Chapter 311: Sword Defeats the Old Elite Land

One jin of fresh tea was pan-fried into two liang of dried tea.

Abby followed Lord Liszt's instructions, using her hands to gently stir-fry the tea leaves over a low flame. After about an hour, the leaves had curled and dried, indicating the process was complete.

Since they were unsure of the appropriate temperature and the desired appearance for the fried leaves, Lord Liszt decided to preserve the tea in the gem space.

Only one jin of fresh tea was taken out for the experiment.

The fried tea leaves were spread out to cool, and the next day Lord Liszt tried brewing a cup.

As he watched the curled, dried leaves unfurl slowly in the hot water inside the crystal cup, as if coming back to life, and the color of the tea turned a light yellowish green, he felt success was within reach.

Sure enough.

Once the tea had cooled a little, he began to taste it.

Upon sipping, the familiar taste of tea burst on his tongue, evoking a sense of nostalgia and emotion, his eyes even feeling a little moist: "Tea, I've tasted it! This is truly tea... Although it's a bit bitter and not of the best quality, it is indeed tea!"

Two liang of dried tea could brew about ten cups.

The remaining fresh tea in the gem space could yield four liang of dried tea, enough for about twenty cups.

"At one cup a day, I can only drink it for twenty days. The summer tea should be ready for harvest in three months; another twenty cups then. It seems we can harvest again in autumn, another twenty cups. That means I can drink sixty cups of tea in a year!" Lord Liszt thought, realizing this wasn't the best way to look at it.

If he drank all the tea, what would he do in the future? "I should focus on cultivating tea plants instead, but... can someone tell me how to plant tea?"

Is it propagated using cuttings?

Or directly from seeds?

He wasn't very knowledgeable about this, and he couldn't recall ever hearing about tea plants flowering and bearing fruit.

"Forget it, let's wait and see if they do so. If they do, we can collect seeds and start planting next year. If not, we'll propagate the tea plants using cuttings."

Savoring the tea,

Lord Liszt had decided to cultivate tea plants on Black Horse Island. Even if he didn't promote tea culture, he should at least have a tea garden to make tea for himself.

After finishing one cup of tea,

He wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but he clearly felt a bit lighter, as if the greasiness from all the meat he had eaten had been dissolved by the tea.

At dinner, he found himself with a bigger appetite and ate an extra piece of magic beast meat.

...

After a few days,

Zanbuluota informed Lord Liszt that the knight who had come to Flower Town was growing increasingly frustrated, having gone from initial anxious restraint to disappointment.

Lord Liszt decided to meet with Charles Trapp.

On Coral Island, the nobles still recognized his status as a knight, so proper etiquette was important.

"Sir Charles, how has your stay in Flower Town been?" Lord Liszt said with the standard noble smile, sitting in a rocking chair under an apple tree that was sprouting new leaves and preparing to bloom.

The weather was nice, quite pleasant.

Charles sat upright on a stool, his disappointment turning to renewed hope as he was received by Lord Liszt: "Lord Baron, Flower Town has a great future ahead!"

"Many people have said so, including my father and my grandfather, Marquis Merlin." Liszt appeared very casual, not deliberately showing off. "When I first came to Flower Town, it was like many other towns without a lord, struggling with poverty and hunger."

"It was your arrival that brought a happy life to the commoners of Flower Town," Charles sincerely praised.

"Of course, a person's fate depends on their own efforts, but it's also shaped by the tides of history... Sorry, you might not be familiar with that concept."

Liszt raised his milk cup, signaling Charles to drink the milk as well.

He took a sip to moisten his throat.

He continued, "The development of Flower Town cannot be separated from my leadership, but it also cannot be separated from the support of Tulip Castle—slave trading, seafood, flower soap, flower wine. The market is vast, but you need to immerse yourself in it to truly see its potential. So, Lord Charles, what do you see?"

"I..." Charles didn't understand what Liszt was talking about for a moment.

In truth, it was all just an act.

Liszt didn't give Charles time to think and immediately added, "I heard that you are a veteran Earth Knight, with superb combat skills and powerful strength. Recently, my talents have begun to show, having defeated more than one elite Earth Knight. How about we have a practice sword fight?"

"Since Lord Baron is in the mood, Charles is willing to accompany you in a practice sword fight."

"This is a full-contact sparring session—don't hold back. I can defeat elite Earth Knights, this is no joke." Liszt drew a steel longsword and walked to the grass field. Now that he was considering going to war, he would not miss the chance to fight an elite Earth Knight.

Charles, about forty years old, took the steel longsword handed to him by the footmen, and his demeanor instantly changed. His presence was commanding, even more so than Marcus's.

The two of them, one with fire attribute battle aura and the other with lightning attribute battle aura, were ready to clash.

"Great Flame Wave!"

Liszt launched a fierce attack right from the start, which was his style—overwhelming with sheer force, regardless of how exquisite the opponent's skills were, relying on the abundant battle aura fueled by potions to launch a strong offense.

Charles's sword crackled with lightning as he swiftly cut through the wall of flames, aiming straight for Liszt's head.

Precise and ruthless.

From that single move, Liszt knew Charles was stronger than Marcus and even Parris in her human form. However, this level was not enough to intimidate Liszt.

His blood boiled even more, and his battle aura erupted as if he wanted to spew it all out at once. "Fire Dragon Sweep!"

Clang!

Their swords clashed, sending sparks flying—not just from the steel but also from the lightning.

Liszt's body, wrapped in fire attribute battle aura, was still hit by a small amount of lightning attribute battle aura, feeling a tingling numbness in the area he was struck.

But it wasn't enough to affect his movements.

"Fire Dragon Roll!"

Another massive burst of battle aura exploded, and Liszt pressed the attack even more fiercely, pushing Charles back. His seemingly rough combat style contained subtle details, always paying attention to Charles's counters while occasionally throwing in a clever sneak attack.

Charles struggled to keep up with Liszt's relentless assault, his stamina waning. He wanted to counterattack but found himself surrounded by flames, unsure where to strike.

Although his defense remained tight, he felt extremely frustrated, as if he were facing not an Earth Knight but a domineering Sky Knight.

However.

As a seasoned veteran Earth Knight who had been on the battlefield many times, his eyes were sharp, searching for every possible opening to counterattack.

He remained determined.

Fierce attacks are generally not sustainable.

However, this principle does not apply to Liszt. He bellowed loudly, "Flame Sweeping Slash!" The steel longsword transformed into a fan of fiery rain, raining down on Charles in a furious onslaught.

Just as Charles managed to withstand this explosive attack, another thunderous shout followed: "Fire Dragon Drill Heart!"

This time, the steel longsword turned into a fire dragon, gathering the scattered fire magic from the previous attack. It surged forward with relentless force, and with a single thrust, the massive fire dragon, fueled by Liszt's battle aura, slammed into Charles with devastating force.

Bang! Charles's once-impenetrable defenses shattered like fragile parchment, unable to withstand the overwhelming assault. The sword flew from his grasp, and the leather armor on his chest was heavily struck by the fire dragon. Just as the sword had, he was hurled skyward, spinning uncontrollably before crashing back to earth.

His vision blurred, and his mind spun in confusion. As he struggled to regain his bearings, he suddenly became aware of a searing hot blade now resting against his throat.

The tip of the sword was scorching hot, as if it could burn his skin at any moment.

Liszt stood with his back to the sun, his face obscured by shadow, but his towering figure, bathed in golden light, exuded an air of unyielding dominance.

"I... I've lost."