Evil dragon has a warm heart
Chapter 523 - 523 521 Niko Niko

Chapter 523: Chapter 521: Niko! Niko! Chapter 523: Chapter 521: Niko! Niko! Butler Morris handed over the burning firestarter, and Russell lit his Frost Series Rain Dragon Cigar with it.

The faint smoke spread out in the Spirit Room.

As the smoke from the burning magic tobacco approached the curled up Tobacco Sprite Niko, it seemed to perform a little twirl.

This magic, although originating from the earth, carried a hint of Niko’s essence.

“Hang in there, little one,” said Russell, puffing on his Frost Snow Cigar, exhaling a cloud of smoke towards Niko. As the smoke brushed her face, Niko’s pained expression seemed to ease for a moment, but it quickly returned to one of anguish.

The smoke, laced with magical essence, couldn’t provide relief to Niko.

The Fluorescent Mushroom Bird Luo Xi on the other hand, evidently could not empathize with Niko’s pain; it simply found the whole scene amusing.

So did the Wheat Elf Hewitt.

However, when Russell looked at Rosy, he was reminded of four years ago when she was still a Mushroom Insect facing imminent death during a sudden but under-supported evolution. It was the Little Dream Dragon that offered two puffs of “secondhand smoke” and helped her successfully evolve.

Now, the Little Dream Dragon’s Original Dragon Flame had evolved from secondhand smoke into a fierce blaze, but unfortunately, it was in deep slumber.

“Rosy was undernourished as a Mushroom Insect, lacking in essence, but Niko is robust. Rain Dragon Cigars can be found throughout the Shadowflame Grand Duchy and even into the Scorching Torrent Kingdom. Her foundation is far more profound than one would imagine!”

Flicking the ash away, Russell comforted himself, “So Niko will definitely evolve successfully. Every puff of Frost Snow, Cloud Mist Cigar is helping her evolve!”

The cigar was finished.

Russell waved his hand, “Rosy, Hewitt, back to your shelves to sleep.”

He then put the curled-up Niko into a jade box. For the next few days, whether eating, reading, or practicing, Russell was always with Niko, constantly monitoring her condition, and even jotting down notes from time to time.

Niko wouldn’t be his first sprite to evolve; in the future, he’d have many sprites facing the challenge of evolution.

Gathering experience now was to better assist the sprites’ evolution in the future.

Outside the Cigar Castle, snowflakes drifted down. The weather of the ice age was unpredictable—the sun shone brightly yesterday, and today, a heavy snow fell.

“Sir, Lord Erdock has arrived,” announced Butler Morris.

“Let him in,” Russell responded.

In the side hall, Russell met with the vice director of the Observatory, who was also his own follower, Erdock Great Knight.

“Sir!”

“How are the observational results from the Observatory coming along?” Russell asked.

“We haven’t managed to locate this planet. The Observatory has temporarily named it ‘Missing One.’ The past few days’ snowfall has halted our observation of the stars,” reported Erdock, “but we have someone stationed at the telescope daily. As soon as the skies clear, we will resume observation immediately.”

“Understood,” nodded Russell.

But deep down, a new idea had taken root; the limitation of having just one Observatory was all too apparent, especially when hindered by the weather.

So he pondered the possibility of building several more Observatories in different places throughout the Shadowflame Grand Duchy.

Perhaps even cooperate with the Scorching Torrent Kingdom, to construct several Observatories within its territory, and to make the King Ares aware of the importance of these Observatories, letting King Ares preside over the astronomical observations.

The vastness of the night sky could hardly be comprehensively observed by just one Observatory.

With this in mind, after dismissing Erdock Great Knight, Russell wrote a letter to send to the Red Fort Grand Scholars Roundtable Council.

“Notify Grontan Bainroot to come here,” Russell instructed his personal servant Ram.

Ram quickly headed to Redwater Town where most Knights lived, and it didn’t take long for him to find Grontan Bainroot.

“Sir.”

“I have a letter that needs to be sent to the Scholars’ Roundtable Council. You take it for me, so you can make it back to the Populus Gobi in time for the Dragon Birth Festival and reunite with your family,” Russell instructed.

Glontan replied, “Thank you, Sir. I’ll depart immediately.”

Among Russell’s followers, there were already four Phantom Beast Knights, but none suited for the task of delivering a letter. Eric’s Kevin the Gold and Silver Wolfhound, Katie’s Red-Eyed Mouse King Jerry, and Grove’s Sewing Brown Bear Bill, all ran too slow.

Only Glontan’s contract with the Sturdy-haired Antelope, which was good at running and walking, was suitable for crossing the snowfield.

After Glontan left with the letter, Russell couldn’t help but express his sentiments, “I’ll need to head to the Volcanic Oasis later and capture a few Phantom Beasts. With more followers joining, there’s an urgent need to cultivate more Phantom Beast Knights to do my bidding.”

Since the territory was newly opened, it was difficult to breed Phantom Beasts. At the current stage, to obtain Phantom Beasts, one had to capture them in the primitive forests of the Volcanic Oasis.

Of course.

With the number of Ice Essence Pearls Russell had now accumulated, he could totally purchase a few Phantom Beasts at the Fantastical Beast Park in Red Fort.

But if he could capture Phantom Beasts without spending money, there was no need to waste the Ice Essence Pearls.

As he was pondering over these matters, he heard the sound of a steam whistle coming from outside the window. Russell walked over and looked out to see a strangely shaped steam car driving into the castle through the archway in the outer wall and then stopping on the newly built parking apron under the direction of his servants.

The car door opened, and out came Charles, Leterley, and others.

Russell then got up and walked out the door of Cigar Castle, to which Charles quickly took off his hat and bowed, “Sir, the ‘Mercedes’ brand steam limousine, officially a production model, has successfully rolled off the line. Please, Sir, inspect it yourself!”

“This one?” Russell approached the parking apron.

The person in charge of the steam car project, Scholar Leterley, immediately introduced, “Yes, Lord Russell, this is the Mercedes concept car.”

The vehicle before him, Dragon Sleep Continent’s version of an automobile, was beyond Russell’s expectations.

Actually, it was composed of two parts: the front looked like a tractor’s head, essentially a large steam engine, and the body was made of coach cabins, connected via a bridging method, forming a large tractor.

It is worth mentioning that, whether it was the head or the body, most materials used were made of wood.

Only the steam engine section was made of metal and ceramics.

“We don’t have enough metal, and ceramics lack toughness, so the best option was to use wood instead,” Leterley said. “In terms of practicality, a wood body is far more useful than a metal body, and it’s easier to repair.”

“Sir, this Mercedes concept car is truly a masterpiece!” Charles praised enthusiastically.

Russell, however, furrowed his brows in an expression of distaste and decisively said, “Start a new factory, but change the name.”

“Ah?” Leterley was perplexed.

Russell said, “Call it the Eastern Red Tractor… Just name it the Mass Steam Carriage. Keep Mercedes for the internal combustion engine project team.”

It was apparent that Russell didn’t care much for this Mercedes concept car.

Charles immediately agreed, “Indeed, this car doesn’t look like it could ‘gallop’ on the roads. Your naming is better, Sir. Mass, Mass, this Mass Steam Carriage will surely replace the horse carriage and become the people’s first choice!”

Subsequently, Russell personally drove the Mass Steam Carriage on the internal roads of Cigar Castle for a while.

Undeniably.

The concept car was ugly, but it indeed had exceptional potential and was definitely capable of replacing most horse carriages. With simple technology, robust materials, and inexpensive fuel, if the cost could be continually reduced, even commoners could afford it.

At least buying a dozen or so Mass Steam Carriages for a manor was completely feasible.

“After the Mass Car Factory is built, I’ll definitely buy a few to use in my manor. Also, I won’t need to ride a horse to work anymore; I can take the Mass Carriage,” Charles said with a chuckle.

Russell patted his shoulder, “Better stick to horseback for commuting. I’m afraid if you get too used to the car, your fighting spirit will be utterly neglected.”