章節 21: Chapter 21: The First of the Specter Potion Series
In Maple Leaf Town's council hall, the air was thick with tension.
Once a bustling commercial hub, the town had fallen into ruin under Gess Pasha's reign of tyranny. His oppressive policies crushed the free-flowing trade environment, with merchants now walking on eggshells to avoid attracting the wrath of his indiscriminate taxation and plundering enforcers. The formerly vibrant streets outside the council hall were silent, with merchants and customers alike unwilling to even whisper for fear of drawing the attention of the armed knights inside.
Inside, Gess Pasha stood motionless, his expression thunderous as he looked at the pale corpse of his brother, Warren, sprawled before him. His trembling hands brushed over Warren's face before lifting the white cloth to reveal the gaping wound in his chest where his heart had been torn out.
With a roar of fury, Gess smashed his fist through a nearby wooden table.
"Last night, I sent Warren to hunt down the fugitives. This morning, his mutilated body is thrown at my doorstep. His heart is gone, his body scarred with the marks of some great beast. Who did this?"
The clergy of the Storm Church had always taught that the dead could only ascend to the Stormlord's realm if their bodies were intact. Without such sanctity, the soul was doomed to the Scarlet Abyss. This, more than anything, was what stoked the flames of Gess's rage.
Mayor Shokat, who stood nearby, interjected, "Lord Pasha, my son also fell victim to these monsters."
Gess's crimson eyes snapped toward the mayor, silencing him with their feral intensity. "Do not presume to compare your useless son to my brother!"
Shokat's face flushed with embarrassment and anger, but as he glanced around the hall, he realized how thoroughly he had been sidelined. The few remaining soldiers loyal to him had all perished alongside Warren the night before. With the militia captain's death, Shokat had lost his final hold over the town.
Just then, a soldier burst into the hall, rushing to Gess. "My lord, we have confirmed the fugitives' destination. They fled to Baron Su Nan's territory."
Gess's brow furrowed in disbelief. "Not to Meir Balagan's lands? The boy's domain?"
Shokat, his face lighting up with vindictive delight, exclaimed, "I knew it! That boy is behind this! He must pay for what he's done to my son."
But Gess remained deep in thought. Five years ago, Su Nan had been a mere child, someone he could crush with a single finger. How could that same boy now pose a threat capable of killing his brother?
For years, Gess and the other knights had worked to isolate Su Nan's territory, ensuring he lacked the resources and manpower to challenge their authority. Yet somehow, right under their noses, the boy had grown into something formidable.
"Where did he find the men? How did he gain such strength?" Gess muttered.
His spies had reported nothing significant, aside from Su Nan's obsession with useless books—texts he had dismissed as irrelevant distractions. But Gess had never imagined that Su Nan could reverse-engineer ancient knowledge from those books to create potions and monsters.
Dragging a trembling priest toward Warren's body, Gess barked, "You're a priest, aren't you? Tell me, how do we deal with such a creature?"
The priest stammered, "P-perhaps the holy water blessed by the Stormlord? According to our texts, it holds power over evil beings. If these creatures are truly wicked, the blessed water may repel or harm them."
Gess's eyes narrowed. "Fine. Gather the holy water from the chapel. Coat the soldiers' weapons in it if you must. Whether it works or not is irrelevant—it will at least boost morale."
Pausing, he ordered, "Summon Sir Harlen. At dawn, we march on the boy's castle. It's time this child learned his place."
Sir Harlen, once the third knight of the Peter barony, had been subdued by Gess two years prior and now served under him. Though reluctant, Harlen had no choice but to obey Gess's command.
As night fell, a full moon illuminated the skies over Maple Leaf Town. Its pale light bathed the quiet streets and the stationed guards, who watched over the town's gates. One guard, idly fingering the hilt of his blade, barely had time to react before a Wolf Messenger emerged from the shadows. The monstrous beast slammed him to the ground, its claws reducing his skull to pulp.
On a nearby hill overlooking the town, Su Nan stood with Warwick, Pella, and Robert.
Warwick, the old steward, spoke with a hint of excitement. "My lord, I've waited for this day for so long. The old baron would be proud."
Su Nan's gaze was calm but resolute. "No need to wait for tomorrow. Tonight, we strike. Let our enemies never see the sun rise again."
Through the Wolf Pack Effect, Su Nan issued his commands. "Begin recording the battle data."
The AI immediately began collecting the results of Su Nan's experiments. Warren's mutated heart had significantly boosted the progress of several of Su Nan's projects:
Specter Potion Research: 100% complete
Mental Fortification Potion +2: 41% complete
Super Werewolf Potion: 18% complete
Su Nan now held in his hand a vial of violet liquid—the first creation of his Specter Potion Series, named Specter: Knight Squire.
The potion's main ingredient was 50 grams of tissue extracted from a knight squire's heart, supplemented with graveyard ash and the blossoms of acacia trees growing near tombs. Though the heart was difficult to procure, the other ingredients were relatively common, allowing Su Nan to complete its preparation within a day.
Optimized by the AI, the potion followed the same principles as Orl the Guardian, utilizing spirit-based enhancements to empower its user.
As Su Nan uncorked t
he vial, he whispered, "Let's see what the Specter Series can do."
每周推薦票狀態
-- 推薦票
榜單 
-- 推薦票