Imperial Crown

Like all noble castles, Eagle Castle certainly has its own dungeon, but because the security in Eagle Town has been good in recent years, it has been vacant for a long time.

And here, it has become Raven's most ideal experimental place.

Volaf and Mosingan were already waiting here, and their things had been delivered. When they saw Raven arriving, they all saluted: "Lord Baron!"

"Well, thank you for your hard work." Raven nodded in return: "Everyone, please go out. Unless you have my order, no one is allowed to come in, no matter what the sound is, and no one is allowed to come in."

"Yes, sir!" The two of them exited the door, and the room quickly became quiet.

As a dungeon, the area here is not small. There are six independent small cells with straw on the floor, each of which can accommodate four prisoners.

There was a large cell at the end, enough to hold a dozen people. If it were forced into the cell, dozens of people wouldn't be able to fit in. The only live pig was thrown in there with its limbs tied up with ropes.

"Mossingan, does he think I'm going to chase a live pig?" Raven shook his head and chuckled, looking at the table, where there was a black lacquered wooden box.

Open the box cover, and the crystal-clear magic core like a gem is revealed, emitting colorful light.

Raven opened the Eyes of Truth, and the essence of power contained in each magic core was clearly revealed at this moment.

Dark red represents the power of blood, silver represents the power of steel, blue represents the power of ice, bright red represents the power of fire, azure represents the power of storm, dark yellow represents the power of earth, and bright yellow represents the power of yellow sand. Power, emerald green represents the power of nature.

Each type ranges from two to three.

What surprised Raven the most was that there was a magic core with light attribute in it - this attribute was not common among Warcraft.

His fingers touched the surface of the magic core, and he could clearly see it through the Eyes of Truth. The energy contained in it was like a baby bird waiting for food, close to his fingers.

After stopping for a moment in front of the silver-white magic core that represented the power of steel, Raven still clenched the dark red magic core that represented the power of blood.

Today's main goal is of course to test the effect of the magic core on living creatures other than Raven himself, but before that, Raven wants to know if there is a limit to the power of the magic core that he can absorb, and what the limit is.

The bloody magic core of the same nature is of course safer.

"Huh..." Taking a deep breath, Raven tightened his grip on the magic core and threw it to the ground.

The strength of Raven's body, which had been strengthened by two magic cores, was far beyond that of ordinary people. The strength of this move was also great. The magic core fell to the ground and exploded into debris all over the sky, and dark red energy smoke flowed away.

"Come!"

Raven used the power of the Eye of Truth and worked hard to pull the energy within it.

But unlike the previous two times, this time, only about one-third of the mist floated to Raven's side and poured into his eyebrows.

The feeling of pain, numbness, and itching came again. At this moment, Raven felt that his whole body was swollen, and his skin felt burning and itchy. When he raised his hand and looked carefully, even the blood vessels in his palm were clearly visible.

In a daze, Raven saw something flashing through his mind, but it had no specific shape.

He stood there without daring to move. It was not until more than ten minutes passed that the scarlet smoke in the air dissipated, and the blood vessels floating on Raven's body gradually disappeared, and a feeling of extreme fullness filled his body.

"Two first-level magic cores are the limit that I can absorb at present?" Raven spread his palms and pressed lightly, and he could clearly see the tense muscles on each finger: "Or is it only limited to blood? The magic core of power?”

Jumping with his fingers on the magic crystal, Raven selected a magic core containing the power of the storm and smashed it on the ground.

A breeze blew up for no apparent reason in the airtight dungeon, and sky-blue smoke filled the air. However, no matter how Raven activated the power of the Eye of Truth, he could not let it enter his body. Even if the mist was close to his eyebrows, he could not let it enter his body. Still can't get in.

Raven was not discouraged, and dropped one more fire, earth, ice, steel, yellow sand, and natural magic core one after another, and finally stopped on the light magic core.

"It seems to have nothing to do with the properties of the magic core. Two first-level magic cores are the limit that I can bear at present." Raven rubbed his fingers: "Then what is limiting me? It's because of the first-level magic core. Is this all I can do, or is it because I’m not extraordinary yet and can’t absorb more?”

Raven kept this doubt in mind. If he wanted to verify it, he could only wait until he became a mage, or obtain a second-level or higher magic core.

"Mage." Raven's eyes flashed with anticipation: "I don't know if a potion can succeed..."

Not to mention the second-level god-given potion, even the third-level one does not guarantee that a person will be able to awaken successfully. There is a probability.

That’s two thousand gold coins!

"Forget it, it's useless to think too much. If you have the time, you might as well think about how to make more money." Raven clenched his fists: "If a potion fails, then just use money to smash yourself into a Master!"

"Ouch——"

Perhaps because he spoke too loudly, the pig in the cell kicked its legs and let out a howl.

Raven laughed dumbly: "Even if you praise me, I can't let you go today."

As he spoke, he took out another bloody magic core and walked to the door of the cage where the live chickens were "incarcerated".

Two chickens, one male and one female, were tied by their feet and thrown to the ground, their four eyes staring blankly.

"It's time for you to dedicate yourself to my great cause."

With a bang, the magic core shattered on the ground, scarlet smoke filled the air, and two pairs of chickens and ducks began to scream uneasily.

Raven pressed his hand between his eyebrows and felt an invisible force leaving his body, gathering the mist together. He gathered the mist and poured it into the two poultry in front of him little by little.

As the mist seeped into the body bit by bit, the appearance of the two poultry changed at a strange speed.

The feathers are getting thicker and longer, and the color gradually turns black. The originally dark eyes are gradually filled with blood, and even reveal something - ferocious!

Suddenly, the rooster raised his head and pecked at the hen next to him. The feathers flew up and blood burst out.

The outline of the comb on the hen's head, which could barely be seen clearly, suddenly became filled with blood and became larger than an ordinary person's slap. It was pecked back mercilessly!

At this moment, the mist poured into their bodies is less than one-eighth of the total amount!

Raven withdrew the power of the Eye of Truth and wanted to stop this indoctrination, but the mist in the air continued to flow into the two poultry bodies as if it had a life of its own.

At this moment, Raven could clearly see that the violent energy began to move crazily as soon as it poured into their bodies, constantly integrating into their internal organs, texture and bones.

The rooster suddenly opened its mouth. The beak that should have been extremely smooth turned out to be covered with barb-like granules. Just when it wanted to attack the hen again, there was only a click and a thick blood vessel. It broke the bones, tore the skin, and brought out a beating heart.

The chicken's heart is usually only the size of a thumb, but now it had swelled like a walnut and exploded with a pop, and blood rushed out from all over its body.

Ten seconds later, the hen followed the same path.

What's even more weird is that even though they are dead, their bodies are still growing wildly under the erosion of the scarlet mist, and they soon turn into two puddles of broken and rotten flesh.

"Okay now, you don't have to chop the stuffing to make dumplings." Lei Wen laughed to himself and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead: "Fortunately, it was used on animals first. If it was used directly on humans, I'm afraid I would have to Not to be burned at the stake."

"Is it a problem with the bloody energy itself?" Raven's eyes focused on the two rabbits tied together.

The two little guys seemed to feel the impending fate, and they tried their best to shrink towards the corner. Unfortunately, one went east and the other went west, using the wrong force.

Raven walked to the box, selected a natural magic core that was least likely to go wrong, and walked to the cage.

The shadow instantly covered the two helpless little rabbits.

Ten minutes later, looking at the broken fur and flesh on the ground, Raven sighed helplessly: "It still doesn't work."

This time he tried to stop the fog from continuing to flow in after pulling, but unfortunately, he felt exhausted after just stopping it for a while.

"Maybe this is what the mages call the consumption of 'spiritual power'."

Then what happened to the two fowls happened again to the rabbit.

But it was not without gain. At least he knew that the properties of magic cores did not affect their effects on living creatures, at least not on the surface.

"Then...it's you in the end!" Holding a magic core with a storm attribute, Raven came to the side of the live pig.

This pig was specially selected by Mosingan. Although it is incomparable with the big guy in the previous life who weighed several hundred kilograms or even hundreds of kilograms, it can be said to be fat and strong, with pink-white skin. Patterns of black and white.

The pig's physique is similar to that of a human. If it can bear it, then ordinary soldiers can also bear it!

After smashing the demonic core to the ground and smashing it into pieces, Raven guided the azure energy into the body of the second senior brother.

Compared to chickens and rabbits, which weigh only a few kilograms at most, this animal absorbs energy extremely quickly. In just ten seconds, all the energy in the air is absorbed.

If he hadn't seen the energy filling its body, Raven would have thought he was dazzled.

Ten seconds later, the energy in its body suddenly began to dissipate, and the spotted pig in front of it also underwent amazing changes!

It was clearly a sow, but four fangs protruded from its lips. The originally black and white skin turned into a terrifying blue-gray color, and the originally transparent bristles turned black and grew longer, as if they were It was covered with a thick layer of armor.

Its eyes were filled with bloodshot eyes, and crazy killing intent exploded. Its muscles and bones suddenly grew stronger at this moment, and the whole pig grew twice as big in an instant!

collapse--

The ropes that bound its limbs swept away the straw and broke. The animal stood up from the ground, opened its mouth and let out a howl: "Ouch——"

As early as the change occurred, Raven was prepared and retreated ten meters away. At this moment, he immediately raised the crossbow and pulled the trigger against its eye socket.

The crossbow string mixed with star iron suddenly tightened, and the crossbow arrow flashing with light green light pierced the air. It suddenly squeezed its wide-open right eye and sank deeply into it.

This was already a blow that was enough to damage the brain, but it failed to stop the spotted pig. Instead, it aroused its ferocity even more. It arched its body, knocked open the cell door, and charged towards Raven.

Four iron hooves stepped on the ground, causing stone chips to fly on the hard granite floor!

Raven didn't panic. He touched his belt and a loaded crossbow appeared in his hand.

He knelt down, took the crossbow with flat ends in both hands, aimed at the eyebrows of this crazy domestic animal, and pulled the trigger!

Whoosh——

The power of the crossbow was much greater than that of a hand crossbow. The slender enchanted crossbow arrow pierced the animal's eyebrows almost as soon as it bounced off the track!

This fatal blow immediately destroyed its nerve center, and it fell to the ground with a stiff hooves, but its body continued to slide on the ground with inertia.

Raven put away the crossbow and stepped aside. With a bang, the animal's body hit the wall and finally stopped.

"What a strength!" Raven looked at the broken rope on the ground and saw the fat body. He sighed, and then smiled bitterly: "Is this considered a success or a failure?"

He couldn't tell now whether it was the stimulation of the energy in the demon core that made the animal go crazy, or whether it was because it had the power and wanted to break free.

Still have to try more.

Walking in front of the flowered pig, Raven stepped on the pig's shoulder and wanted to pull out the crossbow arrow, but he didn't pull it out.

"Eh?" After being stunned for a moment, Raven no longer tried his best, but turned the pig over, picked up a torch and came closer, a look of surprise gradually appeared in his eyes.

He placed the torch on the ground, took out the enchanted stabbing sword, cut a cross into the pigskin around the crossbow and peeled it open, a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth: "That's true!"

Under the light of the fire, Raven could clearly see the hard and thick pigskin around the wound, which was nearly two centimeters long and had a tough and tight texture. It was it that caught the arrow shaft.

Not only that, its bones are much thicker than those of an ordinary live pig.

If it were an ordinary animal, this enchanted crossbow arrow would be enough to penetrate the skull. But at this time, the crossbow arrow could only barely penetrate the skull. Only a small section of less than an inch entered the brain, and it was still stuck firmly. among.

However, the hand crossbow arrow that was shot into its eye socket was stuck in the bones around its eye socket and failed to penetrate the brain at all.

"This is almost a complete monster." Raven pursed his lips, dragged the body, threw it on the table, and began to dissect it. As expected, no magic core was found.

"In other words, the power of the demonic core was completely absorbed by this animal, giving it a physique that is not inferior to that of an ordinary first-order demonic beast. This may be called 'semi-demonic transformation'."

As his fingers stroked the skin of the half-demonic monster, Raven revealed a smile: "Although I can't use the magic core to strengthen others for the time being, this leather is a good thing. I can be regarded as accidentally hitting the passenger side."

The leather of Warcraft is very tough. Even the fur of a first-level Warcraft, after tanning, is a very good armor material. Although it is not as good as ordinary chain armor, its advantage lies in its weight.

A set of full-body chain armor weighs at least twenty kilograms, but a set of Warcraft leather armor only weighs about five kilograms, but has two-thirds of the former's protective capabilities.

Even with the physical fitness of Raven's private soldiers, it is okay to stand guard every day while wearing chain armor, but it is unrealistic to travel long distances. Most armored units in this world use horse-drawn carriages to pull their armor. When fighting, Only then will they be put on to ensure the physical strength of the soldiers.

But if you switch to Warcraft leather armor, you can take into account the issues of marching and combat, greatly increasing the marching speed without reducing the combat effectiveness too much.

On the market, a set of first-level Warcraft leather armor sells for about 22 to 30 gold coins, while chain armor ranges from 36 to 55 gold coins.

But the average price of a first-level magic crystal is less than 4 gold coins.

The fur of a half-monster pig is enough to make a set of monster leather armor, and the pig skin is basically kitchen scraps. The remaining meat on its body can still be eaten, so it is not considered a cost at all!

"This means... I can obtain monster leather armor at one-fifth or even one-sixth of the price in the world, and I can also sell it for profit!" Raven opened his mouth in excitement: "Even at the lowest price, there is four times the profit margin."

Four times!

Holding his hand on the table, Raven quickly calmed down: "But the sudden large-scale import of magic cores is a bit..."

Gazing across the fat pig on the table, Raven suddenly had a flash of inspiration: "By the way, there is also you, my Uncle Donald!"

"My uncle was addicted to 'magic' and ruined the family business. It shouldn't be surprising that my nephew would do the same thing, right?"

With a smile, Raven's eyes fell on the box containing the magic cores, where there were still ten magic cores left.

"Come in!"

Raven shouted loudly, and a few seconds later, Volaf and Mosingan walked in.

Their eyes fell on the pig on the table, and their eyes were full of doubts - is this thing really the one we brought in?

Raven didn't want to explain to them: "Move this pig out, collect the leather and tan it, be sure to keep it properly, and then bring me five more... no, ten live pigs!"

The two soldiers looked at each other in confusion, but of course they had no choice but to obey the Baron's order: "Yes! Your Majesty!"

Raven walked out of the dungeon and came to Old Gordon's room. Fili hadn't left yet at this time. When he saw Raven, he stood up immediately: "Sir, are you satisfied with the magic core?"

"Very good, you put your heart into it." Raven patted him on the shoulder: "There are new tasks for you next."

Feili felt a stone fall in his heart and nodded: "Sir, if I can do it, I will definitely do it for you!"

Raven said: "First-order magic core, from now on, you have full authority to act as my agent to purchase unlimited quantities. As long as the premium does not exceed 20%, I can get as much as I want!"

"Lord Baron, are you sure you want to do this?" Fili asked cautiously.

"Lord Baron, you must not do this!" Old Gordon stood up and said hurriedly: "Baron Donald wasted his family fortune because he was addicted to magic. What you are doing is really..."

"No need to say more, I have made up my mind!" Raven waved his hand to interrupt Old Gordon's words, and turned to look at Fili: "Also, I need five second-level magic cores. They don't need to be too expensive. They have common attributes. Just fine.”

He was stunned by Raven's words. Even if it was a normal transaction, he could get at least thirty silver coins in profit from one magic core. If he bought it in unlimited quantities, that would be a rolling source of wealth!

"Didn't you hear?" Raven's slightly dissatisfied voice sounded.

"I heard, I, I'll do it right away!" Fili bowed and saluted, and then hurried away under the eyes of old Gordon who wanted to eat people.

"Mr. Gordon, every time Fili brings a magic core, you will pay him a payment, which can be used from the emergency fund." Raven said: "When the payment for the second batch of Angel Tears comes, You add it again.”

"Yes, Lord Baron..." Old Gordon responded weakly, letting out a deep sigh deep in his heart.

I thought that Baron Raven would be different from Baron Donald, but I didn't expect that only three months later, his true self would emerge.

Not wanting to shock old Gordon too much, but unable to tell him the secret of the Eye of Truth, Raven could only console him: "Don't worry, Mr. Gordon, I promise, you will see my results in the future."

"Yes..." Gordon's answer was still weak.

After all, Donald said so before.

As old Gordon lamented day after day, time passed quickly.

In the blink of an eye, it was September 2, 1193 of the Bright Calendar, and 41 days had passed since Raven returned to Eagle Town.

The construction of Linhe Workshop has come to an end, and most of the buildings are just short of capping.

And Raven's research progress on the magic core is also increasing day by day.

He discovered that if a first-level magic core was used on two live pigs at the same time, although they would also become mad, the degree of semi-monster transformation would be lower, and their combat power would be weaker, but the quality of the fur would not be affected.

Once it reaches more than three heads, the quality of the fur will decline rapidly, and the gain outweighs the loss.

If one magic crystal is used on more than five live pigs at the same time, the degree of strengthening will be greatly reduced, and the extent of their madness will be greatly reduced, but the aggressiveness will still be much stronger than that of ordinary domestic pigs.

If the number is expanded to eight, then the degree of enhancement will become minimal. It will only be slightly stronger than the ordinary kind, but the aggressiveness will still be very strong.

No matter how many there are, the same is true. Domestic pigs affected by the magic core will more or less mutate in temperament. This has also made Raven never dare to try the same experiment on his own people.

This morning, in the conference room, Old Gordon persuaded: "Sir, is it time to stop the acquisition of magic cores? In the past month or so, a full 113.57 gold coins have been spent on magic cores."

"Hasn't the second batch of Angel's Tears repayment already arrived?" Raven asked.

Old Gordon began to pour out his bitterness: "But since last month, we have already had to repay the monthly loan of 179.6 gold coins, and this time the repayment from Angel's Tears is only 257.4 gold coins, plus you ordered again Two alchemy equipment..."

Eric, who was on the side, watched his nose, mouth, mouth and heart, not intending to get involved in this matter.

Anyway, Raven did not treat the army badly. Recently, pigs were delivered to the military camp almost every day.

"Okay, stop complaining." Raven stood up and walked to the window: "Then we will wait for the next payment from Tears of Angels, and this year's taxes from Goldsmith Town are also coming, so we won't go bankrupt. ”

"That's true, but my lord, as a baron, you always have to..."

Old Gordon was still chattering, but Raven could no longer listen. Through the window, he saw a long carriage passing through Eagle Town and heading towards Eagle Castle.

And those carriages were all painted with the crest of the Griffith family.

Raven felt slightly excited, and a slightly surprised smile appeared on the corner of her mouth.

The carriage at the head stopped, and a graceful woman stepped out of the carriage with the help of a maid.

Denise, back.

…