169: Chapter 169 The Third Prince, Hart-Ria

So even though the Lionheart Merchant Guild had announced that more dragon blood would arrive next month, most people still regretted not seizing the opportunity to buy dragon blood this time.

However, some shrewd individuals quickly realized that the Lionheart Merchant Guild had already sold 1,800 cubic meters of dragon blood today. Could they buy it back from those who had purchased it?

With this thought, some shrewd individuals first targeted the Lionheart Merchant Guild, hoping they could reveal the identities of those who had bought dragon blood, even offering valuable items without hesitation.

But customer information is private, and Arthur had already declared that the Lionheart Merchant Guild would not do anything that went against customer interests.

The guild members, who regarded Arthur's words as divine edicts, naturally dared not speak out, so those people could only return empty-handed.

Those shrewd individuals left with regret.

Unexpectedly, the Lionheart Merchant Guild's reputation improved even further due to this act of protecting customer information.

Among these shrewd individuals, one was particularly prominent: the current prince of the Lia Kingdom, the Third Prince Hart-Lia.

Although Hart-Lia was a prince, he shared the same problem as Drus-Taylor: his talent was not good enough. At twenty-three, he had only just achieved a Breakthrough to Silver.

At this rate, even with the royal family's resources, he would at most reach the Earth Knight stage in his lifetime; Sky Knight was out of reach.

Such talent did not qualify him to compete for the throne at all.

So, after receiving confirmation that there was dragon blood at the Lionheart Merchant Guild, Hart-Lia immediately rushed over, but unfortunately, he was a step late.

The dragon blood was sold out!

Although he used his extensive intelligence network as a prince to find several people who had purchased dragon blood, they hadn't bought much, and he only managed to collect a total of 120 cubic meters of dragon blood.

It is known that when using dragon blood, it is best to have 600 cubic meters, which is ideally the blood of one Dragon.

Therefore, the amount of dragon blood Hart-Lia currently possessed was far from enough.

He could only pin his hopes on finding new dragon blood purchasers.

Outside the imperial palace, in the Third Prince's mansion.

The Third Prince Hart was anxiously waiting there, hoping for good news.

Soon, a person came to report, one of the Third Prince's trusted aides:

"Your Highness, according to the latest information we've received, Drus of the Taylor Family was among the first to enter the Lionheart Merchant Guild this morning.

He had a large amount of money and poor talent, so we believe he would not hesitate to purchase a large quantity of dragon blood upon seeing it in the Lionheart Merchant Guild.

Therefore, your subordinate speculates that Drus must possess a large amount of dragon blood."

"Is the information accurate? If true, you all will be heavily rewarded!"

Upon hearing this, the Third Prince Hart's face immediately showed an excited expression.

"Absolutely true!"

After giving an affirmative answer, the trusted aide's face, however, showed a hint of difficulty.

Hart saw his expression and couldn't help but ask:

"Is there something else amiss?"

"Although your subordinate speculates that Drus must have purchased a large amount of dragon blood, his talent is poor, and he also has a huge need for dragon blood. Your Highness may not be able to acquire it from him."

"That's true, but Dross's merchant guild is vast, and his liquid capital must be more than 60 million gold coins for 600 cubic meters of dragon blood. He must have bought extra.

So we must find him quickly to acquire his surplus dragon blood, as we are not the only shrewd ones."

"Your Highness is wise!"

Actually, this trusted aide had also thought of the same point, but he gave the opportunity to speak to the Third Prince, which would make the Third Prince appear even wiser.

Having decided to find Drus as soon as possible, the Third Prince quickly led a group of people to the ducal mansion where Dross currently resided.

On the other side, after leaving the Lionheart Merchant Guild, Drus did not immediately think of quickly selling the reserved 500 cubic meters of dragon blood.

Instead, he went straight home.

Because Drus desperately wanted to change his talent, after obtaining the dragon blood, his greatest desire was to test its effects.

Speaking of which, soaking in dragon blood requires a corresponding dragon blood Secret Potion, and the Lionheart Merchant Guild had considered this.

Adhering to the principle of service first, no matter who purchased dragon blood, the guild would gift a dragon blood Secret Potion capable of neutralizing one cubic meter of dragon blood and an obsidian bucket that could resist dragon blood erosion.

The former was so customers could immediately confirm the dragon blood's effect, and the latter was to provide purchasers with the conditions to soak in dragon blood.

After all, ordinary items cannot withstand the erosion of dragon blood.

These two items were not expensive, so giving them away helped to build the guild's reputation.

However, the gifted dragon blood Secret Potion was certainly not enough.

If more dragon blood Secret Potion was needed, it could only be purchased with money, as the guild could not always do business at a loss; giving away two items was already quite generous.

Returning to his room, Drus, after instructing his subordinates to guard the door, quickly took out the series of items needed for soaking in dragon blood.

An obsidian bucket, clear water, an obsidian basin containing ten cubic meters of dragon blood, and a bottle of dragon blood Secret Potion.

As a basin of dragon blood was placed in the room, Drus clearly felt the water element magic in the room become denser.

It made one exclaim, as expected of dragon blood, truly extraordinary.

"It seems this blood comes from a Water Element Dragon!"

Drus couldn't help but mutter to himself.

Of course, gathering magic elements was a minor matter. Drus looked at the constantly boiling dragon blood in the basin, thinking about soaking himself in such a terrifying substance later, and couldn't help but shiver internally.

Ordinary people definitely cannot withstand the erosion of dragon blood, which is why dragon blood Secret Potion is needed.

According to Drus's understanding, with his initial Gold Knight strength, soaking in one cubic meter of dragon blood at first should be no problem.

But when he remembered the Lionheart Merchant Guild's warning that soaking in dragon blood was quite painful, especially the first time, which was particularly intense.

He couldn't help but reduce one cubic meter of dragon blood by half, leaving only 0.5 cubic meters in the bucket.

Instantly, the clear water in the bucket turned blood-red and began to boil.

Seeing this scene, Drus knew that soaking in dragon blood would definitely be more painful than imagined, but for the sake of strength, he could only grit his teeth and then drip the corresponding dragon blood Secret Potion into the bucket.

With the addition of the dragon blood Secret Potion, the boiling blood water seemed to calm down slightly.

With everything ready, Drus took a deep breath, calmed his inner apprehension, and immediately entered the bucket.

At this moment, he was extremely nervous, not only fearing the pain of dragon blood Body Tempering but also worrying if this dragon blood truly had the legendary effects.

As Drus entered the bucket, his skin quickly turned crimson, as if thoroughly cooked.

The intense pain made Drus's face contort, but to avoid attracting attention, he ultimately did not cry out.

An hour passed, possibly due to Drus's Gold-level strength, the 0.5 cubic meters of dragon blood were quickly absorbed.