Evil dragon has a warm heart
Chapter 424 - 424 423 A Bright Future

Chapter 424: Chapter 423: A Bright Future Chapter 424: Chapter 423: A Bright Future Ouroboros, having settled in the Wuyao Snake Manor, would have to return the manor to the family eventually, if it weren’t for Russell’s foreseeable need to do so.

He would certainly have renamed the manor to Ouroboros Snake Manor.

However, for now, he could only raise Uroboros; Russell still had to perfect the Second Turn Primordial Breath cultivation of a Phantom Beast Knight before he could activate the Third-layer.

“Gua’er.” Pseudo-Harpy Dragon Hape gazed at Russell, waiting to cultivate.

Russell also stared at Hape, and suddenly, a slight hesitation arose within him, “Perhaps, Hape is not the Phantom Beast that suits me.”

He was not complaining about their different personalities or the always-present barrier in their spiritual synchronization.

It was that Hape’s role could no longer keep up with his development at this moment, especially after the appearance of Ouroboros, highlighting Hape’s redundancy in its role—it had no talent related to the Gloomy Dreamland.

Indeed.

Hape, as a Phantom Beast Pseudo-Dragon Successor, had great evolutionary potential and was also powerful in combat, possessing two fixed magics, Wind Wall Skill and Hurricane Skill.

But its inability to enter the Gloomy Dreamland meant that it would always be out of place in the Dream Family.

“I shouldn’t have been so eager to form the Second-layer contract with it just because it looked beautiful and was a Pseudo-Dragon Successor,” Russell felt a moment of regret in his heart, but he quickly dismissed it and readjusted his mindset.

No matter what, the contract was already made.

Now was not the time for hesitation or regret, and besides, Hape, as a Phantom Beast Pseudo-Dragon Successor, would have an important position once it evolved into a Pseudo-Dragon.

“Come now, Hape, Beast Fusion Shadow!”

“Gua’er!”

The cultivation lasted for several hours. Afterward, Russell checked the results and found the progress to be minimal.

Compared to the leaps and bounds he experienced when cultivating with Polly, cultivating with Hape was less efficient. Fortunately, Hape was intelligent and willing to progress, allowing the two of them to continue moving forward, albeit with difficulty.

“Take a break, take a break, here, have some roasted rats.” Russell had someone bring a plate of roasted rat meat, “These are not local rats, but specially delivered from the You Guang Ji, rats from the Volcanic Oasis!”

“Gua’er!” Hape became excited.

Nibbling on the roasted rat meat, the treat after each day’s cultivation was one of its motivations to train.

“Sir, Lady Catherine has arrived,” Butler Morris came to report.

Russell nodded, “Please let her come over.”

Soon enough, Catherine appeared on the second floor and curtsied to Russell, “Sir, I have sent someone to notify Lord Charles to try and plant a fir forest around the new castle, to create a Magical Medicine Field for the Fir Parasitic Elf Bug.”

The Fir Parasitic Elf Bug had already hatched and was brought back to the Wuyao Snake Manor by Russell.

However, as this was a parasitic type of cordyceps, it needed to parasitize fir trees, so the planting conditions were quite demanding.

For the time being, it could only be planted outside Grotto Village in the Saiban Snow Forest.

It is worth mentioning that the ice cap around the Saiban Snow Forest had already shattered, and clearly, the Saiban Snow Forest would eventually be included in the Warm Enclave—whether the Saiban Fairy would regret not wanting to move from the Saiban Snow Forest remained to be seen.

“Hmm,” Russell nodded, then asked, “Catherine, how are you finding your job as the Chancellor of Records for the Wuyao Snake Manor?”

Upon hearing this, Catherine nodded and then shook her head, “Taking over for Lord Charles wasn’t too problematic, there weren’t matters I couldn’t manage, but… there are too few people, Sir. The officials have been reassigned by you to Blackflame Plains. I’m the only one left in the manor, and I’m overwhelmed.”

“Didn’t I grant you a few promotion slots to appoint official candidates?” Russell chuckled.

Charles had been appointed by him as the Chancellor of Records for the Blackflame Plains to manage the tens of thousands of serfs clearing the land, and the few officials trained in the manor had all been taken by Charles, leaving only Catherine.

So Catherine had become the Chancellor of Records for the Wuyao Snake Manor.

“But… but just as I had my eye on a few serf supervisors to promote to officials, they applied for transfer to the Blackflame Plains,” Catherine said with frustration. Everyone in the territory knew that the Wuyao Snake Manor would eventually have to be returned.

So they were all trying to transfer to Blackflame Plains to gain an early advantage for future promotion,

Rather than staying at the Wuyao Snake Manor.

“That’s the responsibility of a Chancellor of Records, Catherine,” Russell yawned, not particularly concerned about the matter.

Catherine could only respond, “Yes, Sir.”

After reporting on her work, Catherine couldn’t stay at the Cigar Courtyard to enjoy a meal. After all, Catherine was a woman, and Russell had to maintain a sense of propriety.

But just as Russell was beginning to enjoy his dinner…

Catherine hurried back, “Sir, it’s good news.”

“What’s the matter?” Russell frowned, completely not expecting Catherine to also pick up the habit of showing up at mealtime to freeload.

So he had no choice but to gesture to Butler Morris to arrange for an extra set of cutlery.

Seeing this, Catherine felt a bit embarrassed, but still couldn’t bring herself to decline, for the food at the Cigar Courtyard was too sumptuous.

“Thank you, Sir,” Catherine expressed her gratitude, then immediately said, “The village head from Magic Medicine Tun has just reported that among the birch trees, there’s a Fluorescent Mushroom Magic Potion that is growing better than the others around it. It’s suspected to be Cordyceps.”

“So, it actually is a Cordyceps?”

“Yes, I personally went to verify it and confirmed that it’s a Fluorescent Mushroom Cordyceps that is nurturing Spirit Insects,” Catherine happily reported.

This indeed was cause for celebration; for the nobility, sprites were a guarantee of magic power potions.

Russell immediately instructed, “When you go back, send someone to find Charles. Ask for some of Rossay’s dragon dung, and apply more fertilizer to that birch tree to ensure the Cordyceps is well-nourished.”

“Yes, Sir!”

If Torrent Scale Tower wasn’t nearby, Russell wouldn’t have to go through so much trouble. He could simply borrow a bit of Original Dragon Flame from the Little Dream Dragon to stimulate the growth of the Glowing Mushroom Insects.

Now, he could only resort to the commonly accepted methods of the Dragon Sleep Continent to cultivate the Spirit Insects.

He immediately used a mind connection to call over Fluorescent Mushroom Bird Luo Xi from the Spirit Room, “There’s new Cordyceps grown in your Magical Medicine Field. Remember to take good care of this new Cordyceps and try to nurture out Spirit Insects.”

“Chirp chirp,” Luo Xi tilted her head.

Her intelligence wasn’t very high, not much different from that of an ordinary bird, but the power of the contract allowed her to understand Russell’s orders.

“Eep coo, coo coo!” Luo Xi had just flown in when the Tobacco Sprite Niko followed, alighting on Russell’s shoulder, chattering nonstop, causing a raucous and it was unclear what she was fussing about.

Then the somewhat introverted Wheat Elf Hewitt quietly followed behind as well.

Seeing that both of Russell’s shoulders were taken by sprites, Hewitt prepared to perch on Russell’s head, but Niko, quick-eyed, dashed over and snatched the spot on his head for herself.

Without competing, Hewitt quietly settled on the now vacant shoulder.

“You can play here, but I won’t allow any disturbance. Let me eat quietly,” Russell chided.

Suddenly, all three sprites quieted down.

As Catherine ate the delicious food, she watched the little sprites with joy. Of course, whether she was just looking at the sprites or taking the chance to sneak a glance at Russell, was unknown.

Sensing Catherine’s gaze,

Russell subtly said, “Catherine, it hasn’t been long since you started following me. Your sister has already sworn to stay unmarried for life, but she hopes you can find happiness. Lately, many foreign Knights have come to our territory. I’ll mention it to Katie to help you look out for a suitable match.”

Catherine’s expression dimmed, and she softly said, “Sir, I’m not in a rush. Like my sister, remaining unmarried all my life is also okay.”

“John has been dead for over a year. It’s time you stopped thinking about him and find a Knight to marry,” Russell said.

He had learned of this from Katie.

Catherine had a secret romance with his attendant Knight John, and they were lovers. However, during the second Cometfall Campaign, John was killed on the battlefield in the Snowfield, abruptly ending their relationship.

After a moment of silence, Catherine nodded quietly, “Yes, Sir.”

“Assigning you as the Chancellor of Records at Wuyao Snake Manor makes it difficult for you to interact with Knights. Well then, later you should go and work with your sister. I’ll have Charles bring someone back to assume the role of the manor’s Chancellor of Records.”

“Thank you for your concern, Sir.”

“What’s this all about,” Russell mused. “You are among the first to follow me, and I hope all of you can have a wonderful future.”