Chapter 296 - 294: The Crown Prince and the Duke Visit

Chapter 296: Chapter 294: The Crown Prince and the Duke Visit

Although Duane couldn’t master the Blazing Fire Forging Skill, with his abilities, he could try the Blood-Forged Contract.

Unlike Resonating Vein Forging, it only required the Blacksmith to provide a small bowl of fresh blood—not a large amount.

Over the next few days, Duane used the Blood-Forged Contract to forge a Tang Blade and a Long Spear. Including the three or four failures in between, he ended up using two large bowls of fresh blood.

If not for his extraordinary constitution, losing so much blood would have left him utterly exhausted, yet he still appeared full of life and vigor.

SWOOSH!

As the Tang Blade was swung quickly, the Thunderous Power on it flickered nonstop, bringing a hint of chill to the otherwise hot afternoon.

He infused a drop of his blood, and in an instant, the Thunder seemed to come alive, crackling even more violently.

’It’s definitely a bit stronger, but it’s not even a ten percent increase.’

Duane then tested the power of the Long Spear. Since his Blood-Forged Contract had reached Entry Level while forging it, the spear’s power amplification was slightly greater, but still less than ten percent.

’It seems the amplification will only become significant once the Skill Level is higher.’

"My Lord, these two weapons of yours seem a little different."

Simone would come to the mine every so often, partly to inspect it and partly to find time to guide Ryo in his training.

"You try it." Duane tossed the Tang Blade to him.

Simone gripped the blade and swung it a few times. "Strange. In my hands, it doesn’t feel like an ordinary weapon."

He studied the blade closely. "This style of blade seems to be a better fit for my fighting style."

Duane smiled faintly. A Blood-Forged Weapon only worked for its master, so it was only natural that Simone couldn’t activate its power.

"If you want a Tang Blade, you can go give a small bowl of your blood. I’ll forge one for you in the next day or two."

Simone had already heard about his Lord using blood to forge weapons. Although it was a bit strange, the weapons were effective, so he didn’t give it much more thought.

As for a small bowl of blood, he wasn’t concerned.

"Then I’ll have to trouble you!"

Simone grinned. "When the Black Iron Ore arrives, can I buy some and ask you to forge another one?"

"Of course you can!"

Duane welcomed anyone willing to provide blood to help him raise his Skill Level. "But I have a clear price list. My services don’t come cheap."

"Of course!"

Simone felt this was only right. After all, their Lord had done so much for Black Forest Island and for all of them.

In fact, many things were no longer free or cheap.

Take Warm Sun Soup, for example. It was sold to his followers for 5 Silver Coins a bowl, which was half a month’s salary for a Basic-level Warrior.

Duane calculated the cost and said:

"A Black Iron Weapon on the market costs 8 Gold Coins. My Blood-Forged Weapons have the characteristic of amplifying Combat Techniques, so that’ll be an extra 10 Gold Coins."

He added, "If you want the Enchanted Blazing Fire effect, that’s another 10 Gold Coins. So, 28 Gold Coins for the whole package."

Hearing this, Simone scratched his head with a wry smile.

"My Lord, even though that’s a discounted price, it’s still too high for me!"

Simone’s annual salary was only 14 Gold Coins. Even adding his wife Constance’s income, it would take the couple a whole year to afford this one weapon.

Duane couldn’t help but smile. If that were the real price, no one in his Territory would be able to afford it.

But a Blood-Forged Weapon created with a person’s blood couldn’t be used by anyone else.

So, charging such a high price was purely a joke.

"Eight Gold Coins a piece."

Duane said with a smile, "Consider it a perk from me, your Lord!"

Eight Gold Coins would be just enough to cover the cost of the Black Iron Ore and the Enchanting Materials.

Simone immediately expressed his gratitude. "Thank you for your generosity, my Lord!"

Eight Gold Coins was still a considerable sum for him, but it was affordable.

"Come on, let’s get that blood. I’ll even forge you a Refined Iron Weapon for free."

The two were laughing and talking as they walked into the Blacksmith Shop when the sound of approaching hooves made them stop in their tracks.

"It’s the Guards from Dawn Town."

Simone recognized them at a glance. "Has someone arrived at the port?"

Whenever anyone came from that direction, it was almost always related to an arrival.

"Lord!"

The Guard dismounted, saluted, and reported, "Foreign ships have arrived at Black Forest Port! They’re flying the Cyan Snake Banner and the Roar Banner!"

Simone exclaimed in shock, "Those are the banners of the Royal Family and the Hughes Clan!"

The Pruck Royal Family used the Cyan Snake Banner.

The current Duke Kelvin was known as the "Duke of Roar," and his clan’s banner was the head of a roaring brown bear.

"How many ships arrived?" Duane asked.

The number of ships would reveal the nature of their visit.

If dozens of ships had arrived, they might well be there to attack Black Forest Island and capture Duane.

"Two ships in total!"

The Guard said, "They hadn’t docked yet when I left."

’Then they’ve likely come to negotiate.’

"Looks like forging your weapon will have to be postponed."

Duane summoned his warhorse as he spoke. He hadn’t expected the Royal Family to come directly to Black Forest Island, much less with members of the Hughes Clan in tow.

He had thought he would be meeting them at the Silent Shore.

"My Lord, do you need me to go?" Simone asked.

’If Duke Kelvin is here, my presence probably doesn’t matter much.’

"No need. You stay here and focus on guiding Ryo. Try to help him become a Middle Level Warrior as soon as possible."

With a mere thought, his warhorse galloped away.

By now, the two ships had docked at Black Forest Port.

"So this is Black Forest Island. It’s better than I expected."

Crown Prince Sigmund stepped onto the pier. Looking at everything before him, he was suddenly filled with emotion.

’It’s hard to imagine a Silver Moon Warrior coming from a place like this.’

Beside him, an old man, his hair white but his face radiant with health, was also sizing up the surroundings.

’He was inwardly surprised. There were no special energy fluctuations in the air. How could Duane’s strength have improved so rapidly?’

Just then, Raymond, along with Jack and several Guards, came forward to greet them respectfully.

As the ships belonged to the Royal Family and a Duke Clan, Raymond dared not block them from landing as he had done with the people from the Holy Radiance Court.

On the contrary, they had to treat them with courtesy, as Duane was a vassal of Pruck.

"Welcome, Your Highness the Crown Prince, Your Grace the Duke!"

The golden-haired Sigmund was exceptionally handsome. He said in surprise, "You recognize me?"

"Yes, Your Highness. I once served in the Third Legion and had the honor of seeing you from a distance."

As for Duke Kelvin, he had merely guessed.

An old man on a ship flying the Roar Banner, being treated with such respect by the Crown Prince—when these two factors were combined, the man’s identity was self-evident.

"I see!"

Sigmund smiled. "Duane has quite a few talented people working for him."

Just then, two more people jumped over from a third ship behind them.

Although Raymond didn’t recognize these two, he had a gut feeling that their status was extraordinary.

Duke Kelvin teased, "Such a small port is unworthy of Count Duane’s reputation. Sigmund, I think you should submit a request to your father to arrange for a professional construction team to build a new port for Duane."

Sigmund laughed heartily. "You’re right, Grandfather. I will relay your suggestion to Father."

Raymond stood quietly to the side.

He knew that Count Kais was going to help build up Black Forest Port, but this wasn’t public knowledge, so he dared not mention it in front of the Crown Prince and the Duke.

But hearing them talk like this, Raymond’s anxious heart was finally put at ease.

At least, this group hadn’t come to make trouble for his Lord over the matter of Thomsen and Orisien.