The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

Magical beasts can be trained, so naturally a few monkeys can be trained as well. For knights possessing Dou Qi, there is no difference between a wild beast and a small cat or dog.

However, currently in Fresh Flower Town, there are only five people with Dou Qi—Liszt, Marcus, Goltai, Isaiah, and Blair.

Each has their responsibilities, and it’s impossible for them to become beast trainers.

“It seems, it’s time to select a few physically strong young men from the townspeople and teach them Dou Qi to become my Retainer Knights.”

As for the Retainer Knights, as long as he could afford them, Liszt could even form a Knight Order.

However, due to the financial and material constraints of the castle, at most he could maintain a dozen or so Retainer Knights, forming a Knight Squad. This had been his plan all along. The greatest use for this Knight Squad would be to eradicate the magical beasts in Thorn Ridge and incorporate it into Fresh Flower Town, making it part of his domain.

“Once the food supply from Oyster Village stabilizes and the castle’s tax revenue becomes steady, I will immediately begin training the Retainer Knights.”

The four Retainer Knights, including Karl Ironhammer, do not know Dou Qi, and their potential has been wasted, not worth cultivating. The new Retainer Knights should be cultivated from young men, teaching them to practice Dou Qi and become true knights.

He was enjoying the cool breeze while pondering over the grand plans for development.

Beside him, Goltai couldn’t stop using his handkerchief to wipe his sweat; every day, he had to wear the neat three-piece attire of a noble, and he was hot to death: “Liszt, the fisherman’s inspection of the sea is complete, and everything is progressing smoothly. Shouldn’t we head back now?”

Liszt was also very hot.

This weather really wasn’t suitable for going out. Upon hearing this, he nodded, “Indeed, let’s return.” He wasn’t a delicate person, but why subject himself to discomfort when he could enjoy comfort. As a landlord, in control of all the life-and-death authority in the territory, there was no need to show off some “people-loving” or “dedicated” qualities.

Bloodline and Dou Qi were the foundation of a noble.

On the way back, Liszt took the opportunity to inspect the road construction in each village. There was plenty of sand from the sea, but transporting it was difficult; the common people could only use buckets and basins to carry the sand, which was inefficient.

But no matter what, the road was taking shape.

It was while passing Fresh Flower Farm that a sudden stench wafted over from a distance, penetrating Liszt’s nostrils, almost making him vomit with nausea.

The Fire Dragon Horse beneath him also kept sneezing, looking like it couldn’t bear it.

“Ah, it’s too stinky, what is this smell!”

“Who created this strange smell?”

A few Retainer Knights, just like him, were covering their noses, wishing they could vomit on the spot.

“Is someone cleaning out a toilet?” Liszt remembered his childhood experiences of cleaning out toilets in the countryside, that fragrance wafting everywhere; the current smell was even stronger, but he quickly realized, “Fresh Flower Town doesn’t have toilets, nor has it built septic tanks, the picked-up manure shouldn’t smell like this.”

So, pinching his nose, he said to a Retainer Knight, “Karl, you four go and investigate where this smell is coming from.”

A moment later, Karl returned, pinching a blade of grass, “My lord, the source has been found.”

He lifted the grass in his hand, “It’s this grass. A few kids on the farm were messing around and broke a lot of it on a wasteland, unaware that this grass could emit such a disgusting stench.”

As he spoke, a stronger stench entered Liszt’s nostrils, coming from the grass in Karl’s hand.

Liszt endured the foul smell, but his eyes shone: “This grass covers a large area?”

“Yes.”

“Good, very good! Karl, immediately go inform Goltai to protect this patch of grass. Do not allow anyone to approach, and especially don’t damage it!”

Confused but the Retainer Knights still followed the order.

Liszt gave his command, feeling in high spirits.

His personal servant Thomas couldn’t help asking, “My lord, why do you feel happy about such a smelly grass?”

“You don’t understand, this grass has great uses.”

He returned to the castle, and while taking a cool bath, he checked the Smoke Serpent Script, wanting to see if the task had been updated—he had thought that the task wouldn’t be considered complete until all the fishermen had been outfitted with new gear, but now, the task reward of “a large patch of Smoked Grass” was obviously in hand, indicating that the task had been completed.

Indeed, after the smoke came out, the Serpent Script updated, “Task completed, reward: a large patch of Smoked Grass.”

A moment later, the Smoke Serpent Script changed to: “Task: The newly cultivated millet fields have been sown with seeds; the Millet Bug is eager to breathe the fresh air, it’s a brave little fellow, please place Cordyceps for the Millet Bug. Reward: The forgotten Dou Qi Secret Technique.”

“The forgotten Dou Qi Secret Technique? Not a Dou Qi Manuscript, but a Secret Technique, which suggests that the reward is just a powerful move?” Liszt speculated.

A manuscript contains methods for refining and using Dou Qi, as well as various Dou Qi moves.

A Dou Qi Secret Technique, in comparison, refers to a relatively powerful move, somewhat similar to the Ultimate Mystery Technique in a Dou Qi Manuscript, which can be understood as a powerful move.

However, due to obscure and clandestine traditions, coupled with the great difficulty in learning, it is very hard for a minor noble to pass down secret techniques from generation to generation.

The Tulip Family has no tradition of passing down secret techniques, and the Red Crab Island Marquis Family, which has not been around for long, also doesn’t have any.

Only the old Marquis Families may possess one or two secret techniques.

But it’s undeniable that the value of a secret technique is immense—the Ultimate Mystery Technique is the strongest move in each Dou Qi Manuscript, but its power is naturally limited by whether it’s an intermediate or advanced manuscript; for a Secret Technique, however, the stronger the Dou Qi, the more powerful it becomes.

Liszt was quite pleased with this, “Not bad, not bad at all, although I do not like fighting, having a secret technique by my side will greatly enhance my combat ability and reduce the likelihood of encountering danger.”

“Just don’t know what the Dou Qi Secret Technique will be, but I’ll know soon enough.”

So far, none of the tasks in the Smoke Mission have been overly difficult, basically being the daily work Liszt would have to do anyway—just the same this time: the millet fields were cultivated in order to settle the Millet Bugs, and whether or not there was a task, Liszt would have taken care of it.

After that, he pondered another question, “Could this task still be part of the chain of tasks from the Formless Dragon series?”

Three days later, the fishermen of Oyster Village were able to go to the open sea to catch seafood steadily, and each time they would harvest a large quantity of seafood.

A portion of the seafood quickly made it to the commoners’ tables, replacing the fishermen’s need for bread and allowing the town’s grain food supply to be conserved as much as possible.

But much of the seafood had nowhere to be stored.

“Liszt, we must think of a solution, the East Coast has too much seafood, and the fishermen’s catch is already more than can be eaten, it could spoil at any time,” Goltai found Liszt and started to fret.

Liszt was rather speechless at this, “If it can’t all be eaten, then find a way to dry the seafood and preserve it… Now is not a good season for making dried goods, summer and autumn would be more suitable… If it’s not the season for dried goods, then stop fishing. The seafood isn’t going to disappear in the sea.”

Without cold storage or sufficient quantities of salt for curing, drying is the best way to preserve food.

Now the weather is too hot, making dried goods prone to spoilage, so it would be better to catch less seafood, only catching as much as can be eaten, which would also prevent overfishing of the sea.

Having made his point, Liszt spoke with a slightly stern tone, expressing his dissatisfaction, “Teacher Goltai, I am the landlord, and you are the official. I need you to manage Fresh Flower Town for me, not to come to the landlord at the first sign of trouble, understand?”

Goltai gave a sheepish smile, “Of course I understand, Liszt, believe me, I won’t make this kind of mistake so easily again.”