Chapter 64: The Fourth Claw Potion [Agile Claw] and the [Sword of the Dead] Potion

The army of the Archbishop of Achaia soon stationed itself in Baron Simon's castle. Baron Simon could only swallow this bitter pill, knowing he had no other choice.

After all, the Bulgars had already looted most of the military forces in the southern Thrace region, leaving Peter Barony as the only untouched territory.

This significantly elevated Su Nan's influence in the area.

Archbishop Achaia ordered the Storm God's consecrated knights to lead soldiers in an exhaustive search of the southern Thrace region every day. Their efforts were so intense it was as if they were digging three feet into the ground.

Everywhere the Church's army went, they extorted grain and wealth from the local villagers.

If the villagers refused, these so-called holy soldiers would accuse them of disrespecting the Storm God or harboring impure hearts, using these as excuses to torment them. Many villagers ended up with broken families and lost livelihoods.

Some devout believers went so far as to offer their entire possessions willingly to the Church, only to receive platitudes from Archbishop Achaia's clergy, praising them as "virtuous people loved by the Lord for their simplicity."

Curiously, while the Church's soldiers acted recklessly in other parts of southern Thrace, they seemed more restrained within Peter Barony. Although they still extorted from the villagers, they dared not resort to outright robbery.

Su Nan later learned from his uncle, Priest Louis, that this was due to Archbishop Achaia's explicit orders to avoid conflict with him. The Archbishop appeared to have more pressing priorities and wanted to avoid unnecessary complications.

This confirmed the benefits of standing firm. Sacrificing one's interests to appease others often only invited exploitation. A show of strength, on the other hand, earned respect and caution.

During the past seven days, Su Nan successfully refined the fourth claw potion for werewolves—[Agile Claw].

This potion, following [Flame Claw], [Strength Claw], and [Iron Claw], enhanced the speed of a werewolf's claw strikes. It allowed them to momentarily boost their attack speed by 0.5 and increased attack frequency to once every five seconds.

This was essentially a physical enhancement ability, fine-tuning the werewolves' close-combat prowess.

Werewolves were predominantly melee fighters. Strengthening their close-combat capabilities step by step required thoughtful development of their abilities.

After refining the potions, Su Nan distributed the [Agile Claw] potion among all the werewolves in his domain, including 32 werewolf messengers, 10 werewolf stewards, warrior-class werewolves, high-tier werewolves, and even himself.

This ensured that even the weakest werewolf messenger, when combining the effects of [Iron Claw], [Strength Claw], and [Agile Claw], could achieve a combat power equivalent to 2 (Strength), 2.5 (Speed), and 1.5 (Defense).

This composite strength rivaled that of an average Storm Knight.

These incremental enhancements might seem minor individually, but together they would build a robust and formidable melee force, capable of withstanding the influx of potential enemies drawn to the region due to the [Four Seasons Garden].

In the castle's attic, Su Nan continued his potion experiments. He threw seven varieties of highly toxic mushrooms into a cauldron: Spotted Mushrooms, Scale-Stemmed Amanitas, Fly Agarics, Pure Little Mushrooms, Horn-Scaled Gray Amanitas, Leopard-Spotted Poison Amanitas, and Tiger-Skin Bolete.

Before the mushrooms could fully heat, he added powdered stones from the Hidden Realm, graveyard soil, a drop of a warlock's blood, and three gold coins.

After precisely two and a half minutes, he extinguished the fire and poured the cauldron's contents into a glass vial.

The resulting potion was pitch black, with a violet-black glow swirling ominously at its core.

Handing the vial to the ever-loyal Wasilian Death Knight, Su Nan explained, "This is an additional potion in the Death Knight series—the [Sword of the Dead]. It's based on the [Lesser Death Breath Curse] model we acquired from the Forgotten Ones."

Without hesitation, Wasilian drank the potion. His black armor became streaked with glowing violet-black lines—manifestations of excess death energy surging through him, pooling toward his heart.

Su Nan raised an eyebrow, amused. "You're far too impatient, Wasilian. My uncle, Priest Louis, once told me you were known for your patience and excellence as a clergyman in life."

Wasilian's voice was low. "Apologies, my lord. Death changes a person. Even when revived, it seems certain parts of us remain lost to it."

"I've seen through the lies that once bound my thoughts. Yesterday, when you spoke of the stars in the heavens not as divine symbols but as vast lands even greater than the earth beneath our feet, my soul stirred with longing."

"I want to witness a broader world, and my enemies are those foolish believers and deceitful charlatans."

Su Nan smirked. "Perhaps you weren't suited to be a clergyman after all. You speak more like a wizard now."

"Back to the point. The [Sword of the Dead] potion allows you to channel concentrated death energy, magnified threefold by the grudges of the deceased, into a devastating slash.

"This ability can serve as your ultimate attack. Additionally…"

"The [Sword of the Dead] skill integrates techniques from energy-based life forms, making it especially effective against creatures created by magic."

Su Nan arched a brow. "I'll soon enter the heart meditation process. I'll need your support."

Wasilian raised his knight's sword and knelt. "I will fight to my last breath. Even if I face obliteration, no harm will come to you."

Satisfied, Su Nan began preparing another round of potions. This time, he worked on an upgraded version of the [Fury Potion], tailored for his werewolf army.

The [Fury Potion] was a standard enhancement, but he aimed to create something more potent for the super werewolves under his command.

Additionally, Su Nan planned to convert more elite werewolves within his domain before advancing to a first-class wizard apprentice.

"When will the Forgotten Ones finally locate the wizard ruin?" Su Nan muttered. The Four Seasons Garden had eluded all efforts for nearly a month.

The search had scoured both the skies and the depths of the earth.

Where could it be hiding?

Shaking his head, Su Nan refocused on the cauldron before him. "AI, what precautions should I take while refining the second-tier [Fury Potion]?"

The upgraded [Fury Potion], or [Double Fury], induced a second layer of frenzy on top of the first.

While such intense self-exploitation would normally shorten a creature's lifespan, the werewolves' fourfo

ld immortality rendered it negligible.

Such was the advantage of an undying body.

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