The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

After formulating the plan, Liszt could leave the remaining work to the Earl to arrange, and took the opportunity to visit Deborah Yu HuashI. The River-Cleaving Swordsaint resided in a cell, yet she apparently hadn't suffered any indignities.

"You are very strong!"

Upon seeing Liszt, he spoke calmly with his first sentence, "I couldn't even withstand a casual blow from you, it seems your background is extraordinary. May I know which Ancient Warrior inheritance you possess?"

Ancient Warrior inheritance?

Liszt had never heard of it, but he cleverly did not show it, merely smiling slightly, "Guess."

"The bear-skin wearer, unlikely, you haven't gone mad; the wolf-skin wearer, also unlikely, you aren't bloodthirsty; the pig-skin wearer, seems incorrect, you haven't turned into a sphere of flesh… Could you be a gladiator inheritance? Or perhaps the bronze-muscled warrior inheritance, or the Shadow Incarnation inheritance?"

The bear-skin wearer.

The wolf-skin wearer.

The pig-skin wearer.

The gladiator. Read latest chapters at My Virtual Library Empire

The bronze-muscled warrior.

The Shadow Incarnation.

Deborah listed six types of Ancient Warrior inheritances in one breath, impressing Liszt immensely; he did not realize how vast the world was before coming to the mainland. Within the Duchy of Sapphire, he thought there were only magicians and knights, but on the continent, all sorts of strange cultivation systems continuously emerged.

"You seem quite knowledgeable about Ancient Warrior inheritances?" Liszt inquired subtly, as if making idle chat.

Deborah harrumphed, with an undeniable pride in her tone, "As a member of a nobility that has continued for hundreds of years, the Yu Huashi Family is naturally familiar with Ancient Warriors and Ancient Magicians. However, it's quite unexpected to find Ancient Warrior inheritance in a place like Sapphire, which is a remote overseas territory."

"But you don't know which Ancient Warrior inheritance I carry."

"With so many inheritances lost to the river of time, how could I possibly know them all? However, this is the era of knightly rule; the Ancient Warrior inheritances will eventually be extinguished, all becoming part of the Dou Qi secret techniques that knights can cultivate!"

Ancient Warrior inheritances, ultimately transformed into Dou Qi secret techniques?

Liszt cleverly uncovered another important piece of information – it turns out that so-called Dou Qi secret techniques actually belong to the Ancient Warrior inheritances – could it be that the knightly cultivation system, which gathers the strengths of all trades, assimilates most of the Ancient Warrior inheritances?

It made sense.

He had practiced "The Eye of Magic" and "Breath Decay", which were vastly different from the mainstream Dou Qi manuscripts on the market. Not only was the difficulty of cultivation considerably greater, but more importantly, compared to ordinary Dou Qi manuscripts, Dou Qi secret techniques tend to favor special effects.

To keep probing.

Liszt still did not reveal any emotion, and simply remarked, "Who knows what the future holds, even though Dragon Knights rule the world, how many Dragon Knights are there in the world? Without a dragon to fight alongside, the strongest a knight can ever be is just a Completion Level Sky Knight!"

"A few Dragon Knights are enough!" Deborah said, looking at Liszt who was already thirty-four years old, yet with a naivety more fitting of a seventeen or eighteen-year-old, "I admit that as an Ancient Warrior inheritance, your strength is remarkable, but this is the end of the road for Ancient Warrior inheritances, with no further progress possible!"

He didn't know where his sense of superiority came from, as if feeling sorry for Liszt, he added, "Only a knight can grasp how to wield the power of a dragon, which is why knights rule the world! And it's not just about Ancient Warriors or Ancient Magicians; even magicians will eventually be integrated into knightship, becoming part of the Iron Knight Order!"

"It seems you mainlanders know much more, I have never heard so much about Ancient Warriors and Ancient Magicians back home."

"Heh, the Duchy of Sapphire has been established for just over a hundred years, isolated on an island, spending each year pillaging like Magical Beasts, what cultural inheritance could there be!"

"Indeed, living secluded overseas has left me ignorant of many things," Liszt nodded earnestly before adding, "But you are my prisoner now, and since you are both a Swordsaint and of noble lineage, I've set a high ransom for you. You need to produce four magic potions and grain-type little Minor Elves for your ransom!"

Pfft!

Deborah, who was wallowing in a sense of superiority, almost choked on air, "What! My ransom is four little Minor Elves, and they must be grain and magic potion type Minor Elves!"

"Yes."

"Impossible, absolutely impossible!" Deborah's face was as dark as still water, "My uncle, Marquis Nuta, will crush you, and then I won't need to pay any ransom at all."

"I will crush Marquis Nuta, and even take him captive!"

"Naive!"

"You have seen my strength. Do you think Marquis Nuta could escape my onslaught? Even if he brings along several Sky Knights, I can still crush them all!" Liszt's face was haughty, his tone triumphant, "Although I am not a Dragon Knight, I am invincible below the Dragon Knights!"

"Naive, how naive!" Deborah laughed in anger, "The Yu Huashi Family is not an ordinary noble house. You may have an Ancient Warrior heritage, and your family might have a Dou Qi Secret Technique heritage, but the Roaring Knights will show you what an unstoppable force is! Ancient Warrior heritage, it can't block a knight's charge!"

"This isn't naivety, it's confidence. As an heir to the Ancient Warrior tradition, wiping out the Roaring Knights would only be slightly strenuous for me."

"You're overestimating the Ancient Warrior inheritance. If it were truly so powerful, it wouldn't be on the brink of decline as it is now!"

"The Ancient Warrior and Ancient Magician heritages haven't declined, there are still many legacies in this world!"

"They are merely lingering on their last breaths, very few are actually making a difference."

Liszt scoffed, "You're only an Earl. You didn't even get selected as an alternate for Dragon Knights like Yevich, so what do you know about the Ancient Warrior and Ancient Magician heritages."

"Haha, a Sky Knight of commoner origin like Yevich, what would he understand!" Deborah sneered, "As for the Cloaked Bear-wearer, Cloaked Wolf-wearer, Cloaked Pig-wearer, gladiators, bronze-skinned muscle warriors, Shadow Incarnations, I've had more or less contact with all of them. Although I can't identify your heritage, it's most likely one of these."

…

When leaving the cell, Deborah was still seething with indignation. He hated Liszt's arrogant, ignorant, and self-centered nature.

Though he had been defeated by Liszt, he believed it was only because of the Ancient Warrior heritage. If he could obtain the Dragon Knight inheritance, killing Liszt would be a matter of minutes. In the end, it was just bad luck; the knight's glory didn't shine upon him, and it surely wasn't due to a lack of skill!

But he didn't know.

After Liszt left the cell, he reflected, "Yevich had told me that Deborah was a conceited, shallow fool, and it turns out to be true… With just a little scheming, I obtained a lot of hidden knowledge about the Ancient Warrior and Ancient Magician heritages and Dou Qi Secret Techniques."

In recent years, nobles have enjoyed hoarding their treasures and do not easily reveal secrets that could empower others.

If Liszt had asked directly, Deborah would certainly have kept silent. However, by pretending to be an heir of the Ancient Warrior heritage and provoking the other a little bit, Deborah revealed a lot of secrets not even known to Yevich—the Ancient Warrior heritage had not been severed, it had mostly turned into Dou Qi Secret Techniques.

As for the Ancient Magician heritage, it seemed to be integrated with knights, becoming part of the Iron Knights.

"It seems I need to visit and provoke Deborah a few more times; perhaps he will even reveal his family's Dou Qi Secret Techniques to me... But one thing is certain, Marquis Nuta must possess Dou Qi Secret Techniques. Now, how can I obtain the Dou Qi Secret Techniques of the Yu Huashi Family?"

He shook his head, not ruminating over it too deeply.

Perhaps he would capture Marquis Nuta on the battlefield, and then the Dou Qi Secret Techniques would easily fall into his hands.

Thinking about the Ancient Warriors and Ancient Magicians heritages, he was reminded that he hadn't yet received the reward for his last Smoke Mission—the Iron Knight Alvin Eagle Sword.