The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

"Increase the supply of nutrients? Just like you do in your fief, collecting dung and then using it to water the plants... Sorry, Liszt, many people don't understand your practices in the territory," the Earl said with a frown.

Liszt calmly stated, "I've heard people call me the 'Baron Feces-Vegetable' behind my back, and even refer to Fresh Flower Town as 'Dung Town.' This is just their ignorance. You know the Triangle Theory of magicians, which posits that matter, magic power, and spirit are a cycle. In fact, nature itself is the biggest cycle."

"Explain in detail."

"Let me give you an example. A blade of grass sprouts from the ground and is eaten by a sheep. After digesting the food, the sheep produces dung, and where there is dung, grass often grows lushly. That's because the invisible microorganisms break down the dung, and it becomes nutrients for plants. In this way, a complete biological chain is formed."

Next.

Liszt had to recall the biology knowledge he learned in high school and junior high school to answer the Earl's bizarre questions.

Answering questions such as "Why does grass rely on dung to grow," "Sheep are consumers, so did they pay any money," "What does photosynthesis mean, the sun is very hot now, am I also photosynthesizing," "How can you ensure that sheep must defecate for grass, they could just as well do it for trees," and so on.

In the end, there was no need for Liszt to summarize.

The Earl had already concluded, "So, the vegetables grown from dung are the most delicious?"

"Yes, father, you could try it on your own land. The flourishing development of Fresh Flower Town speaks for itself. Others might call me Baron Feces-Vegetable, but now I am the young Viscount and an Elite Earth Knight, and my territory has more than twenty Elf Bugs and two Little Minor Elves!"

"You are indeed favored by knightly glory." Enjoy exclusive content from empire

"I am certainly favored by knightly glory, but as you can see, aside from knightly glory, scientific farming methods are very beneficial as well," Liszt asserted.

The Earl pondered for a moment and said, "You make some sense. I will try farming with dung on my land; the food that the serfs eat can all be tried out. However, for the food eaten at Tulip Castle, I will only choose food farmed by the elves, which is the truly reassuring choice."

With that said.

Whether the Earl believed him or not, Liszt didn't say more.

After all, they were not real family, and he still had a barrier in his heart towards the Earl and the others.

...

Not seeing Levis, who had already gone out to invite guests, Liszt left the study and went straight to the small castle next to Coral City to give a gift to his grandmother.

Li Vera was also there.

She was almost always either at Tulip Castle or the small castle and seldom returned to her own fief.

"Sister, you're here too. Just in time. I brought some freshly caught low-level sea monster meat for grandmother, a full ten pounds of it. You and grandmother can taste it together," Liszt instructed the servants to deliver the Fen Hai Luo meat to the kitchen of the small castle.

"Have you come to Tulip Castle to help?" Li Vera asked.

"Yes."

Lady Penelope was delighted to see her grandson, "The Son of Glory in our family has brought me meat, and it's from a low-level sea monster at that, which warms this old lady's heart... If your mother had shown such gestures, I think she could have been counted as a qualified Earless."

"In fact, I've not only brought sea monster meat for you, grandmother, but also a Black Pearl Necklace that can calm and soothe the mind." He took a box from a servant, from which he retrieved a necklace that resembled prayer beads made of black pearls.

"Is this the Black Pearl, the kind that can disperse Wind Attribute Magic Power?" Li Vera exclaimed, "It's truly beautiful, such a bright shade of black. Although it's not a gemstone, it's rounder than ordinary jade or crystal. Such a necklace is simply stunning!"

Liszt placed the Black Pearl Necklace around Lady Penelope's neck, "It really suits your temperament, grandmother."

"I'm over seventy years old, what temperament do I have left?" Although she said this, Lady Penelope still rose and went to stand in front of a mirror.

He looked carefully in the mirror, contentedly admiring the black pearl necklace around his neck.

Meanwhile, Li Vera was pulling Liszt and asking, "Do you have any more black pearl necklaces?"

"I'm sorry, sister, gathering so many black pearls is not easy. I believe that by your birthday next year, I will surely have assembled a new black pearl necklace to give you as a gift," he said.

Li Vera revealed a satisfied smile.

Very soon.

Lady Penelope had already admired the black pearl necklace and hung it around her neck, opting not to take it off again—perhaps out of fear that her granddaughter might take it from her.

She sat down, smiling, and said, "Tell me, Liszt, what are you planning to take from your grandmother?"

"I simply came to give you a gift," he claimed.

"If you had only brought me the meat of a low-level sea monster, I would believe you had no ulterior motive, but such a necklace clearly has more than just a simple purpose."

"Alright, nothing gets past you, Grandmother," Liszt coughed. "I wonder if you've heard about Viscount Jonas planning to sell two Elf Bugs to relieve the financial pressures of his domain. One is a Dragon Hollyhock Bug, the other, a Venus Flytrap Worm. I wish to buy them, but I am short on money."

The meaning was clear.

Lady Penelope directly asked, "How much do you need?"

"I estimate that around two thousand gold coins should suffice to acquire these two Elf Bugs, so, Grandmother, if you could lend me two thousand gold coins, that would be enough," he responded.

"Two thousand gold coins is no small sum. Are you really intending to buy these two Elf Bugs? The Dragon Hollyhock Bug is at least somewhat useful; its fruit is edible. But the Venus Flytrap Worm is utterly useless, only serving as a decorative pot plant," Lady Penelope remarked.

The medicinal varieties of Dragon Hollyhock were still a secret; nobody knew the Dragon Hollyhock also gave birth to magic potions.

Therefore, the value of Dragon Hollyhock Bugs remained low.

"I need them, and to me, every Elf Bug can be of great value if utilized properly. Just like my Thorn Minor Elf Jela, it used to be a mere Thorn Bug but now has become the brightest gem of my domain."

"Since you've made up your mind, very well, I will arrange the two thousand gold coins as soon as possible," Lady Penelope agreed to lend the coins, then added, "The interest on two thousand gold coins can't match this black pearl necklace, which is more precious than White Pearls. So, you should take another potted plant as well."

Every time he visited his grandmother.

He never left empty-handed; taking a potted plant was a must.

With hopeful anticipation, Liszt walked out to the balcony and, using his Eye of Magic, carefully inspected the potted plants. However, he was disappointed to find not a single plant showed any signs of magic power.

So.

He accepted the situation and chose a healthy-looking blueberry plant that seemed somewhat useful.

Blueberries were quite common and tasty. This particular blueberry plant was laden with fruit, and he planned to try planting some on Black Horse Island.

"I will take this potted plant with me when I return to Fresh Flower Town. For now, I will trouble you to continue taking care of it, Grandmother," he said.

With that.

The gold coins had been borrowed, and he only had to wait to get his hands on the two Elf Bugs.