The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

“Finally found you. Grow up quickly and work for me.”

Once Liszt confirmed it, he immediately called over Worm Affairs Officer Rom Barrel and told him, “This corn grass is brewing a Corn Grass Elf Bug. Remember to arrange for Bug Guard Members to watch over it day and night, and don’t let any mistakes occur.”

“Please rest assured, my lord. Rom will personally take part in the vigil and ensure the Corn Grass Elf Bug is nurtured smoothly without any disturbance!” Rom replied with joy. Witnessing the birth of new Elf Bugs had become a daily routine in Fresh Flower Town—truly a place blessed with knightly glory.

Liszt also ordered the steward Gejir from Barley Hamlet, “Don’t forget to fertilize and water this Corn Grass Bug diligently. If there are any signs of disease or wilting, inform me immediately.”

The nurturing of an Elf Bug, given sufficient nutrition and meticulous care, normally takes ten to fifteen days. The vast majority fail to reach maturity due to various reasons, such as lack of discovery or inadequate nurturing, resulting in difficult births or even miscarriages.

But in Fresh Flower Town, such problems did not exist.

“One Little Minor Elf, nine Elf Bugs, the number of my Domain Elves is about to catch up to Li Vera.” He thought with pleasure that surpassing her was only a matter of time.

When Li Vera was granted her fiefdom, she received a Tulip Lesser Spirit and twelve Elf Bugs. Over the next three years, one of her Elf Bugs died, but two more were born in her territory. Thus, she now had thirteen Elf Bugs. The upkeep of these Elves kept Falcon Town prosperous.

However, the potential of Falcon Town is far inferior compared to Fresh Flower Town.

There were no monopoly businesses that generated cash flow, such as seafood or Fresh Flower Soap; nor a diversity of Magic Potions—she only had the Tulip Magic Potion, which was a share from the Black Tulip profits given by Liszt. And without Intermediate Magical Beasts or Dragon Breed Horses, even her cultivated Knight Squads were ordinary.

Fresh Flower Town held the reins to the Black Blood Treasured Horses, and any Knight Squads it would form in the future could definitely rival elite forces like the Coral City Knights.

Of course, Li Vera was not Liszt’s target.

He had no interest in comparing himself to a woman, what concerned him more was when he could surpass Levis, “Levis broke through to become an Earth Knight before reaching adulthood, his talent praised by all, but I have caught up with him, equally an Elite Earth Knight! Now, my goal is the same as his, to advance to a Sky Knight!”

His path of enhancing through Magic Potions was progressing smoothly, filling Liszt with boundless pride: “Becoming a Sky Knight for me is within easy reach… The Earl is called the Sea Wave Sword Saint by the people of the Eagle Kingdom, and I, in the future, shall be known as the Flame Sword Saint!”

In a charge, Knights primarily use lances while on horseback.

During a duel, they mainly rely on swords.

Sky Knights don’t need to charge with large troops; one person with a sword can sweep through an ordinary hundred-man Knight Squad, hence they are called Sword Saints.

Now.

The future Flame Sword Saint, Liszt Tulip, was on his way to the office to convene a meeting with the town officials.

“Consultant Goltai, and everyone else, I plan to promote chicken farming among the households in Fresh Flower Town,” he said bluntly, not bothering to make excuses for his intentions. “The Smoke Mission demands it, so I’ll just give the order. Anyway, no one dares question me. Within the next half a month, the scale of poultry farming must reach a thousand, no, fifteen hundred chickens!”

Raising chickens is no easy task, with a non-negligible mortality rate, something to keep in mind.

After a pause, he continued, “The chicken farming is for the castle, with the castle subsidizing the chick feed. Once grown, the chickens will be taken back by the castle. However, during this period, the eggs laid by the hens will be purchased by the castle at market price as compensation for the farmers’ efforts in raising chickens. Do you have anything to add?”

“My lord, if that’s the case, it seems the households would have no incentive to raise roosters, should we only raise hens?” Isaiah asked, knowing that hens could lay eggs even without roosters.

But without roosters to mate, the eggs laid by the hens wouldn’t hatch into chicks.

Liszt didn’t hesitate and immediately provided a solution, “Set a standard. Any household willing to farm chickens must keep nine hens to one rooster. Those who can may try to hatch chicks on their own, and these chicks will belong to the households themselves. Of course, you’ll need to review if the households are equipped for chicken farming, those without the proper conditions are not permitted to raise chickens.”

Winter is coming. If they can’t even build a simple coop, raising chickens would just lead to them freezing… If a household is willing to keep chickens indoors with them, then there wouldn’t be a need for a coop, and an exception can be made.

After a brief discussion, the chicken farming initiative was launched.

With fifteen hundred chickens spread over households, only a hundred and fifty are needed, making it easy to pick out households suitable for chicken farming. At the same time, Fresh Flower Caravan and Thorn Caravan also received notices to purchase chicks, and even fully-grown chickens, from large cities to be delivered to Fresh Flower Town.

“Within half a month, before the winter snow comes, reaching a thousand chickens won’t be a problem,” Goltai counted on his fingers, “In previous years, Fresh Flower Town typically begins to cool down and snow around mid-December, continuing sporadically for two months, until the middle of February of the following year when the temperature starts to rise again.”

Liszt swirled the red wine in his cup, which was during a banquet in the castle, “Not just Fresh Flower Town, but half of Coral Island will experience snowfall, though Fresh Flower Town, located at the northeasternmost edge, will be affected the most severely.” He surmised that the snowfall was likely brought on by a minor cold front.

On Earth, temperatures often plummet with the arrival of a cold front.

It was not clear in this world, but the general principle should not be too different. Coral Island is an island, deeply impacted by cold fronts, even if they are only minor ones.

“By the way, Consultant Goltai, how is the preparation work for winter cold prevention proceeding?” he asked.

“Oh, you can rest assured. For the sake of my meager salary, not a single serf in Fresh Flower Town will freeze to death this year—I swear on the knight’s honor! If even one perishes from the cold, I’ll personally run to the Eagle Kingdom to fetch another serf!” Goltai exaggerated.

In doing so, he was trying to inject some humor and lighten the atmosphere of the banquet.

Ever since Liszt gradually turned banquets into working meetings, the raucous mood typical of noble festivities had seldom appeared, with everyone accustomed to discussing work over food and drink.

This is probably related to Liszt’s preference for quiet.

While Goltai enjoyed liveliness.

Elegantly slicing his steak, Liszt remained unaffected by Goltai’s antics, maintaining his usual quiet demeanor, “Cold protection is only one part of the winter strategy. This winter, we cannot allow the serfs to idle. We must continue to launch projects and transform the infrastructure of Fresh Flower Town.”

The genes of an infrastructure maniac had already deeply penetrated Liszt’s soul—If you want to get rich, build roads first!