Chapter 157: The Terror of Magic Potion, Hargex

Dusk City, Red Fox Fortress.

It was a clear day, the sky a deep blue like a polished cobalt glass, the sunlight gentle as a sheer veil.

“Elder, I’ve brewed the new magic potion!”

Xia Mingyu was strolling through the castle garden with Anliya when Youde, his dark circles even heavier than before, rushed over holding a deep blue vial.

Noticing the stunning girl beside the prince, the alchemist shrank back nervously.

For those burdened by self-consciousness over their appearance, encountering overwhelming beauty could itself be a wound.

After whispering a few words to Anliya, the girl smiled warmly at Youde, then silently left the garden, leaving the two alone.

“Your Highness, your girl is truly beautiful—I’ve never seen anyone so lovely,” Youde exclaimed in awe.

Xia Mingyu smiled but said nothing, simply taking the magic potion from Youde’s hand to examine it.

This was the potion Youde had reformulated after receiving the ice-crystal flower Xia Mingyu brought from the Northern Frontier; its color had darkened considerably compared to before.

“Your Highness, the ice-crystal flower you brought—it possesses near-perfect potency! My heavens, it’s as if it was just plucked from the snowfields of the Northern Frontier!”

“Please, test the potion immediately—I’m certain its effect is twice as strong as before!”

Youde’s face brimmed with excitement; for an alchemist, crafting a potion with such a perfect herb was a profound source of pride.

Xia Mingyu pulled the stopper and drank the entire deep blue potion in one gulp.

Glug glug glug.

The moment the potion entered his throat, he felt as if his temples were being gently massaged—a cool, refreshing sensation washed through his mind.

At the same time, faint black flame-clouds erupted from his body.

This was the overflow phenomenon caused by magic power rapidly restoring in an instant.

“Youde, this potion’s effect isn’t just twice as strong as before,” Xia Mingyu frowned.

At this, the alchemist’s expression turned instantly tense—he feared disappointing the great Elder, for without that, his entire life would be meaningless.

“It’s three times stronger,” Xia Mingyu smiled slightly.

Yes, the potion he had just consumed had restored approximately one-fifth of his total magic power.

Keep in mind that his magical power is among the strongest even within the Morning Star rank; an ordinary Morning Star would recover one-third of their magical power from just one bottle of mana potion.

Any combat-experienced person would realize just how terrifying the impact of this potion would be in battle!

And yet, this potion was crafted by an eighteen-year-old monkey-faced alchemist.

Yes, though he looked old, Youde was indeed only eighteen—just slightly older than Boge.

“I made this incredible potion?”

Upon hearing Xia Mingyu’s reply, Youde danced around in ecstatic delight.

“Your Highness, thank you for giving me such a precious herb so I could brew this potion for you.”

Once calmer, Youde sincerely expressed his gratitude.

“The better the herb, the more skillful the alchemist needed to grind it to unlock its true brilliance.”

“Youde, the gods may have closed one door for you, but they’ve opened a window no ordinary person possesses—I believe you will one day become a great alchemist.”

Xia Mingyu patted the alchemist’s shoulder in encouragement, then slipped several silver sols from his pocket into the man’s.

He was a competent boss—not only did he promise rewards, he delivered them.

Encouraged, Youde’s face flushed crimson with blood; no wonder the Elder’s words carried such wisdom.

At that moment, his loyalty burned fiercely—he was ready to stay up another full year for the prince, and if he needed to, he’d just drink more energy potions!

As an alchemist with nothing but the prince’s gifts, he had no wealth—but he had plenty of potions.

“Your Highness, I have a feeling I’ll become a Master Alchemist before long!” Youde declared.

After crafting the antidote that saved Dusk City from the Dusk Tea poison, he could feel the chains of Morning Star already trembling, within reach of breaking.

Upon hearing the term “Master Alchemist,” Xia Mingyu’s face flickered with surprise.

He remembered clearly from the Book of Blessings: to ascend to Master Alchemist, one must memorize the properties of tens of thousands of herbs with perfect accuracy and master their processing.

Thus, while not the hardest advancement among all professions, it was the most time-consuming, requiring years of accumulated knowledge.

By the time an alchemist became a Master Alchemist, he was usually an old man with a white beard.

But once ascended, one gained the core ability of the alchemist profession—Herb Resonance—which allowed one to directly perceive the resonance level between two herbs’ properties, enabling divine-like creation of wondrous potions.

Among the transcendent, there was even a joke: tie a dog to a Master Alchemist’s bench, and it might still invent a potion that swept the entire continent.

Because Herb Resonance was simply too overpowered—just brew anything with high resonance, try a few times, and you’d inevitably create something new.

That’s why every Master Alchemist could easily gain fame, status, wealth, and even power.

If Youde ascended to Master Alchemist before the year’s end, an eighteen-year-old Master Alchemist would be even more astonishing than a twenty-year-old Songstress.

Just as on Blue Star, art students often produced prodigies, but science and engineering prodigies were vanishingly rare in all of history.

“Youde, I look forward to it,” the Elder murmured softly. The alchemist clenched his fist tightly, silently vowing never to let his benefactor’s expectations go unfulfilled.

Eastern Frontier, Slave Capital.

At the city’s center stood a vast, magnificent estate.

Entirely built of white marble, its surfaces were intricately carved with countless star patterns, murals, and aesthetically rich designs.

Beneath the soft glow of dawn, it gleamed brilliantly, sacred and pure—just one glance could shake the soul.

At the estate’s heart stood a massive flag, painted with a star-strewn night sky, fluttering loudly in the wind.

This was the Star Estate—everyone knew it was the finest estate in all of Sosia.

Rumor had it that Lord Spear, master of the Slave Capital, had spent an amount equal to half of Sosia’s annual tax revenue over the past decade to hire artisans, painters, and purchase stone, killing countless slaves, before finally completing it earlier this year.

On the day the estate opened, nobles from across the world gathered in the Slave Capital just to witness its splendor.

The estate’s dazzling, masterfully crafted architecture left even the most haughty nobles speechless, as if they’d become country bumpkins.

They vowed inwardly to one day build something even grander—but after glancing at their empty purses, they could only reluctantly abandon the dream, instead joining others in praising its elegant design and rich cultural aura, utterly ignoring the blood and screams buried beneath those gleaming marble slabs.

Grand Hall of the Estate.

A ceiling over thirty meters high hung with a massive crystal chandelier adorned with icicle-like decorations; the floor was covered in dark red velvet carpet; the walls displayed paintings whose names could be found in the annals of history.

One word: opulent.

Raphael, Latiss, and Loen—the three vampires who barely escaped Dusk City—now knelt on the dark red carpet, heads bowed deeply.

Upon the main seat sat a handsome man with silver hair and crimson eyes, quietly gazing downward—Lord Spear, the famed noble of Sosia.

“Respected Lord Spear, we deeply regret failing your mission and mourn the death of Elder Ekuus. We humbly beg your punishment.” Raphael spoke respectfully, never lifting his head.

At these words, a flicker of anger crossed Spear’s face.

Rosa still lived, his favored kin Ekuus was dead, yet these two fools returned unscathed—why not sacrifice at least one to show responsibility?

Thinking this, a torrent of crimson magic erupted from Spear, spreading like ribbons in all directions.

Hummm.

The crystal chandelier above swayed violently; the paintings on the walls trembled as if about to fall.

Seeing this, Raphael quietly tugged his sister’s sleeve.

The girl understood at once, lifting her head to reveal eyes like a frightened fawn, brimming with tears and pleading directly at Spear.

The crimson magic filling the hall slowly faded.

Seeing his adopted daughter in such a pitiful state, Spear’s heart softened.

“Raphael, tell me everything you encountered in the Southern Frontier with Ekuus. If you lie to me… hrm!”

He snorted, and suddenly, several blood-red spears erupted from the floor, their tips pointed directly at the golden-haired youth’s head.

“Yes. After arriving in Dusk City, Elder Ekuus went to Red Fox Fortress to negotiate a trade guild with Rosa. He was struck by the Elder’s signature spell—we fought desperately but could not save him.”

Raphael revealed everything without concealment, though he made a slight embellishment at the end.

After listening to his full account, Spear fell into deep thought.

He realized Ekuus’s failure was entirely due to one man—the Southern Frontier Elder, Xia Mingyu.

A Morning Star daring to call himself an Elder? How arrogant.

Yet, he managed to uncover the secret of Ekuus’s Enchantment Tea—perhaps he possessed some wit.

Where did this man come from? And why does he wield black magic? Could he also be a follower of Our God?

“Lord Spear, we beg to redeem ourselves—we shall return to the Southern Frontier and kill the Elder to avenge Elder Ekuus!”

Seeing the silver-haired lord’s expression shift uncertainly, Raphael gritted his teeth and spoke.

No matter what, survive this first—then he could always flee back again.

“No need. That so-called Elder won’t live much longer. He didn’t just ruin my plans—he offended a great one.” Spear spoke calmly.

Ekuus’s plan to poison Dusk City with the Enchantment Tea was not solely his own—it had the silent approval of that great one and the backing of his organization’s agents.

Now that the plan had failed, that dangerous, mad organization would not let the culprit escape.

By now, they may already have reached the Southern Frontier.

“All three of you—regardless of reason, failure is a grave crime. I will punish you severely,” Spear rose slowly from his seat, his voice sharp.

“We accept our punishment,” the three vampires chorused.

“Loen, return to the arena. Come back in a month.”

“Yes, Lord Spear,” the bald giant rumbled, silently praying he wouldn’t be placed next to the butcher again.

“Raphael, a gang of transcendent bandits has emerged beyond the Slave Capital’s wastes. Kill them all. I will give you no troops.”

“Yes, Lord Spear.” Raphael felt a flicker of relief—though facing a whole gang alone was dangerous, it was still within manageable limits.

“Latiss, the flowers in the Star Estate have been wilting lately. Water them more.” After much thought, Spear settled on a punishment he deemed sufficiently “severe.”

“Yes, thank you, Lord Spear~” The girl smiled sweetly, then rose and skipped out of the hall.

Raphael, Loen: “？？？”

The two men simultaneously lifted their heads, staring at Simon in disbelief.

BOOM!

The next instant, a blood-red shockwave surged forward, slamming both men out through the door.

“Two fools—there are so many flowers in Starlight Manor; watering them is exhausting work.”

Simon muttered to himself, gazing at the empty hall.

SWISH!

Product Storage ability activated.

A blood-red circular hole appeared; he reached in, fumbled for a moment, and pulled out a finely packaged box of tea, adorned with tiny bats.

It was a premium batch of Dusk Tea that Latiss had specially bought for him from Dusk City.

Given the salary he paid the girl, she’d need to save for months just to afford it.

Tsk, watering flowers is too much work. Better have her assist at Bloodfang Arena.

Bloodfang Arena.

“Hegex!”

“Hegex!”

On the vast, circular arena built from countless massive stones, the stands were packed with spectators, their eyes burning as they stared at the towering, godlike man in the arena, screaming his name with all their might.

Since leaving Starlight Manor, Latiss had rushed straight here; now, alongside the other spectators, she screamed Hegex’s name in excitement, her gaze fixed on him as if she meant to devour him whole.

If Raphael saw his sister acting like this, he’d be heartbroken beyond repair.

In the arena.

Hegex stared intently at the dark passage behind the iron bars opposite him, his golden eyes flickering with excitement.

I wonder what powerful beast Simon has found for me this time?

No matter how strong the beast, I will kill it barehanded and forge my greatness—I must grow stronger still, then seize the title of First General under Prince Tamerlan!

HOWL!

With a piercing wolf’s howl, a monstrous wolf—over three meters tall at the shoulder, its body covered in thick, armored silver fur dusted with fine frost crystals—smashed through the iron bars and charged out!

Above its head floated a line of deep blue text—Fengers.

(End of Chapter)