The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

There was no issue with the mission itself, and expanding the monkey troop wasn’t difficult; monkeys could be purchased from other regions. As long as there was enough money, there would always be hunters capturing and selling monkeys.

But the reward puzzled him, “A thief peeping at the landlord; what is this supposed to mean?”

He had always considered Fresh Flower Town on Coral Island to be an idyllic paradise under the protection of the Tulip Family’s bloodline, unworried that anyone would target Fresh Flower Town.

Yet the reward for this mission pointed directly at Liszt himself.

There was a thief plotting to spy on him.

“Is this a warning that a thief means to harm me?” Liszt shook his head, doubting this possibility, “Clearly, the Smoke Mission wouldn’t be so straightforward. Perhaps, this is like the chain mission with the Formless Dragon? Ostensibly rewarding the invasion of a Formless Dragon, but in reality, rewarding me with a Space Gem.”

From his exploration and understanding of the Smoke Missions, this possibility was very likely.

“Regardless, the security and defenses of the territory must be strengthened. The essence of the Smoke Mission is a reward for me, but if a thief does mess things up, I’ll still have to bear the loss… Smoke Missions are just one of fate’s choices; without proper preparation, I fear it won’t do.”

He notified the caravan to purchase monkeys.

He also called Karl and Rom to command them to tighten management over the Patrol Team and Bug Guard Team, paying strict attention to all movements within the territory.

Marcus was overseeing the work on Black Horse Island, so for a while, he had the two Retainer Knights, Philip and Zavier, maintain the patrol and security of the castle.

He also instructed Butler Carter to keep an eye on everyone entering and exiting the castle, whether servants, territory officers, or clerks; they all had to be watched closely.

If anyone suspicious attempted to infiltrate the castle, they were to report to him immediately.

“My lord, have you perceived something?” Carter, puzzled by Liszt’s orders, appeared somewhat anxious.

Liszt nodded, “The development of Fresh Flower Town has been rapid, changing its appearance in less than a year. Were it another territory, I too might be tempted by unsavory ideas. The winter snows are about to fall, and I do not wish any unpleasant incidents to occur at this critical time.”

“I understand. I will ensure the servants are firmly instructed to guard the castle’s safety.”

“Hm.”

Liszt absentmindedly responded.

He walked to the window, looking out at the gloomy sky.

The temperature was already dropping, the cold wave had arrived, and the sunny days of Fresh Flower Town were coming to an end, to be replaced by the annual long stretch of over two months covered in ice and snow.

His gaze shifted toward the distant fields, where there were Dragon Kui Fields.

On the edge of the Dragon Kui Fields, a group of serfs bustled about, working. They were constructing an ice cellar—a difficult task, requiring considerable architectural skill to build a cellar underground suitable for storing ice blocks. More importantly, the construction would consume large amounts of gold coins.

Liszt dared to construct an ice cellar because he had a profitable business, giving him confidence.

For this purpose, he contacted Tulip Castle and had a master craftsman architect come to oversee the construction of the ice cellar. This architect, named Mbappé Sui Shi, was a distant relative of Viscount Jonas Shattered Stone of Shattered Stone Castle and the one who oversaw the grand construction of Tulip Castle.

Upon arriving at Fresh Flower Town, he immediately took interest in Douson’s Rock Spikes.

“Baron Liszt, with Douson’s Rock Spikes, the difficulty of constructing an ice cellar will be greatly reduced, as will the speed of construction. They are natural supports for the cellar.”

The Rock Spikes released by Douson now reached a height of two and a half meters each, tapering upward and wider at the base, with the thickest diameter being about forty centimeters. It could release at least two hundred Rock Spikes a day, making it not an exaggeration to call it a mini Rock Dragon.

“`

Douson Avenue had long been completed, and Rock Spikes continued to be produced daily, nearly piling up into a mountain.

Therefore, when Liszt decides to build a new castle in the future, there will be no shortage of materials—speaking of which, the basalt from Black Horse Island is also good construction material.

“This year, I’ll build three ice rooms for your cellar, which should be nearly enough. If you want to continue expanding, you can wait until next year, with money, you can build as large an ice cellar as you need. Tulip Castle’s ice cellar has a total of twenty-five ice rooms,” Mbappé Shattered Stone was not very concerned about this minor project.

He only occasionally came to supervise the work, with the serfs and his apprentices doing the labor.

An ice room is a room within an ice cellar used for storing ice blocks, with a standard ice room capable of storing three hundred cubic meters of ice, equivalent to the size of a one hundred square meter house.

Three ice rooms, storing nine hundred cubic meters, plus a little remaining saltpeter, next summer the people of Fresh Flower Town won’t need to worry about ice.

It was when Carter brought him a cup of coffee,

that Liszt took his gaze away from the window, sat back in his chair with a self-deprecating smile and said, “Mr. Carter, don’t you think we’re like squirrels preparing for winter, gathering food and hiding it away at the arrival of autumn to last through the winter days?”

Carter responded playfully, “I think squirrels are very clever animals. While other animals can only go hungry in winter, they can hide in their burrows, eating a little of the food they’ve worked hard for every day. Such a life is actually what the commoners in the town hope for.”

He continued, “Your arrival has made Fresh Flower Town prosperous, bringing them the life they desired.”

Liszt quite enjoyed listening to this kind of flattery.

Indeed, he was no longer pure-hearted, with all interests starting from himself, from his noble status, but he believed he had truly improved the lives of the commoners in Fresh Flower Town.

It was only right for the townspeople to thank, respect, and revere him.

If they didn’t have any of these three feelings, they would be ungrateful wretches.

“They are my subjects, and as their landlord, leading them to a happy life is what I should do,” Liszt stated indifferently.

His expression was very calm.

There was no pride, no pity for the world, just the nobility that a noble should display.

Even an ugly noble couldn’t pretend to such nobility, but on Liszt’s handsome face, it exuded immense charisma.

Carter immediately became excited, “You have inherited all the nobility of both the Tulip Family and the Long Taro Family; may the glory of the knights always be with you.”

…

The touching performance continued within the castle.

Out on the vast sea around Coral Island, several sailboats bearing the Red Tulip Flag were catching the wind and breaking the waves.

Inside the cabin, the stench was overwhelming, crammed with ragged, yellow-skinned, thin serfs. These serfs appeared lifeless, lying weakly on wooden planks, not moving for a long time.

“Mealtime, mealtime!” the sailor’s shouting approached from afar.

The serfs, who were just now listless, quickly changed their demeanor, scrambling out of the cabin.

A young female slave, around eight or nine years old, didn’t stand steady and was knocked down by a nearby serf, falling and unable to get up.

As she watched everyone else squeeze out of the cabin to get their food, tears welled up in her eyes and soon rolled down her dirty cheeks.

Suddenly,

a somewhat rough but delicate hand touched her face.

“`