Evil dragon has a warm heart
Chapter 176 - 176 175 Feeding on Thorns

Chapter 176: Chapter 175: Feeding on Thorns Chapter 176: Chapter 175: Feeding on Thorns Hoo-hoo!

The wind on the snowfield blew like steel knives, stabbing faces and boring into the collars of clothing, icy to the bone.

Russell’s personal servant Ram tightened his cotton coat and edged closer to the carriage drivers beside him, trying to huddle together for warmth.

In the entire convoy, only he and the two carriage drivers were common folk.

The rest were knights.

With battle qi surging, the knights had no fear of the severe cold, even if their beards and hair were covered in frost.

“Ee-goo, ee-goo!”

All of the sudden, a little sprite popped out of the carriage, braving the cold wind to fly toward Russell, who was riding ahead.

“Cheep cheep!” Following closely behind the little sprite was a little green fat bird.

Unaffected by the cold wind, the little sprite and the fat bird quickly landed on Russell’s left and right shoulders, chirping away persistently.

“Niko, Rosy, how did you come out?” Russell tilted his head to look from side to side, filled with pride.

Though he was just a lord, he had two little sprites, which was incomparable to anyone else.

The Fluorescent Fungi Family also had only two little sprites.

“Goo goo!”

“Cheep cheep.”

Russell couldn’t understand what the two little sprites were saying, but through the psychic connection, he could feel the little fellows’ sense of wonder at the landscape of the snowfield.

“Alright, once you’ve enjoyed the scenery go back inside the carriage, don’t fall out, otherwise the Snow Demon will catch and eat you,” Russell threatened Niko and Rosy lightly, and herded them back into the carriage.

The team sped along the Ice Wall, silent against the biting wind and the occasional snowfall.

At dusk, they arrived at a Cold Spring Point.

Setting camp, cooking dinner, Russell chatted with Knight Commander Karis for a while before they each retired to their tents.

Despite the early hour, the fatigue from a day’s travel led to snoring sounds soon filling Cold Spring Point’s campsite.

Russell, too, fell into a deep sleep early on.

“Ka!”

The Little Dream Dragon’s voice was especially loud.

Over the course of a month, it accompanied Russell in visiting various places around the Tributary River Mouth, discovering many sources of magic light.

It even found Spirit Insects that were in gestation.

However, Russell did not harvest them, as everything there belonged to the Rainflower Family, not to him. Moreover, nurturing Spirit Insects required using the Little Dream Dragon’s Original Dragon Flame, and even if it could recover, Russell was unwilling to do so.

In the past, with no other choice, to develop his territory, he needed to foster more Spirit Insects.

Now with two little sprites at hand, there was no longer any need to worry about magic potions, and naturally, there was no need to delay the Little Dream Dragon’s growth.

So, for a month, it was purely a wander in the Gloomy Dreamland for one man and one dragon, with only one goal.

That was to search for Amber Worms.

Russell hoped to find new Amber Worms, as he was now full of desire for them, not only because of their endless uses, but also because they could expand the reach of his Gloomy Dreamland avatar, greatly assisting his “golden finger.”

“It’s a pity, the vast Tributary River Mouth with just a cursory glance didn’t yield a single Amber Worm.”

Nevertheless.

There were things that pleased Russell, like finding the growth food source of the Thorn Amber Bug during his explorations of the Tributary River Mouth.

The Sword Butterfly Amber Bug fed on swordsmanship from battlefields, or Russell could gain a small amount of food when dueling with others.

The Thorn Amber Bug, on the other hand, fed on discovering thorny plants. Whenever Russell was close to thorn-like food, the Thorn Amber Bug would convey intense thoughts of “grow, grow” and “yummy, yummy.”

Its growth, somewhat similar to Spirit Insects, was by absorbing pheromones from like-thorn plants, especially new varieties of thorns, which provided more nutrients.

So, while following Mel on joyful excursions, Russell also took on the task of searching for thorny plants.

Thorns are a fairly common plant in the Shadowflame Grand Duchy, with a widespread thorn distribution at the Tributary River Mouth, so the Sword Butterfly Amber Bugs have been eating quite well during this time.

But there doesn’t seem to be any change.

After manifesting, it’s still just a five-meter-long whip, only somewhat more flexible, which might be the result of getting used to it.

Anyhow.

Both the Sword Butterfly Amber Bug and the Thorn Amber Bug now have a path for growth, and with persistent development, they might bring an even bigger surprise to Russell one day in the future.

Mounting the dragon.

The next second, the Magic Light burst forth, and all the magic power of Cold Spring Point was revealed in the Gloomy Dreamland.

“Ice Cream, Sword Butterfly, Thorns, let’s go!” Russell waved forward.

Instantly, Ice Cream flew outside Cold Spring Point at thirty kilometers per hour. There was no sound of wind howling in the Gloomy Dreamland, not even a temperature exists, just an endless silence and darkness.

“Ga!” Little Dream Dragon was in a cheery mood.

Russell was also very happy, “It’d be great if we could find another Snow Demon, devour an Ice Soul Pearl, then our speed would be faster, and our search range would be even greater!”

Little Dream Dragon fully agreed: “Ga!”

Initially, its speed was only fifteen kilometers per hour, but after the first time swallowing two Ice Soul Pearls, it increased to twenty-five kilometers per hour, and later by devouring another Ice Soul Pearl, it reached the current thirty kilometers per hour.

Clearly, every consumption of an Ice Soul Pearl could increase the speed by about five kilometers per hour.

Of course, the effect of the Ice Soul Pearls might weaken as Little Dream Dragon grew.

But as long as it could speed up, that was good.

However, this evening wasn’t a lucky one, as a man, a dragon, a butterfly, and a flower searched the snowfield all night and only found a group of six ordinary Snow Ghosts. Little Dream Dragon swallowed six Ice Pellet Pearls in one bite, which were barely enough to fill the gaps between its teeth.

When parting, Russell consoled, “Don’t be discouraged, Ice Cream. With our current speed, we still have three more nights to search for food!”

“Ga.”

…

The next night, Russell and Little Dream Dragon set out for the Snowfield as promised, and the night’s harvest was quite good, encountering several packs of green-skinned Snow Ghosts and even a few big green-skinned ones.

It was indeed a feast for Little Dream Dragon.

The only regret was that they didn’t find any blue-skinned Snow Demons, so they didn’t get to devour any Ice Soul Pearls.

“We still have two more nights to camp at Cold Spring Point, Ice Cream. We still have a chance.”

“Ga!”

…

The return journey was all along the Ice and Snow Great Wall, with nothing noteworthy happening other than the wind and cold.

Soon it was evening, and the team entered Cold Spring Point.

To their surprise, Cold Spring Point was bustling with activity, already hosting a trading caravan encamped there. The not-so-wide courtyard was packed with all sorts of livestock, and Russell even spotted a Fantasy Beast – a Nightmare Specter Horse, clearly indicating the caravan was guarded by a Phantom Beast Knight.

“Is that Mr. Russell?” As soon as Russell entered, he was recognized.

“Who are you?”

“Heh, I’m Tom, manager of Bluebird Castle’s third trading caravan, often traveling between the Tributary River Mouth and the Glowing Valley.” Tom smiled, revealing a mouthful of large yellow teeth. “I never thought I’d encounter Mr. Russell here!”

“Hello, Tom.”

“I wouldn’t dare to disturb your rest.” Tom was about to take his leave when he saw Knight Commander Karis, “Ah, Lord Karis, you’ve come as well.”

Knight Commander Karis, regularly escorting trading caravans, nodded in acknowledgment, “Tom, how’s the haul this time?”

“Very good, very good, the produce from the Glowing Valley is abundant; the caravan’s wagons are almost overflowing!”

“Who escorted you?”

“Lord Stephen. Mr. Russell, Lord Karis, Lord Stephen is encamped in the northeast corner.” Tom enthusiastically pointed out the tent location of Lord Stephen for Russell and the others.