The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

Rom had been very excited lately; he thought he would end up like Auden and Gray, unable to cultivate Dou Qi and ultimately abandoned by Mr. Marcus.

Being abandoned and becoming a useless person without Dou Qi was a terrifying prospect.

He, along with Karl, Auden, and Gray, all of serf origins, had been employed as Retainer Knights for Baron Liszt. However, Karl had now become an Apprentice Knight and the Defense Officer of Fresh Flower Town, leading a Patrol Team of twenty men and basking in success.

When meeting Karl, he would have to address him as Mr. Karl.

The change in status brought immense pressure to him, a suffocating urgency as if the giant hand of fate was choking his throat, trying to strangle his hopes for progress. He was terrified of achieving nothing, so he practiced diligently not only during Marcus’s lessons but also on his own, with reckless abandon.

Eventually, he successfully cultivated Dou Qi, Primary Dou Qi, and became an Apprentice Knight.

His wish fulfilled, his earnest and hard practice bore fruit—Lord Landlord appointed him as the captain of the Patrol Team, assisting Karl in maintaining the town’s security.

His status was not equal to Karl’s, but Rom was already very satisfied, his talent being not as outstanding as Karl’s and having taken many more days to cultivate Dou Qi.

He should rightly take a place beneath Karl.

The Patrol Team originally had a captain, who was just an ordinary person and was very resentful about his arrival. However, Rom taught him how to behave with just a few easy punches.

“Strength, with just Primary Dou Qi, I already possess the power that ordinary people cannot hope to match. How much more powerful could an Earth Knight be with Intermediate Dou Qi?”

Before obtaining Dou Qi, his understanding of knights was not very clear. He only knew that knights were strong, but how strong they were and how marvelous Dou Qi was, he had no idea. Now that he had acquired Dou Qi, he fully understood the tremendous qualitative change Dou Qi brought to knights.

“Earth Knight… I have no hope of attaining Intermediate Dou Qi in this lifetime. However, Lord Landlord has already given me a chance to change my fate, and I, Rom Barrel, will seize it! In the future, I will ensure my son starts practicing Dou Qi from a young age!”

He was not yet married, but already many girls in town had shown their affection for him.

An Apprentice Knight was still very appealing.

“My son will become an Earth Knight like Mr. Marcus! Then, he will have the hope of reaching out to join the Nobles!”

For a bright tomorrow.

Rom diligently did his job every day, never shirking his Patrol duties, and took great satisfaction in his role as the team captain.

What Rom didn’t know, however, was that his hard work had all been noticed by Liszt.

Liszt did not like mundane affairs; dealing with the various day-to-day issues of the town was not his style. He did not wish to be a Han Xin skilled at leading soldiers but rather a Liu Bang competent at leading generals. Thus, he appreciated subordinates who worked diligently.

Rom was one such diligent subordinate.

“Rom, in light of your performance, I have a new mission for you.”

“Please command, my lord!”

“You and Karl have both become Apprentice Knights capable of handling responsibilities on your own, so I plan to establish the position of ‘Worm Affairs Officer’ in Fresh Flower Town, under which there will be a ‘Bug Guard Team.’ Members will be selected from the strong labor force of each post. You will serve as the Worm Affairs Officer, and your task will be to lead the Bug Guard Team in protecting the Cordyceps.”

After much thought, Liszt decided to establish the Bug Guard Team as a separate entity.

This team’s basic template was roughly equivalent to a militia organization, an augmentation to the Patrol Team. With an increasing influx of people to Fresh Flower Town, it would be impossible to maintain security with just the Patrol Team. Thus, the Bug Guard Team would become an integral part of the security forces.

Patrol Team police station.

Bug Guard Team militia barracks.

Knight Squad Army.

Such was the thought process of Li Si Te, the successor of borrowing ideas; his notions always tended to fit this mold.

Rom immediately knelt on one knee, performing the knight’s salute, “Rom wishes to follow Your Excellency’s footsteps for life!” His body trembled slightly, a sign of excitement, never having imagined that opportunities to change his fate would come one after another.

Now, he officially stepped into the ranks of the officials.

Being an official wasn’t formally a social class, but assuming such a role indicated that one had entered the ranks of the “nobility reserves.”

When he left the castle, he was still somewhat dazed, feeling as if his body was afloat, “Serving Your Excellency is a moment deeply graced by knightly honor in my life, Rom!”

Perhaps it was Li Si Te’s heartfelt care for the Elf Bugs that was sensed.

Just two days after the establishment of the Bug Guard Team, he saw the Dragon Kui Cordyceps in the Dragon Kui Field regaining a hint of vitality in their leaves, and the previous black spots had also dissipated a great deal.

“Has it pulled through?”

Li Si Te hastened to summon the long-missed Smoke Mission.

Without any surprise, the Smoke Serpent Script had changed, “Complete the task, reward one Dragon Kui Elf Bug.”

“Indeed, Dragon Hollyhocks nurture Elf Bugs; this is my ninth Elf Bug, very good… although I am unsure of what use the Dragon Hollyhocks are.” The berries of the Dragon Hollyhock are edible, but only as a snack; even with the boost from the Dragon Kui Bug, it’s unlikely for it to yield many berries.

Better than nothing, at least it is an Elf Bug.

Smoke twisted, issuing a new task, “Task: The long overdue heavy rain is about to visit Fresh Flower Town, the homes of the residents of the territory are mostly in disrepair, unable to withstand the torrential rain, as a Lord how can you sit idly, please repair the territory’s houses. Reward: Mutated Thorn.”

“Another reward of Mutated Thorn?” pondered Li Si Te, “This is the third task about Thorns, it seems to be a chain of tasks! The previous Formless Dragon chain task rewarded a Space Gem, I wonder what good thing this series of tasks will reward?”

He had a vague guess? Thorn Minor Elf!

“Could it be the Thorn Minor Elf?”

Not being certain, Li Si Te still forcefully suppressed the notion, harboring no hope to avoid disappointment, and should it truly be awarded, it would be an immense surprise.

For now, just strive to complete the task at hand.

“Repairing houses, it seems it’s time for another all-hands-on-deck battle.”

He immediately convened all the officials of the town, arranging the housing repair work of the territory, “This summer there has scarcely been any rainfall, which is unusual. I speculate that there might be strong storms coming in the next few days. Most houses in Fresh Flower Town are old wooden huts, which are very unsafe.”

“The new houses are already under construction, as for those serfs, just let them fix their wooden huts themselves.” Goltai couldn’t help but look down on serfs.

Blair appeared to be brown-nosing, “The most in need of repair is the castle, where Your Excellency resides, should be even safer and more beautiful.”

“The castle’s repair work can wait until after the autumn harvest when the labor force is idle. Now, each of you assign the tasks, and make sure every damaged wooden hut is properly reinforced. All civilians, regardless of whether they are serfs or freemen, must accept the work arrangement.”

After a pause, Liszt said, “All civilians will receive no compensation and must work for free to repair their own huts. However, the materials for repairing the huts will be provided by the Castle, as a benefit I bestow upon the residents.”

“You are truly generous. I will arrange this immediately and ensure that all the wooden huts are repaired within a week.”