Holy Snow Crystal

Chapter 72 Holy Snow Crystal (Please read, add to your favorites, and vote!)

"The vein of Holy Snow Crystals is right there," Branta pointed with her finger.

"Hmm." Alphonse nodded.

Upon getting closer, Alphonse couldn't help but marvel at the wonder of this other world.

The cave wasn't very big, about the size of a 20-square-meter room.

But inside, clusters of crystals stretched out from the rock wall like clusters of flowers.

The crystal is transparent, yet it emits a faint, iridescent rainbow of colors.

These strange crystals, like stars underground, irresistibly draw the eye, immersing one in this mysterious and captivating realm.

"Holy Snow Crystals are very brittle and break easily. Once broken, the magic contained within them will be lost, so miners have to be very careful when mining them. We haven't mined much yet," Branta pointed and explained.

"Hmm." Alphonse nodded, indicating that he understood, and walked closer to examine the crystal carefully.

Not only does it have iridescent light, but hexagonal ice crystals resembling snowflakes can also be faintly seen inside the crystal.

This must be why the name of this Sacred Snow Crystal includes the word "snow."

Alphonse placed his palm on a cluster of crystals, and with a slight exertion of his inner energy, his true energy condensed in his palm.

In an instant, I felt a strange, cold yet gentle energy enter my meridians from my palm.

Is this magic?

The true energy of the Innate Formless Divine Skill is most susceptible to the invasion of external objects into the body, yet it did not resist this strange aura.

It was as if it knew that the aura was harmless.

The absorption speed was not fast, but this wisp of pure magic power could not be integrated with true qi. Moreover, when it flowed along the meridians in the hand to the dantian, it could be felt that the magic power was slowly dissipating.

It simply cannot be preserved.

Alphonse felt like a sieve, magic entering his body and then dissipating.

Could it be because I lack magical talent?

Brenta and the two soldiers stared in astonishment.

They had only seen a strange sight.

The cluster of crystals that Alphonse's palm was touching had changed from transparent to a deathly white color, as if it had turned into stone.

Although she didn't understand what was going on, she didn't dare to bother Alphonse.

After a while, as Alphonse withdrew his hand, the cluster of crystals that had completely turned into white crystals turned into powder as if they had been weathered and fell down in a flurry.

Before the absorbed magic power had completely dissipated, Alphonse raised his hand and pressed it into the air, reciting the magic shield spell he had learned from the summoner's notebook.

Instantly, a thin protective shield appeared before my eyes.

Branta wasn't surprised to see Alphonse use magic.

He had glanced at the battle outside the town while the fighting raged on the city walls; he knew that Alphonse had used a spell to summon shadow monsters.

I just don't quite understand why Alphonse, as a summoner, would engage in close combat with enemies, and why his melee abilities are so formidable.

Actually, this is a kind of preconceived notion that summoners who hide in the back are physically weak.

Looking at many books and anime, there are many summoners who are much stronger than summoned beasts, such as Ainz Ooal Gown, whose summoned bone dragons are no match for the ones he can casually conjure.

Not to mention the numerous summoning builds in the game; in nine out of ten Town Halls, the Summoner is stronger than the Summoned Beasts.

In just a few breaths, the protective shield was gone.

The absorbed magic power is still too little to continuously infuse and maintain the existence of the magic shield.

It's too fragile for defense; it's better than nothing.

However, it is true that magic was used.

Alphonse had already planned that if he had enough Holy Snow Crystals and absorbed enough magic power, he could make a pact with the Queen Ant to enslave the monsters.

That magic has a chance of failure, and it can only be cast on monsters. The amount of magic power consumed depends on how weak the monster is.

To put it simply, you need to severely injure the monster until it's on the verge of death and loses its ability to resist, then you'll have a better chance of success.

However, there aren't any very precise figures.

Alphonse's conjecture was that the queen ant was already under the spell of soul-capturing, which planted the seeds of loyalty in her heart, so she would not resist and should not need to expend a lot of magic.

But it's always good to be prepared.

"I need a batch of Holy Snow Crystals," Alphonse said, turning to Branta.

"No problem, we still have some mined meat stored in our castle, I can give you some as a gift," Branta replied without hesitation.

"No need for a delivery. Just deduct the amount from our commission. I'm not sure how much we need, so let's start with a whole truckload." Alphonse didn't intend to take too much advantage of the Swood family.

The value of the sacred snow crystals is considerable.

Since we're allies now, we can't take advantage of them too much.

Anyway, any leftovers can be sold.

Branta initially wanted to decline after hearing the first part of Alphonse's words, since Alphonse was a hero of this war. If it weren't for him bringing the Coldwind Territory's guards to help, Blue Feather Territory would definitely not have been able to hold out. However, when she heard Alphonse say he wanted a whole cartload, her smile became somewhat awkward.

They could only pretend that they had no choice but to back down and agree to go along with it.

Deep down, however, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

If the quantity was too large, he couldn't make decisions on his own; he had to report to his father, Baron Swood.

Alphonse and his guards from the Frostwind Territory only had lunch in the Blue Feather Territory before escorting several carriages on their way home.

One vehicle contained the collected reward money, with several large boxes of gold coins; the other was covered tightly with sacred snow crystals by a tarpaulin.

This cartload of Sacred Snow Crystals was practically given away for free; Baron Swood only symbolically accepted two thousand gold coins.

The other carriages carried wounded soldiers who had difficulty walking, as well as blacksmiths on loan and their families, and their iron-making tools.

Although it was called a temporary transfer, Baron Swood allowed the blacksmiths to bring their families, clearly indicating that he intended to stay permanently.

Lord Swood also thoughtfully gifted four fine horses to Alphonse, Mia, and the two captains of the guard for their transportation.

He was indeed very thoughtful, and even prepared a lot of dry food and water for the soldiers to take back.

Although Blue Feather Territory is not too far from Cold Wind Territory, it is not close either; it takes most of a day to get there.

Alphonse led his guards here without bringing much food, and it will probably be late at night before they return to Coldwind Territory.

After a fierce battle, it wouldn't be right to go back hungry.

They had already planned to ask for some supplies, but before they could even ask, Baron Swood made proper arrangements.

It gives a really good impression.

But thinking about it, the fact that he could so resolutely and ruthlessly offer his daughter as a gift to apologize and beg for help only shows that people have two sides, a good side and a not-so-good side.

Night fell, and Alphonse led his convoy hurried through the deep darkness, passing through a dense forest.

Although there was a road and the starlight and moonlight were shining on it, the lush jungle on both sides still gave people a gloomy and terrifying feeling.

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This morning, I checked the number of people who had read the latest chapter on my alternate account, and it was truly disheartening. It was even colder than the weather outside; the number had dropped below 100. I beg you, dear readers, to be merciful and read to the latest chapter every day. If you don't read during the new book period, the book will really die from neglect.

(End of this chapter)