Chapter 289 Mobile Howitzer Platform

On his palm.

"Wu wa," Jie La called piteously, trying to gain Lister's sympathy.

But Lister's attention was fully on Hiddleston. He had the servants help remove the thorns from Hiddleston's body. He was quite exhilarated, as Hiddleston had just successfully cast a brand-new spell in what had been a rather dangerous situation. It was a rock that could fly and explode in the air.

"Is this the rock bomb that only grandmasters can master, as possessed by Elkson?"

Elkson had the casting formula for the rock bomb, but he couldn't cast it himself. It required the mental control of a grandmaster to release a spell of this level.

Hiddleston's new spell was likely this advanced type of magic.

"Woof woof!"

Hiddleston barked at Lister.

Probably accusing Lister of protecting the mischievous thorn sprite Jie La, but Lister had no intention of punishing Jie La. He only ordered Jie La to return to the bug room immediately and not come out. Then he took out a few pieces of dried meat and threw them to Hiddleston to comfort and reward it for learning the new spell.

After Hiddleston finished the meat, Lister immediately gave the command: "Hiddleston, release the spell!"

Hiddleston opened its jaws.

A rock spike burst from the ground in the distance.

"Not that one, the new spell you just learned. Now, release it here!" Lister pointed to the air.

Hiddleston hesitated for a moment before opening its mouth to expel magic. Whoosh, a rock about the size of a washbasin quickly formed and soon exploded.

He had already summoned Elkson.

"Mr. Elkson, what do you think of Hiddleston's new spell? Which earth-elemental spell is it?"

Elkson said in surprise, "That's a rock bomb, a very powerful earth-element spell. Hiddleston, who has already undergone the transformation into a mid-level magical beast, has successfully mastered the rock bomb that only grandmasters can learn! However, its rock bomb is a bit weak. I've seen a grandmaster cast it once; the rock formed was as large as a barrel."

The weakness is probably due to Hiddleston's inexperience.

Once it masters it, the rock bomb will be significantly enhanced.

Now, Hiddleston has finally acquired an aerial attack capability. It will no longer be passively attacked by sky knights and can take the initiative to counterattack.

Just imagine, a sky knight briefly takes flight to attack, and Hiddleston fires a few rock bombs, which will certainly repel the sky knight's assault.

"Well done, Hiddleston. From today onwards, we have a new training course. Follow my command—Hiddleston, rock bomb!"

Hiddleston was dumbfounded.

It took a while to spit out a rock bomb.

It hadn't developed a conditioned response to the rock bomb command yet; it needed time.

But regardless, Hiddleston now truly possessed the combat power of a mid-level magical beast and could face off against a sky knight.

Riding on Hiddleston, Lister was full of pride and boundless ambition. "Now that I can strut across Coral Island, no one should oppose me, right?"

He even thought that with Hiddleston's combat power and the future of eight young blizzard beasts, why would he need a knight squad? He could just lead an army of blizzard beasts into battle—of course, the territory couldn't do without the support of the knight class. After all, blizzard beasts were big eaters, and if the territory didn't develop, it wouldn't be able to sustain them.

Feeding nine blizzard beasts would cost hundreds of gold coins per month.

"And on the battlefield, we'll still need a **Knight Squad** to take care of the **Blizzard Beasts**, guiding them into battle. Relying solely on my commands would make the situation chaotic... But perhaps, with this year's expansion order, I'll be able to join the **Earl** in battle."

His desire to achieve military merit was already stirring.

With **Hiddleston** as the main damage dealer, **Parris** providing close protection, along with a **Knight Squad** assisting from the side, and the support of the **Earl** and **Levis**, they could take over the logistics and defense tasks, minimizing risk while securing sufficient military merit.

Gradually, by the time he reaches twenty, he should be able to earn the title of **Viscount** through military achievements and make **Black Horse Island** his fiefdom.

With his own island, and leveraging the knowledge and perspective of a transmigrator with the help of the **smoke mission**, his future would be brilliant. He couldn't say for sure what it holds, but he was certain he'd ride a dragon!

...

"Mission completed, reward **Hiddleston** with the new spell—**Rock Grenade**."

"**Mission**: **Carrasco**, the carpenter, fell into deep thought. Having helped the brewery craft many novel wooden tools, he gained a lot of inspiration, which also made him realize that he didn't enjoy making tables and stools every day. He longed to create. Please give him some ideas. **Reward**: The mutation of the **Rubber Tree Spirit Bug**."

Teaching **Hiddleston** the new spell resulted in the immediate completion of the mission.

However, the newly issued mission surprised **Liszt**: "**Carrasco** probably wants to be like **Lu Ban**. I should give him some ideas. I may not know how to make the **Wooden Ox and Mechanical Horse** or the **Zhuge Repeating Crossbow**, but I can certainly offer suggestions on rocking chairs, drawers, wheelbarrows, and curved plows... But what other form of mutation could it take?"

Would it directly mutate into a little spirit?

**Liszt** felt that was unlikely, as he had never heard of plants directly giving birth to spirits.

He pondered for a long time but still had no clue, so he decided to stop thinking about it.

He would complete the mission first.

"**Carrasco**, right? I appreciate craftsmen with creativity." **Liszt** immediately sent people to look up **Carrasco**'s information and soon received feedback.

**Carrasco** was a serf bought from the **Kingdom of the Eagle**. He currently worked in the **carpentry shop**.

He wasn't a master craftsman and was considered a "weirdo" among the carpenters. While other carpenters balanced work and life, **Carrasco** had almost no personal life, spending his time staring blankly at wood. Sometimes, he would randomly craft strange things from the wood.

Because of this, officials who came to inspect the carpentry shop often scolded him.

"It seems the era's limitations have constrained his thinking, and he hasn't had an environment conducive to free thinking," **Liszt** thought to himself.

He quickly headed to the carpentry shop with his retinue of **knights** to personally inspect **Carrasco**'s carpentry works.

In the carpentry shop, sawdust flew everywhere.

After the serfs bowed, they were scolded by the overseer to continue working. **Liszt** went straight to **Carrasco**: "Show me the carpentry works you made in your spare time."

"L-Lord..." **Carrasco**, half nervous and tongue-tied, stammered out a few words in **Serpent Tongue**.

"Don't be nervous, **Carrasco**," **Liszt** said gently.

In the town, he always presented himself as noble, gentle, and benevolent. The role of the villain was left to other officials.

Feeling the Lord’s kindness, **Carrasco** finally calmed down and began to display his spare-time carpentry works one by one.

A five-legged stool, a chair with backrests on all four sides, a triangular tabletop... The only items that looked presentable were a few teacups shaped like seashells.

This wasn’t creativity; it was a sign of a missing screw in the brain.

**Liszt** finally understood why the inspecting officials scolded **Carrasco**. Without the smoke mission, he would have scolded him too. Who would design a chair with backrests on all four sides? How would someone sit on it, use it as a baby's bed? And the triangular tabletop, wasn't he worried it might stab someone?

But since there was a **smoke mission**,

He smiled encouragingly and said, "**Carrasco**, you have a lot of ideas."