Chapter 282 - 280: Uninvited Guest

Chapter 282: Chapter 280: Uninvited Guest

On the vast surface of the sea, three large ships cut through the waves.

The large white sails billowed in the wind, and the sun banner, glowing with golden light, flapped audibly in the sea breeze.

As the Holy Son of the Holy Radiance Court, Orisien stood at the ship’s bow, facing the sea breeze and thoroughly enjoying the pleasure of the voyage.

Beside him, Chief Judge Thomsen was dressed in a loose, black robe, looking as if he were here for a holiday.

Just then, the Captain respectfully approached and reported, "Holy Son, Chief Judge, Black Forest Island is just ahead."

Orisien gazed into the distance and commented with a hint of disdain, "It doesn’t look very big."

Thomsen said casually, "It’s a small island. Of course it isn’t big."

Orisien immediately followed up, "But the Lord on it has no shortage of nerve."

"Then this time, we’ll properly suppress his arrogance."

The two exchanged a knowing smile.

Although Orisien was very displeased with Duane’s actions and wanted to retaliate, both openly and secretly, their trip to Black Forest Island this time wasn’t solely for revenge.

They needed Duane to amend the contract he had previously signed with Clement, allowing the Holy Radiance Court’s Radiance Tax to extend to Black Forest Island.

After all, all the lords who had already confirmed they would build a branch court had signed agreements to implement the Radiance Tax. For Duane to be the sole exception was, by any measure, rather unjustifiable.

At Black Forest Port, the Police Department member responsible for patrolling the area immediately reported this information to Jack.

Right now, Black Forest Island’s elite forces were all away. The strongest Warriors left on the island were only Middle Level.

"Those are ships from the Holy Radiance Court. They used to only send one. Why are there three now?"

Jack had gone to the Royal Capital this time, so he knew what had happened between Duane and the Holy Radiance Court.

His brow furrowed slightly. "Go to Broken Wave Bay and ask Lady Constance to come here. Also, inform John, Hardy, and the others to come to the docks with me."

A Level 4 Mage was their current trump card.

...

Inside the Secret Realm, the battle was nearing its end.

Having lost their leader, the pack of beasts seemed to feel fear as well, and some began to flee in a panic.

Although the Warriors were too busy to pay them any mind, Duane was able to patrol the perimeter on horseback, slaughtering any Demon Beast that tried to escape.

Finally, as the last Demon Beast fell, the extermination battle was declared a complete success.

Among the eleven Warriors, four Advanced Warriors were injured.

Of them, Theodore and Moen, who came from common backgrounds and had relatively less combat and training experience, were the most severely injured.

The former had his arm bitten by a Demon Beast, while the latter’s ribs were broken by a sharp claw, leaving a wound on his chest.

As for the other Human Tier Warriors, they had at most minor flesh wounds and were not seriously harmed.

"You all did well!"

Duane praised them loudly while using his Healing Technique to alleviate Theodore and Moen’s injuries.

"The Healing Technique has a limited effect on broken ribs. Apply this bottle of Special Healing Potion to the fracture."

’It would be much easier if I had the Holy Healing Technique, but unfortunately, Sarah still has no intention of selling it to me. In this situation, I have to use the Special Healing Potion.’

Moen accepted the Potion bottle with slightly trembling hands. He never expected the Lord to not only personally treat his injuries but also give him such an expensive Potion.

"My Lord, my injuries have already eased, and they won’t affect my movement. This Potion is too precious!"

A bottle of Special Healing Potion sold for five Gold Coins, which was indeed very expensive for them.

Duane, however, didn’t mind. The purpose of this group operation was to strengthen his subordinates’ approval of him; naturally, he wouldn’t care about a few mere Gold Coins.

"Just use it and don’t worry. We still have the return journey ahead of us."

"Thank you for your care!" Moen knelt to express his gratitude.

The others were deeply moved by this scene. ’No wonder everyone on Black Forest Island says the Lord is benevolent. After interacting with him for so many days, we see it’s really true.’

Duane instructed, "Everyone, clean up the battlefield. Sort out the valuable items and pack them to take with us."

"Lune, Simone, Raymond, you three, come over and help me break down the Black Bear’s corpse."

This behemoth, which stood ten meters tall, could not be stuffed into the Void Eye in one piece.

If they wanted to take it with them, they had no choice but to cut it into pieces.

"This big guy must be a Level 7 Demon Beast, right?"

Lune stood beside the Black Bear’s corpse. Even though it was dead, he could still feel a heart-pounding pressure.

"A Level 7 Demon Beast, and one this enormous... a complete Beast Hide would sell for at least three thousand Gold Coins!"

"Definitely more than that!"

Simone said, "My family has the hide of a Level 4 Fire Eagle, and its collection value is eight or nine hundred Gold Coins. I’d say this complete bear hide would sell for five or six thousand Gold Coins!"

Duane wasn’t sure either. After all, Level 7 Demon Beast Hide was extremely rare on the market, and its uses were still in the "to be researched" stage.

But regardless, its value was definitely not low.

As Duane spoke, he used Harmony Magic on the Black Bear’s corpse.

The body was so enormous that he had to use the magic a full four times to completely permeate it.

"Alright, you can start. Just don’t damage my Beast Hide. Also, find its Demon Core!"

The three of them jumped onto the Black Bear’s body and got busy.

At the same time, the other Warriors also began collecting various materials from the Demon Beasts, such as Demon Cores, bones, fangs, claws, and pelts.

Duane, meanwhile, rode his warhorse and leaped into the deep pit. There was no Magic Array or special traps inside; it looked perfectly ordinary.

But when he activated his Starlight Eye, it wasn’t hard to spot a strong surge of dark green energy in the Black Bear’s former resting place—a bed of earth in the center of the pit.

’This energy is the same as when Daniels summoned a Demon. Could it be that his ability to create Sauce Meat Fruits and his Spell Ability are related to this Secret Realm?’

Daniels had never entered this Secret Realm, but he came from the Akutas Kingdom. Perhaps he had obtained this knowledge from there.

As Duane pondered, he walked over to the earthen bed. Beneath a hidden mound of soil was a large, solidified piece of dark green crystal.

"This is?"

Duane recognized it at a glance. It was something similar to Elemental Ore.

He turned and shouted, "Manny, come over here for a second."

Manny was also collecting valuable spoils at that moment. Snapping to attention when he heard the call, he immediately ran down into the pit.

Duane said, "Come take a look. Is this thing the same as the crystals in your family’s territory?"

"It’s a bit similar."

Manny explained his thoughts as he looked. "The Elemental Creatures that come out of the Secret Realm also drop dark green crystals when they’re killed. My father calls them ’Fel Energy Crystals’."

He used his sword to pry a piece out. "It’s just that Fel Energy Crystals are usually quite small. Never this big!"

Manny withdrew his longsword, not wanting to be in contact with the stuff for too long.

He also advised, "My Lord, this stuff is very dangerous. Prolonged contact will corrode a person’s body. I suggest you don’t touch it."

Duane nodded, understanding. ’This stuff is like a source of radiation. Too much exposure will lead to radiation poisoning.’

He remembered that Daniels had a book called "Fel Energy Notes". It seemed that calling this dark green Magic Energy "Fel Energy" was correct.

’This thing probably contains energy just like Elemental Ore. For now, let’s call it ’Fel Energy Ore’.’

Manny strongly agreed. The name was very fitting.

"Count, I actually have something I’d like to ask your help with."

Duane pulled his gaze away from the Fel Energy Ore and looked at the other man’s hesitant expression. "What is it?"

Manny hesitated, but finally spoke up. "My father’s right hand is being corroded by Fel Energy Crystal Stone. He has only managed to halt the spread of the corrosion with the help of potions and the Holy Radiance Court. But even so, his right hand is as good as crippled. He can no longer wield a sword and fight like he used to."

This was a secret of the Haydon Clan, not something generally revealed to outsiders.

It was precisely because of this corrosion that Viscount Charlemagne’s strength hadn’t improved an inch in years. Otherwise, he might be a Celestial Tier Warrior by now.

Manny had thought that a cure was hopeless and that his father would eventually have to amputate his arm.

But today, he had witnessed Duane’s abilities, especially his ability to purify the wolf meat shortly after they entered the Secret Realm.

He felt that perhaps Duane could bring hope for his father’s injury.

Thinking of this, Manny pleaded, "I beg you to lend your aid and see if you can cure my father’s injury!"

Duane hadn’t expected such a hidden matter. ’No wonder I didn’t see Viscount Charlemagne at the Kingdom’s founding celebration.’

"You can have your father make a trip to Black Forest Island, or you can wait for a day when I can visit the Haydon Clan’s territory. But I can’t guarantee the final result."

Casting a single spell was no difficult matter for Duane.

He wanted to enter the Haydon Clan’s Secret Realm, and perhaps even develop it in the future. To do that, he would need to cooperate with Viscount Charlemagne.

"Thank you for agreeing! As long as there is a sliver of hope, we are willing to give it a try!"

Manny was moved to tears of gratitude, knowing full well that he owed the Lord another favor.

Duane waved his hand, signaling for the other man to get back to his own tasks.

He, on the other hand, used Harmony Magic again to see if he could transform this harmful Fel Energy Ore into something harmless.