The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

Open your mouth.

Spit out three gemstones as bright as diamonds, each the size of a fingernail.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

That was all the Formless Dragon did. It left Liszt with three Space Gems and then, with a high-pitched "woo Yi ya", kicked with its hind legs, spread its wings, and shot into the sky, never looking back. It didn't turn invisible again, maintaining the appearance of flowing mercury.

The twinkling, multicolored light, like a rainbow, faded in the distance.

Watching the calm sky, Liszt gripped the Space Gems in his hand, feeling a sense of loss. His first close encounter with a true living dragon had just happened and ended like that. His dreams of becoming a Dragon Knight didn't seem to have landed on the Formless Dragon, and he had to go back to cajole the Little Fire Dragon.

"But it's already worth it, three Space Gems, plus the original one, the Formless Dragon gave me four Space Gems!"

The value of four Space Gems was incalculable; in fact, just one Space Gem was priceless. These gems, having their own independent space, were essentially the stuff of legends and couldn't be bought with money. Thanks to the generosity of an old friend, Liszt now owned four.

He could be described as filthy rich.

"I'll wear two on my left hand, two on my right hand, sorted!" he thought to himself delightedly. Of course, he wouldn't make them into rings right now. He still chose to keep them close to his body to prevent exposure.

The Formless Dragon was gone.

Liszt stowed away the Space Gems and walked toward the dining area, carefully searching to see if the Formless Dragon had left any additional Space Gems behind. However, he used his Eye of Magic to inch his way through the chaotic mud field and found nothing.

At this point, he realized something, "It seems that dragons can control the production of their gemstones... And it's very likely that the Space Gems the Formless Dragon dropped last time were intentionally left behind as a meal ticket?"

From the fact that the Formless Dragon had approached him on its own and left behind three Space Gems, it was evident that the Formless Dragon's intelligence was by no means low. It understood that this picnic wasn't naturally occurring but was a deliberate gesture of goodwill from humans. So after eating, it left payment for the meal.

It didn't freeload... ahem, it didn't mooch off.

"Speaking of this Formless Dragon, indeed, dragons seem to lack gender. There was nothing under its belly, no reproductive organs. But it seems, I didn't even find its excretory opening. How does it excrete dragon feces? According to the Dragon Rearing Manual, isn't the excretion of a dragon a liquid?"

The Dragon Rearing Manual had rather detailed descriptions of dragons, including a section on dragon feces.

Dragon feces weren't like the waste of ordinary creatures; it was a fluid-like substance that, once released from the excretion opening, quickly merged with the surface of the ground and formed crystal mines in the nearby area.

One could say,

Many crystal utensils used by nobles are evolved from dragon feces, and even the crystal tableware in Liszt's castle might also have been transformed from dragon feces.

However, like the residual magic power excreted by the Mini Little Fire Dragon, dragons are, after all, extraordinary creatures. Their entire make-up can be explained by magic power—from the breeding situation of the Little Fire Dragon, it is corroborated that dragons are composed of and born from magic power.

Such creatures, even their feces, are valuable products.

Too bad Elves don't excrete feces, or else Elf feces might also be a significant resource.

"So when the Formless Dragon was eating just now, did it not excrete? If it did excrete, there should be crystals under the ground nearby... I wonder what kind of crystals are formed by the Formless Dragon." Crystals are usually accessory minerals to gemstones and have the same properties.

But their quality is much lower than that of gemstones and can only be used as materials for magic equipment.

Once the residual magic power from the dragon is used up, the crystal becomes mere crystal, merely attractive to look at.

...

Half an hour later.

He didn't find any gemstones.

He didn't discover any crystal mines either.

Liszt no longer wasted his efforts. He walked into the wooden house to check on the three dairy cows. He found them all fainted, foaming at the mouth, and if they weren't breathing, Liszt would have suspected they were dead. The two fat pigs had also collapsed, surrounded by filth, with nothing but their breath left.

"I hope you'll soon give birth to Dragon Breed Cows and Dragon Breed Pigs... The dairy cows are expected to be due in the fall; it'll be another month and a half before the fat pigs are expected to give birth."

A cow's gestation period is about 280 days, close to nine months. It is now the end of February, and considering the days they had already been pregnant, the calves are likely to be born around September or October. A pig's gestation period is about 114 days, which is about three months and three weeks plus three days, so they should give birth in April.

The good mood brought by the expectation of Dragon Breed Cows and Dragon Breed Pigs was lost upon entering the chicken and duck coop.

That was because Liszt found that the hens and ducks in the cages had died, scared to death or crushed by the dragon might. Only five chicken eggs and five duck eggs were left, unsure if they could still hatch into chicks and ducklings. He covered them with dry straw, planning to take them back and let other hens and ducks incubate them.

The last were ten eggs of Green-headed Ducks, showing no changes—these duck eggs were easily dealt with, just needed some sunlight for hatching, and didn't require a mother duck.

Essentially, that marked the end of the Formless Dragon's visit.

Suddenly.

He once again clutched his chest, feeling the Mini Little Fire Dragon that lived in his heart going berserk again. No matter how he tried to soothe it, he couldn't suppress the rampage.

"Oh!"

The Mini Little Fire Dragon's emotions wildly spilled over, a complex mix of restlessness, excitement, fear, anticipation, anxiety, and urgency.

"Since I can't calm you down, let's let you go berserk, prepare to be reborn!" Liszt stopped trying to suppress it, after all the Formless Dragon had left, and it was very safe here.

He simply welcomed the rebirth of the Fire Dragon.

No sooner had he released the suppression than he felt a powerful sucking force at the position of his heart, just like the last time, the Little Fire Dragon directly drained all his Dou Qi. Then, through the channels of Dou Qi, it rapidly headed towards the palm of Liszt's left hand, as if it were expelling Dou Qi normally.

The Mini Little Fire Dragon burst out directly from the palm, in the form of a cluster of flames.

"Oh!"

The voice was no longer rising within his mind but by his ear, as the cluster of flames swiftly solidified into a small Little Fire Dragon. This Little Fire Dragon could now exist independently of Liszt. It fluttered its wings, slowly circling in front of him, and kept calling "Oh!" "Oh!"

It seemed to be anxiously awaiting something.

"Do you want Fire Dragon Magic Power?" Liszt asked weakly. Without the Dou Qi, he felt very uncomfortable, as if his body was hollowed out—which indeed it was.

"Oh!"

The Little Fire Dragon nodded with almost human-like understanding.

This intelligence was definitely not low, but Liszt sighed and said, "My last of the Fire Dragon Magic Power was already fed to you this morning. There's only a bit left at the Fire Dragon Brick Factory and glass workshop. I'll take you there to get it." Struggling to his feet, he prepared to take the Little Fire Dragon and set off for the port town.

But the Little Fire Dragon was not willing to leave: "Oh!"

Liszt guessed with bewilderment, "Do you want the Fire Dragon Magic Power now?"

The Little Fire Dragon nodded frantically, appearing very anxious: "Oh!"

"Where can I get you some now... Perhaps you could take some medicine in the meantime," Liszt suggested, as he pulled out a handful of Magic Potion from the Space Gem, prepared for his daily practice.

Seeming to understand that the Fire Dragon Magic Power would not be available,

The Little Fire Dragon charged toward Liszt's palm and directly ate all the Magic Potions in Liszt's hand, along with the glass vials, crunching them down.

After eating, it again raised its head to Liszt: "Oh!"

"You want more?"

Liszt, with no choice left, had to take out another handful of Magic Potions... He took out five handfuls in total, handing over all of his monthly supply of Magic Potion, and only then did the Little Fire Dragon, still seemingly unsatisfied, stretch out its tongue of flames to lick its lips.

The next moment.

It soared high with a powerful flap of its wings.

Midflight, the solid flames burst with a bang, creating a rain of fire across the sky. As the dazzling fire rain hit the ground, the form of a bright red Fire Dragon gradually emerged in midair. The Fire Dragon's body was ablaze, but the flames were dying down, and the color was increasingly becoming black-red.

Ultimately.

The flames extinguished completely, and a Fire Dragon covered in black-red scales, flapping its wings and raising its dragon head, let out a resounding roar: "Oh!"

The Fire Seed form of the Little Fire Dragon had finally been reborn, grown into a real creature of flesh and blood.

Now it could be called—a Fire Dragon!