"The Great Dragon watches over you, Russell. I've said it before, the Shadowflame Dragon of the noble house is always watching over you!"
Charles shouted excitedly, even shaking his body under the birch tree, dancing the classic solo cha-cha.
"Not bad luck." Russell revealed a charming smile.
"Congratulations, Sir." Eric congratulated in a muffled voice.
Butler Morris could not stop smiling, "Lord, you are a born noble, watched over by dragons, blessed by radiant lights. The moment you arrived at your domain, spirit insects were born. This is simply the best blessing, just like described in knight novels!"
"Indeed, it is a beautiful blessing." Russell graciously accepted everyone's congratulations.
The value of a spirit insect is hard to measure with conventional wealth because it can plant magic potions and magic materials; it is an extraordinary object.
However, beneath his smile, there was still a tinge of worry in Russell's eyes.
The joy of acquiring a wild spirit insect did not overshadow his concern for the Little Dream Dragon, his real asset and foundation.
And he was quite fond of the cute and silly tiny Great Dragon.
"Russell, it seems you will need to keep vigil under the birch tree to ensure that as soon as the spirit insect is ready to be nurtured, you can contract it immediately," Charles suggested.
"Of course."
Russell replied.
Although everything produced in the domain belongs to its lord, the value of spirit insects is so high that in case of an accident, no one would dare take that risk.
"Mr. Charles, you go and oversee the construction of the Windmill Mill. No need to accompany me here," Russell dispersed the onlookers, "Mr. Eric, you don't have to be too worried, I doubt anyone would dare cause trouble at Wuyao Snake Manor."
Eric responded, "I'm not worried about within the domain, but we must guard against the Echo Water River Cavern to prevent giving the freemen an opportunity."
"The freemen from the Echo Water River Cavern, would they dare to cross the border?"
"When Knight Commander Kendall patrolled the domain, the freemen from the Echo Water River Cavern were quite well-behaved, but now that Wuyao Snake Manor is no longer within Knight Commander Kendall's patrol range, it's hard to say," Eric explained realistically.
Kendall is the patrolling Knight Commander of the Glowing Valley, a Phantom Beast Knight with formidable strength, able to deter the petty and the mean.
But Eric was just a Great Knight, without such strong deterrence.
"Alright, Mr. Eric, please take extra care with the protection of the spirit insect," Russell said with a smile, without making any grand assumptions.
Eric nodded gravely.
All day long, he and four knight attendants took turns patrolling. Any serf who approached was immediately driven away, not allowing any outsiders to set foot in the birch forest.
Meals were delivered by servants from the manor's annex.
At night, several fires were lit to ensure the surrounding area of the birch tree was illuminated.
Lying in his sleeping bag, Russell quickly fell into a deep sleep filled with anticipation, but regrettably, it was another night without any sign of the Little Dream Dragon.
As dawn approached, he was awakened by Eric, "Sir, the spirit insect has hatched!"
"It hatched?" Russell quickly got up and rushed to the birch tree. He arrived just in time to see the branch spores burst open, and a snow-white spirit insect, resembling a silkworm, crawled out from the spores, lazily sprawled on the trunk.
Embracing the trunk, Russell lightly leaped to a position more than three meters high, then gently pinched and caught the spirit insect in his hand.
After landing, he carefully observed it.
The Spirit Insects of the Birch Forest were not completely snow-white; instead, they were like the trunks of birch trees, with their white interspersed with some not-so-obvious black stripes.
But no matter what, they were very beautiful.
Once separated from their host, which was this robust Birch Mushroom, the Spirit Insects of the Birch Forest seemed noticeably restless, squirming on Russell's palm trying to escape.
However, as soon as Russell took out the prepared pearl powder and sprinkled it onto his fingers, the Spirit Insects of the Birch Forest, as if smelling delicious food, began to crawl toward the pearl powder and nibble on it bit by bit.
Russell seized the opportunity and plunged his finger into the mouth of the Spirit Insect of the Birch Forest as it opened it.
Then there was a slight pain.
The skin on the tip of his finger was pierced by the Spirit Insect's tiny, sharp teeth, squeezing out a drop of blood that seeped into the Insect's mouthpiece.
In an instant, a mysterious feeling washed over him, and Russell had established a mental connection with the Birch Insect.
Magic contracts were just that simple, needing only blood as a medium and magical power as the driving force, they could be easily concluded.
A Spirit Insect could form a contract only once a year.
Therefore, it was difficult to trade Spirit Insects frequently.
"Congratulations, Sir!" Tom and the other Knight Attendants said to Russell, offering their congratulations.
"Alright, the Birch Insect has been contracted, and we can leave this place. Let's all go back to the manor's annex to take a good bath and get some rest," Russell decided immediately. "We'll have a celebration at noon, with free-flowing barley beer!"
"The Radiant Light bless us, glory to Sir!" the Knight Attendants cheered.
Eric couldn't help but crack a smile, but he quickly suppressed it, continuing to maintain his usual informal and joyous demeanor.
As soon as Russell finished breakfast, Mr. Charles came downstairs with disheveled hair, "Just now, the footman William told me that Russell, you have contracted the Birch Insect. Oh heavens, truly a Spirit Insect has been birthed, praise the Great Dragon! We shall drink heartily tonight, especially the Black Pearl wine!"
"We still have to pace ourselves, Mr. Charles, we don't have much Black Pearl wine left."
"Haha, you should immediately send word to the Lord Baron to share the good news; maybe the Lord Baron will send over a new batch of Black Pearl wine as a celebration of your achievement," Charles suggested, his eyes twinkling at the thought of getting something extra.
After a few jokes, the conversation returned to serious matters.
Russell said, "Now that I have the Birch Insect, will that Birch Forest evolve into a Magic Potion or perhaps magical materials?"
"It should evolve into magical materials, and with the Birch Insect, the expansion of the Birch Forest will become very easy. However, we must wait for the Birch Forest to evolve before we collect new saplings, and use the new magical saplings to expand the area," Charles explained.
"Currently, the Glowing Mushrooms are grown on the birch trees; Mr. Charles, if we grow these two magical plants and materials together, won't that be a problem?" Russell inquired.
"That..." Charles shook his head, "I really don't know; you should ask the Lord Baron at Fluorescent Castle."
"Good, after the midday feast, I'll make a trip back to Fluorescent Castle and stay there overnight. You and Mr. Eric, please look after the estate," Russell directed.
"Leave it to us!" Charles assured him with a thump of his chest.
"After drinking at noon, no more drinking in the evening," Russell warned.
"Of course, of course, my Lord Russell, I'm Charles, not some hopeless drunkard, merely a connoisseur of fine wines and foods," Charles quickly agreed.
Russell noncommittally turned to speak, "Butler Morris, remember to lock the wine cellar tonight."
"As you wish, my lord," Morris replied.
At that, Charles clutched his head with both hands, crying out in mock despair, "Oh! Heavens, Russell! Can there be no trust between men anymore!"