Chapter 21 Wild corn is delicious

A set of Aura manipulation techniques, detailing how to refine, amplify, condense, release, and infuse Aura. A combat strategy consisting of sixteen moves.

Five movement techniques: Dragon Charge, Dragon Leap, Dragon Jump, Dragon Soar, Dragon Dive.

Five basic techniques: Fire Dragon Thrust, Fire Dragon Crash, Fire Dragon Smash, Fire Dragon Twist, Fire Dragon Piercing.

Five fierce techniques: Fire Dragon Tail Whip, Fire Dragon Sweep, Fire Dragon Hurricane, Fire Dragon Roll, Fire Dragon Ambush.

One ultimate secret technique: Heart of the Fire Dragon Thrust.

This encompasses the entirety of the "Fire Dragon Thrust." Each move's name is intriguing, seemingly part of a series connected to his Fire Dragon Steed.

At this moment,

Liszt was mounted on his Fire Dragon Steed, his body subtly rising and falling with the horse's gallop, nearly achieving unity with the equine. In his left hand, he held a shield crafted from fine steel, protecting both himself and half of the steed. His right hand held aloft a lance over three meters long.

In the barren land near the castle, the grass had been cut away, exposing the yellow soil - barren and arid.

The Fire Dragon Steed's hooves sank into the slightly damp ground, leaving behind uneven hoof prints. Its body transformed into a fiery red mass, dashing swiftly towards the distance. Surrounding Liszt on the steed, Aura radiated in all directions, bonding with the shield, the lance, and the Fire Dragon Steed itself.

In the blink of an eye, the horse and rider were entirely enveloped in flames.

With a loud cry from Liszt, "Heart of the Fire Dragon Thrust!"

The Fire Dragon Horse leaped high, and the knight's lance charged forward with devastating speed. Countless illusory forms of the horse and rider flashed rapidly alongside the attack, hurtling straight towards a massive boulder ahead.

A heaven-shaking strike!

Boom!

The boulder, towering over a person, was instantly shattered into dust. Flames raged and scattered fragments of stone like raindrops. When the dust settled, Liszt, riding his Fire Dragon Horse, had already moved beyond the blast radius. Both he and his mount were clad in full armor, covered in scratches and black stains.

Pushing aside his face mask, Liszt's handsome features emerged, his lips still curled in his usual faint smile. "Not bad power. With this move, I should be able to severely injure a Beast, like a Rampaging Earth Hound."

Clippity-clop, clippity-clop.

The sound of galloping hooves drew closer, as Marcus and Gort arrived on their horses, followed by Liszt's four attendant knights.

"Oh, my God, Liszt, you truly are a genius. I see it now – is this the ultimate essence of 'Flame Dragon Thrust,' the Flame Dragon's Heart? You've mastered the entire manual in less than a week?" Gort always spoke with an air of astonishment.

Marcus circled around the scattered rubble, equally amazed. "The impact is evenly distributed; no stone is larger than a fist, indicating that you've mastered this technique. Even ordinary Earth Knights would find it difficult to achieve this level."

Finishing his assessment, he looked at Liszt with disbelief. In the past, the third son of the earl's family was a typical good-for-nothing. He had plenty of food, from chicken to fish, meat, eggs, and milk, even indulging in magical beast meat. But his cultivation in battle aura was inferior to that of a commoner knight. To his surprise, after advancing to become an Earth Knight, Liszt had fully grasped a middle-tier battle aura manual in less than a week.

This reminded Marcus of when he spent a full one and a half months to master the ultimate essence of 'Windbreak.' A myriad of emotions swirled within him. "Could this be the true difference between commoners and nobles?"

Liszt handed his shield and knightly spear to his squire, removing his helmet as well to breathe in the fresh air. The excitement still lingered. "I initially thought that mastering 'Flame Dragon Thrust' would take me several months, but it wasn't that difficult. Looks like I can spare some time to learn 'Blazing Waves' too – more skills never hurt."

"You possess such talent, so naturally, you should learn more manuals, Liszt. As I said before, you have your father's flair. Your future will surely bring great glory to the Tulip family." "Thank you for your kind words, Teacher Gort."

On their way back, Gort engaged Liszt in deep conversation, something he excelled at. Meanwhile, Marcus seemed lost in thought, his mind wandering to unknown places.

It wasn't until he had mindlessly consumed his dinner in the castle and been seen off by Liszt that Gort finally came to his senses.

As Gort rode away on his horse, humming a tune, he turned back to look at Liszt, who was still standing at the castle gate as if awaiting his question. With a solemn tone, he asked, "Baron, may I know where your sights lie?"

"My sights...?"

Liszt understood that Marcus was inquiring about his ambitions for achieving greatness. A man like Marcus, who aspired to be a noble, would never be content with residing in a rural town, serving a baron without aspirations.

However, Liszt didn't directly answer. "Teacher Marcus, when observing a person, it's not what they say that matters, but what they do. Words can be true or false, whereas actions speak louder than words, don't they?"

"I understand now!"

Suddenly, Marcus knelt on one knee, placing his right hand over his heart, performing an oath of loyalty. "I am at your service, my lord!"

"Please rise, Teacher Marcus. Our territory is still weak, and I need your help to develop it," said Liszt calmly, helping Marcus up. He felt a sense of accomplishment, knowing that he had earned the loyalty of a renowned knight – a testament to his personal charisma.

Back inside the castle.

After his bath.

Once again, he saw the smoky script: "Task completed. Reward: A feeble-blooded Dragon Horse foal."

In an instant, the smoke twisted, revealing a new task: "Task: Fresh and tender alfalfa - not only do cows love it, but horses do too. It's the foundation for establishing a stable and the starting point for great accomplishments. Please provide a habitat for alfalfa beetles to cultivate the crop. Reward: Three wild corn stalks."

Upon reading the snake's message, Liszt was thrilled.

The Dragon Horse had already arrived; it was just a matter of where it was and who had discovered it. He planned on searching for it early the next morning. But at this moment, what excited him more than the Dragon Horse was the corn promised as a reward for the new task.

Corn was not a crop in this world; at least, there wasn't any on Coral Island, nor did his predecessor's memories contain any mention of it.

"Corn, a high-yielding crop, supposedly number one in the world in terms of output? And it doesn't require much maintenance; it grows on its own. Rumor has it that it's a divine plant with natural C4 hermaphroditism, making it the future king of grains. In 'Interstellar,' when humanity was on the brink of extinction, they solely cultivated corn."

Liszt had helped with farming when he was young and knew that corn produced a large yield, even if its taste didn't quite match that of wheat or rice.

But in this world, taste didn't matter as much as filling stomachs. In Flower Town, the wheat yield was only about 100-200 pounds per acre. If corn were planted, there was no need for thousands of pounds per acre; even just surpassing 500 pounds would be enough to sustain a larger population, ensuring food security.

By then,

Extensive cultivation of corn to provide the common folk with coarse cornmeal, and a small planting of wheat to enjoy refined flour for themselves, wouldn't that be delightful?