The Defeated Dragon Chapter 88

88 – The Black Pearls' Worth

The giant clam's shell was very large, more than two meters long and nearly two meters wide. Liszt had been growing, and at present, he was nearly 1,85 meters tall. He could fit in the giant clam's shell.

Of course, he had not given much thought to it.

The shape of the giant clam's shell was too weird. With the large waves adorning its surface, it was not suitable to be made into a bed. He let people set up the giant clam's shell at the castle's entrance to serve as a huge sculpture. It had to be said, the giant clam's shell without its flesh and washed clean was very beautiful.

Having dealt with the giant clam, Liszt retreated to the study and began to study the black pearls.

Carter had moved the black pearls to the study, but now, apart from the small black pearl in Liszt hand, there was no other black pearl in the study. They were already stored inside the space ring hanging around his neck. When it came to precious articles, he chose to have them on his person.

Thus, when Carter brought Liszt a glass of juice, he said in surprise: “Master, I clearly put the black pearls on the shelves, so how come they are no longer here?”

“I hid them, so stop worrying”

“Very well.” Carter asked no more. As a butler, he didn't need to know where Liszt had hidden the black pearls. All he needed to do was to serve his master well and manage the castle properly.

After drinking the juice.

He experimented with the black pearl for a while.

Liszt gradually gained a basic understanding of the black pearl: “It is very rich in magic power, and in fact, it is not much inferior to dragon-produced gems. But compared to the constant flow of magic power those gems provide, the black pearl's magic power apparently has to be artificially replenished. I don't have water-attributed magic power and therefore am unable to replenish it myself.”

The black pearl the size of a table tennis ball in his hand constantly exuded fluctuations of magic power.

These fluctuations were completely different from those of dragon gems.

He used terms that he could understand to distinguish between the two: “Dragon gems employs magic power to form a stable magnetic field-like form that contained their magic power. The black pearl, on the other hand, is more like a radioactive material, constantly radiating its magic power outside; its loss of magic power can be felt after some time.”

So in essence, black pearls were of a much lower grade than dragon gems.

A dragon gem going for seven or eight hundred gold coins would not be an issue, while a black pearl, as Marcus had said, could probably go for ten gold coins.

“However, the washbasin-sized black pearl… Only heavens know what sky-high price it could fetch! I believe that greater aristocrats, who madly look for treasures and collect antiques, would be willing to use a dragon coin to purchase it.” Dragon coins, which were worth ten thousand gold coins a piece, were not something that people who weren't particularly well-off greater aristocrats could use lightly.

Following this train of thought.

He became agitated: “I think that this time's mission reward is the one with the most tangible benefit… Although this reward is not too generous, yet it is no different from receiving cash.”

So far, although he had completed a total of eighteen missions, he still didn't figure out the rules that governed the missions and the rewards.

But for the most part, the mission rewards were very valuable.

If one were to quantify their value, then the magic beast rewards, Tremblingwoods and Blessedcurls, were worth upwards of one hundred cold coins each; the productivity rewards, sprite worms, were worth one to two thousand gold coins. It was true that sprite worms were magical and rare, but their ten year lifespan was a huge restriction.

The Black Tulips, the Flame Mushrooms, a Blackdragon, these being worth one dragon coin each should not be an exaggeration; the qi secret skill, [Magic Eyes], was worth three thousand gold coins; maize grass, smoke grass, the extremely small saltpeter mine, the fifty people, although their worth was a bit difficult to measure, but they still were very valuable.

As for the information about the invisible dragon, it was a different cup of tea.

The most valuable reward was the gem of the invisible dragon, a gem with its own space. It was priceless.

Just that, these rewards either required a long time before they could fully display their worth; or, because of various restrictions, they couldn't display their worth; or, simply because they could bring trouble, they could not be exposed to the outside world.

However, the black pearls were different.

They were quite valuable, with the sixteen black pearls of different sizes adding up to at least upwards of ten thousand gold coins. The key point was that they could be sold separately. After all, they were not a set.

“Do I really sell them, I better sell them, but do I really sell them?” After pondering for a moment, Liszt decided to first take out the black pearl the size of a big bowl to test the market's waters.

Yesterday, Carter mentioned that Levis' birthday was on August 19th, asking what gift he should prepare.

When the time came, he would go to the Tulip Castle to attend the other's birthday banquet.

“As for the gift, top grade seafood should suffice. I can just ask him whether he wants to purchase black pearls. The Tulip Family's qi is of the water attribute, so they should be in need of black pearls… They can ask a wizard to help them forge a magic equipment. At that time, I can get some ideas on how the black pearls should be used.”

There was no one more adept at studying magic items than wizards.

There were no wizards on the Coral Island, but the Tulip Family certainly could contact them.

If the price was right, then Liszt was ready to sell a few black pearls to raise some funds and then hand it to Levis so that he kept helping him purchase slaves.

He also wanted to buy some pig iron and wrought iron for the blacksmith shop to create some more farm tools.

The farming efficiency of the fief's serfs was too low, making him very dissatisfied. For the time being, there was no way to get draft animals and the research on plows took time. Therefore, he could only forge some more shovels and hoes so that the serfs could soften the soil at a higher efficiency and consequently, part of the serfs could be moved from the farmland to be used in other roles.

“If I can get a high price for them, then I can buy some calves, foals, and lambs as well as some concentrated feed for the pregnant mares.”

“By the way, I should also do some repairs in the castle and should build a kang bed-stove for the winter, it would be a good solution for the cold days.”

Someone who planned far ahead, was a good way to describe Liszt.

It was still in the height of summer, yet he was already thinking about life in winter.

……

The Northvalley City's caravan had arrived at the Flower Town before eight o'clock in the morning. After more than eight months, a caravan entered the Flower Town again. In the past, caravans would follow the knights that came to collect taxes to the Flower Town every quarter; except for the winter quarter, of course. In other words, caravans had visited the Flower Town trice a year.

Every time a caravan arrived, the fief would become just as lively as when it celebrated the New Year Festival.

This time was no exception. When the impressive caravan arrived, it quickly attracted the fief's residents. The residents dropped the things they were doing and went to take a look.

Liszt, who no longer had to practice archery and by this time, had finished his morning exercise, had returned to the castle, and had finished taking his bath, stood before a window. He could see the bustling crowd in the town.

In particular, the skit the clowns started to perform atop a stage set up by them attracted the attention of most of the fief's residents.

The laughter and cheers could even be heard from the castle.

“Maisie, go call Mr. Carter.” Said Liszt to the maid, Maisie, who was cleaning.

“Yes, Master.”

Before long, Carter hurried over: “Master, you called?”

“Today the town is very lively. Tell everyone that today, if they want to, they can have a break. They don't need to stay in the castle, they can go to the town to see the skits or buy some snacks and relax.”

“You are truly a generous aristocrat. I will let the servants know it.”

“Mr. Carter, it also includes you.”

Carter chuckled: “I don't need to, Master. Let the young servants enjoy Master's benevolence. The castle needs someone to look after it and Master cannot do without servants waiting upon you.”

Chapter end