It felt so good to be close to the witch!

Fuma was shocked.

Although she knew that using contraindications would come at a high price, and that using a Class A contraindication would inevitably come at an extremely high price, she never imagined that the price would be so exaggerated.

A blood sacrifice of a thousand people is impossible. Leaving aside whether there are that many bronze knights in the province of Rafa, even if there are, her father is willing to pay such a price for her, but she herself is unwilling to accept it.

To exchange the innocent lives of others for one's own survival, that's...

Since a blood sacrifice of a thousand people won't work, the only way is to use ten times the energy of the Great Witch.

While this condition may not sound as bloody as a "thousand-person blood sacrifice," it is by no means less difficult, and may even be more so.

The Great Witch's energy is magic, and its purity far surpasses that of a legendary knight's fighting spirit. Even if we were to exchange quantity for quality, it would take at least ten legendary knights to be comparable to one Great Witch.

As for the magic power of a ten-times-great witch, let's say it's equivalent to the initial level of a great witch, which is the combined battle aura of a hundred legendary one-star knights...

Let alone the province of Rafa, the entire empire couldn't muster so many legendary knights!

Of course, there are differences between legends. The fighting spirit of a legendary three-star knight is equivalent to that of more than ten legendary one-star knights.

But Fuma knew very well that under other circumstances, the Soros family could meet the conditions for using the Lost Ice Coffin by continuously inputting battle aura. But now, at this critical time when the Radiant Empire and the Cole Empire were about to clash before winter, the legendary knights needed to be on guard against the enemy and simply could not do this.

Fuma couldn't help but feel a pang of bitterness.

Just when they were about to die, they managed to reach out and grasp "hope," but unexpectedly, another kind of despair appeared.

The real despair is hope that is so close yet so unattainable.

Roy saw the ripples in the girl's eyes and tentatively asked, "Is Princess Fuma troubled by the cost of using the Lost Ice Coffin? With the power of the Soros family, multiple legendary knights taking turns to input their battle aura, and after spending some time, the condition of ten times the Great Witch's energy shouldn't be too difficult, right?"

Fuma gently shook her head: "There are some things you don't know. Not long ago, the border was in crisis. Before winter, a fierce conflict broke out between the Radiant Empire and the Cole Empire. The legendary knights were stationed on the front line and could not get away."

"If I cause the legendary knights to exhaust their fighting spirit and the battle lines to collapse, countless civilians will die tragically."

"pity……"

Towards the end, Fuma's voice carried a faint hint of relief.

She had done her best within her capabilities; if she still couldn't escape death, then it was simply her fate.

“Your Highness Fuma, if the problem is a lack of energy, I have a suggestion.”

Roy's voice caught Fuma's attention.

She looked up and saw the handsome young man in front of her raise his hand and point to the east: "Have you forgotten the explosion of the magic vein at the bottom of Star Lake a few days ago?"

Upon hearing this, Fuma's eyes lit up instantly, like shining starlight: "You mean, use the unclaimed burst of magic power within the magic pulsation points to recharge the Lost Ice Coffin?"

Roy nodded: "What I just heard you say is that the magic power erupting from the magic pulse points will continue to affect many wild beasts in the province of Rafa, causing them to mutate into magical beasts."

"As the lord of Blackrock Territory and Iron Mountain Territory, I naturally do not wish to see my people suffer such a calamity."

"Using the magic power generated by the magic pulse points as an energy source will solve your energy shortage problem in two ways: firstly, it can weaken the burst and spread of magic power, thus greatly reducing the number of mutated beasts."

"Kill two birds with one stone."

The unexpected turn of events filled Fuma with immense excitement.

The magic contained within the magic vein, even if only a portion of it leaked out, far exceeded the amount of the "Ten-Times Great Witch." Although today is no longer the Festival of Abundance and the climax of the magic burst has passed, even the aftershocks are enough.

“Thank you for the reminder, Lord Roy.” Fuma rose somewhat impatiently from her chair and bowed respectfully to Roy with a serious expression. “I don’t have much time left. I still need to make some arrangements and preparations, so I won’t bother you any longer.”

"I will remember your kindness and will repay you if I have the opportunity in the future."

In Fuma's opinion, although the Superior Breathing Technique - Flame Breathing - is precious, it is still much less valuable than the A-grade forbidden item - the Lost Ice Coffin.

After all, while there aren't many knights who can use the Breath of Flame, most of the high-ranking officers under the border duke have been rewarded with it, even if they didn't receive the complete version.

Unlike the A-level forbidden item - the Lost Ice Coffin, once a forbidden item reaches the A-level, its status is equivalent to that of a Great Witch, and even legendary high-star knights cannot resist its effects.

As one of the most powerful noble families in the Radiant Empire, the Border Duke has been unable to find an A-grade forbidden item that can counter the "Balance of Replacement" for so many years, which shows how precious the Lost Ice Coffin is.

Moreover, Roy also told her the specific conditions for using the Lost Ice Coffin.

In Fuma's mind, strictly speaking, she had gotten the better deal in this transaction.

“You don’t need to think that way. We’re just getting what we need.” Roy shook his head and looked deeply at the crimson-scaled girl in front of him. “I wish you all the best.”

"Thank you."

Fuma placed her hand on the surface of the Lost Ice Coffin, and with a flash of light, she stored the coffin in her spatial ring. After doing this, she bowed to Roy again to express her gratitude, and then transformed into a streak of crimson light, heading into the distance.

"A technique similar to 'elementalization'?"

Watching Fuma's departing figure, Roy pondered something.

Witches at the witch stage, if their elemental affinity is sufficient and their elemental manipulation ability meets the standard, can master "elementalization." This skill is nominally unattainable by silver knights of the same rank. However, gold knights above silver rank, due to modifications to their internal magical organs, have also begun to be able to do this.

The completion of the deal finally allowed Roy to relax.

The arrival of Fuma, the daughter of the border duke, was completely unexpected. Before this, he had only heard of this genius female knight when Red introduced the breathing technique.

Fortunately, the final result was not bad at all, but rather quite good.

The A-grade forbidden item, the Lost Ice Coffin, is useless to him now unless the [Original Sin Cube] absorbs it and converts it into energy reserves.

While letting the [Original Sin Cube] absorb it would be a good option, as an A-level forbidden object could certainly generate a lot of energy reserves, Roy didn't want to do that.

Firstly, he already has two talents. He hasn't even had time to develop these two talents, [Infinite Desire] and [Unquenchable Wrath], in depth. Adding one or two more talents, while not entirely useless, wouldn't significantly improve his strength.

Secondly, Roy felt that directly absorbing such a high-grade forbidden item with special effects would be a waste. There are many forbidden items; there's no need to waste such a good one. After all, once the [Original Sin Cube] is absorbed, the forbidden item disappears completely, with no possibility of ever reappearing.

Having acquired the Superior Breathing Technique - Flame Breathing, Roy now has no shortage of training methods or resources; the only thing he lacks is time.

With each passing day he is given, he and the witches around him will increase in strength.

"I hope everything goes well for you," Roy thought silently, gazing in the direction of Star Lake.

Although they don't interact openly, with Fuma around, many things become much easier for him in the province of Lafa.

Of course, this is all predicated on Fuma surviving this destined death.

He shook his head. He had done all he could. Now it was up to Fuma's own fate.

Roy circulated his fighting spirit throughout his body, and in a few flashes, he arrived at the edge of the ruins not far away, where Red was quietly waiting.

"Uncle Red, please arrange for someone to repair the mansion as soon as possible."

Roy's sudden appearance startled Red.

As expected, the young master's strength was not a dream...

A complex thought crossed his mind, then he nodded respectfully: "Yes."

"Aren't you curious about where I've been these past few days?" Roy asked, looking at the middle-aged man in front of him.

Reid smiled and shook his head: "If you're willing to talk, I'll listen. If you're not going to talk, you must have your reasons. My current strength is gradually falling behind your pace, so I can only do my best to help you with some matters within my capabilities."

"I'm relieved to know you're alright."

After leaving those words, Reid prepared to turn around and do the cleanup work.

The lord's manor was suddenly attacked, and a huge ice crystal forest appeared. Everyone was smart enough to know what was going on and some necessary cover-up work had to be done.

"Uncle Red, this is for you."

He had only taken a few steps when Roy's voice rang out behind him. Red instinctively turned around, and a dark purple object flew towards him. He instinctively reached out and caught it.

"This is a high-purity magic crystal. Carry it with you at all times. It will assist in your breathing technique practice and gradually improve your battle qi adaptability."

"I have something to do, so I'll go take care of it now. See you later."

Red looked up, only to find that Roy's body had disappeared. After a few seconds of stunned silence, he quickly looked down at the crystal in his hand that was shimmering with a deep purple light.

He pursed his lips, carefully put the high-purity magic crystal into his pocket, and then strode away with firm steps.

……

Once Fuma's matter is resolved, the igloo will no longer have any value.

Roy and Ais returned to the hidden place and briefly informed Lilia, Shanika, and the other three girls of the situation.

Fuma's appearance made Roy realize that Blackrock Territory was not actually completely safe.

He decided to stay in the hidden place for a few more days, observing the situation and studying the newly acquired Flame Breathing technique. To gather intelligence as quickly as possible, he had Lilia release Shadow Ravens to scout the vicinity of Blackrock Territory around the clock.

Lilia, whose talent has undergone a perfect evolution, can summon an astonishing nine Shadow Ravens in a single attack.

It's worth mentioning that, apart from the previously summoned A-Da, A-Er, and A-San, the other six Shadow Ravens don't have any distinctive ahoge (cowlicks) on their heads, making them appear quite ordinary.

Under Lilia's orders, the nine Shadow Ravens were divided into three teams, each led by A-Da, A-Er, and A-San, and worked in shifts to monitor the entire Blackrock Territory around the clock, with a particular focus on the movements of Star Lake.

The Shadow Ravens are not very strong; they cannot see true powerhouses if they deliberately hide themselves. However, at least, obvious movements cannot escape the Shadow Ravens' eyes.

With these "eyes" in place, Roy could relax a bit and officially begin his research on Flame Breathing.

The other witches, on the other hand, diligently studied the "Basic Meditation Method".

Whether it's Ais, who has already reached the Grand rank, or Lilia, Shanica, Vivian, and Elena, who have not yet broken through to the Grand rank, they all know the importance of the "Basic Meditation Method".

In the past, they had no direction in wanting to improve their skills, but now that the path is right in front of them, how could they not cherish it?

Inside the hidden place, Roy glanced at the witches sitting together, then turned his gaze to the manual in his hand that contained the "Breath of Flame".

He opened the cover and began to read it carefully.

After a while, Roy let out a soft breath, his eyes filled with surprise.

He originally thought that the Superior Breathing Technique was just a bit faster than the Advanced Breathing Technique in terms of battle qi cultivation, and at most had one or two more secret techniques. But after reading it, he realized that he was wrong, very wrong.

The advanced breathing technique and the super-level breathing technique are practically from two different dimensions!

The Flame Breathing Technique consists of three distinct parts: [Explosive Flame], [Extreme Bloom], and [First Birth]. These three parts represent the progression of Flame Breathing Technique practice from shallow to deep.

The three parts each have their own secret methods.

The advanced breathing technique Roy practiced before—the Explosive Breathing Technique—was merely a modified version of the [Explosive Breathing] technique, with some parts removed and altered.

The Flame Breathing Technique, as the name suggests, is based on fire—scorching heat, light, and vitality, corresponding to [Explosive Flame], [Extreme Bloom], and [Newborn], respectively.

Each of these three aspects has its corresponding essential points for cultivation, and any one of them can enable a knight to cultivate to the legendary realm.

Even among the many top-level breathing techniques, the Flame Breathing Technique is the most unique one. The reason for this is because the Flame Breathing Technique corresponds to three aspects, or rather, three characteristics.

If one cultivates one of the traits to the legendary level, their combat power will not be weaker than that of a legendary knight who has cultivated other special-grade breathing techniques. If one can cultivate two, their combat power will be far ahead of others of the same level, giving them an overwhelming advantage. If one cultivates three at the same time, that would be extraordinary. It is said that in battles of the same level, one could even surpass a witch.

Of course, as powerful as it is, the difficulty of practicing the Flame Breathing Technique is also exceptionally high.

Most knights, even if they obtain the Breath of Flame technique, will find it difficult to cultivate even one of their traits to the legendary level in their entire lives.