The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

Chapter 0549 : The Golden Pearl of the Golden-Lipped Clam (Fourth Update, 1/5 Congratulatory Gift for Sect Leader Fallen Leaves yes)

This chapter is an additional update sponsored by "Fallen Leaves yes." For now, there will be just one update, with the remaining four to follow.

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When Liszt arrived at the seaside castle, he just happened to find Ach teaching Pike to speak. Elves are truly easy to please; after only a few days of contact and the right amount of Jade Powder, Pike had already stopped resisting Ach.

Even the Rainbow Whale Rose could play around the castle without being attacked by Pike.

Not to mention the three Little Minor Elves, Fizz, Tam, and Eddie, who were already jumping for joy upon seeing Ach. It made Liszt wonder if, should the contract be revocable, these three little guys might promptly throw themselves into Ach's arms.

"Liszt!"

"Liszt!"

Upon seeing Liszt, Pike called out loudly. Liszt crossed through the glass door and stood on the shore inside the room. He waved to Pike, "Pike, study well."

Pike grinned, his teeth glaringly out of place.

He pointed his finger at Liszt, then at Ach, and finally towards himself, "Liszt, Ach, Pike, family."

Then he pointed at the Rainbow Whale Rose outside and said disdainfully, "Rose, fish."

"Rose is not a fish; she's a Rainbow Whale, a member of the dolphin family, a mammal just like humans," Liszt wanted to say. But then he thought about the existence of magic in this world, the richness of the species far surpassing that of Earth, and seemingly without the need for detailed classification.

Whether the Rainbow Whale is truly a fish or a dolphin need not be pursued.

He waved his hand, indicating Pike to go play, then prepared to take out his grand magic work for Ach to review.

However, Ach spoke first, "Brother, near Rocky Island on the seabed, I found a group of very large Shell Sea Monsters. When they open their mouths, there is a big golden pearl inside each one of them!" As he spoke, he controlled the flow of water and swept up a pale golden shell about the size of a basin towards them.

Seeing the shell, Liszt immediately used the Eye of Magic.

Clearly, the shell emanated a bright Magic Radiance, yet another mollusk sea monster!

"Brother, be careful, it can release magic - Water Bullets, and it's a bit dangerous," Ach quickly added. However, there was no need for such a warning; with the Eye of Magic, Liszt could clearly see the flow of magic on the sea monster, thereby determining whether it was releasing magic.

He picked up the pale golden shell and threw it directly into the room.

Then he drew out the Sky-Cleaving Greatsword and stabbed it into the shell's gap. The shell was tightly closed, and held together with great strength. Nevertheless, Liszt's Dragon Dou Qi surged, and he forcefully prodded the Sky-Cleaving Greatsword into it, then pried it open with effort, causing the two halves of the shell to fall apart instantly.

Even the flesh inside the shell was torn to shreds.

Without casting any magic, the pale golden shell had already been violently killed by Liszt.

Though it was dead, the lustrous golden pearl inside was perfectly revealed. Gently slicing open the enclosing membrane with the blade, a round golden pearl as large as a grown man's fist unfurled, shining brilliantly as if it were a sphere made of pure gold.

There was only this one, but its rich blue-white Magic Radiance already displayed its value.

"This... is probably the reward for the last Smoke Mission, the pearl-producing shell?" Liszt already had his suspicions, and it was quite clear that this group of shells discovered by Ach was the belated mission reward.

He looked at the now-dead shell.

He noticed within the shell's flesh at the gap, there was a line of golden coloration, resembling lips.

"Golden-Lipped Clam... Golden Pearl." It took him only three seconds to determine the name of this shell and the pearl it produced—the official record of sea monsters was scarce, and nearly every new encounter with a sea monster was a new species with naming rights resting in the hands of the discoverer.

"Ach, was this Golden-Lipped Clam found near the seabed around Rocky Island?"

As a woman, Ach's eyes sparkled when she looked at the pearl: "Yes, brother, do you think its pearl is beautiful? It's golden, just as lovely as the Black Pearl from the Tridacna."

"Indeed, it's very beautiful, but I'm not sure about its usefulness yet. I need to study it carefully. If it's of great value, our territory will gain a new specialty product. Even if the pearl is worthless, the meat of the sea monster is highly nutritious."

Black Tridacna, Fen Hai Luo, and now Golden-Lipped Clam.

All of them are specialty products.

Regrettably, the technology to farm and mine them hasn't been figured out; fishermen can only do some auxiliary work or plant gravel for the Black Tridacna. For a sea monster like Fen Hai Luo that releases magic, the serfs are unable to cope. Mining them still needs to be done by Ach or Liszt personally.

The Golden-Lipped Clam is likely the same.

However, should the Golden Pearl prove to be of immense value, even if it requires personal mining, Liszt will not find it tiring.

...

Setting the Golden Pearl aside for the moment.

He took out his magnum opus, "The Unification of Triangular Theory and Magic Array Structures," and passed it to Ach: "This is a guess I have about the magic power system. There might be some errors with data referencing, or perhaps logical errors I haven't noticed. Help me review it."

"Alright."

Ach was now a Water System Grand Mage in her own right, even if she progressed through talent rather than accumulating knowledge, but she still read a great deal of magic books seriously.

Not like Liszt, who would pick magic books that contained interesting little stories to read.

He gathered a huge collection of amusing tales, but his knowledge remained half-baked.

No longer disturbing Ach's reading.

He called Ros and headed straight for the ocean. Following the location indicated by Ach, he prepared to go to the waters of Rocky Island to find that group of Golden-Lipped Clams and study them closely.

Ever since he had the Rainbow Whale Ros as his mount.

Liszt nearly went down to the sea on it every day to appreciate the splendid scenery of the ocean—for many people, the sea is an unknown forbidden land, always associated with various mysterious legends, unknown sea monsters, and pitch-black abysses. Ordinary people dare not set foot in the seas lightly.

Back when he was searching for the Giant Algae Forest.
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Had it not been for Ach's company, Liszt wouldn't have dared to go into the sea rashly.

But with the number of times he went into the sea increasing, he has overcome his fear of the deep sea and fallen in love with the sensation of galloping and swimming freely in the sea. The ecosystem there, so different from that on land—with its colorful fish, coral, seaweed, and sea floor dwellers, as well as sharks, sea turtles, and more—all deeply attracted him.

The Rainbow Whale, even as a Low-Level Dragon Beast with only one type of magic—the Rainbow Breathing Membrane—still reigned as a tyrant of the sea with few threats.

In the waters around Coral Island and Black Horse Island, there was no danger. Even when he once encountered a large group of sharks, the Rainbow Whale bravely charged at them, flipping one over and easily tearing open its belly to eat its liver. The remaining sharks were all scared away.

Even when they encountered a humpback whale tens of meters long, seeing the Rainbow Whale, it turned and swam away, not daring to approach.

"As sea monsters, creatures like the Fen Hai Luo and the Golden-Lipped Clam are probably akin to the Fire Rabbits and Rock Goats kept by nobles—hardly capable of any real combat. Whereas, this Rainbow Whale, a Low-Level Dragon Beast, probably holds the same status and combat power as an Intermediate Magical Beast like a Douson." Having safely reached Rocky Island, he couldn't help but reflect.