The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

Alvin Eagle Sword didn't need to be found; in fact, he was imprisoned in the dungeons of Little Riverheart Castle.

"My lord, this is the prisoner list of Little Riverheart Castle. Alvin Eagle Sword is in this cell," said Marcus, holding the dungeon list and locating the cell that confined Alvin.

The dungeon was dark, damp, and smelled foul, where prisoners on straw mats were snoring loudly in their sleep.

Marcus couldn't help but rap on the cell door with a stick, bellowing, "Get up, get up, no more sleep, Alvin Eagle Sword!"

"Why is today's meal so late?" Alvin grumbled as he got up and slowly made his way to the cell door.

Clad in tattered rags, his hair unkempt, his beard ragged, and heavy metal shackles on his hands and feet, it was obvious that he had been imprisoned in the dungeon for a lengthy period.

He looked at Marcus standing at the door, and couldn't help but be taken aback, "The one serving food has changed today, and it's now a knight. Are you preparing my last meal?"

Overwhelmed by the stench of the dungeon, Liszt had already backed up to the entrance. Hearing the dialogue inside, he directly said, "Marcus, let him out, have someone clean him up, and then bring him to the drawing room to see me."

"Yes, my lord!"

About a quarter of an hour later, Liszt, who was sipping tea in the drawing room, saw Alvin Eagle Sword, now bathed, hair cut, shaved, and dressed in new clothes.

This was a tall and thin middle-aged man. From his frame, one could tell that before his imprisonment, he must have been a strapping man. But now his cheekbones were prominent, his eye sockets deeply sunken, and his skin on his face and hands pale as if it had never seen the light. Perhaps he had not been abused, but he certainly had never been well-fed.

"So you are Alvin Eagle Sword, an Iron Knight?" said Liszt, looking at the man with interest. "Captain Marcus has told you about the current situation, hasn't he?"

Alvin seemed somewhat unused to the environment, taking a while before responding, "You are a Sapphire person, you have taken over Little Riverheart Castle? Deborah Yuhua Stone, that hypocritical, greedy man, has he been captured by you too?"
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Liszt frowned, "Right now I am the one asking questions. You only need to answer mine!"

"I am Iron Knight Alvin Eagle Sword."

"Tell me your background, and why you were imprisoned in Little Riverheart Castle."

Alvin took a deep breath before responding, "My ancestors were once marquises of the kingdom and had forged magic weapons like the Eagle Sword for the kingdom, taking the name Eagle Sword as our surname... But now our family has fallen into decay. By my generation, not only have we lost our title, but many of our forging skills are also hard to reproduce."

To hone his skills, to revive his ancestors' glory.

Alvin had moved between many nobles, using their resources to study weapon forging technology. However, with limited talent and an unwillingness to casually hand over family secrets, the nobles who invested in him considered him a fraud and expelled him from their lands. Afterwards, he wandered to the region around Roaring River.

"Deborah promised to recommend me to Marquis Nuta, but due to the wrapping of my heirloom crumbling apart revealing its true nature, he became greedy. He snatched away my family heirloom and imprisoned me, demanding that I hand over my family's forging skills... I did not yield, and thus have been living in the dungeon."

Liszt wasn't too interested in his story, instead asking eagerly, "What heirloom is this?"

Alvin hesitated.

Liszt waited patiently.

A moment later.

Alvin seemingly made up his mind, "Captain Marcus mentioned your incomprehensible strength, overpowering Deborah in one move. That I can see the light of day again is thanks to you... If you help me retrieve my family heirloom, I will follow you and contribute all of the Iron Knight skills of the Eagle Sword family to you!"

"I released you because I need you to follow me, to serve me. But what is this family heirloom of yours?"

"It is a Greater Elf Warrior weapon, the Ice Soul Dragon-Slaying Sword! Originally forged from dragon bone, refined through generations in my family and finally cast as a Greater Elf weapon. It has already been presented by Deborah to Marquis Nuta. I do not dare hope to possess it again; I only wish to see it one more time when you retrieve it!"

Alvin knew the power of a marquis's influence; he could not afford to ask for a higher price, so he was not greedy, only yearning to hold the Ice Soul Dragon-Slaying Sword once more in his hands.

Liszt was not excited by the Greater Elf Warrior.

Even the strongest weapon is only as good as its wielder. For example, even with a common weapon in hand, he was still stronger than a Sky Knight wielding a divine weapon.

"Are you sure you know how to forge Magic Power weapons?"

"Indeed, I haven't inherited my family's talent. Ordinary Magic Power weapons like the Eagle Sword can certainly be forged, but beyond gemstone weapons, I am powerless. However, I possess my family's complete forging techniques, and I'm willing to offer them to you, so you can train more talented Iron Knights!"

"Are you willing to part with them?"

Alvin looked down at his now thin and weak body, his tone filled with resentment, "I wasn't willing before, but what have I got left to lose now?"

"Alright, I agree to this trade!"

No matter what, the Marquis Nuta was someone he planned to deal with.

Powerful weapons like the Ice Soul Dragon-Slaying Sword should not be in the hands of a common marquis—The Sapphire Duke himself owns a Greater Elf weapon known as the Wailing Cage Sword, the best weapon Liszt knows of. Now, this Ice Soul Dragon-Slaying Sword would be a fitting match for his identity.

...

Alvin Eagle Sword himself was only an Elite Earth Knight and over half a year in the dungeon had ravaged his body, which would take a long time to recover.

Arrangements were made for this Iron Knight.

Liszt glanced over the list of other prisoners in the dungeon and ordered their interrogation, one by one, to see if there were any special figures among these captives.

The result was disappointing; they were just some knights from the territory who had made mistakes.

For these errant knights, Liszt had no intention of releasing them—at all. Having taken Snow Pear Castle and Little Riverheart Castle, he had enough prisoners to choose from to select a hundred Elite Earth Knights. Now, he wouldn't even spare a thought for Common Earth Knights, let alone this bunch of prisoners.

The Tulip Fleet was making its way up the Roaring River against the current, heading for Little Riverheart Castle. The castle's supplies had been packed, ready to be loaded onto ships and transported to the river mouth.

Knight allies of the Long Taro Family and the Golden Wheat Sheaf Family had also received their orders and departed. The Earl had even written letters to Liszt's uncle, Mesiro Taro, and Roderick Gold Wheat, the Marquis of Golden Island, directing the dispatch of Knights and ships to be ready to move out along the Roaring River at a moment's notice.

The first hurdle to the success of this plan was the Marquis Nuta's Roaring Knights.

"Possessing the Dou Qi Secret Technique, being a Completion Level Sky Knight himself, and having the Greater Elf weapon Ice Soul Dragon-Slaying Sword, I wonder just how strong Dimaria Yuhua Stone truly is!"

Standing in front of the Window on the fourth floor of the Castle.

Gazing at the undulating crops on the vast land, Liszt was brimming with confidence, "I hope for a good fight, to truly understand how strong I am!"

He felt that recently he had been very inflated, acting so high-profile without regard for consequences—a dangerous behavior.

But he couldn't suppress the smugness itching to surface.

"I can't control myself!"

So, he hoped a hearty battle would completely wake him up to reality, adjust the appropriate attitude, and be prepared for the possible suspicions of the Sapphire Duke, "Perhaps, I should now fabricate an Ancient Warrior's legacy to appease the Duke... Should I invent an ancient bronze muscled hero, a gladiator, or perhaps the Cloaked Wolf-wearer?"

As a historical inventor.

Inventing stories was not a difficult task for Liszt.