The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

"Do you think I'm raising a Golden Dragon?"

Li Vera rolled her eyes in frustration and complained, "I've only accumulated a thousand Gold Coins, relying on the Tulip Lesser Spirit and twelve Elf Bugs, in addition to the family savings from my childhood! I can lend you at most eight hundred Gold Coins. My Falcon Town hasn't produced a single Elf Bug in a year!"

Compared to the thriving Fresh Flower Town, Falcon Town, which should have been a prosperous small town, hadn't improved much under her management.

It was only because she had a Tulip Lesser Spirit that she was able to quickly plant over eight hundred acres of Black Tulips in Falcon Town. The crop had just reached a large scale, and she hadn't reaped much profit from it yet.
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What frustrated Li Vera was that Fresh Flower Town frequently bred Elf Bugs, but she hadn't found even one in Falcon Town for nearly a year.

Considering her own expenses and her plans to train a squad of female knights, she hadn't managed to accumulate much wealth—if she had been a male Earth Knight, with just one Little Minor Elf, she might have had a chance to aim for the title of Viscount. Unfortunately, she was a woman.

There was no use in going to battlefields or keeping the Gold Coins idle.

Lending out eight hundred Gold Coins was close to Liszt's expectation from selling the Crimson Blood Sword, so he didn't insist any further, "Then I'll borrow eight hundred Gold Coins."

Li Vera said, "You must prepare a grand gift for my birthday next year."

"Of course."

...

Having successfully borrowed eight hundred Gold Coins from Li Vera, Liszt felt somewhat relieved. Sometimes he deliberately tried to avoid the constraints of kinship, but family was still different from strangers. He had inherited the bloodline of this body, and there was no doubt he was a member of the Tulip Family.

Family would be a solid backup for each other.

"Li Vera's eight hundred Gold Coins can wait a year or even longer to be repaid, and if I am still short of money, perhaps... I might borrow some from my grandmother," he thought to himself.

Once, his grandmother had always compared him unfavorably to Melissa because of his personality and appearance, her words tinged with harshness.

However, as he continued to demonstrate exceptional performance, his grandmother's attitude towards him softened considerably.

This was indeed opportunistic.

Yet being born into a Noble family, such things were inevitable.

A waste, even if they are an eldest legitimate son, would be scorned; a talented individual, even if born out of wedlock, would be valued. Strength was the basis of a family's succession, and sitting in the Noble's chair, Liszt saw this very clearly.

He wasn't a young man. With the maturity of an adult, he understood how to let go and be tolerant, just as he knew how life involved a mixture of interest and affection—even the most loving parents would feel disappointed by their children's failures. The difference was in the inability to sever the kinship that blood relations brought, no matter what.

"In my grandmother's eyes, my status must be roughly equal to Levis's by now. She should not refuse a loan. Moreover, she must have accumulated quite a few Gold Coins, which would only molder away in the little Castle; it would be better to lend them to me to make profits... In the future, I will reciprocate with much more."

It felt somewhat like spronging off the elderly.

Liszt felt a tinge of embarrassment in his heart; he had originally wanted to focus on his own territory, to minimize entanglements with his family.

In the end, he still needed his family's help.

"However, having the family as support does feel very good. Building up Black Horse Island from scratch, even with the Smoke Mission, would require a significant amount of time. Now, with Li Vera's Gold Coins and those from my grandmother, I can maintain a state of rapid development."

For some reason, on the way back, he suddenly thought of Martha Yiniang Peng.

This widowed Earl's lady was willing to provide for him for a while in exchange for a Little Minor Elf. If it had been right after he had arrived when his territory was destitute, he might not have been able to resist the temptation and would have gone straight to Daisy Castle to become the lady's petticoat knight.

As for now, his pride and dignity still mattered.

Back to Fresh Flower Town.

"Consultant Goltai, I leave the purchase of the ships to you. With eight hundred Gold Coins, make sure to choose the best old sailing ships—yes, two cargo ships," he handed over the borrowed Gold Coins to Goltai—he was all about efficiency. Since they needed ships, he bought them without hesitation.

This style, of course, was not meticulous enough.

It didn't match the maximization of benefits like those Landlords skilled in planning and management, who could stretch a penny into two. But the simplicity and brutality saved mental and physical energy, time he didn't have to spare.

Practicing Dou Qi and enjoying life was what he should be doing daily.

...

In the following days, his life became more peaceful.

Only outside his regular schedule, he intensified the training of the Eight Tiny Ones. This year's Pioneer Mandate, the Eight Tiny Ones and Douson would be powerful aides in his plundering of resources.

"Storm, Rock Spike!"

"Pff!"

Storm opened its mouth to cast Magic, and a Rock Spike shot up from the ground not far away. The Eight Tiny Ones were still pups, but they were well-fed and fast-developing, with their Magic reserves already considerable. With Douson's command, their discipline and obedience had greatly improved.

The Blizzard Beast Squad had begun to take shape, just waiting to be tested on the battlefield.

Apart from training dogs.

Liszt still persisted in taking potions, practicing Dou Qi, and honing archery skills. Triple Arrow had become second nature, and Multiple Arrow was becoming more proficient.

"Charge!"

The shout of Defense Officer Rom Barrel echoed across Knight's Square. He now mainly handled knight training courses for minors. Most of these hundreds of children would continue as serfs, but a few dozens of them would seize the opportunity and become Retainer Knights for Liszt.

Among them, those with exceptional talent could even reach for Earth Knight status and the chance to earn merits on the battlefield.

However, Liszt's gaze was focused more on another part of Knight's Square where a newly recruited Earth Knight was training Maggie and Emily.

Maggie had average talent at best and would likely max out as an Earth Knight.

But Emily had powerful talent. Her internal Dou Qi was abundant, and Liszt had no doubt that she could become an Earth Knight within half a year.

"This talent, even I'm jealous... The waste that I was before, with all the family resources piled up, didn't become an Earth Knight before reaching adulthood. Emily has only practiced for half a year and is already showing signs of a breakthrough. The future of this female Knight is boundless."

With that thought.

He couldn't help but instruct his personal manservant, "Thomas, remember to tell Mr. Carter and Mrs. Morson to send Emily a piece of Magical Beast Meat and a cup of high-quality milk every day." The high-quality milk referred to Dragon Breed Milk, which was plentiful, and Liszt on his own couldn't finish it all.

"Yes, my lord."

With Magical Beast Meat and Dragon Breed Milk to enhance her nutrition, Emily's training resources would be no less than those of any Noble offspring.

Liszt watched as she meticulously completed various movements. Her small face was sunburned red, sweat continuously dripping down her cheeks, but she did not complain of fatigue nor slack off.

He couldn't help imagining, "Once Emily grows up, perhaps she can replace the aging Marcus and become my 'Chief Knight,' leading the charge for me."

Marcus was approaching forty and after a few more years of campaigns to earn a Noble title, he would likely retire from the front lines to serve as a Territory Officer. Liszt needed new Knights to manage his Knight Order—Black Horse Island would certainly need to maintain its own Knight Order.