The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

Upon waking up and opening the window, I was greeted by the beautiful sunshine.

Another clear day, as April's pages kept turning, the weather on Black Horse Island got better day by day. After the spring farming ended, the serf army had returned to construction, wooden houses in several small towns were rising rapidly, roads were connected in succession, and craftsman workshops started operating one after another.

The transfer of the Cordyceps was also gradually completed.

Now, except for the Apple Tree Cordyceps, the Tomato Cordyceps, and the Venus Flytrap Worm planted in Fresh Flower Town, all the other Cordyceps had been moved to Black Horse Island.

The planting gardens in various small towns were demarcated, and the Cordyceps were settled there.

Even a group of Castle Servants had been divided to stay in the port town, serving Liszt specifically. By the way, they were also adapting to the life in the port town, contributing to the future establishment of the new castle. The number of Castle Servants was just over thirty people, but there were also thirty or forty children interning.

In this world, there was no law against the use of child labor. For the children interning at the castle, whether it was the quality of life or future employment opportunities, there was ample guarantee—many civilian parents wanted to send their own children to intern at the castle.

After a quick wash, without taking a bath.

Since I was going to get into the water anyway, there was no need to take another bath.

After breakfast, it was not yet half past seven, and the fishermen who harvested the Giant Algae by the seaside had already started their hard work. Liszt went to the seaside, jumped onto a sampan, and prepared to keep rowing towards the Giant Algae Forest. At the same time, he habitually summoned the Smoke Mission to take a look.

Just one glance, and he was suddenly astonished.

"Complete the mission, reward: a Rainbow Dolphin."

The reward was not unexpected; he had guessed two days ago that the Rainbow Dolphin being chased by Ach would be his reward, a low-level Dragon-kind Sea Monster.

What was unexpected and surprising was the new Smoke Mission.

"Mission: Ach has already discovered the most central secret of the Giant Algae Forest at the bottom of the sea. It is a huge Giant Algae Cordyceps that belongs to a ferocious Giant Algae Greater Elf. Ach can't even get close to it. You may need a new helper; why not first get a water mount? Reward: a Giant Algae Greater Elf."

"Giant Algae Greater Elf!"

"It's really a Giant Algae Greater Elf! Ach has already found its Cordyceps. Clearly, he has already had contact with it!"

Liszt had been dreaming of this Giant Algae Greater Elf for a while, not even sure if it existed, but now he finally had confirmed information, and one could imagine his feelings. A Greater Elf was a symbol of an Earl Landlord's status; only families with Greater Elves dared to call themselves Nobles.

Now.

Through the Giant Algae Chain Mission.

He would finally obtain a Greater Elf, joining the ranks of the Nobles—if he were to release Leo, he might instantly join the ranks of Dragon Knights, launching an assault at the King; of course, he might also be pinned to the ground by the Sapphire Duke, who would forcefully take Leo away.

Since the Little Fire Dragon couldn't be exposed, a Greater Elf would be his best symbol of status.

Inhale.

Exhale.

He took several deep breaths before he could calm down: "The appearance of the Giant Algae Greater Elf means I can plant over six thousand acres of Giant Algae Magic Potion. But the pressing issue is how to contract it. I've only heard about contracting wild Greater Elves in Knight's Novels, where they usually voluntarily contract with humans."

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Knight's Novels are beautiful fantasies, not only do Elves eagerly seek to contract with the protagonist, but even Dragons beg to be ridden by the protagonist, and there's a heap of Noble ladies throwing themselves at the protagonist.

But in reality, Elves that actively contract with humans are very rare.

Minor Elves like Mangrove Minor Elf Nami, who take the initiative, are an exception. The Elves of Giant Algae certainly do not fall into this category. They do not get close to humans, and they do not even get close to their own kind. Before contracting with Fizz and Tam, they both snarled at Liszt and Ach, and without the true Jade Powder, it would have been impossible to make a contract.

Even after contracting, they argued often.

If it weren't for Liszt's strict orders, they probably would have fought each other by now.

And this Giant Algae Greater Elf, described in the Smoke Mission as "ferocious", clearly indicated its temperament.

"The Minor Elves possess the magic of planting, while the Greater Elves' planting magic is even stronger and they already have considerable power. Even Ach can't get close, so I think it must be very difficult to contract with it underwater... I must bring enough Jade Powder, and be prepared for a standoff mentally. Most importantly, I need to capture the Rainbow Dolphin."

The Rainbow Dolphin was a key hint in the Smoke Mission.

Liszt still hadn't completely understood the principles or rules of the Smoke Mission, let alone how powerful the Smoke Dragon's Power of Destiny was, or how it generated connections by manipulating threads of fate. However, following the cues of the Smoke Mission was obviously the fastest way.

In contemplation.

He had already taken a sampan and paddled past the fishermen in the nearby sea, heading further away. Ach had been keeping an eye on Liszt underwater, so she quickly surfaced to meet up with him. The shell opened, and Fizz and Tam swam over with four Elf Bugs, circling around him.

"Brother, you finally came, Ach found the Giant Algae Greater Elf!" As soon as they met, Ach excitedly shared her encounter.

She had accidentally discovered a huge patch of Giant Algae Cordyceps while working overtime.

Upon closer inspection, she successfully found the Greater Elf. It was the size of a baby, the same yellow-brown as the Minor Elves, transparent and shiny all over, like a huge gemstone. It opened the transparent fins on its body and swam joyously and tirelessly around its Cordyceps.

Sometimes when fish approached it, it would simply wave its hand and scatter a ray of Light, and in an instant, Giant Algae would burst out of the fish, turning it into a pile of minced meat.

"It's very fierce. After it spotted Ach, it chased me for quite a distance. Ach didn't want to harm it and was scared it would implant that Giant Algae in me," said Ach in a subdued voice. In a real fight, she could certainly defeat the Giant Algae Greater Elf, but with her hands tied, she could only be chased.

"The Giant Algae Greater Elf is that fierce? Have you tried luring it with Jade Powder?"

"Ach tried, but it just chased Ach away before going to eat the Jade Powder. As soon as Ach approaches it again, it stops eating Jade Powder and chases Ach away again... Brother, this Giant Algae Greater Elf is really fierce, and its big mouth looks terrifying."

The Giant Algae Minor and Greater Elves were all beautifully made, except for the mouth and the teeth inside, which were somewhat frightening.

"If the Giant Algae Greater Elf is not easy to contract, then let's come up with a solid plan to settle it in one strike," Liszt said, changing the subject. "But before that, I plan to catch the Rainbow Dolphin. I saw it save people; maybe it can understand human nature."

"Oh, that big Sea Monster can save people?" Ach said surprised.

Liszt briefly explained the Serf falling into the water and then said, "This way, I'll arrange for a Serf to fall into the water to lure out the Rainbow Dolphin and then try to communicate with it. You just hide nearby. If things go smoothly, that would be great, but if they don't, we'll have to capture it first."

"Okay."

With the plan set, Ach dived and followed Liszt back to the nearby sea area. He found some swimming-capable Serfs and had them pretend to fall into the water to attract the Rainbow Dolphin.

They had no idea where the Rainbow Dolphin was lurking or how far it had gone.

The pretend drowning continued from the morning until the afternoon without a single sighting of the Rainbow Dolphin. Just as Liszt thought it was hopeless, suddenly, a Serf frantically screaming for help in the water was suddenly lifted out of the water by something.

Instantly.

From not far away, Liszt, through his Telescope, clearly saw a Rainbow-colored dolphin beneath the Serf's body.

The dolphin was large, much larger than any he had seen in aquariums on Earth, and it might have been comparable to the size of an Orca. It had the streamlined body typical of dolphins, and its skin color, under the reflection of the sunlight, was shimmering with iridescence.

"To be precise, it actually looks more like a beluga whale."

Liszt marveled quietly, as he subtly rowed his sampan closer to the Rainbow Dolphin. In his sampan, he carried several dozen small fish with an exceptionally delicious flavor—for both people and animals, eating is a primary driver of survival, and using food as a lure is the least technical, yet most effective, method.

As he was approaching the Rainbow Dolphin.

The Rainbow Dolphin, which was originally nudging the Serf towards the shore, suddenly turned around and pushed the Serf towards Liszt.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Seeing this.

Liszt couldn't help but let out a surprised, "Huh?"