Chapter 0020 Peanut Worm and Fire Dragon Assault

After sending off the tired Marcus, Liszt pulled his thoughts from the past. While it was true that a noble's major responsibility was to expand their connections, and the Long Taro Family was an important resource for him, he was not one for diplomacy. He preferred staying on his land, amusing himself with self-sufficiency.

"I should first practice the Dou Qi Manuscript and complete the Smoke Mission," he said to himself.

He first opened "Flaming Wave", which detailed through numerous illustrations and descriptions how to strengthen Fire Attribute Dou Qi and how to channel it for executing powerful moves. "Flaming Wave" favored sweeping, expansive attacks, with most techniques radiating outwards like waves; it was a manuscript for area attacks.

"Area attacks, huh? Good for charging into battle, but isn't that what my Knight Order is for? I just need to command from the back," he mused.

With that thought, Liszt opened "Fire Dragon Drill".

This manual was for one-on-one combat, with powerful moves designed for single targets, and lacked a bit for charging into battle. However, Liszt quickly decided to train in "Fire Dragon Drill"; compared to going into battle, he was more worried about assassin attacks, and the one-on-one "Fire Dragon Drill" suited him better than the area-focused "Flaming Wave".

"That's settled then... Once I have the time, I can look into "Flaming Wave" as well," he concluded contentedly.

In this world, there were no divine martial arts secrets; when training in Dou Qi, there were no particularly poor manuals nor especially powerful ones. Everything depended on the individual's talent and comprehension.

Extraordinary warriors could emerge from commoners, and descendants of powerful people could become mediocre.

...

In the following time, Liszt diligently trained in "Fire Dragon Drill" while waiting for the merchant caravan to arrive.

Time flew, and three days passed.

The rain had stopped.

Good news came one after another.

The Elf Bugs in Peanut Hamlet were nearly ripe. Retainer Knight Karl Ironhammer excitedly reported, "My lord, the husks of the peanuts have cracked open, revealing pink Elf Bugs inside, about to awaken. They're starting to quiver."

"Is that so? I'm on my way!" Liszt said.

By the time Liszt arrived on horseback, the husks had fully bloomed, revealing a chubby Elf Bug, its body glistening like jade, crawling curiously over the cordyceps, filled with boundless curiosity about the world.

The farmers of Peanut Hamlet gathered around, watching the Elf Bug with both curiosity and anxiety.

Liszt took out the Jade Powder he carried with him and sprinkled it before the Elf Bug. The bug sniffed at it and quickly began to munch. In no time, it finished the Jade Powder on the leaves and climbed up Liszt's outstretched finger, following the scent, and nibbled on the powder coated there.

Then, with a slight pain, the Elf Bug bit through Liszt's finger.

In that moment, a spiritual bond formed between Liszt and the Elf Bug—a master-servant contract had been established. Elf Bugs, with their innate magic, naturally carried the ability to form master-servant contracts.

"Come with me, little guy."

Liszt cradled the Elf Bug, placed it into the Jade Box, and prepared to take it back to the castle for raising, leaving the cordyceps in Peanut Hamlet.

"The fifth Elf Bug acquired. With the Elf Bug, a bountiful harvest for Peanut Hamlet is imminent," Liszt thought with a buoyant heart. He couldn't help but instruct Old George, "Old George, take good care of the Elf Bug cordyceps. Remember to water and fertilize; the more fertilizer you use, the higher the peanut yield."

"Rest assured, Lord Landlord, we'll do exactly as you've instructed—regularly watering, weeding, and fertilizing the peanuts!"

With the Elf Bug collected.

Another piece of good news knocked on the door: the Fierce Earth Dog puppies, raised in the castle, had finally opened their eyes on the seventh day under Liszt's care. Seeing Liszt at first sight, they yapped and rushed towards him, affectionately nuzzling his pant leg.

"Douson, from now on, you'll be living outside the castle," Liszt told the puppy.

Holding the leash around Douson's neck, Liszt called for Thomas.

"My lord."

"Thomas, I'm giving you a task, take care of Douson for me. By the way, has Douson's kennel been built yet?"

"It has been completed, my lord." Thomas took the leash, ready to lead Douson to his kennel.

Though Douson had recognized Liszt as his master, it did not mean he would acknowledge anyone else. When Thomas led him, the barely a month old Fierce Earth Dog pup immediately bared its teeth and growled "woo woo," fiercely pouncing to tear at Thomas's shoes with considerable wildness.

Yet, with nothing but little milk teeth, Douson could not bite through Thomas's shoes,

"Take good care of it."

"Please be assured, my lord, I have experience in raising hunting dogs."

"Fierce Earth Dogs are much more dangerous than hunting dogs. They have the bloodline of magical beasts. But it's okay; it shouldn't go mad. When it gets a little bigger, I will train it every day until it is exhausted."

After arranging a caretaker for Douson,

Liszt climbed to the castle's spire and surveyed the barren land several miles around the castle—he had always neglected that there was actually arable land around the castle but had merely turned a few acres next to the castle into a small garden, letting the rest grow wild with grass.

"Peanut Hamlet, Tomato Hamlet, Mushroom Hamlet, Barley Hamlet, Little Wheat Village, Dairy Farm, Fresh Flower Farm, as well as the town and the castle. In fact, Fresh Flower Town has nine hamlets, and each must be utilized... But without mechanization, and with less than two thousand people in Fresh Flower Town, it does seem impossible to cultivate so much land, doesn't it?"

Machines can tirelessly reclaim land, but human labor is very slow.

Less than two thousand people to cultivate tens of thousands of acres of land is indeed daunting. Many fields are merely sowed with seeds, left to survive or perish on their own.

"African agriculture must be like this, right? Population, oh population, only population is the most valuable resource! But where can I get enough people?"

"It's a bit difficult."

Despite the difficulty, Liszt still had confidence that Fresh Flower Town could grow and prosper. As a transmigrator with a golden finger, if he couldn't achieve even this, he might as well jump off a building and not disgrace other transmigrators.

...

"Fire Dragon Assault!"

In the small garden in front of the castle, Liszt, holding a one-handed sword, executed a move from "Fire Dragon Drill". A flame suddenly ignited along the blade of the sword, roaring and expanding to a meter wide, like a fan stoking fires, with sparks flying and accompanied by the faint sound of crackling.

The flame did not truly exist, it was merely the effect of Dou Qi clinging to the one-handed sword.

Liszt's fire attribute Dou Qi had an explosive nature.

Even within the same type of Dou Qi, different properties would be emphasized. Just as with fire attribute Dou Qi, his focused on explosiveness, while others' might focus on high temperature, intensity of the flames, or refinement.

"Finally, I've mastered the Fire Dragon Assault. Now only the last move is left—Heart of the Fire Dragon Drill. Once mastered, I can claim the reward!"

He felt quite proud in his heart.

His talent was indeed strong. The "Fire Dragon Drill" was divided into two sets of skills, one that refined the method of circulating Dou Qi, and another consisted of sixteen attack moves. The method of circulating Dou Qi had come easily to Liszt, and now he was learning the sixteen attack moves.

"Others take at least half a month to learn a manuscript, but here I am, less than a week has passed, and I'm nearly finished."

"It's hard to imagine the predecessor did not break through to become an Earth Knight before adulthood. Could it be his comprehension was too poor?"

If the physical talent was not poor, then it could only be an issue of comprehension. The Liszt from before adulthood probably just hadn't had his mental breakthrough. As for the current Liszt, he wouldn't dare claim to be extraordinarily intelligent, but he was definitely not foolish.

"Keep studying and strive to master the Heart of the Fire Dragon Drill today."