Chapter 840: [Lion Potion] and the Agreement

A moment later, outside the lumber yard west of the town.

The caravan regrouped; Jier recalled the lumberjacks who had retreated from the fighting and had these young men, who could no longer sit still, continue felling and processing firewood where they had been working in the morning.

The Refining Qi soldiers were scattered around the work site, keeping watch atop piles of logs, while the priests gathered near the empty carriages, discussing the previous battle in low voices. The young soldier who had been seriously injured now lay on an exquisite Knight cloak; his heavy wounds could not be healed so quickly by the priests, and for now, the Agricultural God Church priests had merely stopped the bleeding and applied a simple bandage.

Any follow-up treatment would have to wait until they returned to Yemei Town.

After all, for injuries as severe as these, healing them required multiple priests to join forces and cast Healing Divine Art.

The priests present were skilled enough, but clearly, Church Priests of different faiths could not possibly join forces to do anything.

That was unimaginable.

"How is his condition? When I saved him, I saw he had been struck hard on the head by the Monster?"

Jier stood to the side, speaking to the Baron Heir who had taken off his cloak to serve as a bed for his injured subordinate.

"Hmm, the priests have checked; the injury to his waist is serious, but other problems are minor. It should be that his Helmet helped him block the Monster's attack." Bell explained briefly. He then patted Jier's armored arm, signaling for Jier to come aside to talk.

Jier shrugged and followed.

"What do you want to say? Curious about my axe? Or my Sword?" Jier said with a smile.

"Neither." Bell reached out and made a gesture, signaling Jier to sit down with him on a horizontal log half a person high.

"Then what is it? Think I held back during the fight earlier? Come on, I'm an outsider; isn't holding back during a fight standard procedure?" Jier muttered, spread the cloak behind him, and sat down on the log.

"A little, but that's not it either. Jier, I'm just curious, what exactly is your relationship with the Agricultural God Church? During the fight just now, I saw it, and I felt it—on you, there was a powerful, hmm, aura of the Agricultural God's Divine Power. When facing a Monster like that, weapons are one thing, but I believe that power just now was also very important, right?"

As Bell spoke, he glanced from afar at the Agricultural God Church priests gathered together discussing things. Those priests, while talking, also pointed at Jier from time to time.

Clearly, the content of their discussion was related to Jier.

"That?"

Jier chuckled and patted his ribs under his chest: "Working for the Agricultural God Church, there have to be some benefits, right? A general wouldn't send a group of hungry soldiers onto the battlefield; that's the logic."

"Oh. I'm a bit curious about this; can you tell me more about this ability?" Bell's eyes darted around as he asked Jier.

So, Jier briefly explained the news regarding the 【Grass and Wood Source】.

"Unlimited energy for a short time? That's really great, it's just a pity that only a parish-level church can provide it."

Bell shook his head, though it was unclear what plan he had abandoned.

Then, he changed the subject, hoping Jier would lead his soldiers to join forces with his own power to deal with the Flesh Demons in the wild.

"You must have noticed the direction those guys retreated in just now, right? Their lair must be in some direction within the Forest. An average team probably wouldn't be a match for them, but you saw it with your own eyes—as long as the equipment is refined enough, you can defeat a large number of Monsters with very low casualties! Although there are also powerful leader Monsters, looking at it now, they aren't a match for Knights like us."

Clenching his fist, Bell looked confident.

Jier waved his hand: "We'll see, we'll see. I've already taken the benefits from the Agricultural God Church, so I have to finish their business first, right?"

Bell stopped speaking, and the two sat on the log, discussing martial arts techniques in low voices.

The Baron Heir looked down on Jier's Long Spear skills, believing that Jier had never received formal training and that Jier's Knight teacher was very unqualified.

"Come on, Knight Kela only taught me how to perform Life Energy Training; before he had time to teach me anything else, I was separated from the team and got involved in the Agricultural God Church's affairs. I want to learn more too, but I haven't had the chance."

"Life Energy Training? What's there to learn about that? If you drink a few bottles of Potion, won't it grow rapidly on its own?" Bell said with a look of surprise.

Jier gave a wry smile: "I don't have the status of a Noble Heir. I was just an ordinary person before, at most helping the commoners deal with some problems. It was only later that I had a good opportunity for Knight Kela to let me become an Apprentice Knight for training. The Knight did mention that he also became a Knight by drinking expensive Potions back then. But I don't have any of those, so while the army was heading south, I was eating the bodies of Monsters to increase my own Life Energy."

Bell rubbed his chin with a palm clad in fine steel gauntlets: "That is indeed a simple method, but it's a bit slow, and the results are hard to guarantee." He looked at Jier, then at himself, compared the fight the two of them had just had with the parasitic Monster leader, and felt a bit discouraged: "Your teacher seems to have trained you well. Or perhaps you have a great talent for fighting."

"Even if my martial arts are absolutely terrible."

"You could have left out that last part of your compliment," Jier retorted.

Jier suddenly scratched the itch on his head through his Helmet and asked in a casual tone: "By the way, I don't know much common knowledge about Knights. You are a proper Noble Heir and have undergone proper Knight Training. Do you know how to alleviate the nightmares caused by the vengeful spirits of enemies after killing too many?"

"Killing? You mean killing people, right? It seems you really are an unqualified Apprentice Knight; you don't even know this common knowledge."

Bell pointed to his own Helmet and Metal Armor: "There are many methods. My father chose to find someone to arrange some incantations on his and my armor that can dispel the curses of vengeful spirits—Magic power!"

"You?"

Bell glanced at the Full-body Metal Armor Jier was wearing: "It's wrapped tightly inside and out, but other than that, it has no extra effect at all; you can't see a single bit of a Craftsman's handiwork."

Jier laughed sheepishly and took out a dry cloth to wipe his armor. Although it didn't feel good to be told it was useless, Jier still cherished this set of armor. Even though it had been 'drenched' by a rain of arrows from a large group of Bandits a while ago, making it look a bit mottled, overall, his armor was still quite good.

Although Craftsman Ganna's handiwork was immature and lacked unique techniques, this armor protected him well, and that was enough.

"Besides that? Are there no other means? After all, not everyone has the means your family has, right? I imagine not every Craftsman who makes armor for Knights has mastered this technology, right?"

Facing Jier's question, the Baron Heir nodded: "That's right. My father has a good relationship with a certain Mage, which is why we were able to get that lord to personally cast spells on our family's armor. As for others, they can seek help from that church."

"That church? Which church? Which god?"

Bell looked helpless: "You don't even know this? The Hall of Warriors! Some famous warriors—not just Knights, but Warriors, Archers, and other combat professionals—anyone with some ability can join the Hall of Warriors, an organization that serves warriors. And you don't have to believe in the War God; as long as you don't violate their teachings and fight bravely after joining, that's fine. There must be a way to solve this problem in there."

Jier silently noted this down, but to his surprise, Bell continued in a low voice: "I've also heard that those vengeful spirits that haunt you after killing can also be turned into powerful weapons by people."

After whispering this, he added: "As for other means, there are even more."

He pointed to the priests of the churches in front: "Formally defecting and joining a god's church—I imagine every church has a way. Actually, these are all minor problems that aren't really problems."

"What if you don't join them?" Jier asked with a smile.

"Then just get a few bottles of Potion to drink—Lion Potion, Yongqi Potion, Calm Potion, etc. You can find ways to get them in big cities. Drinking them can solve these troubles."

Jier pondered to himself and asked: "Are they expensive? These Potions."

"You're asking me, but I don't know either. Anyway, I've never drunk the Potions at home, and I don't know how much money was spent to buy them. Hehe, maybe they don't even cost money. Anyway, I've never seen any of the family's Knights drink them after returning from suppressing Bandits, and my father asking for money."

Jier's eyes narrowed. He realized one thing: the problem that had been tormenting him was clearly a problem that other Knights often encountered, so the Noble families in these places clearly had prepared solutions.

Although the Sasi Family had unique incantations on their armor to resist the intrusion of vengeful spirits, common methods must certainly exist, after all, Sasi County didn't just have the Sasi Family's Knights.

Other enfeoffed loyal Knights clearly had to have some common ways of dealing with it.

Thinking of this, Jier no longer hesitated and said straightforwardly: "Bell, regarding your previous proposal to suppress the Flesh Demons, I think we can discuss it in more detail."

"Oh?"

Bell turned his head in surprise. He wasn't stupid; his eyes darted around, and he figured out some things: "What kind of Potion do you want?"

"Does your family have any Potion that heals the haunting of vengeful spirits after killing too many people?"

Jier also asked straight to the point.

"I have to go home and check. The things at home are all under the management of one of my elders." Bell's answer was rather ambiguous; he did not give a clear reply.

Jier let out a breath and stood up: "Then let's wait until we get back to talk about it."

"By the way, Jier, since you asked this, just how long has it been since you had a proper rest?" Bell probed.

"Hmph, I have plenty of energy. I could still fight ten more monsters like the one from just now!"

Because the Lumberjacks had already done it twice, they were very skilled at their work. Even though Jier and the others spent a lot of time wiping out the parasitic monsters lying in ambush at the Lumber Yard, the time wasted was all made up for by the Lumberjacks under Jier.

While the sun was still hanging on the horizon, the fully loaded convoy had already begun its return journey.

Except for the Baron Heir, the Priests, and one injured Soldier, the other Soldiers and Lumberjacks all walked alongside the loaded wagons on the return trip.

The wheels creaked, pressing ruts into the dry dirt road and kicking up clouds of dust.

Perhaps they had killed enough monsters to scare them off, as the road back to the town was calm and peaceful. There was not a single parasitic monster blocking the way, which made Jier, who was patrolling on horseback, feel a bit bored, so he had no choice but to discuss the plan to counterattack the Flesh Demon with Bell along the way.

Of course, it was just a discussion; Jier did not indicate whether he would join or when he would join.

And the Baron Heir did not ask Jier whether he would join or when he would join either. The two of them just discussed it like that, from the composition and scale of the counterattack force to the location of the monster lair, the number of monsters, and the timing of the counterattack.

Soon, Yemei Town arrived.

It was already dark when they returned to Yemei Town. In mountainous regions, it gets dark quickly; one moment the twilight sun was still providing sufficient light, and the next it hid behind the mountains, with shadows instantly enveloping the entire land.

Even for a town like Yemei Town that had open areas, it was the same.

"The Western Province is different."

Jier gestured toward the direction of the horizon, describing to Bell the scene he had seen.

"The land is flat, and there are no mountain ranges blocking the distance. The sun will stay very, very close to the ground, and at this time, most of the horizon is still bright. Even when the sun has completely fallen below the horizon, as long as there are a few clouds in the high sky, they act like reflectors hanging in the sky, reflecting the sunlight blocked by the earth down below. It gets dark very late, and it's the same the next day; before the sun has even risen from below the ground, the earth is already bright!"

"What an open world that must be!"

Bell exclaimed. As a native of the Southern Province, it was hard for him to imagine such a scene.

"The people there must be very wealthy, right? After all, just the time spent working each day is more than that of people in other places."

Jier chuckled: "That's not necessarily true. Every place has its benefits, and naturally, it also has its troubles. The overly open land makes it so that the villages and towns there must be built along the Shanglu; places far from the Shanglu are not safe. Because there are no safe natural barriers."

"I know this. My family's territory is surrounded by big mountains, and there is only one route to go out, which is that Shanglu to the northwest of the town."

As the two talked, they led the team through the passage guarded by Jier's Refugee Team.

Having the camaraderie of fighting together in the afternoon, Bell invited Jier to have dinner at his home that evening, and Jier nodded in agreement.

The Lumberjacks stopped to eat at the camp of the Refugee Team, while the convoy continued along the town wall to enter the town from the southwest gate.

Having learned from yesterday's experience, this time when the convoy was about to enter the town, the town had arranged for over a hundred town guards to stand outside the southwest gate in advance, separating the townspeople who might cause trouble and helping the convoy transport the fully loaded firewood into the town.

Once they entered Yemei Town, Cavalrymen of the Sasi Family took the horses from Bell, and Bell immediately mounted his horse, heading to the Sasi Family mansion in the center of the town ahead of time with Jier, who was riding the Tianxuecao.

"Look, this is it."

After a simple meal, many people in the town were waiting in the Sasi Family hall to meet with Bell. But Bell, under the pretext of tidying up his appearance, cleared a short period of time to specifically ask an elder of the family for a Potion.

At this moment, he slid this Potion along the smooth wooden table to Jier, who took it and held it in his hand to observe.

As soon as he held it, Jier could clearly feel that the Potion was quite heavy. Upon looking, he realized that the brass bottle, the size of half a palm, was not large in terms of capacity; it was just that the bottle was made too sturdy and thick.

This was a metal bottle made of brass, the size of which could be held in one hand, and due to the material, the bottle was not light. The top was a screw cap with a complex opening method, featuring engraved lines, numbers, and symbol markings.

It did not look like something that could be opened easily.

The bottle was narrow at the top and wide at the bottom, shaped like a steep trapezoid overall; viewed from the side, it looked like an olive. The front was intricately carved with the image of a male lion, stepping on prey and roaring at the sky. The back featured the image of a Knight in armor, and this Knight was holding a Potion, making a gesture as if to drink.

Above the patterns on the front and back, there was a word engraved in a circle: 【Lion】.

Clearly, this Potion was a type of Potion called 【Lion】.

Shaking the bottle, Jier could feel the light liquid sloshing inside, and upon observing the bottom of the bottle, Jier discovered that there was actually a sentence engraved on the bottom.

However, this sentence was written in the language of the Noble, which Jier could not understand.

"There is text on the bottom. What does it say?"

Jier returned the Potion to Bell, and the Baron Heir picked it up, looked at it, and said with a smile: "It's a message left by the alchemist. After the Potion is finished, one can use the bottle to get a refill at a thirty percent discount."

"That's not bad."

"But who would need to drink these Potions all day? You know, Potions have an expiration date; they aren't like strong liquor or grape wine that gets more mellow the longer it's stored. Potions generally must be used within a year or two after being made. The alchemist saying this is just to get you to spend money at his place again!"

Having said this, Bell pushed the Potion back to Jier: "It's yours, Jier."

Jier did not stand on ceremony. When they returned, the two had discussed that if Bell could get the Potion Jier needed, Jier would then participate in Bell's battle to crusade against the Flesh Demon.

"How should I open it?"

Jier looked at the mechanical screw cap on the top of the bottle and asked Bell.

"Don't be intimidated. Just rotate the cap while pulling it outward; it's that simple. This is a bottle of 【Lion Potion】 my father left me before he left; the lock has already been disengaged, so you can just unscrew it and use it directly."

After hearing this, Jier successfully opened the bottle as expected, then sniffed it. A rich, refreshing scent of mint wafted from the bottle; the smell was so intense that the whole room was soon filled with the aroma of mint.

"Then I'll drink it."

"Drink it. Don't forget, after the matter in Changmai Village is resolved, you have to come and help me."

Jier nodded and drank the Potion in one gulp.