The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

Levis had his own social circle, with nobles from Shattered Stone Castle and Beer Castle, who would likely become his followers in the future. Liszt did not want to get involved, especially since he really did not enjoy the debauchery of certain parties. He preferred to enter the dance floor to the sound of piano music, dancing elegantly.

After finding someone he saw eye to eye with, he would then take their hand and discuss the ideals of life.

Not just to eat, drink, and indulge in senseless revelry void of emotion and driven only by desire, which could hardly be considered classy.

First, he visited the small castle next to Coral City to chat with his grandmother—mainly to check if Lady Penelope's potted plants showed any signs of birthing Elf Bugs—but there were no such indications. In fact, he had not revealed to Lady Penelope about the Elf Bug borne by the Lithops.

He understood one thing: the Smoke Mission was the only reason for the miraculous nature of Lady Penelope's potted plants, and therefore he did not want her to become further obsessed with them.

The elderly lady should spend more time watching plays, hosting tea parties, and enjoying the twilight years of her life, tending to her potted plants only in her spare time.

After resting for the night at Tulip Castle, he departed early the next morning.

The voyaging went smoothly, and he arrived at Black Horse Port before nightfall, completing Sunset's maiden deep-sea voyage.

After a thorough inspection of Sunset by the apprentice shipbuilders, one of them, Bak Fumu, said, "Lord Landlord, Sunset's structure is now up to standard, but there are a few areas that can be improved upon. With another week of reinforcement and modifications, it should be able to finalize its design."

"Very good."

Liszt expressed his satisfaction and then selected a captain; Kostor, with his wealth of experience, was the obvious choice. The crew was also comprised of some of the earliest sailors from Fresh Flower Town, having battled the winds and waves many times at sea and knew how to navigate through harsh weather.

Yet, Sunset was unlikely to encounter such severe weather.

To complement his flagship, Liszt entrusted the largest of his cherished black pearls, the one as large as a bathtub, to Chris, Elkerson, and two other magicians to create the most powerful Calming Wind Pearl.

In addition, a Water Calming Pearl created from a Pink Pearl was also designated for Sunset.

The Temperature Calming Pearl, crafted from a Golden Pearl, was similarly installed in Liszt's private cabin—Sunset had a broad and robust hull, allowing for a relatively large turret structure, a wooden two-story building. This turret building served as Liszt's private cabin.

When aboard, the turret building would be staffed with male and female servants, ensuring that he could enjoy the full service of attendants while sailing.

The only pity was that the Temperature Calming Pearl could not cool temperatures below freezing.

Otherwise, it could have been used as a refrigerator, storing a variety of delicious food without having to place everything within the Gemstone Space. The Gemstone Space was not very large, about the size of a single apartment at five meters in diameter, approximately 65 cubic meters. He owned four Space Gems, totaling only about 260 cubic meters.

Based on the standard ceiling height of 2.6 meters in Earth's apartments, that would be nothing more than the size of a 100 square meter apartment.

Magical Beast Meat took up most of the space, leaving scant room to carry an assortment of gourmet foods.

Of course.

That was his greed showing, as even Sapphire Duke, who ruled over a country, likely did not possess a Space Ring. When he traveled by sea, he too would have to simplify everything. Liszt's ownership of four Space Gems, selling just one, would easily secure him an earldom—kings and dukes would not be stingy for such a ring.

However, as the Space Gems were tied to the secret of the Formless Dragon, Liszt was reluctant to reveal this.

… Your journey continues at My Virtual Library Empire

In the subsequent days, Sunset remained docked at Black Horse Port for painting, refurbishment, and interior decoration.

Liszt returned to Fresh Flower Town and resumed his mundane daily life.

The only thing that was not mundane was the birth of two Tulip Bugs, one entirely golden and the other a vivid red, both lustrous and translucent like jade, exquisitely beautiful. After forming contracts with them, the number of Elf Bugs he owned reached 47—including five contracted by Ach.

"Our financial base is getting thicker and thicker, now it's up to you, little guy! Keep it up!" Looking at the Tulip Bug that had already begun to turn grayish-white and whose body was rapidly swelling.

Liszt was filled with anticipation.

This Tulip Bug, under increasing pressure, finally launched an assault on its destiny, entering the decisive fat pupa stage.

"Wah!"

Jela ran over.

Liszt suddenly reached out and grabbed Jela, who was about to approach the fat pupa stage Tulip Bug, and glared, "Jela, listen up, from now on, you are strictly prohibited from getting close to this box, not to mention any touching of the Elf Bug! Did you hear me?"

Jela, twisting her body, cried out in "wahs."

But after being scolded in Liszt's mind, she quickly calmed down, pouting her lips and nodding reluctantly, agreeing to his terms.

"Go on, go and play." Feeling a bit sorry for her, yet he still toughened his heart and showed indifference.

It was to stimulate Jela, to make her work harder and aim higher.

Jela flew back into her box, sullen, while Mickey in another box not far away kept herself entertained by counting corn kernels.

Liszt was greatly encouraging to the Tulip Bug in its fat pupa stage.

Only then did he leave the castle and came under the apple tree, where he lay in the rocking chair to relax his body. Seeing Butler Carter approaching, he suddenly asked, "Mr. Carter, do you think we should transplant this apple orchard to Thorn Castle? I will definitely spend most of my time at Thorn Castle in the future, and without an apple orchard, it always seems like something's missing."

Butler Carter placed a cup of green tea on the apple table, smiling as he said, "My lord, you can now start planting apple trees in Thorn Castle. By next year when the main body of the castle is completed, the apple trees should also begin to sprout, and in a few years, you will have a new apple orchard."

"It's a pity there isn't a second Apple Bug; an apple orchard without Apple Tree Cordyceps is not perfect."

"Perhaps we could purchase Apple Bugs from other islands," Butler Carter suggested, something he definitely wouldn't have considered before, but as the revenues of the territory grew higher, his ambitions also grew stronger—buying an Elf Bug was no big deal.

Liszt nodded at once, "Mhm, have the merchant fleet pay extra attention, if there are Apple Bugs for sale, buy them immediately!" He decided to build an apple orchard in Thorn Castle as well.

In case an apple falls and hits his head one day.

An epiphany might strike, and he could discover the "universal gravitation" of this world.

...

While the days passed leisurely,

Earl William Lee finally returned from Blue Dragon Island, and on the day of his return, he gathered his followers and went to Tulip Castle for a meeting. He laid out the content of this year's Pioneer Mandate: "The Grand Duke has already contacted the Steel Ridge Kingdom, and the Pioneer Mandate war will start in August. We will depart on July 20th to assemble in Bull Hoof City."

The Pioneer Mandate wars have been going on for over a hundred years.

Whether it's moved forward, postponed, or even canceled, none of it was new.

Therefore, no one raised objections, and the meeting moved on to the next item—what scale of force to deploy, and the allocation of Knight Order personnel.

Liszt sat relaxed in his chair, showing little interest in the discussion.

He used to think that a knight's charge required cunning, and had even specially recalled 'The Art of War by Sun Tzu', but now with his strength soaring, he gradually lost interest in using any tactics—just do it!