November 5th.
The weather was cloudy, with a slight chill in the air after autumn.
The autumn harvest in Flower Town is complete. Thanks to the improvement brought by the Elf Bug this year, the Wheat harvest is abundant, 50% more than in previous years. The farmers in Wheat Hamlet are all smiles – taxes have been reduced, the harvest has increased, and they have plenty of stored grain, so they don't have to worry about going hungry this winter.
Farmers who grow oats and rye are also very happy, as they use manure, pond mud, and wood ash as fertilizers, and their yields have increased by 10% to 20% compared to previous years.
Today, the town's serfs are still toiling, but their faces are adorned with joyful smiles. Today is the day of celebration for our great lord's acquisition of the Thorn Sprite. Everyone supports and loves this descendant of the Tulip Family, for under his leadership, Flower Town has, for the first time, something wonderful to look forward to.
Moreover, there's a holiday bonus of one Copper Coin.
"Praise be to the Lord, praise be to the Thorn Sprite! Flower Town will be better tomorrow!"
"With the Thorn Sprite, Your Lordship will gain even more glory, and the Knight's Glory will shine upon Flower Town! My nephew Philip is already Your Lordship's Retainer Knight, and he will follow Your Lordship to achieve great honors!"
Will Philip become the Earth Knight?
"Definitely."
"That's not necessarily true. He's just a serf; the title of Earth Knight is a pipe dream for him."
" Bob, you're just jealous! Your son was eliminated, and you're jealous of Philip! Philip and Xavier have already gained the lord's favor; their future is bright!"
The fact that they have the leisure to argue proves that these serfs are not busy enough and there is still room for further exploitation.
At this point, the servants in the castle were too busy to speak.
Butler Carter's forehead was beaded with sweat, which he wiped with his handkerchief again and again. Despite being a butler who had seen his share of grand occasions after successfully hosting the Maritime Festival banquet, he was still incredibly nervous.
No Count brought food from Tulip Castle today.
The castle had to prepare all the ingredients for the banquet, so he had been buying up ingredients on a large scale for two days, purchasing every ingredient available in North Valley City. Liszt was never stingy when it came to spending at the castle, and Carter was confident that he could rely on the castle's financial resources to make the banquet a success.
" Mrs. Abby, please make room for Lucas in a frying pan as soon as possible. He has two dishes that require it."
" Tom, leave the water-carrying to Jim. You, along with Parker and John, should trim the lawn in front of the castle; guests will be arriving soon."
" Mrs. Morson, I need your help. The restaurant's decor is not up to standard. The master doesn't approve of us using the Black Tulip emblem, so the curtains need to be replaced with the red Tulip emblem brought from Tulip Castle... We and Tulip Castle are one family."
" Jesse, Jesse, where are you? I need you to go out and tell Renard at the bakery the quantity and types of bread for today. Here's the list I wrote; give it to him."
"Many guests will be coming today, and their horses will be lingering around. Barton, you need to make sure they are well taken care of."
The busy work of the castle servants did not affect the castle's owner, Baron Liszt.
He got up as usual and then went to walk the dog.
Curly Blessing has flown away, leaving only Dousen as his pet. Hiddleston strolls along Dousen Avenue, carrying a cane made of Fast-Growing Iron Thorns.
With the tip of his cane pointing casually at the two sides of the soon-to-be-completed Dousen Avenue, he said, " Dousen, Rock Spike."
Pfft.
A thick Rock Spike through the soil.
The cane tapped the other side again, and there was another Rock Spike.
He kept tapping, and Dousen kept releasing Rock Spike, almost instantaneously, without the slightest pause. Soon, two dense rows of Rock Spike appeared on both sides of Dousen Avenue, like trees lining the road, one next to another, looking quite beautiful.
Importantly, after the celebration, workers would break up the Rock Spike and pave the road.
"Good morning, sir!" Gortai was dressed in festive attire, with Ruff around his neck, making him look as if his head and below were encased in a jar.
Good morning, Consultant Gortai.
"Your Dousen seems to have grown a little more."
"It's not an adult yet, and it looks like it'll continue to grow." Liszt patted Dousen on the shoulder, increasingly satisfied with this Violent Earth Dog.
It's become much harder for him to pat Dousen's head.
Based on Liszt's own height, measured using a standard measuring tape commonly used in mainland China, he was 1.85 meters tall.
Dousen's length when stretched straight from head to tail is 4.26 meters; his forelegs are 1.41 meters high at the shoulder and his hind legs are 1.25 meters high; in his natural state, his head is 1.97 meters high.
Compared to the average tiger found on the Coral Island, Dousen is noticeably three sizes larger.
An average human weighs around 130 pounds, a tiger on Coral Island weighs around 500 pounds, and Dousen weighs 1300 pounds.
From a canine perspective, Dousen is undoubtedly a behemoth.
"It will continue to grow! My God, will it become the largest magical beast on Coral Island?" Gortai exclaimed dramatically, sounding genuinely surprised.
In reality, it was just to cooperate with Liszt and show off Dousen.
Knowing full well that the other party was flattering him, Liszt still willingly fell for it. "It may not be the largest magical beast, after all, the Thunderfang Pig weighs several times more than Dousen. But compared to the only Purple Sand Crocodile, Dousen should be able to fight it to a standstill."
The Purple Sand Crocodile has thick, durable skin and a wide range of magical abilities, while Dousen only knows how to use Rock Spike, but he is agile.
Of course, they are all intermediate-level magical beasts. Without a real comparison, no one can guarantee which one is stronger. Timing, location, and the people involved will all affect the outcome of the battle— the Purple Sand Crocodile is just a stupid magical beast, while Dousen has the support of Flower Town.
Gortai exclaimed, "To be able to fight the Purple Sand Crocodile is already a remarkable achievement. Even the Earl couldn't kill it back then. While it's true that the Earl didn't take the Purple Sand Crocodile Purple Sand Crocodile seriously, it's enough to demonstrate the terror of mid-level magical beasts. Dousen will be the strongest guardian of Flower Town!"
"He just has a big appetite," Liszt complained with a laugh.
Dousen used to eat one meal that would be equivalent to seven meals for him; now, one meal Dousen him is equivalent to seven days' worth of meals. The key is that Dousen is also a very picky eater. He doesn't eat ordinary food at all; it has to be chicken, fish, meat, and eggs. Occasionally, he'll eat some Tomato and wild fruits to supplement his vitamins.
Let's get a country nobleman instead.
They simply can't afford to support Dousen.
Even Liszt felt a pang of regret. "We shouldn't have cut down the forest in Thorn Ridge in the first place. We should have used it as Dousen's canteen and preserved those wild beasts and magical creatures."
This is just a happy problem.
A moment later, Isaiah, Blair, Marcus, and others arrived at the castle, each dressed in their festive best, Frac Abié.
Even the two magicians changed into tailcoats and came to attend the celebration.
Liszt took a shower and changed into his own Frac Abié.
The aristocratic attire was extremely elaborate, and it took Thomas a full fifteen minutes to get him dressed properly. He felt a bit tight, but thankfully the weather had turned cool, so he didn't feel stuffy.
"My lord, the Frac Abier was born to be designed for a nobleman like you; it perfectly complements your exceptional elegance," Thomas exclaimed sincerely.
That is indeed the case.
As the nobles of North Valley City arrived one by one, standing amidst their entourage, even though they were all Frac Abie, Liszt stood out from the crowd no matter how you looked at him.
Handsome appearance, tall and straight figure, noble temperament, and a gentle, faint smile.
Men felt ashamed upon seeing this, and women wept upon seeing it.