Chapter 141: The Magician of Coral City

Four hundred and seventy-six serfs, two-thirds of whom were women, with many infants and children, and quite a few elderly people. There were very few able-bodied men – in the slave trade market, they were considered excellent laborers and thus sold at much higher prices than the elderly, children, and women.

To another lord, this batch of serfs would be of very poor quality.

Apart from the craftsmen being valuable, the women and children were burdens, and even the craftsmen were all elderly, making it an extremely unprofitable deal.

But Liszt did not complain inwardly – the women could marry the bachelors on his territory, offsetting the gender imbalance in Flower Town; the children and infants, if nurtured well, would become future knights; and the old craftsmen had exquisite skills that could be passed down to apprentices.

Of course.

Able-bodied men were equally important to Flower Town, whether for farming, road construction, or dock building, they required able-bodied labor.

So on the surface, Liszt still complained, "Mr. Frank, the quality of these serfs is not very good. I specifically asked for women, so having more of them is no problem, but there are too many children, and the craftsmen are all elderly. Are you trying to fool me?"

"Oh, Baron Liszt, I wouldn't dare fool the bloodline of the Tulip family," Frank said with a smile. "This batch of serfs was gathered by the fleet from various slave markets, and the able-bodied laborers were bought up early by others. You know, without war, there are no high-quality serfs."

"So now, when the fleet sails again, should it be able to buy high-quality serfs? The Kingdom of Steel Ridge has already declared war on the Kingdom of Eagles, and Father and the others have already gone to battle."

Frank's eyes flickered. "You want to continue the slave trade… Oh, yes, the seafood market has brought you a lot of gold coins."

"The profits from the seafood market, Mr. Frank, are clear to you, aren't they?" Liszt didn't pretend to be poor, after all, the other party had been helping Levis collect dividends. "I will quickly gather a sum of gold coins and hope that the fleet can bring me another batch of serfs."

"There shouldn't be a problem. The Tulip fleet always does business when it goes out to sea, and now that the war has started, the slave trade is even better. So, how many serfs do you plan to buy?"

"A thousand, including two hundred craftsmen."

"A thousand serfs, according to the price, would require 240 gold coins."

"Before, the slave trade was difficult, and I could accept the higher price, but during the war, the serfs are still so expensive. I cannot accept that, Mr. Frank."

"Regardless of war or not, the slave trade is always full of risks…"

After some haggling,

They finally settled on a price of 210 gold coins.

Taking out the gold coins he had saved by living frugally and by diverting the merchant caravan's funds, and handing them over to Frank, Liszt's smile was no longer as gentle – he would have to live in poverty for a while, and the feeling of an empty purse was uncomfortable, especially after getting used to spending money extravagantly.

...

He declined Frank's invitation to have lunch together under the pretext that "Little Shirley really wants to see you." His lunch was eaten in Lady Penelope's castle.

Lady Mary from Tulip Castle also sent a servant to invite him, but he didn't go, as he wasn't close to Lady Mary. Lvera also stayed here, and at the dinner table, she kept asking Liszt, "Your Earth Dog has grown so big, tell me how many gold coins you want for it!"

What kind of international joke was that?

Although Doss hadn't released any magic, others didn't know its capabilities, but just looking at its size showed that it was extraordinary.

This couldn't be measured in gold coins!

Liszt responded coldly, "Dear sister, Doss saw me as the first person when it opened its eyes, and it recognizes no one but me. Even if you use dragon coins, you won't get its recognition. Give up on this foolish idea."

Hearing the word "foolish," Lvera's face darkened. "You're getting more and more arrogant now, daring to ignore your sister's words."

In Liszt's left hand was a knife,

And in his right hand, a fork, cutting into the steak leisurely. "I'm just telling you the truth, please remain rational." Lady Penelope seemed to appreciate Liszt's newfound transformation into a domineering figure, and she rarely spoke up in his favor. "Lvera, please eat like a lady and stop always thinking about taking something from Liszt. If you want something, you can choose a suitable husband from among so many excellent nobles to satisfy everything you desire."

"Grandmother, you don't love me at all anymore."

"You've all grown up, my little girls and boys, Grandmother is getting senile and only hopes that the three of you siblings will get along and take care of Lytton, this little child, allowing the Tulip family's bloodline to flourish."

Lunch was not particularly harmonious.

After the meal, Lvera angrily drew her sword and blocked Liszt's path. "Fight me like a warrior, I want to prove that you're still the cowardly Liszt!"

Before Liszt could respond,

Doss, who was lazily lying nearby, suddenly broke free from Tom's hold and rushed towards Lvera. Its momentum was like a tiger descending from the mountain, roaring low and stirring up a gust of wind.

In that instant, beads of cold sweat instantly appeared on Lvera's face.

She felt herself enveloped by a strong aura of killing intent.

It was the kind of killing intent one experienced when facing an irresistible force, a threat to one's life – just like when she was seven years old and whipped a wild horse with a whip, resulting in the horse charging fiercely at her and opening its mouth to bite her – the difference was that she was now a Knight of the Earth, but the same inability to resist remained.

"Come back, Doss!"

With a faint command from Liszt, the charging Doss suddenly braked and stopped advancing. But its氪golden eyes still flashed with fierce light, glaring viciously at Lvera, ready to pounce and devour her at any moment.

"It's a monster from Thorns Ridge, although it recognizes me as its master, but its ferocity isn't easily removed. Sorry to scare you, I have something to do, an appointment with someone, dear sister, we'll chat next time."

With that, he smiled slightly.

Leading Doss, he left the castle.

Lvera's face turned ashen, and she stood motionless in a daze, not continuing to assert herself verbally. She was truly frightened by Doss' charge just now – after all, she was just a flower in a greenhouse.

On the balcony of the castle, Lady Penelope watered her new Dragonbloom with a watering can, undoubtedly seeing the scene at the castle gate clearly.

She just muttered, "That's right, girls should act like girls, and boys should act like boys. Melissa and Mary, those bitches, aren't lacking in their ability to bear children."

...

Liszt did not deceive Lvera.

He indeed had an appointment, or rather, he needed to find someone.

Arriving directly at a small town near Coral City, looking at the dilapidated appearance of the town, he frowned slightly. "Rom, is this the place?"

"Sir, it's here, Moss Town, I've been to this little town before." Rom Barrel answered.

"To whom does this town belong?"

"It used to be the fief of a baron, who later went bankrupt and was reclaimed by the count, it has never been granted since."

"It is indeed here, I have already spotted the two-story building with white spires that Gort mentioned." Liszt waved his hand, "Let's go, let's meet this gentleman mage."