The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

Three days later, Li Si Te returned to Coral Island’s Fresh Flower Town.

It was Tulip Castle’s Knight Squad that escorted him back to Fresh Flower Town, accompanying Li Si Te and Ma Ku Si were two down-on-their-luck nobles, descendants of nobility, yet themselves without inherited titles, only addressed as Knights.

They were friends introduced by Goltai.

Lured by the promise of double wages, they came to Fresh Flower Town to take up official posts.

“Li Si Te, welcome back, you were gone just over a week, and I started missing you,” Goltai greeted the town’s landlord with slightly exaggerated enthusiasm.

His warmth was extravagant yet thorough.

“And there’s Ma Ku Si, the Baron’s loyal knight. Seeing you both in fine attire, I knew at once that your journey went smoothly.”

“Haha, look who these two are, Isaiah and Blair, my old friends. Seeing you arrive with the Baron fills me with immense joy, evidently you have chosen Fresh Flower Town.”

Next, a banquet was prepared in the small castle to feast the Knight Squad that escorted Li Si Te and his group.

Before the banquet began.

Li Si Te couldn’t care less about being travel-worn; he quickly cradled the Jade Box with the Alfalfa Bug to the newly finished castle’s front paddock. The ground was already a lush green, the alfalfa sprouting rapidly, almost summer now, and the temperature would also promote their growth.

“Little guy, come on out.”

The chubby Alfalfa Bug, adorned with purple patterns, was quite beautiful.

Unlike the lethargic Tulip Bug, it was full of energy, opening its mouth to spit out the Cordyceps. In almost fast-forward, a single alfalfa plant sprouted and grew rapidly in the middle of the paddock. Larger and sturdier than ordinary alfalfa, it bloomed with purple flowers directly.

“Don’t forget to install fences around it, to prevent the horses from destroying the growth of the Cordyceps,” Li Si Te instructed his personal servant, Thomas.

Elf-related matters were directly managed by the castle; there was no need for the town officials or serfs to intervene.

“Rest assured, my lord, I’ll start building the fence right away.”

By the time Li Si Te returned to the castle.

Butler Carter greeted him: “My lord, the banquet has been properly prepared; you may take your seat.”

“Then let us begin.”

The banquet at Fresh Flower Town Castle was worlds apart from the feasts Li Si Te had partaken in a few days earlier, but he preferred the current atmosphere, for among all those seated, he was the most honored.

“Firstly, I’d like to thank Lord Layden and the honored knights for their escort along the way, I raise a toast to you all.”

“Baron, you’re too kind,” the knights lifted their glasses in unison.

Emptying a pint of beer, servants immediately refilled it, and Li Si Te raised his second glass: “This one, to wish Isaiah and Blair a joyful life in Fresh Flower Town.”

“Thank you, Baron, for your blessings; we hope to contribute to the development of Fresh Flower Town.”

“Lastly, a toast to my teacher Goltai, who managed all affairs in my absence.”

“That’s what I should do, Li Si Te, as long as there are fine wines to drink daily, I’m willing to stay forever drunk in Fresh Flower Town,” Goltai laughed heartily.

“Sober to govern Fresh Flower Town, well-supplied with food and wine at meals,” said Li Si Te.

“Of course, work and fine wine go hand in hand.”

“Haha.”

In the harmonious atmosphere, lunch was earnestly finished.

After seeing off the Knight Squad, Liszt returned to the castle for a midday rest. Lying on the bed and concentrating for a moment, the familiar Smoke Mission promptly arrived. The Serpent Script finally altered, “Complete the mission, reward three wild corn plants.”

Suddenly, the smoke transformed, and a new mission was released.

“Mission: As a Landlord, taking care of Elves is your inescapable responsibility. Have you forgotten the Little Wheat Elf Bug? Its abilities can produce more food for your lands. Please arrange Cordyceps for the Little Wheat Bug. Reward: Information about the Formless Dragon.”

“Information about the Formless Dragon? What kind of reward is that?”

An audacious idea suddenly sprang to Liszt’s mind, “Could it be that the Smoke Mission is preparing to reward me with a Dragon? That shouldn’t be right, it’s too much of a thrill, a Dragon! A being that suppresses the fate of a nation. However, what does Formless Dragon mean? Invisible? A Dragon without shape?”

According to the memories of his predecessor, Dragons come in three main types.

One type is the Gemstone Dragon, such as the Duchy of Sapphire’s own Sapphire Dragon, which can produce Sapphires. The Crimson Blood Sword, gifted to Liszt by Marquis Merlin, with its set Ruby, is also produced by a Gemstone Dragon and possesses magical power.

Another type is the Metal Dragon. In the Knight’s Novel, the White Maw Iron Dragon that fought against the Sapphire Dragon is a Metal Dragon that can produce iron ore. In terms of numbers, Metal Dragons are more common than Gemstone Dragons, particularly the Iron Dragon subgroup about which Liszt has heard quite a bit through various Knight’s Novels.

Lastly, there are the Elemental Dragons, such as the Fire Dragon and the Water Dragon, which are very difficult to tame and possess intense magical elements, causing astonishing destruction. They often destroy towns and injure numerous people. They tend to be the targets of Dragon Slayers in Knight’s Novels—humans are a peculiar animal, worshipping Dragons yet also wanting to slay them.

“Gemstone, Metal, Elemental which category would the Formless Dragon belong to?” Liszt couldn’t fathom.

He decided to ask others.

He summoned Butler Carter, “Mr. Carter, have you ever heard of a Formless Dragon?”

Carter thought for a moment, “I have not, my lord.”

The afternoon.

Accompanied by his Retainer Knights, he went towards the town to seek Goltai and his two friends, incidentally seizing the opportunity to stumble upon a clue about the reward of three wild corn plants.

“A Formless Dragon?”

Goltai stroked his chin, “I seem to have heard about it from somewhere. Isaiah, Blair, do you remember?”

Isaiah and Blair reflected carefully but shook their heads in unison.

In the end, after half an hour of recollection, Goltai still couldn’t remember whether he had ever heard of the Formless Dragon, “One gets muddled with age, Liszt, I’m sorry. Perhaps I’m mistaken. I may have wasted your time; I may not have heard of a Formless Dragon at all.”

“That’s alright. By the way, Teacher Goltai, how have you arranged Isaiah and Blair’s duties?”

“I oversee the government affairs, Isaiah is in charge of finance, and Blair handles legal and foreign matters.”

“Since there are arrangements in place, I leave the development of Fresh Flower Town in your three hands,” Liszt did not linger in town. He was confident he could foster the growth of Fresh Flower Town, but that was limited to conveying his intentions to subordinates like Goltai to realize the specifics of the work.

For him to take matters into his own hands would firstly go against the Noble system—nobles that work the fields are not considered Nobles, and those who dine with Serfs are even less so. Secondly, arranging matters himself might not achieve the desired effect, instead wasting energy.

For example, why should he personally conduct a census when he could have Servants do it instead?

Having finally crossed over into nobility, not to indulge but to toil away was equivalent to needlessly burdening himself.

Back in the Castle, Liszt pondered, “Since the reward is information about the Formless Dragon, it implies that I won’t receive the reward before completing the mission, right? In other words, nobody knows what the Formless Dragon is, and probably someone will come forward to tell me after I complete the task?”

Immediately, he left the Castle without delay and hurried towards Little Wheat Village— the Little Wheat Bug awarded by the Earl was waiting for him to arrange the Cordyceps.