17 Chapter 0017: Douson and the Dragon Breed Horse

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Because of the Fierce Earth Dog incident, Marcus decided to postpone his departure by one day.

While resting, he told Liszt some precautions about rearing Magical Beasts.

"Magical Beasts, even if they can recognize an owner, are full of danger. They lack concepts of good and evil, right and wrong, and are prone to unpredictable temperaments. Once they master the use of Magic Power, they might inadvertently harm people. Therefore, Baron, in raising the Fierce Earth Dog cub, you need to actively guide and train it."

"Like the pack of hunting dogs raised in Tulip Castle?"

"Yes, you must train its obedience from a young age, ensuring that it follows your commands. You also need to constantly deplete its Magic Power so that it expends this energy in training sessions, preventing it from using magic to harm people in normal circumstances. The Fierce Earth Dog's Rock Spike is a very deadly magic."

"How long before it can cast magic?"

"I'm not quite sure. However, the magic of Magical Beasts is generally weak before they reach adulthood. The Fierce Earth Dog can probably mature in about a year and a half, which means you have a year and a half to tame it."

"Very well, I will treat this as a matter of cultivation and persistently train it."

Marcus was evidently in a good mood. After explaining the precautions, he rarely offered some compliments, "Peanut worms, Magic Potion, Magical Beasts—Baron, you're going to give everyone on Coral Island quite a surprise."

Liszt smiled.

The real surprise was still to come.

He asked, "How should I deal with the corpse of the Female Tyrant Earth Hound?"

"Perhaps you should ask Lord Goltai, who once managed the market trade for Earl, about the value of Magical Beasts. He is the most knowledgeable."

"Mr. Carter, please invite Teacher Goltai."

"As you wish, my lord."

Goltai hurried over and upon seeing the Fierce Earth Dog's corpse, he exclaimed loudly, "Wow, what do I see here? Is this the King of Thorn Ridge's Fierce Earth Dog? My goodness, it's a Low-Level Magical Beast, but I feel it emits an aura terrifying like an Intermediate Magical Beast. Marcus, I must admit, you're one of the top Knights on Coral Island."

The most powerful knight on Coral Island was doubtlessly Liszt's father, the Sky Knight, Earl William Lee Tulip, who was also the only knight with Advanced Dou Qi.

The rest were Earth Knights.

As for Magical Beasts on Coral Island, it seems that only the southern shallow water beaches are home to an Intermediate Magical Beast—the Purple Sand Crocodile. The Magical Beasts in other mountains are all Low-Level. The Fierce Earth Dog here in Thorn Ridge is the most powerful among the Low-Level Magical Beasts.

"Teacher Goltai, how should this beast be dealt with?" asked Liszt.

Goltai prodded the Fierce Earth Dog's corpse with his cane. The calf-sized Fierce Earth Dog, with congealed bloodstains all over, looked quite dreadful, "The fur is ruined; otherwise, the Fierce Earth Dog's fur is the most precious, worth at least twenty Gold Coins."

A Gold Coin is the currency of the Duchy of Sapphire, named in honor of the father by the first Sapphire Duke.

"It should still be worth some Gold Coins, right?"

"Only as scraps sold as leather. I guess, perhaps a dishonest merchant might be willing to pay five Gold Coins, or a conscientious merchant might offer ten Gold Coins."

Goltai continued his analysis, "Its meat, I reckon there's about six hundred pounds. Market price for Magical Beast meat is typically one silver coin per pound. Fierce Earth Dog meat could likely go for two silver coins per pound, totaling twelve Gold Coins. However, Liszt, you should keep it for yourself to eat, as you need to stabilize your own Dou Qi now."

"Mr. Goltai is quite right. Selling its meat is not profitable; the Castle usually needs to purchase meat from outside anyway," Carter interjected, serving as the trusted Butler, he could participate in such discussions.

"Aside from the fur and meat, all that remains are the bones and internal organs. The organs of Magical Beasts can be sold to those stealthy magicians. I know where to find some magicians; they always like to acquire Magical Beast organs and all sorts of mysterious herbs and plants, difficult to say how many Gold Coins. As for the bones, they make good soup."

At this point, Goltai chuckled, "It's a pity it's a bitch. If it had been a male dog, wow, that would have been a great tonic."

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The difference between a male dog and a female dog is whether it has a penis or not.

Liszt said, "Then let's skin the Fierce Earth Dog, tan the hide, and find time to sell it. Clean the innards as well, pickle them, Teacher Goltai, are there any magicians on Coral Island?"

"It seems there aren't."

"Then let's keep the innards for ourselves to eat in the castle."

"Haha, we're all in for a treat then, praise the generous Baron Liszt!"

…

Night fell.

A small barbecue party was held in the castle.

The servants, Retainer Knights, together with the host Liszt, and two teachers enjoyed the delicious barbecued meat and chatted about the finer things in life.

Liszt actually didn't like such lively occasions very much; he was intrinsically a quiet person.

However, life in the castle was such that most castles were gloomy and living there for a long time could become very oppressive, so it was necessary to find opportunities for release, and parties were the best chance for that.

After having their fill of food and drink.

The servants began cleaning up the messy knives, forks, cutlery, and wine glasses, while Liszt went upstairs, heading straight for the originally vacant entertainment room. The entertainment room had been turned into a den for the young Fierce Earth Dog pup. The little puppy was being raised there until it opened its eyes, to ensure that the first person it saw was Liszt.

So feeding and bathing had to be done by Liszt himself.

The little puppy shivered, so Liszt named it "Douson."

"Hello, Douson, time for milk." Liszt brought the cowhide bag filled with cow's milk to Douson's mouth, its mouth was specially cut in a certain shape.

Smelling the milk, the desire to feed overcame the fear of the unfamiliar scent, and Douson quickly crawled over, fumbled for the mouth of the bag, and then gulped it down.

Despite being only as big as a Teddy dog, it ate with the vigor characteristic of a Magical Beast, gobbling down its food.

In the blink of an eye, Douson had finished a whole bag of milk.

And with that bag of milk.

Douson became familiar with Liszt's scent, and now when Liszt stroked its fur, not only did Douson not hide, but it also rubbed its head against his palm, showing affection. To the unknowing, it really seemed like Liszt had just raised a common earth dog, not the King of Thorn Ridge, the Magical Beast Tyrant Earth Hound.

"When will you open your eyes?"

As if hearing Liszt's words, Douson made a soft "wah" sound from its mouth.

Liszt was slightly lost in thought as a wisp of smoke again appeared before his eyes, quickly transforming into a piece of text: "Mission completed, reward: a Fierce Earth Dog pup."

"Sure enough, Douson is the reward, I've already figured out the mechanism behind the Smoke Missions." he thought to himself.

The Serpent Script in the smoke in front of him had already changed.

"Mission: As an Earth Knight, you are tasked with the heavy responsibility of leading a cavalry charge. Please train with an Intermediate Dou Qi Manuscript to become a true Knight fit for battle. Reward: one Dragon Breed Horse with a trace of dragon blood."

"Dragon Breed Horse?" Liszt's eyes lit up.