The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

Editor: Henyee Translations

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In the center of Fresh Flower Farm, the Tulip Great Elf, together with a Tulip Lesser Spirit and six Tulip Spirit Bugs, surrounded the Black Tulip to absorb its aura and undergo assimilation.

Li Si Te (Liszt) stood by, watching the Tulip Great Elf intently.

In the memories of his previous life, the Great Elf named Xiangxiang was estimated to be over sixty years old; it was just a Little Minor Elf more than two decades ago and had evolved into a Greater Elf during his father’s generation. With Xiangxiang’s help, the Tulip Family rapidly developed, and a vast amount of tulips brought innumerable wealth.

With that wealth, they built a capable and battle-ready Knight Order, and it was not long before Li Weiliam was titled Earl for his military exploits.

Coral Island became the family’s domain.

“Elves… Although I have the memories of my previous life and grew up watching Xiangxiang, no matter how many times I look, it’s never enough. Elves are definitely wondrous things that shouldn’t exist in this world… Unfortunately, it isn’t mine. I have only five Elf Bugs, no, soon there will be six.”

He wrote to the Earl, hoping to trade for an Elf Bug, and the Earl clearly agreed, as Levis brought with him an additional Little Wheat Elf Bug.

“My dear brother, the Little Wheat Bug Father asked me to pass on to you as a reward for discovering the Tulip Magic Potion,” Levis said, taking out a Jade Box and handing it to Liszt.

“Is this a reward outside of our trade, or within it?”

“Outside of it, haha, Liszt, don’t view us as outsiders.” Levis smiled gently, his noble demeanor not much inferior to Liszt’s, “No matter what, we share the Tulip Family’s blood, and whether it’s a Magic Potion or the importance of Tulips, the benefit to the family is immense. Father was very pleased when he heard about it.”

“Then I will accept it, and thank Father for me.”

“Why not thank him in person?”

“Hmm?”

Li Vera (Li Weiliam) approached, “Grandfather is ill and has been confined to bed. Father is preparing for all three of us siblings to visit him. So, once things are settled here, you will need to go back to Coral City with us tomorrow.”

“Is that so,” Liszt nodded, with no reason to refuse.

“Let’s save our catch-up for lunch then. We should finish the formal business first. Li Vera, you start the negotiation with Liszt. I’m going to take in the scene of Fresh Flower Town… it’s my first visit to this small town,” said Levis, as he mounted his steed, accompanied by his Retainer Knights and Layden, who was there to ensure his safety, and rode off.

They watched Levis leave.

Suddenly, Li Vera said, “Are you really unwilling to part with that black horse?”

“I’m very sorry, sister.”

“It is quite extraordinary; have you noticed?”

“Yes.”

“Absolutely not selling?”

“Not selling.”

“Alright, it seems not only has your luck improved but so has your temper,” Li Vera narrowed her eyes; she used to beat Liszt quite a bit when they were young—the previous Liszt was a failure, often beaten by his brother and sister over toys.

Liszt didn’t want to reminisce about past events; they weren’t his experiences: “What have you brought for me, sister? Business is business; you can’t hoodwink me.”

“I won’t intervene in the sale of the Tulip Magic Potion; I’m just here to assimilate once, with one Little Minor Elf and two Elf Bugs. The payment I’m offering is five hundred jin of wheat, eight hundred jin of millet, one hundred jin of pig iron, and fifty jin of wrought iron, along with a packet of Falcon Town’s specialty, sweetheart cabbage seeds… No sweetheart bugs, whether you can cultivate it or not, that’s not my concern.”

“It’s less than I expected, but it will do.”

“Don’t be greedy; I would only be willing to offer half if it were Lidun.”

Lidun is the youngest son of the Earl, and his mother is the current Earless, who comes from a small noble family. A child’s status is dependent on the mother’s nobility; Liszt and his siblings’ mother is the daughter of a Marquis, far exceeding what Lidun could compare to—in assessing a noble’s status, the rank and connections of both the paternal and maternal houses are key.

It seems dissatisfied with Liszt’s current attitude, once the deal was settled, Li Vera challenged him to a competition.

“What is your Dou Qi attribute?”

“Fire.”

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“What secret book did you practice?”

“”Fire Dragon Drill”.”

“Let’s have a fight, let me see your current strength,” Li Vera took the spear carried by the Retainer Knight, “It’s been a long time since I sparred with you after advancing to an Earth Knight.”

Sparring was just an excuse.

The real purpose was to teach Liszt a lesson.

But the Liszt of today was no longer the nodding Liszt of old; he simply smiled, “Sorry, I haven’t completed the training of my secret book yet, let’s have a match another day.”

Li Vera’s eyes were sharp, “Are you avoiding it? That’s not a quality a knight should have.”

“A knight’s quality includes fairness. Sister, why not wait until I’ve finished training the “Fire Dragon Drill”?” Liszt gently defused the verbal joust.

Raising her eyebrows slightly, Li Vera put down the spear, “You are as cowardly as you’ve always been.”

“This is called being prudent.”

“You really know how to flatter yourself.”

Li Vera was nineteen and had not yet married, still a vibrant young adult. Liszt’s mental age had long passed the adolescent phase, and he wouldn’t get angry over a word or two.

He dealt with the boredom with a few perfunctory remarks.

Levis had already strolled around and come back.

“Dirty, messy, and poor,” he shook his head incessantly, “Liszt, I’ve come to understand your need for food – Fresh Flower Town is more hard-pressed than any other town I have seen.”

“Indeed, but I will make it prosperous,” Liszt affirmed.

“With the Black Tulip? Then let’s talk about that… starting with assimilation. Greater Elf, Little Minor Elf, and the six Elf Bugs. Tulip Castle will pay three thousand jin of wheat, two thousand jin of barley, five hundred jin of wheat flour, a thousand jin of pig iron, thirty barrels of beer, and seeds of various crops,” Levis laid out the deal.

After a thorough inventory, Liszt didn’t haggle and accepted the trade.

Load after load of supplies were carried into the castle’s warehouse, quickly filling up what had been a somewhat desolate space. The grain alone was enough to feed the castle for half a year, while the pig iron and wrought iron could be used to forge tools and armor. The seeds were specifically requested by Liszt for planting in Fresh Flower Town.

Without Elf Bugs, the barren land could only be fertilized with manure, hoping it would be effective.

As for now, the small town was actually not that dirty anymore – feces were collected daily and then sold to the castle. Liszt had the manure distributed to the hamlets for fertilizing the fields. With little time and quantity, besides Peanut Hamlet, other places had not seen any noticeable effects yet.

…

The atmosphere at lunch was good, with Goltai providing an excellent banquet mood, full of laughter and conversation.

After the meal, Levis and Liszt discussed the cultivation and sale of the Black Tulip, “Father’s intention is to buy out the cultivation and sale of the Black Tulip in one go. As a reward, you could receive a thousand Gold Coins. At the same time, you can also plant them in Fresh Flower Town and sell them to Tulip Castle.”

“That won’t do, the Black Tulip is the cornerstone of Fresh Flower Town’s development. I won’t give up a continuous source of revenue for a mere thousand Gold Coins.”

“It’s a thousand Gold Coins, not a small sum. I don’t know if Fresh Flower Town could make that much in fifty years of taxes.”

“If I mass-produce Magic Potions, perhaps in a few years, just with the Black Tulip, I could make over a thousand Gold Coins annually. Magic Potions are scarce, and there’s never a surplus in the market.”

“You should know, without the family’s channels, you couldn’t transport Black Tulip out of Thorn Ridge.”

“That’s why I want to talk to father, or to you, brother, about cultivation and sales… I can provide seeds for Tulip Castle, but I must take a certain percentage of the profits from all Black Tulips grown.”

“You mean, we do the planting and you sit in the castle counting Gold Coins?”

Liszt picked up the tea cup, responding at a leisurely pace, “Essentially, yes.”