Chapter 777: Bo Bo Bo

The Violent Earth Dog pup named Yeast was placed with high hopes by Liszt, who anticipated its arrival would bring him a Blizzard Beast army.

However, the result was disappointing. After consuming the bloodline fruit, Yeast died from bleeding from all orifices before it could even grow—a failed bloodline evolution.

Looking at the dead pup, Liszt shook his head and sighed, "Bloodline fruits not produced by Serpentine Smoke tasks are just like ordinary ones, with a high failure rate... I wonder if the Serpentine Smoke task also fails, and what the penalty would be."

He had the scene cleaned up and the corpse of the Violent Earth Dog sent to the Mages' Guild for dissection and research by the mages, extracting whatever remaining value it had.

Then, he returned to Thorn Fort and summoned the Serpentine Smoke task.

"Task completed. Reward: new clues to the Supreme Dragon Beast."

"Huh?" Liszt exclaimed in surprise, not expecting the task to still be completed despite the pup's death. "It seems the task only required feeding the pup, not whether the evolution succeeded... Though the bloodline fruit was wasted, the loss is still within acceptable limits."

He had no intention of abandoning his Blizzard Beast army plan. In the future, if he obtained more bloodline fruits, he would still attempt to evolve new blizzard beasts—the Blizzard Knights were destined to join the Burning Knights as an elite unit.

Setting aside his disappointment over the pup's death, he continued examining the Serpentine Smoke script before him.

In an instant, a new Serpentine Smoke task was issued.

"Task: Archmage Acheronides·Truth is diligently refining the mana technique *Magic Eye* to adapt it into a mage-friendly casting method. However, she requires your full cooperation to obtain the most precise mana circulation paths and methods. Reward: the enhanced super-magic version of *Magic Eye*."

Reading the content, Liszt couldn't help but feel delighted. "Acheronides is finally adapting *Magic Eye* for mages! Excellent. With the mage version, her magical research will become even smoother, and she’ll be better at helping me patrol the territory and discover resources."

Spirit bugs, magical herbs, magical beasts—with *Magic Eye*, none of these resources across the territory could evade detection.

Liszt's energy was limited. Patrolling the land was already taxing, and the sea was even harder to cover, even with the help of Rainbow Whale Rosi. Once Acheronides mastered *Magic Eye*, the ocean's resources could be entirely her responsibility.

As his thoughts raced, he even came up with a name for the improved magic Acheronides was about to complete—*Magic Pupil*.

Since Acheronides was currently conducting experiments in Thorn Fort's laboratory, Liszt headed straight there, ready for an in-depth discussion with her.

......

Adapting a mana technique into magic was no overnight task.

As mid-February passed day by day, the Rubber Bug triplets, after days of brewing, finally lived up to Liszt's expectations. They successfully completed their magic boiling and struggled free from the shed skin of the spirit bugs.

Three plump white spirit bugs flew out in a row, circling the laboratory in formation.

They emitted synchronized chirps: "Bwo bwo bwo!"

"Bwo bwo bwo!"

"Bwo bwo bwo!"

Liszt dismissed *Magic Eye* and beckoned.

The three rubber spirit bugs immediately landed in unison on his arm. Though they looked almost identical, they were easily distinguishable. One had a thick rubber tree sapling on its head, another had a round fruit growing from its rubber tree, and the last had two large leaves on its tree—representing their different varieties: Spring Rubber, Fruit Rubber, and Fan Rubber.

"Normally, I don’t bother naming spirit bugs anymore, but the three of you have provided such valuable data on spirit evolution that we might soon develop a method to accelerate the process. So, I’ll make an exception and name you... You’re Big White, you’re Second White, and you’re Little White."

The Spring Rubber spirit bug was named Big White because its spirit-bug herb was the earliest—a common rubber plant that later evolved into Spring Rubber.

The Fruit Rubber spirit bug, whose herb appeared second, was named Second White. The Fan Rubber spirit bug, the last to sprout its herb, was named Little White.

"Bop bop bop!"

"Bop bop bop!"

"Bop bop bop!"

The three rubber spirit bugs were very happy and loved their new names.

Liszt could sense that they still shared synchronized thoughts, moving in perfect unison, yet vaguely harbored individual quirks in their minds, not as perfectly in sync as when they were rubber bugs. However, they could still wield the Three Phase Power.

Moreover, the Three Phase Power had been greatly enhanced, now capable of expanding fully within the influence of their spirit grass.

The spirit grass range of Great White was about 1,200 acres, Middle White's was around 900 acres, and Small White's was approximately 1,100 acres. Combined, they could wield the Three Phase Power across 3,200 acres. Additionally, the energy consumption for using the ability was much lower, allowing them to use it about once every three days.

"From now on, you’ll follow the castle servants every three days to wield the Three Phase Power and help me grow rubber trees, alright?"

"Bop bop bop!"

"Bop bop bop!"

"Bop bop bop!"

The three rubber spirit bugs agreed in unison, obeyed Liszt calmly, showing no restlessness. This made Liszt heave a long sigh of relief—at last, the spirit bugs he nurtured had normal personalities. Otherwise, he’d have wondered if he was to blame for raising defective spirit bugs.

With the rubber bug triplets, the expansion of the rubber plantation proceeded smoothly, ensuring a future surge in rubber production that would fully support the current needs of the territory's development.

Right after the rubber bug triplets evolved, the territory welcomed a fleet from Blue Dragon Island, bringing two special groups.

One group was the former Iron Knight family, who had once served under the Sapphire Duchy. As part of the deal where the Sapphire Family assisted the Flame Family in establishing their kingdom, they were sent to the Flame Territory to swear loyalty to Liszt.

The other group hailed from the Kingdom of Steel Ridge. Kent MagicElephant, the head of the Steel Ridge envoy dispatched before the New Year, had his sister Kenley Truth bring a group of mages on a pilgrimage.

The Iron Knight family arrived first to pay their respects.

"Honored Dragon Knight, Nickel Bellows extends his sincerest greetings to you," said an elderly man in his fifties, kneeling on one knee. "The Bellows Family is willing to follow Your Highness, we’ll forge knightly gear for you."

"Count Nickel, I, Liszt Flame, accept your allegiance in the name of the Dragon Knight," Liszt declared, tapped Count Nickel’s shoulder with his Frostbite Dragon Slayer Sword, marking his acceptance of the count as his follower.

The Bellows Family earned their living as Iron Knights. Though they held the title of count, they rarely engaged in battle, instead remaining on Blue Dragon Island to craft weapons and armor for the Sapphire Family. Strictly speaking, the Bellows Family also belonged to the Blue Blood Alliance, as Nickel's title was Count of Anvil City.

However, he now only kept the empty title of Count of Anvil City. Once the Sapphire Duchy handed the family over to Liszt, the Anvil City territory was reclaimed.

Understanding the importance of the Iron Knights, Liszt pondered briefly before saying, "For now, you shall retain your title as Count of Anvil City, with all resources provided by me. Once I found my kingdom, I shall grant you new lands."

"As you command, Your Highness," Nickel replied straightforwardly. Though a count, his fate was no longer his to control.

The Dragon Knight’s word was law.