Chapter 449: Style and Smelting

Perfect.

In the evening, the half-elf Virgil will come to inspect the development of the White Dragon Tomb.

Luo De simply waited for him to show up.

He didn't even need to go looking for him.

But just sitting around was boring, and the vibe felt a bit lacking.

Since there was still some time left.

When Luo De returned to the surface, he called out Tally and Wenna, and they sat together to discuss it.

Wenna looked utterly confused.

How do you wait with style?

Is this some important matter? Isn't the real issue how to defeat an eighth-rank expert?

What's wrong with this guy? Why is he so flashy?

Tally raised her hand excitedly first.

"Of course it's the enemy's corpses as a backdrop! I love it most when the master stands alone, towering over the forest creatures he's just crushed into twitching heaps, surveying everything with supreme arrogance!"

Luo De nodded, thinking it was good.

He turned to Wenna.

"What's your proposal?"

"Um… really need to say it?"

"Of course. Use your imagination. If I weren't unfamiliar with bards, I'd already have summoned a few to secretly watch."

"How about a knight riding a white horse, wielding a golden weapon, standing alone blocking the path? It has a fairy-tale feel—clean, crisp. I think Master Luo De could embody that aura."

As Wenna spoke, she imagined it.

The image of the knight-hero gradually merged with Luo De's appearance.

Suddenly, a succubus with demonic horns appeared smirking in the knight-hero's arms, while a beautiful naga coiled around from behind, her face stunningly beautiful, her chest impossibly vast.

The next moment, the three figures in her mind stripped naked and tangled together.

Their movements, poses, and words matched exactly what she'd seen over the past five days.

Wenna quickly banished the image from her mind, rubbed her temples, and felt her thoughts had been polluted by someone.

"Good. Both your proposals are accepted. Tally, bring up the corpses from the White Dragon Tomb."

"Got it~"

Luo De thought for a moment.

He activated the shared skill of his 【Fire Domain】: 【Myriad Furnace】.

The addition of the Dragon-Slaying Greatsword made the blunt damage of the Black Gold Warhammer feel redundant.

Merging it with the Slime Black Sword might produce a better weapon.

No choice.

Recent major events have been frequent—this is now a world of pure power.

The Offering Blade, the mascot, would stay put; its materials were already weak anyway, and mixing it with the Black Gold Warhammer risked lowering the final product's quality. The more malleable Slime Black Sword was better suited.

But of course, the resulting weapon should be cool-looking.

Luo De didn't just toss them in directly.

Instead, he ran several trial melts of the Slime Black Sword first.

Same as always.

The furnace spat out either a Flame Black Sword, a Flame Dagger, or a Flame Fiji Cup.

Seriously, what's wrong with this thing?

Material deficiency issue.

The only interesting result was the black dagger with the innate 【Flame Leap】 skill.

Neither Luo De nor Tally could use it, so he gave it to Wenna.

She looked thrilled, eager to try it out.

He had to warn her: "Just a heads-up—this thing offers zero fire resistance."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"It lets you leap between flames—but you could also get burned to death."

"."

Luo De smiled and left her alone.

He tossed the Black Gold Warhammer and the Slime Black Sword into the 【Myriad Furnace】.

He thought again, then added another Slime Black Sword.

Two swords, one hammer.

Higher chance of getting a sword!

Soon after.

The 【Myriad Furnace】 let out a gurgle.

A sleek black-gold blade stabbed into the ground with a hiss.

The Black Gold Longsword was slightly wider and thicker than the Offering Blade, its main body obsidian black, edged in gold.

It looked nice, but too understated—not nearly as flashy as the mascot Offering Blade.

Typical you. Pretty little waste.

Luo De nodded, reasonably satisfied.

"I told you those trial melts were useful."

He reached to pick up the Black Gold Longsword.

But the moment he touched it, a splat echoed—the entire weapon rapidly liquefied into a viscous puddle, unable to even maintain its blade shape.

"?"

Luo De froze.

Uh…

Did I use too much slime?

Could adding water save it?

At that moment,

Slime Black sent a wave of longing for the black-gold viscous puddle through their 【Mind Link】.

Wenna walked over, glanced at the ground, and made a disgusted "e—" sound, then looked at the 【Myriad Furnace】.

She hesitated: "Is this… the fireball's vomit?"

Luo De glared at her in dissatisfaction.

He bent down, letting Slime Black touch the black-gold sludge.

Slime Black moved to his palm, then extended four or five tiny tentacles like straws, slurping the substance on the ground into its body.

Little Black moved to his palm, then extended four or five tiny tentacles like straws, slurping up the things on the ground into its body.

Slime Black shared new information through the 【Mind Link】, displayed on the panel as:

【Black Gold Adhesion: Slime Black has unlocked a new skill. This skill can adhere to weapons or magical items (cannot affect treasures or living beings), granting the following bonuses:

'Enhancement': +2 to the skill potency of the adhered object;

'Strength Boost': +10% strength for the wielder of the adhered object;

'Ownership': Grants the adhered object the ability to recognize its master;

'Black Gold': Increases the sharpness or thickness of the adhered object to 80.】

That's more like it.

Even without a new weapon, at least some weapon buffs.

The 【Black Gold Adhesion】 skill was highly practical—and more importantly, if Luo De invested 【Growth Spirit】 into Slime Black, this skill could still evolve!

The skill 【Black Gold Adhesion】 is highly practical, and more importantly, as long as Luo De channels 【Growth Spirituality】 into the slime Little Black, this skill has room to evolve!

sharpness/thickness of 200, strength boost of 200%, enhancement +50—all were entirely possible!

Then, what weapon wouldn't become a divine artifact in my hands?

Luo De was extremely satisfied, his eyes gleaming.

At that moment,

Tally had already hauled up the corpses and was enthusiastically arranging them.

She even left a central spot as a stage for Luo De.

The sea breeze blew.

The evening sun slanted downward; sparse trees and weeds on the cliffside plain leaned eastward.

The smells of blood, decay, and sulfur spread across Luo De's skin through 【Spider Sense】.

"Almost here? There are even hellish creatures around."

Not surprising.

Shadownest had always been allied with demons.

"Wenna, come here."

"Wenna, come here."

The youngest daughter of Pweil, hearing that the Shadow Thieves and demons were approaching, grew nervous and searched for somewhere to hide.

But upon hearing Luo De's call, she obediently stepped over the corpses and walked to the center of the "stage."

"What is it, Mr. Luo De?"

"Kneel down and place your hands on the ground."

"Huh?"

"Didn't you say yourself, knight, that in haste there was no horse, so you'd have to make do?"

Luo De spoke with perfect seriousness.

Who told you my 【Black Gold Coating】 was vomit?

Wen Na stared in disbelief: "Mr. Luo De wants to ride… ride me?!"

"Of course not. I wouldn't ride a girl—that's impolite. I'm just sitting on your back. Isn't that gentle?"

"What's the difference?!"

(End of Chapter)