The Mighty Dragons Are Dead - Chapter 354

Chapter 354: Chapter 0351: A Calm Mindset (Fifth update, Alliance Hierarch additional release 14/18)

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The dragon-slaying event was tied to the fate of the family, but whether it occurred or not, Coral Island was powerless to prevent it.

Therefore, Li Si Te couldn’t afford to be too anxious. It also concerned his future, and he needed to think through how to explain and respond, in order to better negotiate with the Earl and reach an outcome favorable to himself. It wasn’t rational to hastily throw out an issue without distinguishing its truth.

Having drunk a cup of milk tea, his mood still couldn’t be calmed; the news brought by Chris Truth indeed came as quite a shock.

At this moment, he suddenly remembered that the Smoke Mission should have already been completed, so he called out, “Complete mission, reward: Magician Chris Truth.”

Sure enough.

The just awakened and not particularly beautiful magician Ms., was the reward for the Smoke Mission. Just like the last Smoke Mission’s reward was the Thief Paris, these belonged to the “character” rewards. More accurately, they were opportunities for an intersection with the corresponding characters that would prove beneficial.

To grasp the mission reward still required Li Si Te to make personal efforts.

“It’s a pity, Paris was beautiful and had a good figure, Chris is just mediocre…” he shook his head, feeling that this wasn’t the time to think about such things.

Before his eyes, the Serpent Script fluctuated.

A new mission quickly issued: “The news brought by Chris Truth has made you feel deep unease; this stems from the fear due to being weak. As a great Lord, please overcome the restlessness deep within, and calm your own state of mind. Reward: A melody from memory.”

“It’s true I’m a great Lord, but why is the reward another melody? Could it really be trying to cultivate me into the Piano King?” Li Si Te was not very satisfied with the reward.

Indeed.

Playing and composing piano music added greatly to his personal charm, attracting the favor of numerous women. But he would rather become a strong Knight through his own efforts, become the focus of everyone’s attention, and ultimately realize his dream of Dragon Riding. Piano music was meaningless to him.

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However, the mission was already issued, and he had no reason to refuse—mastering a couple more piano pieces would enhance his social capabilities in the future and elevate the essence of his nobility.

Returning to the mission, how to overcome the restlessness deep inside and calm his own state of mind?

A very good way was to play the piano.

He went to the Worm Room and sat in front of the piano. In the past, he had the Sea Sprite Ake to listen to his piano playing or to accompany his singing. Now, he could only play for the Elf Bugs.

“Wuuah!”

And there was Minor Elf Jela, sitting atop the piano, yawning in boredom, completely uninterested in music. In the past, it even jumped on the keyboard to dance while Li Si Te was playing, and only after several applications of Finger-Flick Magic did it start to behave a bit.

His fingers lightly brushed the keys.

Taking a deep breath, Li Si Te began to play slowly, the recently learned “Yuri Ely by the River.” He had heard it played by Meioubao at Long Taro Castle and found it pleasing to the ear, even though he felt it was slightly lacking in rhythmic changes but still a classic piano piece.

The Piano Master Czerny Windmill and Eurie Ellie by the river exchanged glances, turning into stone.

He played slowly, unlike Meioubao’s style of playing; at home, he usually improvised, playing in whatever way felt comfortable without concerning himself with too many details. After one rendition, he then played “For Alice,” and switched to “With You.”

The sound of the piano made Jela more and more sleepy until it finally collapsed at the top of the piano, falling into a deep sleep.

Liszt found himself increasingly immersed in his piano playing, his mood becoming ever brighter. He realized how much he truly enjoyed the piano, as each time he played, his spirits were instantly uplifted, as if there were no trouble that piano music couldn’t resolve.

If there was, then he would simply play two pieces.

At some point, a hazy mist seemed to naturally form before his eyes, shaping itself into Serpent Script.

“Mission completed, reward: the melody of “Canon in D Major”.”

His fingers had already begun to strike a new sequence of keys, unleashing the notes of an exceedingly classic piano piece. It was a canon, where one melodic line faithfully followed another throughout eight chords, culminating in a final phrase where the notes converged.

The piece concluded.

Liszt quickly took out the pen and paper he had prepared earlier, dabbed the ink, and hastily jotted down the melody. He replayed it several times while the inspiration was still fresh to identify any errors and dissonances, and made corrections to compose a complete version of “Canon in D Major”.

He then wrote down the name “”Canon in D Major – Liszt”” and added it to his collection of piano pieces.

…

The piano music soothed his emotions, leaving him relaxed and rational.

It made it easier for him to consider how to face the potential crises ahead: “In fact, from the beginning, I’ve overlooked something, that the Earl and the Grand Duke are not one and the same. Admittedly, in the Duchy of Sapphire, with the Earl’s Coral Island fiefdom holding significant power, if something were to happen to the Grand Duke, the Earl would likely be implicated.”

Packing away the piano music, he returned to his study and continued to ponder: “But the first to be affected would be the Sapphire Family, and the Tulip Family, with their smaller size, could more easily change direction… No matter who attempts to swallow up the dragon-less Duchy of Sapphire, the Tulip Family could simply choose a new allegiance.”

Of course.

Switching allegiances isn’t a matter of pride, and their treatment would accordingly diminish, but the wise know to adapt to the times. There’s no need to stay blindly loyal to a potentially falling Sapphire Family.

The Earl, being a Sky Knight of the Sword Saint Level, commanded a band of Elite Earth Knights. This fighting strength was quite significant, not to be easily disregarded.

Unless faced with an overwhelming army, it was unlikely that anyone would eradicate the Tulip Family – Coral Island, an offshore isle, hardly seemed worth the major nobles on the mainland dispatching an entire Knight Order… if dragons were sent, that would be a different story. If indeed a country were to use dragons against an Earldom.

Liszt felt that his family might as well eat, drink, and then just sit and wait for death.

“So, with the towering figures of the Sapphire Family to weather the storm, I don’t need to worry too much. All I have to do is wait for the situation to unfold. The Earl would likely do the same, making early preparations to seize an opportunity, whether the dragon-slaying succeeds or fails.”

That night, he managed to sleep quite soundly.

Early the next day, before dawn had broken, Liszt was already up. He donned his leather armor, girded the Crimson Blood Sword, mounted his Li Dragon Horse, and led the Blizzard Beast Dousen, ready to set out for Tulip Castle. He also notified Paris, asking her to bring Chris Truth with her to Tulip Castle.

On the way.

There was no need for him to guide it, as the Li Dragon Horse instinctively knew the way to Tulip Castle, so atop the horse’s back, he began to examine the new Smoke Mission.

“No one can predict whether the road ahead is fraught with thorns or smooth sailing, but one must always be prepared to face difficulties. The robust finances of Fresh Flower Town are more than sufficient to support a Knight Squad. Let them become your followers, to clean your blade. Reward: a forgotten Dou Qi Secret Technique.”