Chapter 215: A Line of Footprints Towards the Castle

How dragons infect beasts and magical creatures is something Liszt does not understand.

But the conditions for infection must be highly restrictive; otherwise, dukes and kings who own dragons would have filled their countries with dragon-blooded beings long ago. The reality is that the Duke of Sapphire has only one dragon-blooded horse, the Blue Blooded Horse, which he treasures so much that he is unwilling to let its bloodline spread outside.

So.

Judging from this, obtaining dragon blood must be quite difficult.

However, he had a hypothesis before, speculating that the cows in the dairy farm might have acquired dragon blood and mutated into dragon-blooded cows. This made him feel that obtaining dragon blood might not be as difficult after all, as an invisible dragon could infect the cows just by wandering through the farm.

"So, is it really difficult or not?"

"Can the magic of a fire dragon infect with dragon blood?"

"If it can, what animal should I infect with dragon blood?"

There is already a dragon-blooded horse, the Black Blooded Horse, and the cows are likely already dragon-blooded. Other animals like chickens, ducks, geese, pigs, sheep, and monkeys seem to have little value in being infected.

"Perhaps I could infect Hiddleston, turning it into a mid-level dragon-blooded magical creature?" He thought this was a good idea; Hiddleston deserves thorough cultivation.

Of course, it's just an idea. Research on the magic of the fire dragon is still in its early stages. Before fully understanding it, the best use is as firewood for kilns. Otherwise, with the explosive effect of the fire dragon's magic, Hiddleston might end up roasted instead of becoming a dragon creature.

After confirming the location of the small fire dragon, Liszt picked up fragments of volcanic glass and returned to the castle.

The amount of volcanic glass Marcus brought back was not insignificant, all stored in his gem space. If all this volcanic glass were crushed, it might coalesce into a small fire dragon the size of a washbasin—somehow, Liszt always liked to describe things in terms of washbasins.

He planned to have someone carve and assemble the volcanic glass into a container.

This would make it convenient to extract and store the fire dragon's magic.

This magical dragon power is extremely valuable, and any waste would be a significant loss.

"I'll have to find the crystal craftsman Brad to work again... I should find a way to lure him to Flower Town to work exclusively for me." Unfortunately, craftsmen like Brad, who live comfortably thanks to their skills, are reluctant to settle in a rural town.

Snow fell throughout the morning.

Liszt, wrapped in a cloak, moved back and forth between the castle and the wasteland where the small fire dragon resided, attempting various experiments. However, since he is not a magician, his research methods are limited, and he didn't gain much useful information. The only definitive finding was that volcanic glass can indeed block the magic of the fire dragon.

He discovered that when the small fire dragon collided with volcanic glass, it would immediately disintegrate but not explode.

The explosion occurs when the fire dragon's magic comes into contact with other non-compatible magical energies, causing a physical reaction. Without such stimulation, the small fire dragon can maintain its form indefinitely, burning everything around it like an endless heat source.

Within a fifty-centimeter radius of the small fire dragon,

the snow melts, the ground dries up, and the earth turns to scorched, cracked soil.

"The magic of a mysterious fire dragon, dead for who knows how many years, still possesses such extraordinary power. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, who would believe it?" He felt a sense of awe and drew a parallel to a technology from Earth, "Isn't this similar to controlled nuclear fusion? Controlled nuclear fusion, also known as artificial sun, whoever masters it will control an inexhaustible source of energy."

He even believed that all dragons are like artificial suns with a thousand-year lifespan.

Continuously producing energy.

The snow on the ground, scorched by the small fire dragon, continuously melts and vaporizes, creating a unique landscape amidst the heavy snowfall. Liszt's thoughts returned from the concept of the artificial sun, and he couldn't help but think, "If I dig a pool, could I create a hot spring?"

A hot spring in winter would be perfect.

Unable to resist the impulse, he immediately decided, "I will build a hot spring in the castle, right in the bathroom!" The bathroom has a large bathtub, and if a small section is partitioned off for the small fire dragon, it would continuously add hot water, eliminating the need for servants to carry buckets of hot water from downstairs.

He quickly returned to the castle to design the construction plan for the indoor hot spring.

He intended to complete the hot spring within a week.

By the time he finished the first draft of the hot spring bathtub, Gort had already returned to Flower Town with the serfs. Unfortunately, seven more serfs died on the journey due to illness and cold. Including the previous children, only eight hundred and twenty-nine serfs arrived in Flower Town, among whom there were one hundred and forty-two craftsmen.

It was regrettable that people froze to death, but considering the weather, Liszt could only sigh.

Regardless, with these eight hundred new serfs, the total population of Flower Town finally exceeded three thousand. In terms of population, it was no longer a desolate town but had reached the level of a medium-sized town. To reach the prosperity of Falcon Town, which has over four thousand inhabitants, they would need to continue acquiring more serfs.

"This damned weather, it's freezing people solid like ice cream," Gort complained immediately after greeting Liszt. "If the temperature hadn't dropped so suddenly, those serfs who died might have had a chance to see the prosperity of Flower Town, blessed by the glory of the knights."

"Stop complaining. Work hard for a few more days to properly settle this batch of serfs... There will be gin at the banquet."

"Of course, that's my duty." His complaints were more about seeking recognition from Liszt. After Liszt promised gin at the banquet, Gort immediately perked up.

He loudly scolded the town officials and clerks, making the already chaotic scene even more chaotic.

Then he took charge, showcasing his management skills by reassigning tasks to each official, specifying the duties of the clerks and patrol members, ensuring no one could slack off. As a noble, he had some expertise in commanding subordinates.

The castle servants also participated in the arrangement of the new serfs.

The kitchen prepared large quantities of simple food to feed the serfs, while Mrs. Mo Sen and the maids, in their spare time, sewed and mended clothes to keep the serfs warm.

At this moment,

Jesse led a team of male servants, carrying several buckets of flour, beans, and meat mixed food, walking along Tom Hiddleston Avenue toward the town.

Passing by Hiddleston's doghouse, Jesse cheerfully greeted, "Good afternoon, Hiddleston."

Hiddleston usually paid no attention to these servants, being loyal only to Liszt. But after Jesse greeted him, Hiddleston suddenly poked its head out of the doghouse, sniffing the air and looking around, as if sensing something. However, all it saw were familiar humans.

Just lowly servants responsible for cleaning up after it.

So, it shook its head and retreated back into the doghouse. It was cold, and the doghouse with a padded blanket was warm.

Neither Hiddleston nor the servants noticed that on Tom Hiddleston Avenue, which had been cleared of snow and then covered with a new layer, there were mysterious footprints extending toward the castle.