The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

The consumption of various fruit wines and rice wines could be covered by the Brewing Workshop, but they had not yet reached the capability for beer and liquor. Lacking hops for beer and needing improvement in Fresh Flower Brew techniques—since he didn’t drink much, the cost of these was negligible, about one silver coin a day.

The various barbecued meats and steaks had to be purchased — about five silver coins a day.

The consumption of various eggs, vegetables, and fruits, had basically been self-sufficient within his domain, with the Castle buying them at low prices — about two silver coins a day.

Last but not least, was the daily consumption of Magical Beast Meat, which he had to have with every meal, no matter how little — roughly twenty silver coins a day.

When factoring in the costs of hosting luncheons and dinners for his subordinates and the meals for the servants, the Castle’s daily food expenditure was at least forty silver coins.

After tallying the costs, just eating and drinking for a month would amount to twelve Gold Coins. This was roughly equivalent to the annual tax income of Fresh Flower Town before there was a Landlord. It was only Liszt who, with the help of the Smoke Mission and with a bit of knowledge as a transmigrator, dared to live so lavishly.

Still, the sight of the Little Blizzard Beast guzzling milk made him shiver.

During his bloodline evolution, Douson would frequently consume Magical Beast Meat, calculating his meals by the Gold Coin. Even now that he could eat normal meat, his daily consumption of meat, eggs, and milk alone was equivalent to the food consumed by everyone in the Castle.

Raising one Intermediate Magical Beast cost ten Gold Coins a month, a stable expenditure.

But in the future, he would have to support no fewer than nine Intermediate Magical Beasts.

“Judging by the Little Blizzard Beast’s appetite for milk, when they grow up, their appetites won’t be smaller than Douson’s. Can I really sustain them with Fresh Flower Town’s output?” the more he thought about it, the more he doubted life, “Should I send a few away… Impossible, even if I have to break the pot and sell the iron, I must raise them!”

An Intermediate Magical Beast, even if someone offered a Dragon Coin for it, he would not sell!

Besides, he didn’t need to resort to desperate measures like breaking the pot and selling the iron, as just part of the Mithril, Crystals, and Jade in the Gemstone Space was enough — the Earl would certainly be willing to help liquidate these valuable items.

“Once my Fresh Flower Brew technique is perfected, wealth will flow in continuously. The current difficulties are temporary; once we overcome them, I’ll see the light!”

Leaving the kennel, he returned to his study.

Liszt took out the heavy paper and reviewed his schedule, which included an item to invite Elkerson True to make him a new Calming Sea Pearl.

Considering his current financial difficulties and nearly being unable to afford milk, he reluctantly crossed out this plan, not willing to waste any more money. Anyway, he wouldn’t be setting sail any time soon, and the Fresh Flower Vessel already had a Calming Sea Pearl; it wasn’t an urgent need.

Just then.

Mr. Elkerson True, who had come to Fresh Flower Town to make Magic Potions, hurried to the Castle: “Baron, the Magic Medicine Thorns you provided have been made into the first batch of Magic Potions, please inspect their effectiveness.”

He took a Crystal tube, one by one.

Liszt finally perked up, “Mr. Elkerson has worked hard.”

“Winter in Fresh Flower Town, with its beautiful public baths, enjoying hot water soaking every day, is simply more delightful than the nights in Coral City. Working here is a pleasure.”

That said, Elkerson still didn’t want to move to Fresh Flower Town — the nightlife in Coral City was too tempting for a single Magician to resist.

…

The castle’s banquet, since the Shell Wood Tower was completed, had resumed.

Tonight, there was to be a grand banquet.

Liszt’s friends, in a group, hastened from Coral City to Fresh Flower Town, ready to join him. Two Earth Knights, Rick Trace and Griffin Haystack, along with Nemo and other Apprentice Knights, all came together. There were a total of seven people who had already agreed to this in Coral City.

Liszt warmly received his friends and handed over their job arrangements to Goltai.

Although they were all friends in the past, once they came to work in Fresh Flower Town, their relationship automatically shifted to a hierarchical one. If they decided to follow Liszt, it was akin to establishing a master-servant relationship.

“Rick and Griffin, I plan to assign to Marcus for leadership; they can serve as reserve members of the Knight Squad. Nemo and the other five will start as assistants to officials; they are still very young and don’t have much capability in managing affairs,” Goltai reported to Liszt.

“You’re the town’s counselor, and managing personnel is within your jurisdiction; I won’t interfere lightly.”

“Thank you for your trust, sir.”

Goltai showed a grateful expression, but whether he had any internal complaints was unknown—while Liszt generally didn’t like to meddle in mundane affairs, he had, on numerous occasions, arbitrarily interfered in the affairs of Fresh Flower Town. Sometimes, he would just act on a whim, without reason.

It seemed quite “capricious.”

Yet, the earth-shattering changes in Fresh Flower Town, as well as the grand development of Black Horse Island, had already given Liszt enormous prestige.

No official in the town would complain about Liszt’s whims—either verbally or in their hearts, he was recognized as the Son of Glory.

Even if he acted absurdly, it would still not shake his reputation.

After all, everyone knew the unlimited future of Fresh Flower Town and Liszt.

The numerous letters of cordiality recently received by Goltai proved this point. After the end of the Pioneer Mandate, many Earth Knights who had retired from the battlefield had contacted Goltai, hinting at their desire to join Fresh Flower Town. Even an Honored Knight whose land management was poor had written a letter to Goltai.

After Goltai took his leave, Isaiah came looking for him: “Sir, I was wondering if you had made other arrangements for your guard, Paris?”

“What’s the matter?”

“Old Geronte alone cannot complete the teaching of Serpent Script. Currently, there are a large number of serfs in the territory who speak Wind Language, which is quite inconvenient to manage. With the arrival of the next batch of two thousand five hundred serfs, the problem will become even more severe. Your guard, Paris, can speak both Serpent Script and Wind Language. I have noticed she hasn’t been busy lately, and I hope to ask her to serve as a teacher of Serpent Script.”

“Indeed, she’s been idle all day; I should find some work for her.” When Liszt didn’t go out, Paris didn’t need to be a personal guard, essentially a person with nothing to do.

Unlike knights, knights’ training, once interrupted or slackened, will quickly deteriorate in strength.

Her power came from the Black Dragon Wraith, and as long as she didn’t become too fat to move or forget how to strike, she could always quickly recover her strength.

Calling over Paris, Liszt said directly, “Paris, Fresh Flower Town lacks teachers who can instruct the serfs in Serpent Script, and I hope you can help out.”

I had thought that Paris would take the opportunity to negotiate a price.

To my surprise, she agreed promptly: “I’ve been itching doing nothing all day; finally, I have something to do!”

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I’ll announce two groups here, those who want to join can add them. One is a QQ group, 736318688, for casual chatting and bragging; the other is a WeChat group, first add WeChat bai123yh, and I’ll pull you in, for when you’re bored. I’ll post some character design images and the like in the groups.