Chapter 514: Watching Drama is Much More Fun Than Attacking Cities and Seizing Territory

Upon touching Black Dragon Du Ao, Leech felt a subtle change sweep over his body.

‘Palace Level feels closer now. It’s as if some physical restraint has been broken, and my limitations have lessened.’

Old Lierde was a blacksmith’s son. Even with Wisdom’s bloodline, he clearly didn’t meet the criteria to become a Transcendent. Had he not relied on potent concoctions to obtain a Griffin’s power, he never would have become one.

Now, under the influence of Black Dragon Du Ao, Leech’s body felt subtly different—as if his abysmally poor physical aptitude had been recalibrated.

In other words, not only had he successfully respecced his stats, but he’d even rolled a rare, hidden talent!

From now on, the effects of consuming potent concoctions and rare, high-energy ingredients would be even greater.

Leech took out the small, scholar-designed gadget used for measuring Spiritual Power. His mind felt exceptionally clear and lucid.

After the test, he couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement.

His Spiritual Power had originally been a mere 55 units. However, the unequal treaty forced the black dragon to unconditionally contribute all of its own. Despite its youth, it surprisingly possessed 50 units, instantly boosting Leech’s Spiritual Power to 105. Adding the 20 from his energy-storing staff, his total reached 125. He would never again have to refrain from using Magic for fear of insufficient Spiritual Power.

Leech had reason to believe his Spiritual Power would continue to skyrocket. This had to be a side effect of his ‘talent modification.’ When other dragon-kin acquired a dragon’s power, their strength always improved by leaps and bounds. ‘As the Dragon Master holding all the cards, even if this is just an ugly, wretched dragon that will never grow up, it’s still a dragon! There’s bound to be a transformation.’

Next was an assessment of the Magic possessed by Black Dragon Du Ao. Due to the contract between them, Leech could unconditionally strip Du Ao of all its power. Conversely, he could also pour his own power into Du Ao’s body to help it cast Magic.

With 105 units of Spiritual Power, he could cast a number of decent spells, such as the unconditional summoning from before. Unfortunately, there was no way to reverse the summon—not unless his Spiritual Power increased enough to allow Black Dragon Du Ao to use its Teleportation Skill.

In addition, it possessed a type of Magic that could rapidly grow plants—one far superior to that of a Tangkx Scholar.

Honestly, the spell they taught was utterly useless. It was a massive drain, highly inefficient, and just trying to sprout a pot of beans was enough to leave Leech completely exhausted. It was good for nothing!

He looked down at the black dragon crouched by his feet. With its wings folded, Black Dragon Du Ao was as slender as a serpentine hound.

‘A natural-born farming implement… Hiss… Could it be related to its color?’ Leech hastily stopped that line of thought. ‘It would be impolite to take this any further.’

This had to be a complete coincidence, unique to this Otherworld!

Leech was very pleased. He decided that after he returned, he would use Du Ao for farming. He would not only improve soil quality on a massive scale but also accelerate the growth of long-term crops, like fruit trees. Leech wanted his own orchard so he could have fresh fruit in every season—spring, summer, autumn, and winter.

He would also try to see if it could grow bloodline herbs, though he wasn’t optimistic. It most likely wouldn’t work.

However, catalyzing the growth of the Grass of Life was also crucial. Unlike bloodline herbs, the Grass of Life was cultivable, it just had an extremely long growth cycle. With a large supply of it, breeding warhorses and livestock would no longer be an issue. He was confident he could raise 200,000 iron-clad cavalry within ten years. At that point, never mind the Lu Leiyi Continent, even an expedition to the Panbo Continent would be a simple matter.

‘Breed! Breed for me with all your might!’

「Nightfall.」

A raven flew in, carrying a letter. Possessing magical bloodlines, ravens made excellent messengers, able to pinpoint the location of any recipient.

Don’t ask how. The answer was always Magic.

Leech opened the window and took the letter from the raven’s leg. He then casually grabbed a pinch of rice, placing it in a small bowl, and poured another small bowl of water, setting them both on the table. The raven began to peck and drink happily; the long journey had clearly exhausted it.

There were only two letters. Since Leech had delegated some of his authority, the merchants no longer came to him directly, which saved him a good deal of effort.

Typically, the only ones who could contact Leech directly were from places like Linta Bay, Waterfall Land, the Desert Area, and East Port. Letters from someone like Little Bill of Monkey Territory, for example, would rarely even reach his desk—not that he could be bothered to read them anyway.

One of the letters was from Linta Bay. It was from Stacy, part of their regular correspondence—they exchanged a letter or two every month. Leech would have to write back later.

As usual, the letter’s contents covered the situation in Linta Bay and an update on Chuina’s studies. Chuina was progressing smoothly under Master Jin Kai, which made Leech feel that his money had been well spent.

What surprised Leech, however, was Stacy asking about Lisu Muma. It made sense, after all, since Linta Bay and Mama City had always done business together.

Leech had helped her establish her identity as Princess Sophia and even fought her battles for her. He was more attentive than a personal Knight. Leech felt it was perfectly normal for his fiancée to have some questions.

But as he read the last part of the letter, a warm smile returned to his face.

“I am a Knight, too. I can protect you.”

The words were a little awkward, but Leech loved them. So many ladies saw him as the finest of Knights, took pride in being under his protection, and felt safe simply because he was there. Only Stacy wanted to be the one to protect him.

Leech quickly wrote his reply and tied it to the leg of the still-eating raven.

The raven tilted its head as if to say, ‘Are you kidding me, boss? Let me finish my meal first! You’re making a bird fly on an empty stomach.’

“Go on, eat first,” Leech said, gently scratching the raven’s head with his finger. Only then did the raven relax and dip its head for a drink of water.

He then picked up the second letter.

To his surprise, it was from Sidor Sea Water, the illegitimate son of the Duke of Shining Sun.

‘Why is he contacting me?’ Leech couldn’t figure it out. He’d had some dealings with Sidor Sea Water, but not many—certainly not as many as with the ‘Golden Stallion,’ let alone comrades-in-arms like ‘Midnight Sun’ or the ‘Red Chicken Knight.’

He broke the seal. Inside, there were no pleasantries, no requests, no small talk—just an absolutely explosive piece of gossip.

The Second Prince, Little George Kaine, had had a massive falling out with his cousin, Daphne Winter!

It started when Daphne and her husband, Ern Winter, went to the royal capital to discuss arrangements for the King’s upcoming hunt.

It was worth noting that the Winter Clan was not a particularly great house. Their fiefdom, a region north of the capital known as White Crow Valley, had a poor environment and was not very productive. It was mountainous, arid, and lacked proper roads—even worse off than the old Porcupine Territory.

However, Odo Winter, the lord of White Crow Valley, was a relative of Queen Oriana. Rumor had it they shared a maternal grandmother. In any case, having managed to snag the status of a royal in-law, the Winter Clan of White Crow Valley was tasked with maintaining the King’s hunting grounds, which were used for hunts during major celebrations like royal weddings, births, and so on.

Ostensibly, they “guarded” the hunting grounds; in reality, they were responsible for raising all sorts of wild animals, fattening each one up to make the King’s hunts easier.

The Winter couple must have come to the capital for the celebration of Eldest Prince Hugo Kaine and Evangelina, the ‘Red Rose.’ Such a joyous occasion for the entire kingdom would certainly be celebrated in grand style, and a hunt was an essential part of that.

But, unexpectedly, Little George Kaine and Daphne’s husband, Ern, took their “discussion” to the bedroom. And what’s more, they were caught red-handed by Daphne herself. The scene was described as a chaotic, bloody mess, with piss and shit flying everywhere.

Leech’s mind immediately conjured an image of the chaotic scene.

‘Daphne Winter hears some little hussy is seducing her man and storms over in a rage. She kicks down the door only to find her husband with… the Second Prince. What a wild scene.’

‘Daphne Winter stands there, frozen in shock.’

‘Ern Winter, stark naked, sits on the edge of the bed, his head bowed as he sighs nonstop.’

‘Little George Kaine pummels the blankets with his little fists, whining coquettishly, “Honey, say something~”‘

“Truly horrifying!”

Here in the Koso Mountain Range, so far from the royal capital, Leech couldn’t believe he was getting to enjoy such fresh gossip. This stuff was way more interesting than conquering cities and seizing land!