Evil dragon has a warm heart

All matters on the Golden Prairie were settled, and Mrs. Roby had decided to leave Golden Top Castle, taking with her the share of the inheritance that belonged to her and Diana, and return to Glowing Valley.

She planned to live there with her mother, Lady Ingrid.

Because Mrs. Roby was in ill health, the caravan of the Fluorescent Fungi Family proceeded very slowly on the return journey.

Baron Roman guarded them all the way.

As for Russell, he had already crossed the Snowfield, without the need to detour through the Volcanic Oasis, flying directly from the Golden Prairie to his own domain, Leize.

The distance between the two places was now roughly two to three hundred kilometers, meeting the conditions for opening up a trade route.

"Rossay, slow down, slow down, let’s sense the location of Cold Spring Point more carefully," Russell wasn’t flying at top speed, rather, he was constantly sensing for Cold Spring Points along the way, planning the route for the trade route he was about to open.

It took a day and a night.

He had detected more than twenty Cold Spring Points, recorded them all, and then selected fifteen Cold Spring Points to plan the trade route.

"It’s a bit longer than the Mountain River Trade Route and Twin Rivers Trade Route of the Glowing Valley, but if we send more Knight Regiments to clean up the Snow Ghosts, the safety of the trade route can be ensured," Russell thought quietly, "I wonder how many people the Council of Elders will reward me with."

Immediately after, he slapped his forehead, annoyed: "I forgot to mention to grandfather what my baron title should be."

Now he had two warm enclaves, Black Fire Plains and Leize.

"Fire Thunder Baron? Thunder Fire Baron?" Riding on Black Oil Dragon Rossay’s back, Russell was already contemplating his baronial life, "Rossay, Polly, what do you think I should choose, which baron’s title sounds better?"

Rossay was indifferent; any name sounded the same to it.

Unicorn Polly, however, pondered seriously and responded in her mind: "Black Oil produces fire, turning fire into flames, Leize produces thunder, and thunder remains thunder; perhaps it’s best to be called Baron Thunderflame. It feels like Thunderflame and Shadowflame are on the same level."

"Thunderflame?" Russell nodded his head.

Although Thunderflame was a bit of a tongue twister, it did have the gravitas that Polly described, close to that of Shadowflame.

"Let’s settle on that, Baron Thunderflame," Russell decided, and then laughed, "Anyway, it’s just an interim title, once we create our own state, we can re-select a suitable title."

Whoosh.

Rossay had already flown into Leize, which was being developed. From a high vantage point, the expansion of Leize looked like it was spreading evenly outwards from the center of the battlefield, forming a nearly perfect circle.

Just as Russell had surmised, Leize’s ground was so flat that the melting snow and ice still lingered, finding it difficult to drain away.

"In the future, this will definitely become a marshland, the melting ice and snow from the surrounding caverns will continue to moisten this warm land," Russell sighed, but quickly perked up, "Who cares if it is a swamp? If so, dig artificial lakes to drain the water!"

If the Sunflower Family could tame the Fire Ant Swamp into fertile land by digging Swan Lake, he could certainly tame Leize into arable land by digging a lake.

Soon.

Rossay flew past Leize, entering a new Snowfield.

Then, to Russell’s delight, this Snowfield, sandwiched between Black Fire Plains and Leize, clearly showed signs of ice cap fragmentation.

Even as Russell watched, another section of the ice cap made a creaking sound and then cracked open a huge fissure.

"Do you see that, Rossay, Polly? The Snowfield between the two warm enclaves is melting!" Russell laughed loudly, "This means that soon Black Fire Plains and Leize will merge into one, forming an even larger warm enclave."

However, the melting speed of this Snowfield was clearly much slower than the melting that occurred during the expansion of the Black Fire Plains and Leize.

It might take ten years, or even more, to completely thaw and expose the ground.

But as long as there was this sign of melting, sooner or later it would become a larger warm enclave, like Tributary River Mouth and Gravel Domain, another integrative warm enclave.

After admiring the spectacular scene of the breaking ice cap for a while, Rossay flew into its own domain – Black Fire Plains.

It was the Ice Age, and even the warm enclaves were covered with a thin layer of snow.

But beneath the snow, the Black Fire Plains were already dotted with forests. The speed and strength of the ecological recovery here far exceeded Russell’s expectations, constantly challenging and rewriting his understanding of ecology.

On Earth, it takes a long time for a barren land to recover.

Only wind and animals constantly bringing seeds can fill the barren ecology of the wastelands, gradually expanding until a new ecosystem is established.

But on the Dragon Sleep Continent, once a Warm Enclave was cleared, the ecosystem began to recover with it.

"Rossay, you can rest now." Russell, mounted on Rossay, landed on a stone pillar in the hot spring area and let Rossay stay there.

The place the bipedal flying dragons loved most was their own Warm Enclave.

"Roar." Rossay responded softly, immediately crouching on the stone pillar, watching as Russell switched to riding Unicorn Polly and flew away from the Black Fire Plains.

As they entered the Snowfield between the Black Fire Plains and the Glowing Valley, Russell once again admired the spectacular scene of the breaking ice caps.

He exclaimed in wonder, "Not only the Black Fire Plains and Leize will merge, but in the future, the Glowing Valley will join as well... Fortunately, there are clear power radiation boundaries between the Warm Enclaves, so there’s no need to worry about the land borders."

Even if the Glowing Valley, the Black Fire Plains, and Leize, these three Warm Enclaves, eventually merged into one.

The power radiation ranges of Ros the Clay Dragon, Ross the Black Oil Dragon, and Unicorn Polly remained clear and distinct.

So the merging expansion areas between these original domains would belong to their rightful lords without any disputes.

As fast as lightning.

Polly had already carried Russell back to the Cigar Courtyard of Wuyao Snake Manor.

Unlike Ross the Black Oil Dragon, who would roar every time he returned, making everyone aware, Polly was always silent, coming and going like a bolt of lightning without a trace. Thus, apart from Charles, Eric, and a few others, no one knew of Russell’s return.

Only Butler Morris greeted Russell with a face full of smiles: "Master, welcome home."

Nowadays, Butler Morris couldn’t help but beam with joy every day; his master was growing stronger and climbing higher in status, and would soon be raised to the rank of baron. By then, he would become the butler of a large castle.

Looking back three years ago, when he was chosen as Russell’s butler and moved into the Cigar Courtyard, he thought he had reached the peak of his life.

Who would have known that the Cigar Courtyard was just the beginning?

The position of the butler of a future large castle was the true peak of his life.

"Clay pot chicken with rice, mapo tofu, sweet and sour pork ribs..." Russell quickly ordered lunch, the food revolution having been completed at the Cigar Courtyard. Mrs. Moore and Mrs. Brown had already replicated most of the dishes from his old Earth home.

"As you wish, master," Butler Morris replied softly.

"Oh, Morris, send someone to invite Charles over for lunch." Russell wasn’t quite used to not having someone to join him for a meal.

Charles soon arrived on horseback.

Before even entering, he could be heard exclaiming in an exaggerated tone: "Salutations to the great Flying Dragon Knight, the Dragon Domain Lord, Sir Russell Fluorescent Fungus! Your devoted follower Charles expresses the highest reverence to you!"

"Alright, stop showing off." Russell smiled slightly, quite pleased, "Come with me to the study for a talk first."

"Of course, Sir."

After settling into their seats, a servant brought over two cups of tea. After taking a sip, Russell said, "I called you here because I have something to entrust to you."

"Please command, Sir."

"In my recent ascent to the rank of Dragon Domain Lord, for opening up a new Warm Enclave for the Grand Duchy, my achievements have been outstanding, so soon I will be conferred the title of baron."

"Ah, congratulations, Sir! Celebrations are in order!" Upon hearing this, Charles immediately stood up and bowed to Russell, "Glory shines upon us, the gaze of the mighty dragons is with you. Sir, you have finally attained the high station of baron. Wuyao Snake Manor truly is the land of your dragon’s rising fortune!"

He remembered when Russell had been first enfeoffed as a noble, he and Eric had accompanied Russell to inspect Wuyao Snake Manor.

At that time, he had flattered Russell by saying that Wuyao Snake Manor would be the land of his rising fortune.

Who could have predicted that this flattery would become true, with Russell successfully rising to power on the lordship of Wuyao Snake Manor, and now advancing to the position of Dragon Domain Lord, soon to become an hereditary noble of the Shadowflame Duchy!

Thinking of this, Charles couldn’t help but feel his eyes moisten with tears—he had gone from a destitute knight to the confidant of a baron!

(Here’s a rough map of the Shadowflame Duchy. Some of the size and scale might be a bit off, but please bear with it for a general idea~)