Chapter 110: Promising Future! Black Aura Coating! |
Before long, his stomach began churning again.
“Damn it, here it comes again! Damn it!”
“Oh no! Not gonna make it in time.”
Pfft… pfft… squeak… splurt~
“Ahh, that’s better~”
On the treetop, the eagle stood motionless like a sculpture, its sharp eyes seeming to see through everything.
On each of its legs was tied a small mechanism.
They were small containers with attached pull-strings.
Pulling the string on the left leg would release a certain amount of red potion.
One was the Tier 2 Crimson Rose’s Lament, and the other was the Tier 1 Gut-Piercing Poison.
During this period, Leo’s Beast Taming skill had already come off cooldown.
However, he did not choose to hastily switch the soul link target.
Even if it meant losing some efficiency in grinding experience.
Leo still wanted to properly teach these bastards a lesson.
Taking advantage of moments when these people left the treehouse, Leo used the Shared State to lace their wine, water, and dried meat with these two toxic potions.
Clearly, this level of toxicity had little effect on the knight Rayton.
But the short, chubby attendant Tommy suffered miserably.
Later, Leo planned to continue developing other potions, and these wilderness knights would serve as his test subjects.
Through observation, these wilderness knights had three hideouts within this forest.
Moreover, these people were extremely vigilant.
If not for Leo tracking them with the eagle, once they disappeared into the forest, ordinary people would have a hard time finding them.
However, just as Leo was observing through the Shared State, a strange bird call came from the distance.
“Coo-coo… coo-coo…”
The call was rhythmic.
Soon, a figure emerged from the shadows in the distance.
At the same time, the long-faced knight Rayton also walked out of the treehouse.
“What’s the matter? Why come here in the middle of the night?” Rayton showed a hint of joy upon seeing the person walking out of the forest.
“Rayton, what happened to you? Did you soil yourself?” The newcomer covered his nose, his face full of disgust.
“It wasn’t me…” Rayton gritted his teeth, glaring toward the bushes where that damn fat man was squatting.
He licked his cracked lips. “Just say it—what’s the matter coming to me this late?”
“An order from the Duke—summon all the brothers.”
……
Two days later, in the wasteland domain, Rang Laide carried a bundle of freshly slaughtered Blackwater Lizard meat to the purchasing station.
“My lord, your injury…” The old servant following behind him looked at the still-bleeding wound on his arm with concern.
“It’s nothing, just a flesh wound.” Rang Laide looked at the bundle of lizard meat in his hands.
There was no other way. That damned wilderness knight had demanded ten silver coins right away.
It was only early spring—where was he supposed to find ten silver coins?
He couldn’t extract that money from the commoners of his territory.
So he had to find a way himself.
Fortunately, he had gone to the Blackwater River today and managed to gain something.
After a fierce battle, he had finally slain a Tier 2 Blackwater Lizard.
“I’m getting old… feels like I’m getting weaker and weaker. Back in the day…” Rang Laide gritted his teeth and placed the meat on the counter.
After risking his life to kill such a large Beastkin, the edible portion amounted to only this small piece from the lower abdomen.
“Isn’t this Lord Rang Laide? What wind blew you here?” The shopkeeper spoke politely but continued handling other tasks.
“Help me calculate the price of this meat.” Rang Laide forced a smile. “Much appreciated.”
He knew this shopkeeper who purchased Beastkin meat was famous for being calculating.
And relying on the wasteland domain’s backing, he didn’t even show respect to a subordinate city lord like him.
“No problem. Let’s see—less than two jin, and the scale’s reading high. I’ll give you seven silver coins.”
“Boss, it seems the weights are a bit worn.”
“…” The shopkeeper was speechless. A lord of a territory, yet every transaction turned into prolonged bargaining.
After some intense haggling,
in the end, the edible fresh meat from the Blackwater Lizard was exchanged for only eight silver coins.
Rang Laide’s tightly furrowed brows showed no sign of easing.
He was still short of two silver coins.
Last time, he had already pawned his ring. If necessary, he would have to sell the fur coat he was wearing.
Just as he was about to head to the pawnshop,
a child suddenly called out to him.
“Lord Rang Laide, it seems you have an urgent letter at the post station.” The speaker was the young boy responsible for delivering letters.
Rang Laide often came to send letters, so they were familiar with him.
“An urgent letter?” Rang Laide rarely received urgent letters.
Such letters traveled via official roads, sealed with special wax, delivered by a single rider—but the cost was high. Sending one letter cost five silver coins.
He hadn’t received one in years.
Wondering who it could be, Rang Laide quickly went to the post station.
He received a heavy package.
Both Rang Laide and the old servant were stunned, because the sender’s name written on it was Leo Laide.
“It’s from the young master.”
“What is this brat doing? One letter costs five silver coins—where did he learn such wasteful habits?”
Though scolding, he still opened the cloth package.
Inside was another cloth layer, and within that, a wooden box.
Inside were two sealed bottles.
The bottles seemed filled with clear water, but at the bottom, several gleaming gold coins rested.
Rang Laide took out the coins, his expression freezing. “Five…”
He immediately lowered his voice and moved with the old servant to a secluded corner.
“Five gold coins! Where did the young master get so much money?”
Rang Laide looked stunned. He had never imagined Leo could possess such wealth.
Even as a Quasi-Knight, it would be difficult to accumulate so much in just a few months.
Moreover, he knew the expenses for a knight’s training were substantial.
An unpleasant thought surfaced in his mind.
Could it be… Leo had gone astray?
Could he have resorted to theft or even robbery after gaining some ability…
The more he thought, the worse it became.
Just then, the old servant noticed a note in the package.
“Father: This is the reward for placing first in the last assessment. —Leo Laide.”
The note was brief, yet Rang Laide read it for a long time.
“First place in the assessment… the young master has made something of himself!”
He knew Blackstone City held year-end assessments, but he hadn’t expected Leo to take first place. No wonder he had mentioned becoming a Quasi-Knight earlier.
His fingers tightly gripped the note, trembling with excitement.
But in the next moment, his expression darkened, and he muttered, “Nonsense… expenses in Blackstone City are so high—why send this money back to us?”
“My lord, let’s quickly exchange these gold coins for silver coins. Next time the Wilderness Knight Order comes, we’ll be able to manage it.” The old servant beamed with joy. Having watched Leo grow up, he was genuinely proud of him.
“…Mm.” Rang Laide sighed. He hadn’t expected that one day he would have to rely on Leo’s money. “That brat’s grown up… he’s promising.”
……
Meanwhile, in Blackstone City.
Leo controlled his breathing in a specific rhythm.
At the same time, he felt a large amount of energy particles being drawn into his body from the outside. In the next moment, Leo’s eyes snapped open.
His muscles suddenly trembled.
A scorching aura began from his lungs, spreading outward in an instant.
In the blink of an eye, a sharp gleam flashed in Leo’s eyes, as if all the heat within his body converged into a single point.
Boom!
At that moment, it was as if a long-suppressed volcano had reached its limit and erupted completely.
Leo guided this flow of heat from his chest through his upper arm and forearm, finally clenching his fist.
Whoosh!
In just an instant, the skin on the back of his hand, previously flesh-colored, turned completely black.
From a distance, it looked as though a thick layer of black ink had been applied.
Leo flexed his fingers and clenched them tightly.
Clang!
When his fingers and palm collided, a metallic sound rang out.
“So hard!”
Leo tried snapping his fingers.
Snap!
The sound was like a hammer striking a nail.
A spark burst between his fingers.
“Black Aura Coating! Success!”
Finally, after nearly half a year of relentless training day and night, Leo’s Furnace Breathing Technique had broken through to the second stage.
The Gray Aura energy within his body had continuously accumulated, surpassing its limit.
Now, the Black Aura in Leo’s body could manifest on the surface of his skin, forming an incomparably tough Black Aura Coating over a localized area.
【Furnace Breathing Technique Stage Two 1/100 (Special Effect: Black Aura Coating)】