114 Ghost Warhorse (4000)

Three days later, Nirodo, eastern outskirts.

The hills rolled on endlessly, their lush green meadows spread out like a soft carpet. Here and there, a few blossoms in shades of red and green swayed gently in the breeze.

A black highway cut through the green expanse, stretching straight ahead until it disappeared into a dense, emerald forest.

A car traveled along the road, moving steadily forward before suddenly turning off at a fork.

It sped down a narrow path, quickly vanishing into the heart of the woods.

With a screech, the car came to a halt.

Xiunan and Black Knight stepped out, their eyes sweeping over the surroundings, taking in everything from top to bottom, left to right.

White high walls, towering wrought iron gates, and a wide, smooth concrete driveway. Behind them loomed a vast warehouse occupying a sprawling area.

Xiunan stood in the open courtyard, his figure cloaked in the building's shadow. He raised his gaze and surveyed the scene.

The height of this structure is certainly sufficient for a laboratory.

As for the horizontal space, there was no need to elaborate—a warehouse this enormous could easily house two advanced laboratories, perhaps even leave some room to spare...

“How’s it look, Knight? Not bad, right?” Black Knight removed his hat, the afternoon sun hotter than expected.

“Yes, it’s definitely a fine location for building a high-level lab. Vice President Julio did a conscientious job...” Xiunan glanced around before commenting.

Black Knight smiled silently. Vice President Julio of the Taurus Trade Guild would never cut corners or deceive a rune expert. Money was no object here; the Taurus Guild never lacked funds.

If spending a little could please a rune specialist, they would gladly and enthusiastically comply.

“Have all the raw materials I requested been delivered here?” Xiunan asked after a moment’s thought.

“They’ve all arrived, but we couldn’t find some of the materials, so we substituted a few similar ones...” Black Knight put his hat back on and handed Xiunan a list from his pocket.

Xiunan skimmed through it before replying, “That’s fine. The essential materials for the main instruments are all here. The missing items are some rather obscure ones; I’ll ask the Taurus Guild to help with those.”

He flipped through the pages, then returned the list.

Nearby, Black Knight shook his head, puzzled why Xiunan insisted on buying raw materials instead of purchasing ready-made advanced lab instruments.

Perhaps rune experts preferred to craft their own equipment to better control the experimental process?

“Let’s go inside and take a look.”

Moments later, the two appeared inside the warehouse.

A glance revealed a vast emptiness. The warehouse’s lofty dome gave an uncanny sense of one’s own insignificance. Windows at the top allowed sunlight to pour in, making the interior as bright as the outside world.

Xiunan nodded as he walked. The interior layout and decoration closely matched his designs. Vice President Julio’s team had strictly followed the specifications. All Xiunan had to do was manufacture the experimental instruments, saving a considerable amount of time.

Along the walls, piles of raw materials awaited—items Xiunan had ordered a week ago.

“Shall we check upstairs? There’s a villa there. Maybe you can rest there after a tiring day of experiments. Although the warehouse has places to eat and sleep, it can’t compare to the comfort of a villa...” Black Knight pointed to a window beside him, where a path led up the mountain to a large villa.

“All right, let’s have a look,” Xiunan agreed.

****************

Four days had passed, yet the Mask’s injuries had not healed, even with Xiunan’s healing medal aiding recovery.

Without the Mask as an intermediary, Xiunan couldn’t directly contact Fire Deer Antiques.

During these days, he focused on transforming his advanced rune laboratory. Once it was complete, he officially resumed work on the Pale Knight’s runes.

Xiunan intended to conduct a rune combination experiment.

Thus, he spent nearly all his time in the warehouse, only returning to the villa to sleep at night.

Morning broke with birds singing atop the trees, dew slowly dripping from tender green leaves. A gentle breeze rustled through the endless forest sea.

Nestled within was a gray-white villa, perfectly situated against the edge of a waterfall.

On the top floor, sunlight slanted through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting irregular golden strips across the brown wooden floor, giving it a faint pale hue.

This twenty-by-twenty-meter hall featured a large window on the left side, beside which stood a small sofa.

Sitting there and enjoying a cup of black tea was a fine choice.

Looking left, one could see the distant waterfall’s mist forming a rainbow in the air, enchanting against the backdrop of the verdant forest.

Such a beautiful morning view naturally lifted the spirits. Xiunan enjoyed this tranquility.

Gently placing the white porcelain cup down, he rose slowly and donned the trench coat hanging on the nearby coat rack.

He hurried downstairs, greeted promptly by a few beautiful maids. Xiunan nodded slightly but quickly departed.

These women were sent by the Golden Spiral Organization; none were mere ornaments.

Indeed, they were fair and graceful, their loose maid dresses unable to conceal their alluring figures. The Golden Spiral’s intentions were clear.

But Black Knight had revealed that each maid was professionally trained, skilled in lethal combat, firearms, reconnaissance, and more.

Among them, the head maid and her deputy were psychics. Equipped with conversion pendants, they could serve as formidable secret operatives.

They were directly assigned to Xiunan as his personal team.

Casting a glance back at the slender figure standing by the roadside, Xiunan maintained an expressionless face as he boarded his vehicle.

“Master, I will prepare dinner and wait for your return...” Qiu Lin said shyly, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment and wounded pride.

Why was she here? Naturally, it had to do with her brother. She had made significant contributions by stealing intelligence from the Holy Flame Society and thus requested help to rescue her brother. However, this request exceeded what her contributions could warrant and could not be fulfilled for the time being.

Later, after Xiunan became a rune expert, the Golden Spiral Organization decided to form a dedicated close-quarters team for him. Qiu Lin, familiar to Xiunan, was naturally chosen. After all, the witch was also female.

With the organization’s selection and Qiu Lin’s willingness, she had arrived. Her purpose remained tied to her brother.

Watching the car fade into the distance, Qiu Lin withdrew her gaze and began her day’s work.

Ten minutes later, inside the Pale Laboratory.

A figure busied himself back and forth. Xiunan adjusted instruments carefully, ensuring the experiment proceeded flawlessly, undisturbed by external forces.

Along the warehouse’s edge, three rune workshops stood side by side. Their shapes were somewhat crude, corners unpolished, as if unfinished.

These were Xiunan’s own creations—ugly in appearance but highly practical.

The workshop’s outward form mattered little; what counted were the dense internal circuits. Each of these three workshops held hundreds of complete circuits, qualifying as advanced rune workshops.

Following routine, Xiunan brewed himself a cup of instant coffee, placing the porcelain cup gently aside.

He stretched slightly, then activated the three rune workshops in sequence.

Instantly, three vivid, exquisite models floated within a grid coordinate system.

From left to right, the models depicted a horse, a tiger, and a miniature rhinoceros.

Three models, all nearing completion.

Xiunan had been working on these first-tier runes almost daily, resting only an hour or two. Now, just one final push remained—a morning’s work would likely finish the task.

Checking the time—7:30 a.m.

He sipped coffee and plunged into research. Four hours passed in a blink.

Nearly noon, the sunlight grew stronger, streaming through the warehouse skylight to form a large golden square grid on the ground.

“Success.”

Xiunan exhaled, setting down his tools.

Wiping sweat from his brow, he finished the remaining coffee and placed the cup back down.

Before him, three runes hovered quietly.

These first-tier runes all came from the Minodalor School’s tome, arranged right to left.

Rare Ring Beast: Hexagonal Rhinoceros

The Hexagonal Rhinoceros, a first-tier rune, is a species discovered on the Printonel Grasslands. It possesses intense territorial instincts and a fierce temper, deliberately driving away predatory carnivores within a five-kilometer radius.

Ability: Mighty Charge. Once it starts charging forward, it delivers a terrifying impact force.

Ability: Heavy Armor. It bears an extraordinary armor layer, granting strong defense and the ability to bestow this protection onto other objects.

As a rare ring beast, it boasts combat power comparable to others of its tier and can evolve into a third-tier transcendent species.

Ancient Ring Beast: Terror Claw Tiger

The Terror Claw Tiger, also a first-tier rune, is a large tiger species from the Sibelt Forest with extreme aggressiveness. It is a branch of the ancient Rift Sky Tiger, inheriting its ferocity and bloodthirsty battle instincts.

Ability: Terror Claw Rend. In a short time, it can strike ten times, its razor-sharp massive claws shredding enemies into pieces, limb by limb.

Ability: Instinctual Frenzy. It can transfer its bloodthirsty combat desire to other life forms.

Though an ancient ring beast, its bloodline is heavily mixed, making the chance of evolving into a third-tier transcendent slim.

Mythical Species: Phantom Warhorse

The Phantom Warhorse, first-tier, appears only near Rensa Gorge in the Colton Mountains, often vanishing and reappearing, making capture difficult. This particular phantom warhorse was monitored for twenty years by Minodalor School specialists before being obtained by a chance encounter.

Omega personally analyzed the rune model.

Ability: Phantom Flame Aura. The warhorse is engulfed in ghostly flames, unlike ordinary fire. These flames continue to burn in most circumstances and are hard to extinguish by conventional means.

The phantom flames consume a huge amount of the opposing rune master’s ring power at a ratio of one to ten.

Additionally, the warhorse can temporarily transfer this flame aura to another living unit.

As a mythical species, its evolution and advancement are extremely difficult and prone to failure. Yet all mythical species undergo a qualitative transformation at tier three, gaining abilities vastly different from the norm. The Minodalor School has collected rune models for the phantom warhorse from tiers one to three.

“First tier, Phantom Warhorse, equipped with a unique phantom flame aura that consumes vast ring power...”

“Second tier, Thorn Warhorse, where the phantom flames become tangible, producing special thorn-like fire with greatly increased power and binding properties...”

“Third tier, Void Steed, whose flame power is elevated by the mysterious ring, entering a secret void realm. The void steed can traverse swiftly and ignore any physical obstacles for a time...”

“Fourth tier, ???”

“Fifth tier, Void Walker. One of the mythical rulers of space, capable of traveling through countless spatial gaps and even reaching unknown worlds...”

Before the rune workshops, Xiunan studied the models quietly.

He had personal goals, such as combining runes for the Pale Knight’s mount, and considering how to replace the outdated Deadeye Vulture rune.

But recently, an idea had taken root.

Why not combine his first and second rune slots?

Such a combination would greatly enhance both potential and combat power.

If the Pale Knight’s mount used other runes, overlaps and redundancies would inevitably arise, reducing combat effectiveness—in other words, one plus one would be less than two.

There was another hidden problem: the mount rune was not the main rune for the second slot. Using evolution points would boost the Pale Knight but not the mount rune, leaving it fixed and unable to evolve. As power grew, replacements would be needed again and again.

Directly combining his first and second runes, however, was different.

No matter which rune Xiunan evolved, the combination would benefit.

Thus, he resolved to abandon the Deadeye Vulture rune and select a rune with greater potential and strong auxiliary abilities, one that complemented the Pale Knight.

After producing these three runes and comparing them, he had come to a general conclusion.

With his evolution points enabling rapid growth and breakthroughs, he naturally chose the ring beast model with the highest potential and strongest comprehensive abilities.

No surprise—

The Phantom Warhorse would be his first rune!