The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

"This probably has to do with the degree of condensation of the rock, the rock of the Firmstone Armor is almost to the point of crystallizing into gemstones; whereas the rocks of the Rock Wall, Rock Grenade, and Rock Spike are just rock."

A quantitative change leads to a qualitative change.

The more magic power consumed, the higher the quality of the rock can be.

With this set of Firmstone Armor, Dou Qi will have an even more explosive combat power in the future, capable of charging into enemy lines and defending towers effortlessly. Having trained until midnight, Dou Qi was already good at understanding the command "Dou Qi, Firmstone Armor," and only then did Liszt yawn and go back to sleep.

He too was exhausted today, a charge taking a heavy toll on his physical strength.

Before falling asleep, he suddenly missed Fresh Flower Town—the elves, Sea Sprite Ake, the servants in the castle, and the Little Wheat Bug he hadn\'t managed to bond with, as well as the Eight Tiny Ones he was unsure had learned to use magic or not.

Cultivating an army of Blizzard Beasts was a dream he never gave up on.

In a trance.

A phantom Smoke Serpent Script slowly emerged in front of him.

"Mission: a knight hastily flying is bringing new messages, how tomorrow\'s battles will commence is unknown, but you also have the chance to become one of the flying knights, please assist Landwalker bird Loki in mastering the method of releasing magic. Reward: Loki\'s magic."

This was the new Smoke Mission.

Its content was explosive; it meant for Liszt to become one of the flying knights, and he couldn\'t help but feel a surge of excitement, "It\'s about time Loki released some magic, what kind would it be? According to the Smoke Serpent Script, will Loki be able to fly soon? Is it not a flightless bird?"

Flightless birds, such as ostriches, emus, and kiwis, are adept at running but cannot fly.

The Landwalker bird fits the profile of a flightless bird well, with long legs that allow high-speed running, a hefty body, and wings so short they can be practically ignored.

It\'s hard to imagine how it could fly.

"Perhaps it\'s just a fledgling and when it matures its wings will grow, turning into something like a Red-crowned Crane?" Liszt thought to himself.

Wading birds, with a pair of long legs, like to live by the water and search for food in the water or mud, with birds such as cranes, storks, snipes, and bustards falling into this category.

The Landwalker bird, with its features, could barely wade in the water relying on its long legs.

"No!" Liszt suddenly remembered, the long legs of the Landwalker bird are covered with feathers, and having feathers makes it difficult to walk comfortably in water, it will not become a wading bird.

So, thinking it over, Liszt still had no idea how the Landwalker bird was supposed to fly, and moreover, its very name, Landwalker bird—why would it fly?

...

The next day, he continued to rest at Celery Fort.

The Earl was still waiting for the next war instructions from Marquis Glendenton, while Liszt continued to tame the Landwalker bird and attempted to help it learn to cast magic.

His relationship with the Landwalker bird was not as close as with Dou Qi, making it difficult to infuse Dou Qi and guide the flow of magic power.

Therefore, he could only do some superficial work, stimulate the Landwalker bird\'s magic power a bit, letting it be vented out to complete the basic casting of magic.

The difficulty is somewhat high, so success has not yet been achieved.

However, Liszt did feel one change: as Loki\'s magic power became more abundant, its running speed, endurance, and jumping power had all seen substantial improvement.

It was clearly still maturing, and once it was fully grown, its capabilities were likely to be even more formidable—after all, it was a low-level Dragon Beast with the bloodline of a dragon.

Landwalker bird.

The leisure time passed just like that.

He didn\'t get to relax for long, as at dusk, a messenger knight dispatched by Marquis Glendenton arrived at Celery Fort, delivering new orders, "Earl Li Weiliam, the Marquis orders you to lead the Knight Order immediately and set out for Bull Ridge City to the west. He needs to see your arrival by the morning after next."

"Why the urgency?" The Earl frowned. "It\'s a full day\'s march from Bull Hair City to Bull Ridge City; this is forcing us to travel at night."

"I don\'t know the reason, as the Marquis did not reveal it, but when I departed, the Marquis himself was also leading the Knight Order toward Bull Ridge City. According to the marching time, if we are to arrive at Bull Ridge City by the morning after next, the Marquis will also need to march through the night."

Marching at night is not a good decision, as it is the most susceptible time for an ambush.

But when an order is given, it must be executed.

The Coral Island Knights, having rested for a day, were back in peak condition. Leaving behind some of the injured to continue garrisoning Celery Fort, the Earl immediately led his knights to break camp and head west.

Naturally, Liszt was no exception.

Riding the Landwalker bird, he led the Black Knight Order along with the rest of the troops as they set out.

They hastened on their way.

Both the men and their mounts were exhausted but had safely arrived at Bull Ridge City, where the forces of Glendenton had just barely made it as well.

Armies from several other Earls had also only just arrived shortly before.

"The First Prince has taken Iron Hoof City, which the Bull Family has cultivated over generations, and even Bull Castle has been occupied. However, no battle took place—Bull Castle was already empty. A month before the assassination incident, the rebel Andy had already transferred the people from Bull Castle overseas."

Glendenton Red Maple Leaf, with a solemn expression and more pronounced creases on his face, said: "The vast majority of the riches on Iron Hoof Island, along with the seed of various noble families, have all fled overseas, possibly to the Eagle Kingdom or the Steel Ridge Kingdom—it\'s impossible to know."

"Then, Marquis, is the Marquis of the Bull still on Iron Hoof Island?"

"That is why I have called you here." Glendenton unfolded a map of Iron Hoof Island and drew a circle with his hand around a large area between Bull Tail City and Bull Ridge City, "The Wrath Knight Order was repelled by the reinforcing Knight Order that arrived later and retreated into this area. All the exits to the sea are blocked; they can only continue to hide!"

He looked around at the Earls gathered in a circle and said in a cold tone, "Our task is to find the Wrath Knight Order, the rebel Andy, and those sinister magicians from the Goat Assembly! The Grand Duke\'s directive is to find them and kill them on the spot, we don\'t need any survivors!"

Then, Glendenton presented the information he had on the Wrath Knight Order and the Goat Assembly, including the composition of their members.

Next, he assigned tasks: "Bull Rump City, Bull Tendon City, these two major cities, along with the nine smaller cities under them, we\'ll primarily search these four smaller cities... Earl Li Weiliam, you need to lead the Coral Island Knights to search Snow Pear City thoroughly, not missing any trace..."

Tasks were distributed.

Finally, Glendenton said, "The Grand Duke\'s wrath will burn for a long time, until the entire Bull Family is destroyed, no matter where they hide! Now, our job is to annihilate their main forces, shatter the backs of the rebels... It\'s time for Iron Hoof Island to draw the curtain."

He paused.

He attempted to smile to lighten the mood, but his deeply etched creases only made his expression seem grimmer, "A new order will be established on this land, gentlemen, and all have an opportunity!"