Evil dragon has a warm heart

Marcus was very troubled.

So, he immediately went to seek his wife, Shafali, who had just returned from playing cards at Fluorescent Castle, "Please go to Lady Meryl as soon as possible, and ask her for help to see if she can get five hundred boxes of cigars from the Cigar Factory in advance."

"How could that be possible? I know something about the current situation of the Cigar Factory. They can’t even spare ten boxes, let alone five hundred. The orders from the Rainflower Family have been delayed again and again. Just yesterday, the daughter-in-law of Lord Sally was complaining that even her father-in-law had to queue up for his order."

"What should I do now!"

"What’s wrong, Marcus? Who asked you to buy the RainDragon cigars? You can’t agree to that. The profits from the cigars are pouring in like a torrent of gold, and they have become the moneybag for the Fluorescent Fungi Family, and even more so, the guarantee for Lord Russell’s development of Blackflame Plains. We really shouldn’t..."

"It’s too late," Marcus said with a stern face and sighed, "I have already promised Minor and the others to guarantee a hundred boxes each for them."

"How could you be so foolish!" Mrs. Shafali chided, "Marcus, you are usually so steady; how could you today..."

"I don’t know why," Marcus said silently.

In fact, he was well aware why he was playing the big shot; it was merely to fight for his own pride.

Once upon a time, he also had the opportunity to choose whether to pledge allegiance to Baron Romand or to Red Castle, and in the end, he chose to stay in Glowing Valley. As a 2nd rank high-ranking Mythical Beast Knight, he could certainly be considered among the finest within the Knight hierarchy of the Grand Duchy.

But the status of an ordinary Lord always made him feel lesser than the Lords of the Duchy.

Especially in the past few years, when the Fluorescent Fungi Family had no one who could ride a dragon, not only was Baron Romand ridiculed, but followers like Marcus also lost face.

Even their futures were dim, and their descendants struggled to make a name for themselves—without a Flying Dragon Knight, they could only flee upon encountering blue-skinned riders on horseback.

Now that the Fluorescent Fungi Family had successively produced Flying Dragon Knights, their stature greatly bolstered, and their future brightened, it finally gave him the opportunity to turn the tables.

So, there was no way he would give up the chance to flaunt this.

"Sigh." Mrs. Shafali understood her husband, "I can go to Lady Meryl, but Marcus, you need to think carefully whether it is worth troubling Lady Meryl over such a matter. They have just helped us get in touch with Lord Russell and take Mask as a follower."

Only a Lord has the right to trouble his subjects repeatedly; there’s no reason for subjects to keep troubling their Lord.

Marcus of course understood and sighed, "Then what should I do? Go back and tell Minor and the others that I can’t manage it?"

He had thought his wife would nod and then tell him to refuse Minor and the others.

But Mrs. Shafali said, "In my opinion, you’d be better off making a direct request to Lord Russell."

"This... How could Lord Russell possibly grant my request, you also know, between Lord Russell and me..."

"Listen to me, Marcus," Mrs. Shafali interrupted her husband, "Those are just small squabbles between you men. In my view, Lord Russell wouldn’t care too much about it. He had already challenged and defeated you before he even had a dragon."

Marcus fell silent, for this was the truth.

Mrs. Shafali continued, "So, he is the victor, and the magnanimity of a victor is open and generous. Besides, it was he who rejected Malena, not Malena and us who rejected him. Trust me on this, Lord Russell won’t dwell on the past."

"All right, then what?"

"As you can see from his agreement to take Mask as a follower," Mrs. Shafali said with a smile, "I suggest you make a direct request to Lord Russell. Of course, you can take Mask with you to thank Lord Russell first, and then take the opportunity to ask him."

She paused, giving her husband a moment to think.

Mrs. Shafali continued, "If you ask him, you will owe him a favor. Marcus, Lord Russell would be very pleased to have you owe him a favor."

Hearing this,

Marcus finally understood, took a deep breath, and hugged his wife tightly, "Thank you for your advice, Shafali... you know, I... I just want to keep my dignity in front of my colleagues."

Mrs. Shafali patted Marcus’s back, "We are a family. If my husband wants to keep his dignity, I will naturally help my husband keep it."

...

The following day.

Fluorescent Castle began to see off the guests.

Princess Anxia, Earl Merlin, and others could not stay in Glowing Valley for long, so they bid farewell to Baron Romand and his wife and Lord Russell early on.

A few of the high nobility were personally seen off by Lord Russell, while many more guests were seen off by Uncle Rosen and Roland.

Of course.

Another group of guests planned to stay a few more days at Fluorescent Castle, having come all this way, they naturally wanted to thoroughly enjoy the scenery.

Russell didn’t intend to remain at Fluorescent Castle either, as it was too noisy here.

He wanted to return to Wuyao Snake Manor to cultivate in peace and quiet before setting off to hunt Snow Demons beyond the borders.

After speaking with his grandfather, Count Merlin, the sense of urgency in his heart grew significantly.

He used to think that there was plenty of time to slowly advance and that one day he would reach the pinnacle of life and become a Great Dragon Knight. Now, he realized that even a Great Dragon Knight wasn’t the peak; the entire Dragon Sleep Continent was a vast hunting ground.

"Regardless, now that I’ve come to the Dragon Sleep Continent and am followed by the Little Dream Dragon, I must achieve something great!"

He now had a more ambitious goal—to ride on the Little Dream Dragon, strike back at the Portal to Another World, and take a look at the Snow Demons’ homeland.

"If the Snow Demons intend to drain the essence of Dragon Sleep Continent, then I’ll go and drain the essence of the Snow Demon world!"

His heart was filled with boundless enthusiasm, but he knew that progress had to be made step by step, so at this moment, Russell only wanted to focus on cultivation.

When Marcus came over, Russell was in the process of bidding farewell to Baron Romand and his wife.

Only after Russell was ready to leave did Marcus, with his son Mask in tow, come over: "Lord Russell."

"Lord Marcus? Is there something you need?"

"I came today... to thank you for taking Mask on as a follower." Marcus was initially somewhat awkward, but he quickly relaxed; as a Flying Dragon Knight, Russell was a man to whom bowing did not bring shame.

He was even rather proud of it.

After all, he was a follower of the Fluorescent Fungi Family, and Russell had the Fluorescent Fungi Family’s blood flowing in his veins.

"Mask is a good kid. I am very satisfied to have taken him on as a follower," Russell said with a smile.

Behind him, stood another follower, Glontan Bainroot.

"Then, Lord Russell, please let Mask follow you," Marcus said. "He is not young anymore and can now serve you."

"Is Mrs. Safarli willing to let him go?" Russell said, noting that Mask was still young, only twelve years old and not yet mature. "Why not let him stay a couple more years? Besides, at Mask’s age, he should be studying at the Knight Academy."

Marcus was aware of this too: "Thank you for your concern. Mask’s arrangements will follow your advice, Lord Russell."

After saying this, Marcus started to look somewhat embarrassed.

Seeing this, Russell asked, "Marcus, is there something else?"

Marcus gritted his teeth and, following his wife’s instructions, spoke frankly: "Lord Russell, I would like to request the advance purchase of five hundred boxes of Rain Dragon cigars to have my friends take them back... They are very fond of Rain Dragon cigars."

"Hmm," Russell nodded.

In recent days, there had been many nobles asking to purchase Rain Dragon cigars from him.

Even cousin Mel had been badgering Russell to quickly prepare a few thousand boxes of cigars for him to make a hefty profit in Red Castle and Furious Wind City.

But Russell had turned them all down.

The cigar factory’s orders were already booked until next year.

"By rights, I shouldn’t agree to your request. The cigar factory can’t meet the demand, and each box of cigars has been reserved in advance, leaving no room for additional allocations," Russell said, outlining the actual situation of the cigar factory.

Marcus felt a chill in his heart.

However, Russell’s tone changed: "But since you’ve asked me this rare favor, Marcus, how could I bear to refuse you."

"Lord Russell, I..."

"How about this: I’ll transfer the five hundred boxes of White Dew Rain Dragon cigars previously ordered by cousin Mel to you, so you can give them to your friends," Russell said indifferently. Seeing Marcus lower his guard made him quite happy. "Additionally, I’ll allocate a box of Cloud Mist cigars for you, but of course, you’ll have to pay for them yourself."

Upon hearing this,

Marcus breathed a sigh of relief, feeling a rush of indescribable gratitude, and bowed solemnly to express his thanks: "Thank you for your generosity, Lord Russell!"