As for the ones sitting on the dragons—the ones Lumine, Ayaka, and Paimon were riding—the crew was very familiar with them.
But familiarity aside, they had never interacted with these dragons so closely before.
Immediately, the crew ran up to the deck.
Chongzuo's face lit up with excitement as he raised his arms and shouted:
"Miss Lumine! Fly higher!"
"So cool! Dragon Knights!"
"Our dragons are so awesome!"
The Alcor erupted with cheering and encouragement, making the three riders even happier as they showed off acrobatic maneuvers in the sky.
Beidou noticed the commotion, holding her wine bottle as she walked over, smiling at Lumine and the others above.
"Really can't sit still, huh…"
Beside her, Huixing looked a bit concerned:
"Boss, these dragons… they should be the same ones from the dragon groups recently, right?"
"Is it really okay for Miss Lumine and the others to ride them out like this?"
Hearing this, the other crew members also froze for a moment, glancing at Beidou with some concern.
After all, these were Liyue's trump cards against the Abyss Heralds. Taking them all the way to Inazuma—what if the General Affairs Department found out?
Beidou waved her hand casually with a smile.
"Doesn't matter. These dragons belong to Lumine and the others, so it's fine for them to ride them out."
"If I hadn't brought my own dragons, I'd be flying with them too."
Chongzuo was stunned and exclaimed:
"Boss, you have dragons too? Wait, what?!"
"I thought these dragons were supposed to be immortals enlightened by the Geo Archon! How can you just ride them?"
Among the Liyue people, dragons that had reached the immortal stage were naturally considered divine beings…
On top of that, Liyue's immortals themselves often took animal forms.
Naturally, a scholar claiming to understand the Geo Archon best propagated that these dragons were immortals enlightened by him. This view had long been accepted by the people of Liyue.
Otherwise, no one would understand where Liyue had acquired so many dragons with immortal-level combat abilities.
Now, hearing Beidou speak, it almost felt like these immortal dragons were mere pets.
Beidou waved her hand casually:
"These dragons aren't much different from the wolf packs you've seen before. They're essentially raised as pets and mounts."
"Their combat ability is indeed higher, but they weren't enlightened by the Geo Archon."
"In short, I can't tell you too much about these things. Just remember that these dragons are part of Liyue's heritage."
"Lumine being allowed to ride them out was also Ningguang's decision. Riding dragons makes it possible to travel quickly between Liyue and Inazuma."
"Consider it added security for Lumine's upcoming journey."
Kazuha remained silent for a moment, then spoke softly:
"So… there are many of these dragons?"
Beidou nodded seriously:
"Very many…"
"Honestly, I shouldn't even be telling you this."
"But Liyue is different now. Ningguang and the others don't mind showing some strength, letting the people of Liyue see just how powerful their nation is."
"That day, you may have only seen around twenty dragons, but in reality, there are over 250 dragons in Liyue Harbor now."
Hearing this, the surrounding crew's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Are you joking, Boss?!"
Chongzuo pointed at the dragons above.
"These big guys are all immortal-level powerhouses! When did we even raise this many dragons?!"
Now, everyone finally believed that these dragons were not enlightened by the Geo Archon.
No matter how strong the Geo Archon was, he couldn't possibly enlighten so many immortals!
"Although it sounds ridiculously far-fetched… it's true. I've seen the dragon-raising bases in Liyue," Beidou shook her head and said no more.
Huixing noticed a gap in understanding and looked thoughtfully at Lumine, speaking softly:
"Boss… Liyue raising so many dragons, could it be for…?"
Beidou patted Huixing's shoulder with a smile:
"Smart guess, Huixing. Just as you're thinking—we're preparing an armed Dragon Knight Corps."
"In a while, maybe a year or so, Liyue will have a thousand Dragon Knights."
"So now, you should understand just how strong we are, right?"
The crew fell silent.
They had thought that seeing a few dozen dragons was impressive enough.
They never expected Ningguang and the others to think so far ahead—starting directly with a Dragon Knight Corps…
Dragon Knights!
Even for sailors present, who wouldn't want to be a mighty, awe-inspiring Dragon Knight?
Flying dragons into battle—there's nothing cooler than that.
With the wind's blessing, the Alcor was almost reaching Inazuma. Ahead, a thunderstorm could already be seen.
Beyond it lay the remote islands of Inazuma.
Chongzuo rubbed his hands together, smiling broadly at Beidou:
"Um… Boss, could you ask for me? If I join the Millelith now, is it still possible?"