A low-level magical beast, Marcus could handle it and seize the opportunity to slay it.

But against three, rushing blindly would only result in a gruesome demise.

Marcus couldn't afford to ponder how Liszt knew there were three beasts. He immediately turned his horse around. Swiftly, he retracted his spear back onto the horse's saddle rack and drew his bow with an arrow nocked, firing off four arrows in quick succession towards a bush fifty meters away.

All the arrows missed their mark, but their purpose had been served.

From one of the bushes, a Windblade Wolf leaped out, its gaze cold as it stared at Marcus. It didn't attack recklessly but rather watched silently, observing the woodcutters gathering around a bonfire.

Carl and the other attendant knights prepared to throw the dried, smoked grass leaves they had been given into the fire. Once alight, the pungent smell would repel the magical beasts.

Liszt rode his Black Dragon Horse to join Marcus, confronting the gray Windblade Wolf together.

"My Lord, are you certain there are three beasts?"

"Certain," Liszt replied, still wielding the Red Blood Sword with his Magic Eye active. "There's one in the cluster of bushes to the left of this wolf and another in the bushes behind and to the right. It's clearly trying to distract us so the other two can ambush us."

Marcus bent his bow again and notched an arrow. "Wolves are inherently cunning and cautious. I'll force them out!"

Two arrows were shot out, yet there was no movement in the bushes.

In this tense situation, Liszt suddenly felt like laughing. These three Windblade Wolves were playing tactics with him, thinking they could hide in the bushes and go unnoticed, but under the watchful Eye of Magic, they were completely exposed.

"Shift one meter to the left of the bush on the left," Marcus instructed. "And the one on the right, move fifteen centimeters to the right."

Marcus, upon hearing this,

pulled out another arrow. This time, it wasn't two arrows at once; instead, he fired a single arrow straight for the bush on the left.

Thwack!

Aww!

The sound of flesh tearing echoed, followed by the Windblade Wolf's pained howl. The bush rustled as the wolf, with an arrow embedded in its shoulder blade, fled with its tail between its legs, quickly disappearing into the depths of the woods.

The other Windblade Wolf that had been distracting attention also turned and ran.

Only the one hiding in the bush at the right rear remained concealed, perhaps still planning a sneak attack.

And in the very next instant...

A sharp arrow whizzed past its back, startling it. No longer daring to hide, the Windblade Wolf darted out from the bushes and fled silently, turning its tail between its legs.

With just a few arrows exchanged, and without even needing to use the Smoke Grass, the three Windblade Wolves vanished without a trace.

The Magic Eye was no longer able to detect any magical residue. Liszt summoned the Smoke Grass Mission, saw the updated content, and waved dismissively with a tinge of regret, "The Windblade Wolves have completely fled. Disarm the alert and resume logging." He had failed to capture a single magical beast or showcase his prowess.

But as long as the mission was completed, that was all that mattered.

"Mission completed. Reward: A super miniature nitre mine."

"It's a nitre mine, huh."

Metals and gems came from dragons, while other minerals were produced by the land itself. Not long ago, Liszt had been complaining about not having nitre to make ice, preventing him from enjoying an iced beer on a hot summer day. To his surprise, the reward turned out to be a nitre mine, as if it understood his needs.

"Still, isn't using nitre to make ice a waste? I recall that nitre is one of the ingredients for black powder?" He recalled vaguely the formula for black powder from his high school physics lessons—charcoal, sulfur, and potassium nitrate (nitre).

Now that he had a source of nitre, he just lacked sulfur.

"Let's start by using it for ice-making. The days are getting hotter, and without ice to cool down, life without chilled beer is unbearable," he thought, and the smoke serpent's inscription transformed accordingly.

"Task: The crisis of the monster invasion has been resolved. It's time to dedicate all efforts to logging, widening the road through Thorns Ridge, and reconnecting Flower Town with Coral Island's trade network for growth opportunities. Reward: A new species of mushroom."

"A new species of mushroom?" Liszt immediately thought of Mushroom Village. "Could it be that the mushroom logs in Mushroom Village will yield magical herbs, just like the black tulips?"

Mushrooms were a crucial ingredient in noble cuisine.

In terms of classification, they fell under the category of mushrooms, which the people of this world referred to as Abandoned Fungus - signifying plants forsaken by elf worms.

This was because mushrooms couldn't nurture any elf worms.

Even a common weed in this world had the potential to nurture an elf worm, but not mushrooms. Hence, their status as plants was questionable. However, they could produce various magical herbs, which only plants could do, making them seem botanical after all.

In the end, no definitive conclusion was reached.

From his knowledge, List knew that mushrooms were fungi—however, in this world, whether they were fungi or plants was irrelevant. This wasn't a world governed by science.

"Though it can't nurture Elf Bugs to boost its yield with supernatural power, as a mushroom, it can grow rapidly under suitable conditions. If we really obtain a new variety of Magic Mushroom, it would be a tremendous boon, equivalent to Flower Town having a new specialty."

The Black Tulips could have been a specialty, but he only had one Tulip Bug and couldn't scale up production. Thus, it would be best to collaborate with Tulip Castle.

The Magic Mushrooms were different. They didn't need the assistance of Elf Bugs to expand cultivation, making them an excellent candidate for a specialty.

Just the Magic Mushrooms alone could probably attract a steady stream of merchant caravans.

At the very least, Levis and Li Weiwei wouldn't miss out on a new magic ingredient. For their dreams of becoming Sky Knights, both were determined to become potion guinea pigs.

"I'll supervise the logging every day from now on! We must clear the road through Thorns Ridge as soon as possible!" List decided excitedly.

It was scorching hot in the sweltering summer, and he had initially planned to return to the castle earlier.

Now invigorated, he immediately instructed Thomas to pack food from the castle and have a picnic at the logging site—also as a precaution against the Windblade Wolves returning.

They had just finished their picnic.

From a nearby road, the sound of galloping hooves echoed abruptly as a group of knights rode swiftly towards them. Upon spotting the logging crew, the knights headed straight for the site.

Four of Karl's retainer knights promptly went to meet them and, together with the visitors, approached Liszt.

"Baron," said the knight in the lead, a familiar face to Liszt – Sir Leiden, a knight captain from Tulip Castle and a lord, who saluted him respectfully, "Greetings from Leiden."

It was this same Sir Leiden who had escorted Levi and the others for their assimilation trade last time.

Liszt returned the knight's salute. "Sir Leiden, it's good to see you again. What brings you here this time?"

"The Seafaring Festival is five days away, on June 26th. The Earl has sent me to deliver a message that all members of the Tulip Family will be coming to Flower Town to celebrate the festival with you."