Chapter 823: Construction Outline

"Mission: Tasks have priorities, and development has its order. As a future ruler, you should carefully consider the overall planning for territories like the Fire Islands and Whirlpool Islands, rather than hitting east and west at random, rashly and hurriedly. Formulate a royal development plan for the Fire Kingdom. Reward: A creative magician."

The *serpentine smoke* dissipated as Liszt shook his head.

But the content was already etched in his mind. As Leo carried him and Acheronides toward Longtaro Castle, he took advantage of the rare leisure time to ponder the smoke mission.

The reward—a creative magician—was unclear at present. He didn’t know which magician it referred to or what kind of creativity was implied. The truth would doubtless emerge upon completing the mission.

What truly made him inwardly chagrined was the mission’s content.

It demanded he draft a detailed development outline for the Fire Kingdom, while criticizing his previous approach as "haphazard" and "rashly rushed."

"Is this a subconscious self-reflection, or did I overhear someone murmuring behind my back?"

It was probably self-reflection. Ever since he became a Dragon Rider, no one dared to contradict him. His followers had all turned into mindless followers, agreeing with whatever he said. Even if someone privately disagreed, they wouldn’t voice it aloud.

After all, the Magic Aura of a Dragon Rider was too dazzling to face directly.

"Though I’ve been a bit swollen-headed lately, there’s no need to undermine my leadership like this. I believe my approach to developing the Fire Islands has been relatively steady... Fine, I’m not one to dismiss advice. I’ll have my followers discuss the development outline."

Two heads are better than one.

Even with his modern worldview, Liszt was bound to overlook things.

Though inwardly prideful, he hadn’t lost his rationality. He immediately had Acheronides retrieve the arcane communicator and sent a message to the officials in his territory: "Have them deliberate in private how to develop the Fire Islands, Whirlpool Islands, and other territories. Then, all senior officials must submit a development outline."

His plan was to combine the best parts of these plans, incorporating their strengths to refine his own and complete the smoke mission’s task.

Setting this aside.

By evening, Longtaro Castle came into view. The square in front of the castle was crowded with carriages from nobles arriving to pay their respects. Liszt even spotted Marquis Niuwei’s mount—the massive black albatross, Black Petrel—ambling leisurely on the nearby hillside.

Upon spotting the majestic Fire Dragon approaching from afar, the black albatross instantly recalled its past hardships, drew in its legs fearfully, and froze in place, not daring to move.

The reason was simple: Liszt had once again allowed Leo to unleash increasingly oppressive aura. Since triggering the eruption of Dodo Island’s volcano, Leo’s dragon breath had grown significantly hotter, and his draconic aura had intensified, now rivaling that of fully-grown dragons like the Sapphire Dragon and the Lightgreen Gem Dragon.

Only after everyone had felt the Fire Dragon’s overwhelming presence did Liszt theatrically scold Leo to rein in his aura.

Surrounded by a crowd of nobles who had come out to greet him, he strode into the castle.

First, he settled the unsociable Acheronides in the study on the fourth floor. Then, he returned to the second-floor great hall where the high nobles had gathered, receiving their compliments and praise. Though Liszt would eventually leave the Sapphire Duchy, everyone knew the importance of maintaining good relations with a Dragon Rider.

"Your Highness, Liszt."

Crown Prince Anthony, holding a cup of green tea, stepped aside to chat with him.

Already viewing Anthony as a future subordinate, Liszt responded warmly, "How is the Grand Duke’s health?"

"Father is well. He also asked me to convey his regards to you."

"Please extend my gratitude to the Grand Duke."

"Father instructed me to tell you that if the Fire Territory has any needs, you need only ask. The Sapphire family will spare no effort to assist you in establishing your kingdom."

"I do have some requests for the Grand Duke’s assistance."

"Please, go ahead."

"For now, let’s set it aside. I’ll discuss the details with the Grand Duke once I’ve prepared sufficiently." What Liszt wanted to mention was the mercantile networks for lightgreen gemstones. He currently lacked the capacity to establish his own distribution network and hoped to leverage the Sapphire family’s existing channels.

But word about the Lightgreen Gem Dragon hasn't gotten out yet, so no need to mention it yet.

"Alright then."

"But I want to tweak how we split the profits for the trade of sea salt, white paper, and glass."

"What changes did you have in mind, Your Highness?"

"I wish to purchase serfs from the Kingdom of Steel Ridge, using the trade profits to pay for them, and then use the Sapphire family's channels to transport the serfs back to Ironhoof City."

"The price of serfs in the Kingdom of Steel Ridge far exceeds that of the Kingdom of the Eagle..."

"Indeed, they are quite expensive—about two or three times more than those from the Kingdom of the Eagle when they enter the Sapphire Duchy. But it doesn’t matter. I’ll cover the cost. The Sapphire family only needs to provide the channels," Liszt said calmly, radiating that money-was-no-object vibe.

Anthony nodded. "That won't be a problem. The Sapphire family has always maintained channels for serfs from the Kingdom of Steel Ridge... But, Your Highness, why not use serfs from the Kingdom of the Eagle?"

In his view, serfs from the Kingdom of the Eagle were much cheaper, and since serfs are serfs no matter where they're from, it made sense to use the cheaper ones.

But Liszt thought differently. Most of the serfs and knights in his territory came from the Kingdom of the Eagle, and over time, this might create some favoritism. Though he wasn’t worried about his followers' loyalty, if the Kingdom of the Eagle sought to interfere, it could easily stir up trouble at home.

Thus, he wanted to bring in a batch of serfs from the Kingdom of Steel Ridge to balance things out.

However, when he spoke, he offered a different explanation: "Naturally, I will raid the Kingdom of the Eagle, but the population in its coastal hinterlands is far from sufficient for my needs. So, I need to set up a pipeline for serfs in the Kingdom of Steel Ridge in advance."

"The coastal hinterlands of the Kingdom of the Eagle have at least tens of millions of people. Even that isn’t enough?"

"I might be able to seize a tenth of them, but not everyone will simply wait there to be taken. Once the Kingdom of the Eagle reacts, they’ll surely relocate the lords and people inland... I don’t want to engage in these penny-ante raids like the annual Expansion Edict."

The Sapphire Duchy’s Expansion Edict was merely about picking up the crumbs during the annual wars between the Kingdom of Steel Ridge and the Kingdom of the Eagle.

But Liszt, with three dragons at his command, intended to take whole haunches for himself. After two or three such raids, the Kingdom of the Eagle would either start hunting dragons or abandon its coastal hinterlands altogether.

They certainly wouldn’t allow him to freely tear off chunks every year.

Unfortunately, Fire Island was still a backwater and couldn’t sustain a massive influx of people. Otherwise, Liszt might have considered a one-time solution—rounding up every last soul along the coast. Regardless, for the Fire Kingdom to develop, it would have to bleed the mainland dry.

He wasn’t a patient man.

Who's got time for a thousand years? Strike while the iron's hot!

Anthony, hearing this, grew awkward. "Your Highness Liszt, if you plunder the Kingdom of the Eagle so aggressively, won’t the Sapphire Duchy’s annual Expansion Edict become unsustainable?"

"That is indeed a problem." Liszt frowned in thought before replying, "In that case, during each Expansion Edict, our two families could coordinate and launch larger-scale raids deep into the Kingdom of the Eagle’s hinterlands... After all, with our combined strength, what's the Eagle Kingdom gonna do, huh?"