Lord of Winter: Beginning with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 243: Chapter 194: Fire-Scaled Viper

Adrian approached again, his movements steady, skillfully using the frost-covered gloves to lightly touch the side of a slightly larger female snake’s neck and feeding it a strip of meat.

The fire-scaled viper emitted a long, low hum, the “hiss” gentle and without hostility.

“Neutral signal, not perceiving humans as predators.” He gestured to Louis.

The entire team acted in perfect coordination, and soon several fire-scaled vipers were gently tied with soft straps, slowly and securely guided out of the valley.

Three hours later, over seventy fire-scaled vipers were all captured, almost sweeping this area of its snake population.

The most remarkable among them was the giant specimen coiled at the edge of a lava fissure.

A king fire-scaled viper, nine meters long, with its entire body fiery red, scales reflecting a metallic luster.

Under the effect of potions, it maintained its vigilance but did not burst into aggression, and was finally successfully guided to the taming area.

The taming environment was already prepared.

This was a natural lava cave, located near the geothermal heart of the hot zone in the Red Tide Territory, winding and twisting throughout, yet everywhere bathed in the red glow of natural magma.

Inside, multiple modified distillation devices were installed, slowly releasing diluted frost leaf vine essence to keep the entire taming area in a “semi-calm” state.

The mist was thin and even, gently covering the ground and the paths of the snake group.

Occasionally, a few restless fire-scaled vipers tried to spit fire tongues, but only hot waves spewed out, disappearing instantly into the mist inconspicuously.

“Instinct suppression is working well.” Adrian nodded after observing a circle, “As long as the dosage is maintained, it should ensure stability during the taming phase.”

Louis stood with hands behind his back, watching the peaceful swimming figures of the snake group, his mind swirling with thoughts.

These fire-scaled vipers would become the main combat tool materials against the Nest, and this was just the first step, everything was just beginning.

Thus, halfway through the capture, Louis sent for Hillco.

Standing at the edge of the hot mist, he turned his head and whispered to Adrian: “Pick a few older, low-reproduction individuals. The bigger the better, and they should have sufficient fat content.”

Adrian nodded in agreement, soon selecting three older snakes over four meters long from the already tamed fire-scaled viper group.

With skilled movements, he secured the snake bodies with cold iron chains, and together with the knight team, dragged them into the dissection tent at the back.

Hillco, dressed in a white robe with cuffs layered with several fireproof materials, walked in with steady steps, holding a toolbox.

He said nothing more, just gave a slight wave, and the toolbox unfolded, revealing a full set of silver dissection instruments and refining devices.

With Adrian’s assistance, he precisely cut open the fire-scaled viper’s belly scales, gently separating its shallow red underbelly fat.

The fat was thick and viscous, with a slight faint flame sheen, emitting a strange scorched mineral aroma.

“Thick texture, and contains weakly volatile minerals.” Hillco murmured, a trace of excitement in his eyes, “Indeed, the fire-scaled viper’s fat contains natural combustible crystal salts.”

He quickly began processing the experimental samples, using the “cold press + silver charcoal adsorption” alchemy treatment method to stratify and filter the impurities in the fat and stabilize its component activity.

As the devices operated, they eventually produced a deep red, semi-solid ointment that remained stable at room temperature.

When he cautiously ignited a bit of the experimental sample, the flame leapt up instantly, burning quietly with no black smoke residue.

“Success.” He murmured to himself, “This is a high-quality fuel…”

Seeing the experiment’s success, Louis was also pleased: “Let’s call it Fire Scale Ointment.”

In the alchemy experiment zone inside the lava cave, the firelight reflected off the damp rock walls.

Next came the experimental phase, Hillco stood in front of a cold iron platform, clad in a heavy protective alchemy robe, holding the freshly refined deep red ointment.

He smeared a small amount on a cold iron plate, ignited it with a regular flame source, and the flame surged up immediately, burning bright and steady, extinguishing completely after nine minutes, leaving no scorch marks or residue at the bottom of the plate.

“This stuff is real nice,” he murmured, “burns in wetlands, ignites smokelessly… If I hadn’t made it myself, I would’ve thought it was a product of the Jade Alchemy Institute.”

Then he added several refined demon marrow drops to a small amount of Fire Scale Ointment, stepped back a few steps, and lit it.

“Boom!”

A split-second burst flame shot nearly two meters high, the heat wave sweeping in, scorching the face slightly.

Hillco raised an eyebrow: “This burst temperature is at least six hundred degrees, also a good material for making Magic Explosion Bullets. Hmm… stability is good, temperature is high.”

He noted down the data one by one, then looked at Louis who was observing nearby.

Curiously asked: “So, what do you plan to use this Fire Scale Ointment for? Mainly for combat, or daily use?”

Louis’s gaze was calm, but his tone carried a hint of anticipation: “Prioritize the development of combat-use Magic Explosion Bullets and Explosive Oil, ideally making them convenient to carry, with stable ignition delay, and capable of range burst combustion.”

He paused, “Of course, if you have any other ideas, feel free to let me know anytime.”

Hillco responded with a chuckle: “I have a few small ideas, but I’ll need a few days, after all, this stuff isn’t fully understood yet.”

Louis nodded, saying lightly: “A few days is enough for you, but be careful not to blow up the laboratory.”

The two magic burst enthusiasts exchanged a smile, under the firelight, some dangerous ideas were gradually taking shape.

As Louis was preparing to continue watching Hillco’s Magic Explosion Bullet experiments, a knight briskly approached: “Sir, several people claiming to be ’Mages Among Mages’ have come to see you.”

Louis nodded slightly at the words, calmly saying: “Take them to the meeting hall to wait for me, I’ll be there shortly.”