Chapter 292: Running under the sunset is youth

This chapter is an extra update for reaching the ten-thousand-donation milestone.

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The letter had been processed, but the smoke task had not been updated. Clearly, the task is only considered complete once the letter is delivered to Duniko Hyacinth.

The next morning, it was heard that Philip had already departed for Tulip Castle to deliver the letter.

Liszt felt inexplicably melancholic. He wasn't sure if following the smoke task's instructions to woo Duniko was the right thing to do.

However, Duniko was quite suitable to be a lover. Passionate when together, and decisively distant when apart.

The melancholy was only momentary.

Soon, he returned to his usual calm state of mind—going with the flow. With his noble status, handsome appearance, and extraordinary inner qualities, he was destined to be pursued by countless women in his lifetime. Rather than getting dizzy from making choices, why not leave everything to fate?

"Sober, I sit before the flowers; drunk, I sleep beneath them."

Raising his hand to shield his eyes from the eastern sunrise, he seemed to see his innocent past self, like the snow on the castle's meadow, gradually melting away.

Turning into streams, flowing towards the town's river, and then into the sea, never to return.

He also saw the immature self, in the afternoon heat, holding a homemade ice cream downstairs, only for it to melt and fall on the cement, with the person he was waiting for never coming down. These experiences, labeled 'life,' read as 'loser,' probably represented growth.

The sun was shining brightly today. Winter hadn't yet ended, but spring was already stirring.

Liszt first trained Hiddleston for a while, having it continuously release rock grenades, aiming for the level of coordination where it would follow his commands precisely.

Then he went to train the eight little ones.

Storm, Flame, Rock, Wave, Thunder, Light, Ice, and Shadow—eight baby blizzard beasts with imposing names. Their cute appearance did not earn them any warmth from him. They were rewarded with jerky and milk if they performed well, but punished if they did not.

Just like how he had trained Hiddleston, the carrot and stick method was the right approach.

After training the blizzard beasts, Liszt began his own battle aura training. "Fiery Wave" and "Fire Dragon Drill" were already mastered to perfection. He considered whether to train in another battle aura technique but ultimately decided against it. Too much can lead to indigestion. Besides, he still had "Multiple Arrows" to practice.

The bowstring was pulled into a full moon.

Infused with battle aura, the arrows, when released, flew in a triangular formation, hitting the red center of the target two hundred meters away in the blink of an eye.

According to Marcus, an Earth Knight only needed to master the basics of dual arrow release and collision to become a sharpshooter. But Liszt was not satisfied. He had already successfully mastered the simultaneous release of three arrows as a basic skill.

With a casual release, three arrows hit their mark within two hundred meters, never missing.

The next step was to make the spiral of three arrows a basic skill. Spiraling arrows would be harder to predict and more destructive.

"With blizzard beasts protecting outside, rock grenades firing all over the sky, and me commanding in the center, along with flying arrow sniping, even many Earth Knights would probably not be able to get close to me."

After all, strength is more reassuring when personally mastered.

Throughout the morning, he immersed himself in training, honing his combat skills and using potions scientifically.

After lunch, he inspected the territory, observed the mermaid Acheronides practicing magic, and teased Jie La, who was sulking in her confinement.

Shortly, a servant reported: "Sir, Mr. Marcus has returned and awaits your audience in the hall."

"Teacher Marcus, please come to the study."

After a moment, he greeted Marcus: "Is everything going smoothly on Black Horse Island?"

He gestured for Marcus to sit down and speak.

Marcus, holding a cup of milk tea brought by a servant, said: "Everything is going smoothly for now. With Lassie and Griffin's assistance, the management of serfs has been remarkably effective. The main streets and buildings in Port Town have been constructed, and we are preparing to build the warehouse complex of Black Horse Port."

Black Horse Port was a crucial port for the development of Black Horse Island, and a large warehouse complex was essential since all materials had to pass through it.

"This time, bring more wheat flour and make sure to get the mill built. It is anticipated that soon, the fleet selling serfs from Tulip Castle will return, and I will allocate 1,000 out of 2,500 serfs to move to Port Town."

"Understood, my lord!"

Marcus was excited about the incoming serfs. He was currently managing a few hundred people, but the efficiency was low, missing the excitement of a full-scale communal effort as in Flower Town.

After discussing the progress of Port Town, the topic quickly shifted to the rubber trees and the triplet spirit bugs Liszt was eagerly awaiting.

"My lord, the rubber trees are growing well. As per your instructions, I have had people apply plenty of compost near the roots. The cut branches have begun to heal, and the bark that was split has also healed without any signs of wilting."

After Liszt returned by ship last time, he had Kosto send over plenty of compost specifically for the rubber trees.

Wild-bred spirit bugs often died due to malnutrition, and he didn’t want such accidents to happen on his land.

"As soon as the spirit bugs are bred, rush back to Flower Town and inform me."

"Understood."

"Have you counted how many rubber trees there are on Black Horse Island?"

"Lassie is in charge of this matter. He traversed all areas of the island with trees and got an accurate number. There are 573 mature rubber trees, and some immature ones mixed in the bushes that he couldn’t count, but the total should exceed 1,000."

A thousand rubber trees is not a large number.

"How is the research on the rubber progressing?"

"My lord, we have confirmed that the rubber is non-toxic. I caught some snakes, rabbits, pheasants, and roe deer, and after forcing them to ingest the rubber, they behaved normally, and the rubber didn’t solidify in their stomachs. When the rubber was gathered in wooden barrels, a layer on the surface would congeal, but the rubber inside remained liquid."

"Did you bring the rubber back?"

"Without harming the rubber trees, we collected ten barrels of rubber and have brought them back. They are all sealed in wooden barrels. By breaking the thin, hardened layer on the surface, the liquid rubber inside can be poured out."

"Excellent, have the rubber transported to the castle immediately. I want to conduct experiments myself." Liszt felt reassured. He had been concerned about how to collect and store the rubber, but Marcus had already found a solution.

The servant accepted the order and departed.

Liszt remembered something else: "By the way, have you extracted the bee venom?"

"It’s already done." Marcus said, carefully placing a small ceramic jar on the desk. "My lord, this jar contains the entire supply of bee venom. After my tests, the venom was found to be extremely potent, ten times stronger than the venom of the fast-growing thorny vines. A single drop can kill a roe buck."

A single drop of bee venom could kill a roe buck, indicating it could at least severely injure a human. The venom’s potency was indeed fierce, which explained how sixteen serfs who were just slacking off were all stung to death.

Truly a deadly poison.

Such deadly poison naturally had to be part of Liszt’s private collection. Whether for weaponizing in the future or for other nefarious purposes, it was always wise to be prepared.