Chapter 168: The Evil Scientist
“I know.”
“You must be feeling quite upset right now.”
“Of course, these damn magical beasts. Next time I catch one, I should just make soup out of it!” Liszt complained bitterly, “I fed it, gave it freedom, raised it for so long, and still couldn’t tame it. It just flew away like that. It just goes to show that magical beasts and wild beasts are really not much different.”
“Woof woof!” Douson in the doghouse lodged its protest.
After venting his frustration on Juan Fu, Liszt turned around; there was no sign of anger on his face. “Mr. Carter, has the Thorn Caravan not purchased the female mastiff yet?”
“According to Sherlock, we need to contact the Fresh Flower Caravan; North Valley City does not have a suitable female mastiff for Douson’s… size,” Carter said carefully, choosing his words.
“Hurry it up, otherwise Douson will go crazy sooner or later. I’ve noticed it’s been looking at those horses in the stables with a strange gleam in its eye.”
“Uh…”
To keep Douson from going mad,
Liszt could only train it vigorously: “Douson, Rock Spike!”
Pfft!
A thick rock spike pierced the earth’s surface.
“Douson, Multiple Stone Spikes!”
Pfft, pfft, pfft… pfft!
A cluster of thick rock spikes pierced the earth’s surface.
“Casting magic quite skillfully, Douson really is an outstanding magical beast. Baron Liszt, Douson must be at the intermediate magical beast level now,” said Mr. Elkeson, who had just woken up from a nap, as he walked over from a distance, eyes sparkling while looking at Douson, “Such a magnificent creature, calling it the King of Thorn Ridge is no longer fitting.”
He already knew that Douson had consumed a Bloodline Fruit.
Liszt stroked Douson’s big head: “Among intermediate magical beasts, it’s probably one of the weaker ones, especially since it can only cast Rock Spike. Multiple Stone Spikes barely counts as a new kind of magic, but after all, it’s just a superposition of Rock Spike, the essence has not changed.”
Douson turned its head and licked Liszt’s hand with its tongue.
Immediately, its hand was covered in saliva.
The personal servant hurriedly took out a handkerchief and handed it to Liszt to wipe his hand.
Mr. Elkeson laughed, “It’s still not quite a mature magical beast, and its comprehension of magic isn’t very extraordinary. Even for us magicians, mastering a single type of magic takes a long time to refine, let alone a magical beast. As it ages, it will self-learn the power granted by its bloodline and discover how to unleash new magic.”
“I hope so,” said Liszt, not dwelling on it, “At least for now, Douson has no natural predators on Coral Island. In the future, I will train it to adapt to the battlefield and help me achieve glory.”
“You will, like the Earl, attain numerous dazzling glories.”
Liszt smiled faintly, “I think so too.”
This was not boasting.
This was confidence.
A noble must have both a desire and confidence for glory; humility is only seen as timidity or a lack of ambition. Regardless of what Liszt really thought, on the surface, he must always appear ready for battle, ready to earn accolades. Only this way would his subordinates follow him.
Life is but a play, all dependent on acting.
As a soul of an experienced adult, coupled with the noble education received from childhood, his acting skills were undoubtedly masterful.
After performing for a bit, he asked, “Mr. Elkeson, how is the progress on the production of the Flame Mushroom Magic Potion?”
“The agents are being mixed and tested, and I believe we will soon enter the production phase. Flame Mushrooms are a very excellent magic potion, extracting magic power to create the potion is not difficult.”
“Then proceed with production as soon as possible.”
In the past few days, Liszt had firmly settled into the phase of an Elite Earth Knight. He had also tried to continue his training without the aid of Magic Potions. However, it proved that his talent was not exceptional, as he was still confined by the limitations of Dou Qi and unable to increase the total amount of Dou Qi inside his body.
Usually, Elite Earth Knights who cannot afford the Magic Potions turn to honing their Dou Qi circulation skills instead.
By continuously tempering these skills, one can also improve their strength, and meticulously refining their understanding of Dou Qi manuscripts can lead to more than a minor increase in power.
A single Elite Earth Knight is capable of dueling seven or eight Common Earth Knights without a problem.
As a wealthy upstart, Liszt wasn’t in a hurry to refine his Dou Qi circulation skills. He had already mastered two Dou Qi Secret Techniques, “Flaming Wave” and “Fire Dragon Drill,” and had partial mastery over “Multi-Arrow.” Moreover, another Dou Qi Secret Technique, “The Eye of Magic,” had reached a high level of accomplishment.
Coupled with the Li Dragon Horse and the Crimson Blood Sword, his personal strength far surpassed Marcus’s and was undoubtedly a top figure among Elite Earth Knights.
If one were to include Douson, perhaps he could even give the Earl a run for his money.
“It should… be possible… I guess.” He had never seen a Sky Knight fight with all their might, nor had he witnessed their formidable charge on the battlefield, so he could only make an estimate.
After all, it was said that the stronger Low-Level magical beasts could even spar with Sky Knights.
Douson, now an Intermediate Magical Beast, could give the Earl a hard time with just its fierce Rock Spike magic. With Liszt shouting support from the sidelines—no, commanding the battle—it should be possible to hold their own.
The development of the territory was on the right track.
There was no need for Liszt to do anything in particular.
So most of the time, he found things to do for himself. At sixteen, his youthful body was bursting with energy, which he could either use to endure tedious training or find something else to occupy himself.
He decided to inspect the progress of the Calming Sea Pearl’s creation.
In the new house in Little Wheat Village, Granney led the Magic Apprentices, living almost without showing his face, even eating meals in the studio.
On this point, Liszt had to admit that Granney was more dedicated than Elkeson: “Both are magicians, but the two seem to be complete opposites. One is arrogant and paranoid, the other is witty and humorous. Elkeson is better at socializing, while Granney is focused on work. Another thing, Granney seems to have a deeper well of knowledge?”
If another young indigenous landlord had to choose, they probably would find Elkeson’s wit and humor far superior to Granney’s dullness, but Liszt appreciated Elkeson’s mannerisms while understanding the need to analyze rationally—aside from detailed falconry techniques, Elkeson’s other areas of expertise seemed quite superficial.
Especially in terms of professional knowledge, far from as solid as Granney’s.
“Baron, the teacher is busy. He asked that you not disturb him,” the magic apprentice Charley said cautiously, afraid that his teacher’s temper might irritate Liszt.
Gathering his thoughts, Liszt replied, “I’m just here for a visit. I won’t disturb your teacher. Take me inside.”
“Well… okay, but please speak softly. The teacher needs quiet for his work, and he hates being interrupted. I’ve been scolded by him many times for that.”
They entered the inner workshop of the room.
The light from the Crystal Lamps illuminated the workbench—Granney had his own Crystal Lamp fixtures, designed like a desk lamp, a very clever idea.
The desk was cluttered with a large number of materials and tools.
Next to it were many stoves with pots and basins of various sizes boiling on them, containing liquids of different colors. The strange mix of odors was uncomfortable to smell.
Granney was hunched over the table, carving runes into a basketball-sized Black Pearl with a fine engraving knife. His brown hair was a mess, stained with who knows what, speckled with multiple colors. His magic cloak was dyed like a camouflage uniform, giving him an oddly villainous mad scientist vibe.
Completely absorbed.
Too busy to pay attention to Liszt.