The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

Mrs. Abbie, following Liszt’s instructions, continuously stir-fried the tea leaves on low heat with her palms until, after about an hour, the leaves had become curly and dried out, signaling completion.

Since he didn’t know the appropriate temperature or what the tea should look like when done, Liszt stored the leaves in the Gemstone Space to keep them fresh.

He only took out a pound of fresh tea for the experiment.

After the fried tea leaves were spread out to cool, the next day Liszt tried brewing a cup.

Watching the curly, dried leaves slowly unfold in the crystal cup with the infusion of hot water, as if coming to life, and seeing the tea’s color gradually turn a light yellow-green, he felt sure that success was waving at him.

Indeed it was.

After the tea had cooled down a bit, he immediately began to taste it.

Upon the first sip, the familiar taste of tea exploded on his taste buds. He was moved, his eyes even becoming a bit misty: “Tea, I have tasted you! This is truly tea… Although it’s a bit bitter and the quality isn’t very good, it is undoubtedly tea!”

Two ounces of dry tea could brew about ten cups.

In the Gemstone Space, there was still a pound of fresh tea, which could be made into about four ounces of dry tea, equaling about forty cups of tea.

“If I drink one cup a day, I can only drink for forty days. After three months, I should be able to pick the summer tea, another forty cups; seems like I can pick again in autumn, another forty cups. That is to say, I can drink one hundred and twenty cups of tea in a year!” Liszt thought about it and felt that this wasn’t the right calculation.

If all the tea leaves were drunk, what would he do later on: “I should focus on cultivating tea trees, but… who can tell me, how do you plant tea trees?”

Is it through the cutting method?

Or perhaps through direct seeding?

He wasn’t very familiar with this, and did not recall ever hearing about tea trees flowering and fruiting.

“Forget it, let’s wait and see if tea leaves will flower and bear fruit. If they do, I’ll collect the seeds and begin sowing next year; if not, I’ll use the cutting method to plant green tea trees next year.”

Savoring the pure taste of the tea.

Liszt had already decided to cultivate tea trees on Black Horse Island, even if he didn’t spread tea culture, he should plant a tea garden and fry tea for his own consumption.

A cup of tea was finished.

He wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt noticeably lighter, as if the greasiness from all the meat he had eaten was dissipated by the tea.

At dinner, he had a great appetite and ate an extra piece of magical beast meat.

…

After a few days of airing out.

Through Zambrotta, Liszt knew that the Honored Knight who had come to Fresh Flower Town had gone from initial anxiety but restraint to just irritability, and now to full disappointment.

Liszt decided to meet Charles Trap.

Regardless, on Coral Island, the nobles still recognized his title of Honored Knight, and etiquette must not be neglected.

“Sir Charles, how have you found your stay in Fresh Flower Town these few days?” Liszt asked with a noble’s standard smile, under an apple tree that had just started to bud and was preparing to bloom, rocking in a rocking chair.

The weather was agreeable today, very sunny and pleasant.

Charles sat up straight on a stool. Liszt’s reception reignited his previously disappointed heart: “Baron, Fresh Flower Town has a great future!”

“Many have said so, including my father and my grandfather, Marquis Merlin.” Liszt appeared quite casual, and not boastful on purpose, “When I first came to Fresh Flower Town, it was just like many other small towns without a landlord, living in privation.”

“It was your arrival that brought happiness to the civilians of Fresh Flower Town.” Charles commended earnestly.

“A person’s fate, ah, must certainly rely on their own struggle, but also consider the historical process… Sorry, you might not understand what history is.”

Liszt picked up his milk cup, gesturing for Charles to have some milk as well.

He took a sip to moisten his throat.

He continued, “The development of Fresh Flower Town is not just due to my leadership, but also the support from Tulip Castle, the slave trade, seafood, Fresh Flower Soap, Fresh Flower Brew. The market is large but one has to integrate into it to see the broader world. So, Sir Charles, what do you see?”

“I…” Charles didn’t understand what Liszt was talking about for a moment.

Actually, it was just a pretense of mystery.

Liszt didn’t give him time to think deeply and simply said, “I heard you are a veteran Elite Earth Knight with exquisite combat skills and great strength. Recently, my talent has begun to show, and I have defeated more than one Elite Earth Knight, so why not have a sword duel for practice?”

“Since Baron is interested, Charles is willing to accompany Baron in a sword duel practice.”

“This will be a real combat practice, go all out. I can defeat Elite Earth Knights, I’m not joking.” Liszt drew a Fine Steel Longsword and walked onto the grass field. Now considering going into battle, he would not miss the opportunity to spar with an Elite Earth Knight.

Charles, about forty years old, took the Fine Steel Longsword handed over by a manservant, and his demeanor abruptly changed. A strong aura emanated from him, even more imposing than Marcus’s.

One with Fire Attribute Dou Qi, the other with Thunder Attribute Dou Qi, they were ready to clash.

“Great Fire Wave!”

Liszt made the first move with a fierce attack, typical of his style. Beating the master with wild punches, he didn’t care how exquisite the combat skills were, he relied on his abundant Dou Qi fueled by potions to launch a strong offense.

Charles’s sword flashed with lightning, swiftly cutting through the sky-full of fire Dou Qi and aiming straight for Liszt’s head.

Precise and ruthless.

With just that move, Liszt dared to assert that Charles was stronger than Marcus, stronger than Paris when she wasn’t transformed. But, just this level couldn’t scare Liszt off.

His blood boiled even more fiercely, Dou Qi exploding out as if he wanted to release it all at once: “Fire Dragon Sweep!”

Clang!

The swords collided, sparks flying everywhere, not just fire sparks but electric ones as well.

Liszt’s body, wrapped in Fire Attribute Dou Qi, was still hit by some Thunder Attribute Dou Qi, making the affected areas feel slightly numb.

But it hadn’t reached the point of affecting his movements.

“Fire Dragon Roll!”

Another huge burst of Dou Qi exploded, and Liszt came on even more aggressively, pressing Charles in the fight. His rough-looking attack style was actually nuanced, always on the lookout for Charles’s counterattacks. Incorporating feints with reality and occasionally sneaking in a clever attack.

With such a ferocious fighting style, he caught Charles completely off guard, gradually wearing him down. Charles wanted to counter, but was surrounded by a sea of flames, unsure of where to strike back.

Despite his solid defense, he felt incredibly frustrated, feeling that he was not facing an Earth Knight, but a domineering Sky Knight.

However.

Being a veteran Elite Earth Knight who had fought on many battlefields, his eyes were bright, searching for any chance to counterattack.

He believed!

Violent attacks never last long.

Yet this principle was ineffective against Liszt, who suddenly bellowed, “Inferno Slash!” His Fine Steel Longsword turned into a fanning rain of fire, wildly assaulting Charles.

Just as Charles had barely withstood the explosive attack, there came another roar: “Heart of the Fire Dragon Drill!”

This time, the Fine Steel Longsword transformed into a fire dragon, gathering up the scattered Fire Attribute Mana from the Inferno Slash around it, and charged madly. With one thrust, the Dou Qi-illusioned giant fire dragon crashed heavily into Charles.

Bang!

Charles’s solid defense crumbled like paper, unable to hold any longer. His longsword flew out of his hand, and the front of his leather armor was heavily struck by the fire dragon, sending him, like the longsword, flying into the air.

He somersaulted several times before crashing to the ground heavily.

Seeing stars, he was disoriented when he slightly recovered from the dizziness. He suddenly realized a red-hot Fine Steel Longsword was positioned at his neck.

The tip of the sword was scorching hot, as if it could sear his skin at any moment.

The person holding the sword, standing with his back to the sun, had an unclear face, but his figure highlighted by the light was tall and imposing, involuntarily invoking a sense of submission.

“I… lost.”