Chapter 186: Harvest and Progress
Duane followed Selena’s example, holding the small Demon Core in his hand and immersing his Spiritual Power within it to sense its condition.
As the wellspring of a Demon Beast’s energy, more than half of the Magic Power contained within the Demon Core had been depleted after the fierce battle.
’Fire... and Wind...’
Duane could identify the Ash-tailed Mountain Cat’s Attributes from the color of the Magic Power.
However, he hadn’t seen it use any Wind Attribute Magic during the fight.
As his Spiritual Power delved deeper, he sensed two Spell Models.
One glowed with a pale, cyan light, which had to be Wind Attribute Magic.
The other shone with a crimson light and was likely Fire Attribute Magic.
Judging by the complexity of the Spell Models, the Fire Attribute Magic was likely the more powerful of the two.
Unfortunately, Duane wasn’t as knowledgeable as Selena, so he couldn’t identify the spell model or determine its Level.
’In any case, it’s powerful, and definitely not a Level 1 Spell.’
He stored the Demon Core in his backpack and walked over to Kaelon.
Kaelon was in the middle of gutting the Ash-tailed Mountain Cat—draining its blood, skinning it, and carving up the meat.
This was to prepare the meat for smoking, which would prevent it from spoiling on the journey back.
After all, if left unprocessed in this heat, the meat would spoil in less than two hours.
This was Level 5 Demon Beast Meat, a valuable ingredient that might even enhance the effects of the Red Sun Soup. Duane had no intention of letting it go to waste.
"My lord, you should go rest. I can handle this."
With no source of water nearby, Kaelon had no way to wash his hands, which were now covered in grease and grime. The sight made Duane frown.
"Alright. I’ll go rest over there for a bit."
Duane had expended a great deal of energy in the recent battle and sustained minor injuries, so he did indeed need to recover.
"The smoke and the scent of blood will easily attract other Demon Beasts. Don’t let your guard down."
Duane reminded him, "Ash-tailed Mountain Cats are solitary and highly territorial, but there’s no guarantee other powerful Demon Beasts aren’t lurking nearby."
Only people as skilled and daring as Duane and Kaelon would linger for so long in a place reeking of blood. Anyone else would have left long ago.
Kaelon agreed in a low voice, positioning himself to face the thicket behind them.
That way, he would immediately notice any disturbance.
Duane walked upwind, sat cross-legged, and began circulating his Breathing Skill to recover.
After his recent training, his Cyan Snake Breathing Skill Level had reached Mastery (326/400).
At this rate, Duane would reach the Perfection level in about a month.
Time trickled by, and the two spent the night on the hill.
The night was far from peaceful. The roars of wild beasts echoed from all around, and a few reckless creatures even dared to approach their camp.
However, Duane cut them all down.
’If I need to grind Skill Levels,’ he even wondered, ’could I use this method to lure Demon Beasts to me instead of wasting time hunting for them?’
Of course, it was just a passing thought.
After all, with so many beasts dead here, the stench of blood was so thick that the creatures in the forest would give the area a wide berth.
Wild beasts weren’t stupid, to say nothing of the more intelligent Demon Beasts.
Early the next morning, Kaelon added more wood to the fire and turned the meat smoking on the rack.
His movements were practiced and efficient; apparently, he had often used this method to preserve food during his time surviving in the wilderness.
Duane walked down from the hill into the valley.
In the light of the morning sun, the Red Sun Grass swayed as if aware they were destined to contribute to the future of Black Forest Island.
As a gentle breeze rustled through, their umbrella-like crowns swayed with great enthusiasm.
Duane observed the plant carefully.
He discovered a small, pale-red flower at the top of the Red Sun Grass’s coronet, with seeds in its center.
’These must be its seeds. This means the Red Sun Grass can be propagated from seed.’
He plucked a few seeds and placed them in his palm. They were the size of sesame seeds and so light a puff of wind could carry them away.
’I wonder if they’ll survive if I take them back to plant?’
Black Forest Island’s climate was warm, at least for humans.
However, on second thought, it was probably quite different from the environment the Red Sun Grass required.
Otherwise, seeds that scattered so easily in the wind wouldn’t only be found deep within the Hot Spring Mountain Range.
’The temperature here is several degrees higher than outside. The chances of these seeds surviving if I plant them back home are probably very low.’
Be that as it may, Duane still wanted to try.
If he couldn’t take them back to be cultivated and could only propagate them here, things would be much more troublesome in the future.
This was, after all, deep within the Hot Spring Mountain Range. It wasn’t feasible to have ordinary people settle here.
There were simply too many Demon Beasts.
Even stationing Advanced Warriors here to stand guard would present security problems.
The Ash-tailed Mountain Cat didn’t just pop out of a rock. If there was one, there were bound to be others.
They might not be as powerful as this one, but they would still be extremely dangerous.
Therefore, if he could only cultivate the grass in this area, Duane would need to assign more people to the task.
’I don’t need to worry about that for now. This patch is more than enough for our own people’s needs.’
Using his Big Ring Saber like a hoe, Duane began digging up the Red Sun Grass, taking care to get the roots.
He spent the entire morning at it, only stopping after he had dug up over a thousand Red Sun Grass plants.
It wasn’t that he was tired, but that his bags were full. There was no point in digging up more if he couldn’t carry them.
This many Red Sun Grass plants would be enough to make over a thousand bowls of Red Sun Soup.
It would take the handful of Mid and High-level Warriors under Duane’s command ages to get through it all.
He bundled the Red Sun Grass and packed the plants into two separate bags. That afternoon, once Kaelon finished packing the smoked meat, the two of them finally began their journey home.
On the way there, the two had deliberately slowed their pace so Duane could grind his Skill Levels.
There was no such need on the way back.
They not only picked up their speed but even broke into a jog on the easier parts of the trail.
A Human Tier Warrior could run for dozens of miles on sheer stamina alone, to say nothing of Duane and Kaelon, who were both Earth Tier Warriors.
Despite their heavy loads and the difficult mountain terrain, they made it back to Forest Castle by the following afternoon.
"My lord, you’ve finally returned!"
The male servant, Owington, greeted him enthusiastically.
He was about to report on the territory’s affairs when Duane quickly stopped him.
"Quick, go have Jasmine prepare a hot bath for me. I need a good, long soak."
They had been gone for a full seven days, with no opportunity to wash off the blood and grime. Duane had had more than enough.
The first thing he wanted upon his return was to get comfortable; he was in no mood to listen to his servant’s report.
Lying in the bathing tub, Duane relaxed and opened his attribute panel to review his gains from the trip.
The following Skills had reached Master Level and were approaching Perfection:
Basic Breathing Skill, Basic Painting, and Basic Blade Skill.
Breaking through with these three Basic Skills would trigger an Enlightenment and grant him extra attribute points, so they were Duane’s main focus for the time being.
In addition, the Combat Techniques he had learned early on, such as Storm Fist, Breaking Army Slash, and Vortex Slash, had also progressed considerably.
Duane estimated that one or two more combat expeditions into the mountains would be enough for all of them to break through to the Perfection level.
Although these Skills didn’t trigger an Enlightenment, mastering so many of them at once would still grant a significant number of attribute points.
Duane estimated that once all these Skills reached the Perfection level, he would have enough attribute points to become a Celestial Tier Warrior.
After a long soak, Duane stepped out of the tub, changed into clean clothes, and finally felt refreshed and invigorated.
"Owington, you said you had something to tell me earlier?"
Owington quickly affirmed that he did.
"Two things, my lord."
He said, "The Population Registrar has completed the survey on the primary causes of infant mortality. The report is on your desk."
"That was fast," Duane praised. "And the second thing?"
"The people from the Holy Radiance Court you mentioned have arrived."
Duane raised an eyebrow. He had expected them to take a month or two to arrive, not show up so soon.
"When did they arrive? How many of them are there?"
Owington replied, "They arrived at the port around noon. There are thirty-six of them in total, including the ship’s crew."
"As you instructed, Julian has settled them in Daniels’s castle."
Duane nodded. He glanced at the sky outside; there was still more than an hour until nightfall.
"Go and tell Julian to come and see me."