Heir to the Kingdom of 1.4 billion people

Chapter 149 The Power of the True Dragon, Ice Crystal Flower, and the Talkative Witch

Red Fox Castle, reception room.

A huge crystal chandelier hangs from the ceiling, and the candlelight refracts dazzlingly through the transparent crystals.

There was a roaring fire in the fireplace, the crackling of logs and the fragrance of pine.

Bea cautiously stepped inside. He looked at the figure on the sofa, bowed deeply, and knelt on one knee.

“O great sage, whose blessings shine like the crimson fire that once adorned the entire Southern Realm, and whose brilliance shines like the morning star, your humble servant Bea William comes to pay homage to you,” he proclaimed in the most humble of tones.

"Get up."

A slightly familiar voice reached her ears, and Bea slowly raised her head.

Under his expectant gaze, the sage sitting on the sofa revealed his true appearance—a handsome young man with black hair.

Wait, this looks familiar. Could it be?!
The next moment, Bea's face drained of color, turning as pale as freshly washed linen, with large beads of sweat constantly pouring from his forehead.

He recognized the sage he served as the one who had ordered his servants to beat him after their altercation at the Nightshade Tavern.

Good heavens, I just pledged my allegiance and found that I have completely offended my lord. Is there any servant in the world more miserable than me?

You seem very nervous.

Xia Mingyu looked at the pale-faced, trembling young man in front of him and asked softly.

"My lord, I was unaware of your identity at the Nightingale Tavern and was disrespectful to you. I deserve to die a thousand deaths!"

"Bea said in a trembling voice, pressing his forehead tightly to the floor, his back even bent into a semi-circle."

"How did your father, Lord Beren, die?"

Xia Mingyu remained silent for a moment, not responding, but instead raising another question.

"A while ago, a crazed named monster came to our territory and killed many of our people. My father led the knights to fight it in order to protect our people and was seriously injured. Although the named monster was later lured away by Lords Roy and Roland, he still died from his injuries."

Bea dared not be negligent and immediately answered respectfully.

When he spoke of his father's death, a hint of sadness inevitably crept into his voice.

"Your father was undoubtedly a great lord who died for the people, and I have great respect for him."

Recalling the old man who presented little Hayden with a bouquet of forget-me-nots at the baby's honor ceremony, Xia Mingyu said with deep emotion.

The person I met not long ago is now dead. Life is so fragile!
“Bea, I hope you will not disappoint your father’s honor and become a lord who, like him, knows how to cherish his people.”

Xia Mingyu pressed on the shoulder of the young man in front of him.

He knew that if he said a few more words now, the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in William's territory would be better in the future.

"As you command, my lord."

Although Bea still felt a little sadness, her body had relaxed considerably.

He knew that his lord would let him pass this time out of consideration for his father's honor.

“Raise your head. I think you must also be wondering why your father ordered you to be loyal to me before he died. Now I will tell you the answer.”

Xia Mingyu slowly removed the Spark of Fire ring, and the deep purple text appeared—1409670292, Heir to the Kingdom of the People.

"Ahhh!"

The moment Bea looked up and saw the protective aura of her identity, she felt as if her eyes were about to be blinded.

He finally understood why his father had done this; he was not only a competent lord, but also the best father in the world!

A moment later, Bea walked out of the reception room in a daze.

On the one hand, his mind was still reeling from the shock of the 1.4 billion blessing.

On the other hand, before leaving, his lord advised him not to go looking for Damien again, but to find a wife honestly so that the William family line would not end. His lord was even willing to act as a matchmaker for him.

Waaaaah, my beloved Damien, it looks like I really have to leave you this time!

Bea thought with immense sadness.

Meanwhile, after he left the reception room, Karen, who had been waiting outside the door, went inside.

“Your Highness, I have completed my mission. I have witnessed the execution of villains in all the viscount territories of the Southern Territory, ensuring that no innocent person suffers an undeserved calamity.”

Karen knelt on one knee, looked at the black-haired youth she hadn't seen in a long time, and said loudly.

"Thank you for your hard work, Karen."

Abandoning his previous seriousness in front of Bea, Xia Mingyu smiled and helped Karen up, pulling him to sit on the sofa with him.

“Your Highness, I have heard about the Twilight Tea incident. Those damned Clay merchants are as evil and greedy as ever. I am sorry that I was unable to offer my meager assistance to you at that time, which put you in a dangerous situation.”

After exchanging pleasantries, Karen apologized.

For whatever reason, it is undoubtedly a sin for a servant to be absent from his master's side when he is in danger.

"It's alright, you're just following my orders," Xia Mingyu said calmly.

"Thank you for your forgiveness. Besides that, there is something else I would like to report to you."

A moment later, a maid carried a wooden box into the reception room.

Click.

When the box was opened, a head was revealed, its features as if they had been wiped off, and its face was almost completely flat.

It had no hair, not even the texture of skin, and looked like a piece of parchment swollen from being soaked in water, carelessly pasted onto the skull.

"Ugh." Looking at this disgusting scene, Xia Mingyu felt a wave of nausea rising in his stomach, and he wanted to throw up everything he had eaten for lunch.

"Quick, close the box."

Seeing that His Highness's expression was not right, Karen hurriedly ordered the maid to close the wooden box.

“Your Highness, this is the assassin who attacked Roy Roland and his group after they killed the named magical beast. He is a demon hunter and is indeed very strong. Even I had to rely on a combined attack with Blacktail to barely kill him,” Karen explained.

“Your Highness, judging from his strange, faceless appearance, I suspect he is a specially trained assassin.”

Upon hearing this, Xia Mingyu fell into deep thought.

It is obvious that from the inexplicable appearance of the crazed, named monster in William's territory to the Clay merchant Ekus and the faceless assassin who brought the Twilight Tea, this series of events is definitely a conspiracy specifically targeting the Southern Territory.

There are very few forces in the entire Sosia capable of cultivating Crescent-ranked Witchers, and even transforming them into Faceless Ones.

"Has that Gluttonous King, who is so high and mighty, finally reached his limit intolerant of the troublesome Southern Territory?"

Xia Mingyu immediately thought of the Gluttonous King. After all, if the other party's goal was to create famine in Sosia, then the Southern Territory, which was the only place in the country with abundant food, was undoubtedly a thorn in his side.

The moment he came to this conclusion, Xia Mingyu felt a heavy sense of urgency. Even though he had already been promoted to Morning Star with the dual blessings of status and profession, and had a group of companions with outstanding talents and unique strengths, he was still far too insignificant in front of the Gluttonous King, who possessed a dragon.

In this world, dragons aren't as weak as they are in Earth's fantasy novels, labeled with difficulties in reproduction, being five-colored evil dragons, or being hunted by dragon slayers, etc.
Here, the true dragon is the undisputed symbol of the strongest military power, second only to the gods.

Every true dragon is born from the world; there are almost no examples of them being born from flesh and blood.

Even if a dragon is born from the offspring of two true dragons, it cannot be called a true dragon; it can only be called a false dragon.

From the moment of their birth, true dragons are given names by the world, such as Valgalon and Ignio.
The reason why True Dragons are associated with the word "strongest" is that every True Dragon can naturally advance to the seventh rank, the Sun Wheel rank, over time.

It should be noted that even throughout the entire history of humankind, very few people have been able to advance to the seventh rank. They are all world-renowned heroes, founding monarchs, top magicians, or great heroes of the age of gods.

In other words, the upper limit of humanity, and even most intelligent races, is only the lower limit of a true dragon.

In addition, due to their enormous size, often starting at hundreds of meters, and their destructive dragon flames, true dragons of the same rank are far more destructive than any humanoid race.

If a fully grown dragon so desires, it can turn a city-state with a population of one million into a boiling inferno in just a few minutes.

The most important reason why the three kingdoms of Sosia, Milan, and Rhine became major human powers on the western continent was that they all possessed a true dragon.

Sosia's "Molten Gold Fire" Vargalon, Milan's "Sky Thunder" Sollira, and Rhine's "Hellfire Sin" Ignio.

These three true dragons each possessed the feat of single-handedly destroying armies of hundreds of thousands, enabling the three kingdoms to rely on the power of the true dragons to sustain their rule for hundreds of years, even if occasionally a foolish monarch like the Gluttonous King were to emerge.

Anyway, there's always a dragon to back you up.

Xia Mingyu suspected that this was precisely why the Gluttonous King was able to devise such a heinous policy as a food tax without fear of being guillotined.

“Your Highness, to ensure your safety, I will stay at Red Fox Castle for the time being.” Karen’s words brought him out of his reverie.

"Little Hayden has just been born. Aren't you going to spend more time with him and watch him grow up?"

"What a child needs most is a more honorable father. He will understand me when he grows up."

Karen smiled slightly.

What if I don't understand it later?
Give him a beating!

Where do you think that "Son of the King" blessing on your head came from? It was something your father had to work hard to earn!

Tsk, you have to fight them early, otherwise you probably won't be able to beat them when they grow up.

After Karen left, Yud, sporting dark circles under his eyes, laboriously carried a box to the location.

"Your Highness, here is the potion you requested. I guarantee its effects will not disappoint you," Yud said confidently, wiping the sweat from his brow.

"Thank you for your hard work, Yud. I'm really looking forward to it."

As Xia Mingyu answered, he opened the box expectantly, revealing a box full of light blue liquid.

This is a magic potion that Yud worked through the night to create after he asked Yud if there was a potion that could quickly restore magic power. It can not only help magicians and other Morning Star warriors to quickly restore their magic power, but also help beginners to successfully meditate and feel magic power.

Without the slightest hesitation, he picked up a bottle of potion, uncorked it, and drank it down in an instant.

The taste was surprisingly good; it felt like drinking Genki Forest beverage on Earth.

And the moment the potion went down his throat, Xia Mingyu clearly felt a cool sensation coming from his head, which had been foggy from exhausting his magic power these past few days, making him feel much more relaxed.

"The effect is very good, but..." Xia Mingyu frowned slightly. He could feel that his magical power had only recovered less than one-tenth.

"Sage, what is it?" Yud asked nervously.

"I need about fifteen bottles to fully restore my magic power," Xia Mingyu estimated, looking at the box full of potions in front of him.

He initially thought this box of potions was quite a lot, but now it seems it's only enough for him to recover his magic once or twice, and that's assuming there's no drug resistance.

“My lord, after all, you have too much magic power in your body. If it were a normal-quality magic potion on the market, I'm afraid even thirty bottles wouldn't be enough to fully restore your magic power,” Yud said helplessly, spreading his hands.

Thirty bottles. How many times a day must he go to the restroom!
Xia Mingyu's mouth twitched, feeling it was necessary to improve the quality of the magic potion.

Otherwise, his kidneys might have already developed problems before enough food was produced.

"Is there any way to make the magic power restored by a single bottle of potion even higher?" Xia Mingyu asked.

Upon hearing this, Yude fell into deep thought. He opened the potion book he carried with him and looked at it for a long time before giving his answer.

“My sage, I think I have reached the limit in terms of the technique of concocting magic potions. If I want to improve the quality of the potions, I can only start with the medicinal materials.”

"The core ingredient of the magic potion is the Ice Crystal Flower, a flower that only grows in extremely cold environments, and its medicinal properties will quickly diminish once it leaves the extremely cold environment."

“Even with your reputation, the ice crystal flowers I use to prepare the potion are of the best quality in the entire Twilight City, yet they only contain 40% of the full medicinal properties.”

“If I can obtain the Ice Crystal Flower with its full medicinal properties, I am confident that I can more than double the quality of the magic potion,” Yude said.

However, after giving this answer, a sense of helplessness couldn't help but show on his face.

After all, once the traveling merchants picked the Ice Crystal Flower in the North, they immediately put it into a specially made ice cave and rushed to Dusk City, but only 40% of its medicinal properties could be preserved.

To obtain the complete medicinal properties, he would probably have to live in the Northern Territory and refine it immediately after picking the Ice Crystal Flower.

Ice Crystal Flower. Xia Mingyu recalled that when he traveled to the Northern Territory with Dorothy, he seemed to have seen a small flower with petals resembling ice crystals in the snow. At the time, he had praised the flower for its beauty.

He took Yud's potion book, looked at the picture on it, and confirmed that the small flower was indeed the Ice Crystal Flower.

If you pick the Ice Crystal Flower in the North and put it in the Link Space, and then take it out in Dusk City, will it retain its complete medicinal properties?

"Yode, I'll figure out a way to deal with the Ice Crystal Flower. You should go back and get some sleep. Thank you for your hard work."

Looking at Youde, who was turning from a monkey into a panda, Xia Mingyu felt a pang of conscience. He took out a few silver sols from his pocket and gently put them into Youde's pocket.

"It is my greatest honor and joy to work for you. Please continue to use me as you see fit!" Yud replied.

After silently watching him leave, Xia Mingyu returned to his bedroom, lay down on the soft bed, and covered himself with the blanket.

"Spark Link, Activate."

In an instant, my consciousness spun around.

north.

On the boundless snowfield, a blue-haired, blue-eyed knight girl walked side by side with a pale-haired woman.

However, the knight girl seemed somewhat resistant to the woman, always quietly creating distance, only to be immediately caught up by the woman with a smile and affectionately hugging her arm.

"Little Dorothy, where are we going?"

"Wow, these clip-on earrings are so pretty! Who gave them to you?"

"Little Dorothy, do you have a guy you like? Tell me and I'll help you choose. Also, aren't you worried that wearing such tight clothes will affect your breast development?"

Dorothy listened to the witch's incessant questions, her mind buzzing, and for a moment she even felt an urge to draw her sword and kill her.

(End of this chapter)