Free Web NovelBefore dawn, a thin mist still enveloped the area outside Red Tide City.
When Louis opened his eyes, the ceiling quietly reflected the faint morning light.
He hadn't slept well; the strange noises before the Mother Nest was incinerated kept echoing in his mind.
He closed his eyes, but he couldn't shake off the unease and anxiety.
Red Tide Territory was safe now, but "now" never meant "future."
He slightly turned his head, his gaze falling on the girl beside him.
Emily was sleeping peacefully, her long azure hair spreading like water on the white pillowcase, her eyelashes trembling slightly, and a faint blush on her cheeks.
It was as if she was still immersed in the afterglow of last night.
Her hand tightly clutched a corner of his pajamas, as if she was relying on him in her dream, unwilling to let go.
"Last night, was it a bit too much effort?" Louis chuckled wryly.
After all, whether for emotional, responsible, or political reasons, Red Tide Territory urgently needed a "symbol."
An heir to put the minds of the nobles, soldiers, and common people at ease.
But at the moment, as the Lord, he couldn't truly sleep soundly.
He gently reached out, carefully unlatching Emily's fingers from his clothes, trying not to disturb her dreams.
Then he quietly sat up and put on his clothes.
At this moment, his right hand moved slightly, his fingertips tracing the air.
Accompanied by a faint humming resonance, a translucent light screen slowly unfolded before his eyes, the blue-white interface floating in the air like an ice surface. ƒrēewebnovel.com
He took a deep breath, his eyes instantly becoming clear and calm.
As if in an instant, he transformed from a husband and lover back to the young Lord who maneuvered between battlefields and crises.
"Come on—what news will today bring?"
Daily Intelligence Update Complete
1: Mages dispatched by Magician Forest to investigate the Worm-Eaten Household attack will arrive at Red Tide Territory this evening.
2: Vik Grantham has been transformed into a special Insect Corpse by the Witch of Despair.
3: A group of Fire Scale has been discovered in the deep geothermal area of Red Tide Territory.
A faint chime fell, and the ice-blue interface appeared exceptionally cold in the morning light.
Louis glanced at the first piece of intelligence, a calm light flashing in his eyes.
"That's good news."
The Mages sent by Magician Forest were certainly not ordinary Mages, so they could help him. freёweɓnovel.com
"At least it's better than sending a few Elite Knights to search the mountains for corpses," he murmured, a hint of sarcastic smile on his lips.
Knights might be brave, but when it came to finding traces of the Mother, they were far less professional than Mages.
Since his own Mother Nest had been incinerated, he might as well guide this group of Mages to investigate other nests...
It wouldn't be difficult to lead them astray.
He hoped they could find something.
Even if it was just a tiny clue.
But when his gaze slid to the second entry, his smile immediately vanished.
Vik Grantham has been transformed into a special Insect Corpse by the Witch of Despair.
In an instant, the air seemed to solidify. Louis stared at the line of text, silent for a long time.
Vik, that High-Ranking Knight who, without hesitation, ordered "all retreat" when covering the rear, facing the Mother Nest's assault alone—
Although he had only spoken with him once, that calmness and sense of responsibility remained deeply impressive.
"Even he couldn't rest in peace."
But what chilled Louis even more was not Vik's death, but another fact.
The Witch of Despair was still in the Northern Territory.
Not only that, perhaps... she was near Red Tide Territory.
"A monster that can create Mother Nests—what exactly is this guy?" He gazed at the line of text, exhaling a long breath after a while.
The intelligence only used the title "Witch of Despair," with no further details, but precisely because of this, it was even more unsettling.
Being able to silently create monsters like the Mother Nest...
Just this alone was enough to send shivers down the spines of all Lords.
"I don't think my forces can defeat her," Louis chuckled wryly, his tone tinged with self-deprecation, but it was the truth.
If he truly encountered her, it would be better to set up patrol lines early and leave several escape routes.
If it came down to it, he would run.
Living was more important than dying gloriously.
His thoughts had not yet settled when the third piece of information appeared on the light screen.
A group of Fire Scale has been discovered in the geothermal area of Red Tide Territory.
This made Louis's eyes light up.
"—This is good news."
Fire Scale are entirely copper-red, with their bodies covered in a siliceous oil film that can withstand temperatures of eight hundred degrees Celsius.
When purified, it can even self-ignite at high temperatures and burn for over six hours. There had been intelligence before that they existed in geothermal areas, but by the time Louis had time to lead people to search, they had already hidden somewhere unknown.
However, with this intelligence emerging again, he naturally wouldn't miss this opportunity, as he needed to secure such an important resource, especially with the threat of the Mother Nest looming.
Against Mother Nests, which feared fire, this was simply a gift from heaven.
"If we can systematically collect and refine it, perhaps we can develop a continuous-burning defensive weapon," he murmured, already beginning to conceptualize design sketches and complementary strategies in his mind.
But the joy lasted only a few breaths before being swallowed by the shadow of the previous intelligence.
Even with a direction for new weapons, the existence of the "Witch of Despair" still hung over him like a suspended sword, ready to fall at any moment.
However useful Fire Scale were—they were only for dealing with "Worm-Eaten Household."
"Alas—" Louis sighed softly.
The gloom of the intelligence still lingered in his heart, but he also understood: anxiety would not bring any change.
To control the situation, the most important thing was always one thing—to become stronger.
So he stood up, walked to a meditation mat covered with animal hide in the corner of the room, and sat down steadily, cross-legged.
The air seemed to quiet down at that moment, leaving only the echoes of his heartbeat, breathing, and the flow of internal energy.
The Dou Qi within his body flowed like a slow current between his bones and muscles, hot and steady, with occasional slight obstructions that he quickly smoothed out with practiced skill.
His cultivation was now close to the limit of a Low-Ranking Elite Knight.
He was just missing that final step.
Whether it was the Dou Qi reserves, muscle fiber density, or internal circulation speed, all were approaching the required standard for a breakthrough.
But—it was just a /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ little bit off.
"By simple accumulation, it will probably take another month," Louis opened his eyes, his gaze falling on a small bottle sealed with wax on the table.
That was the Knight Growth Potion prepared by Silco; he had left it for use during a bottleneck period.
Brewed and fused from rare Frost Blood Red Berry and Cang Wen Honey, it emitted a viscous purplish-red glow, pulsating slowly like a beating heart, as if some fervent life force was sealed within the bottle.
"Why not now?" he said softly, taking the potion.
There was no extra ritual, no hesitation.
"Click." The stopper was pulled open with a yank, and a strong sweet-sour smell mixed with medicinal fragrance rushed out.
It wasn't very palatable.
Louis forced himself to swallow it in one gulp, suppressing the urge to gag.
At that moment, a line of fire seemed to ignite from his throat, instantly shooting into his internal organs!
Like hot iron poured into water, the blood and Qi in his body instantly boiled, and the normally steadily flowing Dou Qi also surged violently.
"Hiss—"
The next second, the energy of the Frost Blood Red Berry exploded in the center of his abdomen like a volcanic eruption.
A scorching torrent burst open, as if to scorch his internal organs, rushing wildly through his blood vessels to all his limbs and bones!
His muscles twitched violently, his bones vibrated like war drums, and his breathing instantly became chaotic, as if someone had suddenly thrown him into a burning furnace!
But he wasn't torn apart; the Cang Wen Honey was working.
The naturally sweet essence, like threads of silk, poured into the raging torrent like a clear spring, slowing, diluting, and gentling the violent flames, finally transforming them into pure energy that could be refined.
He closed his eyes, gritted his teeth to steady his breath, and immediately entered a cultivation state. The internal circulation method was rapidly activated, his breathing synchronized with his pulse, like a resonance with heaven and earth.
The violent power, under the suppression of his will, gradually became docile, finally returning to his meridians!
Just at that moment!
His Dou Qi core suddenly trembled, and the long-accumulated bottleneck abruptly loosened!
Within his body, war drums seemed to roar, waves of Dou Qi like surging tides crashing against the shore, continuously Scouring that crucial barrier!
Boom—! Boom—! Boom—!
As if the drums of heaven and earth were sounding, Dou Qi gushed out, flowing through his entire body!
His skin glowed with an abnormal red light, as if illuminated by fire, or as if emanating a self-generated inner glow.
The air even trembled slightly with it, like imperceptible ripples on the water's surface.
His eyelashes trembled slightly, his eyelids lifting slightly.
When he opened his eyes again, the sharp intent deep within his pupils was no longer hidden.
Mid-Ranking Elite Knight, breakthrough!
He slowly exhaled a plume of white mist. The Dou Qi within him was now surging like a sea, his entire being felt as if it had been forged in a furnace and then drenched in the cold water of a snowfield.
"Indeed, this stage isn't something you can cross just by working hard," he chuckled softly.
Louis had just stabilized his breathing, the scorching energy within him not yet fully settled.
Just then, a faint sound came from the bed: "Mm—"
He turned his head.
Emily rubbed her eyes and sat up, her slender shoulders half-covered by her nightgown, still sleepy, her azure hair slightly disheveled, yet possessing a lazy beauty.
"Did you just—breakthrough?" Her voice was drowsy, yet couldn't hide her joy.
Louis turned around, a hint of a recently suppressed smile on his lips, "Mm. Just now."
"That's great!" She immediately jumped out of bed and rushed over, hugging him tightly, her face full of pride and happiness.
He was stunned for a moment, then lowered his head close to her ear, teasing softly, "It's all thanks to your nourishing last night, that I was able to break through."
"You, you, you, you—don't talk nonsense!" Emily's face instantly flushed red like a boiling kettle, her voice rising by half a tone, and she raised her hand to hit him.
He dodged with a laugh, "I said your dinner was nourishing, what were you thinking?"
".....!"
She glared at him fiercely, pouting indignantly, her face flushed all the way to her ears.
The two bantered back and forth for a few moments, the atmosphere warm with a touch of playfulness.
But Louis quickly put away his smile, glanced at the sky, and gently said, "There's still time, why don't we continue cultivating?"
Emily paused slightly. Before she could speak, Louis had already sat cross-legged, forming hand seals, and closing his eyes in meditation.
She knew this wasn't simple rest or meditation.
On their wedding night, Louis had quietly told her—he was cultivating magic.
"You—can do magic?" She was very surprised that night, but she didn't question him.
She only wondered why this man always held so many secrets, and always used these secrets to silently protect everything around him.
She walked over and sat down quietly beside him.
To outsiders, meditation seemed not much different from a Knight's breathing technique.
Only, the exhalation and inhalation were more serene, that deep spiritual stability, like lake water under the moonlight, bottomless yet without ripples.
"It's not that special," Emily mumbled, hugging her knees and thinking for a moment, then simply imitated him, sitting cross-legged and beginning to cultivate the Edmund Family's Azure Glow Breathing Technique.
Dou Qi also flowed within her body, specks of blue light floating on her skin, like the gentle caress of moonlight, calm and clear.
It harmonized with the faintly discernible white magical light stream within Louis's body, like two rivers flowing side by side.
In the quiet room, two breaths, one strong and one gentle, one blue and one white, resonated in silence.
Outside the window, the wind was light, and the sun had not yet pierced through the clouds.
But the light of cultivation in the room already illuminated the journey they were about to face together.
