Chapter 123 Another Violent Dog

Liszt decided that he would spend this period of time amidst the thorns.

He publicly announced that he was going to exterminate the monsters in Thorns Ridge, and indeed, he did plan on doing so. However, his most fundamental goal was to snatch that Bloodline Fruit.

A thorough search was essential.

"All beasts that can be hunted should be hunted clean. The thorn forest is destined to be cut down, there's no need to spare any beasts!" Marcus was the commander of the Knight Squad.

He loudly berated the squire knights, "Wayne, Evan, you two idiots who can't even cultivate Aura, your job is to collect the corpses of the beasts and pile them together, hanging them on trees. Do you understand! We're taking all this food back with us when we return!"

This was a scorched earth policy.

In Liszt's plan, apart from the wild fruit trees, all other trees in Thorns Ridge were to be cut down. Not only would all the monsters be killed, but all the beasts would also be slaughtered. In the future, this place would be transformed into farmland. All the stones would be quarried out for road construction, and all the wood would be used for building houses and firewood.

Environmental protection didn't exist here.

Liszt pressed his hand against the hilt of the Red Blood Sword, his pupils occasionally transforming into spinning vortices as he employed the Eye of Magic Power to observe the locations of the lurking monsters.

This was his greatest reliance in wiping out the monsters in Thorns Ridge.

Although Marcus didn't know that Liszt possessed the mysterious Aura secret technique of the Eye of Magic Power, he vaguely guessed that Liszt had the ability to see through magic power. It was only natural for a lord from the Tulip Family to have some secret means. Thus, he was equally confident.

Doushen was probably the least afraid of anything. This was his first time at Thorns Ridge, and the entire dog was trembling with excitement, dashing around in sheer joy.

"Doushen, be quiet!"

Liszt softly called out.

In the vision of the Eye of Magic Power,

Doushen appeared yellow, Marcus was green, and the other squire knights were blurry gray-white Aura, yet to display their Aura attributes.

Rustling.

A rabbit leaped out from the grass.

Marcus didn't move. A squire knight who had cultivated Aura suddenly charged forward on horseback, lightly thrusting his longsword to pierce the rabbit dead.

The action was fluid and seamless, aided by Aura and reinforced by continuous training in knightly courses. Even a twelve-year-old squire was already agile, far surpassing adults.

Shaking the longsword, the rabbit's corpse was tossed behind the group.

Wayne, who hadn't cultivated Aura yet, hurriedly caught the rabbit's corpse, pulled out a rope, tied up the rabbit's hind legs, and hung it behind the horse.

Several small animal corpses were already hanging behind the horses, the largest one being a muntjac.

Thus, throughout the morning, the Knight Squad pushed forward relentlessly. They didn't encounter a single monster, but they did hunt a large number of beasts. Once a certain quantity was reached, the beast corpses were tied together and hung on trees—this could prevent most beasts from stealing and eating the corpses.

The town wasn't lacking in food.

Some of the game would be preserved and smoked for storage in the castle's larder; some would be distributed to subordinates and their families, winning their loyalty.

The rest that couldn't be consumed would be sold at the seafood stall, which was one of the castle's businesses, aimed at providing seafood to the residents of the fiefdom—the prices for the game had already been set by Liszt, only slightly more expensive than black bread. This allowed the townsfolk to taste the wild flavors of Thorns Ridge.

It could be considered a benefit bestowed by the lord.

Liszt was a good man, or so he believed himself to be.

The residents of the fiefdom also thought so, for no lord had ever treated his serfs with such kindness.

For lunch, they barbecued the game in the midst of Thorns Ridge. The squire knights had brought seasonings, and after cleaning the meat thoroughly, they sprinkled it with spices, skewered it on sticks, and grilled it on the spot.

The flames quickly charred the meat, making it tender inside and crispy outside.

The aroma wafted through the air, enticing and causing nearby beasts to approach, only to become targets for the squire knights' swordsmanship practice—this morning, the squire knights' sword skills had rapidly improved, as practical experience allowed them to grow swiftly,

no longer panicking or fumbling."It will take about three days to thoroughly search the southern part of Thorns Ridge. There might be some that slip through the net, and without food in the forest, they may very well head towards Flower Town," Marcus analyzed the consequences of the battle while eating the roasted meat.

Liszt did not let the squire knights help him with the grilling.

He personally grilled a pheasant leg, using a dagger to make incisions in the meat, sprinkling it with seasonings, and brushing it with several layers of oil. Grilled over a roaring fire, the skin turned golden brown, and the oil and seasonings fully penetrated the meat.

This technique had been tested a few times back at the castle, and it was excellent—nobles didn't enter the kitchen, but in the wilderness, grilling their own meat was quite common, after all, roasting meat was considered a refined pleasure.

"Before I left, I had already instructed Master Gort that the town's residents should not leave their homes unnecessarily in the near future, and if they must go out to work, they should do so in groups. Once we get through this period, the Logging Team will cut down all the timber in Thorns Ridge, and Flower Town will be completely safe."

He prodded the pheasant leg with the dagger.

Feeling that the meat was sufficiently cooked.

He blew on the golden skin, took a gentle bite, as if biting into a crisp biscuit, the skin was already crunchy. The meat was tender and easily tore apart, the fragrance blooming on his tongue along with the heat. It was too hot, making Liszt want to spit it out, yet he couldn't bear to, it was too fragrant.

He breathed out as he swallowed the meat.

"Delicious!"

He praised himself heartily in his mind.

After gnawing halfway through the pheasant leg, he remembered that he should observe his surroundings for any lurking monsters. Upon casting his Magic Eye, he immediately noticed a yellow magic-constituted Earth Bulldog right in front of the campfire to the left—if it weren't for Douson snuggling against his leg, he would have mistaken it for Douson!

"Master Marcus, do you see that thick tree trunk to the left?" He subtly alerted Marcus, putting down the pheasant leg in his hand and reaching for the bow and arrow on his back.

Marcus raised an eyebrow: "Yes, is there something, my lord?"

"There's a monster hiding in the grass to the left of the tree trunk, it could be a Wind Blade Wolf, or it could be an Earth Bulldog," Liszt did not directly identify what kind of monster it was.

Marcus nodded.

His expression became serious.

He turned and made a few simple gestures to the knights accompanying him—a common way for knights to communicate on the battlefield, after all, they couldn't always shout. The meaning was clear: be on alert, there's an enemy nearby, in the direction he pointed, pass the message down.

In silence, all the knights received the signal.

They gripped their weapons tightly and began to move slowly, encircling that patch of grass.

Douson seemed to sense the tension and stood up abruptly, his fur bristling. Liszt comforted him softly, "Don't move, Douson, follow my command."

Douson held back his impulse, his dog eyes darting around, his nose beginning to sniff the air—previously preoccupied with the smell of roasting meat.

A net of heaven and earth had been cast.

Liszt and Marcus exchanged a glance, each drawing their bows and arrows, twin arrows loaded onto the bowstrings, aiming at the grass.

With a sharp command, "Fire!"

The two instantly released their arrows, four arrows shooting towards the grass from different directions. Marcus didn't know the location of the beast, so his arrows were slightly off target, but Liszt's arrows were very accurate, aimed directly at the beast's head.

Pfft!

As expected.

Only one of Liszt's arrows struck the beast's back—the beast reacted incredibly quickly at the critical moment, twisting its body to avoid the dangerous attack.

This movement caused the beast to leap out of the grass, an arrow embedded in its back, not penetrating too deeply.

It lunged directly at the nearest knight.

And dared to retaliate.

"It's a Dirt Hound!" Marcus drew his bow again, taking a preemptive shot at where the Dirt Hound was charging, saving the knight's life.

Liszt also drew his bow and arrow, issuing orders at the same time, "Douson, aim at the prey, unleash magic!"