The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

The birth of the Estuary Pig means that Dragon Breed pork is not far from arrival.

According to the information Liszt exchanged with the pig farm steward, the original breed of the Estuary Pig is the Longstrip Pig, which is a fast-maturing breed that can become sexually mature and mate in about 6 months. This means that by this October, the Estuary Pigs should be able to mate, and by next January or February, there could be a litter of piglets.

The breeding pigs reserved for mating definitely can't be eaten, but the piglets from crossing them with ordinary Longstrip Pigs, of course, can be eaten.

"By next February, there should be piglet meat to eat, very good, Dragon Breed pork, I wonder what it will taste like!" he secretly anticipated.

At the same time, he thought of the Dragon Breed Cows.

"In Horse Ranching Town, they have already set aside half of the slope of Needle Grass Hill to relocate Alfalfa Cordyceps, cultivate the alfalfa that milk cows love to eat, and build the 'Banpo Cattle Farm.' Once the pasture is abundant, we can relocate the Dragon Breed Cows there, the cows can get pregnant at the age of 2 next year, produce milk after giving birth the year after, and then the true Dragon Breed Milk will arrive!"

With the construction of the Banpo Cattle Farm, the Dragon Breed Cows also got a new name—Banpo Cattle.

Estuary Pigs, Banpo Cattle, all are to conceal the dragon bloodlines within them; together with Black Horse Ranch's Black Blood Treasured Horses, these are the Dragon Breed livestock that Liszt owns.

After inspecting the Estuary Piglets, he mounted Loki and took a round trip around Black Horse Island to inspect the construction progress of all the new towns.

Currently, on Black Horse Island, New Harbor Town has already started to take shape, becoming increasingly prosperous with the migration of a large number of industries, now almost on par with Fresh Flower Town.

Especially the ever-growing glass workshop, housing over eight hundred workers; the other side, now renamed as "Black Horse Kiln Factory," the Fire Dragon Brick Factory, has absorbed more than thirteen hundred workers, with subordinated workshops for pottery, bricks, charcoal, and new materials (continuing research and development of porcelain, cement, lime, etc.).

If it weren't for Fire Dragon Magic Power as fuel, by now New Harbor Town would have been shrouded in thick smoke.

So as an Elemental Dragon, the only output of a Fire Dragon, it seems, is to fire up the boilers.

Beyond New Harbor Town, New Harbor Town is also taking shape. The new port has been completed, and the shipyard has begun renovations of old ships, reassembling the three-masted large sailing ship Sunset. And transferred some of the carpenters and woodworkers from Fresh Flower Town's woodworking workshop to build a new Sampan Workshop here, focusing on producing sampans for fishermen's use.

Additionally, Red River Town and Horse Ranching Town are taking shape, Grain Town has just started construction, Thorn Town is barely breaking ground, and Green Tea Town is still on paper.

Overall, things are looking up.

After making the round of inspections,

Liszt returned to New Harbor Town, first to check the progress of the Mage Tower under construction—two out of the five planned stories were already completed. Then he met with Chris Truth, who had moved the entire Magic Workshop here, for a conversation. He also picked up this month's Magic Potions, mainly the Ice Flame Potions.

Feeling the whole box of Ice Flame Potions in the Gemstone Space, Liszt was very excited.

"This year, after expanding the scale of the Ice Snow Flame Mushrooms, despite the lack of manpower, the yield was still bountiful, finally allowing me to enjoy myself... These should be enough to sustain me and the Little Fire Dragon for ten days," he silently calculated. Now the Ice Snow Flame Mushroom greenhouse has been expanded to five hundred acres.

Apart from the one hundred and fifty acres of greenhouse in Fresh Flower Town's Mushroom Hamlet, the rest are here on the south side of Needle Grass Hill on Black Horse Island—the north slope is where Banpo Cattle Farm is.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

"Five hundred acres, the scale is still not enough; we need to expand by another five hundred acres, to quickly reach a thousand acres of greenhouse and complete the new task!"

With the Dragon Breed Pig task completed, a new Smoke Mission was already issued.

"Mission: The bountiful harvest of Ice Snow Flame Mushrooms has slightly eased your need for Magic Potions, showing the importance of Magic Potions not cultivated by Elves. Please continue to expand the scale of the mushroom greenhouses to reach a thousand acres. Reward: Giant Algae Forest."

Liszt didn't know what a Giant Algae Forest was.

It sounded like the algae had formed a forest under the sea, possibly containing a wealth of fishery resources. He had already asked Ach to pay attention to any patches of giant seaweed—Giant Algae Forests would definitely be in the sea, and only Ach could discover it during his swims.

Cultivating crops on a thousand acres of farmland is easy, but growing mushrooms in a thousand acres of greenhouses is much more difficult.

Mushrooms, including the mutated Flame Mushrooms and Ice Snow Flame Mushrooms, require a high level of skill to cultivate, which not just any ordinary serf can do well.

Nowadays, the number of people in the territories who can cultivate these three types of mushrooms doesn't exceed three hundred.

Of course, Flame Mushrooms were the only magic potions Liszt could obtain and mass-produce quickly, so he devoted a considerable amount of energy to it. He arranged for these three hundred mushroom farmers, each to take ten apprentices, and after training them, to go on to teach even more apprentices.

Moreover, with division of labor and cooperation, the mushroom farmers were responsible for the raw materials, temperature, and greenhouse management, while the apprentices were responsible for the heavy labor.

Only by continuously opening up new greenhouses could they plant more Flame Mushrooms—because the Ice Snow Flame Mushrooms could no longer be cultivated as the weather got warmer.

"Consultant Gao Ertai, the mushroom greenhouses must be expanded to a thousand acres within half a month. The number of mushroom farmers also needs to be constantly increased. I've decided to build a new town here, called Mushroom Town. It will be dedicated to serving these mushroom farmers and become the main production base for the potions I need."

Gao Ertai, who had become immune to Liszt's impulsive actions, nodded without hesitation and said, "Rest assured, my lord, I will transfer a group of officials to come and build Mushroom Town."

"This is a crucial task; Flame Mushrooms are very important to me."

"Your cultivation is critical to the future of all your followers, and we certainly cannot afford to be negligent. You should know that, as your follower, I am excited every day and filled with boundless fighting spirit. Even though I do not have your talent, to follow you, who has such a grand future, is already more than what many other knights of the territories could hope for," said Gao Ertai.

This blatant flattery didn't cause any displeasure for Liszt,—

nor did it give him much of a thrill, because Gao Ertai frequently offered flattery, and Liszt was similarly immune to it. He smiled and said, "You are my family tutor, and you have taught me much of my knowledge. As long as you follow me wholeheartedly, I will certainly promise you a bright future."

Gao Ertai immediately kneeled on one knee, offering the grand gesture of a knight: "I thank you, my lord, Gao Ertai swears fealty to you unto death!"

"Rise, the territory needs you. Complete the construction of the mushroom greenhouses as soon as possible."

"Understood!"

Stay tuned for updates on empire

...

Leaving Black Horse Island, Liszt did enjoy a full ten days of indulging in potions with the Little Fire Dragon, who was so delighted it kept calling out "oh ho," "oh ho" every day. Liszt also acquired a large amount of impure magic power, upgrading his own Dragon Dou Qi. His strength steadily increased, getting stronger with each passing day.

While indulging in potions, he often rode Loki, rushing to Birch City.

His destination was the dead volcano located between Birch City and North Valley City. This volcano had no official name, similar to Thorn Ridge, it was just a desolate mountain. The serfs in the area called it Broken Tooth Mountain—because the crater had a big gap, which from a distance looked like a half-missing front tooth.

Upon reaching his destination, he landed in the center of the volcano crater and released the Little Fire Dragon to circle freely.

He then rode Loki, constantly exploring around the rim of the volcano crater.

"Although it's very likely a futile effort, and there's no chance of finding the so-called lava channels that lead to the underground magma river… I won't be satisfied without thoroughly searching several times."