Novel Full Chapter 390 - 364: Promotion
As Ronin collected the five hundred thousand Gold Coins, he also completed the final tier of the Wealth and Prosperity achievement.
He opened his Attribute Panel. His Attribute Points and Energy Essence had seen unprecedented growth, now reaching a total of 10,825 and 24,849, respectively!
’This is enough to upgrade myself, Ridder, and Macken.’
Ronin glanced around. Considering the energy fluctuations that would occur during the upgrade, he left the Mage Tower and called for Carlos to begin their return journey, all without disturbing anyone else in the castle.
High in the sky, Ronin invested 3,133 Attribute Points into his Mage Level. Instantly, the Body Wheel in his heart and the Void Wheel in his Sea of Consciousness burst open.
In that instant, it was as if Ronin had shattered some kind of shackle. The Wind and Fire Elements from the surrounding world surged into his body, just as they had when Elron advanced. His entire aura was involuntarily elevated.
A powerful heartbeat, a physique impervious to ordinary harm, and a Spiritual Power strong enough to manipulate physical objects—at this moment, Ronin was more powerful than ever before!
As the sole witness to all this, the flying Carlos was affected by this powerful presence. The already timid dragon’s heart began to pound in its chest.
“Master, you’ve grown stronger again!”
Ronin smiled faintly, took a small dagger from his ring, and drew it across his arm.
Although the dagger was quite sharp, it didn’t break his skin.
’It would take a lot more force to actually hurt me.’
The physical enhancement a Knight gained from breaking through the Body Wheel was substantial.
Next, Ronin extended his Spiritual Power to envelop the dagger. With a mere thought, he made the dagger hover in the air before sending it shooting forward, much like an Arrow.
’It’s a bit slower than a Magic Arrow, about what you’d expect from an ordinary Hunter.’
While this level of control couldn’t threaten a true expert, it was more than enough to deal with a Low Level Transcendent.
Moreover, as his Spiritual Power grew, this control would become stronger, and its future lethality would increase as well.
But all that was secondary. The key thing was that Ronin could now use the Earth Core Fire and his Spiritual Power to forge any steel items he desired.
Without CNC machines, he could still create high-precision items by relying on the keen observation and control granted by his powerful Spiritual Power.
Ronin glanced at his Attribute Panel:
[Level]: 8-Silver Moon Knight (0/10,000); 8-Magic Master (0/15,000)
[Attribute Points]: 7,692
Seeing the requirements to break through from the Eighth-level to the Ninth Level, he couldn’t help but exclaim, “Twenty-five thousand points… It takes so many Attribute Points!”
Ronin considered for a moment, then put 6,000 of his remaining Attribute Points into his Knight Level, using the last 1,692 on his Mage Level.
He did this purely to give himself a greater margin for error in his upcoming magical cultivation and experiments.
’Late-stage Silver Moon Level… Based on power level alone, I should be considered among the top tier on the continent now.’
As for Great Mages, Ronin only knew of Bellora. He hadn’t heard of any Proud Sun Knights yet, though he had heard of a few Silver Moon Knights.
But soon, a Proud Sun Knight would emerge from his own ranks. His strength had reached a point where he no longer needed to lay low.
At this thought, Ronin couldn’t help but leap from the Giant Dragon’s back. Imitating Ridder, he erupted with Fighting Qi and began to walk on the air. The sensation, completely different from using Wind’s Wings, made him laugh heartily.
Carlos slowed down, its eyes filled with envy.
When it first met Ronin, he wasn’t even a Golden Knight, yet he had reached the Silver Moon Level so quickly.
Even though it was a Giant Dragon with defense and combat power far exceeding other Magical Beasts of the same level, it was still helpless to stop an expert like this from drawing its blood.
’Oh, my long, long dragon life… When will I ever break through to the next rank?’
After unleashing the surging power within him, Ronin returned to the dragon’s back.
With increased strength came greater ambition, but he currently lacked an opportunity for expansion.
He couldn’t just raise the banner of rebellion and declare his intent to overthrow the Oduin Royal Family.
Doing so would only make him a public enemy of the Kingdom.
If the entire Kingdom came to attack Wushan Territory, even with his powerful top-tier experts, there was a risk of being worn down by attrition.
’Right now, I have enough generals. What I lack are soldiers… and a catalyst.’
’Until that catalyst arrives, I should keep as low a profile as possible. The main task is still to turn Wubei Territory into our granary and a base of operations with a large population.’
As a Dual-Profession Level 8, Ronin estimated that, barring any accidents, he could live for two centuries.
Time was the one thing he didn’t lack. Waiting ten or twenty years, let alone three to five, was not a problem.
「The next day, in Shore City.」
Ridder and Macken were both present.
In over two months, the Knight Squads under their command had been well-trained and now possessed a decent level of combat effectiveness.
In addition, new Professional Knights had joined, and their forces were still expanding.
“My lord, the number of merchants coming to Shore City from Moonlight Valley has decreased recently.”
Ridder gave a brief report on the recent situation in Shore City.
After several waves of purges, the individuals and family factions in the city with close ties to the Polante Thief Gang had been mostly cleaned up. Any who might have escaped were of no consequence.
It was unclear if it was because of these actions, or the recent killings of Ramsay and Angus, that Jesus now wanted to distance himself from Shore City and had restricted trade.
“As long as that guy stays in line and stops coveting Wushan Territory’s land, we’ll leave him alone for now.”
“A halt in trade won’t kill anyone. Besides, Shore City now has the Fifth Knight Order, not to mention all the Knights, Infantry, and others from Kahill Town, Sari Town, Giant Stone City, and Chishan Town. That’s more than enough to consume all the meat and milk produced in Shore City.”
“And conveniently, the grain we’re lacking here can be resupplied from the north.”
“The first reason I came this time was to bring you the Support Enhancement Potions that Elron made.”
Ronin handed a box of potion vials to Ridder. “How you use them and who you give them to is up to you.”
Ridder took the potions and said with a smile, “Elron has gone back to his old trade after all. In my memories, he was always skilled at this sort of thing.”
All three of them had come from the Flame Expedition Army. As his memories returned, Ridder, their former leader, found his understanding of Elron and Macken deepening.
“There’s a lot more he can make,” Ronin said with a smile. “The second reason I’m here is to increase your strength.”
As he spoke, he looked at Macken.
The latter was stunned for a moment, then his expression lit up with joy. ’Is it finally my turn?’ he asked himself inwardly.
Macken’s current level progress was Silver Knight (600/1500). Ever since Ronin had allocated points for his breakthrough two years ago, he had reached this stage through his own cultivation.
Although this cultivation speed was indeed a bit slow, it was still within the normal range.
As Macken watched in anticipation, Ronin first spent 3,400 Energy Essence to raise his strength to the peak level of a Golden Knight, then used another 1,000 Energy Essence to improve his aptitude.
“Thank you, my lord!”
Macken felt the power rapidly growing inside him. His memories told him that he now possessed combat strength exceeding that of his previous life!
Ronin gestured for him to stand up, but his own attention was on the Attribute Panel. After spending 4,400 Energy Essence, he still had 20,449 points remaining.
Ridder’s level progress was at the Silver Moon Level (54/10,000), which meant that less than ten thousand Energy Essence would be enough to help him break through to the Proud Sun rank.
’With the remaining ten thousand-plus Energy Essence, could I raise Macken to a Silver Moon Knight?’
Ronin could infer from the cost of improving Elron’s aptitude that it would likely take another 3,000 Energy Essence to improve Macken’s aptitude again.
’Wubei Territory will have another Silver Moon Knight?’