Chapter 695: Unknown Reward

Following the precedent of Black Nightshade as an auxiliary medicine and Auxiliary Black Nightshade, the mutated Thorn Bug variant would be called Auxiliary Thorn Bug, and the resulting magic potion would be named Thorn Auxiliary Medicine. Liszt quickly decided that over ninety percent of the area influenced by the Thorn Bug would be planted with Auxiliary Thorn Bug in the future.

The remaining ten percent would be planted with two types of magic herbs: Fast-Growing Magic Thorn and Fast-Growing Fire Thorn.

Pairing Thorn Auxiliary Medicine with Giant Kelp magic herbs would become the primary method of potion consumption in the territory moving forward.

As of now, the magic herb plants in the territory include Black Tulip (nobility title), Fast-Growing Magic Thorn, Auxiliary Black Nightshade, Giant Kelp magic herbs, Fast-Growing Fire Thorn, Upright Stem, Coptis, and Auxiliary Thorn Bug—eight varieties in total. The abandoned insect mushrooms include Fire Mushroom, Snow-and-Ice Fire Mushroom, Blue Pinecone Mushroom, Black Truffle, Golden Thread Fungus, Monkey Head Mushroom, and Flatter Fungus—seven types in all.

It can be said that the magic herb industry is already thriving, far surpassing the output of many territories of count-ranked nobles. Yet, the supply of magic herbs remains insufficient—his and Fire Drake Leo’s daily consumption is a bottomless pit. Even if there’s less, they could adjust their intake, but no matter how many magic herbs are available, they could still deplete them in a single day.

However, the territory also has a knight order to support. Although elite Earth Knights don’t rely solely on potions to break through, they still need regular distributions of magic herbs to ensure their battle aura doesn’t fade.

The prodigious Emily, now an elite Earth Knight, consumes a significant daily portion of potions for her training.

Yevich Shuihuasheng, as a Sword Saint without personal assets to sustain himself, also requires frequent potion provisions to prevent his battle aura from deteriorating.

Being a lord doesn’t mean only enjoying power—it also entails obligations. The knights who follow him are akin to the gang under an organized crime boss. To ensure their obedience and service, the boss must provide benefits. Without incentives, how could loyalty be secured?

Of course, Liszt hasn’t yet encountered a situation where his subordinates openly demand rewards.

His two pioneering campaigns and the Iron Hoof Island suppression operation all yielded massive gains, allowing his knights to reap substantial benefits. Now, the majority of knight-errants in the Sapphire region likely wish to follow Liszt, including the spare heirs of great houses.

Because following Liszt means wealth and titles.

Given his strength, he would at least need the rank of Marquis in the future to match his status. The amount of military achievements required for such a promotion is unimaginable.

In short, the emergence of Auxiliary Thorn Bug is excellent news, but the demand for magic herbs is endless. The territory must continue to develop and accumulate resources to support Liszt’s ambition of raising dragons and establishing a nation—though technically speaking, he isn’t truly raising a dragon yet. The Fire Dragon is an Elemental Dragon that grows by relying on volcanoes.

If it were an Invisible Dragon, a sacred dragon, the method of raising it would be unclear, but it certainly wouldn’t be as simple as dumping it near a volcano and letting it grow.

"All I can say is that raising a Fire Dragon is a boon for me right now. Dodo Island’s volcano can fulfill most of Leo’s needs. Raising a Gemstone or Metal Dragon, however, would likely require not only flesh and blood as food but also massive amounts of other resources… An Invisible Dragon could also be considered a type of Gemstone Dragon."

His thoughts wandered unexpectedly.

Somehow, he had jumped from Auxiliary Thorn Bug to dragon-raising. Liszt snapped back to focus and refocused on the new task from the smoke mission.

"With winter snow approaching, all things in the territory will enter a two-month dormancy, greatly affecting production and daily life. Yet, none of these impacts compare to the lurking crisis. Perhaps you need to prepare accordingly and firmly choose your stance. Reward: Mystery reward."

"A lurking crisis? Choosing a stance?"

"A mystery reward?"

Liszt’s gaze sharpened as he pondered. Excluding this mission reward, he had received five mystery rewards before—all after the New Year or following wars.

The first New Year’s mystery reward was the sea spirit—the siren Acheronides.

The Iron Hoof Island campaign’s mystery reward was the revival of dragon bones.

The first pioneering campaign’s mystery reward was the rebirth of battle aura—his promotion to Sky Knight.

The second New Year’s mystery reward was Fire Drake Leo in seed form.

The second pioneering campaign’s mystery reward was three Milon Mind Fruits.

From this, it was clear that every mystery reward had been exceptionally generous. Yet this time, it wasn’t tied to the New Year or a war—just an ordinary daily mission—yet it offered a mystery reward. This truly puzzled Liszt: "Perhaps it is because the mission content is especially ominous?"

The mission’s content wasn’t very clear, but the mention of a lurking crisis and choosing a stance suggested a major confrontation loomed.

"What could it mean?"

He instinctively felt it might be tied to the Grand Duke, as the message involved a stance: *Could it be that the Grand Duke has learned of my dragon and is forcing me to choose between surrendering it willingly or waiting for him to seize it? But what exactly does this lurking peril signify—could it be remnants of the Caprine Assembly?*

In Sapphire, aside from the Grand Duke—who was highly likely to become Lord of the Dragon Domain—the only other threats were the elusive archmages of the Caprine Assembly. After all, they had once grievously wounded an adult Sapphire Dragon. With such draconic slaughter to their name, they possessed the strength to pose a real threat.

*"But upon closer analysis,"* he mused, *"whether it's the Grand Duke or the Caprine Assembly, could either truly withstand the combined might of Acheronides and myself?"*

It wasn’t arrogance—it was fact. A Dragon Knight and Archmage together could sweep through these islands with ease. Even on the mainland, few would dare oppose them. No nation would be foolish enough to provoke a Dragon Knight and Archmage recklessly; assured ruin might follow.

Dismissing the Grand Duke and the Caprine Assembly as potential lurking perils, he considered another possibility—that the danger came not from within: *"Perhaps it comes from abroad. The Kingdom of the Eagle is the most likely culprit. Could the shadowed directive refer to a war against dragons… but then, what does choosing a stance mean?"*

He didn't believe the choice referred to surrendering or resisting in a dragon war.

*"Never mind. Acheronides and I will stay vigilant. At the first sign of trouble, we’ll flee into the sea to regroup and plan our next move."*

His identities as Dragon Knight and Archmage granted him immense confidence. His ability to survive at sea provided an excellent escape route. No matter how dire the prophecy seemed, he remained undaunted.

Shaking off the shadow of the ominous directive, he returned his focus to developing his territory.

The birth of the Thorn Potion had suddenly heightened his interest in alchemy and reminded him of another opportunity to expand production: *"Previously, I acquired two types of Abandoned Insect Mushrooms—Ember Mushroom and Frostfire Mushroom. Though both share the same origin, their properties differ somewhat. I wonder if the arcane network constraints apply to both."*

Winter was approaching, so Frostfire Mushrooms could now be cultivated.

He needed to determine whether planting Frostfire Mushrooms would affect Ember Mushrooms, potentially lowering the quality of both.

If the arcane network constraints did not overlap, Frostfire Mushrooms could be used to trade for new batches of Abandoned Insect Mushrooms.

This task required nothing more than issuing orders before handing it over to Cris Truth for research. Hiring so many magicians and archmages wasn’t just about refining potions, crafting Pearls of Still Waters, Gale’s Rest, or Eternal Temperance, or producing ordinary magical artifacts.

Any magical work could be delegated to Cris for arrangement.

"My Lord Viscount, rest assured. I will assign someone to oversee the cultivation of Frostfire Mushrooms and strictly monitor the quality of both Ember Mushrooms and Frostfire Mushrooms."

"Good. Your diligence is commendable," Liszt replied calmly.

In the past, he would habitually offer a charming smile when addressing female subordinates, enhancing his personal allure.

However, since Acheronides' arrival, Cris had devoted herself entirely to studying magic under her guidance, offering only token deference to him, the exceptionally comely lord. Thus, he no longer saw the need to maintain those smiles. He simply issued orders directly. With Acheronides’ overwhelming charisma, magicians would regard Onyx Steed Isle as hallowed ground regardless.

After Cris departed, he summoned Mary Dawnbreak.

"My lord, what are your orders?"

"Recently, I’ve had an uneasy feeling—as though someone is secretly watching Onyx Steed Isle or elsewhere. Dispatch your Crimson Envoys to investigate across the islands of Sapphire, especially Ironhoof Isle… Intelligence from foreign lands would be even better."

Mary bowed deeply. "By your will, my lord!"