The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

“Very good, finally another reward that’s an Elf Bug!”

Since obtaining the Corn Grass Elf Bug, he hadn’t harvested any Elf Bug for two full months. This certainly had to do with the arrival of winter, when most plants stopped growing, but Liszt felt a deep sense of regret. Elf Bugs were an indisposable productive force for the Lord Landlord.

Now, finally, a new mission had appeared, and the reward was an Elf Bug.

“I wonder what kind of Elf Bug it is, the clues for the mission aren’t many… Whatever it is, let’s get rid of the bee nest first!” Liszt was brimming with fighting spirit.

Removing the bee nest wasn’t difficult, considering that knights had full body armor.

During the time when Fresh Flower Town made a killing selling seafood, Liszt had managed to save up for twenty sets of knight equipment. Among them was fine steel armor that covered one from head to toe. Once suited up, no matter what kind of poisonous bee, crazy bee, or killer bee came at him, they would all be swatted to death.

“I just hope not too many serfs die.”

Far away on Black Horse Island, Marcus had the same thought.

After returning from Black Horse Island on the Fresh Flower Vessel, he immediately reported to the Landlord, “My Lord, I regret to inform you that there have been killer bee nests on Black Horse Island which have claimed the lives of sixteen serfs to their stings. I plan to bring back several full body armors during this trip and eradicate the poisonous bees completely!”

He brought back a few dead bodies of the poisonous bees.

Each poisonous bee was the size of a thumb, and there were even larger Queen Bees guarding them.

Even as an Elite Earth Knight, Marcus didn’t dare to approach the beehives lightly. He had to keep his distance and seek the protection of the knight’s full body armor.

“I’ll go with you to Black Horse Island to see for myself what these killer bees look like,” Liszt said in a deep voice. Not only did he want to find the Elf Bug, but he also wanted to check if there was honey in the killer bee nests.

If there was honey in the hives, it would undoubtedly be top-quality honey.

Honey is a top-tier ingredient in noble cuisine, but no one keeps bees. Instead, they send serfs to gather wild honey, and every year a large number of these honey-gathering serfs get stung to death by various bees.

There aren’t many beehives in Fresh Flower Town.

Even if there were, he wouldn’t send serfs out to gather honey; he wasn’t cruel enough to exchange serfs’ lives for delicacies.

Liszt decided to go along.

Marcus had no objections.

But he had other matters to report: “The issue that arose during the tree cutting is not only due to the unexpected bee attacks, but also due to lax management. The serfs were skiving off, going far away to relieve themselves, which led to their deaths from bee stings. My Lord, the port town needs more management personnel!”

“I understand, I’ll arrange for it as soon as possible.”

As an action-oriented Landlord, once a problem arose, he immediately set out to solve it. After a brief period of consideration, he summoned Griffin Haystack and Lasse Steelyard.

Griffin was an orphan and a friend of Liszt’s from the Knight Academy; Lasse was of commoner descent, with his family having moved to Fresh Flower Town.

Looking at the two Earth Knights, Liszt asked solemnly, “Lasse, Griffin, can I trust you?”

Griffin replied without hesitation, “Baron, I came to Fresh Flower Town to follow you, and I’m ready to follow your lead at any time!”

“I’m also ready to follow at any time!” Lasse wasn’t to be outdone.

“Then, I need to send you to a place for a task – you might not return to Fresh Flower Town for a very long time. Lasse, you have to take your family with you… You probably won’t be able to come back to Fresh Flower Town for two or three years. Would you still be willing?”

Lasse, puzzled, asked, “Baron, what duty are you assigning us that would warrant such a long absence, and why must my family join as well?”

“Indeed, it’s a duty, it’s not dangerous but it’s a bit hard work, and it requires confidentiality. As for the nature of the duty, I can’t tell you,” Liszt looked at them, “but I can assure you that there will be ample rewards for your efforts.”

Griffin, upon hearing this, immediately said, “Baron, I am willing!”

Lasse hesitated briefly then nodded in agreement, “Since Lasse has decided to follow the Baron, naturally I will obey the Baron’s arrangements!”

Liszt nodded, “Then, from today on, you are officially part of my Knight Squad!”

This was an acceptance of their allegiance. Griffin and Lasse instantly realized, knelt on one knee, and performed the solemn Knight’s gesture of fealty and loyalty, “We swear to serve you, my lord!”

“Rise, pack your belongings, and communicate sufficiently with your families. Gather at Fresh Flower Port first thing tomorrow morning.”

“Yes, my lord!”

…

The next day.

The Fresh Flower Vessel, riding the wind and waves, arrived at Black Horse Island in the afternoon.

It was only then that Lasse and Griffin learned they had been dispatched to work on a desolate island, and that this Black Horse Island would become the future domain of Lord Landlord.

“From now on, my Knight Squad’s training will be conducted on Black Horse Island. Lasse, Griffin, Teacher Marcus will serve as the captain of the Knight Squad, responsible for the daily training of the Knight Squad. The construction of the port town will also be led by him. Construction needs to be meticulous, and training must be persistent,” Liszt explained.

“Yes, my lord!”

Knights are capable of fighting on horseback as well as serving as officials off horseback.

Without much delay, Liszt, along with three Earth Knights, hurried to the location of the poisonous bees. All four were clad in fine steel full body armor, riding their mounts, even their eyes shielded by iron-wire-mesh visors. With such airtight gear, exterminating the poisonous bees was a breeze.

Leaving Douson and the horses at a distance, Liszt and his men walked towards the bee nest.

“My lord, it’s just ahead,” Marcus pointed to a nearby location, “Do you see that large tree? The hive is on its branches, quite huge and clearly visible.”

“I see it. Let’s go, we’ll aim to kill all the poisonous bees before nightfall.”

The Earth Knights’ pace was swift, and shortly after they arrived at the base of the tree, puzzled as to why those serfs who came to relieve themselves had to run so far.

To take a shortcut and risk their lives, it was truly speechless.

“Buzzzz!”

The poisonous bees had already spotted the four newcomers.

Without hesitation, they called their comrades and began an offensive attack. The thumb-sized poisonous bees darted around vigorously, but their efforts were futile against steel defenses. The four Earth Knights circulated their Dou Qi and swung their longswords, swatting one after another of the large poisonous bees.

Especially Liszt, being the strongest Elite Earth Knight with fire attribute Dou Qi, which had explosive properties. Every time he executed combat skills, the flames that filled the sky would burn swathes of poisonous bees to death.

The hive was very large, at least one and a half times the height of a man.

Tens of thousands of fearless poisonous bees flew out, swarming toward the four men, but it was in vain, they fell as lifeless bodies under the sword, dropping to the ground.

“My lord, I’ll climb up and chop down the hive!” Griffin, with thunder attribute Dou Qi and a longsword crackling with lightning, though only a Common Earth Knight, possessed an extremely ferocious combat strength.

He used his hands and feet nimbly and climbed the branches with ease.

The poisonous bees surrounded him in layers, but they couldn’t stop his actions. He drew his longsword, aimed at the base of the branch, and began hacking away, breaking the entire branch and causing it to fall to the ground with the hive.

Four Earth Knights.

They surrounded the fallen hive, frantically slaughtering the poisonous bees.

The battle was fierce.