54 – Diamonds Are Forever
“Moo…”
Old Flower whined and collapsed in a pool of blood.
Tightly gripping the Redblood Sword, Liszt operated the bit of qi he had just recovered and released the Magic Eyes.
His sight changed. Next to the flames, he saw the ash-grey invisible dragon formed from magic power tearing into the old cows. It had already finished eating Old Black and was currently enjoying Old Flower. While eating, it would raise its head from time to time and look around. It was very alert.
Its shape was no different from the depictions of dragons Liszt saw in books.
It had the physique of a standard Western dragon, just that it was a bit slender.
It had four limbs. However, when on the ground, it did not close its wings. Its wings were similar to the wings of a bat as they similarly adapted a forelimb-like structure, with the fingers supporting the membranes. The wings would open and retract with the opening and closing of the fingers.
However, because the wings adopted a forelimb-like structure, they could not be folded alike the wings of birds.
The wings could be folded by bending the elbows. There still were fingers resembling hooks or sickles in the middle of the wings at the position of the metacarpal bones.
The invisible dragon used the hooks of its wings to cut the flesh and bones of the cow and then stuff the mincemeat into its mouth.
It had a very long tail, which was much longer than what was normally depicted in ill.u.s.trations of dragons. It also had horns on its head, not a pair, but rather an entire row of long and short horns. Reportedly, dragon horns symbolized power. When attending grand ceremonies, the kings" scepters were generally made from dragon horns.
However, when using the Magic Eyes, Liszt saw that the place where the invisible dragon"s magic power was most concentrated was not at its horns nor its heart.
Instead, it was at its teeth.
The magic power of each dragon tooth was exceptionally clear. There was a total of forty-two teeth. Besides the four huge canines, the remaining teeth were also fairly sharp.
“Reportedly, a dragon"s soul was concealed in its teeth. Extracting a dragon"s soul, forging a divine armament from its teeth, and then pouring the soul inside would result in the most formidable of weapons.” For a split second, Liszt was eager to slaughter the invisible dragon and pull out its teeth.
Of course, that was just wishful thinking.
“Hurry up eating and leave.” Liszt dispelled the Magic Eyes and continued to observe the dairy farm.
The invisible dragon took its time eating, allowing him to recover his qi, summon the smoke mission, and then finally take a look at the new mission.
“Mission: the invisible dragon has appeared in the Flower Town. After preparing the things that it loved to eat, smoke gra.s.s and cow meat, the only thing left to do is to wait for it to eat its fill and leave. Please evade the invasion of the invisible dragon. Reward: a gift from the invisible dragon.”
“What should be done has been done. Now, sit back and relax, and the mission will be completed.” His heart was stirred as he set his sight on the ‘gift from the invisible dragon", “What will it be?”
Inside, though, he had already an inkling of what it might be.
Next, Liszt quietly observed the invisible dragon using the Magic Eyes when his qi had recovered and indirectly observed using the naked eye when his qi was depleted.
About half an hour later, the flames were already extinguished and only broken pieces of bones remained from the cows.
Seeing that the alfalfa on the ground was being blown by wind, Liszt promptly operated the bit of qi that he had just recovered. Enduring the pain in his eyes, he once more unleashed the Magic Eyes.
He saw the invisible dragon flying in the direction of the East Coast, away from the Flower Town. Liszt saw it getting further and further away, until his Magic Eyes collapsed.
“It"s gone…” Liszt had mixed feelings.
There was relief after tension, loss after the departure of a beautiful thing, expectation of the gift, and a sense of accomplishment for completing the invasion of a dragon.
“As a precaution for the invisible dragon coming back, lets wait a bit more.”
After staying in the bunker for nearly half an hour, he released the Magic Eyes and carefully looked around to make sure that there was no trace of the invisible dragon.
Liszt pushed open the camouflage above the bunker and came out.
He stretched while facing the scorching sun: “My first contact with a dragon is over, ah.” He still didn"t know what sort of dragon the invisible dragon was, but as long as it was a dragon, it was an unfathomable existence, especially as it was a sacred dragon that was invisible.
The word sacred, to some extent, indicated that such a dragon was extraordinary.
Going back to the Thorns Woods, he checked the on the thorns sprite worm"s worm stalk. After untying Firedragon"s reins, he discovered that it had sullied itself. The mare must have been scared witless by the Dragon Might just now.
Fortunately, its back was clean.
Riding Firedragon, Liszt headed for the dairy farm. However, even when being whipped by Liszt, Firedragon still was not willing to approach the beacon.
“Dragon Might… No, the scent of the dragon can scare you this much? Luckily you have the bloodline of the low-ranked magic beast Flame Horse.” Helpless, Liszt could only dismount it and go on foot.
He could not sense the scent left behind by the invisible dragon as the place was still filled with the smell of smoke gra.s.s.
It was unknown to where the dairy farm"s other eight cows had ran to. Liszt just hoped that they did not entered the depths of the Thorns Ridge. Otherwise, they would surely end up as food for magic beasts.
With utmost care, Liszt looked through the remains of the beacon. He even took a hoe and carefully rummaged through the ground. On one hand, he was looking for the gift from the invisible dragon, while on the other hand, he was destroying the footprints and any other traces left by the invisible dragon.
People could get into trouble because of treasures.
So he had to be careful.
“Found it!” A moment later, Liszt found the thing that he was looking for, a transparent gem, underneath cow bones.
It was not big, roughly the size of a fingernail. It was much smaller then the ruby inlaid in the Bloodred Sword, which was the size of a baby"s fist. Also, it was not of a gorgeous color. It looked similar to a diamond. It was crystal clear and had an irregular shape, looking flat with multiple edges. It could refract sunlight into fragmented flashes.
Inexplicably, Liszt thought of an advertising slogan.
“Diamonds are forever.”
It was indeed a good material for making a ring, though it was unknown whether the s.p.a.ce part was true or not. He did not immediately inspect it, but instead carefully put it away, and then proceeded with rummaging through the ground. He hoped to find a second one. Unfortunately, after rummaging through a scope of fifty meters, which was also the scope of the invisible dragon"s footprints, he did not find a second gem.
He was unresigned. But even after opening the Magic Eyes, he still could not find anything.
“Apparently, the so-called gift is really just this gem.” Liszt wiped the sweat off his forehead. The leather armor he wore was dirty, greatly reducing his aristocratic demeanor. Still, there was a radiant smile adorning his face, “In any case, this chapter of the invisible dragon has ended, and the Flower Town is safe.”
He walked into a serf"s thatched cottage to cool off and take a look at the new mission.
“Mission completed. Reward: a gem of the invisible dragon.”
“Mission: tomatoes grown by the tomato settlement"s John Shoulderpole household are better, having a greater yield and growing faster, than the tomatoes grown by the other households. As the lord, there is no way you would not go figure out the reason for this. Reward: a sprite worm.”