The Mighty Dragons Are Dead-Chapter 1022 - 1019 Double Fury
Chapter 1022: Chapter 1019: Double Fury
Chapter 1022: Chapter 1019: Double Fury
It was inevitable, really, that Liszt would be unaware of the name Wald·Bumblebee. As more knights followed him, it became increasingly difficult to pay attention to a single baron.
Every mountain was to be tunneled through, and every waterway was to be bridged; these tasks were all supervised by Piero.
His duties, aside from riding dragons to patrol and drive away any Magical Beasts that might invade the migrating caravan, were to ponder the Sub-dragon clues provided by Piero·Grey Iron. This was part of the deal struck during the previous Mind Battle—the Sub-dragon clues Piero had offered concerned Nimia the Giant Lion.
According to legend, there wasn’t much information available about Nimia the Giant Lion. What Liszt knew was that it was said to be impervious to weapons and indestructible.
Piero’s information corroborated this.
Ten years ago, when the Grey Iron Dragon Ornn was known as the Ash King and was the Grey Iron Family’s dragon that repressed the Grey Iron Duchy, it happened upon a robust lion while roaming the endless wilderness to the south of the duchy. The Ash King decided to hunt the lion for food.
However, after a fierce battle, the lion wasn’t killed.
Naturally, the Ash King wasn’t willing to let it go. Upon returning to the Grey Iron Duchy, he had Piero summon magicians to set up a Magic Array to hunt down Nimia the Giant Lion.
Still, they didn’t manage to kill it, and instead, Nimia the Giant Lion turned the tables and escaped unscathed.
“I sent people to the Fertile Lands three times, and all three hunting expeditions failed, resulting in a significant loss of resources, which ultimately led to nothing. I even went to the Fertile Lands myself two years ago and saw from a distance that Nimia the Giant Lion was still alive and well, without a sight of its kin.”
Piero could neither capture nor kill Nimia the Giant Lion, but he couldn’t bear to give up on it either, so he kept the secret hidden.
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He continued to investigate Nimia the Giant Lion in secret, “I found a record stating that in the era of the Moon Empire, Nimia the Giant Lion was a social animal. After a Native Tribe killed one, they made armor from its hide that could rival an Archmage.”
“Isn’t Nimia the Giant Lion supposed to be indestructible?”
“Well, there might be some special method to kill Nimia the Giant Lion, otherwise, they’d be overwhelming in number, yet now there are almost no traces of them to be found.”
Since Piero had informed him that Nimia the Giant Lion actually resided in the southern wilderness, known as the Fertile Lands, Liszt naturally planned to see this creature for himself. However, finding Nimia the Giant Lion was not easy. Even Piero, from the back of the Grey Iron Dragon, had to search for a whole half-month before locating it.
Such a creature, Nimia the Giant Lion, would actually hide in mountain caves to dwell, invisible even to the Eye of Magic.
Clearing his thoughts, Liszt no longer contemplated the matter of Nimia the Giant Lion; he would have to wait until he had escorted the knights to Heroic Yellow City before he could spare the time.
…
The direct line distance from Grey Iron Duchy to Heroic Yellow City was about seven thousand kilometers. The journey was treacherous, and even with knights as escorts, it would take at least two months to safely arrive at Heroic Yellow City.
Liszt’s time, however, was incredibly precious. He only escorted the migrating knights halfway before turning back.
To return to Flame Island.
The reason was simple, Archmage Lerald·Truth had awoken and was ready for interrogation. At that moment, the Archmage Lerald was dressed in a specially tailored prison uniform designed to prevent connectivity with the Magic Web and preclude the casting of powerful magic spells that might facilitate an escape.
As for his original golden Magic Cloak, it was but a gloriously decorated garment that slightly boosted the strength of spells cast.
“Lerald·Truth…”
Liszt had not even begun to interrogate when Lerald suddenly looked at him and enunciated, “The Archmage who defeated me that day, was it Lord Acherloides Truth?”
“Yes, but now let’s discuss something else first, who was behind the attempt on my life this time?”
“Isn’t it clear enough who orchestrated it from behind? No one other than Emperor Jupiter could command an Archmage and the King of Shadows.”
Lerald’s complexion was still somewhat pale, but his spirit showed no signs of fatigue, “King Liszt, we don’t need to beat around the bush. I can disclose everything that I know, but I have one condition.”
“What is the condition?”
“I want to pass on all the knowledge I have acquired over the years to Lord Acherloides. I hope she can inherit my research and delve into more profound truths!”
“What kind of condition is that? You still want to play the role of Acherloides’ teacher?”
“No, after so many years pursuing the truth, my mastery and understanding of magic pale in comparison to the young Sea Monster Magician; clearly, I am not qualified to be her teacher. King Liszt, you do not need to doubt my intentions; the assassination attempt on you was merely a transaction, I bear no malice towards you personally.”
“You think I’ll believe that?”
“Why not? I am an Archmage. Seeking the truth is my life’s mission. Emperor Jupiter and I simply collaborated with each other. He needed me to oversee magical services for him, while I needed him to provide me with research resources. Then he exchanged the Light of Confinement for my attempt on your life.”
The Light of Confinement was that already destroyed magic wand.
With an air of inevitability, Lerald stated, “To me, Emperor Jupiter is utterly oblivious to the allure of the truth. Unfortunately, the Archmages of the Legendary Continent have long since withered away, and I had no choice but to collaborate with the Kushan Empire. However, things are different now. Lord Acherloides is a Magician of rare talent, she has proven she can surpass all other Archmages!”
Confronted with this spiel from Lerald, Liszt found himself at a loss for words.
He had been ready to give this Archmage a piece of his mind, to make it clear how foolish it was to attempt his assassination, and to extract information about the Kushan Empire. Unexpectedly, the Archmage didn’t play by the rules, seemingly dismissive of the assassination and even desiring to cooperate with Acherloides.
“So you think you can stab at me and just smooth it over with a few words?”
“You require compensation, is that it? I can’t provide resources of that kind; my Mage Tower is in the Kushan Empire, clearly I must forsake it. However, I can exchange the information I hold, along with all of my knowledge, for your forgiveness,” Lerald offered. “Additionally, I can stay in the Flame Kingdom and provide magical services for the Kingdom as long as my daily research needs are met.”
…
The interrogation wasn’t going smoothly.
Or rather, it was going too smoothly, Lerald showed no intention of resisting, assuming a stance of being ready to “sell himself to settle his debt,” pressing for the cooperation to start immediately.
This left Liszt with no outlet for the rage boiling inside him; after all, he couldn’t simply kill the man outright. And indeed, the knowledge held by an Archmage was too tantalizing a lure for Liszt to cast aside. So, he had no choice but to approach Acherloides to see if she was willing to cooperate with Lerald.
Acherloides flatly said, “An Archmage certainly has value for cooperation, but he did attempt to assassinate my brother. Such a person is not to Acherloides’ liking!”
Without a doubt, Acherloides supported the idea of simply executing the Archmage.
“Brother is not fond of him either, but after all, he is an Archmage. It would be too wasteful to discard his knowledge. Besides, his ability to conduct research could greatly aid your own experiments… Let’s keep him. Have Charley keep a constant eye on him, and if he shows any malice, wipe him out.”
That decided it.
Archmage Lerald Truth formally joined the Flame Kingdom. Liszt’s anger, however, remained unvented, so he turned his gaze to Louis·Shadowbody, the King of Shadows, who was recovering from his injuries and on the verge of awakening.
“Attempting on my life, you shall bear twice the fury I hold!”
