141: Three Silver Knights

"Awoo—!"

Accompanied by a soul-shaking wolf howl that echoed between heaven and earth, the Fighting Spirit Seed inside Lister, who was sitting in the bath barrel, suddenly shuddered.

In the next instant, his body became like a vortex, frantically absorbing the surrounding chi energy into himself and gathering it within the Fighting Spirit Seed.

At this moment, Lister could clearly feel his physical body being washed by the chi energy, beginning a cycle of constant tearing and repairing, tearing and repairing—

It only gradually calmed down once his physical body reached a qualitative change.

As the wolf howl gradually faded and dissipated into the air, Lister's eyes snapped open, a sharp cold light flashing like lightning, while a muffled sound echoed within his body.

Bronze Rank 9!

Feeling the surge of energy within him once more, Lister wanted to suppress his reaction in front of everyone, but the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl upward.

It had been less than ten days since his last breakthrough. He surmised that the increased speed of his breakthroughs was likely due to the latent influence of the purple soul fruit on his talent becoming more pronounced.

Unfortunately, eating more of that fruit wouldn't do much good; otherwise, he really would have wanted to consume all the remaining purple soul fruits.

After carefully sensing the changes in his internal power, he picked up the long, thick robe prepared by the nearby knights and put it on. With a slight wave of his hand, he signaled for the crowd to hold their words of praise, then turned his gaze toward Red and the others on either side.

At this moment, each of them was like a steam engine running at full power, their bodies emitting white, scorching steam.

Although Lister hadn't tried it, he felt that if he placed a thick piece of meat on them now, it would probably be steamed cooked.

The wind of the approaching winter was even more biting and piercing than in previous days, like steel nails pricking the skin.

Yet, not a single person present felt the cold. Instead, everyone's face was filled with excitement,

anticipation, and other such expressions.

All of this stemmed from Locke and Spartacus. Both were currently at the Bronze Rank 9 stage, just one step away from breaking through to Silver Knight.

These newly selected knights had never before witnessed the scene of a Bronze Knight advancing to a Silver Knight.

If they could witness it with their own eyes this time, it would be a great opportunity for enlightenment, potentially increasing their own chances of breaking through in the future.

Compared to their anticipation, Lister was more excited about the fact that his subordinates in the Ironthorn Territory would soon have two more Silver Knights.

This would provide a massive boost to the overall strength of his forces.

As time passed minute by minute, the white steam emitting from Locke's body began to grow denser and hotter.

The surrounding knights, watching with anticipation, couldn't help but feel a faint wave of dry heat hitting their faces.

Following that, a vibrating sound like the churning of lakes and seas continuously emanated from within Locke, filling everyone with a sense of novelty.

Whoosh~ Whoosh~ Whoosh~

In contrast to the others' wonder, Lister—the strongest present and already finished with his soak—could sense the difficulty of Locke's breakthrough.

Although the aura and energy radiating from Locke's body were filled with an intense pressure, they still lacked a qualitative change.

It was like churning lake water that hadn't yet fully merged into a rushing river; it was as if a massive wall of energy stood firmly between the lake and the river.

Lister felt it, and naturally, Locke, as the owner of that body, felt it too.

At this moment, his face began to flush Red. The shackles that he couldn't seem to break through caused a sense of irritability to surge within his heart.

If no external force intervened at this moment, Locke's final result would only be a failed breakthrough.

Without any hesitation, Lister took out a long-preserved dragon blood fruit from his spatial ring and shouted at Locke, "Locke, eat this dragon blood fruit. Don't be impatient; focus and stabilize the circulation of your Breathing Technique."

The voice, like heavenly music, reached Locke's ears without missing a single word. He felt a round object being tossed toward him.

Locke didn't hesitate for a second. He caught it precisely in his hand and then swallowed it in a few large bites.

In an instant, the Fighting Spirit Seed within Locke, which had been gradually calming down, began to rotate frantically. The surrounding chi energy was like magical beasts sensing prey, scrambling to rush into the vortex of the Fighting Spirit Seed.

The churning lake water, which originally lacked enough impact, seemed to gain the power of the ocean, launching a violent assault against that energy wall.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Accompanied by sounds like a war hammer striking the ground, cracks gradually began to appear on the energy wall inside Locke under the impact of the water.

After an unknown amount of time, under the expectant gazes of the crowd, a terrifying beast roar suddenly erupted from within Locke.

Bang!

The bath barrel holding Locke instantly burst apart. Fortunately, Lister had prepared in advance; the flying wood chips and water splashes were all blocked by chi energy.

Silver Rank 1!

Opening his eyes, Locke felt the majestic power shift within him, and a look of wild joy suddenly surfaced on his face.

The next second, he performed the most solemn knight's kneeling salute to Lister, his face showing infinite gratitude and reverence as he said, "Thank you for your gift, Lord Lister! Locke will surely follow you to the death, until the end of my life!"

Lister nodded slightly, then gently helped Locke up, praising him with a smile, "Haha, Locke, you did very well."

The faces of the newly selected knights nearby were all filled with excitement and joy. Even though it wasn't their own breakthrough, Locke's advancement made them happier than their own previous breakthroughs.

This happiness was for Locke's breakthrough, for the valuable insights they had gained, and even more so because Lister and the Ironthorn Territory now had another Silver Knight.

After standing up, Locke carefully sensed the changes within his body, and then, like Lister, he turned his gaze toward Spartacus not far away.

With just one glance, Locke showed a look of surprise and said, "Lord Lister, has Spartacus once again—"

"That's right, he should have entered Deep Meditation again," Lister said calmly.

Though he appeared calm on the surface, his heart was already churning with stormy waves.

The last time Spartacus entered Deep Meditation, it was due to the valuable experience of fighting the beast tide and the boost from the Magical Beast Meat's energy.

But this time in Aetheria, he hadn't participated in any battles, other than watching 'that great battle' from afar.

If it were really because of that, why hadn't Lister, who had also watched it, entered Deep Meditation?

Regarding Spartacus's heaven-defying talent, Lister really didn't know what to say. His heart was filled with nothing but envy upon envy.

Time flowed by like water. Spartacus's push to advance to Silver Knight wasn't as rapid as Locke's, but it was much steadier.

The massive energy wall blocking his path gradually became covered in cracks, like a giant spiderweb, under the powerful impact of the tide of chi energy within him.

With a "boom," the final and most powerful impact completely shattered the energy wall, and the rushing tide and river merged into one.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Accompanied by several violent impact sounds, Spartacus successfully broke through to Silver Knight.

The commotion from Spartacus's breakthrough was clearly much larger than Locke's; even the ground where he stood sank down by several inches.

Moreover, Spartacus had advanced to Silver Knight by relying on his own talent, and the chi energy leaking from his body was even more solid than Locke's.

"Lord Lister, your subordinate has broken through!"

Spartacus, who didn't even have time to put on his coat, looked at Lister with excitement.

To this, Lister naturally did not hold back his words of praise.

And Spartacus's breakthrough once again provided the surrounding newly selected knights with even more valuable insights.

The fire wisp grass soak and cultivation lasted for over two hours before finally coming to an end.

In addition to gaining two Silver Knights, Carlyle and Sejin had also both broken through to Bronze Rank 8.

The others had also more or less either broken through by one rank or were just one step away.

Red was just one step away from breaking through to Silver Rank 5.

However, Lister didn't feel disappointed. After all, a breakthrough for a Silver Knight was not the same as that of a Bronze Knight.

As for Red himself, because his temperament had become increasingly steady, he didn't have any major negative emotions other than a tiny bit of disappointment.

Overall, this fire wisp grass bath cultivation had greatly enhanced the overall strength of the Ironthorn Territory.

In particular, going from one Silver Knight to three provided more options and security for the Ironthorn Territory's measures against future crises.

Outside the Weapon Development Department, at the weapon testing ground.

After finishing his cultivation, Lister didn't return directly to the castle but instead brought Red here.

"Lord, this is the newly developed firearm," Gimel said with a face full of excitement, holding a black-gray Flintlock Pistol in both hands and offering it to Lister.

Picking up the gun, Lister examined it carefully.

The gun in his hand was a Flintlock Pistol that ignited gunpowder with a piece of flint. It was less than forty centimeters long, and its overall appearance was nothing special.

But upon closer inspection, Lister could see that its workmanship was very fine. Not just the barrel, but the forging and polishing of those critical parts were, in his eyes, absolutely excellent.

While Lister was looking it over, Red asked curiously, "Lord Lister, is this a firearm?"

"That's right."

Lister nodded and said seriously, "Although this thing is small and doesn't look extraordinary, it will definitely be of immense help to our Ironthorn Territory's knights and Soldiers in the future."

"On the battlefield against other races, having this might just tip the scales of victory in a war."

"It actually has such power?" Red's face showed surprise, but he didn't doubt the truth of Lister's words.

Given his loyalty to Lister, he absolutely believed that Lister wouldn't joke about something like this.

Lister smiled and didn't answer. Instead, he raised the gun and aimed at a target that had been prepared not far away.

Thanks to his past life traveling the world and spending money to play with real guns at live-fire shooting clubs abroad, he didn't feel unfamiliar with holding a gun.

Eye, gun, and target aligned in a single line, and Lister pulled the trigger without hesitation.

With a "bang," sparks flew, and a Gunpowder Bullet made of fine iron shot out from the barrel.

Gunpowder existed in this world; those alchemists often used it for all sorts of strange experiments, but they had never thought of applying it to firearms.

As the fine iron Gunpowder Bullet sliced through the air, a faint scent of burning filled the atmosphere.

In just the blink of an eye, a hole appeared right in the center of the target dozens of meters away.

Gimel, standing beside Lister, immediately praised, "Lord, your marksmanship is truly too accurate; a bullseye with one shot!"

"I tried it before with the other Forgemasters and craftsmen, but none of us could do it."

"I originally thought it was because our forging level was insufficient, but now I understand—that bullseye was just waiting for your arrival."

"Gimel, when did you learn to flatter people?" Lister lowered the flintlock and shook his head with a chuckle.

"These are all my heartfelt words, Lord, please believe me," Gimel said solemnly.

"Oh, you—" Lister smiled and didn't say more.

Red, on the other hand, was completely stunned by the firearm's power, his mouth hanging wide open in a rare display of shock.

Initially, he had thought the flintlock wouldn't be very powerful; after all, it looked small and had nothing unique about it.

But after Lister's test shot, he realized he had been looking at the world from the bottom of a well.

"Red, what are your thoughts?"

Hearing Lister's voice by his ear, Red snapped back to his senses and said joyfully, "Lord Lister, this firearm is definitely a treasure!"

"According to my perception just now, its power can definitely penetrate armor made of fine iron, and might even penetrate the chi energy shield of a low-level Bronze Knight."

"While it might not affect the battles of high-level knights, it will definitely pose a massive threat in battles involving low-level knights and ordinary Soldiers."

"When I used to fight the Orc Race, those naturally massive and hard-muscled Orc Race exerted strong pressure on our kingdom's Soldiers in low-end combat because their physical stats far exceeded humans."

"If it weren't for the kingdom's Soldiers being well-trained in tactical cooperation, the low-end ranks would have been overrun by the Orc Race long ago."

"But now with this firearm, the powerful physical stats of those Orc Race will no longer be a threat to us."

"On the contrary, because the Orc Race lack Forgemasters and craftsmen, most of their armor and mail are very crude. The firearm can definitely deal heavy damage to them."

"You're right, Red," Lister nodded in agreement. "If firearms can be equipped to ordinary Soldiers on a large scale, it will greatly enhance our combat power."

"Later, I will establish a specialized Firearm Battalion. Any Soldier entering the Firearm Battalion must not only have exceptional physical stats and close-combat skills but also possess excellent proficiency in using firearms."

"However, the matter of firearms needs to be kept strictly confidential. Now is not the time to expose them to the public eye."