On the fifth failure of potion-making, Sunan used up the last portion of Sub-Dragon blood.
But he didn't mind.
Without needing to present physical evidence, he himself was now the best proof.
After a good night's sleep, the next day, Sunan found Kei in the council hall.
Kei had just returned from a patrol, still wearing armor, looking weathered.
He was sitting in the hall with a group of Knight leaders, discussing how to deal with the Black-scaled Lizardman's raids.
"The Black-scaled Lizardmen have always invaded in the Frostfall Month to grab food for the winter; by the timeline, it's about time for them again."
"Scouts yesterday spotted traces of Black-scaled Lizardmen over ten kilometers north outside the city."
"Those damned bandits, they never change!"
"Sir, give me a battalion of a hundred men, and I'll surely take those bandits down!"
Kei frowned deeply.
Black Stone City was just a small town, with a combined military force of just over five hundred.
More than half were merely militia trained in basics, who had never truly seen battle.
They could defend the city, but in a fight against the Black-scaled Lizardmen, they would likely scatter at first sight.
Only about two hundred fifty soldiers could truly be considered battle-ready.
This limited strength needed to guard Black Stone City and numerous surrounding villages, which was truly stretching thin.
Thinking of this, Kei couldn't help but feel a headache.
Besides Owen, the Black-scaled Lizardmen were a threat he had to address head-on.
If mishandled, this winter would be tough for Black Stone City.
Just as he was troubled, Kei caught a glimpse of Sunan walking in, raised a hand to signal his subordinates to stop talking, and looked towards Sunan.
"What's the matter?"
Sunan said, "I succeeded."
After a moment of pause, Kei finally understood Sunan's meaning, and replied half-skeptically, "You've found a way to enhance our military strength?"
The others also reacted, all eyes turned to Sunan.
Yet their gaze was filled with evident doubt.
A feasible method researched in just one day? It didn't sound plausible.
Facing the skeptical eyes of the crowd, Sunan didn't waste words, he directly walked to a long table, grabbed its edge with one hand, and lifted it effortlessly.
Immediately, there was a creak, the heavy long table rose entirely off the ground, hovering steadily at about twenty centimeters above the ground, without a single wobble.
The crowd was astonished, their eyes almost bulged out.
Sunan's frailty was well known; normally, he couldn't even lift a Longsword.
Yet now he could easily lift a table made of solid wood weighing at least two or three hundred pounds, and he seemed to do it without breaking a sweat.
This strength was probably comparable to that of a trainee Knight!
Coming to his senses, Kei quickly stood up, looked at his brother with delight.
"What's going on here?"
Sunan put down the long table, smiled, and nodded, explaining: "I've created a potion that can enhance the human physique. I took a bottle myself, and now my physical condition is roughly equivalent to that of a trainee Knight. The weaker the user's physique, the stronger the potion's effect. It's effective even on full Knights, and can be used multiple times, although its effect will gradually diminish. More specific data requires further collection and analysis."
Listening to Sunan, Kei's eyes grew brighter.
If there's enough potion, they could potentially train a batch of trainee Knights, even Knights.
A common person can be elevated to trainee Knight with the potion; couldn't a trainee Knight possibly advance to become a full Knight?
Kei's excitement grew, his face flushed.
Those who don't aspire to be lords don't know how difficult it is to train a Knight these days.
A common person starts from age twelve, refining skills and strengthening the body, it takes an average of four to five years to develop the physical training needed before refining the breathing technique, thus becoming a Knight's attendant.
A Knight attendant generally trains in breathing techniques for four to five years to advance to a trainee Knight.
Then they need seven to eight years of training to concentrate the Life Seed, advancing to full Knight.
Adding it up, it takes on average seventeen or eighteen years to train a Knight.
Provided the aptitude is enough.
Those with poor aptitude may never become Knights in their lifetime.
Aside from this, the manpower and resources consumed in the training process are also a huge expenditure.
Therefore, even those nobles with real power and territory often can't train many Knights.
Take Flashing Territory for example, even at its peak, the number of Knights in the territory was less than a hundred.
Thus, you can see how precious a potion that can rapidly train Knights is!
After taking several deep breaths, Kei managed to calm his inner excitement, fixed his gaze seriously on Sunan, and asked solemnly, "What do you need me to do?"
Sunan replied earnestly, "To create this potion, a substantial amount of Black-scaled Lizardman blood is required."
"No problem!" Kei agreed without hesitation, "Tomorrow I will lead troops out to hunt the Black-scaled Lizardmen!"
After a pause, he quickly stepped in front of Sunan, tapped his shoulder with a look of gratification.
"Who would've thought the legendary Wizard's methods were real."
"It was wrong of me to doubt you before, and I apologize!"
Sunan gave a slight smile, "Family doesn't need to worry about such things."
Kei's smile grew brighter, nodding vigorously: "Well said! With brotherly unity, we will one day reclaim Flashing Territory and avenge our father."
Sunan nodded seriously, yet his heart was calm.
With the goal of becoming a Wizard, he had little interest in domination, only wishing to quietly train, achieve immortality, and live until the elemental revival and wizardry's golden era a thousand years later.
However, though he thought this inwardly, outwardly he put on the necessary semblance before his brother.
After all, Wizardry requires a vast amount of resources; having a lord brother facilitated resource gathering much more smoothly.
Therefore, Sunan's goal was clear: to enhance the territory's strength, turning it into a logistic platform for personal resource collection while training to boost his power, aiming for an early promotion to Official Wizard.
Meanwhile, the commanders also recovered from their shock, glancing at each other.
None had expected the legendary Wizard method to be real.
Enabling ordinary people to become trainee Knights in a single day; such a method was indeed awe-inspiring!
Suddenly, everyone's gaze towards Sunan carried amazement and reverence.
There was also a strong sense of delight following.
With such miraculous potions, the territory's expansion seemed promising!
So when Kei announced the order to hunt the Black-scaled Lizardmen the next day, all the commanders responded excitedly.
Never before had they so urgently desired to encounter those damned bandits!
Once despised and loathed, the Black-scaled Lizardmen were now viewed as precious potions on the move.
That's a wealth of strength enhancement!