Chapter 177: The Focus among the Nobles

May 5th.

Cloudy with a slight chill of autumn in the air.

The autumn harvest in Flower Town has been completed. This year, thanks to the improvement brought by the fairy insects, the wheat yield was abundant, increasing by fifty percent compared to previous years. The farmers of Wheat Village wore bright smiles on their faces—lower taxes and increased yields meant they had ample stored grain and wouldn't worry about hunger this winter.

Farmers who grew oats and rye were also delighted. Using manure, pond mud, and wood ash as fertilizers, their yields also increased by ten to twenty percent compared to previous years.

Today, the town's serfs continued their labor but with joyful expressions. Today was the celebration of the noble lord's acquisition of a thorn fairy. Everyone supported and loved this descendant of the Tulip family, for under his leadership, Flower Town had experienced its first taste of true prosperity.

Moreover, there was an additional copper coin festival benefit.

"Praise the lord, praise the thorn fairy; Flower Town will have a brighter future!"

"With the thorn fairy, the lord will gain even more glory, and the knightly honor will shine upon Flower Town! My nephew Philip is already a squire to the lord and will follow him to gain much glory!"

"Will Philip become a land knight?"

"Certainly."

"That's not necessarily true; he's just a serf. Becoming a land knight is a distant dream for him."

"Bob, you're jealous because your son was eliminated. Philip and Xavier have already gained the lord's favor; their futures are bright!"

Having the leisure to argue proved that these serfs weren't busy enough and could be further exploited.

At this moment, the servants in the castle were too busy to speak.

Steward Carter was sweating profusely, wiping his forehead repeatedly with a handkerchief. Having successfully hosted the Sea Festival banquet, he had seen grand occasions, yet he was still extremely nervous today.

Today, no food would be brought from Tulip Castle by the count.

All the ingredients for the banquet had to be prepared within the castle. For this reason, he had been purchasing ingredients extensively for the past two days, buying everything available in North Valley City. Liszt never hesitated to spend money on the castle, giving Carter the confidence to rely on the castle's wealth to host a successful banquet.

"Mrs. Abby, please clear a cooking pot for Lucas quickly; he needs it for two dishes."

"Tom, hand over the water-fetching task to Jim. You take Parker and John to trim the lawn at the castle entrance; guests will be arriving soon."

"Mrs. Mo Sen, I need your help; the dining room setup doesn't meet the standards. The master does not want us to use the black tulip emblem, so we need to replace the curtains with the red tulip emblem brought from Tulip Castle... We are one family with Tulip Castle."

"Jesse, Jesse, where are you? I need you to go out and tell the baker Renard about today's bread quantity and variety. Here's the list; give it to him."

"Many guests will arrive today, and their horses will stay around. Barton, you must ensure they are well cared for."

The bustle of the castle servants did not affect the castle's owner, Baron Liszt.

He woke up as usual and went for a walk with his dog.

Juan Fu had already flown away, leaving only Hiddleston as his pet. He carried a cane made from fast-growing iron thorns and strolled along Tom Hiddleston Avenue.

Pointing the tip of the cane at the nearly finished sides of Tom Hiddleston Avenue, he casually said, "Hiddleston, rock spike."

Pfft.

A thick rock spike burst through the ground.

He pointed the cane again, and another rock spike emerged.

He kept pointing, and Hiddleston continuously released rock spikes, almost instantaneously without any pause. Soon, both sides of Tom Hiddleston Avenue were lined with dense rows of rock spikes, resembling trees lining the avenue, creating a beautiful sight.

Importantly, after the celebration, workers would break these rock spikes and pave the road.

"Good morning, my lord!" Gort, dressed in festive attire with a ruff around his neck, looked like his head was stuffed into a jar.

"Good morning, Advisor Gort."

"Your Hiddleston seems to have grown a bit more."

"It hasn't reached adulthood yet; it looks like it will continue to grow." Liszt patted Hiddleston's shoulder, increasingly satisfied with this earth dog.

He no longer easily patted Hiddleston's head.

Liszt, standing at one meter eighty-five according to the continent's standard measuring tape, found it challenging to reach Hiddleston's head.

Hiddleston, when stretched out straight, measured four meters twenty-six centimeters in length; its forelimb height was one meter forty-one, and its hindlimb height was one meter twenty-five; naturally, its head stood at one meter ninety-seven.

Compared to the ordinary tigers on Coral Island, Hiddleston was noticeably three times larger.

An average human weighs around one hundred thirty pounds, while Coral Island's tigers weigh around five hundred pounds. Hiddleston now weighed one thousand three hundred pounds.

In terms of canine animals, Hiddleston was undoubtedly a giant.

"Still growing, my goodness, will it become the largest monster on Coral Island?" Gort's exaggerated tone indicated surprise.

In reality, he was merely cooperating with Liszt to show off Hiddleston.

Knowing that Gort was flattering him, Liszt still fell for it: "It might not become the largest monster, considering Thunder Fang pigs weigh several times more than Hiddleston. However, compared to the only purple sand crocodile, Hiddleston should be able to fight it to a draw."

Purple sand crocodiles have tough skin and diverse magical abilities, while Hiddleston can only use rock spikes but is agile.

Of course, both are intermediate monsters, and without a real comparison, no one can guarantee which is stronger. Timing, location, and circumstances all influence the outcome—purple sand crocodiles are just dumb monsters, whereas Hiddleston has Flower Town as its support.

Gort praised, "Being able to fight a purple sand crocodile is already an impressive achievement. Even the count couldn't kill the purple sand crocodile. While it's true that the count didn't prioritize it, it still shows the terror of intermediate monsters. Hiddleston will be Flower Town's strongest guardian!"

"Just that it eats a lot," Liszt joked.

Previously, Hiddleston's meal equaled seven of his meals; now, one meal equals seven days' worth of his meals. Moreover, Hiddleston is very picky, refusing ordinary food and demanding chicken, fish, meat, eggs, occasionally eating tomatoes and wild fruits to supplement vitamins.

For a rural noble,

It was simply impossible to support Hiddleston.

Even Liszt felt a bit regretful: "We shouldn't have cut down the forest at Thorns Ridge; it should have been kept as Hiddleston's feeding ground, with all those beasts and magical creatures."

This was merely a happy dilemma.

A short while later, Isaiah, Blair, Marcus, and others arrived at the castle, each dressed in their finest festival attire, the Fraque Abaïe.

Even the two mages had donned tailcoats to attend the celebration.

Liszt took a bath and changed into his own Fraque Abaïe.

Noble attire was very elaborate, and under Thomas's service, it took him a full quarter of an hour to get fully dressed. The clothes felt a bit tight, but fortunately, the weather had turned cooler, so he didn't feel suffocated.

"Sir, the Fraque Abaïe is truly designed for nobles like you; it highlights your noble and extraordinary presence," Thomas praised sincerely.

Indeed, this was true.

As the nobles of North Valley City arrived one by one and gathered around, all wearing Fraque Abaïe, Liszt stood out no matter from which angle one looked.

His handsome appearance, tall stature, noble demeanor, and that gentle smile made him the center of attention.

Men felt ashamed, and women shed tears.