The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

“Calcining Dragon Bones have this effect?”

If verified to be true, then the huge pile of Fire Dragon Bone Fragments that he had collected would be extremely useful. Liszt, an action-oriented person, immediately began the experiment.

He lit a bonfire.

Threw in a few Fire Dragon Bone Fragments, then, he began to wait for the Dragon Might to emerge.

However, half a day passed, the bonfire was almost out, and he didn’t feel the anticipated Dragon Might. He stirred the charcoal ashes with his Longsword, only to discover that the Fire Dragon Bone Fragments were merely charred on the surface, without much change.

“Is it due to insufficient flame, or are the bones not shattered enough?”

He then ordered a servant to bring a tin box, placed charcoal inside, poured some grease, and began to light it. The temperature in the center of such flames was extremely high; he continued to smash the Fire Dragon Bone Fragments into even smaller pieces, scattering them into the furnace.

Yet, half a day later, there was still no production of Dragon Might.

“Is Merlese’s conjecture wrong, or are the Fire Dragon Bone Fragments in my hands completely decayed, unable to stimulate any Dragon Might?”

“Or is it ineffective to burn the Fire Dragon Bones with fire? After all, it’s a Fire Dragon, an expert in playing with fire.”

Thinking this,

he took out the only Dragonbone Stabilizer from the Space Gem.

The Dragonbone Stabilizer Technique had been lost with the fall of the Magic Goat Family; this sole remaining bone of a Dragon Beast ostensibly had no more use.

“Dragon Bones can stimulate Dragon Might, and the bones of a Dragon Beast can also slightly stimulate it; while the Dragonbone Stabilizer is still relatively fresh, why not give it a try?” He hesitated no more, directly knocking off a small piece from the Dragonbone Stabilizer.

He tossed it into the rekindled fire pile.

A moment later,

a faint breath burst forth from the fire, instantly causing Liszt’s skin to break out in goosebumps, his heart tightened, immediately reminding him of the Dragon Might he felt when the Formless Dragon had come by. Compared to that time, this Dragon Might was very faint, very weak, but it was indeed Dragon Might.

After lasting a short while, this faint Dragon Might had slowly dissipated.

Liszt extinguished the fire and returned to the Castle.

His mood was somewhat excited, “Indeed, Merlese’s guess was correct, calcining Dragon Bones can release Dragon Might. The Fire Dragon Bone Fragments might not produce Dragon Might due to decay, or resistance. Only the Dragon Beast bone from this Dragonbone Stabilizer can still release some Dragon Might… I wonder if it can intimidate Dulu Miqita.”

He had already decided.

To combine Serpent Blood Fruit, Soul Disturbing Agent, and Dragon Might, a triple disturbance to disrupt Dulu Miqita’s magic casting.

“With this, restrictive measures prepared, magical disturbance measures ready, and the finishing move, Magical Grand Fire Dragon also set, hunting Dulu Miqita only awaits the trap’s proper arrangement.”

…

Serpent Blood Fruit was not difficult to purchase.

The Fresh Flower Caravan bought a batch of Serpent Blood Tree Plant Pots from Coral Island, a total of twenty-two pots; due to the season, none had flowered or fruited yet.

They resembled young pepper plants, about as tall as two palms.

“Quite regrettable, Lord Landlord, there were no Serpent Blood Fruits for sale on Coral Island, we only managed to purchase some plant pots,” reported Abagon.

“Continue to purchase, buy all the Serpent Blood Tree Plant Pots that can be found.” Liszt gave the command indifferently, not much concerned with the outcome from the Fresh Flower Caravan.

Tulip Castle’s caravan hadn’t returned yet; it was unsure if they’d acquired any Serpent Blood Fruits, but the caravan from Beer Castle had already sent a batch of Serpent Blood Fruits through Fresh Flower Port, roughly a thousand catties. Serpent Blood Fruit is a dry fruit; several islands in the Duchy of Sapphire have many venomous snakes, so local landlords hoard Serpent Blood Fruits.

The trade channels of Beer Castle’s caravan were complex, making it easy to contact these minor landlords.

With an ample supply of Serpent Blood Fruits,

every part of the plan was now in place.

When Marcus returned to Fresh Flower Town by ship, Liszt directly instructed him, “Teacher Marcus, I need you to make another trip to Black Horse Island and bring back Griffin and Lasse. The Earth Knights will play a principal role in this hunt against the Six-Headed King Serpent, and we need to start training ahead of time.”

Upon hearing Liszt’s decision, Marcus did offer a few words of persuasion. But compared to Goltai’s downcast spirit, his eyes sparkled with a greater sense of fighting spirit.

“My Lord, your plan is perfect. I believe Douson should take on a more significant role. Although Douson is not yet fully mature, the Six-Headed King Serpent is also not fully grown; maybe Douson could put up a direct and tough fight against it. Acting as our main force, you also need to seize this opportunity to train its combat abilities,” he suggested.

Liszt nodded. “Indeed, Douson should definitely engage in a good fight. Being raised in the yard may dull its wild instincts.”

“Also, if you intend to use a bow and arrow to inject a Soul Disturbing Agent, disrupting the Six-Headed King Serpent from casting magic, why not have the Apprentice Knights join the battle with bows and arrows? Your collection includes a highly toxic bee venom. With arrowheads dipped in poison, I believe they could inflict considerable damage on the King Sea Serpent.”

“That’s an excellent addition,” Liszt acknowledged.

Many hands make light work, and after exchanging ideas with Marcus, the plan for the serpent hunt was more thorough.

…

At the end of March.

Spring plowing had rolled out its magnificent prologue. Aside from the one thousand and five hundred people working on Black Horse Island, Fresh Flower Town had over three thousand inhabitants.

Hundreds of serfs were digging river traps under the guise of “clearing water channels.”

The remaining serfs, the majority of them, were engaged in cultivation, striving to seed all the cultivated farmland within the boundaries of Fresh Flower Town and Thorn Ridge.

The compost accumulated over the winter was also being continuously spread into the fields.

All the serfs were equipped with a full set of agricultural tools—from bone spades, bone hoes, bone knives to wooden buckets, wooden basins, carrying poles—which greatly improved work efficiency.

Having returned from inspecting the river traps, Liszt, with Zambrotta, Blair, Nemo, and other town officials, continued to oversee the spring plowing activities.

Monster hunting was important, as was spring plowing.

Standing on the ridge of the fields and observing the serfs working with their backs to the sky, he gave an important directive: “The development of Fresh Flower Town has not come easy. As town officials, you must value this highly and ensure you manage this spring plowing mission well. The town’s reclaimed wasteland must not be abandoned.”

“Yes, my Lord!” the officials responded in unison.

“Goltai and Isaiah are in charge of the river channel excavation, so the tasks they should have assumed will start with Blair. You all must take over their responsibilities.”

“Yes, my Lord!”

Afterward, Liszt, accompanied by the officials, went on to inspect each garrison and meet with the stewards to hear about the progress of the spring plowing. Although he did not adopt an approachable posture by going into the fields to talk amiably with the serfs, the image of Lord Landlord placing importance on agriculture was already established.

No one dared to slack off when it came to spring plowing.

In fact, without this posture, the serfs would not be lax; most of them had already lived through hard times. After arriving in Fresh Flower Town, the kind Lord Landlord, ample food and clothing, job opportunities everywhere where one could earn money, and the labor distribution system that rewarded hard work gave them hope.

“This year, I’m going to cultivate twenty acres of farmland, all planted with wheat!” an excited new serf, watching the Lord and his party depart, said to himself, “My wife and children have died of starvation. I am still young. If I earn money, I can remarry and have a bunch of children!”

The serfs who had been sold had almost all lost their families.

After overcoming their grief, they longed to start new families.

And the great, benevolent, noble Lord Landlord had given them a visible opportunity.

…

Riding on the back of a Li Dragon Horse, Liszt looked out and saw the town enveloped in a light called “progress,” and he couldn’t help feeling his spirits soar: “This is the land I strive to develop!”