During the autumn fair (October), a slight sense of bleakness has already crept into Black Stone City.
Although there are still days until the first snowfall, the temperature has dropped significantly, unlike the heat during the harvest month.
Four armored men walked along the pathways of the inner castle's courtyard, their breaths forming faintly visible white mist in the air.
The three younger men trailing behind wore expressions of barely concealed excitement and anticipation, as if something good was about to happen.
After a while, one of them couldn't help but ask the man leading the way, Jordon: "Sir Jordon, is there anything we need to pay attention to when consuming that... Subordinate Dragon Blood Potion?"
Jordon glanced back at the young man who spoke, waved his hand carelessly, and said, "Look at how nervous you all are. Nearly a hundred people have taken the Subordinate Dragon Blood Potion before you, and I've never heard of anyone having issues. Just relax."
The young man scratched his head awkwardly, saying apologetically, "I'm not worried, just excited. After taking the potion, I can finally become a knight!"
The other two nodded enthusiastically.
After all, it's a knight!
Renowned as the beast on the battlefield, the knight of nobility in reserve!
They've trained hard for years, hoping to ascend to knighthood someday, to bring honor to their ancestors, yet they never expected to realize this dream so quickly.
It's left them feeling like they're dreaming.
"Haha, I understand how you feel. A year ago, I wouldn't have imagined there would be a potion that allows a trainee knight to directly break through to knight status. All of this is thanks to Lord Sunan!"
Jordon's tone was full of respect when mentioning Sunan.
The three young men instinctively showed awe and admiration.
Despite information about Lord Sunan being tightly sealed within Black Stone City, all those who have taken or are about to take the Subordinate Dragon Blood Potion know how much effort Lord Sunan has put into Black Stone City's development.
Even the formation of the Black Rock Cavalry Legion can be attributed entirely to Lord Sunan.
In the hearts of Black Stone City's knights and trainee knights, Lord Sunan holds a status not inferior to the lord.
"In short, you needn't be too tense. Later, when you meet the lord and receive the potion, just drink it and..."
Jordon hadn't finished his words of reassurance when he suddenly felt a chill on his back, as if something had briefly brushed past him, causing the skin on his back to prickle.
He stopped intuitively, looked around, but saw nothing unusual.
"Did you guys see anything?" Jordon asked the three.
The three shook their heads, confused.
"Maybe I drank too much last night and my mind isn't clear yet?"
Jordon patted his head, muttered a few words, and soon dismissed it, continuing to lead the way.
Soon, the four of them arrived at the training ground.
From afar, Jordon could see the lord and Brad standing at the entrance of the training ground, seemingly discussing something.
Not far beside them were three large wooden barrels.
Upon closer inspection, Jordon realized the barrels contained a pale red liquid.
The familiar pungent smell wafted to his nose.
It's the scent of the Subordinate Dragon Blood Potion!
"Are all these Subordinate Dragon Blood Potions?"
Jordon was startled but quickly realized the scent in the air was faint, unlike the true potion, indicating it was likely diluted.
"Move the barrels to the barracks. Every warrior at the knight's attendant level should drink a bowl each day, and officers should have an extra bowl daily."
Seeing Jordon bring people over, Kei instructed Brad softly and gestured for him to step aside. Then, he turned his attention to Jordon and the others, specifically sizing up the three young men.
"Lord!"
The three bowed in greeting.
Kei nodded solemnly, looking at Jordon.
"Only three people in this batch?"
Jordon nodded, saying, "The others have only recently broken through as trainee knights. Lord Sunan suggested waiting a while for their strength to stabilize before consuming the potion."
Hearing Sunan's suggestion, Kei didn't say anything further and produced three bottles of Subordinate Dragon Blood Potion.
The subsequent process was simple; the three young men consumed their potions on the spot.
Two of them immediately broke through and became knights, while the third, though not immediately successful, following past experiences, could achieve it with a few days of training.
After encouraging the three newly promoted (prospective) knights, Kei gestured for Jordon to lead them away. He then departed the training ground, heading to the main building.
Since the battle against the Black-scaled Lizardmen, Black Stone City has entered a period of rapid development.
The number of knights has soared.
Currently, Black Stone City boasts over a hundred knights.
In the entire Starry Principality, only territories belonging to viscounts and above, with centuries of development heritage, have accumulated such a number of knights!
If news spread that Black Stone City holds a knight count comparable to a viscount's domain, many jaws would drop.
"It's a pity the blood obtained from eradicating the Black-scaled Lizardmen has been used up. From now on, we can only slowly extract blood from the captives, slowing Sunan's potion production significantly."
"It's probably for the best; lately, the use of Subordinate Dragon Blood Potions has been a bit excessive, resulting in a gap among trainee knights in the army. We can take this time to train more trainee knights."
Kei recalled the Dragon Blood Potion that Sunan had recently developed.
Its effect far exceeded the Subordinate Dragon Blood Potion, with just four bottles allowing him to cross a threshold many knights dream of, stepping into the higher knight tier, miraculous!
The only downside is its low production.
Besides himself, only Brad and a few other high-grade knights have consumed it, thus becoming peak knights.
"Unfortunately, what Black Stone City lacks most now is time. Otherwise, reclaiming the Flashing Territory would be effortless in a few years."
While pondering, Kei suddenly noticed the butler, old Geller, leading six or seven servants, carrying several plucked sheep.
Old Geller quickly spotted Kei, stopping to bow in greeting.
"Lord."
Kei acknowledged with a nod, pointing at the sheep: "Where are these headed?"
Old Geller replied, "To Lord Sunan's yard."
Kei quickly recalled that Sunan's yard housed a giant lizard captured from the Black-scaled Lizardmen tribe, requiring a considerable amount of meat daily.
However...
His gaze swept over the three sheep, looking puzzled.
Has the giant lizard's appetite increased significantly?
He distinctly remembered Jordon mentioning it supposedly required only one sheep per day?
Curiosity aside, Kei didn't inquire further, gesturing for old Geller and the others to proceed.
Things related to the Wizard often carry a mysterious and eerie aura that outsiders cannot easily unravel.
He wasn't interested in probing deeper; supporting Sunan as always was enough.
After all, Sunan's strength is Black Stone City's strength!