Chapter 213: Volcanic Glass Experiment

Frank benefited greatly from sparring and sword fighting with Marcus.

While self-improvement through isolation is beneficial, it's also necessary to test oneself in the real world. Without practical combat experience, it's hard to determine whether one's techniques are advantageous or disadvantageous.

Moreover, this kind of combat gave Liszt a clearer understanding of his own strength.

To know oneself and the enemy ensures victory. He believed that if he were to face Marcus again, whether in a charge or a sword fight, he could completely overwhelm him.

"An elite Earth Knight who relies on potions can utterly dominate an elite Earth Knight who relies on combat skills. Money indeed allows one to do as they please."

Therefore,

the most significant lesson he learned from these continuous battles was not about combat techniques but about making money and taking potions.

"In a short while, the fast-growing magic thorns will be ready for harvest. I'll have Elkson turn them into magic potions to complement the fire mushroom magic potions, accelerating my potion-taking journey!" His eyes gleamed with determination, having grasped the essence of knightly cultivation. "And I must eat several pounds of monster meat every day, even if I have to borrow money!"

Knock, knock, knock.

The sound of knocking came, followed by Carter's voice from outside the door: "Sir."

Liszt collected his thoughts and tucked the thick parchment paper inscribed with "take potions, eat meat, drink milk" into a magic book he had been reading recently. He responded, "Come in."

"The merchant caravans have returned, bringing back the children among the serfs. Mr. Isaiah asks for your instructions on how to arrange for these serfs."

"Have him follow the original plan."

"Yes, sir." Carter pulled out a letter from his pocket and handed it to Liszt. "There's also a letter brought back by the caravan. It's from Advisor Gort."

Gort did not return with the caravans, as there were still many serfs left outside who needed shelter for the night. Thus, he sent a letter with the caravan to report on the handover of the serfs.

Reading through the letter, it detailed the number of serfs. The original order was for a thousand serfs, including two hundred craftsmen, but only eight hundred thirty-six serfs arrived alive in Flower Town, with only one hundred forty-four craftsmen remaining. The losses were too high, exceeding the standards set by Liszt.

"Frank promised to supplement our next batch of serfs with one hundred more serfs and twenty craftsmen," the letter recorded the outcome of Gort's negotiations with Frank.

This was followed by a transaction of three hundred gold coins.

Frank did not agree, as he received a letter from Levis, stating that the war would cease with the arrival of winter. The Count was already gathering plundered resources and preparing to withdraw to the homeland. Frank wanted to wait for Levis' return before deciding whether to continue selling serfs.

"The Count is returning?" Liszt couldn't help but calculate the time after reading the letter.

It was now December, and the Count had departed in September, campaigning for nearly three months. Compared to previous years, when he often stayed out until the holidays, this year's expedition was clearly shorter.

"I wonder if this year's harvest was bountiful. The Kingdom of Eagles is a major iron-producing country. If we could plunder more iron ore, I could purchase some to forge weapons and equipment... aiming to equip a Knight Squad sooner. Next year, I might have the chance to join the Count on the battlefield and pick up some scraps."

...

Liszt ate dinner alone.

The town officials were busy settling the child serfs. Those without family were placed in the homes of Flower Town's serfs, while those with family were temporarily housed in new residences in the residential area, awaiting their parents' arrival for proper settlement.

Food was distributed early to the serf households, which prepared meals for the children. Extra clothes and bedding were borrowed from the serf households to keep the children warm until new clothes were purchased by the castle and returned to each household.

Many children suffered from colds or were ill-suited to the environment, requiring elderly and steady serfs to care for them to prevent deaths.

Despite the snowstorm, Flower Town was bustling with activity.

The next day would be equally busy. Integrating over eight hundred serfs into Flower Town's life would take time. The biggest obstacle was the language barrier, as the locals spoke Snake Language, while the new serfs mostly spoke Wind Language. Fortunately, the earlier batch of new serfs had already learned basic Snake Language and could facilitate communication.

After dinner, Liszt went on a tour of the town.

Seeing the malnourished children shivering in the cold wind and being instructed by officials to bow to him made him uncomfortable—a direct clash of two different worldviews.

With a sigh,

he showed himself briefly before returning to the castle, feeling no desire to stay any longer.

Upon returning to the castle, he went straight upstairs, where he saw the maid Little Lily bending over to clean. Her improved black-and-white maid uniform revealed her straight white stockings and legs. The skirt hugged her round curves, evoking a sense of admiration.

Hearing footsteps, Little Lily quickly turned around and stood against the wall to let Liszt pass. "Sir."

"You may continue." Liszt reluctantly looked away and entered his study, taking three minutes to compose himself before picking up a piece of volcanic glass from the table.

Before resting at noon, he had studied it for a while.

No matter how he channeled his aura, he could not penetrate the volcanic glass to touch the magic within the bubbles. The fire dragon magic trapped inside seemed completely solidified, unable to leak even a trace.

However, through experimentation, he discovered something.

The fire elemental magic surrounding the volcanic glass was noticeably agitated, as if drawn by the fire dragon magic within the bubbles. Similar to a magnetic field, though separated by the volcanic glass, it could still cause agitation in the fire elemental magic. This allowed Marcus to sense its magic presence.

"Just based on this characteristic, it seems suitable for crafting magic equipment."

He pondered silently, "If many pieces of volcanic glass were arranged together, could they form a magic array? Could it then trigger a surge of fire elemental magic, creating an environment rich in fire elemental magic? If a mage were placed inside, could they easily conjure fireballs?"

This seemed pointless.

So he preferred to break open the volcanic glass and release the fire dragon magic. However, the consequences of releasing this fire dragon magic were uncertain.

"Would it infect the surroundings, perhaps causing a massive fire?" He wasn't sure, but it was clearly unsuitable to release it in the study, where many books were kept as decorations.

It would be best to do it during the day.

Wearing armor, he would find an open area to release the fire dragon magic.

But after a moment's thought, he decided it was an overreaction to be so alarmed by just a few bubbles in a piece of volcanic glass and the limited amount of magic they could possibly contain, and the minimal reaction they could elicit.

After hesitating for a moment, he still chose not to smash the volcanic glass.

He considered several possibilities and potential methods of utilization, leaving them to be verified the next day.