The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

The golden Sun Scepter, although broken in half, still allowed a glimpse of its once magnificent form. This was definitely an artifact of extraordinary value, and its owner must have been a person of towering power and influence.

Liszt reached out and picked up one half of the scepter.

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It was a rod, with a metallic texture, but it was not clear what metal it had been made from. It felt moderately heavy in hand, perhaps slightly lighter than a similar iron rod. The pattern on it was very regular, with one ring nestled within another, yet it was a mystery what it intended to convey.

At the very end of the scepter was a hexagonal prism one finger in length.

On the cross section of the break, there were jagged notches, not as if it had been chopped or smashed, but as though the break was caused by some kind of stress.

"So it's not made of a single metal, but a metal rod cast in layers," Liszt concluded as he looked at the colors on the fractured surface.

Because the fracture surface contained changes much like growth rings.

In the center was a transparent triangle, only as thick as a finger, resembling some kind of crystal. Surrounding it was a circle of silvery-white metal, encasing the crystalline triangle. Beyond that layer was gray metal in a hexagonal structure. Then there was metal of a light blue color, also in a circular structure.

The outermost layer was golden metal, circular as well, and about as thick as a baby's arm.

These five structured layers had clear color boundaries, yet were so tightly arranged and even in thickness that they nearly fused into one. Such casting technology exceeded Liszt's knowledge. At least the Duchy of Sapphire didn't have an Iron Knight capable of forging metal with such precision.

He put down the lower half of the Sun Scepter and picked up the upper half.

The tip of the upper section where the sun burst forth in a structure of radiant light was hard to describe. Inside, there was a circle with an irregularly shaped gem, the size of an adult male's fist, embedded within. The gem wasn't perfectly round but an irregular meteorite shape, transparent, with the clarity of a diamond.

Regrettably, the gem was already cracked, the largest crack as thick as a fingernail.

Even so, this golden gemstone continued to "blind the eyes", implying how dazzling its brilliance must have been when it was intact.

Outside the inner circle lay another circle.

This outer circle's shape somewhat resembled the Moon Gold Wheel design from "The Legend of Shushan", circular but with a slight gap, like a crescent moon. Arranged on this crescent-shaped outer circle were larger and smaller representations of "light", depicted by metal pins.

They varied in length, arranged without any clear pattern, but the pins slanting at forty-five-degree angles upward and downward were the longest.

Both the inner and outer circles were made of the same golden metal as the scepter handle.

"What kind of level does this divine artifact belong to? Is it a weapon or magic equipment? Is it a scepter symbolizing status, or a magic wand wielded by a magician?" Liszt matched the two halves of the scepter together, the fractured surfaces aligning perfectly, but without any reaction.

In this world, as far as he had observed, magicians did not wield magic wands.

They might wear some magic power amplifying equipment, but they did not need to wave a magic wand and then chant a magic spell.

As for the weapon equipment rank of the Sun Scepter, Liszt was likewise unable to determine it.

Based on the information he currently had from knight novels and magic books, the most top-tier divine artifacts were the Dragon Soul Soldier — weapons forged from dragon bone infused with the dragon's soul, their power astounding. Following those were the Dragon Elf Weapon and the Dragon Tooth Soldier, but all three types of weapons had never appeared in the Duchy of Sapphire.

Beyond those were the Greater Elf Warrior and Dragon Bone Weapon.

There was one Greater Elf Warrior in the Duchy of Sapphire, the Grand Duke's own sword — the Wailing Cage Sword.

As for the Dragon Bone Weapon, during the battle at Iron Hoof Island, the sword in the hands of the Marquis of Bull, which emitted blue flames, made Liszt wonder if it was a Dragon Bone Weapon.

After that came the Little Elf Soldier and Gemstone Weapon, both of which Liszt possessed — the Swift Shadow Bow and the Crimson Blood Sword.

"Judging by the material used to make the Sun Scepter, it's at most the level of a gemstone weapon, but the jewel embedded in it is a bit on the larger side."

Typically, gemstones are quite small, and one the size of an adult male's fist is rare indeed.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Moreover, its golden color also differs from that of regular gemstones. Liszt had seen similar-colored topaz before. During the New Year's celebration at Long Taro Castle, his grandfather had given Cousin Rolie a topaz pendant, but the color of the topaz was more yellow than gold.

Regrettably.

This golden gemstone had already shattered, and even the Eye of Magic couldn't detect a trace of magic power in it. It had become a useless gemstone.

...

Liszt packed all thirteen chests into the Gemstone Space.

Even though he couldn't understand the books and didn't know how to plant the seeds, perhaps their value would be revealed in the future. As for the Sun Scepter, he planned to keep it, even though it was no longer functional. He could repair it when the opportunity arose—just for show, it still had some allure.

Apart from the contents of the chests, the other items Ach retrieved had no value.

Not to say they were worthless; they might have great archaeological value—but archaeological value still meant nothing to Liszt for the time being.

"Ach, I'm taking the chests with me. You should rest early and not stay up late."

"Mhm."

Leaving the Sea View Villa and returning to the castle, Liszt was not tired. The Mini Little Fire Dragon kept snoozing at the spot over his heart and wouldn't wake up anytime soon.

He glanced at a book written in Sun Script, which might as well have been a celestial tome, and soon felt his eyes swell.

He sighed and put the book away, "Better go to sleep, then get up tomorrow and set up a glass greenhouse. I'll start planting those Magic Medicine Seeds!"

No sooner said than done.

Early the next morning, he had a batch of glass from the Fire Dragon Brick Factory brought over—glass had now officially entered production, continuing the cooperative approach with Tulip Castle, and profit-sharing negotiations were underway. Glass that could be produced in large volumes would surely impact the crystal market.

The pricing was hard to pin down.

With the discovery of quartz ores, Liszt had sent people to various parts of Coral Island to discover these mines, ensuring an ample supply of raw materials.

Even though the glass still contained impurities and wasn't completely transparent.

Making a glass greenhouse was nevertheless effortlessly within reach. He instructed the servants to use wood and rubber to bind and secure the glass, soon constructing a modest glass greenhouse in the castle's garden. Next, Liszt picked a selection of seeds without magic power from the Magic Medicine Seeds and began to sow them.

Watering and fertilizing, waiting for them to sprout.

To maintain the indoor temperature, he also placed a Magic Little Fire Dragon in the glass greenhouse. With the Magic Little Fire Dragon providing warmth, the temperature inside the greenhouse could easily stay around ten degrees, which was suitable for the seeds to germinate.

"I hope that the seeds that have lost their magic power can still sprout."

He wanted to see what kind of plants these seeds would yield. Once he knew the types of plants, he could buy the corresponding Elf Bugs and then plant the Magic Potions. Even without the corresponding Elf Bugs, he could cultivate them generation by generation, as there was a chance an Elf Bug might emerge.

Then, he could once again plant the Magic Potions.

Liszt couldn't help but commend himself for his cleverness.