The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

Even though he had rewarded the Sea Serpents, he just couldn’t find them, which frustrated him.

He planned to circle around Black Horse Island after the Fresh Flower Vessel returned from the island, hoping to find a Siren as soon as possible and not let the reward slip away.

However, before he caught sight of the Fresh Flower Vessel.

A piece of good news worth celebrating had already arrived—the Earth Matron had begun giving birth. He immediately rode his horse to Dog Prison, bringing Douson along on the way. By the time he reached Dog Prison, the Earth Matron had already delivered two puppies, who were lying fluffily on the blanket, their fur pitch black.

The Earth Matron rarely showed the ferociousness of a Magical Beast, baring her teeth and snarling at Liszt and the others as they approached.

Even Douson, attempting to get close, was scared away by her bared teeth and roaring.

“Lord Landlord, animals like cats and dogs become very aggressive when giving birth, not allowing anyone to approach. You should be careful as it might bite,” Old Difo explained.

Liszt understood this principle; it was the mother beast’s instinct to protect her young.

So he just stood outside the range of the Earth Matron’s vigilance, watching her give birth. Those tiny black puppies, not yet opening their eyes, were his future great fortune. Without the need for human assistance, the Earth Matron knew what to do, eating the placenta after each puppy was born, then licking each puppy’s fur dry.

Intermittently, the Earth Matron birthed a total of eight black puppies before the birthing was complete.

Seeing the eight little puppies begin to scramble for the Earth Matron’s milk, Liszt thought he needed to find a way to take away these eight little puppies, then feed them with Dragon Breed Cow’s milk—clearly, the Earth Matron’s milk was not nutritious enough, and such milk was incapable of raising Intermediate Magical Beasts.

“Douson, stay outside and don’t move.”

He stopped Douson from rushing in and then took out the prepared jerky and fresh milk. He approached the cage tentatively, and the Earth Matron, still ill-tempered after giving birth, growled and bared her teeth when she saw Liszt get close.

However, after Liszt casually tossed a piece of tasty jerky over to her,

she immediately grasped the jerky and wolfed it down.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Liszt moved a few steps closer.

Whenever the Earth Matron growled again, he threw another piece of jerky, repeating this process several times until he was successfully inside the iron cage and standing beside the Earth Matron.

To say whether he was nervous would definitely be an understatement.

Although the Earth Matron had forgotten her Rock Spike Magic, she was after all a Magical Beast, and if she became violent and attacked, Liszt wasn’t sure whether he would get hurt. He felt confident in his ability to protect himself, but if he got bitten, it was no laughing matter—there hadn’t been any mention of rabies, but what if there was?

Without a rabies vaccine, he didn’t know whether Dou Qi could eradicate the rabies virus.

Therefore, caution was necessary.

Using the jerky to calm the Earth Matron’s snarls, Liszt then took out the milk, poured it into a jar, and offered it to the Earth Matron. The Earth Matron sniffed at the milk, appearing somewhat puzzled and uncertain, but still stuck out her tongue to taste it. Immediately after, she began lapping vigorously with her tongue.

Even when Liszt reached out to touch a little puppy, she didn’t seem to care anymore.

Consequently, Liszt placed the squealing little puppy beside another jar of milk, pressing its little head to make it drink.

But the little puppy wouldn’t lick.

Fortunately, he was prepared and had already had someone use the leaves of Fragrant Coconut Trees to roll into a tube with a hole running through the middle. Gently positioning the tube at the mouth of the little puppy, he encouraged it to suck on the tube.

Instinctively, the little puppy sucked once, and then it started to frantically drink the milk.

“Not bad, one down.” Liszt was filled with a sense of accomplishment. He could foresee that once the little puppies developed a taste for Dragon Breed Cow’s milk, they would definitely not go back to the Earth Matron’s milk.

Perhaps the Earth Matron would produce more milk, but for now, the milk of the Earth Matron was clearly not abundant enough. As long as the little pups didn’t drink and didn’t stimulate the mammary glands to secrete, she probably wouldn’t produce more milk.

That was that.

While he comforted the Earth Matron with dried meat and cow’s milk, he taught the little pups one by one how to suckle milk through a tube.

Perhaps because she had been domesticated for too long, the well-fed Earth Matron calmed down considerably and didn’t pay much attention to her puppies. Even when Liszt picked up the puppies and pretended to take them out of the cage, she merely lifted her head to look and then showed no further reaction.

“Lord Landlord… The Earth Matron might not have learned how to be a mother dog yet. Its maternal instincts don’t seem very strong,” Old Difo, who had raised dogs for many years, said. He had seen many dogs who didn’t care for their puppies at all. Although the Earth Matron wasn’t neglectful, she also wasn’t overprotective.

“Then we’ll take all the little pups away.”

After deciding, Liszt carefully transferred each little pup one by one to a servant, who cautiously placed them in a dog cradle wrapped in blankets.

The Earth Matron watched the whole process without any reaction.

All eight little pups were successfully taken away.

Liszt breathed a sigh of relief, but suddenly felt too cruel, so he had a servant bring in a new blanket to replace the one stained with filthy blood. He left plenty of food for her to eat and drink and put Douson in with her so the two could bond.

However, the Earth Matron, having just given birth, temporarily showed no interest in Douson.

So Liszt had to lead Douson away, “Alright, Douson, stop being silly. The Earth Matron is not in the mood for mating with you right now. I’ll bring you back another day.”

…

The eight little pups successfully settled on the second floor of the castle, cared for by Liszt himself.

Based on his experience with Douson, these little pups would need at least half a month before they could open their eyes. The growth of magical beast pups was somewhat different from that of ordinary puppies.

“Wow, look how cute they are. My lord, when they grow up, they’ll become strong Intermediate Magical Beasts like Douson, protecting Fresh Flower Town and winning glory for you!”

Goltai praised with delight.

The successful birth of the Earth Matron’s puppies brought cheers from everyone in the domain. With the impressive Douson right before them, the future boasted nine excellent Dousons. The future of Fresh Flower Town was certainly something to ponder.

“The grace of a knight’s glory!”

“The lord is truly the Son of Glory!”

“I can hardly wait to see the day when the Fierce Earth Dogs grow up.”

“Train them well, and they will become the most outstanding force on the battlefield. Everyone who hears the name Fierce Earth Dog will fear your reputation.”

The last sentence was spoken by Rom in excitement.

A typical bit of flattery.

Yet it struck a chord with Liszt, “Rom is right. If one day the Fierce Earth Dogs distinguish themselves on the battlefield, I’ll be renowned for them… but how will others refer to me? The Earth Dog Sword Saint? The Fierce Earth Landlord? Or ‘the man who rides dogs’?”

This name sounded utterly pathetic and was a severe blow to his personal dignity.

So he told his subordinates seriously, “From the day that Douson became an Intermediate Magical Beast, it was no longer an ordinary Fierce Earth Dog. Now that it has offspring, I believe they will become the same Intermediate Magical Beasts, so it’s time to give them a new name!”

His subordinates immediately cheered, “Please bestow a new name upon them, my lord!”

Liszt glanced at the snowflakes dancing outside the window, his mood soaring, “They arrived on a day when the sky was draped in heavy snow, so let’s call them… Blizzard Hounds, no, Blizzard Beasts!”