Chapter 132: A Big Step in Exploring the Universe

Since the mission was not yet complete, Liszt returned to the castle for a day of rest and regrouping before continuing his journey with Dou Sen and his retinue of knights towards Thorns Ridge, intent on hunting down the stragglers.

The female Earthdog was still bound, and in order to tame her ferocity, Liszt, after considering everyone's opinions, decided to starve her for three to five days so she couldn't unleash magic to harm others. Meanwhile, he had already arranged for the Thorns Caravan to order an iron cage from North Valley City, sealing her fate to spend the remainder of her life within its confines.

Perhaps one day, once she became accustomed to her new life and submitted to Dou Sen, she might regain her freedom.

"Dou Sen should be able to handle her; after all, Dou Sen is almost a mid-level monster!" Liszt was confident that while Earthdogs may not be pack creatures, submission to the strong is a consistent trait among monsters, especially between a male and a female.

"Woof woof!"

In the distance, Dou Sen, who was chasing his tail in circles, felt a bit dizzy.

Still young!

"Now that she has become your wife, it's time to give her a name... She's an Earthdog, and she's your wife, so let's call her 'Earthwife'!" Liszt seriously proposed the name. "Dou Sen, do you approve of this name? If you do, bark twice."

"Woof woof!" Dou Sen, still chasing his tail, indicated his approval.

Reentering Thorns Ridge,

without Earthwife to draw attention, Dou Sen reclaimed his glory as the king of Thorns Ridge, continuously hunting lone beasts along the way—stragglers from previous hunts.

Unfortunately,

after another three days passed,

no monsters were found. Liszt felt his Magic Eye was becoming so proficient that he could seamlessly cast it, keeping it active 24 hours a day. Still, there were no signs of magic, as if the monsters had hidden beneath the surface to hibernate.

This time of year, at the end of summer and beginning of autumn, was not the season for hibernation.

"So where are the stragglers hiding?" Liszt, riding on his Lyrical Dragon horse, looked over at the Logging Team, who were enthusiastically chopping down trees nearby, feeling conflicted.

Without completing the mission, the clues to the Lyrical Dragon horse herd he sought would not emerge—perhaps the clues were hidden within the Thorns Forest, but after sweeping through it twice, nothing had been found. He could only hope that completing the mission would reveal them.

If they couldn't be found, they simply couldn't be found.

In the end, Liszt could only issue the order: "Master Marcus, lead the retinue of knights to continue training in Thorns Ridge, protect the Logging Team, and fight any monsters you encounter, or flee if you cannot defeat them."

"Yes, sir!"

...

The smoke mission was a perplexing puzzle.

It dampened spirits.

But these past few days weren't without good news—the crystal craftsman successfully ground the required convex and concave lenses, producing a total of twenty pieces.

Liszt experimented by randomly combining them, discovering that a convex lens and a concave lens together could form a telescope, as could two convex lenses, though the latter produced an inverted image.

Naturally, he chose the combination of a convex and a concave lens, tasking the blacksmiths at the forge and the carpenters at the woodshop to collaborate on crafting the tube. The tube was approximately one meter long, and while the magnification wasn't high after embedding the lenses, Liszt was already quite satisfied, naming it the "Liszt Telescope."

At night, he aimed the telescope at the moon in the sky.

Adjusting the distance between the lenses, the varying dark and light regions of the moon came into view. What struck Liszt as peculiar was that the moon he saw was surrounded by a faint halo of light—a Liszt who knew a little about astronomy quickly identified it.

"The atmosphere!"

"This moon actually has an atmosphere!"

"An atmosphere, does that mean intelligent beings might reside there?" It suddenly dawned on him that this world had various mythical legends about the moon.

In some legends,

the royal family of the Unfallen Glory Empire originated from the moon. In others, the Elven King lived upon it.

In some, the moon was the homeland of dragons.

And in even more, the central mountain range of the continent, "Muragaudin," had a peak with a magical teleportation array leading to the moon. Whoever could ascend Muragaudin and activate the magic teleportation array would gain control of the endless wealth on the moon—a legend akin to the myth of Chang'e flying to the moon.

Everyone knew it was false, yet they harbored a deep longing for it.

The magic teleportation array—supposedly a grand magic researched by ancient Archmages to traverse space and time—had been lost long ago, existing only in legends.

Muragaudin was the highest mountain range on the continent, towering tens of thousands of meters high, making it impossible for mortals to reach the summit. Even riding a dragon couldn't take one to the highest peak; the endless storms halfway up were more terrifying than the most powerful wind magic, capable of shredding both man and dragon to pieces.

As for the name "Muragaudin," it was a translation from a foreign language, specifically an ancient tongue known as "Lunar Speech." Lunar Speech was the language of the "Moon Empire" long ago, no longer used by any nation today. However, many countries' languages had incorporated elements of Lunar Speech, or directly adopted certain words from it.

The term Muragaudin, when translated, meant "Knight Guardian of Moonlight."

Some said Muragaudin Mountain signified—the knight guarding the Moon Empire.

Others stretched the interpretation to suggest that Muragaudin Mountain represented—the knight guarding the magic teleportation array between the moon and the continent.

Regardless,

the legend that "Muragaudin Mountain leads to the moon" was known to all.

"So, are these legends true or false? Judging this world by Earth's common sense is no longer appropriate; it's hard to say whether there are truly 'people' on the moon!" Liszt, once a staunch atheist, had now become an agnostic.

This world lacked worship of gods but was filled with strange and wondrous legends, perfectly suited for the development of agnosticism.

Despite the confusion regarding the moon's mysteries,

at the evening banquet that day, Liszt announced loudly: "The invention of the Liszt Telescope represents a significant leap forward in humanity's quest to understand the universe. It will unveil the mysteries of the cosmos, presenting them right before our eyes."

He was thrilled by his discovery and wanted to share the joy with his people.

However, as his subordinates eagerly took turns looking through the telescope and observing the moon, their feedback was somewhat disheartening.

Gort looked at the moon and muttered, "Is this the moon? It seems quite beautiful indeed. Is it a giant pancake? Why aren't there any dragons or elven kings?"

Blair, gazing at the moon, whispered, "The moonlight is too weak, much weaker than sunlight. Some parts seem to be on the verge of going out."

By 'going out', he referred to the darker regions on the moon, which could be vast plains akin to those on Earth's moon, or perhaps true lunar seas. Liszt's telescope magnification was still insufficient, barely reaching over thirty times, so his observations of the moon were not clear enough, not to mention the obstruction caused by the atmosphere.

Isaiah wasn't looking at the moon; he wanted to see the stars. However, under the moonlit backdrop, few stars shone brightly.

After Marcus finished observing the moon, his face remained calm. "My lord, why do we look at the moon?"

Ignorant savages!

Liszt's initial excitement had dissipated completely, leaving him with a sense of solitude as if he were the only sober one in a sea of drunkards.

Fortunately, he was adept at adjusting his mindset. His noble upbringing allowed him to quickly regain his composure, offering a programmed, slight smile. "It can not only view the moon but also distant objects. With a telescope, scenes far away come into full view. You can use it to observe magical beasts."

Marcus' eyes suddenly lit up. "Indeed! My lord, you are truly a son of glory favored by the knightly honor. The Liszt telescope is indeed a great invention!"