Chapter 67: Daniels’s Ruthlessness
Chapter 67: Chapter 67: Daniels’s Ruthlessness
For the better part of the last half-month, Duane had not been idle.
In addition to increasing the Skill Levels of his existing Skills, he also undertook a series of new experiments.
Now, under the [Basic] category on his attribute panel, there were six new Skills:
Basic Spear Skill, Basic Forging, Basic Tailoring, Basic Construction, Basic Herbs, and Basic Breeding.
Adding the ones he already had, he now had a total of sixteen Basic Skills.
If all of them, like Basic Cooking, granted something like Extraordinary Recipes upon reaching Perfection, then this was undoubtedly Duane’s treasure trove!
However, although these many Skills brought Duane immense hidden wealth, they also brought him quite a few headaches.
His time each day was limited, so he couldn’t possibly give equal attention to improving every single Skill.
So, after some thought, he decided to start with the two Skills he was more familiar with: Basic Spear Skill and Basic Breeding.
The Long Spear was one of the common weapons in this world, mainly used for straight-line thrusting attacks during battlefield charges.
This was unlike the ancient long spears from Duane’s memory, which emphasized varied and flexible spear techniques.
The kind of spearmanship Duane wanted was more like the latter.
Although he had never learned any spear techniques before he transmigrated, and had no one to guide him now, he began to fumble his way through based on his memories of spears being used in TV shows.
He started with the most basic Spear Holding Position, then moved on to the two movements of Thrust and sweep, successfully getting his foot in the door.
Afterwards, by relying on the Spear Skill knowledge gained from Skill Level breakthroughs, he mastered several new moves like Chop, Block, and Stab.
Now, his Basic Spear Skill Level had reached (Skilled 7/200), and through this, he had obtained 0.3 attribute points.
Aside from the major breakthrough in Basic Spear Skill, the Skill Levels of the other newly activated Skills were all still at the Initial stage.
As for his ten old Skills, most had seen a slight increase in Skill Level, with only Basic Painting breaking through to Skilled (15/300).
Duane’s current painting ability was already quite good.
Not only could he draw the appearance of Vigorous Grass with 80-90% similarity, he could even create more complex landscape paintings.
At the same time, he gained 0.2 attribute points from leveling up Basic Painting, which he used to raise his Spirit Attribute to 2.3.
Duane looked at the Attributes on his panel and felt the seed in his heart, already in a state of germination. He knew he had reached the verge of a breakthrough.
’My Basic Breeding Skill Level is at (Initial 89/100), and the first batch of beer I brewed is about to finish fermenting. The Skill Levels for both of these skills are about to break through.’
’Once I get the attribute points they provide, I should be able to break through.’
He had a feeling that the minimum Spirit requirement for a Middle Level Warrior wouldn’t be as high as 3.0; 2.5 was likely enough.
KNOCK, KNOCK.
A Male Servant knocked on the door and, after receiving permission, entered the study.
"My lord, the six people in the current batch drinking the Fire Source Beast Bone Soup have reached the standard of thirty bowls. According to your previous rules, they are no longer eligible for it for free."
Owington handed him a list. The list contained six names—the leaders of the three small squads.
Duane was a little disappointed.
Recently, other than the captain of the second squad, Evans, breaking through, none of the other people who were rotated in had been able to achieve a breakthrough.
Duane only had seven Extraordinary Warriors under his command.
"Just handle matters like this according to the rules. You don’t need to report them to me specifically in the future."
Duane asked, "The Fire Source Beast Bone Powder is running low, isn’t it?"
Ever since Owington had taken charge of the records, he had also become familiar with this key resource.
"Yes, my lord. There are 120 catties left."
Now that the number of people drinking the soup had increased to six, they consumed twelve catties of Fire Source Beast Bone Powder per day.
In other words, the remaining supply would only last for ten more days.
Duane’s brow furrowed slightly. He currently lacked the time and manpower to explore Thorn Valley to the south.
This meant he had no way to proactively hunt for Fire-attribute Demon Beast Meat.
For now, it seemed his only hope was whether the Holy Hand Association and the Broken Wave Gang could provide these items.
But if they didn’t have any either, then he would be forced to pause the soup distribution.
In a courtyard outside the Holy Hand Association’s estate.
Simone was holding his daughter Vera’s hand, dotingly telling her that he had to go out for some business and would be back later.
The bright-eyed Little Vera was very reluctant to let him go, but she was sensible enough not to cry or make a fuss, only reminding her father to come back soon.
Simone patted his daughter’s little head, then instructed his servants to take good care of her. He then picked up his Longsword, swung himself onto his horse, and rode out of the courtyard.
"Hey, Simone!"
Kalina, dressed in a red gown, greeted him enthusiastically, saying in a coquettish tone, "That Little Baron is very fierce. You’ll have to take good care of me today."
Simone nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over the long line of carriages and the numerous livestock and supplies behind her.
"Is all this for the Baron?"
"Yes. The Baron is so greedy, but what can we do?"
Simone wanted to say, ’If it were any other noble, they would’ve surely wiped out the Holy Hand Association and the Broken Wave Gang.’
’Duane, by comparison, was merciful.’
’Although, that might also be due to his lack of strength and manpower.’
’The intelligence report claimed Raymond was a Human Tier Warrior, but in his opinion, while the man wasn’t weak, he was most likely just an Advanced Warrior.’
’Why would the Baron spread such false information?’
Simone guessed that the other party’s strength was likely insufficient, and they probably couldn’t handle a joint attack from the Holy Hand Association and the Broken Wave Gang.
But speculation was just speculation, and he had no intention of telling Daniels or anyone else.
"Let’s go!"
Simone said, then gently pulled on the reins and rode to the front of the procession.
Kalina urged her horse to ride alongside him. "I never knew you came from the Nobility, Simone. Can you tell me your story from before you came to Black Forest Island?"
"I want to hear it!"
Simone’s world-weary face showed no extra emotion. "It’s all in the past. There’s nothing worth telling."
Kalina pouted. Despite being given the cold shoulder, she didn’t get angry; instead, she grew even more enthusiastic.
Not far away, Uleir, who happened to be passing by, saw this scene, and a cold glint flashed in his eyes.
He had already possessed Kalina’s body, but he had yet to win her heart completely.
This greatly displeased him, and also made him extremely hostile toward Simone.
Especially since the recent competition had allowed the other man to steal the spotlight, it made his jealousy reach its peak.
Uleir snorted coldly, viciously whipped his horse’s rump, and galloped toward the castle.
Before long, he arrived at Daniels’s laboratory.
The bloody smell of various potions and internal organs assaulted his nostrils.
Daniels wasn’t wearing his white long robe, but had changed into a red, more practical-looking tunic.
"Heh heh, Uleir. You’ve come."
Uleir grunted in acknowledgment, his face dark as he demanded, "Why didn’t you let me go out with Kalina, and sent Simone instead?"
"Haha, what? Are you angry about this?"
Daniels stopped what he was doing and pulled off his blood-stained linen gloves.
"I had no choice. Who was I to argue when the Baron specifically requested Simone?"
"What do you mean?"
Uleir was confused. "Weren’t you going specifically to deliver the contract fee?"
Daniels took out an invitation card. "The Broken Wave Gang haven’t delivered theirs yet. Why would I be the first?"
Uleir read the text on the invitation several times before finally saying, tentatively, after a long moment:
"This Baron... he’s not trying to get Simone to defect to his side, is he?"
Daniels stroked his beard. "I was thinking the same thing."
"That can’t happen!"
Uleir immediately objected. "If Simone leaves us to join the Baron, it will be a huge disadvantage for us!"
Although he was extremely hostile toward Simone, he also understood the man’s importance.
"I was thinking the same thing."
Daniels repeated what he had just said. "Therefore, we absolutely cannot allow even the slightest possibility of Simone leaving the Holy Hand Association!"
"You mean..." Uleir had a guess.
"Exactly!"
Daniels’s benevolent face suddenly looked somewhat sinister.
"As soon as Simone and Kalina have left, you are to go to his house immediately and bring Little Vera to my castle!"
Uleir smiled. "The person Simone values most is his daughter. As long as Vera doesn’t leave your castle, he will never leave the Holy Hand Association!"
At this thought, some of the vicious anger in his heart finally dissipated.