Chapter 151: Thornworm’s Fat Pupa Stage

The discovery of fast-growing iron thorns was as significant to Flower Town as adding a catalyst to a chemical reaction or giving an athlete a shot of stimulants.

Although they still needed to wait for the completion of the thorn worm chain quest before large-scale planting could begin, it didn't stop him from bringing back the trunk of the fast-growing iron thorns. During the banquet, he gathered the town officials to study and discuss its uses.

"If it can grow to two meters tall, we can use it to build houses. It's much harder than the cedar we use. I dare say that houses built with it would withstand storms unscathed."

"Blair, your consideration is not comprehensive. Lumber needs to be not only strong but also waterproof, resistant to pests, and rot-proof."

"I don't think my consideration is incomplete. Look at how compact its wood is; it's similar to the rockwood that the Logging Team cut down. Rockwood never gets infested," Blair countered. The rockwood he mentioned comes from a tree called the rock tree, which prefers to grow in crevices between rocks.

Rockwood is very precious; a two-hundred-year-old piece can sell for fifty silver coins.

Clearing the trees on Thorns Ridge yielded fewer than ten pieces of rockwood, with only three being two hundred years old, and the other seven not even reaching that age.

Another type of wood with similar properties is stone wood, which is also extremely rare.

Gort had an idea: "We can submerge it in water. If it sinks, it means it's similar to rockwood. If it floats, it's not good enough."

"That's right, let's try it."

So a servant brought a basin of water.

They laboriously removed a section of the trunk and threw it into the basin, where it sank straight to the bottom.

Seeing this, Blair said triumphantly, "Look, everyone. I never lie. Fast-growing iron thorns are just as excellent as rockwood!"

Marcus, who usually spoke little, added, "It's sturdy and straight, making it suitable for crafting knight spears and arrow shafts. It should be better than birch wood."

Ordinary knight spears and arrow shafts are made from birch wood.

Birch City on Coral Island specializes in growing birch trees to produce the birch wood needed for weapon-making. The Tulip Family even has a birch tree spirit.

"If it's really better than birch wood, we can supply Tulip Castle. I'm sure the Count would appreciate better spear shafts and arrow shafts."

"Especially since it grows so quickly. A two-hundred-year-old piece of rockwood is only as thick as a palm, while this is already wrist-thick after just sprouting."

"I see a bush full of gold coins."

"Haha, it's a tree that bears gold coins."

"Who would have thought that the most useless thorns would become the most useful lumber."

Laughter and joy filled the banquet hall as everyone expressed their anticipation for the future of fast-growing iron thorns.

After everyone finished discussing, Liszt raised his glass, full of enthusiasm: "We can't yet confirm if it's a money tree, but you can continue monitoring and researching it to fully uncover its value. If it truly is a money tree, we should plant it on a large scale, ideally covering all the uncultivated areas of Thorns Ridge with fast-growing iron thorns."

Everyone raised their glasses and responded loudly: "As you wish, sir."

...

After the banquet,

Liszt, slightly tipsy, took a stroll through the castle's garden and played with Hiddleston for a while. Then he planned to return to his study to read. He was currently learning a foreign language—Wind Speech, the language of the Kingdom of Eagles.

Currently, only the well-traveled old Grandet in Flower Town knows both Snake Script and Wind Speech, so Liszt temporarily handed over the Flower Town caravan to Harpagon for management. He returned to Flower Town to serve as a translator, coordinating the officials in managing the newly arrived four hundred seventy-six serfs, while also teaching Wind Speech.

Learning a foreign language does have its uses.

However, old Grandet was too busy to teach individually, so he contributed a notebook from his early days of learning Wind Speech. This notebook contained everyday Wind Speech phrases and how to pronounce them in Snake Script.

Learning was tedious. At first, it seemed interesting, but after two days, he lost patience. Passing by the bug room, he decided to play with his spirit bugs.

The nine spirit bugs were kept in a large box.

Like raising silkworms, except these "silkworms" were colorful and vibrant. He reached out and touched each one; the spirit bugs' skin was smooth and felt nice. Some were lazy and unmoving, while others were energetic and roamed around, including the thorn worm.

The grayish-white thorn worm wasn't particularly striking and was the least noticeable among the spirit bugs.

But now, he felt it stood out.

"This is..." The alcohol dulled his mind slightly, but then he suddenly realized, "It's fattened up! The thorn worm has grown bigger than the others! This is a sign of evolution!"

Tulip Castle raised more than a hundred spirit bugs.

He spent a lot of time playing with spirit bugs when he was young and even witnessed two spirit bugs evolve into spirits. Before evolving, the biggest change in spirit bugs was becoming "fat." This phenomenon is typically called the fat pupa phase. Unlike butterflies, spirits do not form cocoons; they simply get fatter.

During the fattening process, spirit bugs gradually decay and age.

If unlucky, they die and turn to dust.

If lucky, one day, the spirit will break through its outer shell and emerge, spreading its wings to fly.

"The fat pupa phase!"

Liszt's drunkenness had completely worn off, replaced by a mix of nervous excitement. While the fat pupa phase is a signal of evolution, it is also a signal of death. Spirit bugs don't last long in this phase, at most a month or two. Failure means death, with no third option.

"We only have a month or two. We might not even finish the thorn worm chain quest. I must help it!"

The fat thorn worm roamed around the box, never stopping.

Occasionally, it would lift its head and look at Liszt with eyes like black sesame seeds, expressing affection. But Liszt could sense a restlessness in its emotions—perhaps it was the desire and impulse to evolve. After all, it had influenced four types of mutant thorns.

There are no detailed records explaining how spirit bugs affect plants, but Liszt was certain that it was related to their emotions.

During this period, the thorn has been extremely violent, undergoing continuous mutations.

"How can I help it?"

"Provide it with nutrients, fertilize the caterpillar fungus every day?"

"Expand the area of the thorn shrubbery?"

"It feels like these are all ordinary methods. While they might help with evolution, their effectiveness is not decisive... the probability of evolution depends more on luck." Adequate nutrition can largely give birth to a sprite caterpillar, but even with ample nutrients, there's no guarantee that the sprite caterpillar will break through.

After much thought, the only thing that can truly help the thorn caterpillar is likely the smoke task.

"I must complete the thorn caterpillar chain tasks as soon as possible. First, I need to finish the current 'bottleneck of aura' task. Starting tomorrow, I'll personally oversee the construction of the workshop!"

His resolve was made.

Liszt set aside his anxiety and smiled at his sprite caterpillar, especially the thorn caterpillar.

The moment of destiny has arrived: "Little guy, you need to work hard."

As if sensing Liszt's encouragement, the thorn caterpillar raised half of its body, its sesame-like eyes meeting Liszt's gaze, full of high spirits.

It was brimming with confidence!