Su Nan’s Strength is Blackstone City’s Strength

The Blackstone City in the Moon of Autumn (October) already has a touch of desolation.

Although it’s still some time until the first snow, the air temperature has already dropped significantly, lacking the heat of the Month of Harvest.

Four armored men walked on the road of the inner castle courtyard, their breath forming faint mist in the air.

The three younger men following behind had faces full of undisguisable excitement and anticipation, as if something good was about to happen.

After walking for a while, one of them couldn’t hold back and asked Jodun ahead, ‘Your Excellency Jodun, is there anything we should be aware of when taking that sub-dragon blood potion?’

Jodun glanced back at the young man who spoke, waved his hand carelessly, and said, ‘Look at how nervous you are. Nearly a hundred people have taken the sub-dragon blood potion before you, and no one has had any problems. You can rest easy.’

The young man scratched his head in embarrassment, smiling sheepishly, ‘I’m not worried, just excited. After all, once I drink that potion, I can become a knight!’

The other two nodded with excitement.

After all, becoming a knight means being regarded as a battlefield beast, a noble’s reservist! They’ve trained hard for many years for the chance to be knighted in their lifetime, bringing honor to their families, and didn’t expect this dream to come true so soon.

This made them feel as if they were dreaming.

‘Haha, I can understand your feelings. A year ago, I wouldn’t have thought there was a potion that could let a squire break through directly to a knight. We owe everything to Lord Su Nan!’

When mentioning Su Nan, Jodun’s tone was full of respect.

The three young men instinctively showed expressions of awe and admiration.

Even though the news concerning Lord Su Nan within Blackstone City was tightly sealed, all squires who had taken or were about to take the sub-dragon blood potion knew how much Su Nan had contributed to the city’s current development.

Even the establishment of the Black Rock Cavalry Regiment could be said to be single-handedly promoted by Lord Su Nan.

In the hearts of Blackstone City’s knights and squires, Lord Su Nan’s status is no lower than that of the Lord.

‘In any case, there’s no need to be too nervous. Later, when you see the Lord and get the potion, just drink it, and…’

Jodun’s reassuring words were cut off abruptly by a sudden chill down his back, as if something had brushed past him, causing goosebumps on his skin.

He instinctively stopped in his tracks, looking around, but found nothing unusual.

‘Did you see anything?’ Jodun asked the three behind him.

The three of them shook their heads in bewilderment.

‘Must have been my imagination, maybe I drank too much last night and my mind isn’t clear yet?’

Jodun patted his head, muttered a few words, and soon dismissed the incident, continuing to lead the way.

After a while, the four of them arrived at the martial arts field.

From a distance, Jodun saw the Lord and Bured standing at the entrance, seemingly discussing something.

Not far away, there were three large wooden barrels.

Upon approaching, Jodun could see that the barrels contained a light red liquid.

There was also a familiar pungent smell.

It was the smell of the sub-dragon blood potion!

‘Are all these barrels filled with sub-dragon blood potion?’

Jodun was taken aback, but quickly realized the scent was faint, unlike the genuine potion, likely a diluted solution.

‘Move the barrels to the barracks. Every warrior of squire level or higher should drink a bowl each day; officers get an extra bowl.’

Once Jodun led his group over, Brother Ke Yi instructed Bured and then waved him away, before looking over at Jodun and the others, focusing on the three young men.

‘Lord!’

The three of them bowed in unison.

Brother Ke Yi nodded solemnly, looking at Jodun.

‘Only three in this batch?’

Jodun nodded and said, ‘The rest have just recently broken through as squires; Lord Su Nan advised it’s best to wait a while, until their strength stabilizes before taking the potion.’

Hearing that it was Su Nan’s advice, Brother Ke Yi didn’t say more and handed over three bottles of sub-dragon blood potion.

The subsequent process was simple; the three young men consumed the potion on the spot.

Two of them immediately broke through and were promoted to knights; the remaining one, though not breaking through instantly, was expected to do so after a few days of training, as per previous experiences.

After encouraging the three new (probationary) knights with a few words, Brother Ke Yi indicated for Jodun to lead them away, and then he also left the martial arts field and headed toward the main building.

Ever since the battle against the Black-scaled Lizardmen, Blackstone City entered a period of rapid development.

The number of knights surged.

Now, Blackstone City boasts over a hundred knights.

In the entire Duchy of Starlit Stars, only noble territories of at least a Viscount level could amass so many knights after centuries of development and heritage.

Blackstone City, with just one city, matches the knight numbers of a Viscount’s territory. If this news spread, it would astonish many.

‘Unfortunately, the blood obtained from exterminating the Black-scaled Lizardmen is used up. Moving forward, we’ll have to slowly draw blood from the captives, which will slow down Lord Su Nan’s potion production considerably.’

‘But that’s fine, in the past, we’ve used too much sub-dragon blood potion, causing a gap among the squires in the army. It’s a good time to train more squires.’

Brother Ke Yi recalled a dragon blood potion recently developed by Su Nan.

The potion’s effects far exceeded those of the sub-dragon blood potion; just four bottles allowed him to cross a threshold coveted by many knights, stepping into the great knight realm—truly magical!

The only pity was its extremely low production.

To this day, besides himself, only Bured and a handful of senior knights had taken it and thus achieved pinnacle knight status.

‘It’s a pity Blackstone City currently lacks time. Otherwise, give me a few more years to develop, and reclaiming the Shining Lands would be effortless.’

While pondering, Brother Ke Yi saw Steward Old Geller leading six or seven servants carrying a few sheep with no wool.

Old Geller quickly noticed Brother Ke Yi and stopped to salute.

‘Lord.’

Brother Ke Yi nodded, pointing at the sheep, ‘Where are these being taken?’

Old Geller replied, ‘To Lord Su Nan’s courtyard.’

Brother Ke Yi soon recalled that Su Nan’s courtyard seemed to also house a giant lizard captured from the Black-scaled Lizardmen’s tribe, which needed a lot of meat daily.

However,

His gaze swept over the three sheep, and he felt puzzled.

Did the giant lizard’s appetite grow significantly?

He clearly heard Jodun mention previously that it needed only one sheep each day!

Curiosity aside, Brother Ke Yi didn’t ask further, waving Old Geller and the others away.

Most things related to wizards were shrouded in mystery, difficult for outsiders to understand.

He had no interest in probing further, as long as he continued supporting Su Nan as always.

After all, Su Nan’s strength is Blackstone City’s strength!