The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

Chapter 563 Abandoned Cordyceps and the Magic Web (Second Update)

The so-called inspection often amounts to little more than a cursory overview of the territory's general situation, without the possibility of delving into the specifics of the territory's production and population.

"Is that a Mage Tower?" Count Jonas asked, pointing to a building in the distance that rose like a cylinder.

"Yes, it is one dedicated to the service of the Grand Magician, Lady Chris Truth, who has built it. She is not fond of the social gatherings among nobles and has recently been absorbed in researching a certain magic, so she did not attend last night's dinner," explained Consultant Goltai, the guide for the inspection team.

Earl Li Weiliam and Viscount Liszt, obviously not wanting to act as tour guides, left Goltai as the most suitable person for the task.

The appearance of the Mage Tower is somewhat similar to the Leaning Tower of Pisa, totaling five levels.

The base level is the tallest, at nine meters high, housing the Magic Academy; the second through fourth levels each stand at a standard height of five meters, with the second level consisting of rooms for the academy's students and teachers; the third level is a workshop for concocting Magic Potions; the fourth level is a workshop for producing Magic Equipment; and the fifth level, at a height of six meters, is Chris Truth's personal space, including her bedroom, study, and laboratory.

Hence, the total height of the Mage Tower is thirty meters.

Beyond the fifth level, there is also a basement, used for storage.

Count Jonas was a bit puzzled: "Liszt, did you actually build a Mage Tower for the magician without even constructing a castle?"

This was not in line with the usual noble style. While it was indeed important to provide for magicians, in terms of importance, it was secondary to the castles where nobles resided. Within the social hierarchy, nobles were always the most esteemed group, and all luxuries should first be available to them before other classes.

Liszt could not say he was building up the architects' experience, nor could he say it was to win over magicians—due to the Marquis of Bull's dragon slaying incident, the noble opinion of magicians within the country was quite poor.

So he simply smiled, "My castle differs significantly in structure from standard castles, so as the design is not yet complete, the Mage Tower was built first. In fact, I quite enjoy staying in the small castle in Fresh Flower Town and am not in a hurry to move into a spacious, famous castle."

This rationale was somewhat forced; a normal noble would definitely prioritize the construction of a castle, as their defensive and residential qualities are essential to a noble's standing.

However, Jonas did not press the issue further and quickly moved on to the next inspection site.

The next site was the mushroom greenhouses in Mushroom Town. The thousand-acre greenhouse project had been completed and was still expanding, basically reaching a scale of two thousand acres. With the Ice Snow Flame Mushrooms production halting, Flame Mushrooms have been largely cultivated here.

Liszt was also requesting serfs to continue expanding the cultivated area.

And he was already negotiating with The Levis Couple to send serfs to learn the Flame Mushroom cultivation techniques, with plans to promote it on Coral Island in the future—profits per acre of Flame Mushrooms were to be shared with Liszt, with the specific share still under discussion.

"This is the territory's specialty, the Flame Mushroom, a type of Magic Mushroom fostered by Abandoned Cordyceps, with a Fire Attribute. We are endeavoring to increase production," Goltai explained, knowing the formula was kept under strict security, so there was no fear of others stealing it simply by visiting.

Count Jonas looked at the endless stretch of greenhouses and expressed his surprise, "How many acres of Flame Mushrooms have you planted?"

"About two thousand acres, and we're still expanding."

"Two thousand acres? All planted with Flame Mushrooms?"

Sensing something off in Jonas's tone, Liszt frowned and asked, "What is it, Count Jonas? Is there an issue with that?"

"How is the harvest of Flame Mushrooms in your territory, and what about the efficiency of refining Magic Potions from them?"

"We've just expanded our scale; the first batch has yet to be harvested."

Jonas nodded, then said to Earl Li Weiliam, "Earl Li Weiliam, have you not reminded Liszt?"

Li Weiliam was clueless, "Reminded him of what?"

Liszt felt the same way, "Is there a problem with my Flame Mushrooms?"

"Unless there is some unforeseeable issue, the quality of these two thousand acres of Flame Mushrooms will be very poor, and the efficacy of the Magic Potions extracted will be greatly diminished."

"Why is that?"

"It seems your understanding of the Abandoned Cordyceps is indeed lacking," said Jonas with a hint of regret. "Mushrooms, although not restricted by elves, still have a cultivation scale limitation. Within a million square kilometers, generally more than a thousand acres will significantly degrade, and some varieties degrade even if exceeding six hundred acres."

"Is that so?" Liszt was clearly baffled, "But why?"

"As far as I know, the magic power source of Abandoned Cordyceps is related to the Magic Web."

"The Magic Web?" It wasn't Liszt who expressed surprise, but Earl Li Weiliam, "Count Jonas, are you talking about the Magic Web that only Archmages are said to be able to touch?"

"Yes, according to what those magicians say, the world is enveloped by the Magic Web, and whoever touches it can advance to become an Archmage."

Jonas shook his head, "Unfortunately, I can't tell you more because even the Court Grand Mage doesn't fully understand the Magic Web. Nonetheless, it's very likely that the Abandoned Cordyceps are subject to the limitations of the Magic Web, which would explain the characteristic that only six hundred to a thousand acres can be cultivated within a million square kilometers."

The limitations of the Abandoned Cordyceps.

The existence of the Magic Web.

This was undoubtedly a significant blow to Liszt's ambitious plans for his Flame Mushrooms. The total land area of the Duchy of Sapphire was about two million square kilometers, and adding the maritime territory, it was only six or seven million square kilometers. Planting across the entire island nation would yield only a little over six thousand acres at most.

As for Black Horse Island and Coral Island, evidently neither had an area close to a million square kilometers, meaning if Black Horse Island had a thousand acres planted, then Coral Island would have none.

"To think there are such restrictions." Liszt was somewhat at a loss; he had planned to meet the growing demand for Magic Potions by continuously expanding the cultivation of Flame Mushrooms.

Jonas then said, "It is indeed unfortunate, you will need to clear the excess Flame Mushrooms, ensuring only a thousand acres remain… However, the exact amount you need to find out through your own exploration because different Abandoned Cordyceps have varying cultivation densities and species differences, which can affect the Magic Web's restriction."

"It appears that's the only way," Liszt didn't doubt the other's word. The new batch of Flame Mushrooms would soon mature, and then he would know whether the quality had degraded or not.

Suddenly, Earl Li Weiliam asked, "Count Jonas, do you have any Abandoned Cordyceps in your industries?"

"Of course, my Moonlight City grows the 'Blue Pine Mushroom', a type of Water Attribute Abandoned Cordyceps. If Liszt is willing, I can exchange the planting techniques for Blue Pine Mushroom with the planting techniques for Flame Mushroom. Blue Dragon Island is far from Black Horse Island, so there is no conflict between us."

Liszt quickly composed himself.

He responded, "Blue Pine Mushroom, huh? I think such cooperation could be feasible."

Jonas added, "The trade of Abandoned Cordyceps can maximize benefits. I can help you connect with nobles who have suitable conditions for growing Abandoned Cordyceps, and involve them in the multilateral trade of Abandoned Cordyceps."

The restriction of the Magic Web.

This led to limited regions where Abandoned Cordyceps could be cultivated, resulting in each noble wanting to sell their Abandoned Cordyceps to those far from their own lands, with certain terms attached—the most important being to restrict the spread of the Abandoned Cordyceps to prevent them from eventually making their way back to their own area, causing degradation of the species.

However, given the large size of the Duchy of Sapphire, some potential Flame Mushroom customers could always be found.

With Jonas spearheading the effort, Flame Mushrooms could be better traded with other nobles for Abandoned Cordyceps, obtaining more varieties of the species, which was a way to indirectly alleviate the restrictions of the Magic Web.