Chapter 50: A Dragon’s Invasion Reward

The wooden houses in Oyster Village were yet to be constructed, but the fishermen's efforts in catching fish were proceeding smoothly.

The construction of roads connecting the settlements and towns might not be rapid, but progress was made each day.

The low-yielding, nutrient-deficient clover in the dairy farm had been entirely uprooted, replaced with high-yielding, nutritious alfalfa. The ten cows had taken a liking to the new forage, resulting in an increase in milk production.

At the castle's outskirts, the alfalfa in the horse paddock was flourishing; however, no mares had conceived yet, and the Black Dragon horses had not entered their breeding season.

In Peanut Village, the peanut plants were thriving. Those near the peanut bug grass were nearing harvest, and it seemed feasible to have two crops within a year without any issues.

The black tulips on the Flower Farm have begun to bear fruit, a type of small capsule, though not yet split open. Once they do, they will release numerous flat seeds that can propagate in abundance. Influenced by the Tulip Bug's parasitic effect, this black tulip has produced an astonishing thirty fruits.

Presumably, it could breed enough to cover several acres at once, which could then be handed over to the great elf, Xiao Xiang, at Tulip Castle for further cultivation. Within half a year, mass cultivation would become possible.

With conventional farming methods, it would take several years to achieve such a scale, but this is the capability of the elves.

Yet, elves are a potent force, yet also a constraint. They have restricted human exploration and development in plant cultivation and fertilizer research. To this day, we still rely on primitive slash-and-burn agriculture.

Liszt is revolutionizing agriculture in Flower Town – each hamlet is now embracing the widespread use of compost from manure, wood ashes, and pond mud.

Wheat Village continues to cultivate wheat, and with the aid of the wheat bugs, it's feasible to increase production by roughly twenty to thirty percent. At the same time, there are specialists tending to the three corn plants, while the rest of the cornfields are located in Barley Village, tended to by the village's serfs who also gather grass seeds.

Barley Village previously focused on growing barley and oats. The recent addition of millet fields was cultivated from previously unused land, and with the cultivation of corn plants, the village is severely lacking in serfs.

Mushroom Village and Tomato Village remain the same size with little change.

The most significant transformation has occurred in the town itself. There are no more unsanitary piles of feces, nor does anyone dare litter on the streets anymore, all thanks to Liszt's strict orders. Patrol teams roam daily, and anyone caught littering will face severe flogging – a common form of punishment for commoners by nobles that Liszt selectively preserves.

Initially, Liszt considered adopting a police station's detention method, but later realized that simply detaining without physical punishment would be a luxurious life for the serfs.

They wouldn't have to work and could still enjoy free meals every day.

Hence, corporal punishment becomes inevitable.

"Gort, I've already allocated fifty acres of barren land for millet cultivation, which is the maximum area the millet bugs can affect. Now, Barley Village can no longer meet the planting demand, and it's challenging to transfer serfs from other villages – Oyster Village has already sent a batch, so currently, we only have ten acres of millet fields."

Gort explains to Liszt.

Today, they are here to settle the millet bugs. The millet has already sprouted, covering the newly cultivated and fertilized ten acres of land with a lush green layer.

"Ten acres it is, then. We'll plant millet after the oats and barley are harvested. It's not worth cultivating them without the Elf Bugs," Liszt nodded and said.

Next, he began to arrange the Millet Bug's grass.

The Millet Bug's grass was yellow millet, so its entire body shimmered golden, dazzling to the eye.

"Little one, come, breathe in some fresh air."

Indeed, the Millet Bug was a brave little creature. It crawled out of the jade box, opened its mouth, and spat out the grass, planting it in the center of the field where it had been enclosed. It quickly grew in the wind, transforming into a golden millet plant heavy with grains.

With that, another task was completed.

Of the six Elf Bugs, five were now settled, leaving only the final Thorns Bug.

Liszt was in high spirits as he rode his horse, focusing his mind. The Smoke Snake Script twisted before his eyes: "Task completed: Reward, Secret Technique of Battle Aura, Eye of Magic Power." Then it transformed, issuing a new task: "Task: All companions have found their homes except for the Thorns Bug. As the lord, you cannot waste the productivity of any Elf Bug. Please find a grass for the Thorns Bug. Reward: Invasion of the Invisible Dragon."

As he read the new task, the joy he had just felt quickly dissipated.

Were it not for the attendants and servants accompanying him, he would have jumped up in anger and exclaimed, "Are you kidding me with this Smoke Quest? An invisible dragon's invasion can count as a reward?"

Based on the information he had gathered previously, an invisible dragon might leave behind an invaluable space ring.

But he had to be alive to obtain it!

A dragon could effortlessly devastate a town. Liszt had no intention of testing if two old cows and a bundle of smoked grass would be enough to scare off an invisible dragon. In his view, one should only enjoy the rewards that matched their capabilities. If he were the lord of Coral Island, he would attempt to deal with the invisible dragon even at the cost of losing a city.

Unfortunately, he only had Flower Town.

A dragon's single traversal would likely wipe out the small town, leaving him destitute, let alone any luxurious noble lifestyle.

For a fleeting moment, he decided to abandon the thorn worm and never complete the quest, thus avoiding the risk of triggering the invisible dragon's invasion as a reward.

However, upon calming down, he felt unwilling to give up.

The Smoke Quest seemed to merely facilitate what was already destined to happen, pushing it before him. Without this facilitation, the difficulty of his development would be multiplied—besides, he had already become reliant on the quick benefits brought by the Smoke Quests. Each completed task rewarded him, which was an exhilarating sensation.

Throughout the journey back to the castle, he made up his mind.

"Well then, what's the big deal about an invisible dragon!"

"I have the Smoky Grass prepared, and the cow is ready too. If worst comes to worst, Flower Town can be sacrificed, and I'll shamelessly beg for another inheritance at Tulip Castle."

"A count wouldn't let his own son starve, would he?"

For the sake of the spatial ring and the Smoke Mission, Liszt was willing to take the risk.

Having made up his mind, the next step was to make thorough preparations.

For this purpose, he spent the entire night in the castle's study, illuminated by lamplight, devising a plan. He didn't involve anyone else; the secret of the invisible dragon should be known only to himself. The more people who knew, the higher the risk of the secret being leaked, and his precious spatial ring being snatched away.

A spatial ring was worthy of being called a divine artifact.

"Plan for defeat before victory; preserving one's life is paramount." This was Liszt's guiding principle in designing the plan. Regardless of the outcome, his safety must be ensured with no worries left behind.

Studying the sketch of Flower Town he had drawn, he pondered for a long while before circling the dairy farm. "Here, it will serve as the battlefield for the invisible dragon's invasion. We'll leave the cows as bait and cut down all the smoked grass, piling it up in the dairy farm to draw the invisible dragon's attention."

"As for combat, it's out of the question. No one can defeat a dragon, let alone slay an invisible one."

"It's said that dragons possess Dragon Breath, a magical substance they spew from their mouths – flames, acid, venom, and the like. Half of a dragon's strength comes from its Dragon Breath. Hence, the ground is too risky; we'll have to dig tunnels underground to escape the invisible dragon at the first sign of danger."

"A dragon wouldn't bother digging itself or capture a few human insects, would it?"

"Moreover, I probably won't be able to see the invisible dragon, nor will anyone in Flower Town. To confirm the invisible dragon's actual location, I should sprinkle flour across the dairy farm. Its footprints will show when it walks… But wait, do dragons even need to walk? Aren't they capable of flying?"

Liszt scratched his head, pondering how he could detect the invisible dragon. However, he couldn't figure out how to see a dragon that could turn invisible.

Frustrated, he slammed his fist on the table.

Clatter.

The candle lamp was knocked over by his punch, and the candle wax immediately flowed down the table to the corner where a knight novel lay. The flames instantly engulfed the book.