Chapter 184: Finding the Red Sun Grass
Three more days passed.
As Duane and Kaelon ventured deeper, the trees around them gradually thinned out, replaced by low-lying shrubs and vast stretches of grassland.
Many rock formations were completely exposed, bearing the weathered marks of time.
"My Lord, this should be the place Simone told us about."
Kaelon carefully observed their surroundings.
The Level 5 Demon Beast, the Ash-tailed Mountain Cat, was known to appear in this area.
Before they came, Kaelon had been worried about the Baron’s safety.
But along the way, whether it was the Level 3 Demon Beasts or the small-winged Sulfur Smoke Feathered Snake they encountered yesterday, he hadn’t needed to intervene at all.
The moment he saw Duane unleash the Sword Rain Storm, he understood that the Baron’s strength had already surpassed his own.
He knew that if he were to face a Combat Technique like Sword Rain Storm, he had little confidence he could escape unscathed.
Getting away with only minor injuries would have been an excellent outcome.
Unfortunately, although Duane had intended to teach this Combat Technique to Kaelon, the latter had tried several times but lacked the necessary control over the Sword Aura.
Duane guessed that Kaelon’s Spiritual Power was probably insufficient.
After all, not every Earth Tier Warrior was also a Level 1 Mage.
So, he had to settle for the next best thing, teaching Kaelon the Holy Shield Barrier, a Combat Technique obtained through the Perfection Level Basic Shield Skill.
This was a purely defensive Combat Technique that only Human Tier Warriors were qualified to learn.
Across the entire Territory, besides Duane, only Kaelon and Raymond met the requirements.
The two continued forward and climbed to the top of a small hill ahead. Their view suddenly opened up, and a small valley appeared before their eyes.
"It’s Red Sun Grass!"
Duane’s eyes lit up, a look of delighted surprise on his face. "What a huge patch of Red Sun Grass!"
The red, umbrella-shaped plants occupied nearly two-thirds of the valley, covering an area roughly estimated to be at least two or three acres.
When the wind blew, the red umbrellas swayed, like cheerfully dancing spores.
Kaelon was captivated by the sight, murmuring, "Such a large patch... there must be at least ten thousand of them, right?"
"Probably around that many!"
Red Sun Grass didn’t grow in dense clusters, but each plant was about the size of a slightly large wormwood stalk.
A rough estimate would certainly put the number in the thousands.
A single bowl of the ultimate, improved version of Fire Source Beast Bone Soup only required one stalk of Red Sun Grass.
This patch alone was enough for Duane to brew several thousand bowls!
The number of Mid and High-level Warriors in the Territory was limited; they could never consume this much Red Sun Grass.
With a sufficient supply of Fire-attribute Demon Beast Meat as well, Duane could definitely set aside a batch to sell externally.
’I can air-dry the Fire-attribute Demon Beast Meat, and then process the Red Sun Grass into a dried, long-lasting form. Then, I can package them into single-serving portions and sell them.’
Duane was already calculating in his mind.
On the market, Magic Potions suitable for strengthening Mid and High-level Warriors generally sold for 5 to 15 Gold Coins.
Even if he took the lowest number as the selling price, Duane could still make a huge profit!
After all, excluding costs like transportation and storage for sales, the ultimate, improved version of the Fire Source Beast Bone Soup had basically zero material cost.
’If I sell this externally, I can’t call it ’Fire Source Beast Bone Soup’ anymore.’
The name was misleading and would arouse Viscount Ugo’s suspicion.
If he were shameless enough, he could even claim it belonged to the Calvin Clan, leading to unnecessary trouble.
In reality, the improved soup no longer had anything to do with the Fire Source Beast.
’Since it includes Red Sun Grass, let’s call it ’Red Sun Soup’.’
Duane thought of a name. ’The version without Red Sun Grass, which is only somewhat effective for common people and Basic-level Warriors, will be called ’Chrysanthemum Fire Soup’.’
Duane murmured the two names to himself, very satisfied.
After admiring the scenery for a while, the two decided to head down and take a look.
But just at that moment, Duane suddenly felt a tremor of fear in his heart.
WHOOSH!
Duane whipped his head around as a black shadow shot toward them at high speed.
"Watch out!"
Duane shoved Kaelon aside and leaped away in the same motion.
BOOM!
The black shadow swiped a paw at the dry ground, the immense force kicking up a cloud of dust.
"It’s the Ash-tailed Mountain Cat!"
Kaelon shouted, hastily drawing his longsword and raising his shield.
"My Lord, let me handle it!"
Even though Kaelon knew his strength was no match for the Lord, he still wanted to go first and wear down the Ash-tailed Mountain Cat’s stamina.
After all, unlike the Demon Beasts they’d faced before, this was a genuine Level 5 Demon Beast.
That silent yet swift attack just now was still unnerving.
The Ash-tailed Mountain Cat was covered in short, black fur, like satin soaked in the night.
But the fur on its tail gradually turned fiery red, like faintly burning flames.
This massive creature, standing 1.3 meters at the shoulder and a full 2.5 meters long, was now staring coldly at Duane.
Its yellow pupils radiated an extreme coldness.
With his shield in his left hand and his saber in his right, Duane rejected Kaelon’s proposal.
"I’ll go first. You stay on the side and keep an eye on our surroundings. Watch for other Demon Beasts or a second one trying to ambush us."
"My Lord..."
Kaelon was anxious but didn’t dare disobey the order.
"Do as I say. This thing has already locked onto me!"
Duane grunted. "Come on!"
He bent his knees slightly, settling into an incredibly stable defensive stance.
The Ash-tailed Mountain Cat lowered its body slightly. It sensed that the human before it would not be an easy opponent, so it began to gather its strength.
WHOOSH!
The Mountain Cat was incredibly fast, closing the distance to Duane in an instant.
But no matter how fast it was, as long as Duane had it in his sights, he still had time to react.
Duane quickly raised his shield and slammed it forward, meeting the creature’s swiping paw.
CLANG!
The massive impact sent the Ash-tailed Mountain Cat flying more than ten meters away.
But the moment it landed, the creature let out a low roar and pounced again.
It dug its powerful claws into the ground, its speed now a full thirty percent faster than before!
The previous impact hadn’t left a single scratch on it.
Facing the second attack, Duane didn’t use his shield. Instead, he raised the large saber in his hand and chopped down.
A deafening CLANG!
It was as if the Big Ring Saber had struck metal; the force of the rebound knocked it to the side.
At that moment, the Ash-tailed Mountain Cat’s other paw shot out like lightning, slashing at Duane’s arm with a ripping sound.
Duane hastily pulled back, creating distance between them.
His heart still pounding with fear, he glanced down at his arm.
His sleeve was now in tatters, but thankfully, he was wearing a bracer underneath and hadn’t been wounded.
Even so, a shallow gash had been carved into the iron bracer.
He was lucky he’d worn the bracer; otherwise, that blow would have been serious.
’This Ash-tailed Mountain Cat isn’t just fast—its attack speed and combat experience are also incredibly high.’
’It’s hard to imagine how Simone managed to escape its claws.’
’Could it be that it was just too stuffed to move that day?’
Duane’s expression turned grave, and his focus sharpened.
Meanwhile, the Ash-tailed Mountain Cat was sizing up Duane with its cold eyes.
In all its years roaming the Hot Spring Mountain Range, it had never met a creature that could withstand its lightning-fast strike without injury.
Today was the first time.
Because of this, a hint of amusement appeared in its cold eyes. Like a cat that had just seen a mouse, it now wanted to play with its prey.
"Meow!"
It let out an excited cry, then lunged at Duane once more.