Imperial Crown.

Chapter 244: One-time Poison Cloud Technique
That morning, the list of participants for the fifth round of the competition was announced, which immediately triggered a new round of heated discussions on the Tianying platform.

However, Raven did not participate in it. Instead, he left Eagle Town in a low profile and came to the Witch Academy in Annuo.

After greeting Xiao Mo at the door, Raven crossed the courtyard and went to a separate magic field at the back, where many magic plants about the height of a human calf were planted.

This is the magic-related incident that Raven needs to deal with.

Their shapes are quite unique, just like snails planted in the ground, with only their necks extending out, and the two horizontal branches are like the snail's eyes.

In addition to the shape, the color scheme is also impressive. The left side is light purple, and the right side is light green, which are clearly distinguished. The fruits produced are also two colors.

This is a first-level magic plant called "Twin Snake Face Fruit". Its growth cycle is about 3-5 years. Each time it can produce two different fruits. The light green one is called "Snake Head Fruit" and the light purple one is called "Snake Tongue Fruit".

Among them, snake head fruit is the main material of the first-level magic potion "Highly Toxic Gel", while snake tongue fruit can be used to refine "primary antidote", which is more effective against the toxin of snake head fruit.

Although the Magic Guild also sells this kind of magical plant, this batch of 347 plants was not purchased from the Magic Guild, but was collected by Raven when he chased the locust-headed bees to the Bloody Highlands two years ago.

The reason why they were placed here, instead of being planted next to the Eagle Castle like the pecans, was because of their special nature - after all, the fruit of this magical plant was poisonous, and large-scale planting would likely attract some gossip.

It’s better not to let the outside world find out.

The reason for planting this twin snake-faced fruit is related to Raven's planning and considerations for the construction of air power.

In this era, every country and every race has its own unique air force.

For example, the Keynes Empire mainly relies on the Hippogryph; the Insa Empire prefers the Scorpion Tailed Lion; the Church of Light domesticates the Bird of Paradise; the elves have Pegasus; the orcs have the two-headed Chimaera; the dwarves have the Iron Balloon...

But most of the time, wars are still dominated by ground forces. Unless it is a war at the level of annihilation of a country, it is difficult to assemble a large-scale air force.

Therefore, in addition to air defense capabilities, the main function of air forces is to help ground forces establish advantages.

The first thing Raven thought of was throwing objects from high altitude.

As long as the height is high enough, even an egg can be very lethal.

But unless there are tens of thousands of them, conventional weapons are unlikely to be very effective.

In a short period of time, let alone so many Wind Kings, even Raven couldn't produce the same number of Hippogryphs; even if he could produce them, he couldn't afford to raise them.

So Raven thought of a lethal potion, and a first-level potion that was easy to produce quickly.

The highly toxic gel made from snakehead fruit is one of them.

This potion has a long shelf life and can be stored for at least 5 years after it is made. It is also resistant to transportation. Unlike the "Fire Glue" of the same level, it is likely to explode at the slightest bump. Even if it leaks in the middle of the journey, it will not cause large-scale harm.

Moreover, the highly toxic gel has a wide splash range after landing on the ground, which is very lethal to ordinary soldiers wearing only cloth armor or no armor at all. It can also have a restrictive effect on units with armor. Even if it cannot kill immediately, it can destroy the formation, cause a large number of casualties, and put huge pressure on the opponent's logistics.

That's why Raven began to secretly grow the two-headed snake fruit on a large scale.

Strengthened by the Eye of Truth, the growth cycle of the Twin Snake Fruit was shortened to 8 months.

This batch is the product of three seed productions and can be harvested in two months at most. Raven came here to replenish the last batch of magic cores before they mature.

Raven tapped his brows with his fingers, and a silver light flashed in his eyes. The Eye of Truth was activated, and a hint of understanding flashed in his eyes: "It is true."

In fact, in the previous three breedings, as each round of fruit grew to the end, the thirst for elements would increase further.

The first time, the elements in one first-level magic core were enough to feed 1 twin snake-faced fruits; the second time, it became 10; and the third time, there were only 7.

Looking at it again this time, the element concentration in the first-level magic core alone may not be able to meet the needs of this magic plant.

This is a good thing.

Raven is looking forward to the results of this strengthening.

To strengthen the two-headed snake fruit, you need to use two magic cores with different attributes, namely corrosive poison and green wave.

With Raven's current mental power, he is already able to inject both elements into multiple magic plants at the same time when screening the essence of corrupted souls.

Under the guidance of spiritual power, the elements scattered in the air rushed into the twin snake-faced fruits frantically, and bits of light spread from the roots of these magic plants.

The originally flat roots began to bulge, and a part of them even appeared on the surface. The roots were messy and tangled, yet smooth and shiny, and if you looked closely, you could see snake-scale-like marks.

On both sides of the plant, the fruits began to swell and deform.

"What is this...?" Recently, when Raven was bored, he would always read books. He had a certain impression of most magical plants and minerals, but he had no idea about this changed magical plant.

He moved closer, carefully observing and comparing the magic plant before and after strengthening.

The most significant difference of the strengthened twin snake fruit, besides the thicker stem and root itself, is the fruit.

Before strengthening, the fruits, whether they are snake head fruits or snake tongue fruits, are spherical in shape, and even when ripe, they will have thick mucus on the surface.

Especially the green snake fruit, which is quite toxic, so you need to wear special gloves when picking it.

But after strengthening, the fruit not only becomes larger, but also has obvious distinction.

The snake head fruit really turned into a triangular snake head, and even the vertical pupils were lifelike; the snake tongue fruit became slender and forked at the tip, just like the tongue of a snake.

The surface is dry and smooth, without any trace of mucus.

"It is true." Raven's lips curled up into a smile.

With the experience of cultivating green peaches and kumquats, Lei Wen has accumulated a lot of experience related to magical plants.

Now he can basically be sure that the two-headed snake fruit has completed its ancestral state after four rounds of strengthening by himself.

So, what is so special about it, is it just that it is more toxic and has a stronger detoxification ability?
Using a handkerchief as a cushion, Raven gently picked a snake fruit, and the tender stem connected to the fruit immediately curled up like a small snake.

He put it to his nose and sniffed it. There was no strange smell, only a faint smell of grass. Raven tentatively touched it with his fingers, and there was no burning sensation.

"All the poison is trapped inside, so I can pick it with my bare hands?" If that were all, it would be a shame for all the effort Raven put into it.

And there is another question, how to test its efficacy? Can we try to make medicine with it?

Or should we call Xiao Mo over and let it test the poison on itself?

Putting this unreliable idea behind him, Raven weighed the fruit in his hand and suddenly noticed something was wrong.

As he moved, the dark green color inside the snakehead fruit showed obvious changes in light and dark, as if there was a cloud of thick smoke sealed inside the glass ball.

Otherwise... try it?
Raven moved away from the magic field, raised his hand and threw the snake head fruit out - nothing happened.

Fortunately, no one around saw it. Raven coughed awkwardly, picked it up, and this time aimed at a stone and smashed it down hard.

The fruit hit the edge of the stone, cracks appeared on the surface, and it exploded with a snap after falling to the ground!
In the blink of an eye, the area within a radius of 3 meters was filled with dark green smoke, and a sizzling sound could be heard from the smoke.

It was not until half an hour later that the thick cloud gradually dissipated.

Even with his mouth and nose covered with a handkerchief, he could still smell a sour and pungent smell when he approached. Raven even felt like crying. It was not until he ate a snake tongue fruit that he could approach without any burden.

Looking at the ground again, the originally vibrant green grass had become scorched and withered, the ground was littered with dead insects, as well as some mice and earthworms that had tried desperately to get out of the ground but ultimately failed to escape, and even a few innocent birds flying through the air.

"This power is no less than that of a first-level poison cloud spell," Raven exclaimed in amazement. "Although the range is a little limited, but..."

However, a twin snake fruit plant can produce 8-4 snake head fruits every 7 months.

Now Raven owns 347 twin snake fruit plants. Assuming that each plant produces 5.5 snake head fruits each time, on average, it can produce nearly 2900 fruits per year!
This is 2900 one-time poison cloud spells!

Indeed, the cost of each fruit, including the magic core, is approximately between 50 and 70 silver coins, which is more expensive than an iron sword.

You can hire a magician to cast a spell, but the price is much higher than this!

Moreover, the snake tongue fruit that grows at the same time can also resist the toxins of the snake head fruit - the wizard's magic cannot distinguish between friend and foe.

Not to mention, one atavistic snake fruit is enough to cover a 360-meter radius with 3 degrees without any blind spots. Even an iron can wearing full body armor will suffer burns to the eyes and respiratory tract.

Who needs toxic gel when you have this! ?
Raven clenched his fists and began to crush the magic cores. He wanted to strengthen all the twin snake-faced fruits in the magic field today!
At the same time, Eric returned to the barracks after looking at the new round of lists.

He ordered his personal soldiers not to let anyone disturb him even if the sky fell, then he went into the tent and took out a dark object from his pocket.

When placed on the table, the four legs of the wooden round table clearly spread outward and made a creaking sound under the weight. It was obvious that this thing was very heavy.

It was a palm-sized piece of metal as thick as a gold coin, with an uneven surface, like a piece of iron pot that had been used for a long time and thrown in the wild to be exposed to wind and rain.

But if you look closely, you will find that this piece of metal has distinct layers, as if dozens of layers were pressed together, and the texture of each layer is different. It is hard to imagine how it is fitted together.

This is exactly the third-level magic ore "Magic Pattern Iron".

Even if equipment is cast with ordinary steel, as long as a proper amount of this material is added, its properties can be greatly improved, allowing it to withstand third-level enchantments.

Therefore, this palm-sized piece alone is worth 5700 gold coins!
Although Eric now has his own territory, and it is not far from Eagle Town, which can be considered wealthy, his annual income is only around 80-110 gold coins.

This piece of magic iron is equivalent to the net revenue of his territory for more than 60 years!

And it is the necessary raw material for the iron fighting spirit to break through to the third level.

This is the most intuitive proof of the invisible barrier between knights and barons.

If a baron grits his teeth and saves for seven, eight, or even ten years, he can always buy some materials, but it is impossible for a knight to do so on his own!
If Raven hadn't bought it for him, Eric would never have been able to break through to the third level in his lifetime!

Eric took off his armor, leaving only a layer of inner clothing, then sat on the camp bed, holding the magic-patterned iron tightly in his hand.

In order to break through to the third level, in addition to raising your fighting spirit to the second level and ten stars, there are three more steps.

First, the corresponding elements in the breakthrough material are introduced into the body.

Secondly, use Dou Qi to absorb the elements in this material.

Finally, take the initiative to extinguish the fighting spirit seed, and use this new fighting spirit to relight the fire!
This process is undoubtedly extremely dangerous, but it is a hurdle that must be overcome.

Before meeting Raven, Eric had never thought that he could be promoted to the second level in his lifetime, let alone the third level.

So at this moment he had no fear or hesitation in his heart, only the courage to move forward.

If he succeeds, he will truly become one of the strongest people in the Nord Province and compete with a group of third-level people for the championship of the competition.

Defeat... is just going back to the starting point!
Eric took a deep breath, and the fighting spirit in his body swelled up. Amidst the flashes of silver light, it madly poured into his palm, cutting and grinding the magic iron, absorbing the rich and heavy steel element from it!
Elements flowed into Eric's wrist, and sharp fighting spirit burst out, cutting his clothes into pieces. Silver lines as dense as hair appeared under his skin, and continued to flow and converge inward, dyeing his entire palm silver.

Eric gritted his teeth and mobilized all his fighting spirit, biting the steel element madly, fusing it with his own fighting spirit and turning them into one!
The steel element spread to Eric's elbows and then his shoulders, making Eric's arms seem as if they were cast in steel.

This process is much more difficult than the promotion to the second level. Once the elements are absorbed, it is irreversible. If you stop halfway, the best outcome is to become disabled forever.

However, if the affinity with the elements is not enough and the fighting spirit cannot quickly absorb the elements, then Eric will be devoured by the elements and become a metal statue!
The steel element continued to spread, and finally when it was about to approach Eric's heart, it reached a balance with the efficiency of absorbing fighting spirit and stopped spreading.

This level is finally passed.

As time passed, the sun set, the moon rose and set again, until the dawn, Eric's skin returned to its original color, and the magic iron in his hand turned into a pile of debris.

Next, it’s the final step.

Eric calmed down and focused all his energy on the fire under his lower abdomen. That was the source of fighting spirit in a knight's body, bound to all the vitality of a fighting spirit user!
Eric clenched his teeth and let out a low roar. The fire in his lower abdomen suddenly stagnated, and then exploded.

The silver-colored steel fighting spirit swelled up instantly, cutting the camp bed under him into fine powder, and then turned into a steel tornado, continuously spreading and cutting outwards, wrapping up the entire tent!
The personal soldiers who were on duty outside the tent were shocked by this scene and fled instinctively, but the swords and weapons in their hands were sucked into it one after another. Once they rushed into the tornado, they were cut into pieces and exploded into dust.

It wasn't until half an hour later that Link, Simon, and even Volaf, who was on vacation, rushed over, and the steel tornado finally stopped.

In the ruins, the ground was covered with a thick layer of metal debris.

In the middle of the debris, Eric, dressed in iron, sat on the ground, silent.

……

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　　thanksgiving
　　I have a little more to add, but I can't come, brother, please take your time to reward...

　　……

　　
　
(End of this chapter)