The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

And such real combat also gave Liszt a clearer understanding of his own strength.

“Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be in peril.” He believed that if he were to cross swords with Marcus again, whether in a charge or a sword battle, he could completely overpower his opponent.

“An Elite Earth Knight on a potion regimen completely crushes one who focuses on combat skills. Having money really does let you do as you wish.”

Therefore.

The biggest takeaway from these days of continuous combat was not how to fight technically.

It was that one must always make money for potions.

“Before long, the Rapid Growth Magic Thorns will be ready for harvest. I’ll have Elkerson turn them into Magic Potions to augment the Flame Mushroom Magic Potion, speeding up my potion regimen!” His eyes were ablaze with understanding of the essence of knightly practice, “And the Magical Beast meat—I must eat several pounds a day even if it means borrowing money!”

Knock knock knock.

Carter’s voice came from outside the door: “My lord.”

Putting his thoughts aside, Liszt tucked the thick paper with “Potion, Meat, Milk” written on it into the Magic book he had been reading lately and replied, “Come in.”

“The merchant caravan has returned, bringing with it child serfs among the serfs. Mr. Isaiah asks for your instructions on how to deal with this batch of serfs.”

“Have him arrange it according to the original plan.”

“Yes, my lord.” Carter took out a letter from his chest and handed it to Liszt, “There’s also a letter from the caravan, written by Consultant Goltai.”

Goltai did not return with the caravan; there were still many serfs waiting outside who needed him to arrange accommodation for the night.

So he sent a letter with the caravan, providing an update on the handover of the serfs.

Reading the letter, it detailed the number of serfs. There were originally one thousand serfs ordered, including two hundred craftsmen, but only eight hundred thirty-six serfs and one hundred forty-four craftsmen survived the journey to Fresh Flower Town. The loss was much greater than the quota Liszt had given.

“Frank has guaranteed that he will compensate us with one hundred additional serfs and twenty craftsmen on top of the next sale.” The letter recorded the outcome of Goltai’s haggling with Frank.

This was followed by a transaction of three hundred Gold Coins.

Frank did not agree because he had received a letter from Levis. It mentioned that the war would cease with the onset of winter, and the Earl was gathering the resources plundered, ready to retreat back to the country. Frank wanted to wait for Levis’s return before deciding whether to continue the serf trade.

“The Earl is coming back?” After reading the letter, Liszt couldn’t help but calculate the time.

It was December, and the Earl had left in September. He had been out campaigning for nearly three months, which wasn’t very long compared to the years when he would even spend holidays abroad.

“I just don’t know if this year’s harvest will be rich. As the Eagle Kingdom is a major producer of iron, if we can plunder more iron ore, I can buy a batch for weapon forging… aiming to equip a Knight Squad as soon as possible and, perhaps next year, follow the Earl to the battlefield to scavenge some spoils.”

…

Liszt dined alone that evening.

The town officials were busy taking in the children serfs, placing the ones without family directly into the homes of Fresh Flower Town’s serfs.

Children with relatives were temporarily placed in new houses in the residential area, waiting for their parents to arrive before arranging their living situation.

The food was distributed to the serf’s homes early on, then prepared by the serfs, and delivered into the hands of these children. Extra clothing and bedding were borrowed from the serf’s homes to keep these children warm. These items would be returned to each serf’s household once the castle procured new clothes.

There were also many children who had caught colds or were struggling to adapt to the new environment, necessitating the assignment of old and stable serfs to take care of them, to prevent any deaths.

The snow fluttered on this night, but Fresh Flower Town was destined to be bustling.

Tomorrow would be just as busy, as over eight hundred serfs, looking to integrate into the life of Fresh Flower Town, would need time. The biggest barrier among them was the language issue, as the here spoke Serpent Script, while most of the new serfs spoke Wind Language—fortunately, an earlier group of new serfs had already learned basic Serpent Script and could facilitate communication.

After dinner, Liszt went for an inspection of the town.

Seeing the emaciated children shivering in the cold wind, being directed by the officials to greet him, he felt uncomfortable—this was a direct clash of two worldviews.

A sigh in his heart.

After showing his face, he went straight back to the castle, with no mood to linger.

Upon returning to the castle, he went straight upstairs, where he happened to see the maid, Little Lily, bending over to clean. Her improved version of the maid’s uniform stretched her skirt, revealing a pair of straight white pantyhose over her long legs. Under the cover of her skirt’s hem, there was a round curve, worthy of respect.

Hearing the footsteps, Little Lily quickly turned around, stood in the corner of the wall, and let Liszt pass: “My lord.”

“Carry on,” said Liszt, regretfully retracting his gaze and entering his study to stabilize his emotions for three minutes before picking up a piece of volcanic glass from the table.

He had studied it for a while before his noon rest.

No matter how he circulated his Dou Qi, he couldn’t penetrate the volcanic glass to come into contact with the mana locked within the bubbles. This Fire Dragon Magic Power was trapped in the bubbles as if utterly solidified, not allowing a hint to escape.

However, after some exploration, he nonetheless discovered something.

The Fire Attribute Mana surrounding the volcanic glass was distinctly more agitated, as though drawn by the Fire Dragon Magic Power inside the bubbles. This resembled a magnetic field—despite being separated by the volcanic glass, unable to make contact, it could still cause the Fire Attribute Mana to become restless. That’s why Marcus could sense its magic power.

“Based solely on this characteristic, it seems suitable for manufacturing magic equipment.”

He mused silently: “If there were a large number of volcanic glasses aligned together, could they form a magic array? Then could it incite a riot of Fire Attribute Mana within the magic array, creating an environment rich in Fire Attribute Mana? If a magician were placed inside, could they effortlessly conjure fireballs?”

This seemed somewhat pointless.

So, he was more inclined to smash open the volcanic glass and release the Fire Dragon Magic Power within. However, once released, the consequences of this distinctly Fire Dragon Mana were uncertain.

“Could it infect the surrounding environment, for instance, starting a large fire?” He couldn’t be certain, but obviously, his study was not the right place for such a release, as the bookshelves held many decorative books, too valuable to be burned.

Daytime would be better.

Armed in armor, he could find an open space to release the Fire Dragon Magic Power.

But then he thought that might be overreacting—just a few bubbles in a piece of volcanic glass, how much mana could they store, how strong a reaction could they produce.

After a moment of indecision, he chose not to smash the volcanic glass.

He contemplated several possibilities and potential uses, leaving the verification for the following day.