Chapter 55: Blood Bat Knight

Quartermaster's Office.

Jiang He continuously checked boxes on the Codex page. After converting two Class-C military merits, the number of Class-D merits reached forty, which was more than enough to purchase the alchemical materials for the Blood Bat Knight. As for the remaining four Class-D merits, half were used to buy human blood from the field hospital, and the other half to hire soldiers to catch bats in the underground caves.

The middle-aged colonel retrieved a crumpled document and pushed it forward solemnly.

"Albrecht, a leopard knight of this generation from the old Prussian noble Albrecht family, earned the glory representing his family. He killed my older brother in a previous campaign, and now I am personally hiring you to execute vengeance. When the operation begins, someone will assist you in the capacity of an assistant."

Jiang He's gaze lingered on the alchemical material, the twin lotus flowers, for a moment before he put away the Codex page. "Provoking an old noble family will inevitably bring a brutal retaliation afterward. Even if the war is tense and they can't spare the attention for now, the war will end one day."

The middle-aged colonel nodded and said, "That's why it's not like nobody rejected me before, but you are different. You killed Kahn and even caused his descendants to spark chaos in their scramble for knightly power. What difference does one more make?"

With that, the middle-aged colonel unbuckled his bracers. They were golden in color, engraved with the solemn and majestic pattern of a lion.

"Take these to use. As long as you can kill the leopard knight, they are yours. This is the will of the next head of the Lehmann family."

[Name: Lionheart King's Bracers]
[Category: Set (1/6)]
[Quality: Rare]
[Effect 1: Strength Attribute +1]
[Effect 2: Stamina Recovery Speed increased by 20%]
[Effect 3: Intermediate Durability]
[Remark: Collecting three Lionheart King items will activate Set Effect 1; collecting six will activate Set Effect 2]

Jiang He's pupils constricted slightly. Another piece of the Lionheart King set was among the twelve items on the Platinum Palace's military merit list, specifically the helmet, which held the most symbolic significance of them all.

The middle-aged colonel smiled and said, "I believe you've also noticed that these and that helmet on the list once both belonged to the Lionheart King. It should be hard for anyone to refuse. Because you've killed too many soldiers, Prussia will not take you in. But as long as you remain on our side, the Fane family has ways to handle it. Therefore, I hope not to see any foolish actions."

Jiang He took the Lionheart King bracers and said, "I need to rest for a day. Help me finish gathering the alchemical materials I requested before dawn."

The middle-aged colonel hesitated for a moment, but eventually agreed.

...

A cavalry detachment set out by night, acting on superior orders to capture vampire bats in the surrounding underground caves.

In fact, a small number of bats existed within the major bunkers, but for the middle-aged colonel, the cost and impact of large-scale collection far exceeded simply ordering the cavalry into action.

By dawn, three netfuls of vampire bats had been transported back to the camp, though the cavalry had suffered a few casualties after encountering enemy field snipers halfway.

On the other side, Jiang He carried all the materials and advanced into the dense forest. Following Wu He's description, he found an abandoned hunter's cabin. Entering the cellar beneath the house, he found it completely empty, with only two or three rotting cabbage leaves lying on the ground.

"Perimeter security is set up. If there's danger, I'll release a few bombing crows. You can decide for yourself whether to interrupt the advancement process."

Wu He took on the responsibility of security, on the condition that he could observe the advancement process from start to finish. The ninety percent mortality rate made him dare not attempt it lightly.

Jiang He wounded a bat to bleed it, mixed the blood with blood bags from the field hospital, and stirred in an alchemical material called coffin mud. He hand-molded a pool of blood, poured all the blood into it, and integrated the alchemical materials one by one. Finally, the entire mixture boiled, emitting a peculiar fragrance—the scent of blood vitality.

"Ninety percent... are you really sure about this?" Wu He asked worriedly.

"Twin flowers symbolize the flesh and the soul, the bleeding tree symbolizes draining away mortal blood, the cedar tree heart symbolizes being reborn through blood, and coffin mud symbolizes burying one's past self. Including the failure rate, it also symbolizes miracles."

"Every alchemical material is a symbol, and there are traces of similarity between alchemical materials and their symbols. For example, the twin flowers symbolize the flesh and the soul precisely because their two stems grow intertwined."

Wu He didn't quite understand, but felt it sounded profound. "What are you trying to say?"

Jiang He slowly stepped into the pool of blood. "I'm wondering how knight formulas were deduced from scratch. The fact that numerous knights are active on the battlefield indicates that there are rules behind it."

"Do different alchemical materials represent different symbols? I certainly thought so at first, but last night I saw the twin lotus flowers on the list. Their position was very close to the twin flowers, and right next to them was the interlaced vine."

Wu He looked thoughtful. "You mean categorization?"

Jiang He's body was almost submerged in the blood pool. "Categorization and substitution. What I just put into the blood pool wasn't actually the twin flowers from the Freudenberg heritage, but the twin lotus flowers instead. Yet, it still integrated into the bloody water. Without sufficient data, I can only call this a guess. In alchemy, casting materials are merely the superficial appearance; what truly matters is the symbolism contained within the materials."

"In other words, the symbol of a miracle doesn't necessarily have to be a ninety percent failure rate. I once sailed a ship through a storm, which could barely be considered escaping death by a hair."

Wu He couldn't help saying, "So you're arbitrarily altering a formula that an old noble family has passed down for hundreds or thousands of years? There's only a thin line between a genius and a madman. This arrogance of yours could very well lead to your death."

Soaking in the blood pool, Jiang He said indifferently, "An uncontrollable ninety percent mortality rate—leaving things to luck is true arrogance. By comparison, in a storm, I can at least hold the helm. I don't regret this attempt; even if I could choose again from the start, the result would be the same."

"Furthermore, with formulas passed down for centuries or millennia, it's impossible for all alchemical materials to be inexhaustible. If the tradition continues even after the corresponding materials go extinct, it proves that the deduced rules hold a significant degree of correctness."

"In short, I do not intend to leave everything entirely to fate."

Wu He fell silent, watching the other person sink into the pool water.

The blood pool boiled, and countless dense cracks appeared on the surface of Jiang He's body. Murky blood entered them, only to be quickly circulated out. Because of the presence of the twin lotus flowers, his soul was similarly affected. A pool of essence transformed into fragments invisible to the naked eye, continuously penetrating and wrapping around him, miraculously aggregating in large quantities like an indestructible suit of armor.

The blood pool suddenly caught fire, and green flames healed the cracks. After various changes, the coffin mud tightly adhered to his body.

Half a day passed, and the bloody mud crumbled away, dry as if it had lost all nutrients. Jiang He stood up. His perspective shifted extremely rapidly, and an indescribable sense of security welled up from the depths of his soul.

[Name: Knight · Soul Armed · Blood Bat]
[Category: System Class]
[Quality: Excellent]
[Effect 1: Agility Attribute +2]
[Effect 2: Blood Wings, bears a pair of blood-red wings capable of flight, possessing 3,600 feathers with a texture superior to sharp steel blades, and reduces wind resistance by 20% when moving on the ground]
[Effect 3: Blood Energy, Energy Value +500]
[Effect 4: Advanced Self-Healing. Initially Intermediate Self-Healing; the kidney function of vampire bats has a remarkable ability to concentrate blood waste, which undergoes a qualitative change when combined with the stored energy of Garuda's Egg. Once food energy is depleted, the self-healing grade recovers.]
[Effect 5: Blood Thrall. Through the Embrace ritual, turns humans into variants, controls them through blood, with each point of Spirit stats equaling one Embrace quota.]
[Remark: Power from the Freudenberg family!]
[Prompt: Your Crafting LV1 has transformed into Alchemist LV1]
[Prompt: You have awakened Energy Trait · Corrosion LV1]

Jiang He felt the changes within himself. The Blood Bat Knight's abilities were similar to Kahn Freudenberg's, except that his self-healing had been upgraded to Advanced, corresponding to the Excellent tier. He had acquired the knowledge of the Embrace ritual; with his current Spirit attributes, he could possess seven blood thralls, holding absolute supremacy over their life and death.

At the same time, his Energy Value had reached 1100.

Jiang He threw a punch into empty air. A blood-red fist light left his body, its power equivalent to a close-range direct punch. It left a clear fist print on the brick and stone of the cellar, with corrosion traces at the edges, while consuming a dozen points of Energy Value.

"Garuda Mode Four—Energy Projection, but the technique is far from sufficient. It's more like an overflowing bucket spilling its water outward rather than precise, effortless control."

"However, the pure blue energy seems to have merged with the blood energy."

Jiang He raised his hand, emitting a cyan-red fluorescent glow that carried the power of corrosion.

[Name: Energy Trait LV1]
[Category: Energy Class]
[Quality: Rare]
[Effect: Deals an additional 11% corrosion damage]
[Remark: One of the hallmarks of an elite player. Awaken your own trait; can be upgraded using game coins.]

"Not a passive skill, then."

Jiang He invested game coins, starting the trait upgrade at a hundred points.

[Prompt: You have consumed 100 game coins]
[Prompt: Energy Trait LV1 → LV2, deals an additional 12% corrosion damage]

Hearing the prompt, Jiang He's expression flickered slightly. No wonder Wu He said that players stepping into the formal stages have a massive demand for game coins; wanting significant improvements requires investing vast resources.

[Prompt: You have consumed 1000 game coins]
[Prompt: Energy Trait LV2 → LV12, deals an additional 22% corrosion damage]
[Game Coins: 215]
[Agility: 10 → 10+2]
[Strength: 8 → 8+1]

Iron light burst forth in Jiang He's hand. The Long Regret Spear thrust forward, red light flashing, and the tip of the spear easily sank into the cellar wall and earth. Corrosion caused the hole to continuously expand. With marksmanship mastery and the energy trait superimposing, the overall damage increased by 45%, which was quite considerable.