Chapter 557: Roast Beef and Hunger

This chapter is an extra update for the "Forget About Naming" sponsorship.

"Oh-ho!"

Leo landed in front of Liszt and immediately started calling out to him. This action and tone indicated that he was hungry and wanted Liszt to feed him some beef.

"You want beef?"

Liszt's face remained expressionless, but his actions were firm: "Leo, I know you're smart and can understand what I'm saying. Here are your two options. The first option is to continue resisting my commands, staying wild and unruly, and then starve to death. The second option is to obey my commands, let me ride you, fight side by side, and have meat and potions as much as you want."

Leo took a step back, baring his teeth: "Oh-ho!"

He refused both choices.

"Fine, then go hungry." Liszt said without further ado, turning to leave. Of course, he still had to watch out in case Leo rebelled, but with his current strength, the still young Fire Drake was no match for him. Leo's combat abilities were still too weak.

Seeing Liszt descend the mountain.

Leo paused, then snorted dismissively, like a horse, flapped his wings, and flew towards the foot of the mountain.

He was going to hunt on his own.

But after circling around the forest at the foot of the mountain, setting a small patch of Human Skull Trees ablaze, he didn't even see a rabbit-sized prey. He barely spotted a few flightless birds that made 'dodo' sounds, but the dodo birds burrowed into holes hundreds of meters away, making them impossible to find.

"Oh-ho!"

He let out a roar of frustration, but to no avail. By the time it was completely dark, he still hadn't found any prey. He wanted to fly out of Dodo Island, but seeing the churning waves of the sea, he was too scared to go down.

Several near-drowning experiences had left a deep impression on him.

Without Liszt by his side to protect him, he didn't have the courage to fly over the sea.

Unable to find any food, he flew up and saw a bonfire in the distance. Liszt was grilling some kind of monster meat, the aroma spreading so far that it could be smelled even a kilometer away. However, Leo turned his head and charged towards the volcano crater, determined to "not stoop for a handout," preferring to starve to death rather than eat handouts!

But when he reached the volcano crater, stepping on the scorching magma, just about to transform into a ball of magic power.

He couldn't make a move.

His growling stomach was slowly eroding his will. For the first time, he felt the cruelty of the outside world.

...

Liszt was grilling on purpose.

The food stored in his gem space was all pre-prepared, ready to be eaten directly. Yet, he still sprinkled seasoning on it, grilled it over the fire, and spread the aroma of the monster meat to lure Leo.

He didn't know how Leo was doing now.

But he wasn't in a hurry. In fact, seeing Leo coming to him for food, he knew everything was under control. Not far away by the sea, Acheronides was resting her chin on her hand, deep in thought, still immersed in magic, trying to connect the knowledge Liszt had told her with her magic power.

He didn't disturb her.

Liszt gnawed on the juicy monster meat while taking Giant Kelp Magic Potion, with a cup of fragrant semi-slope milk beside him.

Even in the wild, he still maintained castle standards for every meal.

Never willing to settle for less than the best.

"Oh-ho!"

Not far away, the cry of the Fire Drake echoed.

He activated his Magic Eye and scanned towards the sound, catching a glimpse of the Fire Drake perched halfway up the mountain, seemingly looking towards him.

However, even after he finished eating the beast meat, the Fire Drake did not come down the mountain. Instead, after Liszt finished packing up, it let out another "Oh ho!" and dashed towards Dodo Island's volcano crater, disappearing from sight.

"Quite the endurance, huh? Let's see how long you can last," Liszt said unhurriedly as he tidied up the utensils, greeted Acheronides, and walked into the simple shelter he had built using the Human Skull Tree and canvas, ready to turn in.

He had a very comfortable sleep that night.

Early the next morning, Liszt went to the volcano crater again and decided to enjoy a luxurious breakfast right by the crater, savoring it heartily. However, he did not see any trace of the Fire Drake. After eating, he went down the mountain to search for a large patch of Hemp Rope Vine, a reward from the smoke mission, to see if it was on Dodo Island.

The Hemp Rope Vine was probably an ordinary plant, so it required a visual search, which was a bit challenging.

He searched all morning but came up empty-handed.

At noon, he attempted to lure the Fire Drake again near the volcano crater. In the afternoon, he did not continue searching for the Hemp Rope Vine but instead rode the Rainbow Whale Rosi around the shallow waters surrounding Dodo Island, searching for any spirit bugs in the sea. When he returned to the shore in the evening, he spotted the Fire Drake circling in the sky.

Acheronides also saw the Fire Drake; it was her first time laying eyes on a real dragon: "Brother, is that Leo?"

"Yes, but it's being a bit disobedient right now, rebelling against me. It won't get any meat until it apologizes. Only by obeying and undergoing training can it be forgiven. I'll introduce you to it then, and maybe even let you touch it."

Acheronides was instantly thrilled: "Ah, can Acheronides really touch a dragon?"

"Of course."

"Yay, thanks, brother."

A moment later.

Liszt began preparing food, lighting a fire to roast it, letting the aroma of the food waft everywhere. This time, the Fire Drake hovered in the sky around them, occasionally letting out an "Oh ho!" without leaving or touching down. As the sky gradually darkened, the aroma of the food had spread enough.

Liszt glanced at the Fire Drake in the sky and slowly began to eat, taking his sweet time.

"Oh ho!"

The Fire Drake flew closer and closer, and finally, unable to resist, it landed on the beach about ten meters away.

Its eyes were glued to the large roasted beef leg in Liszt's hand, drool dripping from the corner of its mouth, sizzling and evaporating as it hit the ground.

Liszt had observed that the saliva of the Fire Dragon was a rather impure form of magic power, which would directly integrate into the air. Unlike the saliva of gem dragons or metal dragons, which could give birth to crystal mines, the Fire Drake's saliva was different. Its dragon dung also directly vaporized and evaporated.

And the impure magic power it excreted while taking medicine in Liszt's body was definitely not dragon dung!

In its magic form, the Fire Drake had no shape or structure; it was merely a converter capable of exchanging magic power.

Sizzle!

Liszt tore off a piece of beef leg with force and then chewed it loudly, usually eating according to noble standards, slowly and carefully. But this time, he made loud noises, smacking his lips. Each smack was a direct hit to the growling stomach of the Fire Drake Leo.

By the time he had eaten half of the roasted beef leg, Leo finally gave up its reserve and called out to Liszt: "Oh ho!"

It wanted meat.

Liszt glanced at it indifferently and did not respond.

"Oh ho!"

"Oh ho!"

"Oh... roar..." Leo stepped closer, his voice growing fainter with each step. By the time he reached Liszt, it had become almost a pitiful plea.

Liszt finally looked at him and asked, "You still have the same choices as before. First, starve to death; second, let me ride you, and I'll feed you top-grade beef every meal."

Leo threw his head back and roared, "Oh roar!"

"Not willing to be ridden?"

"Oh roar!"

"Sure?"

"Oh roar!"

"Then you'll just starve. This Dodo Island is a full eight hundred kilometers away from the nearest island. You can't fly that far. Even if you could, you'd be spotted by humans and captured. Then no one will be as easygoing as I am. If you don't let them ride you, you'll be slaughtered for meat."

Hearing this, Leo took three steps back, his wings splayed on the ground, showing defiance.

Liszt leisurely took out another roasted beef leg, placed it over the fire, and brushed on a layer of golden oil. The dripping oil sizzled as it hit the flames.

Leo couldn't help but gulp, letting out a low whine, "Oh roar..."