The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

The sailors who had survived the ordeal, along with the Retainer Knights, began to clear away the bodies of the deceased. The sudden appearance of the Ghost Ship had claimed the lives of twenty-three people—sailors, retainers, and servants alike—with many more injured. Fortunately, none of the four nobles on board had been harmed.

Whether Captain Layden lived or died didn’t matter, but nothing could happen to the Liszt siblings. Should an incident occur, not only would Marquis Merlin be enraged, but Li Weiliam would be as well.

And then, more than just a few people would die.

“Liszt, what do you think?”

Levis’s voice pulled Liszt back from his trance.

He was still pondering the melodramatic love between Curtis Truth and Annute Sapphire.

The woman, mad with love, had actually managed to resurrect the ancient wizardry and transformed herself into a Lich, neither alive nor dead, while also creating the legendary Ghost Ship. Now that the Ghost Ship had collapsed, the Goat Head Flag, the Sapphire Dragon Ship Figurehead, Soul Submerged Wood, and the Sapphire Rings were still in his Gemstone Space.

Constant reminders that the Ghost Ship had not been an illusion.

No one had anticipated encountering a Ghost Ship; it was far more unforeseen than sea monsters or storms. So, the somber Butler Ranieri asked the siblings whether to continue to Red Crab Island or to immediately return to Coral Island.

Coming to his senses, Liszt asked indifferently, “Brother, sister, what do you think?”

Levis frowned, “I’m leaning towards returning. The festive atmosphere is gone, and too many people have died. But this year might be Grandfather’s last New Year, and if we’re not by his side, it would leave him with great regret. Since we’re unharmed, let’s continue onward… Li Vera, what is your opinion?”

“You decide,” Li Vera’s face was still somewhat swollen.

Faint handprints could be seen, which were the result of Liszt trying to wake her up.

Of course, she knew nothing about this.

Liszt did not disclose the secret of the Ghost Ship. The matter involved a courtly coup from a century ago—why attract trouble by revealing it? Besides, revealing it might also expose his own secrets. It was easier to regard it as a bewildering, bizarre encounter like everyone else.

After all, no one knew the true nature of the Ghost Ship.

When they were shrouded in fog, they were already trapped in a delusion, unable to see or hear. Even as the Ghost Ship collapsed and Curtis emitted his final, harrowing scream, they took no notice.

Once Levis had made up his mind,

the fast sailboat continued on towards Red Crab Island.

Captain Molodo had not died, and the remaining sailors were just enough to navigate the vessel; the voyage was not greatly affected.

But the atmosphere aboard the ship was no longer as cheerful as before—the previously attention-seeking Li Vera, perhaps having seen her own vulnerability, used illness as an excuse to hide in her cabin and lick her wounds; Levis and Captain Layden were busy dealing with the dead on board.

Ranieri was visibly worried, while the appearance of the Ghost Ship had nothing to do with him, the incident certainly did him no favors.

Liszt, still accompanied by Douson, was catching the breeze on the deck.

His expression, too, was somewhat distant. To others, it was merely a dreamlike experience, but he had deeply undergone the secrets of the Ghost Ship. Now, many questions surfaced in his mind; a world he had thought was merely about dragons, elves, knights, and magicians, was now revealed to include the Ghost Ship, liches, and more.

And then there was that book of magic, “To Prince Annuette—The Truth of Curtis,” which documented a variety of exotic professions such as Druid, Necromancer, Vampire, Sorcerer, and Prophet, as well as something named the Exiled Lands and the Dragon Domain Landlord’s plan. It sounded far from simple.

“I hate these chaotic existences; isn’t it enough to just cultivate Dou Qi with peace and stability? Why bother with all these messy magics!”

A vacant gaze fell upon the deck, where several Retainer Knights were binding bodies.

Paris stood guard beside Liszt, and upon seeing his daze, followed his gaze to the bodies.

Then she asked, “Baron, are you upset about Sean, York, and Theodore?”

“Hm?” Liszt returned to his senses,

Sean, York, Theodore?

He had only just remembered that these three were his Retainer Knights; their deaths were indeed saddening, although at that moment, he was merely thinking about the Ghost Ship.

He nodded faintly, his tone filled with desolation, “They were still young, not yet adults. I thought this was going to be an easy journey, but it took their lives.”

“No one wants to see such accidents, but you have done well enough. It is their fortune to have followed a kind Landlord like you,” Paris said.

Done well enough?

What have I done for these three?

Liszt was a little confused about what was going through Paris’s mind, but he clearly felt her attitude towards him becoming closer and more gentle.

If it had been before, he might have secretly been delighted, for winning people’s hearts was that simple.

However, having seen Curtis’s madness for love, he shuddered abruptly and thought that with women, or to be precise, female subordinates, one should maintain an appropriate distance to avoid playing with fire. Although women like Curtis were rare, who could guarantee that he would not encounter another Curtis.

“I’m ashamed, I’ve only done a trivial amount of work.”

…

The green flame of the Goat Head Flag solidified, and the green flame of the Sapphire Dragon Ship Figurehead did the same.

Everything was still inside the Gemstone Space. Liszt really wanted to take them out and see what changes might occur, but he didn’t take the risk.

For the remainder of the voyage, he appeared as disinterested as everyone else.

In fact, he was always flipping through the Magic Books in the Gemstone Space, especially the one written by Curtis Truth, which he had only skimmed through before.

Now was the time for careful appreciation.

Not being a magician and reading the experimental content written by a Grand Magician was like reading an arcane book. Many things were confusing, even with some illustrations for explanation. Most importantly, the book primarily recorded how to transform a magician into a Lich.

Liszt had no intention to become a Lich, an existence neither human nor ghost.

“The transformation of the Ghost Ship is also quite interesting. Perhaps one day, with the help of a magician, I could also create a Ghost Ship and see what the Exiled Lands look like… Unfortunately, this book doesn’t record the Dragonbone Stabilizer Technique. Maybe Curtis had mastered that technique.”

The Dragonbone Stabilizer Technique belonged to Marquis Cohen; his family’s magicians could embed the bones of dragons, sub-dragons, or dragon beasts into the keel of ships to ward off sea monsters.

Liszt was very envious of this technique, but unfortunately, it had been lost. The only person who might have mastered it, Curtis, had been killed by him directly.

“Never mind, I have the Longitudinal Sailboat Technique. In the future, I might be able to create ships even more suitable for sailing.”