The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

This chapter is a special update in gratitude for "Wei Wei Xiao Yan" and the 10,000 reward.

————

With the Thorn Bug reward in hand, Liszt turned to the new mission at hand.

He had barely finished reading when he gasped in surprise, for the reward for the mission was extraordinarily unexpected.

"Mission: Construction in the fief is booming, yet there is a lack of means of transportation, making the moving of materials costly in both manpower and resources. As a lord with a very broad vision and a rich reserve of knowledge, why not find a way to solve it by inventing a new type of cart to save on transportation costs? Reward: The fallen Sky Ship."

The content of the mission was rather common, and the so-called cost-saving means of transportation seemed straightforward to him.

Cars and trains are not likely, but bicycles, tricycles, or even a pushcart with a single wheel could be made. He had an even more effortless plan in mind—a unicycle handcart.

It was a means of transportation he had long wanted to invent.

Liszt had never implemented many of his inventions, always feeling that tampering too much with modern civilization's technology might backfire if learned by others. After all, he was just a minor noble, unable to protect his industry and the fruits of his labor.

Now, however, he held the title of Sky Knight and had the Earl as his backer.

Even in the Duchy of Sapphire, he was a force to be reckoned with and could protect his achievements. Thus, he planned to gradually develop those inventions step by step—unicycle carts, curved ploughs, paper, perfumes... and he even wanted to introduce entertainment industries—poker, mahjong, football, theater, and so on.

As long as it could make money, anything was possible.

Of course, these inventions would need time and could not be rushed since his domain was still in its early stages and didn't have the capacity to develop new industries.

He shook his head.

His attention was more on the surprising reward of the Smoke Mission.

"The fallen Sky Ship, what does this mean? Does it suggest that there is a Sky Ship flying in the sky that suddenly falls into my domain? Or does it mean a Sky Ship that had already fallen is to be found somewhere within my land?" He focused on the key point of the reward, "So, what is a Sky Ship?"

Memories surfaced swiftly in his mind.

It was the introductory poem from "Philip, Scion of the Sun's Diary".

The author Philip had written a passage on the first page of his diary, like a piece of prose or a poem.

...

My grandfather had such a tattoo on his back.

He said that his father bore the same tattoo on his back as well.

I asked him why my father did not have it on his back, nor did I?

He said our ancestors had abandoned us, and we can no longer bear the symbol of the Sun.

I did not understand what he meant.

Grandfather explained that we were exiled to the land of sin from our homeland and wouldn't be able to return until five hundred years had passed.

After five hundred years, a great ship sailing the skies, bathed in the sunlight, would come to take us back.

Five hundred years have passed, but the Sky Ship has not come.

...

The meaning behind this poem was not difficult to comprehend—Philip's ancestors hailed from a land outside of the Devil's Sea, and they referred to themselves as the "Children of the Sun," likely possessing advanced mastery over magic power. This could be inferred from their creation of intricate Magic Equipment like the Drift Bottle.

They were exiled to Dodo Island, with the understanding that after five hundred years, when their sins were cleansed, someone on a Sky Ship would come to take them away.

But no one did.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"So, the Sky Ship is some kind of transportation crafted by the Child of the Sun? When they travel and sail, do they rely on the Sky Ship to fly?"

"And I, am about to receive a fallen Sky Ship?"

"Or is it that a Sky Ship coming to pick up the Descendants of the Sun is currently flying towards me and will then accidentally fall?"

He instantly fantasized about various possibilities, but due to too few clues, he could not be sure.

He could only rush to finish the tasks and prepare defenses—the devil knows what the Sky Ship really is about whether the Children of the Sun actually exist, and whether they would pose a threat to his territory.

He issued orders swiftly, sending a message to Marcus on Black Horse Island, telling him not to relax the training of the Knight Squad. He also conveyed instructions to Paris to quickly form the Patrol Knights and begin guarding patrols on Black Horse Island. He wanted to ensure the safety of his territory and monitor everything going on within it at all times.

He then went to the carpentry workshop to complete his task first—the earlier the wheelbarrow was invented, the sooner the construction of the territory could be completed.

The carpentry workshop was still bustling.

Carpenters and Carpenter Apprentices, along with Carving Artisans, were constantly cutting wood, smoothing edges, and carving patterns. Seeing Lord Landlord arrive, they all put down their work and paid respect to Liszt. The steward of the carpentry workshop, smiling obsequiously like a sycophant, flattered Liszt on his arrival.

"Lord Landlord, the quality of the products from our carpentry workshop has been continuously improving. The carpenters from the new serfs you've brought in provided us with many tools from the continent, and now we are assimilating these new tools and striving to create new products to increase revenue."

The term revenue originated from Liszt.

He once told the stewards that generating income was the primary task of every workshop.

Gesturing for the carpenters to continue working, Liszt called over the most skillful Master Carpenters and started to outline his design: "Gentlemen carpenters, you all know how to make carts, right?"

"Yes, Lord Landlord."

"Good, today I have brought a new cart design plan. Here is a sketch. Look closely, it's called a wheelbarrow. It uses only one wheel and can be pushed along, similar to a two-wheeled cart, but it's more convenient and suitable for traversing rough terrains."

The Master Carpenters gathered around the sketch, marveling, "Such a beautiful wheelbarrow, can it really stand up with just one wheel?"

"With two handles for support, it should not fall over."

"Yes, it seems as stable as a cart, but even more compact. With one wheel, it can even be pushed over ridges between fields."

"Indeed, a marvelous design!"

After the carpenters had expressed their admiration, Liszt continued, "The design of the wheelbarrow can vary in form. Look at this sketch, the wheelbarrow has a bin that can hold grain, rubble, sand, etc., and if sealed properly, it can even transport water. Now look at this one, the wooden planks on the sides can stack bags, as many as you need."

He had brought many sketches.

After introducing one, he switched to another: "And this one here, the wheelbarrow is essentially just a few sticks plus a wheel; it can be this simple... Of course, you don't have to design it with just one wheel, a two-wheeled handcart is also possible, like this kind with a bin that, when the time comes, you can just tilt the handles and flip the bin over."

All sorts of wheelbarrows and handcarts.

They were all part of Liszt's designs.

The Master Carpenters greedily eyed each and every sketch—they knew that each type of woodworking tool represented skills worth passing down. The more techniques they mastered, the greater their earnings would be.

"Your next task is to quickly master the creation of the wheelbarrow and handcart and to produce them as quickly as possible for use in the territory."

"Rest assured, Lord Landlord, we will complete the wheelbarrows and handcarts as swiftly as possible," the steward promised confidently, as he was himself a carpenter and knew that making such carts was not difficult.

"Remember to keep it a secret. I do not wish to hear any news of the wheelbarrow or handcart leaking out."

Permanent secrecy was impossible, Liszt merely hoped to keep it confidential for as long as possible. Eventually, when the output from the carpentry workshop increased, he could also take the opportunity to sell them externally and make a profit.

Only when you run a household do you realize the value of every penny.

Earning an extra Gold Coin is always splendid.