The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

Chapter 919: Chapter 0916: His Majesty the King (Second Update)

Li Weiliam returned to his room to rest, his mind still buzzing with the words Liszt had said in the last moments.

“I’ve ridden another dragon recently.”

“Although I don’t have money, I do have dragons, five of them.”

“Their money will ultimately be my money.”

These words circled relentlessly in his mind, leading him to express an inexplicable sentiment, “It makes so much sense that I find myself at a loss for words.”

Against the wealth of the Red and White Rose Family, he didn’t have much power to resist, yet he knew Liszt was right. Control over dragons was the true foundation of wealth, the reason why the Dragon Rearing Family were among the top nobility lay in the dragons they raised, capable of suppressing a kingdom.

Despite understanding this, an inevitable thought still emerged: “What a pity.”

Liszt himself had the same thought.

He saw through everything, clarifying the essence of strength and wealth, but while anyone can understand the principle, truly letting go is much harder. The Flame Kingdom had five dragons, and the wealth required to sustain them was immense; the fortune of the Red and White Rose Family could easily fill the void of their growth period.

“What a pity.”

“The knight system adheres to monogamy, and while a noble can have countless lovers, they cannot have two wives. Otherwise, I could totally follow the ancient Chinese emperors and take Marilyn as a concubine. It wouldn’t matter if she had been open before; just gathering the money would be fine.”

His biggest concern with noble misses was the libertine culture among the nobility, with women’s pre-marital experiences involving who knows how many revelries.

While other nobles might not care, Liszt certainly did.

However, life is about growing amidst compromises.

Cousin Mei Oubo married the fallen Angela Sapphire and still lived a happy life; their son was already born—according to the secret magical methods used by the Long Taro Family, they affirmed the child’s lineage as truly inherited from the Long Taro Family, with no possibility of a switch at birth.

“But I could never betray Ach in this lifetime. It seems that if I want to attain the wealth of the Red and White Rose Family, I’ll have to find other means.”

Money can be tempting.

Mathew of the Red and White Roses, basking in the apex of life, had no clue that his confident display of wealth did, indeed, stun people, but the stunned reactions varied greatly.

He rested for a while at the embassy.

Then he cheerfully went to participate in the exchange of diplomatic documents in the afternoon and fraternized with Liszt over drinks at the evening banquet, radiating enthusiasm. Liszt treated him with a warmth that exceeded that towards other envoys, they were all but sworn brothers. This made the emissaries from the Blast Furnace Fortress Kingdom and the negotiators from the Eagle Kingdom very envious.

To them, this signified that Liszt would soon lean towards the Steel Ridge Kingdom.

Once Liszt sided with the Steel Ridge Kingdom, it would inevitably disrupt the balance of power in the northeastern corner of the Legendary Continent. The Eagle Kingdom, having lost several dragons, was declining in power and could only ally with the Blast Furnace Fortress Kingdom to counter the Steel Ridge Kingdom, but with the addition of the Flame Kingdom, the power of the Steel Ridge Kingdom was bound to inflate.

So, following that, the emissary from the Blast Furnace Fortress began to vigorously court Liszt, and the negotiating team from the Eagle ceased nitpicking.

After accompanying Mathew around Black Horse Island, Liszt excused himself on the pretext of having matters to attend to and left Black Horse Island, entrusting the negotiations to his father, Li Weiliam.

Li Weiliam seized the opportunity to make a request, “The Flame Kingdom is about to be established, and we hope that the three great kingdoms will immediately recognize the status of the Flame Kingdom.”

Mathew responded promptly, “Please rest assured, Marquis of Bull Tail, the Steel Ridge Royal Family has already acknowledged the establishment of the Flame Kingdom by the Flame Family. As soon as the Flame Kingdom is founded, we will establish official diplomatic relations.”

“Thank you for His Majesty Osborne’s recognition, and we also hope to enhance our friendship with the Red and White Rose Family.”

“I feel a close affinity with Prince Liszt and believe that this friendship will surely blossom into dazzling light.”

Li Weiliam beamed with a smile, “Liszt also said he felt an immediate kinship with Prince Mathew.” Since Mathew is the heir of the Grand Duchy, he may be addressed as ‘Prince’.

Facing the aggressive courting posture of the Steel Ridge Kingdom.

Bruce Silverhand gave it some thought before swiftly responding, “I carry the attitude of Helder Your Highness, the Blast Furnace Fortress Royal Family will not oppose the establishment of the Flame Kingdom, and is willing to establish formal diplomatic relations. We hope the two kingdoms can trade with each other and communicate openly.”

“This is natural, as the Flame Kingdom has powerful maritime trading forces. Even though Blast Furnace Fortress is distant, we can still exchange trade.”

Thus, the positions of Steel Ridge and Blast Furnace Fortress were already clear.

Only the negotiation team from the Eagle Kingdom had yet to articulate a clear stance. Seeing this, Li Weiliam, after exchanging covert communications with Liszt, gradually adopted a more forceful tone, “Team Leader Alexander, if you cannot represent the attitude of the Eagle Royal Family, then please go back.”

“Marquis of Bull Tail, what do you mean by this?” Alexander White Iron’s face became somewhat unsightly, “As the special envoy of the king, I naturally have the right to represent the attitude of the Eagle Royal Family.”

“In that case, I’ll speak plainly, Prince Dragon Knight is very angry at the Eagle Kingdom for its prolonged inability to reach a ransom agreement, and its reluctance to state its position on the Flame Kingdom. If the Eagle Kingdom continues with this attitude, then there’s no need to talk further—we can just wait for the next dragon-slaying war.”

“Prince Liszt is going to start a new dragon-slaying war, thinking the Eagle Kingdom is easy to bully!”

“You can try if you wish. After all, the Flame Kingdom is lame and poor, with nothing to lose. If the Eagle Kingdom wishes to be an enemy, then we can only choose retaliatory measures to deal with it.”

“This is a threat!”

Li Weiliam said with surprise, “It is indeed a threat. Have you been staying here all these days and not understood that?”

Alexander’s face flushed red, but he struggled to come up with any strong words to say.

Who could blame him? The Eagle Kingdom had already been defeated twice in dragon-slaying wars, losing Dragon Knights and dragons; it was hard to take a hard line. Now that both Steel Ridge and Blast Furnace Fortress had recognized the Flame Kingdom, if the Eagle Kingdom did not compromise, it probably would have to face a third dragon-slaying war.

Once Steel Ridge helped the Flame Kingdom restrain Blast Furnace Fortress…

The Eagle Kingdom might very well suffer Liszt’s retaliation.

Although the Kingdom still had several Dragon Knights and dragons, they were needed to suppress the restless borders. Otherwise, the surrounding duchies and even the families of great kingdoms wouldn’t mind taking the opportunity to plunder wildly. Even if another Dragon Knight were to fall, it’s possible that the Kingdom would have to beg for peace by ceding territory.

So, left with no other choice, Alexander had to back down.

He exposed the bottom line of the Eagle Kingdom, “The Eagle Kingdom can recognize the Flame Kingdom and is willing to pay the ransom with a Grain-type Dragon Elf under two hundred years old to redeem Duke Pierrot. At the same time, we will not interfere with the title succession in the Grey Iron Duchy… but the two countries must sign a treaty of friendship and cease warfare at the dragon level.”

“If you had made this decision earlier, there would have been no need for such an extensive discussion. Team Leader Alexander, Prince Dragon Knight is a peace-loving and just Knight. We only wish to develop calmly on the seas. The sea belongs to the Flame Kingdom, and we hope the Eagle Kingdom will not encroach again next time.”

Finally, the results of the negotiations were formally agreed upon.

At the same time, declarations from the three kingdoms were also successively published. The content of the declarations was simple; the three kingdoms all recognized the establishment of the Flame Kingdom and began formal diplomatic relations with it.

There were no details, no legal bindings, and no demarcation of power.

The declarations merely indicated that another kingdom-level player had joined the game of knights. As for the rules, content, and outcome of the game, it was all left for the Flame Kingdom to fight for.

After the declarations were published.

Liszt returned to Thorn Castle, receiving the envoys of the three great kingdoms as king, sitting high in the main seat, watching calmly as the messengers paid their respects anew.

“Leader of the Steel Ridge Kingdom envoy team, Mathew of the Red and White Roses, pays respects to His Majesty the Flame King.”

“Leader of the Blast Furnace Fortress Kingdom envoy team, Bruce Silverhand, pays respects to His Majesty the Flame King.”

“Leader of the Eagle Kingdom envoy team, Alexander White Iron, pays respects to His Majesty the Flame King.”

Liszt responded indifferently, “You may rise.”