The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

Chapter 0449 Dragon Bone Magic Array (Second Update)

While waiting for the rope, Liszt carefully inquired about the situation at the bottom of the collapsed sinkhole from the serf Sean.

Serf Sean had already grown accustomed to the dark environment, claiming that the bottom of the pit was spacious without any underground rivers and seemed to have large pillars around it.

There were no wild beasts or poisonous gases.

From Liszt's visual estimate, the bottom of the pit was about thirty meters deep; because the sun could not shine directly, the light was very dim. It didn't take long for someone to bring the rope, and after piecing it together, it was finally long enough to reach the bottom of the pit. Two retainer knights were sent down first, carrying crystal lamps.

By the time they hauled up the serf Sean, tethered to the rope, the two retainer knights had already reported back about the bottom of the pit, "My lord, the pit is strange, with many passages that lead outward in all directions. At the bottom of this hole, there seem to be the lower halves of five big bones, sticking into the hole."

Danger ruled out.

Unable to hear the retainer knights' description clearly, Liszt personally went down to investigate.

Upon reaching the sinkhole's bottom, with the aid of the light from the crystal lamps, he finally saw the pit's structure—a typical lava cave and tunnel formation, with a massive cavern at the bottom surrounded by countless tunnels leading deeper underground. At the top of the cavern, five fire dragon bones were embedded.

These five fire dragon bones formed an irregular bladed shape on the surface above.

Liszt had thought that dragon bones were straight, but the bones piercing into the cavern delineated the complete shape of the dragon skeleton—the structure of curved ribs.

"These five dragon bones must be the ribs of a fire dragon, and the tips of the ribs seem to point towards a central point, the distance between them is more or less the same, about ten meters apart on average," he surmised.

He moved around the cavern, walking to the middle of where the tips of the five dragon bones converged.

The Eye of Magic revealed no trace of magic power, "Where went the fire dragon magic power I infused before? Could it be stored within the dragon bones?"

He touched the dragon bone.

The dragon bones in the cavern seemed "fresher" than those on the surface, more like bone than rock. With no clear idea in hand, he began to explore the surrounding lava tunnels. However, these tunnels were impassable, becoming narrower and narrower until they closed off.

"It feels as if Black Horse Island's original volcano specifically created this cavern during an eruption of magma."

He returned to the center of the cavern and instructed the two retainer knights to leave, "Return to the surface and disperse all the onlookers around here, seal off the Burial Ground. I want to continue my research down here for a while."

"Yes, my lord!"

The retainer knights left.

Liszt quickly took out the soul storage vessel and poured out the soul state of Virginia Truth.

"Ah, I've had a long nap... Hello, Viscount Liszt, I am pleased to meet you again," Virginia stretched and greeted before realizing she wasn't in the library, "Huh, where is this, a cavern underground? And what are those five pillars?"

She squinted her eyes.

In his heart, Liszt was weighing his options. Following the instructions of the Smoke Mission, Virginia seemed to hold clues about the dragon, and he didn't know whether he should share the secrets of the fire dragon bones with her.

After a moment, he decided to reveal the truth.

After all, Virginia was completely under his control, "Virginia, what you see are not mere stone pillars, but the remnants of fire dragon bones."

"Ah!"

Virginia exclaimed in surprise, "The remnants of fire dragon bones?"

"Yes, this is a secret I have discovered. Countless years ago, a fire dragon fell here, and its carcass decayed, leaving only these five bones. They form a formation that seems to contain a special power. Do you have any insights or ideas on this?"

"I have too little information, Viscount Liszt. Would you be able to help me examine these dragon bones closely?"

"What do you wish to observe?"

Virginia, in the form of smoke and light, slowly entwined one of the dragon bones, trying to touch it, but was unable to: "I want to know if these dragon bones still retain the Fire Dragon's magic power. My family's generations of magicians all like to study dragons and dragon beasts, and they believe that dragons do not decay."

"But this Fire Dragon has clearly decayed, leaving only five bones behind, probably five ribs that still exist." Read exclusive content at empire

"I don't know, maybe, the dragon has laid down the secret of reincarnation?" Virginia shook her head and said, "Some believe that the Valley of Dragons is where dragons die and become reborn, where they complete a cycle of reincarnation... But I don't know what dragons that die outside of the Valley of Dragons are like."

Reincarnation...

Liszt wanted to reject this notion, but in his heart, he was very eager—wouldn't it be wonderful for the Fire Dragon to reincarnate as a Little Fire Dragon after its death?

"So, do you think these five dragon bones are the...props for the Fire Dragon's prepared reincarnation?"

"I don't know, it's just speculation."

"Wait a moment."

Liszt turned and walked to the entrance of the pit, calling out, "Philip, has the Burial Ground been cleared of all unrelated personnel?"

"They have all been expelled, sir."

"If there's any commotion next, you don't need to be alarmed."

"Yes, sir."

After giving instructions to his Retainer Knights, he took out a Bone Hammer and began to strike the dragon bone. With the rhythm of the hammering, blood-red magic power patterns quickly flashed across the surface of the dragon bone as seen through the Eye of Magic. In normal vision, the dragon bones didn't change much, but any Knight or Magician would likely sense the magic power rippling over them.

Although Virginia was in a soul state, she could still feel the presence of magic power. She looked at the dragon bones in amazement, closely examining the position of the five dragon bones.

Something seemed to stir in her gaze.

"How about it, Virginia, do you see anything?" Liszt had been watching her expression and asked at the first moment.

"Viscount Liszt, I don't know if my speculation is correct, but I feel that these five dragon bones seem to be arranged into a magic array."

"Magic array?"

"Magicians need great talent to practice, and our Magic Goat Family cannot produce a genius every generation. But the reason we can pass on the magic through generations relies more on using a special magic power convergence magic array to assist mediocre apprentices in learning magic... I became a magician by relying on this convergence of magic power."

In her life, Virginia was just an ordinary magician.

Her talent was average, understandable.

Liszt asked, "Then, what kind of magic array are these five dragon bones arranged into?"

"It's the magic power convergence magic array I mentioned. Its principle is somewhat similar, but I don't know the specific situation as I can no longer observe the arrangement of runes within the magic array. I speculate that the part of the dragon bone exposed on the ground surface can absorb free-floating magic power, and then converge it together through the dragon bones inside the pit."

"Can it be started again?"

"Based on the information you've provided, the dragon bones have existed for thousands or tens of thousands of years, and they probably lost the possibility of starting long ago. However, the emergence of magic power on the surface of the dragon bone just now proves that it still has a trace of vitality. Perhaps one day, it can indeed gather enough magic power to once again coalesce into a Fire Dragon."

Can dragons reincarnate? It's hard to say.

Are dragons made of magic power? Difficult to ascertain.

Can the dragon bone magic array still be used? There's no guarantee.

But Liszt, trusting his belief in the Smoke Mission, felt he should try once more: "I have collected a great deal of Fire Dragon Magic Power; perhaps, I should pour it all into the dragon bones, allowing them to converge and incubate... In case of failure, I shall find a way to shatter the dragon bones and reclaim the Fire Dragon Magic Power!"