After the fifth failed attempt at potion making, Su Nan used up his last dose of dragon blood.
However, he didn't care.
He didn't need to produce a physical sample; he himself was the best proof.
After a good night's sleep, Su Nan found Ke Yi in the council hall the next day.
Ke Yi had just returned from his inspection, still in his armor, looking travel-worn.
He and a group of knights and generals were sitting in the hall, discussing how to deal with the Blackscale Lizardmen's invasion.
"In previous years, the Blackscale Lizardmen would invade during the Frostfall Month, stealing food to take back for the winter. It's about time."
"The scouts spotted Blackscale Lizardmen yesterday, more than ten kilometers north of the city."
"Those damned bandits, they never change!"
"My lord, give me a hundred-man squad, and I will definitely wipe out those bandits!"
Ke Yi frowned.
Blackrock City was just a small city, with a total army of only a little over five hundred men.
More than half of them were militiamen who had only received basic training and had never actually seen blood.
They were fine for defending the city, but if they were sent out to fight the Blackscale Lizardmen, they would probably crumble in a single encounter. The only
The soldiers they truly possessed were about two hundred and fifty.
This force was woefully inadequate to defend Blackrock City and the numerous surrounding villages.
Thinking of this, Kei felt a headache coming on.
Besides Owen, the Blackscale Lizardmen were another threat he had to deal with.
If not handled properly, Black Rock City would face a difficult winter.
Just as he was racking his brains, Kei caught sight of Su Nan entering out of the corner of his eye. He gestured for his subordinates to be quiet and looked at Su Nan.
"What is it?"
Su Nan said, "I succeeded."
After a moment of stunned silence, Kei realized Su Nan's meaning and asked with a hint of disbelief, "You found a way to improve the army's strength?"
The others also reacted at this point, all looking at Su Nan
with obvious skepticism. Only
A day had passed, and he had already devised a feasible method?
It sounded incredibly unreliable.
Facing the skeptical gazes of the crowd, Su Nan didn't waste any words. He went straight to a long table, grabbed the edge with one hand, and lifted it with all his might.
Immediately, with a creak, the heavy table lifted off the ground, hovering steadily about twenty centimeters above the ground without the slightest wobbling.
The crowd stared in astonishment, their eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.
It was common knowledge that Su Nan was in poor health; he usually couldn't even lift a longsword.
Yet now he could easily lift a table made of solid wood, weighing at least two or three hundred pounds, and seemingly with remarkable ease.
His strength was probably comparable to that of a trainee knight!
Coming to his senses, Ke Yi jumped up, looking at his younger brother with a face full of surprise.
"What's going on?"
Su Nan put down the long table, smiled and nodded, explaining, "I created a potion that can enhance the human body's physique. I took a bottle myself, and my current physique is roughly equivalent to that of a trainee knight. The worse the user's physique, the stronger the potion's effect. It also works on regular knights. It can be taken multiple times, but the effect will gradually weaken. More specific information requires collecting more data for analysis."
Listening to Su Nan's words, Ke Yi's eyes grew brighter and brighter.
If that meant there were enough potions, it would be possible to mass-produce apprentice knights, or even knights. If
An ordinary person could become an apprentice knight after taking a potion; wouldn't an apprentice knight have a good chance of becoming a full knight?
Ke Yi's face flushed with excitement.
Those who weren't lords had no idea how difficult it was to train a knight these days.
An ordinary person, starting at age twelve, would spend an average of four to five years honing their skills and developing their body to the point where they could practice breathing techniques and become a knight's squire.
A knight's squire would then typically need four to five years of training in breathing techniques
to become an apprentice knight. After that, they would need another seven or eight years of training to condense a life seed before becoming a full knight.
In total, training a knight took an average of seventeen or eighteen years.
And that was assuming sufficient aptitude. Those
with poor aptitude might never become knights in their entire lives.
Besides, the manpower and resources spent on training were also a huge expense.
Therefore, even powerful nobles with territories often couldn't train many knights.
Take Flashing Territory as an example. Even at its peak, the total number of knights within the territory did not exceed one hundred.
This shows how precious a potion that can cultivate knights in a short time is!
Taking a few deep breaths, Kei calmed his excitement, staring intently at Su Nan, and asked solemnly, "What do you need me to do?"
Su Nan replied seriously, "Making this potion requires a large amount of Blackscale Lizardman blood."
"No problem!" Kei agreed without hesitation. "Tomorrow I will lead the army out of the city to hunt Blackscale Lizardmen!"
He paused, then quickly walked to Su Nan and patted him on the shoulder with a gratified expression.
"I didn't expect the legendary wizard's methods to be real."
"It was wrong of me to doubt you before, and I apologize to you here!"
Su Nan smiled slightly. "We're family; no need to hold grudges."
Kei's smile grew even brighter, and he nodded vigorously. "Well said. If we brothers work together, we will definitely be able to reclaim Flashing Territory and avenge our father one day."
Su Nan nodded earnestly, but his heart remained calm.
With the goal of becoming a wizard, he had absolutely no interest in becoming a king or conqueror. He only wanted to cultivate quietly, achieve immortality, and live to see the elemental revival and the golden age of wizards a thousand years later.
However, despite his inner thoughts, he still had to maintain appearances in front of his elder brother.
After all, wizarding cultivation required a large amount of resources, and having a lord as his elder brother made resource gathering much easier and faster.
Therefore, Su Nan's goal was clear: on one hand, to find ways to improve the territory's strength, turning it into a logistical platform for resource gathering; on the other hand, to cultivate and improve his strength, striving to become a formal wizard as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, the generals recovered from their shock and exchanged bewildered glances.
No one had expected that the legendary wizarding methods were actually real.
To be able to turn an ordinary person into a trainee knight in just one day—such methods were simply miraculous and awe-inspiring!
For a moment, everyone looked at Su Nan with amazement and awe.
Along with this came intense joy.
With such a miraculous potion, the expansion of their territory was within reach!
So when Ke Yi issued the order to hunt down the Blackscale Lizardmen tomorrow, the generals responded with excitement.
Never before had they longed to see those damned bandits so much!
The Blackscale Lizardmen, whom they once loathed, were now seen as walking, precious medicines.
They were all capital for becoming stronger!