soul!” After speaking, the spectral mage fell silent, merely watching Liszt quietly.

“If I crush it, will you die?”

“No, my soul is anchored in the Soul Submerged Wood, the Life Box is just the key, ensuring I can return to the real world, that I won’t get lost in the Exiled Lands.”

“If I repair the Ghost Ship, what about my friends?”

“`

“`

“The Ghost Ship is already close to collapse, unable to continue sailing in the Exiled Lands, it will no longer interfere with the real world, and soon it will vanish at the edge of the Exiled Lands and the real world.”

“I have repaired the Ghost Ship, are you sure you will leave immediately, without causing further disturbance?”

“You return my Soul Submerged Wood to me, and I will disappear along with the Ghost Ship right away. Without the Soul Submerged Wood, my soul lacks an anchor, and entering the Exiled Lands, I’d lose myself and become a Specter… I just hope you can protect my Life Box, it’s my only hope of returning.”

“I understand.”

Liszt turned, swiftly putting the Sapphire Ring into his Space Gem, then left the cabin without looking back, neither promising nor refusing.

Watching Liszt’s retreating figure, the nearly formless phantom woman magician’s eyes flashed with a ghostly light.

She seemed to be holding onto hope for the future, to follow the Ghost Ship into the Exiled Lands and find her true love, Annuette Sapphire. However, after waiting for a moment, she saw that the Ghost Ship was still collapsing, the rotted planks finally splitting apart, barely revealing another three-masted schooner.

She suddenly realized.

“No!”

She shouted loudly, “No! No! No! Damn Knight! You lied to me!”

…

Standing on the deck, watching below as the deck alternated between that of a rotting Ghost Ship and a sturdy, fast sailboat.

The enveloping mist had dispersed, the shadow of the Ghost Ship was gradually fading, and the disappearing schooner was becoming real.

Or rather, he had gradually returned to the real world from the realm of illusion.

Around him, Paris, Captain Layden, and others were slowly coming to their senses, looking puzzled at everything before them – blood was everywhere, and amidst the chaos between reality and illusion, many had died.

Fortunately, Levis, Li Vera, who were pulled into the cabin by Liszt, Paris, Captain Layden, and the Deputy Butler Ranieri were all unharmed.

Liszt’s two manservants, Tom and Thomas, were wise enough to lie down and play dead, so they were not slaughtered by the Knights.

But he also saw the bodies of his three Retainer Knights, Sean Redface, York Baldhead, and Theodore Rottensock; the three young men had neither the chance to show their vigorous vitality nor would they ever again on the open sea.

“No! No! No! Damn Knight! You lied to me!”

The mournful screams of Curtis faintly reached his ears.

Yet he felt no sympathy in his heart, thinking coldly, “Such a wicked and perverted magician, death is your destiny; don’t come out and harm others again! I, Liszt Tulip, have a line of justice in my heart!”

In the distance, the dreadful screams faded away.

“No!”

“I will curse you! You damned Knight!”

“Ah!”

With Curtis’s last scream, the Ghost Ship violently shattered into dust, blown away by the sea breeze, vanishing without a trace.

The dark clouds above quickly dispersed, and the sun behind them cast its light anew.

After carefully checking his surroundings and making sure that there were no traces of Curtis left, Liszt dispelled his Eye of Magic, smiling lightly, “Curse me? Do you even know my name?”

Just then.

The awakened Paris saw Liszt and with a surprised tone asked, “Baron, are you all right?”