The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

Liszt didn't argue when the Earl attributed his success to the noble lineage he and Melissa shared.

One must always give the other party some respect.

He changed the subject, "Father, how do you plan to deal with the sales of rubber?"

"I tested the rubber you provided yesterday. It is indeed an extraordinary item, more impressive and versatile than glutinous rice juice," the Earl said thoughtfully, then continued, "Tulip Castle has acquired quite a bit of supplies in the Iron Hoof Island campaign, so we're not heavily reliant on gold coins. I can purchase a batch of rubber to relieve some of your pressure."

"Rubber is a specialty crop of Black Horse Island, with a low yield. Moreover, harvesting rubber does significant damage to the rubber trees, so it won't be cheap."

"More expensive than glutinous rice?"

Glutinous rice is a type of cereal that can be eaten, but its juice is more useful in the watering of castles. The Marquis of Leather Island, Ramirez White Glutinous Rice, built his family's wealth on glutinous rice.

"I think it would certainly be more expensive than glutinous rice, because rubber can also be used for building. The quality of construction is no worse than that of glutinous rice juice, and in terms of speed, hardness, and adhesiveness, it is even slightly superior. But rubber is not only good for building; it can bond any object, be it for shipbuilding or armor repair, it can be used for everything!"

This kind of treasure, if he weren't in dire need of money, Liszt would never want to part with it.

The Earl looked at Liszt and asked with puzzlement, "Just how many treasures are you hiding on your Black Horse Island?"

"Um, well, there are indeed some special products," Liszt replied indifferently, "The main thing is that the development work has been done well. For example, the rubber from rubber trees might be considered just sap by most people, without exploring its uses."

In his heart, he was very pleased because his domain had too many special products.

In terms of crops—rubber, the infinitely possible adhesive, Thorn Wood of ironwood quality, Fragrant Coconut Fruit that can be consumed directly, Green Tea Trees not yet planted on a large scale, Smoked Grass that can attract Formless Dragons, and Corn Grass which might become corn cobs. Stay connected with empire

In terms of magic potions—the Black Tulip, a symbol of the domain flag, Flame Mushrooms, and Ice Snow Flame Mushrooms grown from mushroom farming, Magic Medicine Thorns that can grow quickly among thorns, and Dragon Hollyhock, a type of auxiliary medicine recently started being farmed on a large scale.

In the field of animal breeding—Green Caterpillars and Green-headed Ducks would become major specialties, Black Pearl Tridacna is also a fine specialty, Black Blood Treasured Horses need no mention of their value, Dragon Breed Cows are similarly precious, and if the breeding difficulties could be overcome, the Blizzard Beast should be considered a specialty.

In the industrial sector—The Fire Dragon Brick Factory's products are all specialties, including slates, culverts, bricks, and other fired products under development like ceramics, glass, cement, lime, etc.; distilled liquor Fresh Flower Brew, bathing products Fresh Flower Soap, and future white paper as well.

In terms of culinary delights—there's no need to mention much, as Fresh Flower Town has always been known as the source of Coral Island's delicacies, with countless dishes spreading from there.

Where others would kill for just one specialty product, Liszt is troubled by having too many, unable to develop them all, leaving many specialties unattended.

Thus, with so many specialty products in Fresh Flower Town and Black Horse Island, he still finds himself so poor that he can barely afford books.

"To find treasures, one must first have treasures that genuinely exist..." The Earl took a deep breath to suppress his jealousy toward his son, "How many elves do you have now?"

"Um, well," Liszt pondered, considering how to answer.

The Earl, dissatisfied, said, "Do you still need to hide things from me?"

"I have 24 Elf Bugs... and also 2 Little Minor Elves."

"2 Little Minor Elves?"

"One is Jela, whom you've seen; the other is an insignificant Mangrove Minor Elf," he said humbly. Now, Nami is not without use, as her abilities are essential to the breeding of Green-headed Ducks.

The Earl was taken aback for a moment.

Then he sighed, "I remember when I ennobled you, I only gave you four Elf Bugs, and later, when you discovered the Black Tulip, I rewarded you with another Elf Bug, meaning, you've found nineteen Elf Bugs on your own? And two Little Minor Elves?"

"The origins of the Elf Bugs are somewhat complicated. Two Elf Bugs were born from the potted plants my grandmother gave me; I contracted a Barley Bug outside the Nameless Castle in Mane City; Father, you remember the Six-Headed King Serpent, don't you? Following the records in a Magic Book, I cultivated four Serpent Blood Fruit Bugs with its blood."

Liszt calculated, "Leaving those aside, the number of Elf Bugs born in the domain is not many, only thirteen... and Jela was an evolution of the Thorn Bug you gave me."

Which is to say,

the number of elves that were born within the Fresh Flower Town and Black Horse Island itself is thirteen Elf Bugs and one Little Minor Elf.

"Thirteen and you still think that's few? Since I took over Coral Island, in twenty years of cultivation, a total of just over two hundred Elf Bugs have been born, only about ten a year!" The Earl tried to keep his emotions steady, "The key is, I have never discovered any wild Little Minor Elves."

Liszt wanted to say something to lighten the mood.

But the Earl interrupted him directly, "I used to think 'Knight's Glory' was just a slogan to inspire people, but now I believe it truly exists, and it clearly favors you... Go back, do not let down the 'Knight's Glory' that has been bestowed upon you, I look forward to your future!"

He quickly sent Liszt away without even intending to discuss the pricing of rubber.

When the door closed.

The study fell silent.

The Earl leaned fully into the chair and his gaze slowly drifted to a space and time unknown, whispering, "Melissa, the son you were most worried about has grown strong enough to take flight at any moment... it's just that this boy is too cunning. Marquis Merlin wrote to me telling me that he was already promoted to Elite Earth Knight last year..."

The voice faded into obscurity.

After a while, he raised his volume slightly, "From Common Earth Knight to Elite Earth Knight, it only took half a year... His domain has several Magic Medicines, and he even shelters a Magician who specializes in making Magic Medicines... Our son might just outshine me in my youth!"

...

"Actually, I should have been more discreet and not provoked the Earl,"

Riding on the back of the Landwalker Bird Loki and recalling the Earl's near breakdown scene, Liszt shook his head and sighed, "Forget it, tomorrow I'll have Goltai come over and have a good talk with Levis and Frank, aiming to negotiate a fair price to ease the finances of the domain."

The tremendous properties of rubber were plain for all to see, and he was not worried about getting a good price.

Upon returning to his domain, before he had time to inspect the Corn Grass fields, he received a report from the office—Serf Old Bore found that in his field of Corn Grass, there was a patch that was very odd, with huge tassels growing on the top.

Isaiah further explained, "My lord, we are unable to determine whether this patch of Corn Grass is incubating Corn Grass Bugs. They look rather unusual, but their number is too great, a good twenty or so Corn Grass plants, all sprouting huge tassels... It's unlikely that so many are all incubating Elf Bugs at once."

"Tassels growing on top?" Liszt furrowed his brow; this was not quite what he had envisaged for corn cobs.