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Lady Leah was taken aback, then smiled exaggeratedly: "Oh? When did you let Zhuang Sen see your body? He actually had a suit of armor worth tens of thousands of gold coins custom-made for you? And he said he wasn't interested in you?"
Lydia was extremely embarrassed and almost believed it, but she quickly realized what she had done and explained, "I once bathed with Miss Nia, so Miss Nia must know my size."
Lady Leah smiled and shook her head: "But it must have been Johnson who asked Nia to do this, right?"
Lydia wanted to continue her explanation, but found she had no more reasons, so she could only pick up the helmet beside her and put it on her head. Hmm, the size was just right.
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Author's note: Third update! Requesting monthly votes!
Chapter 74: Fossils Turn into Mud
"Mira, are you really going to stay here?"
The elderly scholar, his hair and beard now completely white, gazed at Mira, the most outstanding scholar of her generation in the Kingdom of a Thousand Towers, a rising star who had secured the management of a Tower of Knowledge at the age of eighteen. His eyes were filled with regret, reluctance, and profound bewilderment. He simply couldn't understand why Mira, after everything had been agreed upon, had changed her mind after merely meeting with that local nobleman, the so-called Chosen One.
Even after his companions stayed behind and spent the entire day trying to persuade her to come back, they not only failed but also couldn't find a reason for her to stay—bloodline? These people were researchers of bloodlines! Didn't they even know if Mira had any bloodline at all?!
Mira was also helpless. What could she say? Could she tell her half-teacher, her classmates and colleagues, that she was actually addicted to Zhuang Sen's blood, that she felt uncomfortable if she didn't drink it for a day, and that she couldn't live without Zhuang Sen?
So she could only answer firmly again: "Yes, I will stay here to study my own bloodline. I will write to Father to explain, so you don't need to worry."
The old scholars were at their wits' end. They couldn't possibly stay in this "remote and impoverished place." They had only been passing through on their way to White City when they were invited by Bishop Charles to help expose the so-called Chosen Ones. Unexpectedly, not only did they fail to expose them, but they also lost Mira, the leader, here.
"Alright, just be careful," the old scholar said as he boarded the carriage, watching Mira see him off. The other scholars followed one after another, each reluctant to part with Mira, especially some of the younger male scholars.
Beautiful, elegant, and intelligent, Mira was a true goddess of knowledge in the eyes of these male scholars. Their admiring gazes were impossible to hide. Finally, several male scholars couldn't help but say, "Miss Mira! We'll stay and keep you company too!"
Mira decisively rejected the idea: "No, it's not necessary. You can't keep up with my research."
The blunt words pierced the hearts of these male scholars like sharp blades, but while they were in pain, they also showed a hint of composure. This aloof Mira was exactly what they wanted to see, and this Mira certainly wouldn't be deceived by that fraudulent chosen one here. Their goddess was still pure and innocent!
As they were lost in their daydreams, Zhuang Sen walked over curiously and casually patted her on the shoulder: "Mira, are you leaving?"
Mira smelled Zhuang Sen's scent, and her body recalled the pleasure brought by Zhuang Sen's blood. Her voice softened slightly as she said, "Well, we were just passing by, but we've already been delayed for a long time. Lord Zhuang Sen, what brings you here?"
Her soft, sweet voice, slightly flushed cheeks, and somewhat awkward movements made her seem like a young girl in love, instantly breaking the defenses of the male scholars who hadn't even boarded the bus yet.
"We're about to take action on that matter we were talking about before, and I've come to ask you to come and take a look in person... How much longer will it take you here?"
"Let's go now." Mira completely ignored the scholars who hadn't boarded the vehicle yet. "Speaking of which, when will those supplies arrive?"
"There's too much stuff, it might take about a week?"
"Then we can only do some sorting out for now. That's fine, it'll be a good opportunity to test the specific efficiency."
Mira and Johnson left side by side. The scholars, with mixed feelings, watched their goddess grow farther and farther away, and closer and closer to Johnson. They could only wipe away their tears, board the carriage, and leave this place of sorrow.
……
Meanwhile, Zhuang Sen and Mira arrived at the blacksmith's shop.
The agreed-upon deal they made was for Mira to help expand the blacksmith shop, transforming it into a large, modern workshop that met the technological and practical needs of the time. This all started the night Mira revealed her blood addiction. Simply put, Johnson and Mira struck a deal: blood was acceptable, but not for free; Mira had to earn it through work.
The same applies to the opportunity to awaken one's bloodline. Zhuang Sen made it clear that he would only consider helping Mira awaken her bloodline if Mira proved her loyalty and reliability. Otherwise, what if this vampire suddenly went berserk and sucked him to death?
Moreover, Zhuang Sen also wanted to observe what kind of situation Miss Mira, a vampire who had already generated blood pulses before awakening, was in, and what kind of changes his blood could produce on her.
"Darling~" Nia flew into Zhuang Sen's arms from afar, interrupting his thoughts. He hugged the little cutie and kissed her, making Nia shyly shrink into his arms, not daring to look up at Mira. However, Mira had already turned her gaze to the spot where Nia had just been standing.
There was a wall there, standing at the foot of a mountainside.
As mentioned before, Thorn Manor is located between two low mountains. Its overall shape is actually similar to a T-shape. The front part is a protruding horizontal line that guards the entrance to the two low mountains, while the interior is restricted by the location inside the two large mountains and suddenly narrows down.
The blacksmith shop is located right next to the mountain wall of "Left Mountain". It's not that Thorn Manor has any special preference, but simply because the blacksmith shop needs a lot of water, and there is a mountain stream flowing down the mountain here.
However, the mountain stream can barely supply a blacksmith shop, let alone a large workshop, not to mention the area is not enough. So it must be expanded, and it must be expanded to the other side of the left mountain, because there is only a river there.
But opening up mountains is never a simple matter, even for those with bloodlines. The hard work and fatigue are one thing, but the real danger is that excessive force might cause a mountain to collapse, which would be a huge loss.
Therefore, Miss Mira needs to step in.
“Miss Nia, would you please demonstrate your abilities?” Mira looked at Nia, who was still in Zhuang Sen’s arms. Nia generously jumped down and shot a yellowish-brown ray at the stone wall. The solid rock instantly curled up like a piece of paper thrown into a fire, turning into a pool of white and yellow mud.
Dwarf Girl's Bloodline Ability - Turn Fossils into Mud!
"About two hundred square feet in area..." Mira looked at the dilapidated wall in front of her and nodded slightly. "Miss Nia, may I ask how many times you can release this ability in a day?"
Nia thought for a moment and replied, "At this rate, it can be used about fifty times."
"Fifty times, huh? No wonder you're... um? What do you mean by this level?"
Miss Mira, a bloodline scholar, discovered the key point.
"Ah, I can affect an even larger area, but that would increase the energy consumption." Nia casually dropped a bombshell that Mira couldn't ignore, as if she were talking about what to eat for dinner.
"Wait, you mean you can change the range and actual output of your abilities?"
Looking at the shocked Mira, Nia tilted her head in confusion: "Yeah, what's wrong?"
Mira felt like all her years of theoretical study had been for nothing: "It's not like that. That's something only people who have entered the true form of bloodline can do. Didn't you just awaken once?"
Nia and Zhuang Sen were also taken aback. Wasn't this something that could be achieved simply by awakening?
The three of them looked at each other.
Chapter 75: Advanced Demolition Methods
Zhuang Sen, the transmigrator, spends most of his time after transmigrating in scheming, backstabbing, and seducing monster girls. His knowledge of bloodlines is limited to common sense, making him practically illiterate.
Nia, born into a lower-ranking noble family with a first-class bloodline, received the full and affordable noble education within her class. However, knowledge of noble bloodline studies was not available to lower-ranking nobles, so she remained illiterate.
Mira, born into a high-ranking noble family in the Kingdom of a Thousand Towers, the highest point of knowledge on the continent, became the manager of the Tower of Knowledge at a young age. She published numerous studies on bloodline science and can be considered a bloodline scholar of at least the kingdom level, belonging to the professor level.
So after the three of them looked at each other for a while, Mira gave up on the idea of giving Zhuang Sen and the others a lesson on bloodline science on the spot, and returned to the main business: "Mrs. Nia, to what extent can you control fossils into mud? Can you reduce the area and increase the volume?"
The two illiterate people looked at each other, and then Nia nodded: "Okay, at the smallest, it can be ten feet in area and one hundred feet in depth."
"It seems we can achieve our goal even faster."
Mira suppressed her shock, her fair face regaining its elegant composure. "Next, please use your abilities in the locations I specify, but remember to stay far away."
Zhuang Sen and Nia naturally had no objections.
Mira also got to work, pointing to a spot on the cliff face in front of her: "Here, fifteen feet in area, the deepest part."
Nia raised her hand and used the Fossil to turn into mud. The hard mountain wall immediately softened into mud. As the interior softened and became hollow, it was obvious that the rocks in other places were squeezed and deformed towards the hollow space.
"So that's how it is. It's by destroying the load-bearing structure and creating cavities to make the mountain collapse on its own. No wonder they said it could be faster." Zhuang Sen realized. To put it bluntly, it's just smashing load-bearing walls, only the mountain has a lot of load-bearing walls. But anyway, he has the extraordinary ability to turn fossils into mud... no, wait.
"Mira, how do you know where to create a cavity that will cause the mountain to collapse just as we need?"
Miss Mira, who was shocked that an illiterate person knew advanced knowledge of nature and mechanics, subconsciously replied, "Just apply the calculation formula."
No, is this still the Middle Ages?
Moreover, even in modern times, there isn't any formula that can be directly applied to a mountain, right?
Zhuang Sen suddenly felt something was amiss: "Miss Mira, is this your first time observing this mountain up close?"
“Yes,” Mira replied immediately, then realized what Zhuang Sen meant and explained, “Don’t worry, most scholars would need to conduct on-site surveys and calculations, but I don’t.”
"why?"
"Because that calculation formula was invented by my teacher and perfected by me."
very good, very powerful.
"So who is your teacher?"
Mira slightly puffed out her chest, which was befitting her young age: "She is a level four bloodline user, capable of photographic memory, high-speed mental calculation, and visual data observation, so she doesn't need to conduct surveys."
"You're not a bloodline inheritor?"
"But I can also have a photographic memory and do mental arithmetic at high speed—but I really don't have any bloodline. I've tested myself many times, and my blood is even less active than that of an ordinary person. It's a miracle that I'm still alive."
Of course, it would be strange if vampire blood were alive.
Johnson stopped bothering Mira, who raised her hand again: "Mrs. Nia, this way, twenty feet, the deepest."
"Here, ten feet deep, is the deepest point."
"Fifteen feet, the deepest point."
"Thirty feet, the deepest point."
"Ten feet..."
With each command, the already uneven and rough mountainside became even more pitted and uneven, and the sounds of deformation became more and more obvious, giving the impression that it might collapse at any moment. But it was just a feeling; progress wasn't that fast yet. Although it was just a low mountain, it was quite wide.
"Miss Mira, I need to rest for a bit."
Nia, who had exhausted her bloodline power, was a little out of breath. Zhuang Sen picked her up tenderly and kissed her.
"Really, Miss Mira is still watching~"
Nia, looking shy and seemingly complaining, snuggled into Zhuang Sen's arms.
"Let's continue tomorrow, but remember not to let anyone else approach this area, because we've already reached..."
Mira's words were interrupted by the sound of a landslide. Part of the mountain seemed to have finally collapsed under the weight of gravity, slid down to the ground, but fortunately Zhuang Sen and the others were far away, so only some small pebbles flew over and had little force left.
"Are you alright, Mira?"
Mira felt the warmth of Zhuang Sen coming from her wrist and calmly said, "It's okay, this distance is safe."
"Oh, sorry." Zhuang Sen let go of Mira's hand. When the mountain collapsed, he subconsciously shielded Nia and Mira behind him, only to realize that it was completely unnecessary.
Mira maintained her elegant, cold expression: "It's alright. There might be some smaller collapses later. Remember not to let ordinary people in."
"I will send people to guard this place, but how long will it take to clear the area we need?"
"At today's pace, it should take at most a week."
"So fast?"
"It's all thanks to Miss Nia."
The two exchanged pleasantries when a green figure burst in.
"Lord Johnson, Lady Nia, are you alright? Oh, Master Kofne, hello."
"Hana, good morning." Zhuang Sen greeted the socially awkward Sunflower who ran over, and skillfully reached out to pat her head as she leaned in. "Sorry, I was a bit busy this morning, so I didn't come to see you."
"Hehe, no, Lord Zhuang Sen, you're all busy~"
Hana squinted, rubbing her hand against Zhuang Sen's with a look of enjoyment. Although she had mainly come to check the situation after hearing the loud noise, she was passing by this place precisely to look for Zhuang Sen so she could make up for the head pat she had given him that morning.
Mira, standing to the side, looked at Hana with a hint of envy. She wanted to be touched too... No, how could she possibly want that! She's not a child anymore!
But Hannah seemed really comfortable. Maybe it was because of Zhuang Sen's blood that his touch felt strange? But wait, Zhuang Sen had just grabbed her hand, and it felt normal.
Just then, Dantalian's voice came from outside: "Johnson! Nia! Are you alright?"
Along with the sound came a large number of hurried footsteps.
It seemed the commotion from the landslide had attracted people, and Zhuang Sen quickly spoke up: "We're fine, we're just following plan."
Dantalian hurried over, her worried expression only disappearing when she saw Zhuang Sen: "Lord Zhuang Sen, I'm so glad you're alright."
Zhuang Sen pulled his right hand away from Hana's head and hugged Dantalian, who was rushing towards him: "Don't worry, it's just a landslide, there's no problem at all."
"Yes, yes, the Chosen One is the strongest."
Dantalian hugged Zhuang Sen back, her two soft, mature breasts pressing hard against his face, before releasing him before the others arrived—it's always good to maintain a certain image in front of outsiders.
The servants and farmers of Thorn Manor rushed over nervously, their faces filled with awe and astonishment as they stared at the low hill, a corner of which had collapsed. This was just a low hill, but it had been a landmark for these locals for decades, even centuries, an indestructible and eternal presence in their hearts, and yet Zhuang Sen had destroyed it?
This impact was far greater than hearing stories of bloodline members in taverns and fields; their eyes clearly held a newfound reverence.
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Author's note: Please vote! Shouldn't we also have a long-term bounty system...?
Chapter 76: Sweatshop Construction Funds
A week later, the first phase of the blacksmith workshop project in Thorn Manor was successfully completed on schedule.
The mountainside that was originally right next to the wall has been cleared out, extending all the way to the tributary of the Raven River. Although there are still a lot of mud and rocks on this cleared area that need to be cleared, it is much simpler than digging up the mountain. If you were to clear the mountain by hand, it would take at least a week, or even a month or two, not to mention the manpower and resources required would be far greater than what Nia would spend casting spells every day.
Mira was a great help in every respect.
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