Chapter 267: Welcome the Mother-in-Law to Give Birth

By the sea.

Liszt rode the Black Dragon horse, departing from the pier named Flower Harbor, and traveled along the coast until he reached the southernmost beach, not hearing any siren songs along the way.

Even though he had already rewarded the sirens, he just couldn't find them, which was starting to bother him.

He planned to inspect the area around Black Horse Island after the Flower Ship returned from the island, hoping to find the singing sirens soon and not let the reward slip away.

However, before he could even see the Flower Ship,

A piece of good news worth celebrating arrived—Tupo was going into labor. He immediately spurred his horse toward the Dog Prison, bringing Hiddleston along with him. By the time they arrived at the Dog Prison, Tupo had already given birth to a pup, lying softly on a quilt, its black fur covering it entirely.

Tupo, rarely displaying her monstrous ferocity, bared her teeth at Liszt and the others who approached.

Even Hiddleston, attempting to get closer, was scared away by her snarls.

"Lord, cats and dogs become very fierce when giving birth, not allowing anyone near. You must be careful as she might bite," old Defoe explained.

Liszt understood this basic principle; it was the instinct of a mother beast to protect her young.

So he stood just outside Tupo's range of alert, watching her give birth. Each unopened-eyed black pup was a future treasure to him. Without human assistance, Tupo knew how to manage. After giving birth to each pup, she ate the placenta and then licked the pup's fur clean.

Intermittently, Tupo gave birth to eight black pups before she was done.

Seeing the eight pups competing for Tupo's milk, Liszt thought of a plan to take the pups away and feed them milk from Dragon-species cows—clearly, Tupo's milk wasn't nutritious enough to raise mid-level magical beasts.

"Hiddleston, stay outside and don't move."

He stopped Hiddleston from rushing in and took out prepared dried meat and fresh milk. Cautiously approaching the cage, he tested the waters. Tupo, still fiery after giving birth, bared her teeth and growled at Liszt's approach.

But after Liszt tossed a delicious piece of dried meat,

She snatched it and wolfed it down.

Seizing the opportunity, Liszt took a few more steps forward.

When Tupo growled again, he threw another piece of meat, repeating this several times until he successfully entered the iron cage and stood beside Tupo.

Was he nervous? Certainly.

Although Tupo had forgotten the Rock Spike magic, she was still a magical beast. If she attacked, Liszt couldn't be sure he wouldn't get hurt. He considered himself capable of self-defense, but if she bit him—this wasn't a joke. He hadn't heard of rabies, but what if it existed?

Without a rabies vaccine, he didn't know if his fighting spirit could eliminate the rabies virus.

So caution was necessary.

Using dried meat to calm Tupo's bared teeth, Liszt brought out milk, placing it in a jar and offering it to Tupo. Tupo sniffed the milk, puzzled, but still extended her tongue to taste the milk. Immediately, she began lapping it up eagerly.

She didn't even care when Liszt reached out to touch a pup.

Thus, Liszt placed the squeaking pup next to another jar of milk, gently pressing its little head to make it drink the milk.

But the pup refused to lick it.

Fortunately, he was prepared. He had already arranged for someone to roll the leaves of a coconut tree into a hollow tube. Gently placing the tube by the pup's mouth, he let it suck on the tube.

Instinctively, the pup took a sip and then began to greedily drink the milk.

"Well done, one down." Liszt felt a sense of accomplishment, anticipating that once the pups took a liking to the Dragon-species cow milk, they would never again try Tupo's milk.

Perhaps Tupo's milk supply would increase, but for now, her milk was clearly not abundant enough. As long as the puppies didn't drink and didn't stimulate the milk secretion, she probably wouldn't suffer from engorgement.

That was it.

While he calmed Tupo's emotions with jerky and milk, he taught each puppy, one by one, to suck milk through a tube.

Probably because she had been domesticated for too long, once Tupo was full and satisfied, her mood noticeably calmed down, and she didn't pay much attention to her puppies. Even when Liszt picked up a puppy and pretended to take it outside the cage, she only looked up and showed no further reaction.

"Lord... Tupo may not have learned how to be a mother dog yet. Her maternal instincts don't seem to be very strong." Old Defoe, having raised dogs for many years and seen many dogs indifferent to their pups, noted that although Tupo wasn't indifferent, she wasn't overly protective either.

"Then just take all the puppies away."

After making the decision, Liszt carefully transferred the puppies one by one, handing them over to a male servant who gently placed them in a dog cradle wrapped with a quilt.

Tupo watched the entire time without any reaction.

The eight puppies were successfully taken away.

Liszt breathed a sigh of relief but suddenly felt that what he did was too cruel. He had the servants bring new blankets to replace the ones stained with blood. He also left plenty of food for Tupo to eat and drink and put Hiddleston in with her so they could get intimate.

However, Tupo, who had just given birth, had no interest in Hiddleston for the time being.

So Liszt had no choice but to lead Hiddleston away. "Alright, Hiddleston, don't be so desperate. Tupo isn't in the mood to mate with you right now. I'll bring you back another time."

...

The eight puppies successfully moved into the second floor of the castle and were personally cared for by Liszt.

Based on the experience of taking care of Hiddleston, it would take at least half a month before these puppies opened their eyes. The growth of magical beast cubs differed somewhat from that of ordinary puppies.

"Wow, look how cute they are, my lord. When they grow up, they will become strong intermediate magical beasts like Hiddleston, guarding Flower Town and bringing glory to you!"

Gort praised with great satisfaction.

Tupo's successful delivery brought joy to the entire estate. Hiddleston's excellence was evident, and soon there would be nine outstanding Hiddlestons. The future of Flower Town was something to look forward to.

"The blessing of The Glory of Knighthood!"

"Lord, you are truly a child of glory!"

"I can't wait for the day when the Dust Dogs grow up," he said.

"Train them well, and they will become the most outstanding force on the battlefield. Everyone who hears the name Dust Dogs will tremble in fear of your lordship's mighty reputation," he added.

The last sentence was spoken by Rom in an excited tone.

It was a rather ordinary flattery.

However, it struck a certain chord in Liszt: "Rom is absolutely right. If one day the Dust Dogs become renowned on the battlefield, I will become famous because of them... But what will people call me? Dog Swordsman? Dust Lord? Or the guy who rides a dog?"

The thought of those names was embarrassing, as if it were a severe blow to his persona.

So, with great seriousness, he told his subordinates who were flattering him, "From the day Duston becomes an intermediate-level magical beast, it will no longer be an ordinary Dust Dog. Now that it has offspring, I believe they will become intermediate-level magical beasts as well. Therefore, it is time to give them a new name!"

The subordinates immediately cheered, "Please grant them a new name, my lord!"

Liszt looked out at the flying snowflakes outside the window, feeling grand: "On the day they arrived, the sky was filled with heavy snow, so let's call them... Snowstorm Dogs, no, Snowstorm Beasts!"