Chapter 295 - 293: New Abilities

Chapter 295: Chapter 293: New Abilities

Duane set down his hammer and sat to one side, resting as he examined the three new abilities he had just acquired.

The first was the Blazing Fire Forging Skill.

This ability consisted of two parts: a Breathing Skill and a Forging Skill.

The Breathing Skill required a Warrior to breathe at a special frequency in an intensely hot environment, circulate their Fighting Qi, and clear all their Fighting Qi channels in a specific sequence.

Only after becoming a Human Tier Warrior could one be considered to have truly mastered the Blazing Fire Breathing Skill.

At that point, the Warrior would develop immense resistance to fire, and their Fighting Qi would be imbued with a special scorching effect.

The second part was the Forging Skill, which was used in conjunction with the Breathing Skill.

When forging weapons and equipment with this type of Fighting Qi, impacting the metal ingot with Fighting Qi during the hammering process could form special Fighting Qi channels.

Even ordinary metals could be imbued with exceptional Fighting Qi conductivity, enhancing the weapon’s power.

’What a pity!’

Duane sighed to himself. He practiced the Celestial Python Breathing Skill. His bodily functions, his Fighting Qi, and even his cells had been completely transformed when he activated his Bloodline, making it impossible for him to learn the Blazing Fire Breathing Skill.

’I can only pass this ability on to someone else.’

He glanced at Ryo, who was still diligently forging farm tools in the distance. ’That young man is a good candidate.’

But Ryo was currently just a Basic-level Warrior. ’I’ll have to wait until he becomes a Middle Level Warrior.’

’This Breathing Skill isn’t just for forging; it’s also excellent for combat. It doesn’t have to be learned only by a Blacksmith.’

He thought of John, who had just been promoted to Middle Level Warrior. ’That follower is a good choice as well.’

Duane moved on to examine the second ability: Blood-Forged Contract.

This skill involved forging with the essence blood of the blacksmith or another person, imbuing the weapon with a blood-based vitality. When stained with blood during combat, the weapon would provide a certain degree of amplification to one’s Fighting Qi.

The third ability was Resonating Vein Forging.

This was another special forging technique that required the blood of the weapon’s owner as a catalyst. It created "bloodline meridians" within the weapon, allowing it to resonate with its owner.

Not only would this allow the owner to use the Burning Blood Slash Combat Technique, but if the weapon was damaged, it could repair itself as long as it was provided with materials matching its own composition.

’This ability is great!’

For a Warrior, wear and tear on their weapons was an extremely common problem.

A self-repairing weapon was, needless to say, incredibly precious.

What’s more, it came with the accompanying Burning Blood Slash Combat Technique, making it even more exceptional.

However, mastering the Resonating Vein Forging ability was quite difficult.

First, the forging process not only consumed a massive amount of Fighting Qi but also required the blacksmith to have extremely fine control over the "channels." Only a warrior at the Shooting Star Level could barely meet this requirement.

Second, only a Shooting Star Warrior with abundant Life Force could provide enough blood during the weapon’s forging.

Yet even a Shooting Star Warrior would be weakened for three to five days after providing the necessary blood.

Finally, the Burning Blood Slash Combat Technique was also a special finishing move that worked by burning the user’s own essence blood.

Using this move was not only a great drain on a Warrior’s vitality, but it also caused considerable wear on the weapon itself.

However, this drawback wasn’t much of a problem for Duane.

His Celestial Python Bloodline gave him a powerful physique and incredible regenerative abilities. Furthermore, increasing a skill’s Skill Level reduced its cost and increased its power.

As long as his Skill Level in Burning Blood Slash reached the Perfection realm, the backlash to Duane would become very limited. Using it four or five times in a single battle would be no problem at all.

’Burning Blood Slash certainly makes up for my lack of finishing moves.’

Powerful finishing moves like Sword Rain Storm and the Rainbow Piercing Spear Skill were fundamentally just Tier Realm Combat Techniques.

Burning Blood Slash, however, was a bona fide Star Realm Combat Technique.

After reviewing his new abilities, Duane allocated the 3.8 attribute points he had just gained, bringing his Strength Attribute to 98.3.

He could feel that he was only a single step away from the Scorching Sun Level.

"Ryo," he called out.

Ryo put down his hammer and jogged over.

"Do you have instructions for me?"

After spending this time with him, Ryo was no longer as nervous around his Lord, but he was still filled with reverence.

Duane stood up and patted the young man’s shoulder. "Keep practicing hard with Simone, and don’t neglect your Forging skills. Once you become a Middle Level Warrior, I will grant you a Breathing Skill suitable for a Blacksmith."

Ryo froze for a moment upon hearing this, then his eyes lit up, and he became so excited that his breath hitched.

After all, not even Bard, the leader of the Broken Wave Gang and an Earth Tier Warrior, had ever mastered a Breathing Skill, much less someone like him who came from a common family.

Ryo dropped to one knee. Mimicking the salute Simone had taught him, he pressed his clenched right fist firmly against his chest, his voice trembling slightly with excitement.

"My Lord, I swear to you, I will absolutely not fail your expectations!"

Duane laughed and helped him to his feet.

"The Breathing Skill I’m giving you requires one to train in a hot environment."

"Even though you aren’t a Middle Level Warrior yet, there’s no harm in starting your training in such an environment ahead of time."

Duane pointed to the blazing forge. "This is a good place to start."

Ryo nodded emphatically. "Thank you for your guidance! I understand!"

「Cyan Snake Fortress, the King’s study.」

Eric stared at the dozen or so letters laid out on the desk before him, falling into a long silence. The longer he remained silent, the darker his expression grew.

Before long, Crown Prince Sigmund knocked and entered. "Father, why did you summon me in such a hurry?"

SLAM!

Eric slammed his hand on the table, venting his fury as he roared, "Your friend, Orisien, is an absolute imbecile!"

It was rare for Eric to lose his temper with the Crown Prince, and the atmosphere in the room instantly dropped to a freezing point.

Sigmund’s brow furrowed, and he asked apprehensively, "Orisien... What happened to him?"

Eric took a deep breath to compose himself, then tossed one of the letters over. "Take a good look at the foolish thing he’s done!"

Sigmund took the letter and began to read it quickly. As he did, his expression changed.

"He actually took Thomsen to Black Forest Island... and what’s more... they were captured by Duane?"

"This must be fake, right?"

The Crown Prince said in disbelief, "I personally witnessed Chief Judge Thomsen sparring with others on the Sunset Continent. He’s a true Silver Moon Warrior. How could Duane possibly defeat him?"

"If it were just one person’s account, it could very well be fake. But look again!"

Eric pointed at the letters on his desk. "It’s not just Count Kais. There’s also Sean, Orlando, Charlemagne... Over a dozen nobles are using this incident to lodge protests with me against the Holy Radiance Court. Do you still think it’s fake?"

Sigmund’s expression changed. He walked over to the desk and scanned the letters.

"Count Kais and Marquis Sean... they’ve joined forces?"

To the King, the threat of the Nobility uniting was far greater than the defeat of Thomsen and Orisien at the hands of Duane.

Eric grunted in acknowledgment.

The Pruck Kingdom had been founded on the support of these same nobles.

It had been sixty years since its founding, but after subtracting the first ten to twenty years of conflict, the kingdom had only known true stability for a little over thirty years.

Over the years, the Royal Family had maintained a superficial peace through a combination of granting fiefs, bestowing rewards, cooperation, and a system of checks and balances. However, there were still some unruly nobles, with the Smith Clan, led by the Marquis, being particularly prominent.

As a representative of the Radical Faction, Marquis Sean not only advocated for proactively striking out against enemy kingdoms, but also actively defied the authority of the Royal Family.

The King’s decrees had little effect within the Marquis’ Territory.

Fortunately, the Smith Clan’s influence was limited. Most of the Nobility were driven by their own interests and remained relatively neutral.

But in the past two years, King Eric had made successive miscalculations regarding affairs in the South, and the two most recent blunders were both related to the Holy Radiance Court.

This was why Eric was taking out his anger on Orisien.

"Father, what do you plan to do now?"

Sigmund looked troubled. "If we continue to push for the Holy Radiance Court and the ’Radiance Tax,’ I fear it will only make this group’s alliance even stronger."

"Halt everything!"

Although Eric was extremely reluctant, he had to admit the situation had changed.

Thomsen’s defeat had caused the deterrent power of the Punishment Holy Hall and the Black Armor Knight Order—entities that all the Grand Lords had feared—to plummet.

Therefore, the push to establish branch Church Courts in the territories of the great Nobility had to be slowed.

"Order Mitchell and Clement to increase investment in the territories that have already agreed to establish branch Church Courts, so as to demonstrate the tangible benefits of the Holy Radiance Court!"

Only tangible benefits could truly entice people.

If a minor noble became a Celestial Tier or even a Shooting Star Level warrior because of the Holy Radiance Court, what would the other Lords think?

They would certainly be tempted, because no one would turn down the chance to become stronger.

And once someone was tempted, the very foundation of the firm resistance put up by Marquis Sean and the other Lords against the Holy Radiance Court would begin to crumble.

Of course, the most urgent matter at hand was to sever the connection between Duane, Count Kais, and Marquis Sean.

At this thought, King Eric’s brow furrowed, and he fell into deep thought.