Chapter 124: The True Value of the Blue-Scaled Beast!

Hearing this news, Gervas could no longer sit still; after finishing his egg custard, he grabbed a white loaf of bread, held it in his hand, and hurried toward the workshop on the side of the castle.

The blacksmith's forge and the carpenter's workshop were closest to the inner keep; since both carried low danger levels, Gervas often visited them in his daily life.

"My lord!"

"Master!"

"Everyone, rise. I heard the crossbows and the ballistae are already finished?"

"Yes, Master!"

Afterwards, the blacksmiths and carpenters first retrieved eleven newly forged crossbows from the warehouse, then led Gervas to the backyard behind the blacksmith's forge.

At that moment, the ballistae brought back from the sea ships lay quietly arranged in the backyard.

Only the base of the ballista had been replaced with a wooden frame equipped with four wheels.

This way, during war, the ballista could be moved at will; especially in open-field battles, pushing the ballista allowed it to advance and retreat alongside the infantry.

More importantly, a winch had been installed on the wooden frame of the ballista. With this winch and its cable, even a single ordinary person could draw the bowstring.

Of course, one person was an extreme case; Gervas currently planned for two people to operate the winch, one to reload, and one to aim and issue commands.

A total of four people formed one ballista team, with the person aiming serving as the team leader.

Under the blacksmiths' demonstration, Gervas witnessed the process of winding the bowstring with the winch; it was indeed extremely smooth.

"Very good. Chief Blacksmith Ruka, have you and the other carpenters and blacksmiths thoroughly studied the craftsmanship of this ballista?"

"My lord, we have basically confirmed all its craftsmanship. Combined with our experience with crossbows, if you grant us a little more time, we will surely make my lord satisfied!"

"Excellent! I look forward to you producing the very first ballista belonging to Storm Hold itself!"

Afterwards, Gervas bestowed rewards upon each craftsman.

The contributions of both the blacksmiths and the carpenters were significant, so the rewards were identical.

The only factor affecting the amount of the reward was the distinction between serf and slave status.

There was no other way; although Gervas very much wanted to treat everyone equally with a single bowl of water.

But if you truly did that, both serfs and slaves might begin to slack off.

Therefore, in this backward world where nobility reigned supreme, a certain degree of differential treatment was the key to making the subjects work hard.

"My lord!"

The reason the wizard's workshop was located farther from the inner keep was that the materials wizards experimented with all contained mana.

Moreover, wizards were a branch of mages, so they also preferred seclusion.

Assigning them to a quiet place was only natural.

Upon learning of Gervas's arrival, Isabella joyfully welcomed this lord into her room.

Since helping her break through last time, this lord had hardly come to find her.

This left Isabella feeling both disappointed and moved.

The disappointment naturally stemmed from the fact that she had received so many favors from Lord Gervas and certainly hoped to help Lord Gervas more.

The moved feeling came from the fact that this lord had given so much yet allowed her to remain idle to cultivate; he had truly taken her in out of pity for her.

Such a debt of gratitude, he Isabella could truly never repay.

"Wizard Isabella, I heard you extracted a concentrated liquid capable of aiding cultivation from the scales of the Blazing Blue-Scaled Sea Beast?"

"Yes, my lord. As long as it is a sea beast or magical beast containing mana, one can extract a concentrated liquid to aid cultivation!"

"However, in the past, most magical beasts or sea beasts contained their mana within their flesh and blood, so simply eating them sufficed."

"But according to what you said, the mana of this Blazing Blue-Scaled Sea Beast is contained within its scales, and once the beast's body is separated and damaged, it will explode!"

"After research, I have finally discovered a method to suppress its explosion!"

Immediately, Isabella explained her research findings to Gervas.

That was, as long as the scales were placed upon the flesh and blood of the Blazing Blue-Scaled Beast, they would not explode even if damaged!

Upon learning this method, Isabella could begin to boldly disassemble the armor of the Blue-Scaled Beast and extract its concentrated liquid.

Afterwards, Gervas saw the liquid, which appeared blue and transparent.

"My lord, every ten scales can yield one cup of this concentrated liquid, and the mana provided by one cup is equivalent to one jin of second-rank magical beast meat."

"Oh? Then wouldn't that mean obtaining an amount equivalent to basic Qi cultivation potions, and moreover, thousands of vials?"

"My lord, this concentrated liquid extracted from the scales is extremely pure; it indeed equals basic Qi cultivation potions. More accurately, there should be three thousand cups, because I have already counted; this Blazing Blue-Scaled Beast possesses around thirty thousand scales in total!"

Good heavens! Gervas exclaimed "Good heavens!"

It was not only because so much mana liquid for nourishment could be harvested, but also because of the recognition of Isabella's diligent work.

And these three thousand vials of 'basic Qi cultivation potions' were probably the greatest gain from scavenging the sea beast.

Gervas himself could naturally not finish all these potions, because even at one vial per day, it would take until ten years later to consume them all.

Moreover, this basic cultivation potion was effective only for those below the rank of Silver Knight.

Therefore, it could indeed be distributed daily to the knights to allow them to rapidly increase their strength.

"My lord, I can complete the extraction of about one hundred vials of the scales' liquid daily; it will take nearly a year to finish!"

"Isabella, do not be too anxious. Although the extraction must proceed, you must do so while ensuring you have sufficient time to cultivate!"

Isabella gently pressed her red lips, feeling moved once again.

Where could she know that Gervas, having witnessed the methods of capitalists in his past life, had already learned the rudiments?

Having grasped the personality of this wizard Isabella, the more she felt indebted, the harder she would work.

"Isabella, these concentrated liquids will be of great help to Storm Hold. You have rendered a tremendous service to Storm Hold. Tell me, what reward do you desire?"

The favor strike arrived; Isabella's gaze toward Gervas began to shimmer. "My lord, Isabella already owes you enough; no reward is needed!"

Gervas frowned slightly. "Then let the kitchen provide you with magical beast meat for nourishment for one week!"

Gervas's tone, which brooked no refusal, filled Isabella's heart with warmth.

Seeing that Gervas was preparing to leave, she suddenly remembered something.

"My lord, besides the concentrate, I also obtained these dangerous powders and wish to ask how you wish to dispose of them."

"Dangerous powders?" Gervas was stunned.

Afterwards, Isabella demonstrated in detail to Gervas just how dangerous they were.

A boom echoed through the side courtyard of the castle, and Gervas could not help but widen his eyes.

"My lord, although I extracted the vast majority of the mana, it was not one hundred percent, so these scale powders still contain about one-third of residual mana!"

"If ignited by fire, they will still explode!"

Good heavens! Gervas was straight-up good heavens.

Could this be considered a fantasy-world biological gunpowder?

After all that winding and turning, it turns out fantasy-world gunpowder grows on sea beasts!