Chapter 121: 121. The Spell Inside the Magic Core

The vegetable gardens of the lord's estate are very large; often, a single type of vegetable is planted across dozens or hundreds of acres, then left to the serfs to tend.

After inspecting the status of the Fertilizer Base, Luoning arrived at the cabbage patch.

At this moment, he was like a leader coming to the fields to guide the work. Behind him followed Chahaer, Wilson, the village chiefs and group leaders of the four villages, and the farmers responsible for this vegetable plot—a massive, bustling crowd.

Lade, the village chief of Qianjin Village, was extremely nervous, as the vegetable plot currently being inspected was the one his village was responsible for; if anything failed to meet the lord's expectations, he would be in trouble.

"My Lord, our village is currently growing eighty acres of cabbage. The plot you are inspecting now is about ten acres, all planted using the Ridge Tillage Method according to your instructions."

Luoning nodded. He looked up, and the cabbage patch was a scene full of vitality.

Under the morning sun, the green leaves shimmered with a healthy luster, tightly curled together to form plump, round balls.

Due to the division of ridges and ditches, the cabbages in the field were arranged quite neatly, as if a group of well-trained soldiers were undergoing inspection.

"Compared to the previous chaos, it looks much more pleasing to the eye now."

Wilson added from the side: "My Lord, this method of yours is very ingenious. Now, if we need to weed a certain plot, we don't have to walk inside the vegetable patch like before; standing in the ditches is perfectly sufficient to reach everything."

"Mm, well done."

Luoning squatted down, parted the cabbage leaves, and looked at the soil. "It hasn't rained in Shanlin Town recently, has it? I see the soil is quite dry; be sure to water it appropriately."

Wilson hurriedly looked at Village Chief Lade, his expression seemingly saying: I notified you yesterday that the leader was coming to inspect, why didn't you water it?

The latter immediately became nervous. "My Lord, I will arrange for watering today."

"Watering should be done in moderation; just keep the soil moist."

Luoning smiled and said: "Additionally, the Fertilizer Base now has its first batch of fully decomposed organic fertilizer. You can use the Ditch Application method to top-dress the vegetable patch."

The crowd was full of question marks. Wilson asked in a low voice: "My Lord, what is Ditch Application?"

Luoning dug a small ditch at the base of a cabbage and explained patiently: "It's just like this—add some fertilizer into this small ditch, then pour in some water."

"Oh, right, Chahaer." Luoning looked at the castle Steward.

"Master, at your command."

"How are things going with the toilets?"

Luoning asked: "Besides those in the castle, how many toilets have been built in the town?"

Chahaer scratched his head. "My Lord, currently a large toilet has been built in every village. I have already had the village chiefs notify the people of each village that anyone in need should go to these toilets to relieve themselves; sometimes there are even long lines..."

With four or five hundred people sharing one toilet, it would be strange if there weren't lines.

"Tell them that excrement can be used as fertilizer for crops to increase their yields. Those who have the means can build toilets in their own homes; the fertilizer collected will belong to them and does not need to be turned over to the Fertilizer Base. Also, the number of public toilets is insufficient; more need to be built."

Luoning said: "The village chiefs and group leaders must ensure the message is delivered: tell the farmers that when using the liquid waste, they must let it sit for a few days first, then dilute it with water. Only then can it be used for fertilization; otherwise, there is a high probability of burning the seedlings to death."

Luoning didn't know much, but in front of this group of people, he could still put on a bit of a show.

For years, the serfs didn't know how to fertilize, and part of the reason was that they didn't use the fertilizer well and burned the seedlings, leading them to believe that excrement was useless.

Now that Luoning was letting them know how to use it, the problem of the streets being full of excrement would no longer exist.

In ancient times, collecting night soil was actually a good job; every street and alley even had divisions of territory, and if one collected across the boundary, it might even trigger a conflict.

Next, Luoning gave instructions to the village chiefs and group leaders in the group regarding the planting of wheat for next year's spring plowing.

The production of the Curved Plow was now keeping up with the schedule, and each village would be allocated some to use. The ownership of these farm tools belonged to Luoning, to increase the intensity of deep plowing.

At the same time, by next March, the Fertilizer Base would have a large batch of fully decomposed organic fertilizer. These things could be distributed in advance, so the fertilizer could be applied during plowing.

Although these things were all developed with Luoning's money and manpower, and logically should be sold, it was almost impossible to expect these farmers to pay for fertilizer.

Adhering to the principle that the majority of the increased yield belonged to the lord, Luoning was not stingy about bringing these things out for free use.

After inspecting the Fertilizer Base and the vegetable patch, Luoning concluded his morning itinerary.

Returning to the castle, Black Tiger was being held in the courtyard to sunbathe, while Ailin sat to the side practicing meditation.

Seeing Luoning return, Ailin stopped her meditation. "Brother, you're back. Black Tiger still hasn't opened its eyes."

"Browning said it should be within these two days; it should be soon."

Luoning sat down on a chair nearby, looked at the young girl beside him, and suddenly thought of something.

"Ailin, there is something I want to entrust to you."

Ailin was stunned for a moment, then looked flattered. She was truly too idle in the castle and had almost no place where she could help.

Hearing that Luoning had a task to arrange for her, she hurriedly mimicked the way others spoke: "Please give your orders, my Lord!"

Luoning saw that the other party's attitude and expression were quite spot-on, and couldn't help but smile.

"Your mother, Jennie, educated you very well; you can read and write at such a young age. Now I want you to be a teacher at Shanlin Castle and teach the words you know to Dawei and the others."

Ailin blinked her large eyes. "Let me be a teacher?"

Her face flushed red instantly. She, a thirteen-year-old girl, was actually going to be a teacher to people seventeen or eighteen years old, or even older.

"What, no confidence?"

"No, no, no, I can do it!"

Ailin hurriedly puffed out her small chest. "I will definitely be able to teach them to read and write!"

"You can apply to the castle for any parchment and ink you need."

Luoning leaned over and whispered: "If any Knight does not obey your teaching, I authorize you to take a board and hit their palms. If anyone dares to resist, tell me, and I will vent your anger for you!"

"Okay!"

With Luoning's support, the young girl was very motivated.

"Beila, you all follow along and learn too," Luoning instructed.

In this world, the monopoly on knowledge was a bit too severe. It was difficult to improve the cultural level of everyone, so what Luoning could do was have the people around him learn a little first, and then slowly spread it out.

"Master, Mrs. Bandele has something she entrusted me to pass on to you," the manservant hurried over from outside.

Luoning was a bit surprised. What would the head chef have to give him?

"What is it?"

Jialun took a blue-black round ball about the size of a marble from his bosom and handed it to Luoning. "It is said that this was obtained by the butcher Duolalong in the kitchen while processing a Storm Magic Wolf. He suspected it was a Magic Core, so he entrusted Mrs. Bandele to pass it on to you."

Magic Core?

Luoning's heart skipped a beat; he had forgotten about this.

"Distribute a portion of the Storm Magic Wolf's meat to those who participated in the battle yesterday."

As Luoning took the bead, he said, "Especially Dawei; although he can get out of bed now, he won't be able to swing a sword for at least ten days or half a month, so give him a larger share."

"Very well, Master." After receiving the order, Jialun hurried off to make the arrangements.

Luoning held the dark green bead up to his eyes to examine it; this object, which looked exactly like a marble, was very crystalline, and at a glance, it had a sense of being Advanced.

Back on Earth when he was a child, this "marble" could definitely have been traded for ten ordinary marbles.

"Huke of the Magic Chamber of Commerce said that a Magician can use Mental Power to touch a Magic Core and perceive the Spell Pattern inside."

He slowly closed his eyes, and as his Mental Power made contact with the Magic Core through his fingers, he was instantly drawn in.

Three Spell Patterns immediately appeared in Luoning's mind.

Two of the Spell Patterns were cyan, representing the Wind Attribute; the remaining one was black, representing the Darkness Attribute.

Luoning touched the black Spell Pattern with his Mental Power and immediately received the feedback information—Concealment, a Level 3 Darkness Magic.

"This must be the key to how that Storm Magic Wolf was able to turn invisible."

Luoning's Mental Power turned toward the other two Spell Patterns, obtaining the information in turn:

Speed: a Level 3 Wind Magic;

Tear: a Level 4 Wind Magic;

He revealed a look of pleasant surprise, "To think it's two Wind Attribute Magics I didn't have, and there's even a Level 4 one!"

The Battle Techniques in the books Lulansi gave Luoning were quite comprehensive, as the other party was a Knight after all;

but by comparison, the Magic side was less involved; for Level 3 Magic, there was only Detection Wind, and there was no magic book for Speed.

Recalling the battle with the Storm Magic Wolf yesterday, this Speed should be the main reason for the opponent's sudden acceleration.

As for this Tear, could it be the three rays of light that tore through Luoning's first strike?

That power was a bit small.

"However, the Spell Pattern for this Level 4 Magic is much more complex; it not only has 26 Spell Nodes but also a curved section."

Putting aside his study of the Tear magic, Luoning turned his attention to the Speed magic.

This one he could learn.

The speed boost from the Speed magic would definitely be better than the effect of the Light Body Technique; when the time came, with the assistance of this magic, Luoning's melee combat level would rise to a new height, and at that point, it would not be impossible to challenge those of a higher rank.

(End of this chapter)