Chapter 84 When will the mission be completed?

This was not a compliment.

Lister himself also felt that he was exceptionally gifted.

Perhaps his body, by its very nature, possessed a strong bloodline and superior genes, far surpassing ordinary people. Now, with a soul that transcended the thinking of his time, his grasp of principles allowed him to delve deeper into the essence of cultivation.

When others learned archery, it might entirely be a process of honing their experience.

Their minds might lack concepts such as air resistance, parabolic trajectories, inertia, or Newton's three laws of motion.

However, he could understand the flight path of an arrow through some basic principles of physics, thus allowing him to master muscle memory more swiftly and quickly learn the art of archery.

What he lacked was merely the control over the nuances of technique.

Summarizing failures.

Improving skills.

Bowing the bow once more and firing an arrow.

Lister found that such single-minded cultivation, once immersed in it, was a bittersweet yet enjoyable experience.

...

"Sir, I plan to take a day off to buy my family's freedom from serfdom and bring them to live in Flower Town," Karl said after successfully taking over the defense officer position and finishing his afternoon lecture to the patrol team. That evening, he attended his first banquet upstairs at the castle.

He sat nervously, filled with excitement.

Lister, biting into his bread, replied, "I approve your leave. Feel free to bring your family here without worry. Master Gort will arrange your work... By the way, do you have enough money to buy their freedom?"

"I've saved enough, and Rohm lent me a bit. There are only my parents, younger brother, and sister at home, so the money I have is just enough to free them from serfdom."

"If it's not enough, don't hesitate to ask me. You can draw advance pay or borrow at a low interest rate."

Karl had been a squire before, and his family were slaves of the Tulip Family. Now that he had gained the status of a freeman, he wanted to liberate his family from their servitude.

As a follower of a noble, he already possessed the strength to protect his loved ones.

Gort raised his glass to Karl as a gesture of congratulations. "Blair and Marcus's families have adapted well to their new lives and are doing great. Your family will be no different."

Gort eagerly downed his mug of ale and exclaimed, "Flower Town will flourish more than ever, blessed by the glory of the knights and our lord!"

"Agreed!" Marcus echoed, likewise draining his own stein.

Blair and Isaiah followed suit, lifting their mugs in a toast.

The wine connoisseur Gort, after finishing his first cup, eagerly awaited as the servant refilled it, then promptly raised it again, "If that's the case, let's drink another round for Flower Town and our lord!"

Another cup was emptied.

Gort continued, "Karl, hurry back. In three days, a merchant convoy from North Valley City will arrive at Flower Town. The patrol team needs to oversee them and promote our town's rules."

"I'll return promptly, ensuring no delay in duties," Karl assured hastily.

...

"Release your magic, Hiddleston!"

Outside the castle, Liszt held onto Hiddleston's leash, giving the command.

Promptly following Hiddleston's gesture, the dragon opened its maw and roared, causing a stone spike to burst forth from the ground. As soon as Liszt led Hiddleston away, the male servants rushed over to excavate the spike with shovels.

These stone spikes were formed by the earth elemental magic condensing soil into solid boulders.

They were incredibly hard, comparable to granite.

Each day, Hiddleston could create numerous such spikes, and the servants would collect them for use in paving roads. Liszt had instructed that a stone road be built between the castle and the main thoroughfare of the town, one that could be traversed even during rainy days. Otherwise, they'd be trapped indoors whenever it rained.

Currently, this road was already forty meters long.

"Hiddleston, onward!" List continued training Hiddleston, deliberately purchasing all the wild rabbits that the hunters had caught. These rabbits served as the materials for Hiddleston's training.

The wild rabbit dashes swiftly across the ground.

Capable of sudden stops and sharp turns, even Hiddleston, known as the King of Thorns Ridge and a formidable beast, had to put in considerable effort to catch up with the hare. It took roughly a kilometer of chasing across the field before he managed to pin the hare to the ground, clamping its neck between his teeth.

Devoured the wild rabbit.

Hiddleston dismissively cast the wild rabbit's carcass aside.

It no longer consumed raw food; its palate had been spoiled by Liszt. It now only ate cooked meals.

"Caw!"

On Liszt's left hand, which was covered in a leather glove, stood a fluffy bird – Benedict, the fledgling Gyrfalcon. Though it couldn't fly yet, its voice was loud as it continuously cried "Caw!" all day long. It had an enormous appetite and could devour several fish in one meal.

Upon hearing Benedict's cry, the ecstatic Hiddleston immediately turned around and rushed to Liszt's side, drooling over Benedict—it must have been craving to taste a bird.

"Caw!"

"Caw!"

Benedict flapped its wings, eager to attempt flight. Once it shed its downy feathers and grew flight feathers, it would probably attempt to soar.

Liszt was slightly vexed. Birds yearned for the sky, making it difficult to confine them to the ground.

However, Benedict hadn't shown any signs of acknowledging a master. On Coral Island, there weren't many people who knew how to tame birds.

"Silence, or I'll cook you for dinner." Listser casually passed over the squirming Cumberbatch to Thomas, who hastily caught it with his gloved hand, fearful that it might fall and become Hiddleston's meal.

The creature was now about the size and weight of a small sausage, making it quite a strain for Thomas to hold it in one hand.

Listser, sensing Thomas's struggle, said, "Take it back to its nest."

"Very well, my lord."

By the time Thomas returned after sending Cumberbatch away, Listser had already worn out Hiddleston with training. "Lead Hiddleston back and tie him up. I'm going to practice archery."

"Very well, my lord."

Two sturdy youths nearby, seeing this, promptly stepped forward, handing Listser his bow and arrows. "My lord, your bow and arrows."

They were Philip Wool and Xavier Cowdung, young knights who had already cultivated their battle auras. No longer required to train daily with the knight squad, they had started serving as squire knights.

Taking the bow and arrows, Listser quickly immersed himself in the practice of multiple arrow shots. He had yet to master the Spiral Shadow Arrow, but he had successfully learned the other four techniques, albeit not with great proficiency.

"Today, I aim to master the Spiral Shadow Arrow. Tomorrow, I shall commence training in the Multiple Phantom Arrows!"

From dawn till dusk.

Sweat drenched him time and again.

At last, as the sun dipped below the horizon, he successfully unleashed the Spiral Shadow Arrow. Four arrows spiraled forth, instantly transforming into a myriad of illusions, all piercing the target with pinpoint accuracy.

"Whew!"

Heaving a sigh of relief, he rubbed his wrist. Today's archery practice would come to an end here. "In another week, I should be able to master the Multiple Phantom Arrows." With that in mind, he summoned the Smoke Mission and scanned it out of habit.

To his surprise, he noticed that the Serpent Scripts had changed.

"Mission completed. Reward: A Black Pearl from the Depths."

"New Mission: A trading caravan is about to arrive at Flower Town, the first one since the Lord took office. Ensure that the trade transaction exceeds three gold coins to encourage the caravan to return in the future. Reward: A Drifting Bottle."

"Hmm?"

Lister was surprised. "When did I finish the quest? I clearly haven't mastered the Ultimate Arcane Illusionary Arrow yet?"

Suddenly, he recalled something.

When they were practicing the Multi-Arrow, one of Marcus's illusionary arrows had missed the target.

"Does this mean that Marcus didn't truly master the Ultimate Arcane either? He shot two arrows separately and missed one, so it doesn't count as mastery? So, do I only need to learn the Double Arrow, Triple Arrow, and Multi-Arrow to complete the quest?"

There was no doubt about it.

This was an unexpected pleasant surprise, and Lister happily accepted it. He then turned his attention to the reward and the new quest. "Black pearls from the depths of the sea? A drifting bottle? Is there any connection between these two?"