The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

Ice Pear City was the viscount's fiefdom, and Snow Pear Castle was his fortress.

And Steel Dyke City was Earl's domain, with the fortress named Little Riverheart Castle. The Earl was called Deborah Yuhua Stone, known as the River-Cleaving Swordsaint, who was said to have once sliced through the Roaring River with a single sword stroke. He was the nephew of Marquis Nuta Dimaria Yuhua Stone, but not the landlord of Yevich.

The Clear Water Sword Saint was a follower of Marquis Nuta.

When the Coral Island Knights arrived at Little Riverheart Castle, Earl William Lee immediately felt the difficulty, "No wonder it's called Little Riverheart Castle, this is clearly a fortress on a river isle. The difficulty of seizing this castle is too high, especially with those four large stone bridges traversing the river, it's like being a live target during the Knight Order's charge."

There were four stone bridges connecting Little Riverheart Castle with the riverbank, each able to accommodate four horses running abreast.

Liszt just took one look.

And he had a plan in mind, immediately saying, "If we can't seize it, then let's tear down these four stone bridges and isolate Little Riverheart Castle from the riverbank. This should draw out Deborah... If Deborah doesn't come out, then we can move on to attack other fortresses."

"That's also a solution."

Demolishing the bridge, naturally, required the Blizzard Beast Squad.

"Douson!" Liszt called out, and Douson immediately came over with his eight children to the front of the stone bridge, ready to follow the command, "Aim at the bridge piers, release the Rock Grenades!"

"Woof!"

The Blizzard Beast Squad, even more disciplined than police dogs, began to release Rock Grenades one after another, incessantly bombarding the bridge piers. Despite the stone bridge's remarkable sturdiness, it kept shattering under the relentless destruction of the Rock Grenades, and if this persisted for a moment longer, collapse was inevitable.

Mounted on the Landwalker bird Loki, Liszt observed Little Riverheart Castle in silence; his target was within that fortress— last night, the Blood Servant had already come to scout, and although deterred from getting too close by the presence of two Sword Saints, they still spotted Yevich.

And just as he was eyeing the fortress,

There were people within the castle watching him. Among them was Yevich Waterflower, the Clear Water Sword Saint with a look of hatred, and the younger one was the River-Cleaving Swordsaint, Deborah.

"Earl Deborah, this Sapphire swordsman, Liszt, is extremely powerful. He nearly brought me down with a sneak arrow shot at the battlements of Snow Pear Castle. You should hold firm in Little Riverheart Castle and wait for reinforcements from the Great Riverheart Fortress, instead of rashly launching an attack!"

"Viscount Yevich!"

Deborah turned his head and looked at Yevich beside him, a disdainful smile seemingly playing on his lips, "You were just sneak attacked by Liszt with an arrow; are you that scared now?"

Yevich's mouth twitched, "I'm telling the truth. You should know that I was once a candidate for the Dragon Knights, so I'm not unclear about the opponent's strength."

Deborah snorted softly, "You were a candidate, but you are no longer one now."

Yevich clenched his fist, holding back his anger, "Either way, I still suggest that you hold Little Riverheart Castle, rather than launch an attack."

"They're smashing my bridge, and those Earth Attribute Magical Beasts pose too great a threat to the stone bridge! Understand that just these four stone bridges cost half as much as the fortress itself!" Deborah suddenly drew the sword hanging at his waist, his eyes flashing with a cold light, "Pass my command, the Knight Order to prepare immediately for a charge with me!"

"Yes, my lord!" A knight standing behind promptly accepted the command and left.

Deborah looked at Yevich again, "I may not have been selected as a Dragon Knight candidate, but I have never lost my courage. Yevich, if you don't want to be looked down upon by me, then show your courage and join me in battle side by side! I shall squash all the sapphire flies dead in my territory!"

With that, he fixed his gaze directly on Yevich.

The meaning in his eyes was clear, if Yevich dared to back down, then in such a large territory as Impact River Plain, there might no longer be a place for Yevich—after all, Deborah was the nephew of Marquis Nuta Dimaria, not like any ordinary follower, at least making Yevich leave wouldn't be difficult.

Yevich took a deep breath.

Suppressing the fear from the chilling arrow of the day before, he nodded, "Since you insist, I shall prove my courage!"

"Good!"

Moments later.

While Liszt was still directing the Blizzard Beast Squad to bomb the stone bridge relentlessly, the gates of Little Riverheart Castle had already swung open, as the Knight Order charged out in an instant, roaring slogans, emitting Dou Qi, raising the Knight's Spears high, charging across the four wide, sturdy stone bridges.

"Douson, form up and retreat!"

Liszt made a snap decision, pulling back the Blizzard Beast Squad, away from one end of the stone bridge.

And behind him, Earl William Lee was already directing the Coral Island Knights, lining up to meet the challenge, "Seal off the stone bridges, and don't let them cross!"

"Charge!"

"Charge!"

The charge of warhorses and the tide of armor commenced, heralding the onset of a clash between knight orders.

Liszt patted the neck of his landwalker bird Loki, which responded with a "clack" and immediately spread its wings, casting a levitation spell and soaring into the sky.

He was searching for the figure of Yevich.

As the knight orders charged, sky knights typically flanked the battlefield, so Liszt quickly located Yevich, mounted on a majestic steed. Yevich happened to look up and spot the landwalker bird ascending, causing his body to tremble as the memory of that terrifying arrow resurfaced in his mind.

However, the knight in flashy gold armor by his side, following Yevich's gaze to Liszt, showed no tremors, but rather a fiery stare full of intent, as if silently issuing a challenge.

"Interesting!"

Liszt, riding atop Loki, didn't rush. He was calculating the distance, a distance from which both men would be unable to escape back to the castle—he wasn't about to let Yevich get away again.

Boom!

One end of the stone bridge near the shore.

The two knight orders finally collided, and with the Blizzard Beast Squad having retreated, this was a direct confrontation between knight orders. Layers of Dou Qi from both sides intertwined in an instant, knight's spears piercing through formations, sending dozens of knights flying off their mounts in a flash.

But Liszt paid no attention to this battle; with an earl watching over, the charge was bound to succeed.

He was merely silently gauging the distance, and when Yevich and Deborah stepped onto the middle of the stone bridge, already a fair distance from Little Riverheart Castle, his brows suddenly furrowed. High-level fire attribute dragon Dou Qi surged through his body, and he leaped from Loki's back, diving toward the middle of the stone bridge.

There was no fear, nor excessive fervor, just an invincible presence as he drew his sky-cleaving greatsword, performing the fully mastered move, Setting Sun Drop—one of the five power-gathering moves from "Rising Sun Blaze", all of which he had mastered to the extent they became part of his instinct.

Whoosh! Dragon Dou Qi transformed into flames, enveloping his body.

A true embodiment of a setting sun plummeting towards the horizon!

...

On the stone bridge.

Yevich, who was constantly monitoring Liszt, cried out in alarm as the other leaped down from the bird's back, "He's coming, Deborah! He's coming!"

"Daring to fight two on one? Seeking his own death!"

Deborah unsheathed her knight's longsword in a reflexive motion, her Dou Qi erupting as she ascended towards the sky.

Though dubbed the River-Cleaving Swordsaint, he was a thunder attribute sword saint, his body crackling with streaks of lightning, fearlessly charging toward the falling fireball that was Liszt.

On the other side.

Yevich, with trembling palms, clenched his teeth and likewise mustered his water-attribute Dou Qi, soaring into the sky after Deborah, incessantly hypnotizing himself, "Perhaps he's only strong in archery. Against two sky knights like me and Deborah, he can't possibly have the advantage!"

However, in the next moment.

In his field of view, Liszt and Deborah collided.

Before he could convince himself of his hypnotism or adjust his mindset, the previously confident Deborah screamed as he was sent flying backward in the air, plummeting to the stone bridge with a velocity thrice the speed of his ascent, creating a thunderous crash and raising a cloud of dust.

Seeing this.

The slight courage Yevich had mustered retreated like the tide, his eyes widened in shock while he forcibly changed the direction of his Dou Qi, abruptly halting his own ascent.

He reversed direction, fleeing toward Little Riverheart Castle.

But just as he gained some distance, a fierce whooshing noise invaded his ears, followed swiftly by a scorching heat that slammed into his body.

"Ah!"

His scream echoed, involuntarily mimicking Deborah's earlier maneuver; he plummeted rapidly, crashing heavily onto the ground. Even with the robust physique of a sky knight, such a fall left him feeling as if his internal organs were upended, spewing a mouthful of fresh blood.

Enduring the crushing pain as if his bones were shattered, he readied himself to stand and continue running.

But a weight suddenly bore down on his back, a foot firmly planted on him, and a cold voice conveyed, "Yevich Water Peanut, do you think you could escape?"