"Really!" Desmonde exclaimed joyfully, "Then please start right away. As long as you can heal Anonda, I am willing to pay you ten thousand gold coins!" Obviously, what he received last time in the Obar City had not been spent yet.
Gezheng shook his head, "You misunderstand, I have no way to heal Anonda, but I can help you win the royal challenge!" "Hmm? What do you mean?" Desmonde was puzzled.
...
Gezheng's meaning was semi-demonic creature.
Anonda did not die, but if the severed limb rejuvenated, it could not immediately adapt to combat. So, Gezheng decided to "forge" a leg that could engage in battle for it with the help of alchemical "legs" and the three legs of Anonda, forming a kind of half-demonic creature. The blood test was to see if Anonda and the demonic item could merge.
Compared to a true demonic creature, the difficulty of a semi-demonic creature was much lower. However, a semi-demonic creature also had its own difficulties, which was the fusion of the demonic item and the biological body.
Under the cloak of Goddess of Wisdom, Gezheng had deep discussions with Parachel Suze about this issue. Parachel Suze believed that even if it was tested that the organism did not reject the demonic item, it did not necessarily mean that the organism could definitely merge with the demonic creature. In order to achieve perfect fusion, it was necessary to use mineral refining with the same component as the organism's skeleton. Secondly, it was also necessary to test the alchemist's control over the final step "substitution equation". It must neither make the fusion part of the organism lose vitality, nor fail to achieve the purpose of fusion.
Gezheng raised his standards for himself a bit. This demonic claw could not just run and jump; he wanted to astonish the third prince in the royal challenge.
The material list handed to Gezheng shocked the material store owner. Just the material cost required sixty thousand gold coins! Assistant steward Kari only had a few hundred gold coins in his money bag, and he came back to report to Desmonde in dismay. Desmonde, despite being a pauper in the royal family, certainly could come up with sixty thousand gold coins. He personally purchased the highest quality materials, which resulted in an additional ten thousand gold coins spent, totaling seventy thousand gold coins just for materials. Kari looked on with aching heart.
Before the refining, Gezheng set up a soundproof barrier. Apart from the process, the final step of biological substitution equation was a staggering pain that was not something an ordinary creature could bear. Although there were paralysis curse spells in this world, it was not anesthesia. He was worried that Anonda's screams would be heard by Desmonde, breaking his heart.
...
Sol Gewiren left Delson Castle and found a secluded place to fly into the sky. Thousands of meters high in the sky, as the clouds floated, it revealed its true form with wings of a dragon, flapping twice and flying several kilometers away.
The empire's hinterland had few forests, and finding a seven or eight-level magical beast was difficult. For the wise dragon, it had no choice but to fly back to its own garden forest.
Although the magical beasts here could not be easily slaughtered, it was much easier to catch under its might. Sol Gewiren easily found a level nine magical beast, the Fire-tailed Horned Horse King. It flapped its huge dragon wings, scattering the herd of Fire-tailed Horned Horses, leaving only the Horned Horse King lying on the ground under its dragon's might.
The Horned Horse King was in despair, having heard that the dragon liked barbecuing. It did not expect that it, a noble fire-type magical beast, would end up dying under flames. While mourning for itself, Sol Gewiren started speaking to it in the language of beasts, "Stop crying, I propose a deal with you! As long as you obey, I won't eat you."
The Horned Horse King was overjoyed and eagerly nodded.
Sol Gewiren explained the situation, and the Horned Horse King was hesitant, as it was also a king in the garden forest. Living freely there, why would it go to the human world to be a mount? "Roar!" Sol Gewiren didn't bother to reason, and a breath of dragon flame was sprayed around the Horned Horse King, turning the ground around it into a glossy circular substance. The Horned Horse King even got singed on its backside, which was a deliberate mistake made by Sol Gewiren.
"Neigh..." The Horned Horse King immediately jumped up and happily agreed to the wise dragon's proposition.
Sol Gewiren had some understanding of beast taming. The Horned Horse King turned into a summoning token and fell into the giant dragon's claws. The wise dragon was about to leave but flapped its wings twice, causing a gust of dust before stopping. It patted its bald head with its front claws, as if to say, "I told Gezheng that I am a beast tamer. If I don't have a few summons with me, how can I fight?"
It glanced at the forest and a sly expression appeared on its dragon face - something that shouldn't appear on a dragon's face.
One day later, Sol Gewiren effortlessly brought back the three tribal kings from the garden forest to Delson Castle. Sol Gewiren knew the garden forest as well as the back of his hand. He straightforwardly told the three tribe kings of the Panthera tribe, the Inferno Tiger tribe, and the Rupture Bear tribe, "I have decided that for the next thirty years, I will not eat tiger brains in spring, leopard bile in autumn, or bear paws in winter. In return, the three tribal kings must follow me as my mounts."
The three tribal kings were puzzled. Sol Gewiren was a hundred times stronger than any of them, so why did he want them as mounts? Nonetheless, the wise ruler's thoughts were difficult to understand, and even if they refused, Sol Gewiren would use force. Agreed, they could ensure the prosperity of their tribes for thirty years. Thus, the transaction was quickly completed.
Sol Gewiren sighed. He had given too much for love. These were his favorite foods before discovering the multi-limbed earth boa. To maintain essence in spring, he needed to eat more tiger brains. To eliminate dryness in autumn, he needed to consume more leopard bile. For health in winter, bear paws were nourishing.
The six-legged Panthera Matriarch, the Inferno Tiger King, and the Earth Bear King, three summoned beasts, were all twelve-level magical beasts. Weren't they impressive enough to let Gezheng see their value? However, the wise dragon had forgotten that there were no lower-level ones among the three level-twelve summoned beasts. If they encountered some small fry, would they also use a level twelve magical beast?
...
When Sol Gewiren returned to Delson Castle, Gezheng had just finished creating the first demonic creature, or rather a half-demonic creature, that he brought to this world.
"Roar!" Anonda walked out of the laboratory, howling at the sky. Its tail whipped the ground like a steel whip, making a cracking sound. How was this the same nearly dying swift-wolf lizard from three days ago? It exuded strength and ferocity, with a left front paw that was twice as thick as the other three, its paw seemingly as large as a tiger's.
In the sunlight, its wolven leg emitted a faint golden light, an energy that was occasionally visible.
Desmonde was amazed, "What kind of power is this?" "That is Anonda's power. I made a few tweaks to this demonic wolf leg to give those who underestimate it a huge surprise."
The swift-wolf lizard suddenly raised its paw, let out a roar, and shot a icy blue light.
"Boom!" The mock mountain was instantly frozen by the light, and then exploded into pieces of ice!
Dekemont was surprised: "Ice!"
"Not bad, this move is very simple. It is simply the Ice Wind Break released by the Ice Wind Claw of the Swift Wolf Lizard using its own wind magic. There's even more fun stuff, hehe," Ge Zheng said mysteriously.
Dekemont looked at the Swift Wolf Lizard in amazement: "Anonda, what else do you have? Show me." Anonda understood Dekemont's words and ran a few circles, adjusting the magic elements within its body. White electrical currents slowly gathered from the tail tip and the other three wolf claws, converging onto its left shoulder. Then it suddenly squatted down, and its left front paw lightly pressed on the ground.
"Sizzle..." A pale blue electrical light snaked out from its paw, covering the ground within a radius of thirty meters with blue ice. Ge Zheng and Dekemont's feet were frozen in place. Dekemont struggled, but his feet were motionless. He exclaimed, "This ice magic is incredible..."
"Hehe, this is not just simple ice magic, it also involves entwined wind magic, which is why it can trap enemies," Ge Zheng explained. "As for how to use it in battle, it's up to you to design."
"Now, I'll tell you the ultimate move of this Alchemy Wolf Leg," Ge Zheng continued.
Dekemont was excited: "There's more?" The Alchemist raised an eyebrow, "After everyone has seen these two spells, they will think that this Alchemy Wolf Leg is already very powerful. So, if it has a third trick, suddenly appearing on the battlefield, what effect do you think it will have?"
Dekemont clapped and laughed, "Surprise and reverse defeat into victory! Hahaha..."
"Master, let's start quickly. I can't wait anymore!" Ge Zheng said, "This time, I need you to coordinate with Anonda."
"Baron, do you still have those iron sticks for practicing swordsmanship?" Ge Zheng asked. Dekemont waved his hand, and Kari ran three times, returning with six iron sticks. Ge Zheng inspected them and inserted them. Then he lifted Anonda's left front paw, aimed at the sticks, and placed Dekemont's hand on Anonda's left shoulder. "Alright, release the fighting spirit. I don't need to teach you, your beast knight skills are all about this kind of coordination, aren't they?"
Dekemont felt confused. Anonda had just recovered from a serious illness, so he dared not exert too much fighting spirit on his mount, only releasing thirty percent.
The fighting spirit passed through Anonda's shoulder, all the way to the Alchemic Wolf's claw. A dark golden light rose up from the base of the wolf leg, accumulating continuously until it formed a dazzling rainbow-colored light at the wolf's claw!
"Swoosh" Five rainbow lights shot out, cutting five of the six iron sticks immediately, and continued for half a meter before gradually dissipating.
Dekemont was stunned. With only thirty percent of the fighting spirit, the effect was already this remarkable. If he exerted full effort and practiced with Anonda carefully, the power of this beast knight skill would be at least four times greater than his own swordsmanship.
"Master, I can't thank you enough!" Dekemont bowed deeply, his fist thumping against his chest. "If Dekemont can win this time, you will be my benefactor!"
"But now, Dekemont is about to begin training..." Ge Zheng, feeling no awkwardness about being taken advantage of, was actually happy to see Dekemont's impatience. He understood and graciously took his leave. Dekemont really couldn't afford to delay any longer. He had Kari escort Ge Zheng out and put on his armor, drawing his twin moon sword as he leapt onto Anonda's back to start delving into the new beast knight skill.
Kari escorted Ge Zheng out and even used Dekemont's own carriage to send him back. Having been reprimanded by Ge Zheng last time, and witnessing Ge Zheng's abilities beside Dekemont, he became even more eager to flatter him.
Returning to the inn in Dekemont's carriage, someone was waiting for him besides Sorgwelyn.
"Benefactor!"
Ge Zheng was taken aback, "Nolondon, what are you doing here?" Nolondon took out a crystal card, "I'm here to repay you. Here are 2500 gold coins, please accept it."
Ge Zheng couldn't help but smile. "No wonder there are people who practice usury, this business is really fast. In just three or five days, I made 500 gold coins. Where did you get the money from?"
Today, Nolondon was not dressed in fine silk, but he still looked presentable, not at all like the raggedy figure from before. He chuckled, "I earned it."
"Earned it?" Ge Zheng frowned, "Have you found a more profitable business than my alchemy?"
Nolondon explained, "In the North City area, a standard-sized piece of good oak wood only sells for fifty silver coins. In the Central Prosperous District, a toothpick made from oak wood sells for ten copper coins each. A standard-sized oak piece can be used to make three thousand toothpicks. The difficulty lies in the processing, but the East Victory Academy has plenty of impoverished alchemists, so I used the 2000 gold coins you gave me to purchase the raw materials. I then had the students process them and sold the toothpicks to the wholesalers in the Prosperous District for five copper coins each, then paid the students and deducted labor costs. In the end, I made 50,000 gold coins."
Everyone was astonished. They couldn't believe that such a small toothpick business would yield such huge profits!
Nolondon continued, "My assets have always been managed by my father's old steward. He never wanted to give me any living expenses, otherwise, my situation would not be as it is now. This time, you gave me 2000 gold coins, which finally gave me some capital. In fact, I saw the potential in this deal a long time ago."
Dinola immediately began counting his coins. "Such a good business, I want to do it too..." Nolondon shook his head, "The oak wood toothpicks I've made this time are enough to last the Prosperous District for several years. Even if your products are cheaper, the wholesalers won't take them."
Dinola was taken aback, realizing this was true. Ge Zheng, however, had another idea. Nolondon seemed to be a business prodigy, something Ge Zheng lacked. Despite his excellent alchemy skills, even the best products needed to be sold for profits. If he could lure Nolondon into his alchemy shop, he believed that he wouldn't have to work so hard every day refining quasi-sacred items just to raise the material costs.
Nolondon repaid the money but didn't leave. His eyes flickered and he hesitated several times before finally saying, "The last time I ate here, I don't know if it was because I was too hungry at the time, but I felt it was delicious."
Ge Zheng felt happy. He had a great favor to this kid and knew how to draw him in with Dunk's cooking. However, the fish should also be interested in biting the bait, if Ge Zheng was too eager, the effect might be counterproductive.
Commsk was quite irritated with the increasingly large group of freeloaders at home, "Of course not. We have a godly chef at home. Can't you see so many idlers are waiting here for the meal?" Gronia and Fifi blushed.
Nolondon also interjected, immediately offering to pay for the meals. Commsk immediately agreed. He was Ge Zheng's accountant, well aware of the daily catering expenses. The stingy desert elves were eating and drinking them out of house and home, and he was fed up with them.
Commsk was about to agree when Ge Zheng stopped him with a smile, "No need, we won't be staying in the royal city for long. But you can come over every day if you like."
Nolondon was surprised, "Why?"
"The Royal Challenge Tournament will end, and we will return to Oba City," Ge Zheng said deliberately. Nolondon was taken aback, "What's in Oba City? This is Delson Royal City, one of the five major cities on the continent! Prosperous, thriving, endless business opportunities. With your skills, staying here is definitely more promising than in Oba City."
Ge Zheng shook his head in distress, "The living expenses here are too high. If the business doesn't do well here, I'll go bankrupt." Nolondon pursed his lips but refrained from saying anything.
"Now dinner's ready...dinner's ready." Dunk always seemed so cheerful no matter the occasion. Contentment is the source of happiness, and his life now was a thousand times better than in Roland Village.
Nolondon had been unsure at first, but as he watched Dinolar and Sorgwelyn compete with each other, his astonishment would not hide. Commsk, meanwhile, nudged him with a large wooden spoon, "Hurry up, don't lag behind..." He then scooped a bowl of camel meat soup.
The enticing aroma made Nolondon's mouth water. After a few spoonfuls, his eyes began to glisten. After a few bites, he threw off his noble reserve. The third bite, and he began to compete with Commsk...
"Ugh..." "Ugh..." "Ugh..."
Three long burps. Commsk, Sorgwelyn, and Nolondon. The three, showing complete lack of elegance in front of the ladies, their stomachs were bulging, and even Sorgwelyn's bulging pectoral muscles were hidden by his distended belly.
Ge Zheng grinned and said to Nolondon, "How was it? Not bad, right? I'm not just boasting, Dunk, our family's godly chef, can't be matched anywhere across the continent." He patted Nolondon's shoulder, "You should come over often in the next few days, otherwise it will be difficult to taste this again."
After saying this, Ge Zheng left with the others to the tea room.
Although Nolondon's stomach was satisfied, his mind was in turmoil. How could he forget such a delicious meal after having tasted it? After eating such a meal, everything else would be tasteless.
He looked at Commsk and Sorgwelyn from the side, thinking to himself: no, they must be left in Delson Royal City.
Nolondon still had two years of study left. If he helped the master manage the business for two years and made the master's business prosperous in the royal city, he wouldn't have to leave. Although this was his plan, he felt it would be difficult to implement. While he was confident in his business talents, he wasn't sure if Ge Zheng would trust him. To have delicious food every day in the future, the first step was to gain the trust of this big boss.
From the depths of his heart, Nolondon was not willing to engage in business. It was purely out of necessity, given that he was the ennobled nobleman of the empire, a baron. Even if the territory was poor, he still felt that, after completing his studies, returning to govern Rolingel would be his rightful duty. However, in the two years before his studies were completed, helping Ge Zheng with his business wouldn't be a problem. He could earn a bit of gold, which could serve as his initial startup capital for future governance.
"Grrrk" Norodon got off the chair, and the shaking chair made a noise, startling him. He thought he ate a lot, but not this much! Upon closer listening, it turned out the noise came from under Sorgevlin's buttocks. Norodon let out a sigh of relief and followed Sorgevlin to the front hall.
"Sir," Sorgevlin was disappointed from being ignored by Mr. Gezheng, who didn't ask him about riding beasts after he came back. Thinking of his plan, Sorgevlin felt there was a long way to go.
Gezheng looked at him, suddenly slapped his head as if he just realized something: "Oh, by the way, Sorgevlin, how was your harvest?"
Sorgevlin felt the urge to explode, but he suppressed his almost instinctive impulse and forced a smile: "Not bad, didn't come back empty-handed."
Gezheng was stunned: "Actually, it doesn’t matter. I've already helped Demonte with his riding beast..."
Sorgevlin was deeply struck, and then casually released the Fire-tailed Horned Horse King. "It's a level nine, should be usable, right?" A violent neigh..çaɡ and the ground in the yard trembled. The Fire-tailed Horned Horse King, which was half a time taller than a regular steed, landed on the flagstone. It shook its fiery red tail, and a few sparks of flames fell, scorching some dry grass nearby.
The Fire-tailed Horned Horse King was all over fiery red, with a single horn on its head, also fiery red from root to tip. It opened its mouth and neighed, revealing gleaming white teeth. Ordinary Fire-tailed Horned Horses only had eight teeth, a nine-toothed one was an elite within the herd, and a ten-toothed one, like this one, was a Horse King.