Evil dragon has a warm heart-Chapter 83 - 82 Rumors of Red Castle (Sixth Update)

Chapter 83 -82 Rumors of Red Castle (Sixth Update)

Chapter 83 -82 Rumors of Red Castle (Sixth Update)

The knight attendant brought in the cooked dinner; naturally, it could not compare to the lavish meals at Fluorescent Castle, especially when out on the barren snowscape.

There were only a few dishes: roasted ribs, baked snails, bacon, salted fish, and a vegetable salad, accompanied by corn-filled pies, grape toast, and a bowl of cream of mushroom soup. Of course, there was also the indispensable fish roe risotto as a staple.

After dinner, there would also be a serving of caramel pudding as dessert.

While eating and drinking, Mr. Roman enthusiastically imparted the lordship advice he had accrued over many years of managing Glowing Valley.

“Don’t meddle in everything, but be sure to set some thresholds… Give them some freedom, but the cost of freedom can be set a bit higher… Don’t confine them to the manor, but make the cost of leaving unaffordable…”

Roland, the elder brother, added on the side, “Give them a goal to strive for, but the goal must remain in our hands. Just like the fantasy beasts, which are the private property of the Fluorescent Fungi Family, they must not be relinquished too easily.”

Speaking of which.

Roland patted Russell on the shoulder, “You were a bit too hasty in giving Eric that Gold and Silver Wolfhound, Kevin. You should’ve tested his patience a bit more.”

“Uh…”

Russell found it somewhat difficult to adapt to such direct imparting of experience but thought about it carefully and it seemed quite reasonable.

In his past life, when he was working his 996 job, his boss probably painted the big picture for him in much the same way.

Despite being in different worlds, human nature is universal. Power structures and social systems are only the facade of civilization; human nature is the underlying logic.

After eating and drinking his fill and armed with Mr. Roman’s teachings on the art of lordship, Russell left the commander’s tent.

He left Mr. Roman and his brother Roland behind, still savoring the last bit of grape wine, intending to drink until the bottle was empty.

“Russell is still a bit green,” the Baron mused.

“He has just come of age and is just beginning to delve into estate affairs, so it’s natural for him to harbor many impractical ideas, which reality will eventually crush. But with the support of the Fluorescent Fungi Family, his life will undoubtedly be smooth sailing,” Roland spoke.

“You’re right,” the Baron sipped the red wine, “After I grow old and you take over the Baron’s title, you must be as close to Russell as your Uncle Roson and I are. After all, we are family.”

“Of course, Russell and I are close,” Roland said, thumping his chest in assurance.

The Baron nodded but couldn’t help adding, “Roson guards the northern gate for me and for the family. In the future, Russell will also guard the southern gate for you and the family. If you can distinguish yourself, there’s no reason Glowing Valley can’t expand further south and north.”

“Father, just watch. If I can successfully become a Great Dragon rider, I will fulfill grandfather’s unfinished wish and secure an earldom,” Roland said with a longing look toward the tent ceiling.

“By then, let Grand Duke Kunstan plead with the Shadowflame Dragon and bestow another Dragonflame upon Glowing Valley… Perhaps then a second Bipedal Flying Dragon will be born!”

The Baron shared this beautiful vision.

However, the Baron was ultimately more practical and said, “Don’t think too much about the future. For now, your main task is to build a solid relationship with Grand Duke Kunstan. Having a good personal rapport with the Duke is even more important than establishing notable achievements.”

“The Duke trusts me a lot, and the fact that you never joined the Council of Elders has greatly pleased him,” Roland remarked.

“The Council has held regency for twenty years. Although it maintained the stability of the duchy, it also encroached on the Red Castle’s properties,” the Baron shook his head. “It’s not that I didn’t want to join; it’s that I was completely absorbed in managing our lands. By the time I realized it, the Duke had already grown up.”

“Yes, grandfather was somewhat unwise in that regard. The Council is about to disband, yet he insists on clinging to the Red Castle, refusing to leave… This has led to idle gossip in the court, suggesting grandfather and Princess Anxia…”

“Damn it!” the Baron glared, “Is that something you, as his grandson, can casually speculate about!”

Roland shrank back, muttering to himself, “I didn’t make this up; it’s what people are saying at the Red Castle…”

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“It looks like you need to loosen up your limbs, Roland!”

“Father, I was wrong!” Roland hastily apologized.

The Baron let out a long sigh and shook his head, “I trust your grandfather’s character. Old Earl Merlin might covet power, but he would never long for beauty… However, he is indeed too reluctant to leave, prompting some to spread rumors to pressure him to leave the Red Castle.”

“Ah, father, are you suggesting that it might be the Duke himself… Princess Anxia is the Duke’s mother!”

“Stop your nonsense. I haven’t been around the Red Castle for a long time, so I know nothing about it,” the Baron denied. “Don’t think too much of it. Your current priority is to foster a good relationship with the Duke.”

“Yes, father.”

…

Russell naturally didn’t know about the conversation in the commander’s tent.

He was just an ordinary second son of a baron, and without great fortune in this life, perhaps his journey would start and end at being just a lord.

Having returned to his own tent, Eric and the others had already eaten.

“Sir, would you like to have a cup of milk tea?” Knight Attendant Tom was brewing some over the campfire.

“No, thanks. You drink it,” he replied, having just filled his stomach with cream of mushroom soup.

The mushrooms in the soup were the family’s special product—the Glowing Mushrooms, a type of Magic Potion soup naturally to be consumed in large quantities.

At this moment, warmth filled his belly, sending streams of heat through his limbs and throughout his body, then being refined into streams of battle Qi that merged and bolstered the Qi in his meridians, enhancing his strength.

Therefore, he sat down cross-legged and began to meditate.

This was a method of fighting Qi cultivation known as meditation.

It was simply about emptying one’s thoughts and handing over control to the body’s instincts, allowing the battle Qi to circulate through the meridians spontaneously. Compared to consciously guiding the Qi, this method wasn’t as efficient, but it excelled in its thoroughness and attention to detail.

Using the mind to guide the Qi could concentrate energy to break through and open the main meridians.

But alongside the main ones, the body also has a dense network of tiny meridians that are invisible, intangible, and even their sensations are vague. Thus, it’s difficult to open these small meridians just by guiding the Qi.

And to advance to a Great Knight, not only the main meridians had to be open, but these fine ones had to penetrate as well.

Therefore,

Meditation became especially important.

By emptying the mind and letting the Qi spontaneously strike the tiny meridians, one could realize the dream of becoming a Great Knight and lay a solid foundation for contracting a Fantasy Beast in the future.

In a trance, an hour of meditation passed by.

After getting up to relieve himself at the lavatory near the Cold Spring Point, Russell crawled back into his sleeping bag and entered his first dreamscape on the snowfield.

Moments later, the Gloomy Dreamland descended as expected.

“Ka!”

The Little Dream Dragon flapped its short wings and flew towards Russell.

He climbed on its back and in the next instant, the entire Gloomy Dreamland lit up, the Magic Lights of countless magical powers blossoming.

“Whoa!” Russell shielded his eyes with his hand, “So bright! I’ve never seen the Gloomy Dreamland so illuminated before… Nearly three hundred knights’ Magic Lights, crammed into the tiny space of the Cold Spring Point, tsk tsk.”

Once he adjusted to the brightness of the Magic Lights, Russell carefully identified the radiance emitted by these knights.

It was clear which knights were Great Knights and which were only Armed Knights.

Likewise, the light of the Phantom Beast Knights was distinct. Aside from Chris, the guard captain who stayed behind at Fluorescent Castle, the other seven Phantom Beast Knights of the Glowing Valley were all gathered in this small Cold Spring Point.

“The Prime Breath inside my father can be seen to contain three intertwined forces, signifying a Third-layer High-ranking Mythical Beast Knight… Marcus has two intertwined forces within him, indicating he is a Second-layer High-ranking Mythical Beast Knight… The others all possess just one type of force, being First-layer Phantom Beast Knights,” he noted.

Of course,

The brightest light at the Cold Spring Point was Mr. Ross’s, who hung upside-down from the ice cap ceiling like a huge bat,

Radiating a vivid red glow.

“Alright, Sword Butterfly, lead the way, let’s take a turn outside the Cold Spring Point!” Russell gave the command, and the Sword Butterfly fluttered ahead gracefully. He rode the Little Dream Dragon closely behind, flying out of the narrow and cramped Cold Spring Point.

Outside, a team of knights was patrolling nearby, oblivious to Russell, the Little Dream Dragon, and the Sword Butterfly.

The Gloomy Dreamland was a reality belonging solely to Russell.