War was about to begin. Tension gathered along the coast, and the Three Kingdoms Alliance had already sensed Liszt's determination. Thus, the dragon knight patrols along the coastline, cracking down on smuggling, had increased to seven dragons traveling together.
"Seven dragons? What a pity. A heap of loose sand is still just loose sand—you will never understand what a barrier truly is. I have not completely shattered the barrier, but I have already touched that thread of law, the law belonging to flame. That thread alone has lifted Rio and me beyond the mortal world."
Liszt was very patient. He had the kingdom make preparations for battle, yet he himself continued to stroll leisurely through the world, inspecting his territory.
The Invisible Dragon Bard searched Eagle Kingdom for natural nodes every day. Each natural node he found meant Liszt's control over Eagle Kingdom increased by another measure. This was only the beginning. In the future, he would continue searching for natural nodes in Iron Ridge Kingdom and Blast Furnace Castle, casting his shadow over the heads of every dragon knight.
Now, he had returned to Flame Royal City and arrived at a training square within the Royal Knight Academy.
A group of children between seven or eight and twelve or thirteen stood in the square. Most were boys, with only a small number of girls. There were former Moon-Slayers, Eagle Kingdom natives, and Sapphire natives among them, but now they were all children of the Flame Kingdom.
"Are you certain they all have fire-attributed constitutions?" he asked Lucy and Ruth, who accompanied him.
"Yes, Your Majesty." Lucy, already dressed in the robes of a Grand Arcanist, respectfully replied. Though she had yet to come of age, she had already begun to display the lovely, alluring grace of a young woman.