Evil dragon has a warm heart
Chapter 509 - 509 507 The Hope of the Tobacco Field

Chapter 509: Chapter 507: The Hope of the Tobacco Field Chapter 509: Chapter 507: The Hope of the Tobacco Field By the Black Water River, the Tobacco Magic Medicine Field of Frost Manor spans one thousand six hundred and fifty acres.

Of these, one thousand five hundred acres are within the influence of Tobacco Sprite Niko, while the remaining one hundred and fifty acres are influenced by a Tobacco Sprite Bug that was discovered this year—after the presence of a sprite, a steady stream of Spirit Insects will be born.

“Eekoo!”

Niko joyfully flew back and forth over the tobacco field, the three estates added up to an area of six to seven hundred square kilometers, all planted with tobacco.

One could say this place was a sea of tobacco.

Fluorescent Mushroom Bird Rosy and Wheat Elf Hewitt were not as buoyant as Niko; they didn’t fancy tobacco.

All of a sudden.

Niko descended into a patch of the tobacco field and then quickly flew back, squeaking in front of Russell.

“Oh, you’ve found something new?” Russell followed Niko, quickly arriving at that patch of the tobacco field.

Niko alighted on a lush, green tobacco plant, pointed at the tobacco beneath its feet and tilted its head, asking, “Eekoo?”

This tobacco plant was slightly bigger than the ones around it, with a cluster of fluff bundled together.

Russell’s heart stirred, he happily said, “Niko, could it be that you’ve discovered a Tobacco Sprite Bug that is currently gestating?”

“Eekoo?” Niko seemed puzzled; the intelligence of the little sprites was not high.

Russell reached out to touch the leaves of the tobacco plant, and a slight sensation of Dragon Breath vibrated; the next moment, he felt that the plant indeed had a faint magic power flowing within it: “Cool, Niko, this really is a Cordyceps!”

He immediately instructed his attendant to register the Tobacco Cordyceps, then to watch over and cultivate it with great care.

The main ingredient for its cultivation was the dung of the Bipedal Flying Dragon.

The Bipedal Flying Dragon could survive without eating, but still craved the pleasures of the palate; as long as it ate, it would produce dung. So Russell nearly every day had people feed the Black Oil Dragon Ross, all so that Ross would produce more dragon dung.

Now, as the Little Dream Dragon had fallen into a deep slumber, unlikely to awaken in a year and a half, it couldn’t exhale Dragonflame to catalyze the Spirit Insects.

They could only rely on Ross’s dragon dung now.

“Eekoo.” The attendant knights went about their tasks, but Niko continued to stand on the tobacco leaves, curiously observing the bundled fluff cluster.

Through the vibrations of a heart-mind connection.

Russell could sense its inner fluctuations; it seemed very perplexed as to why a sprite similar to itself would be born from tobacco.

“That is the wonder of nature, the Dragon Sleep Continent where we live, is just such a miraculous place.” Russell patted Niko’s little head, which also had emerald-green tobacco leaves on it.

“Eekoo?”

“Don’t worry about this Sprite Bug; it won’t miscarry with careful nurturing,” Russell consoled.

When the Warm Season just arrived, one of the tobacco plants left from last year gestated a Spirit Insect; it was cultivated with dragon dung at that time, then occasionally sprayed with a magic power potion, ultimately ensuring the successful gestation of the Spirit Insect.

This was the essential practice for harvesting sprites in the Dragon Sleep Continent.

Noble families with dragons would collect dragon dung to cultivate sprites; lesser nobility without dragons needed to buy it from their lord or from Red Castle, or they simply sold the Cordyceps still in gestation outright to the grand nobility.

Sprites are not ordinary creatures that common people can afford to care for.

“Gugu.” Niko still didn’t want to leave the tobacco plant; in its tiny heart, moved by some unknown trigger, it developed a mysterious feeling for the tobacco plant, wanting to keep vigil over it.

This was a phenomenon that had never occurred before.

Naturally, Russell did not ignore this, but narrowed his eyes and scrutinized Niko carefully: “Do you want to stay here and wait for the Spirit Insect to be born?”

“Gugu.” Niko nodded.

“All right, I will arrange for someone to guard you exclusively right here,” Russell thought for a moment and then commanded an attendant to summon the Territory Patrol Knight Captain Catherine.

“Sir!” Catherine arrived quickly.

“There’s a Cordyceps here in gestation, and Niko wishes to watch over it; therefore, I plan for you to guard Niko,” Russell instructed, “During the Spirit Insect’s gestation period, make sure no one disturbs Niko.”

“Yes, Sir!” Catherine responded.

Then she cast an inquisitive look at Russell, wanting to ask something, but in the end, she did not.

Russell naturally knew what Catherine wished to ask, he spoke indifferently: “I don’t know if there’s any possibility either, but Niko’s current state is very strange, so perhaps there is hope… every sprite’s evolution is different.”

“I understand, Sir. I will take good care of Niko and this cordyceps,” Katie responded seriously.

The possibility of a little sprite evolving into a great sprite allowed no room for negligence.

Afterward, Russell and Katie chatted idly while keeping watch over Niko until evening. Niko showed no changes, but she was full of curiosity about the nurturing of the tobacco sprite bug, determined to stay by the bug’s side until its birth.

“Niko, we’re leaving,” Russell stood up.

Rosy and Hewitt, perched on his shoulders, were already dozing off, but perked up immediately upon hearing his words, chattering to bid Niko goodbye.

“Yigoo, googoo,” Niko waved.

“Farewell, Sir,” Katie bowed.

“Thank you for your hard work, Katie.”

“To serve you is Katie’s good fortune,” Katie replied with a smile, extremely content with her current life.

She then kicked the Red-Eyed Mouse King Jerry who was lying at her feet.

The groggy Jerry sprang up with a start and then hurried to bid farewell to his master Russell: “Chirp chirp!”

After Russell had left.

Out of nowhere, Katie produced a strip of meat: “Jerry.”

“Chirp chirp!” Jerry immediately snatched up the meat with delight, nibbling away until it was completely gone.

Katie then sat back down, stroking Jerry’s somewhat prickly fur, smiling at Niko who had already curled up on a tobacco leaf for a nap.

Surrounded by the sound of insects, it was as if they were cheering for the tranquil times.

“How wonderful it is, Jerry,” Katie sighed with emotion. “The Sir’s enterprise thrives, the territory evolves day by day; Catherine has found a knight she loves and is soon to enter the sanctity of marriage—everything is truly wonderful!”

Three years earlier.

She and her sister Catherine were living like mice in a cave.

But now, Catherine was about to be married, and she herself had become a Phantom Beast Knight—the two sisters both lived under the bright sunshine.

“Grateful to the Sir, all this bliss is a gift from you!” Katie prayed devoutly to the crescent moon that had just risen, “May the Sir ride a giant dragon soon, attain the position of Grand Duke at the earliest… Katie wishes only to offer a lifetime of loyalty to you!”

“Yigoo yigoo,” Niko turned over, emitting meaningless sounds.

…

At night, Cigar Castle was brightly lit, with craftsmen still working overtime to repair the towers and walls.

On the terrace of the main castle, Russell lay on a bench enjoying the cool breeze and the moonlight, accompanied by Unicorn Polly, Harpies Hape, and Ouroboros. Black Oil Dragon Ross lay coiled on the Dragon Coiling Pillar, snoring.

“What do you think, can Niko evolve into a great sprite?” Russell asked.

“Don’t know yet,” Polly replied, lying on the terrace. But upon closer inspection, one could see it was floating slightly above the terrace floor, never truly lying down, still maintaining its magnetic levitation state.

Hape, standing on the edge of the terrace, similarly responded, “Don’t know.”

Only Ouroboros seemed to empathize, replying, “I believe Niko can certainly evolve into a great sprite!”

It lifted its head towards the starry sky.

It is said that snakes have poor eyesight, yet Ouroboros had a very sharp vision, able to see the stars in the sky as clearly as humans.

Russell could feel that Ouroboros wasn’t just agreeing with Niko’s evolution, but rather, it was expressing its own inner conviction—Polly and Hape had evolved into Pseudo-Dragons, but it remained just an ordinary Phantom Beast.

And without the bloodline of a Pseudo-Dragon, breaking through the ceiling of what a Phantom Beast could become was an immense challenge.

Yet, Ouroboros believed firmly that it would succeed because it wasn’t only surrounded by living Pseudo-Dragons and the Dragon Domain Lord, but behind it, there was a future Master of Dreamscape, a giant dragon waiting for a volcanic eruption.

“Indeed, I, too, firmly believe that Niko can succeed,” Russell looked at Ouroboros, their eyes meeting, and both human and snake understood each other’s intentions.

The next moment.

Something shattered in the heart, the last bit of disharmony between Russell and Ouroboros.

At that very moment.

One human, one snake—a perfect synchronization of souls was achieved!