An Invading Dragon's Reward

The wooden houses at Oyster Hamlet have yet to be built, but the fishermen's work is progressing smoothly.

Road construction across the various hamlets and the town is not moving quickly, but paving continues every day.

The low-yield, low-nutrition two-leaf clover at the Dairy Farm has been completely cleared away and replaced with high-yield, high-nutrition alfalfa. The ten dairy cows are very fond of the new forage, and their milk production has increased significantly.

At the horse farm on the outskirts of the castle, the alfalfa has also begun to flourish, though no mares are pregnant yet, and the Li Dragon Horses have not entered their estrus cycle.

The peanuts at Peanut Hamlet are growing well. The peanuts near the Peanut Bug's grass are already nearing harvest, and it is estimated that two crops per year will be no problem.

The Black Tulips at the Flower Farm have begun to bear fruit—a type of small capsule (dry fruit)—though they have not yet split open. Once they crack, there will be many flaky seeds, allowing for mass propagation. Thanks to the influence of the Tulip Bug's grass, this Black Tulip has produced over thirty fruits.

It is estimated that a single harvest will provide enough seeds to plant several acres, which will then be handed over to Xiangxiang, the Great Elf at Tulip Castle, for further propagation. Within half a year, large-scale planting will be possible.

If one were to use ordinary farming methods, it would take years to reach such a scale; this is the power of an elf.

However, while elves are a powerful aid, they are also a limitation, as they restrict humanity's perspective on plant cultivation and fertilizer research, leaving them to rely on primitive slash-and-burn agriculture to this day.

Liszt is changing the agricultural methods of Flower Town—composting with manure, wood ash, and pond mud is being popularized in every hamlet.

Wheat Hamlet continues to grow wheat, and with the help of the Wheat Bug, a twenty to thirty percent increase in yield is likely feasible. Meanwhile, the three stalks of Corn Grass are being tended to by a dedicated person, though the majority of the Corn Grass is being cultivated by the serfs of Barley Hamlet, who are also collecting the forage seeds.

Barley Hamlet previously focused on barley and oats. Recently, millet fields were reclaimed from wasteland in Barley Hamlet, and with the addition of the Corn Grass cultivation, the number of serfs is severely insufficient.

Mushroom Hamlet and Tomato Hamlet remain at their original scale, with little change.

The changes in town are the most significant. There is no longer filthy excrement, and no one dares to litter on the streets anymore; this is due to Liszt's mandatory orders. With patrols making their rounds every day, anyone caught littering faces severe flogging—nobles have always used various cruel punishments on commoners, and Liszt has selectively retained them.

At first, Liszt considered adopting the detention methods of a police station, but he later realized that merely imprisoning them without corporal punishment would be like a vacation for the serfs.

They wouldn't have to work and could still get free food and drink every day.

Therefore, corporal punishment was unavoidable.

"I have demarcated fifty acres of wasteland for planting millet; this is the limit of what the Millet Bug can influence. Currently, Barley Hamlet cannot meet the planting needs, and it is difficult to pull serfs from other hamlets—a group has already been transferred to Oyster Hamlet—so for now, there are only ten acres of millet fields."

Gortai explained to Liszt.

Today, they have come to settle the Millet Bug. The millet has already sprouted, a layer of vibrant green covering the ten acres of newly reclaimed wasteland that had been treated with farm manure.

"Ten acres will have to do for now. Once the oats and barley are harvested, we will rotate to millet. Without an Elf Bug, growing barley and oats is not cost-effective," Liszt nodded.

He then began to settle the Millet Bug's grass.

The Millet Bug's grass is Yellow Millet, so its color is entirely golden-yellow, quite beautiful and dazzling to the eyes.

"Little one, come, breathe in the fresh air."

The Millet Bug was indeed a brave little fellow. It crawled out of the jade box, opened its mouth, and spat out the grass. It was planted in the center of the enclosed area in the field, where it quickly grew in the wind, becoming a stalk of Yellow Millet laden with grains.

With this, a new task was completed.

Of the six Elf Bugs, five have been settled, leaving only the Thorn Bug.

Liszt was in high spirits. As he sat on his horse, he began to focus his mind. The Smoke Serpent Script twisted rapidly before his eyes: "Task completed: Reward, Battle Aura technique Magic Eye."

The content then shifted, issuing a new task: "Task: All companions have been properly settled, save for the Thorn Bug, which lacks a new home. As a lord, you cannot waste the productivity of any Elf Bug; please settle the grass for the Thorn Bug. Reward: Invasion of the Invisible Dragon."

As he read the details of the new task, his previously triumphant mood shattered instantly.

If not for the squires and servants following him, he would have jumped up and cursed: "Smoke Task, are you kidding me? The invasion of an Invisible Dragon counts as a reward?"

According to information he had previously obtained, an Invisible Dragon might leave behind a priceless space ring.

But one had to be alive to obtain it!

A dragon could easily destroy an entire town. Liszt had no desire to experiment with whether he could drive away an Invisible Dragon using two old dairy cows and a bundle of smoke-cured grass. In his view, one should only enjoy benefits commensurate with their capabilities; if he were the lord of Coral Island, he might risk losing a city to try his luck with an Invisible Dragon.

Alas, he only had Flower Town.

If a dragon rolled around once, the town would likely be gone, and he would become a pauper—let alone a life of aristocratic luxury.

For a moment, he even decided to give up on the Thorn Bug, never completing this task, and never triggering the Invisible Dragon's invasion as a reward.

But after calming down, he felt unwilling.

The Smoke Task seemed to merely be pushing things that were meant to exist into his path. But without this push, the difficulty of his development would be immeasurable—and he had already become dependent on the quick benefits brought by the Smoke Tasks; the feeling of receiving a reward upon completing each one was simply too wonderful.

He struggled with the decision all the way to the castle, but his mind was made up.

"I'll do it. It's just an Invisible Dragon!"

"I'll have the smoke-cured grass prepared, and the dairy cows are already on hand. If the worst happens and Flower Town is destroyed, I'll just go to Tulip Castle and shamelessly beg for another estate."

"The Count wouldn't just watch his own son starve to death!"

For the sake of the space ring, and even more for the sake of the Smoke Task, Liszt went all in.

Having made his decision, the next step was to make thorough preparations.

To that end.

He spent an entire night in the castle's study, burning the midnight oil to design a plan. He did not let anyone participate; the secret of the Invisible Dragon was best kept to himself. With too many people, there was a risk of leaks, and if he did obtain the space ring, he didn't want anyone stealing such an artifact.

A space ring was worthy of being called an artifact.

"Calculate the defeat before calculating the victory; self-preservation is the most important thing." This was the core philosophy of Liszt's plan. Regardless of whether the endeavor succeeded, he had to ensure his own safety first, with no worries left behind.

He looked at the sketch of Flower Town he had drawn, pondered for a long time, and circled the Dairy Farm: "This place will serve as the battlefield for the Invisible Dragon's invasion. I will leave the dairy cows as bait and have all the smoke-cured grass cut and piled up at the Dairy Farm to attract the Invisible Dragon's attention."

"As for fighting, that is out of the question; no one can defeat a dragon, let alone slaughter an Invisible Dragon."

"It is said that dragons possess dragon breath—a special magical substance spewed from their mouths, such as fire, acid, or venom. Half of a dragon's combat power relies on this breath. Therefore, the ground is dangerous; I must dig underground tunnels so that I can escape from the Invisible Dragon at the first opportunity."

"Surely a dragon wouldn't bother digging through the dirt just to catch a few puny humans."

"Furthermore, I likely cannot see the Invisible Dragon, and no one in Flower Town should be able to see it either. To confirm the Invisible Dragon's true position, I should scatter a layer of flour over the Dairy Farm so that it will leave footprints when it walks... though, do dragons even need to walk? Don't they fly?"

Liszt scratched his hair, pondering how he could possibly detect the Invisible Dragon, but no matter how he thought about it, he had no idea how to see a dragon capable of invisibility.

In his agitation, he slammed his fist onto the table.

Clatter.

The candle lamp toppled from the force of his punch, and the candle wax immediately flowed across the tabletop, spilling onto a knight's novel at the corner of the desk, where the flames instantly engulfed the book.