The Horned Werewolves were killed in no time. They were too focused on scratching the Trixata tree's bark to realize what happened around them.
Michael used this as an opportunity to strike and kill the small group swiftly. Once all opponents were dead, they rushed forward, stored the monster corpses away, and focused on the Trixata tree.
"Observe the surroundings and stay vigilant," Michael ordered before he used Enhancement four times on the Wyverntooth Spear to remove the bark that had been damaged by the Horned Werewolves.
Afterward, he frowned deeply, retrieved the Wyverntooth Spear, and changed his tactic. He started using Extraction to remove the wood beneath the Trixata tree's bark.
'Something is odd. Why does it feel like the tree is alive, pulsating like a being made of flesh, blood, and veins?' Michael wondered as he extracted the wood deeper into the Trixata tree until he reached a small hollow area.
Roots and vines filled the surrounding of the hollow area, a cavity, in the center of the Trixata tree. The roots and vines engulfed something, which Michael reached out for.
He retrieved the object that was no bigger than a jewelry box, which was exactly what it looked like.
It was a brown wooden box with several crystals embedded in the corners of the lid. The crystals were green and glowing vibrantly. They shone and glimmered as if they were alive.
The roots and vines wanted to restrain Michael, preventing him from taking the box, but they were far too weak to do anything against Michael's brute force.
"Is that how the Trixata tree grew so big? Or is it the content of the box instead of the green crystals?'
Michael looked at the glimmering crystals for a while before he diverted his focus. He wanted to open the box but couldn't.
The green crystals at the corner of the lid were connected to the rest of the box, restricting Michael from opening the box without destroying the crystals.
"So…I cannot open the box without breaking the crystals. Does that mean I have to decide whether I want to retain the effect of the box, or if I think that the content of the box will be more valuable?" Michael wondered before a bright smile blossomed on his face.
"That might apply to others, but definitely not to me!" Michael scoffed lightly before using Extraction to extract the content of the box without destroying it.
It stayed unscathed while blueprints and recipes appeared in front of it.
Michael smirked at the appearance of the recipes and blueprints. Meanwhile, Masked Saber gave him a thumbs up for his quick thinking.
Michael bent down to pick up the blueprints and recipes before he took a good look at it.
"Energy Nourishing Pill, Blood Replenishment Pill, and Body Strengthening Pill…great recipes. Amazing!" Michael exclaimed upon seeing the recipes of high-quality pills.
New Warriors could take these pills and become Tier-1 Warriors in a matter of days instead of taking weeks or months. Even Tier-1 Warriors benefited greatly from the Energy Nourishing Pill and the Body Strengthening Pill. Their physique would grow stronger alongside their refinement degree, allowing them to deal with cumbersome opponents all by themself.
Each of those recipes was extremely rare. Most wouldn't sell them even for billions of dollars. Instead, they would keep them or trade the recipes for highly valuable goods.
'Even Tigerfang is not as valuable as those recipes. This is crazy!' Micheal thought before he picked up the last recipe.
"Warrior Enlightenment Potion? Am I dreaming?" Michael mumbled, not sure if his eyes were deceiving him.
"A potion that allows the user to experience the power of a warrior. Summons are more likely to attain enlightenment, increasing the chance of Starless entities being promoted to 1-Star Warriors…Great…that's really great…" Michael exclaimed, his eyes twinkling like stars.
Currently, his biggest problem was that he had a gigantic workforce of more than 20,000 Starless Summons, but an Army consisting of roughly 1,000 1-Star combat-type summons. None of them was Tier-2 yet, resulting in giving them only a numerical advantage at best, stagnating the power of his military prowess.
Each of the four recipes he had extracted from the crystal box allowed Michael to empower his army and increase his military prowess drastically. However, the Warrior Enlightenment Potion was clearly the best. If just a quarter of his Starless Summons could be promoted to 1-Star Warriors, Michael could expand his army's military might by five times. The thought alone was enough to plaster a vibrant smile on his lips.
"The ingredients are a little bit expensive, but if we plant the Black Lilith Flower, the Neotan berry bush and a few other plants in the territory, there shouldn't be a problem," Tiara suggested after she leaned over Michael's shoulder to take a look at the ingredients required to concoct each of the pills.
Masked Saber took a look at the ingredient list as well. Some of the items were a little difficult to procure, but Michael should have it much easier than others.
Producing the ingredients in the Untamed Jungle was definitely possible. The Untamed Jungle was a perfect place to grow almost everything rapidly. Adding the power of the 4-Star Nature Spirit, the 3-Star Botanica Sorcerer, and the newly procured crystal box, Michael and the two others were certain that they could grow everything rapidly.
"We should spend a few more hours in the forest. Maybe we'll find some of the herbs, flowers and plants we need for the potion and pills," Michael remarked, ordering the others to get moving after he stored the recipes and crystal box inside the War Rune's storage space.
However, just as Michael was about to store the crystal box, he saw a glimpse of something from the corner of his eye. He instinctively stepped aside and managed to evade an arrow that dug deep into the ground where he had been standing just a moment ago.
Michael raised an eyebrow, activated Eagle Eyes and jumped back as he realized that the attack was not over.
The arrow exploded the moment after Michael moved.
"You could evade that? Seems like you have great instincts," A hoarse voice rang through the surroundings.
Michael and the others turned around, their Artifacts manifested. They were ready to fight at once.
A deep frown formed on Tiara's face and fur began to grow out from her arms and face while her eyes turned into that of a merciless predator.
A total of 15 people appeared less than fifty meters away from Michael, Tiara and Masked Saber. They were five Lords, five Awakened and five Summons each, all of them either at the Low-stage of the 2nd Tier, or at the Mid-stage.
They were all Lionhearts, Jeglaw and from the other races that made up the major population of the Zentika Empire, which meant that they were Michael's opponents. After all, they had been ordered to kill outsiders.
"Looks like you found a treasure for us. This is our Lord Rift, so how about you hand it over? We might be a little nicer to you if you compromise," The Jeglaw Lord said in calm tone. He lifted his hand, telling the Awakened next to him to prepare his bow and arrow to release a second explosive arrow.
Michael's frown deepened, and he stored the box away before changing his posture.
The Jeglaw Lord began to smile when he saw what Michael did.
"In that case, we'll just kill you and get the drops from your corpse. That might actually be for the better!" He said, laughing lightly before he manifested an Armor Set and a huge broadsword.
Michael's expression changed to neutral at that moment. He manifested Zark, utilized Enhancement several times, and pulled the bowstring back. A condensed energy arrow was nocked on the bowstring, which Michael released in the next second.
He condensed three more arrows without hesitation, releasing them simultaneously after he adjusted his aim.
The first arrow was aimed at the Awakened standing next to the Jeglaw Lord. The Awakened wanted to move aside but he didn't expect the velocity of Michael's arrow to exceed his movement speed.
After using Enhancement on Zark several times, the Bow Artifact could release arrows with much more velocity than most Mid-stage Tier-2 Awakened could unleash. The first energy arrow pierced through his thigh, while the second pierced his hand.
Meanwhile, the two other energy arrows were blocked or evaded.
Masked Saber and Tiara made use of the commotion to split up. They disappeared in the nearby bushes around Michael, leaving the young Lord alone.
However, Michael was not worried. On the contrary, he smiled foolishly.
"Let's see who is going to die!"
