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The atmosphere in the castle became more and more oppressive, mainly because its master, Liszt, was growing increasingly irritable.

Fresh Flower Town was thriving, with more than four hundred new serfs quickly integrating and the autumn harvest yielding large amounts of food each day, stacking the storehouses full.

In such an atmosphere, he should have been happy.

However, the news relayed by the caravans left him quite restless, his tone slightly gloomy, “Abagon, the Fresh Flower Caravan covers so many small towns’ seafood businesses and has built such a vast network of information, yet you haven’t even found one different species of thorn?”

Abagon knelt on the ground, trembling with fear.

The words of an angry Elite Earth Knight, the extremely dissatisfied attitude of a Domain Overlord, put him under immense pressure.

“Lord Landlord, I’m sorry, Abagon has disappointed you. I’ve already had everyone in the caravan put out the word—anyone who can provide a new species of thorn will receive a handsome reward, but all the thorns that have been delivered are common varieties, none meeting your requirements.”

“You’ve searched the entirety of the area covered by the Fresh Flower Caravan?”

“Birch City, Elm Forest City, Serpent Spear City, Shattered Stone City, and the surrounding small towns—have all been searched. To continue searching, we would need to go to the villages beneath the towns.”

“Then go to the villages, one by one, ask, one by one, search,” Liszt’s temper was not really directed at Abagon, but regardless, he was irritable, “You can directly retain one-tenth of the Fresh Flower Caravan’s funds to use in the search for new species of thorn.”

Abagon replied cautiously, “Yes, Lord Landlord, I will search diligently!”

Grantaire had been promoted, and he had only just been given the opportunity to be promoted to captain of the Fresh Flower Caravan. He certainly didn’t want to be incompetent and then be sent back by Liszt to farm again.

“Go on, get to work.”

Liszt waved his hand, signalling Abagon to leave.

Then he sat down in his chair, rubbing his temples with his hands. Not only had the Fresh Flower Caravan come up empty-handed, but Sherlock’s Thorn Caravan had likewise turned up nothing, having just been scolded by him. He had thought that it would be a simple matter for the caravans spread across Coral Island to casually inquire and find a new species of thorn, but it turned out to be not so easy.

“The caravans have offered a handsome reward for finding a new species of thorn, and the commoners who hear about it will surely search frantically… the lack of results for several days suggests a strong possibility that Coral Island truly has no new species of thorn… now, I can only wait for Marcus’s news.”

He had instructed the caravans and Marcus to look in two different directions.

It was all to discover more species of thorn, to enhance the chances of the Thorn Bug’s breakthrough, the more pheromones gathered, the greater the possibility of evolution.

“If Marcus also brings no good news, where should I go to search?”

With no leads on Coral Island, he could only search other islands. As a minor noble, his social circle was largely limited to Coral Island. Earls are nobles directly enfeoffed by the Grand Duke, and most of the surrounding islands are ruled by Marquises and their followers, with relationships to Coral Island that are not very cordial.

It was frowned upon for followers of different landlords to make casual contact with each other.

However, there was one island he could enter and exit freely—Red Crab Island.

Liszt was a legitimate descendant of the Long Taro Family bloodline, and his mother was the daughter of the master of Long Taro Castle, one of the seven great Marquises of the Grand Duchy on Red Crab Island, Marquis Merlin Taro. When he had visited Marquis Merlin, he had once been recruited by the sparsely populated Long Taro Family.

“If I were to ask Grandfather Merlin, no, if I just ask Cousin Meioubao for help, I should be able to complete the task.”

The vast Red Crab Island, when considered, is equivalent to a province in China, could it really not produce a few different species of thorn? Perhaps in the hedges of Long Taro Castle, there are several different species of thorn.

At that thought.

His irritation subsided slightly, “If one day I can’t make it on Coral Island, I will go to seek refuge at Long Taro Castle. I believe Grandfather would at least arrange for me a Viscount’s domain.”

However, with Red Crab Island’s extensive family and businesses, it might not be as easy as Coral Island.

No matter how close a cousin is, they can never be as close as immediate family.

Suddenly, his thoughts turned to Asina Salmon, and his mood inevitably warmed slightly, “It’s been months, I wonder if Asina has held hands with another noble… Ah, I remember the running under the sunset that afternoon, that was my fleeting youth.” He had quite a fondness for this noble young lady who had brazenly confessed her love to him.

But soon.

The pleasant memory was shattered by a piercing howl.

The sound came from the falcon room outside the castle, an expression of torment from Juan Fu.

Just as his irritation began to subside, it surged back up. He rose to his feet, walked out of the castle, and approached the falcon stand. Mr. Elkerson was sitting opposite, his eyes red with bloodshot veins.

Seeing Liszt arrive, he hurriedly said, “Baron Liszt.”

“Mr. Elkerson, has Juan Fu not yet submitted?”

“The pride in this Wind Falcon’s heart is beyond my imagination,” Mr. Elkerson explained with some embarrassment. He believed the harrowing falconry step he’d thought all but assured had come to a complete standstill.

The Wind Falcon, Juan Fu, would rather starve to death than bow his head.

Liszt suddenly noticed traces of red blood at Juan Fu’s beak. “Has it vomited blood?”

“Yes, due to prolonged starvation, its body is now in danger. If it fails several more falconry sessions… I apologize, Baron Liszt, this is something I’ve never encountered with regular hawks or falcons.”

“So, Juan Fu might starve to death?”

“There is that possibility, but also a possibility that after a few more days, it might bow its head. As you know, after all, magical beasts are just wild animals; they will succumb to the threat of death. At that time, after several training sessions, it will become your qualified pet.”

“Cawww…” the blood-vomiting Juan Fu on the falcon stand let out a pitiful and mournful cry.

But its gaze didn’t hold a shred of submission; it remained defiant. Looking into its eyes, Liszt felt as though he could see its disdain for fate.

Fate.

Perhaps it was an aftereffect from the Smoke Dragon, but he often found himself associating everything with fate lately, almost veering towards the prophetic; always contemplating cause and effect, fate and destiny.

Thankfully, the materialistic values rooted in him from childhood still stood guard.

“I think Juan Fu will not submit to anyone,” Liszt shook his head. The Wind Falcon was not a caged bird; from a young age, he could see Juan Fu’s yearning and longing for the sky, “Mr. Elkerson, let’s stop the training here. I need you to devote more effort to the development of Flame Mushroom Magic Potion.”

“What?”

Mr. Elkerson was stunned. “Baron Liszt if we give up now, all the effort put in previously will be in vain, and there will likely be no second chance for falconry as it matures.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll pay you as if you’ve completed the job,” Liszt decided to be wilful just this once, the beautiful imagery of controlling the falcon in each hand was best left to the imagination.

As he spoke, he untied the ropes binding Juan Fu on the falcon stand.

He personally brought meat and water to feed Juan Fu. As a magical beast, Juan Fu had strong recovery abilities, regaining much of its vitality in just half a day.

“Fly, Juan Fu!”

He opened the door of the falcon room and gave Juan Fu a push. Clearly unaccustomed to the situation, Juan Fu turned its head to look at Liszt, its eyes flickering with confusion.

But after a moment’s hesitation, it finally flapped its wings and hopped off the falcon stand.

Flying.

Thud.

It fell down.

However, it quickly discovered its inborn instinct for flight amidst the failure. With one final leap from the ground, flapping its wings, shedding two feathers, it successfully soared into the sky.

“Caw!”

Leaving behind a final call, without looking back, it vanished into the expanse of blue sky and white clouds.