The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

When a third of the Roaring Knights had fallen to Liszt's deadly strikes and were subsequently ambushed by the Coral Island Knights charging from both flanks, Liszt's Eye of Magic clearly saw the Dou Qi of Marquis Nuta's Knight Order become thin and loose, no longer possessing the earlier majesty.

At this point, the irate Marquis Nuta had no words to say.

Liszt could clearly sense that he might already have the thought of fleeing in mind, only hesitating to abandon his own Knight Order because they were still charging.

However, when Liszt once again pulled his bowstring, three arrows suddenly struck down a Sky Knight, creating an opportunity for Li Weiliam to catch his breath.

Marquis Nuta could no longer hold out, and he fully understood that this furious attack had turned into a rout.

"The Roaring Knights, retreat!" With a resentful roar, the Domain Knight clad in golden battle armor personally covered the retreat, attempting to buy time for the Roaring Knights' withdrawal.

With a thunderous boom—

Following Marquis Nuta's order, the Knight Order, already spine-chilled from Liszt's arrows, turned around, no longer daring to charge, instead fleeing frantically back the way they came. The standoff's balance was tipped, the Roaring Knights broke into a rout, and the Coral Island Knights pursued.

Unfortunately, the Coral Island Knights, already diminished from charging back and forth, lacked the strength to further capitalize on the victory.

They could only watch helplessly as the enemy knights fled into the distance.

However—

The Knight Order might escape, but Marquis Nuta could not. Having stowed away his Swift Shadow Bow and seeing the Roaring Knights begin to retreat, Liszt wasted no time, gripping his Sky-Cleaving Greatsword and diving towards Marquis Nuta enveloped in high-level Fire Attribute Dragon Dou Qi.

Bathed in a flame-like battle garment, he executed his charged move, Scorching Sun Sting, exclaiming, "Thinking of escaping? Did you ask my permission?" Find exclusive stories on My Virtual Library Empire

With a momentum like a rainbow stretching across the sky, he struck like a comet hitting Earth.

Marquis Nuta did not retreat, still harnessing the thin Dou Qi of the Knight Order, issuing the Ice Soul Dragon-Slaying Sword, raising a huge wave to violently clash against the fireball that Liszt had become.

Crasht boom!

Flame and wave consumed and splattered each other; half of the sky was fire, half rain, with the flame entangled with evaporated water vapor and the rain mixed with unquenchable flames.

Borrowing each other's forces, the two continuously swung their swords in the sky.

The disorderly Water Attribute Dou Qi and the pure Fire Attribute Dou Qi initially seemed evenly matched, but as the fire continued to devour the waves, soon Marquis Nuta felt himself surrounded by flames.

The Roaring Knights had already retreated to the rear.

With the Knight Order Dou Qi's distance increasing, his Dou Qi Domain unavoidably weakened further, now incapable of resisting the erosion of the Dragon Dou Qi. From overwhelmingly crushing Liszt, to being gradually overpowered by him. After several lapses, his Sky-Cleaving Greatsword, riddled with notches, had already started to split open his golden battle armor.

If it weren't for the Ice Soul Dragon-Slaying Sword being extremely hardy, always chipping off a bit of the greatsword's blade, Liszt would have already been recklessly hacking away at him.

No matter the technique, anything that could cause harm was a brilliant one.

Clang!

After another clash of the swords, the Ice Soul Dragon-Slaying Sword once again chipped off a piece of the Sky-Cleaving Greatsword's blade.

Seizing the opportunity, Marquis Nuta shouted, "Inheritor of the Ancient Warrior of Sapphire, Liszt Tulip! The battle of the Knight Orders has ended, and I must concede that your strength is formidable. Continuing this fight is meaningless, let's stop here, and we can discuss the ransom for Deborah!"

Liszt offered no reply; now that he had the upper hand, he had no intention of being distracted by talk and letting Marquis Nuta off the hook.

Giving the Sky-Cleaving Greatsword, now nearly destroyed, a glance, he firmed his resolve, suddenly channelling the remaining Dragon Dou Qi in his body into the sword. Gathering all his strength, he swung both hands, drawing a circle overhead to chop downward, aiming to bisect Marquis Nuta with one strike!

Seeing this—

Marquis Nuta's eyes turned red with anger, "What wrong have I done to you, what grudge do we have!"

Cursing inwardly, he had no choice but to hastily raise the Ice Soul Dragon-Slaying Sword above his head to block Liszt's desperate and self-destructive fighting style.

However, he miscalculated again, for Liszt's move was a feint. The true target was the hilt of the Ice Soul Dragon-Slaying Sword.

Clang!

The Sky-Cleaving Greatsword shattered into two pieces on the spot, ruining it completely, but the exploding Dragon Dou Qi successfully injured Marquis Nuta's hand that was holding the Ice Soul Dragon-Slaying Sword, forcing him to drop it.

Seemingly realizing he had been tricked,

Marquis Nuta, disregarding the injury on his hand, lunged towards the falling Ice Soul Dragon-Slaying Sword.

Liszt gasped for air, the last move having drained too much of his Dragon Dou Qi, but he wasn't finished with his plan yet. Gritting his teeth, he once again drew the Swift Shadow Bow, pulled at the string, and loaded an arrow imbued with Dou Qi.

Three arrows shot out.

Then another three arrows followed.

The ultimate mystery technique of "Multi-Arrow", the Multiple Phantom Arrow, was executed, attacking the path that Marquis Nuta advanced upon. This archery skill was extremely intricate; once successfully deployed, it almost never missed. This time was no different; the six arrows followed unpredictable trajectories and struck Marquis Nuta fiercely.

The Golden Battle Armor was indeed solid; the arrowheads couldn't completely penetrate, but the exploding Dragon Dou Qi blasted Marquis Nuta hundreds of meters away.

The very next second, Liszt quickly descended, catching up with the Ice Soul Dragon-Slaying Sword in free fall.

When he grabbed the hilt, a piercingly cold and icy breath transmitted to him, causing his agitated Fire Attribute Dou Qi to momentarily stagnate.

"Could the Ice Soul Dragon-Slaying Sword be made from an Ice Dragon's bone? It doesn't seem to match well with my Fire Attribute Dou Qi. However, the weight and size are quite suitable, especially this asymmetrical design, which aligns perfectly with my aesthetics!" He landed, holding the Ice Soul Dragon-Slaying Sword.

After just a brief examination, he took a liking to the cool design of the sword.

Crystal clear, glittering with cold light, and oddly shaped, it was very eye-catching. Such a high-profile weapon naturally matched Liszt's dressing style.

He tried infusing it with Fire Attribute Dou Qi.

He found that the Greater Elf Warrior sword's enhancement for Fire Attribute Dou Qi was quite weak, but the speed of Dou Qi infusion and the smoothness with which it operated greatly surpassed that of the now-destroyed Sky-Cleaving Greatsword. Although it might not be compatible with Fire Attribute Dou Qi, it had no problem replacing the Sky-Cleaving Greatsword.

The weapon itself doesn't have an attribute suppression, it's just that materials limit the speed with which different types of Dou Qi operate — similar to how different objects have different resistances.

As a Greater Elf Warrior sword made of Dragon Bone, the Ice Soul Dragon-Slaying Sword had a far lower "resistance" than the Sky-Cleaving Greatsword, even for Fire Attribute Dou Qi.

Considering its robust material and the special properties endowed by Greater Elf blood not yet known,

the sword quickly became the ideal weapon in Liszt's eyes.

He looked up and saw that Marquis Nuta, who had been shot away, did not come rushing back to snatch the Ice Soul Dragon-Slaying Sword. The Marquis merely shot Liszt a glance from afar before taking the four Sky Knights who had already retreated and flew into the distance. They escorted the remnants of the Roaring Knights away from the Little Riverheart Castle battlefield.

Apparently, he no longer intended to negotiate the ransom for his nephew Deborah.

Liszt stood his ground.

He did not pursue Marquis Nuta.

Not yet accustomed to the Ice Soul Dragon-Slaying Sword and with his Dragon Dou Qi nearly depleted, even if he caught up, it would be difficult to kill Marquis Nuta. Moreover, killing him would be sensational news — there were many Marquises in the Eagle Kingdom, but the shock of such a prominent Landlord's death or capture could potentially draw the attention of Dragon Knights.

It was best not to attract too much attention before seizing the Trapped Dragon Mountain Iron Mine.

Holding the Ice Soul Dragon-Slaying Sword, he took hold of a war horse that a Knight brought over and began to ride at a careful pace, "Let's go back, thoroughly review the gains and losses of this battle, and make preparations for the next step, seizing the Trapped Dragon Mountain Iron Mine!"