Sublimation of Battle Aura

Seawater with nothing in it?

Liszt would never agree with that.

In his homeland, the struggle for the oceans was no less fierce than the struggle for land. The Blue Water Navy was the ambition of every nation.

The resources in the ocean were certainly difficult to exploit, but there was no way they were fewer than those on land. In this world, he dared not judge whether mineral deposits lay hidden beneath the sea—after all, according to the information he currently possessed, only dragons could produce gemstones and metals.

But the fishery resources in the sea were absolutely immeasurably vast.

In the Sapphire Grand Duchy, there was plenty of wasteland and a severe shortage of labor. They could not even cultivate all their farmland, much less develop fisheries. But there was one crucial problem: elves were controlled by nobles and could not affect so much farmland, resulting in very low agricultural output.

Flower Town was an example. Its cultivated land was certainly not small, yet the population it could support was pitifully small.

The fewer the people, the more they were bound to the land by nobles and the noble system, helping nobles farm, paying heavy taxes, and supporting the nobles' luxurious lives.

"Flower Town's future lies in this vast, azure Azure Sea!" Liszt's heart burned with excitement.

As long as there was a fishing ground nearby, it could provide food without end. Only when commoners had enough to eat would they work hard at making babies. Once the population grew, more taxes could be collected.

And with more taxes, his own life could improve!

Of course, none of that was urgent right now. Fisheries could not develop without ships, and Flower Town was still a long way from building ships. His little savings could not buy more than a few vessels.

"Let's go. Once we finish inspecting the last stretch of the border, we'll head back." With a light flick of his whip, the Fire Dragon Horse neighed and galloped along the sandy shore of the Azure Sea.

The sand and stones were pale yellow and clean. Occasionally, large trees resembling coconut palms grew there, blocking the afternoon sunlight and casting patches of cool shade.

With a little development, it would become a perfect summer resort.

The beach inspection ended, and they returned to the starting point at the edge of Thorn Ridge. Liszt had officially completed his inspection of Flower Town's territory. The group galloped back to the castle. After Marcus and the four Retainer Knights saluted, they took their leave and returned home. They had their own houses in town.

The castle was merely where Liszt and his male and female servants lived.

"Master, seeing you return safely has put my heart at ease." The old butler Carter led the servants in a line to welcome Liszt back.

"Within my territory, even magical beasts must mind their manners." Liszt made a joke. "Mr. Carter, is everything well in the castle?"

"Of course."

"Good. Mrs. Morson, have the bathwater prepared. I need a bath."

"Yes, Master." Mrs. Morson was nearly forty and had never married. She had always worked at Tulip Castle, and now she was responsible for all the maids in Liszt's castle.

All the maids, so to speak, amounted to only three.

And there were only ten servants in the entire castle.

Butler Carter Pot oversaw all affairs in the castle and was considered Liszt's confidant; housekeeper Mrs. Morson Paddy managed all the maids and assisted Carter with the castle's daily affairs; cook Abby Spoon was responsible for everything in the kitchen.

The male servants were Liszt's personal valet Thomas Scissors, ordinary servant Tom Pigpen, and servant assistant Jesse Rice-Wash.

The maids were all ordinary maids: Maisie Threadend, Debbie Window, and Michonne Oxtail.

There was also the cook's assistant, who was likewise a maid but answered directly to Cook Abby. Her name was Irene Four-Fingers.

Four-Fingers was an extremely strange surname. Perhaps one of her ancestors had only four fingers, so when registering a family name, they were called Four-Fingers—one could not expect illiterate commoners who spent their whole lives in the countryside and almost never traveled far to come up with pleasant surnames.

Nor did nobles allow them to have pleasant surnames.

After Thomas helped Liszt remove his leather armor, Liszt changed into casual clothes and went upstairs. The old butler Carter immediately called out, "Jesse, lead Master's Fire Dragon Horse away. Remember to add more beans to its feed; it has been tired all day. Mrs. Abby, go prepare dinner in the kitchen. Master should have an extra serving of roast meat tonight. Mrs. Morson, remember to lead the maids in preparing Master's bathwater. Tom still needs to fetch water from town. Thomas, make sure Master's leather armor is cleaned."

"Yes, Mr. Carter!" the servants answered.

Only then did Carter nod in satisfaction.

The castle was small, the servants were few, and life was somewhat lacking, but he was the butler here. He managed every aspect of the castle's daily affairs and was his master's capable assistant.

He liked this comfort and power.

The bathwater was just the right temperature. Though they were not the skilled maids of Tulip Castle, under Mrs. Morson's direction, these maids who had recently sold themselves into service had already adapted well to their work.

Liszt lay in the bathtub, enjoying the sensation of soaking in warm water.

It was not as though he had never considered establishing equality for all, allowing the people of this world to experience the democratic light of civilized society. But he was clear-headed: these servants relied on serving nobles for survival. Only under the protection of noble wings could they live on.

Without the job and status of servant, if they returned to the fields, their lives would likely become even more miserable.

Serfs and freemen alike—no small number starved to death every year.

In a castle, as long as they did not encounter a perverted lord, they would at least have food and clothing. And if they struggled their way up to the level of butler, that was the highest status a commoner could hope for.

"I never thought that one day, so many people would depend on me for their livelihood."

His thoughts drifted.

He began to zone out. Soon, Snake Script formed from smoke appeared before his eyes.

The Snake Script had changed. It was no longer the previous passage, but new words: "Mission completed. Reward: Sublimation of Battle Aura."

Liszt's heart surged with excitement as he prepared to claim his reward. But then he suddenly realized that he had no idea how to claim it. Just as he was about to investigate where he was supposed to collect the reward, the Snake Script before him scattered into smoke, then swiftly formed a new passage.

"Mission: Peanut Hamlet within the territory has encountered a severe crisis. Vast peanut fields have undergone an unknown mutation. The growers are helpless, and production is about to decline. As the lord, you should resolve this matter. Reward: an Elf Bug."

"Hmm, a new mission. The reward is an Elf Bug—now that's good stuff!" Liszt was delighted at first, then immediately became depressed. "But what about the previous mission's reward? Where is the Sublimation of Battle Aura? Can anyone tell me how to claim this reward?"

At that moment, Liszt was extremely irritated.

He examined his own battle aura, but there was no change at all. He kept at it until the bathwater had gone cold, yet he still had not received the mission reward.

He even began to seriously suspect that he had truly hallucinated.

That smoke had never existed at all.

After getting dressed and leaving the bathroom, Liszt wore a dark expression, sending Thomas, who was waiting outside, into another round of wild speculation.

"Master, your complexion looks terrible. Is it..."

"I'm fine. Go do your work. I'm going to the study to read for a while." Once inside the study, Liszt wanted to calm down by reading.

But his mind was a tangled mess, and he could not calm himself no matter what.

So he changed into a training outfit and began practicing in the castle's small garden. He was learning Basic Battle Aura, the most widely circulated Primary Battle Qi manual. Aside from certain great families that possessed specialized battle aura manuals, this was the best foundational manual.

Primary Battle Qi was merely a current of energy that strengthened the body.

After completing a set of movements and venting his pent-up frustration, he finally felt somewhat better, and his emotions gradually settled. At that moment, a breeze passed by. Liszt's eyes suddenly lit up, as though a flash of inspiration had crossed his mind and been caught.

Then he performed every training movement of Basic Battle Aura once again.

When he finished this second round, all the Primary Battle Qi within his body seemed to reach a critical point and began to transform. It surged out from invisible meridian channels and flowed into every cell throughout his limbs and body.

"Sublimation of Battle Aura!"

"So this is where it was waiting for me!"