128 – Glory Belongs to Sir Lord
Tremblingwoods had indeed become larger by a size, which was mainly the result of its muscles bulging. As if inflated by the Bloodline Fruit"s magic power, it felt a bit bloated.
“Mr. Marcus, have you seen a mid-ranked magic beast before?”
“I haven"t.”
“I haven"t either.”
Mid-ranked magic beasts could not be seen by just anyone. Take the Coral Island as an example, it only had the count as a Sky Knight and the Purple Sand Crocodile as a mid-ranked magic beast. This was not a crocodile in the zoo, to visit which one only had to buy a ticket. Mid-ranked magic beasts no longer possessed a single type of magic.
According to the Tulip Family"s records, the Purple Sand Crocodile was a water-attributed magic beast. Once, in a confrontation against the knight order, it released three types of magic.
They were ‘Water Arrows Scatter Shot", ‘Water Fluctuations Shield", and the very powerful ‘Waterfall", which could raise dozen-meter-tall waves on land that could smash Earth Knights to death.
Therefore, Liszt wasn"t sure whether Tremblingwoods had evolved into a mid-ranked magic beast. According to the present state at least, Tremblingwoods hadn"t changed too much. And even in its berserk state, it still didn"t have an overwhelming superiority against the pack of Windblade Wolves, with the wounds littering its body being proof of it.
“In any case, the Bloodline Fruit should bring some changes to Tremblingwoods. It will be further strengthened under the Bloodline Fruit"s imperceptive influence.” Liszt consoled himself.
After half a day, the knight squad still hadn"t finished tidying up the magic beasts" bodies.
Primarily because the Thundertusk Boar was too big. It weighed about the same as an adult hippopotamus, that is, close to three tons. The horses couldn"t bear the Thundertusk Boar"s weight. And there were still two Violent Dogs, seven Windblade Wolves, and one Shadow Snake. Today"s harvest was bountiful.
“First send back some of the magic beast carca.s.ses, and then bring the caravan"s carriages. There are still many beast carca.s.ses in the Thorns Ridge.” Marcus mused out loud.
Liszt had no objections, he didn"t bother to think about such trifles. He just wanted to go back to the castle, take a nice bath, and sleep.
On the way back, he summoned the smoke mission.
“Mission completed. Reward: a Bloodline Fruit.”
“Mission: you launched an offensive with the intent to suppress the Thorns Ridge and create a new peaceful environment for the Flower Town. In one go, complete the slaughter of the Thorns Ridge"s magic beasts. Reward: Blackdragon Horses" tracks.”
The new mission stirred Liszt"s spirit.
The reward turned out to be the Blackdragon Horses" tracks. He wondered all along whether there were more of Blackdragon"s kind. It stood to reason that there would be no horses on the island, yet there was no guarantee that there were really none. After all, this was a world full of wonder. Unexpectedly, the smoke mission gave a clue.
There were indeed Blackdragon Horses. These were dragonhorses, their worth was self-evident.
“After finishing the suppression of the south of the Thorns Ridge and finding the Bloodline Fruit, I intended to take a break. Now it seems that I can"t take a break. I have to complete the suppression in one go to welcome my Blackdragon Horses!”
……
The sun had set, the star-filled sky sparkled.
Under the starlight, Liszt and his knight squad returned to the castle with their bountiful harvest.
There were lamps ignited in the castle as the old butler Carter waited. He didn"t know when the castle"s master would return. According to Liszt"s instructions before his departure, if he didn"t return by evening, then there was no need to wait for him. However, Carter would still get up from bed, go to beside the window, and look outside from time to time.
At this moment, he saw torches.
“Master is back.” With the ineffable feeling in his heart loosened, Carter hurriedly dressed himself, and then knocked on Mrs. Mawson"s door, “Mrs. Mawson, Master is back. Wake up the maids and prepare bathwater for Master. Have the kitchen prepare a late-night snack without delay, they"re already on the Tremblingwoods Path.
“Alright, Mr. Carter, I"ll get up now.” Responded Mrs. Mason.
Carter swiftly called the servingmen one by one and then ignited the lamps, waking the entire castle from the darkness. The master liked light. Now that there was money, he encouraged the old butler not to be afraid to waist lamp oil!
The castle swiftly lit up with lights, making the lord feel particularly comfortable upon his return.
Liszt couldn"t help but think of a song: the shining stars light up my home, showing a way to the lost child.
Feeling that it wasn"t too fitting, he thought of a poem: The hooves of my horse clatter – it"s a beautiful mistake. I"m not coming home, I"m only pa.s.sing through…
Alright, it still wasn"t too fitting.
Momentarily, he couldn"t find a suitable sentence to describe his current mood. In short, he was very excited. At the castle"s gate, the servants had already lined up to greet him.
“The glory of knights shines on you! Master, seeing you return safe and sound finally puts my mind at ease.”
“No need to worry, Mr. Carter, we just went to hunt in the woods, we haven"t met any danger.” Liszt smiled and said indifferently, “Tom, take the caravan"s carriages, go to the Thorns Ridge with my retainer knights and bring back the hunted game… You will be very busy tonight.”
“Yes, Master.” Replied Tom
Carter saw the carca.s.ses carried by the retainer knights and realizing that it would be a sleepless night: “It"s our honor to serve Master.”
“Has Mrs. Abby prepared the late-night snack?”
“The kitchen is on it. I told Mrs. Abby to prepare it for the entire knight squad.”
“Very good. When we return again, we must celebrate today"s rich harvest to our heart"s content.” Liszt didn"t dismount Blackdragon, “Thomas, take Tremblingwoods to dress its injuries.”
“As you wish, Master.”
Liszt glanced at the unloaded game and said: “Mr. Carter, tell Teacher Gort that he can divide this batch of game. Part is to be kept in the castle, another part is to be distributed among the families of officials and retainer knights, and the rest is to be provided to the seafood shop, selling it at the same price as seafood.”
The game that was mentioned were beast carca.s.ses.
As for magic beast carca.s.ses, they obviously couldn"t be handled the same way. Liszt wasn"t that generous. Apart from selling them, the magic beast carca.s.ses were for his private consumption. At most, he would have his subordinates have a taste at banquets.
……
Two consecutive trips later, today"s harvest had finally been completely retrieved and piled up into a hill in front of the castle.
The hall on the first floor was very lively.
In accordance with the aristocratic system, the lord and his retainers would be seated at the same table once in a blue moon.
Tonight"s late-night snack was worthy of a festival"s feast. Liszt let the kitchen prepare the entire Shadow Snake, giving the officials and retainers a big piece each.
Magic beast meat had plenty of magic power, it was extremely nourishing. It wasn"t something they could normally eat. Therefore, everyone eagerly gorged themselves on it. They were even itching to lick the plate.
Tremblingwoods outside the castle also got a big piece.
“The glory of knights shines on the Flower Town, shines on Sir Lord! Wisdom and courage are with you! I propose that we raise our cups to Liszt, who is beloved by the glory of knights! Glory belongs to Sir Lord!” With cup full of Juniper in hand, Gort set the mood of the entire banquet.
Social intercourse and setting the mood were his forte.
The others raised their cups and shouted: “Glory belongs to Sir Lord!”
Sitting on the seat of honor, Liszt"s face no longer carried the formal aristocratic smile and instead, carried a smile of excitement as he enjoyed the atmosphere. He raised the cup in front of him and said, “Glory belongs to me and to you!”