The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

Editor: Henyee Translations

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One, two, three, four, five, six, seven…eight, nine, ten, a total of ten carriages, escorted by a troop of knights, made their way along the loess road to the foot of the castle’s hill.

“Baron!”, the leading knight, galloping ahead to Liszt, performed a knight’s salute, “I am escorting the caravan that departed from Tulip Castle, here to trade in Fresh Flower Town.”

“So it’s you, Lord Layden. The journey must have been taxing. Who has come this time?” Liszt returned the salute.

Sir Layden spoke, “The Viscount and the Baron of Falcon Town have both come together.”

“Is that so? My sister came as well.”

In the midst of their exchange, a luxurious carriage climbed up the slope and stopped in front of Liszt and the others. The attending footmen opened the carriage doors on both sides, and a young man and woman, both dressed in noble attire, stepped down.

The male youth bore a resemblance to Liszt, though he was a bit plainer, with similarly light golden hair and sapphire-colored eyes.

The female youth also resembled Liszt to a degree, but she was not as fair as Liszt, with light golden hair and sapphire eyes. She was not dressed in noble ladies’ attire but, like the male youth, wore male noble clothing—essential riding attire for going out, similar to a tailcoat but more ornate.

“My dear brother, lord of Fresh Flower Town, Baron Liszt, look who has come,” the young man, who was Levis Tulip, laughed heartily.

Liszt dismounted and approached Levis, “Brother, I did not expect you to come in person. And my sister, how is the life in Falcon Town?”

Li Vera Tulip raised her slender eyebrows slightly, “Liszt, I can sense it, you’ve become an Earth Knight?”

“Yes, I was fortunate to have made the breakthrough, although it was somewhat late.”

“It seems that breaking free from the constraints of Tulip Castle and being in the free Fresh Flower Town, you’ve found liberation. Advancing to Earth Knight, discovering new Tulip Magic Potions, I’ve heard that the town has also nurtured an Elf Bug… Your luck is so good it even makes me envious,” Levis said, patting Liszt’s shoulder with a smile.

In reality, the relationship among the siblings was not very good.

Behind their warm gestures lay the formalities common among nobles—regardless, the three siblings had all become true Noble Sirs and Ladies.

At that moment, the Li Dragon Horse Liszt was leading suddenly snorted loudly, then bared its teeth and roared at several horses pulling the carriages. Startled, the tall steeds retreated continuously, almost bolting away with the carriages.

“Hmm?”

Only then did Levis and Li Vera notice the shiny black Li Dragon Horse.

Li Vera’s eyes sparkled, “What a magnificent steed, Liszt. Wasn’t your mount a bay mare, a birthday gift from father? From whence comes this fine horse, and might you part with it for your sister?”

“Tamed from Thorn Ridge, I’m sorry, my sister, but I have no intention of selling it.”

“I’m not surprised to be refused, but you rejected so directly, Liszt. You’ve improved since you were a child,” Li Vera said, slightly surprised. The Liszt of her childhood had been quite meek and timid before her.

“People are always changing; I’ve come of age, it’s only natural to make some changes,” Liszt beckoned, “It’s too dazzling in the sun outside, please come into the Castle to rest after your long journey. Mr. Carter must have prepared tea and pastries; we can relax and chat over them.”

“Then, Mr. Layden, would you please bring over the Greater Elf and the Little Minor Elves?” Levis turned around.

Quickly Sir Layden approached the carriage, directing several other knights to carry out from within the carriage three exquisitely crafted “boxes”—one large and two small.

The boxes weren’t very large; the biggest one was just the size of a cradle, within which lay a creature as large as a baby. It looked somewhat human, but its body was translucent and shiny, like a colorful, glowing gemstone, with folded wings on its back—this was the Tulip Family’s most precious possession, the Tulip Great Elf.

The two smaller boxes each held a Little Minor Elf the size of an adult’s foot, equally beautiful but not as radiant as the Greater Elf.

The Tulip Greater Elf seemed to be awoken by the knights’ movements, stretched in the box, and then rubbed its eyes as it woke up.

“`

Flapping its wings and flying into midair, it had no gender and naturally needed no clothes. Its bright eyes scanned around, and quickly locked onto Levis, “Levis, have we arrived? Where is the Black Tulip?” Its voice was sweet, like a little girl speaking.

“We have arrived, Xiangxiang. This is Fresh Flower Town, and you’ll be able to see the Black Tulip very soon,” Levis responded.

At that moment, the Tulip Great Elf turned to look at Liszt: “Wow, Liszt, long time no see.”

Liszt nodded with a smile, “It’s been almost two months since we last met, Xiangxiang.”

Before he could finish, two Tulip Lesser Spirits also awoke and flew out of the box, circling around the Great Elf while occasionally making “wow” sounds—they had awoken their spiritual intelligence but, being of limited intelligence, they couldn’t speak.

Leading the elves, they entered the castle.

…

The castle’s living room.

The nobles were seated around the table, while the knight order members without titles were entertained downstairs by Marcus.

Liszt, Levis, Li Vera, Goltai, Layden, and another Honored Knight named Bruce—six people in total—took their seats. Carter directed the servants to continuously serve tea and pastries.

The cook, Abbie·Spoon, pulled out all the stops; one exquisitely crafted pastry at a time was presented without cease.

The Tulip Great Elf sat on Levis’s shoulder, swinging its chubby little feet and beginning to squint and doze off again. One Tulip Lesser Spirit lay atop Levis’s head, while another rested on Li Vera’s shoulder. There were also several small jade boxes containing Tulip Spirit Bugs.

Seeing this scene, Liszt realized, “The Earl must have transferred the care of Great and Lesser Spirits to Levis, or else they would not be so affectionate.”

He felt a great deal of envy.

No matter how many times he saw them, the elves were so beautiful; it was hard to endure that such beautiful things belonged to someone else!

But it was inevitable after all, Levis was bound to be the next Earl of Coral Island.

“I didn’t expect the castle of Fresh Flower Town to be so rudimentary. Liszt, you really should refurbish it properly,” Levis casually remarked while sipping his tea.

Compared to Tulip Castle, this small castle was no different from a commoner’s thatched cottage.

“I would like to but lack money, manpower, and materials.”

“I didn’t bring building materials for constructing a castle, but the carriage is loaded with food, drink, and many seeds. After the enfeoffment ceremony, father gave you a lot of food, why do you still need so much nourishment?”

“Fresh Flower Town is even more desolate than I imagined. I need to stockpile some food, otherwise, there may come a day when I’ll truly go hungry,” Liszt offered a simple explanation.

Stockpiling food is always the right decision—he who gathers food and builds high walls can become a king at leisure, this has been the strategy since ancient times.

He wanted to develop Fresh Flower Town; without resolving the food issue, there was no point in talking about development.

“Alright, I think we can discuss these boring topics over dinner. The most important thing now is to see the Black Tulip, my Little Minor Elves can’t wait any longer,” Li Vera interrupted.

Liszt nodded in agreement; he really didn’t want to pretend to be extra cordial.

Levis and Li Vera probably didn’t have much affection for him, and he felt that they were no different from strangers, “Since sister is in a hurry, let’s go to the Fresh Flower Farm first to assimilate the Black Tulip.”