The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

Chapter 129: Rapid Growth Spiky Thorn

Though they aimed to conquer all of Thorn Ridge in one fell swoop, they still rested for two days, mainly because the members of the Knight Squad had some minor injuries, including Marcus, whose leg had sustained a graze.

Having Dou Qi, they recovered from minor injuries very quickly.

Two days were enough to relieve the fatigue in their bodies and let the wounds scab over.

Liszt, unharmed, woke from a night’s sleep feeling reinvigorated and adjusted to optimal condition. He was in high spirits, racing his horse across the training field and rigorously practicing “Fire Dragon Drill,” “Flaming Wave,” and “Multi-Arrow.” This combat experience had granted him ample experience.

He felt that the Dou Qi within him had surged significantly. Originally a tender noble, a newbie among the Earth Knights, he now solidified his foundation and took a great stride toward becoming an Elite Earth Knight.

Compared to Marcus, he was almost on par—the experience was still lacking, and so was the amount of Dou Qi, but with the Eye of Magic and the Crimson Blood Sword, the outcome of a real fight was uncertain.

“I think in a one-on-one duel with Marcus, it should be an even split!” he estimated.

Turning to look at Douson who, with glossy fur, was frantically running around the training field seemingly bursting with endless energy, he started to strategize: “With Douson’s help, Marcus is definitely no match for me. In fact, I believe that Douson alone could be an even match for Marcus.”

It wasn’t yet clear whether the Bloodline Fruit had caused any evolutionary changes in Douson.

Regarding this knowledge, there was still too little.

But there was no question that the amount of Douson’s magic had increased tremendously; it used to be able to cast Rock Spike only about ten to twenty times a day, but now could cast it from morning till dusk. While it might not reach fifty times, thirty-five times was absolutely within reach.

Because of this, the progress on Douson Avenue’s road construction had greatly accelerated.

“Douson, cast the magic!”

Whoosh!

A Rock Spike rose from the ground, one and a half times larger than the ones Douson used to cast. The amount of rock produced in a day was equivalent to three to four days’ yield in the past, making it resemble a mini “Rock Young Dragon”—according to a knight’s novel called “Mercenary World,” dragons in their youth looked somewhat like dogs.

Overall, Douson, having gotten a taste of blood, had more than doubled in strength, but it was still far from reaching the power of an Intermediate Magical Beast. Its recovery ability, however, had increased dramatically, and the wounds on its body were about to heal completely.

“Looking at Douson’s current performance, it wasn’t a waste of the Bloodline Fruit after all, at least, it’s much better than if the evolution had failed.”

About this clean-up,

he was satisfied.

The Shadow Snake’s hide was excellent lining material for leather armor. There were some signs of fire damage, but overall, it was relatively intact and could at least sell for ten Gold Coins.

As for the two Fierce Earth Dogs, one was entirely charred and could only be kept for Liszt to eat; the other had its fur largely slashed by Marcus, so it couldn’t fetch a high price. The internal organs could be sold to magicians, but mostly they were kept for personal consumption since the castle wasn’t in urgent need of the money.

The two large tusks of the Thunderfang Boar were excellent forging materials, especially suitable for creating Magic Equipment, with one tusk worth at least five Gold Coins. The hide was also great for making leather armor and could sell for around ten Gold Coins. The meat and bones could either be kept for consumption or sold.

Selling them for seven or eight Gold Coins wouldn’t be difficult.

With a massive physique and tough hide, the Thunderfang Boar was valuable all over.

The other prizes were the seven Wind Blade Wolves—since they were hunted by Douson, the wounds were small and the fur was mostly intact, making it feasible to sell each for over ten Gold Coins without issue.

If estimated, this batch of magical beasts could bring Li Si Te at least a hundred and thirty gold coins.

“The Southern Thorn Ridge has probably been cleared out, but there are likely still many magical beasts in the Northern Thorn Ridge. We can harvest another hundred or more gold coins. Clearing out Thorn Ridge not only yields magical beast meat and materials to exchange for gold coins but also sharpens the Knight Squad and reduces the threat to the town. It’s a profitable deal.”

The math was sound, but the magical beasts were a one-time bounty; once killed, they were gone.

The Thorn Forest of Thorn Ridge would also disappear—he had already ordered Goltai to reorganize the Lumberjack Team to make Thorn Ridge a thing of the past.

In addition, Blair was preparing to form a tree-planting team to plant two types of thorns, Rapid Growth Poison Thorn and Rapid Growth Spiky Thorn, around the periphery of Thorn Ridge.

The rapid-growth thorn species grew incredibly fast. With enough moisture and fertilizer, they could grow more than ten centimeters overnight.

The Rapid Growth Poison Thorn, after cultivation, already covered several acres. Its roots could be dug up at any time for transplantation elsewhere. The “Rapid Growth Spiky Thorn” had been discovered not long ago as a reward from the Smoke Mission—a spiny, fast-growing, mutant thorn variety whose branches were covered in dense clusters of large and small spikes, quite terrifying.

These two types of thorns, used as hedging, posed little threat to humans, as a few shovelfuls could clear a path. But wild beasts and magical beasts would surely despair.

“Actually, now that the tall trees of the Thorn Forest have been chopped down, and magical beasts can no longer inhabit it, we don’t need thorns for defense. However, to let others know that Thorn Ridge is Fresh Flower Town’s territory, I’ll still plant a circle of thorns.”

During the fief distribution, the Earl declared Fresh Flower Town to be Li Si Te’s territory.

But the official boundaries of Fresh Flower Town were not clearly defined, and likewise, Thorn Ridge had previously been an independent hazardous area unclaimed by any other town.

After Li Si Te took over Thorn Ridge, it became de facto territory of Fresh Flower Town, an exploitation of loopholes that was perfectly legitimate.

“The area of Thorn Ridge, added together, is at least the size of Fresh Flower Town. This means my territory will double in size and at least half of that land can be cultivated into farmland!” Concerning his somewhat bandit-like actions, Li Si Te felt not a hint of shame, but rather quite pleased with himself.

If he did this after Levis inherited the earldom, he might face a backlash—nobles value their land highly, and not even brothers are allowed to take advantage of it.

But currently, the Earl was his father. A son capitalizing on loopholes and going to great lengths to secure Thorn Ridge, taking a little advantage was hardly a matter for censure.

All things considered, his father was unlikely to squabble with his son over what was originally “useless” land.

Taking a sip of fresh coconut milk, Li Si Te counted the days on his fingers.

“Today is September 14th. The Earl’s birthday is on September 19th. He has already led the Coral Island Knights to charge into battle on the mainland, so there won’t be a birthday party… By the end of this month, the Tulip Fleet should be back, and the five hundred serfs I purchased will arrive…”

He planned to spend a week to completely turn over Thorn Ridge, exterminating all the magical beasts.

The trees would all be cut down within a month, and once the serfs arrived, he would swiftly cultivate the land into farmland, managing to plant a crop of winter wheat before winter set in.

“Five hundred serfs are not enough. After selling the magical beast materials, I’ll pull out some gold coins from the seafood business, amass six hundred gold coins, and buy an additional two thousand five hundred serfs!”

Previously.

Five hundred serfs, including a hundred craftsmen, cost one hundred and twenty gold coins.

By that ratio, six hundred gold coins could buy exactly two thousand ordinary serfs and five hundred craftsmen.

“I wonder if I can get a discount on serfs with this Pioneer Mandate. Once Frank, Levis’s confidant, returns, I need to have a good talk with him… Wars always bring countless refugees. Maybe I could even buy some knights who can’t pay their ransoms and directly establish my own real Knight Squad.”