Chapter 493 - 325: "Crystal Gold Armor
After sweeping back and forth across Africa more than ten times, Li Xiang crossed the Mediterranean Sea. He arrived on the European Continent and made a beeline for Erin’s ancient castle.
The ancient castle was located in the Codor Mountain Range. Its location was quite remote, and it had been built over a thousand years ago. However, it had been renovated several times. After Erin awakened her Superpower, she added many Alchemy Elements, making it seem even more mysterious and magnificent.
Erin lived here all alone, her only companions being various Alchemy Puppets. For a young woman, she certainly had no trouble with the solitude.
Of course, she also made regular trips to major cities to shop and vacation, maintaining her connection to the outside world so as not to become detached from society.
When Li Xiang arrived, Erin was in her study, sketching and drawing. Li Xiang appeared silently behind her and took a closer look. It seemed she was designing a Magic Alchemy Ship.
"Not bad!" Li Xiang couldn’t help but praise.
"Good heavens, Mr. Armor! Can you please give a warning next time you come in?" Erin jumped in fright, but her shock quickly turned to boundless joy as she threw her arms around him in an embrace.
"Have you forgotten that I’m the world’s number one thief? What kind of thief announces their arrival?" Li Xiang joked.
"Then, esteemed Mr. Armor, pray tell, what in my humble castle has caught your eye?" Erin tilted her head up, asking deliberately.
Li Xiang felt her warmth and replied smoothly, "Who else but the most beautiful girl in all of Europe, a peerless beauty?"
"Are you the magic mirror? Please say it again, who is the most beautiful girl in all of Europe?" Erin wrapped her arms around Li Xiang’s neck, her delicate body pressing close as she gently swayed against him.
"Of course, Erin de Merovingian is the most beautiful girl in all of Europe," Li Xiang repeated, just as she wished.
"Mmm..." Erin hummed, basking in Li Xiang’s praise. It didn’t even cross her mind to wonder why Li Xiang had said "in all of Europe," and not "in all the world."
After a tender moment, Li Xiang said, "I brought you something."
"What is it?" Erin asked curiously.
Li Xiang then led her to the storeroom next to her Alchemy lab. With a flick of his hand, he began pulling out massive blocks of high-purity metals from his Otherworldly Warehouse. There were more than thirty different types, many of them rare metals, totaling over three hundred tons. Fortunately, Erin’s storeroom was large enough; otherwise, it really wouldn’t have all fit.
Erin was a master of Alchemy and had a great need for metals. She had just been about to purchase several types of metal again, so Li Xiang’s delivery was a godsend.
But, needs were needs. Erin couldn’t resist teasing him, "Mr. Armor, other men bring roses on a date. You, on the other hand, bring me tons of scrap metal."
’Is he completely clueless about romance?’
Li Xiang also felt he had been a bit lacking in the romance department. He smiled faintly, took out a large block of gold, and activated his "Crystal Vein Armor." He shaped the gold into a large bouquet of Golden Roses and presented it to Erin.
This bouquet contained exactly ninety-nine Golden Roses. Each one was exquisitely lifelike and glittered brilliantly. The petals were only a few tenths of a millimeter thick, with translucent, feathered edges. The stems were spiraling golden vines, complete with "thorns."
"Isn’t this a bit tacky, esteemed Mr. Armor?" Erin’s face lit up with delight, but she still feigned a bit of reserve.
"Do you want it or not? If not, I’ll toss it."
"I do, I do, of course I do!" How could Erin actually let Li Xiang throw it away? She quickly snatched it from him, unable to put it down. These Golden Roses would never wilt, even after hundreds of years, symbolizing that their love would last forever.
"You can manipulate metal, too?" Erin asked.
"No, it’s just my Crystal Vein Armor. It’s a type of Earth Superpower." Li Xiang’s Crystal Vein Armor actually had a certain "drawback." If the raw material was a Crystal Stone Deposit, the success rate for creating Extraordinary Items was highest. However, if a certain amount of metal was added, the higher the proportion of metal, the lower the probability of producing an Extraordinary Item.
If he used pure metal to create an Extraordinary Item, the success rate would be even lower.
However, metal ores were also a type of subterranean mineral vein, so Li Xiang was still extremely skilled at purifying metals and altering their shape. It was only when it involved the Extraordinary Domain that he felt it was lacking, possibly because his was an Earth Superpower.
Since Li Xiang had come from so far away, Erin naturally wanted to hold a welcome dinner for him.
Erin led Li Xiang to the dining room. The two chatted for a while, and soon, a variety of authentic French dishes were served one after another: escargots de Bourgogne with garlic-herb butter, Gillardeau oysters, beef bourguignon, duck confit, French baguettes, a selection of French cheeses, onion soup, and a fruit salad... all brought out by Alchemy Servants.
These Magic Servants all had metallic bodies with extremely flexible joints. They could be understood as classical robots Forged through Alchemy, with a rather punk-ish style. They belonged to a completely different system from modern AI-driven robots.
Since it was a candlelight dinner, French red wine was a must. Tonight, they opened a bottle of Grand Rafael.
The Rafael brand actually has many different lines, just like Penfolds. Among the Rafael wines, the most famous and high-end is naturally the Grand Rafael, which is the wine produced by Chateau Mouton Rothschild.
If there’s a Grand Rafael, there’s naturally a "Petit Rafael," and then there are others like Duhart-Milon, Château d’Aussières, and the Légende Bordeaux series, depending on the specific winery.
This is because the Lafite Group doesn’t just own one winery. In addition to their four chateaux in Bordeaux, France, they have also acquired wineries in Argentina and Chile. Moreover, they bought land in the China Penglai Hillside Vineyard region, prepared the soil, and built the Long Dai Winery. It’s worth mentioning that Long Dai is currently the only winery that the Lafite Group has built from the ground up, brick by brick.