The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

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Having returned to Fresh Flower Town, Liszt was ceaselessly busy. First, he settled the Fig Cordyceps in the castle's garden and instructed the servants on fertilizing and watering.

Then, at the luncheon, he gathered all the town's officials and announced a census, "Inspect all the crops in the territory. Over the past month, not a single Elf Bug has been bred; there might be oversights."

The census was merely a ruse designed to disguise the fact that he had prior knowledge of the Elf Bugs' existence.

In the afternoon, he naturally joined the census procession and patrolled Fresh Flower Town. Of course, his inspection was selective, and he quickly arrived at the Smoked Grass Field. He unleashed the Eye of Magic and began searching for the Cordyceps. Before long, in the corner of a farm, he spotted the Cordyceps.

To be precise, he also spotted an Elf Bug.

Though the Cordyceps was not very conspicuous because of its thriving branches and leaves, a plump grey Elf Bug crawled on it: "It has already been bred. It seems it happened while I was away... Perhaps the farm was fertilized more, greatly enhancing the breeding probability of Fresh Flower Town's Elf Bugs."

For a normal town, it would be a noteworthy harvest to breed one Elf Bug in a year.

The existence of the Smoke Mission greatly increased the survival rate of Elf Bugs in Fresh Flower Town, almost eliminating miscarriages.

As for why a plant can breed an Elf Bug, there are not enough data to analyze and make a judgment—it might be related to nutrients. However, the most nutrient-rich plants do not necessarily breed Elf Bugs, and even poorly nourished plants may produce them.

"My four Serpent Blood Fruit Bugs were bred from the blood of sea serpent monsters; that is probably a clue... Alas, I still don't understand what conditions trigger the breeding of Elf Bugs... Magic radiation? Nutrient stimulation? Or genetic mutation?"

His thoughts flashed by.

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He had already taken out the Jade Powder and sprinkled it on the leaves of the Smoked Grass Cordyceps, attracting the Smoked Grass Bug. Watching the Smoked Grass Bug eagerly lick the Jade Powder, he extended his finger coated with Jade Powder directly towards it. Then, it bit him with a snap—not very painful and without bleeding.

The next moment, a contract of heartfelt communion was established, and he could already feel the little creature's vague emotions.

It was happy from eating the Jade Powder.

"Package it." Liszt took the Smoked Grass Bug and handed it to the Retainer Knight to be put in a Jade Box, "Rom, take good care of this Smoked Grass Cordyceps."

"Yes, my lord!" Rom responded excitedly, "Fresh Flower Town is truly a place favored by knightly glory; my lord is naturally favored by knightly glory!"

Liszt had almost grown calluses in his ears from listening to talk of knightly glory. However, he found that it always felt pleasant to hear and never grew tired of it.

He had contracted the Smoked Grass Bug.

The Blackberry Bug and Pea Bug would have to wait; the possible distribution of Cordyceps was too wide to search effectively, so he could only wait patiently for reports from the common people.

He planned to set sail for Black Horse Island tomorrow, complete the Smoke Mission, and incidentally contract the Green Tea Bug.

He hadn't left the Smoked Grass Field yet.

Hearing of the new Elf Bug contract, Goltai hurried over and started lavishing excessive flattery.

Liszt did not get lost in the flattery and remained clear-headed. He casually asked, "Consultant Goltai, how is the Smoked Grass processed in town?"

"It's mainly sun-dried, piled up in open spaces, and wrapped with straw. Normally, it doesn't have many uses."

The Smoked Grass had an extraordinarily foul smell, and it might be effective in driving away Magical Beasts and wild animals. Now that Fresh Flower Town had leveled Thorn Ridge, not to mention Magical Beasts, not even a few wild cats could be seen, making the Smoked Grass practically useless. The harvested dry grass was piled up in open spaces and left to rot.

But.

Even if the Smoked Grass was indeed useless, Liszt would not have it cut down—because it was the only thing capable of attracting the Formless Dragon.

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Rational analysis concluded that the probability of the Formless Dragon returning to Fresh Flower Town was very small, yet in his heart, he still hoped that one day, the Formless Dragon would remember the scent of Smoked Grass and come back.

At that time...

"The value of Smoked Grass still exists, cultivation must not slacken, and now with the Smoked Grass Bug, maintain an area of one hundred acres. Also, assign people to research the uses of Smoked Grass, don't ignore it just because it smells bad," Liszt pondered for a moment before adding, "I'll provide a train of thought."

"Please command, my lord."

"If Smoked Grass can drive away Magical Beasts, have you considered diluting and weakening its scent so that people can't smell it, yet it maintains the effect of repelling mosquitoes and bugs?" He thought of a plant on Earth—mugwort.

Mugwort was traditionally hung by the door during the Dragon Boat Festival.

Ordinarily, many people used dried mugwort to repel mosquitoes, ground it into powder for filling pillows and sachets, and even the moxa used in acupuncture was made from mugwort.

This world probably didn't have mugwort, so Liszt wondered if Smoked Grass might have a similar effect: "You could start your research from this aspect... In any case, you must think for yourselves and consider the potential of these plants."

Goltai bootlicked, "My lord, you always have genius ideas! I will arrange for the serfs to research whether Smoked Grass can be used for mosquito repellent as soon as possible."

Liszt provided a train of thought, and Goltai could only think of this one idea, without any intention to actually use his own brain.

Having never experienced the baptism of the industrial revolution, human thinking was confined to the established rules and frameworks, which Liszt found quite helpless.

...

The Fire Dragon Horse was about to give birth.

One-Eyed Barton, who had already lost a leg, was very anxious. He left his sickbed, leaning on a crutch, to personally attend to the birthing of the Fire Dragon Horse.

After inspecting Fresh Flower Town for a round, Liszt visited his old friend—the Fire Dragon Horse—in the evening. For his predecessor, the horse held profound feelings; it was his birthday gift, the vessel of his knighthood dreams, and even carried the complex emotions akin to those between a father and son.

Liszt, the transmigrator, was also very fond of this gentle mare.

However, ever since taming the Li Dragon Horse, the Fire Dragon Horse made fewer and fewer appearances, gradually becoming merely a breeding tool. Stroking its fiery red mane, Liszt couldn't help but whisper softly, "After you give birth, I will ride you again."

The Fire Dragon Horse seemed to understand his words, rubbing its head gently against Liszt's arm with a soft snort.

After a moment of affection with the Fire Dragon Horse.

Liszt looked towards One-Eyed Barton with the crutch: "Barton, how is your leg injury?

"Thank you for your concern, master. Although Barton's leg is crippled, my body has pulled through. I hope the master won't despise me; Barton can still raise horses and drive for the master."

"Of course, you can continue to raise horses for me. After some time, I will build a castle on Black Horse Island. Then, you will have even more horses to rear, and it might be very hard work."

"I don't fear hard work, master. Please rest assured, Barton will surely raise the castle's horses strong and healthy!" One-Eyed Barton said excitedly.

For him, staying to work in the castle was the best possible outcome.

Everyone envied working at the castle—of course, it would be better if that group of Blizzard Beasts stayed away. Thinking of those crazy big dogs, Barton felt a throbbing pain in his calf, the spot where it was pierced by a Rock Spike released by a frenzied Blizzard Beast.

"Take good care of your injury. Leave the heavy and tiring work to the five male servants being trained in horse rearing." Whether driven by a sense of compensation or valuing Barton's talent in horse rearing, Liszt was going to continue employing One-Eyed Barton.

He was someone who valued loyalty; as long as the servants did not make mistakes, he had no intention of dismissing anyone.