Chapter 353: Unexpected Harvest

Chapter 353: Unexpected Harvest



Rain waved to the bear shaman wearing a bright feather headdress and said, "You, come here."

"Your Majesty, my name is Urusen, and I am in charge of the tribe's sacrificial duties," the bear shaman said with a delighted expression upon seeing Rain's gesture. He quickly stepped forward and bowed deeply.

Rain examined this white-furred bear, who was about 1.8 meters tall, significantly shorter than the average bear, which often stood at 2.3 to 2.4 meters.

However, among the many white-furred bears present, Urusen seemed to be their leader, which explained his role as the bear shaman.

In terms of strength, Urusen was roughly on par with a Second Rank Liquidation Wizard, making him quite formidable.

Considering that Rain would not be staying in the Ice Plains for an extended period, he would have to rely on Urusen to control the white-furred bear tribe. Therefore, Rain decided to issue a few commands to test the bear shaman's obedience and efficiency.

"Excellent, Urusen. Organize some men to collect Koraxus's blood using ice buckets," Rain instructed the newly loyal bear shaman.

"Yes, my King," Urusen bowed and stepped back.

The white-furred bears, under Urusen's command, began using the freshly carved ice buckets to collect the blood flowing from the Primordial Dragon's wounds. Others scooped up the blood that had already dripped onto the ice surface.

Witnessing this, Rain nodded in approval.

It was evident that the intelligence of ordinary bears was comparable to that of a seven or eight-year-old child, but this bear shaman's intellect far surpassed that.

This was a fortunate circumstance, as it meant Urusen could comprehend Rain's more intricate commands.

As Rain appeared to be preparing to deal with the Primordial Dragon's corpse, the nearby Chimera Knight, Luther, couldn't help but express his admiration. "Sir Rain, the Primordial Dragon Korauxis is of immense size, and its skull would make an impressive addition to your collection. Perhaps you could display it on the wall of your banquet hall, serving as the ultimate proof of your strength!"

"That's a great suggestion," Rain replied with a smile.

At that moment, the beautiful woman, Velty, blushed slightly and quickly glanced at Rain's lower body. "Sir Rain, do you intend to utilize the dragon's remains? Dragonhide has excellent elasticity, and you could consider crafting a set of inner armor from it."

"Elasticity? Inner armor?" Rain noticed Velty's surreptitious glance and understood her intention. He nodded in agreement.

After all, the wrinkled shorts were a bit too unconventional.

Anna approached and handed Rain a new set of white wizard robes, restoring his dignified appearance.

"Sir Rain, do you have specific plans for the dragon's corpse?" Winterfort Academy's Dean Bartolov slowly approached and inquired with a smile.

"To be honest, aside from the dragon's blood, I don't have any particular plans. Dean Bartolov, do you have any suggestions?" Rain thought for a moment and decided not to hide anything.

His current combat prowess, especially after transforming into the Dragon Knight General form, was comparable to a Legendary peak. However, when it came to knowledge and experience, he couldn't compare to a Third Level Crystallization Wizard like Bartolov, who had lived for over a hundred years.

"Although the Primordial Dragon may not be as powerful as a true dragon, it is still a treasure trove of resources. Its hide can be used to craft top-tier leather armor, and its sinews are the ideal material for bowstrings in arcane weapons," Bartolov explained with a smile.

"Additionally, have you heard of the Dragon Soul Elixir?"

"The Dragon Soul Elixir? Dean Bartolov, are you referring to the ancient potion that significantly enhances spiritual power? I thought the formula was lost," Luther exclaimed, his eyes widening in surprise.

"Indeed, Sir Luther, you are well-informed. It is the ancient Dragon Soul Elixir I speak of. I dare say that even within the Royal Apothecary Association, this ancient formula might be unavailable."

"A few years ago, during an excavation of an ancient site, I was fortunate enough to discover the formula for the Dragon Soul Elixir," Bartolov said, stroking his white beard as he spoke of the ancient elixir.

"Its sole effect is to significantly enhance spiritual power, and it is highly effective for Third Level Crystallization Wizards and others," Bartolov began to elaborate on the ancient Dragon Soul Elixir.

After listening to Bartolov's explanation, Rain learned more about the elixir.

The Dragon Soul Elixir required the brain of a true dragon, not its soul, so it might be more appropriate to call it the Dragon Brain Elixir.

Rain was naturally intrigued by this ancient elixir, especially upon hearing that it could significantly benefit even Second Rank Liquidation Wizards and Third Level Crystallization Wizards.

One of the prerequisites for Rain's advancement to the 'Dragon Vein Wizard' was spiritual power. He needed to reach the Third Level Crystallization Wizard rank as soon as possible, and this ancient Dragon Soul Elixir would undoubtedly accelerate his progress.

"However, aside from the primary ingredient of the dragon's brain, other rare materials are required, such as the Purple Lotus, Nightmare Vine, Magma Heart, and more. Currently, Winterfort Academy is still in the process of gathering these materials."

Action: "So, Your Highness Rain, I have an idea. If you agree, perhaps our two houses can collaborate and jointly create the Primordial Dragon Soul Elixir. Based on the brain capacity of the Primordial Dragon, we can produce at least five portions of the Primordial Dragon Soul Elixir."

Bartolov looked at Rain and shared his thoughts.

"Oh, and the first consumption of the Primordial Dragon Soul Elixir is most effective, with subsequent effects significantly reduced." As if remembering something, Bartolov quickly added.

Rain agreed after a moment's thought, nodding his head, "Of course, Bartolov, I'd appreciate it if you could take charge of creating the Primordial Dragon Soul Elixir."

Firstly, he didn't have the recipe for the Primordial Dragon Soul Elixir, so making it himself was out of the question.

Secondly, gathering the other raw materials was also a time-consuming and laborious task.

In fact, if it weren't for his timely intervention in killing Koraxus, preventing the Winterfort Academy from suffering heavy casualties, Bartolov, the dean of Winterfort Academy, might not have revealed that he possessed the recipe for the Primordial Dragon Soul Elixir.

"Rest assured, Your Highness Rain. I will personally oversee this matter. After all, I also need the Primordial Dragon Soul Elixir to see if I can take another step forward." Bartolov smiled and said.

"Dean, you have the opportunity," Velty, who was standing nearby, immediately understood and exclaimed in delight.

"I have a slight insight, but the path to breakthrough is still filled with difficulties," Bartolov nodded and smiled.

"That's wonderful!" The Winterfort Academy's upper echelon congratulated him.

"Congratulations, Dean Bartolov!" Rain also smiled and offered his congratulations.

A third-level Crystallization Wizard, taking another step forward, would become a fourth-level Wizard.

That would be a force almost equivalent to an Imperial Dragon Knight, an epic-level existence, but extremely rare.

Previously, he had heard from Marshal Edward that over 70% of the Guardians in the Empire were Dragon Knights, while the rest were fourth-level Wizards.

"Your Highness Rain, compared to you, I am insignificant," Bartolov waved his hand and smiled bitterly.

"Melita mentioned that you are around twenty years old. You may not know that I started as a wizard apprentice and it took me 159 years to reach my current position."

"Even so, in the history of Winterfort Academy, this is already considered a very fast promotion."

"Dean Bartolov, you flatter me," Rain didn't know what to say.

Indeed, compared to Rain, Bartolov's current strength, slightly below the Legendary Tier, may cause him some trouble, but it would not be a match for Rain in his Dragon Knight form.

Additionally, Rain had some understanding of the difficulty of wizard advancement, which became more challenging as one progressed.

But 159 years was still considered fast, which was somewhat beyond his expectations.

It showed how difficult it was for a wizard to advance to the level where they had a chance to break through to the fourth-level Dawn Wizard.

Fortunately, he had the system's support, which would significantly compress this promotion time.

At this moment, Melita suddenly pointed at the dragon corpse being processed, her expression solemn, "Your Highness Rain, mentor, I think you two should take a look at this."

Hmm?

Intrigued, Rain immediately followed Bartolov and the others, led by Melita, to the Primordial Dragon's abdomen. They saw that its stomach had been cut open, and inside were scattered, partially digested bones.

"This is...?" Rain was puzzled for a moment.

"Your Highness Rain, according to our academy's wizards, these are the bones of the Primordial Dragon." Melita spoke in a low voice.

Rain's eyebrows rose.

He instantly understood Melita's implication.

"You mean Koraxus ate the bones of the Primordial Dragon?" Rain looked at Melita.

"Yes!"

Rain waved at the white bear beast shaman who was directing other white bears nearby, and Urusen immediately bowed respectfully, "Great King, please instruct me."

"Urusen, before Koraxus ate the bones of the Primordial Dragon, he had eaten Diam." Urusen didn't hesitate and told the whole truth, as Koraxus was already dead and there was nothing to hide.

Hearing this, everyone exclaimed in surprise.

"What a cruel fellow! If other dragons knew, Koraxus would surely be hunted down by them," Velty exclaimed.

"Yes, both cruel and cunning. I wonder how such a cunning fellow appeared among the Primordial Dragons," Bartolov shook his head and exclaimed.

Most Primordial Dragons, though fierce, had low level of intelligence.

In this regard, the Primordial Dragons were far inferior to the Five-Colored Dragons.

The intelligence gap between them was like that between an adult and a seven or eight-year-old child.

Perhaps due to their weaker intelligence, Primordial Dragons couldn't cast wizardry and could only fight using their bodies and breath.

This made the Five-Colored Dragons look down on the Primordial Dragons, whose evolutionary level was not yet perfect, and they even considered classifying the Primordial Dragons as dragon beasts.

Rain, who was also entering a dragon's lair for the first time, delegated the task of handling the corpse to his subordinates and began exploring the lair with Anna, Lagrelle, and the others.

"Wow, Rain, look! This must be Snow Moss, right? It's super rare in the outside world," Anna, a Druid with an innate advantage in herb identification, exclaimed as she pointed to a corner of the ice glacier wall.

"Hmm, this seems a bit different," Anna said, furrowing her brows as she quickly walked over and crouched down to pick one.

"Miss Anna, if I'm not mistaken, this isn't ordinary Snow Moss, but the extremely rare and precious Dragon Saliva Moss," said Bartolov, the Winterfort Academy principal, as he approached and carefully examined the plant.

As a master alchemist, his herb identification skills were even more advanced than Anna's, a young Druid.

"Oh, Dragon Saliva Moss! That's so precious," Anna exclaimed, her beautiful eyes widening in surprise as she held the white herb that resembled a flat mushroom.

Soon, the group discovered several other mutated herbs within the lair, all of them rare and valuable due to the dragon's breath.

Rain's smile widened at the sight.

These treasures now belonged to him.

Perhaps because Koraxus had only recently awakened, the lair lacked the legendary glittering dragon treasures, containing only some shiny knight armor, weapons, and a meager few hundred gold coins.

The armor's design suggested that it was recently acquired.

Rain wasn't interested in these items.

"Hey, Rain, what's that?" asked Lagrelle, the barbarian girl, pointing to the ground at the far end of the lair.

Rain followed her gaze and noticed a faint golden glow emanating from the ground on the northern side of the lair.

"This is a large chunk of Doghead Gold!" Luther exclaimed, recognizing its origin at a glance.

But then, he suddenly realized something and quickly began digging to investigate.

"Indeed, there's a rich gold mine here!" Luther exclaimed excitedly.

Rich gold mine? Rain's eyebrows rose, and he quickly stepped forward to examine it.

Upon hearing about the gold mine, Bartolov, Velty, Anna, and others gathered around.

"It is indeed a rich gold mine. The gold content here exceeds forty percent, and I estimate it to be around sixty percent," affirmed Bartolov, a third-level crystallization wizard, after a thorough inspection.

The group discussed and analyzed the situation further.

The term 'rich' before 'gold mine' indicated that the gold content far exceeded that of a typical gold mine.

Often, these rich mines were easier to excavate due to their shallow depth, and they often contained rare and valuable minerals alongside the gold.

Hearing Luther and Bartolov's confirmation, Rain's eyes lit up, and he waved to the distant Bear Shaman Urusen, asking, "Urusen, did you know about this rich gold mine?"

"Oh, my king, I had no idea. For us, food is more practical than gold," Urusen replied with a puzzled look, gazing at the freshly unearthed Doghead Gold.

"Alright, never mind. Go about your business," Rain said, deep in thought.

Advancing in either the knight or wizard path required significant resource consumption.

In other words, having money meant a more efficient path to strength.

At that moment, Luther seemed to realize something and shook his head, sighing, "Lord Rain, what a pity! Being deep in the ice plains, it's unlikely that miners can come to extract the gold."

If this rich gold vein were located elsewhere, Luther would have spent a fortune to mine it. However, its remote location made it impractical.

Aside from the dangers lurking in the ice plains, transporting the miners' supplies would be a challenge.

A chunk of Doghead Gold, even as large as a basin, held little significance for someone of Luther's caliber.

"Yes, it's a pity! Lord Rain, not only mining but also smelting here seems impossible," Bartolov added, looking around at the ice glacier walls and shaking his head.

The glacier lair's interior was extremely cold, making direct smelting inefficient and risky due to potential collapse.

The gold ore would likely need to be excavated and transported outside for smelting.

"If it's about transporting smelted gold bars, Winterfort Academy's Ice Plains Wyverns could lend a small hand," Rain smiled.

He pointed behind Urusen, and a Bear Beast guard handed over a rusty iron rod.

In the blink of an eye, the rod transformed into a miner's pickaxe.

Rain was also very meticulous, covering the top of the miner's pickaxe with a thin layer of hardened mithril to prevent excessive wear during the mining process.

"Urusen, let your people give it a try."

"As you command, my King."

Soon, a robust Bear Beast began mining with a 'ding-ding-dang-dang' sound.

Within just a few minutes, the Bear Beast had mined a considerable amount of gold ore.

"This..." Luther's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

How was this possible? Having the ferocious White Bear Beasts mine gold!

Bartolov and Velty exchanged glances, both seeing shock in each other's eyes. They had heard of the Ice Plain Dog-headed Beasts mining, but never of the Ice Plain Bear Beasts doing so.

At the same time, the others instantly realized the implications.

This represented a huge business opportunity with an endless supply of gold!

"Your Highness Rain, there's just one remaining issue to resolve—the smelting process," Luther said with a smile.

"Perhaps this matter..."

Rain waved his hand and said, "Smelting isn't a problem either!"

"Lagrelle, leave the smelting to the Norton Tribe, can you do that? Of course, the Norton Tribe will receive their share of the profits," Rain said, turning to the barbarian girl, Lagrelle, with a deep gaze.

"Huh? Of course, I can!" Lagrelle was stunned, feeling like she had been struck by a pie from the heavens.

She never expected Rain to entrust such a lucrative opportunity to her Norton Tribe. As she looked into Rain's eyes, her gaze became increasingly affectionate.

Whether it was Chimera Knight Luther or the others from Winterfort Academy, they were all shrewd individuals. Seeing Rain's considerate attitude towards the barbarian girl, Lagrelle, they understood his intentions.

They didn't say anything further.

Meanwhile, Melita stared at Rain, her beautiful eyes almost turning into threads.

Oh my! Rain was not only powerful and handsome, but also so caring.

Oh no! Oh no! She felt like she had completely fallen for him.

"Everyone, it seems we can have a good discussion about the utilization of the gold mine," Rain said with a slight smile.

"Of course!" Everyone nodded in agreement.

With Rain, the lifesaver, taking the lead, the framework was immediately agreed upon.

Initially, they decided that the mining, transportation, and sales would be jointly managed by several parties.

In general, the mining would be handled by the White Bear Beasts and Rain's side, while the Norton Barbarians would be responsible for building a blast furnace outside the lair and smelting the ore. Winterfort Academy would be in charge of transportation and escort, and the final sales would be handled by Luther's Snyder Family.

Duke Snyder of the Snyder Family was the Governor of the Imperial Province of Maen, and Luther was the Duke's son.

Regarding profit distribution, Rain would receive 40%, while the other three parties would each get 20%.

The main framework was set, and Rain sent a message to the beautiful woman, Jennifer, asking her to dispatch someone to handle the specifics.

After all, he didn't want to waste his precious communication on business matters.

"What! That's great news! The Grand Priest of the Black Flame Cult in the Imperial Province of Maen, Ericson, has already died at your hands, Your Highness Rain. We are truly grateful," Luther exclaimed with great joy.

He had just learned this news.

Ericson's strength was slightly above his own, which was why the Imperial Province of Maen had fallen to three counties, but the Snyder Family had still been unable to take action.

The main reason was that the Imperial Guardians had not yet arrived. The Snyder Family couldn't act against the Black Flame Cult in the Imperial Province of Maen.

"I will immediately communicate with my father and organize the elite forces to pacify these three counties," Luther said, his gaze towards Rain filled with gratitude.

The others, including Bartolov and Luther, couldn't help but look at Rain with astonishment.

If the previous cooperation proposal relied primarily on Rain's personal combat prowess, now there was something else added to the mix.

Unknowingly, the level of cooperation among the parties had greatly increased.

"Rain, this news is very important to the tribe. I want to return to Gikar Stream Valley first and report this matter to the High Priest and the Chieftain," Lagrelle said, unable to hide her excitement, whispering to Rain.

"Although smelting gold ore doesn't require many people, we still need to make advance arrangements and prepare smelting agents, charcoal, and build a furnace," Lagrelle added hastily, fearing Rain might disagree.

"Okay, after I return from the Howling Wind Canyon, I'll come to Gikar Stream Valley to find you," Rain nodded.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end