When Viscount Bird woke up again, it was already early in the morning. And now, he had left that terrible and strange space and returned to the real world—especially after seeing the sunlight shining through the window, Viscount Bird felt extremely happy and relaxed, and this was the first time he had seen such a mood since he was born. But now, he didn't have time to sigh anything, although he said that he should be safe during the day, but what happened last night still made Viscount Bird palpitate, so after waking Thomson who was unconscious in the corridor on the second floor, the master and servant hurried out of the castle. Although this was not polite, the master and servant of the "aftermath" were obviously in no mood to continue to stay in the castle, and after leaving a letter to Yulian stating that there was an urgent matter in the family and that they must return as soon as possible, they quickly left the castle. After all, that kind of terrible and weird thing, they don't want to encounter it a second time.

"Slow down and don't send it. ”

Standing by the window, watching Viscount Bird's carriage disappear into the forest, the corners of Yulian's mouth curled slightly, revealing a smug smile.

"Master, how is our performance?"

And the one who spoke, it was the girl who was killed by Viscount Bird before, at this moment she was standing behind Yu Lian, constantly fiddling with the head in her hand, the originally somewhat distorted, deformed head while speaking, while under the fiddling of the girl's hands, slowly returned to its original state, turning into a somewhat different, but still revealing a playful and beautiful face. Then the girl took her head and looked at it in front of the mirror, and then she was content to put it back into her neck.

"Very nice, I think it will give Mr. Viscount a memorable memory. ”

"It's a pity for Charlotte's outfit. ”

The girl looked at her body with a little helplessness, and the maid clothes on her body were still the same as those that had been cut before, and it was difficult to say whether they could be repaired again.

"Don't worry, there's a spare for everyone. ”

"Then I'm relieved. ”

At this point, the girl paused, and then, she looked up at Yuren.

"Then, master, when the time comes, I should return to my sisters............"

With these words, the girl's body became more and more transparent, and when the first rays of sunlight in the morning crossed the mountain peak and spilled into the castle, the girl's body shrouded in sunlight also instantly turned into a wisp of green smoke and disappeared into the air. And the maid's outfit, which was riddled with holes, was scattered on the ground because it lacked the support of its master. It was only then that Yulian turned around and looked at the dress.

"Thank you. ”

Then, he whispered.

"So, Mr. Viscount has already gone back?"

With a hint of a funny smile, Ofaril looked at Yuren who was eating across from her.

"yes, much sooner than we expected. ”

Yuren sighed and shrugged his shoulders and put down the bread in his hand.

"It's a pity, I would have liked to have allowed this viscount to stay with me a few more days, so that he could get a good feel for my enthusiasm........."

"Enough is enough, my lord. ”

Hearing this, Offariel finally couldn't help but laugh, she knew since she noticed the unusual twitching of the geyers last night that Yuren must have planned to do something to scare the viscount, and the answer she got from Yuren this morning proved her judgment. Of course, O'Faryl didn't have any sympathy for the poor viscount's plight, but hearing Yuren's words made her smile. What are you kidding, if the viscount is allowed to stay in the castle for another two or three days, I am afraid it will be questionable whether he will be able to go back sane.

Of course, both knew that this was just talk, and if after the events of last night, the Viscount of Bird had the guts to continue to live in the castle, it would mean that he was certainly not an ordinary person, and that time would have to pay more and more attention to this fellow. However, from the current point of view, this Viscount of Bird is clearly not the kind of person who needs special attention, as judged by Julien and O'Faryl.

For Offariel, though, she had other questions.

"My lord, why did you ask the other party to divide the boundary map?"

To be honest, O'Farriel naturally knew the details of Yuren's negotiations with Viscount Bird last night, but she really couldn't figure out what Yuren's intentions were in doing this. If he is a serious and responsible lord, it is not surprising that he would ask for such a map, but if this matter is done by Yuren instead, then it is very strange, with Ofariel's understanding of him, since the other party did not divide the territory when it was handed over, then with Yulian's surname, he will definitely pretend to be at a loss, and even if something happens later, he will use this to squeeze the other party. After all, the Twilight Forest is just getting started, and there is no profit at all. The Bird family has been operating the gold business for more than 100 years, and although it is powerful, it also has many conflicts of interest. The so-called barefoot is not afraid to wear shoes, and when the border demarcation is not clear, Yulian can also use this as a shield to force the other party to make concessions, and the Bird family is afraid of this, at least at first they will not want to trouble themselves and others to prevent rat trapping. But now, with the boundaries demarcated and the responsibilities of both sides clear, it would be much more convenient for the Bird family to do something in their own territory. Not to mention anything else, at that time, even if they find some hooligan ruffians and disguise themselves as bandits and bandits to disturb the gold trade route from the side of the twilight forest, it will be enough to give You Lian a headache for a while.

Therefore, Ofaril has only one conjecture about Yuren's initiative to ask the other party to demarcate the border.

"Did you find something............... Good stuff. ”

"It's not a good thing, actually. ”

Yuren replied casually as he cut open the fried egg in front of him.

"It's just that when I went to recruit maids before, I found a little trace of the 'source'. ”

Erin, who was standing next to her, widened her eyes in surprise at a scene she had never thought of - that Sister O'Faryl, who had always behaved elegantly and full of nobility, almost immediately opened her eyes when she heard Julien's answer, and almost squirted out the contents of her mouth. Fortunately, at the last moment, she finally realized her gaffe, hurriedly covered her mouth, and swallowed the food hard, but because she was so anxious, she couldn't stop coughing. Erin, who was standing next to her, hurriedly poured a glass of water and handed it to the girl's hand, which made the girl who was coughing finally calm down again.

"Don't get excited. ”

As for Offariel's gaffe, Yulian didn't care at all.

"Isn't it just the 'source'? As Her Royal Highness the princess, you can't have never seen that thing. ”

Hearing Yuren's words, Ofariel rolled her eyes, she was so close not to be half angry with him, of course she knew what the source was, and because of this, after hearing Eulian's words, even Ofariel had no way to control her emotions at all.

The continent is filled with energies called Mana, which are not only necessary for the continuation of life, but also a source of powerful magic. Legend has it that when all living things die, their souls are transformed into the original source energy, that is, Mana, and return to the endless sea of souls. And Mana is also the necessary energy source for the growth of all life, just like sunlight, oxygen, and water, which is necessary for all life. And this is also the power that mages use to indulge, and they summon the power of Mana according to their caste, transforming it into powerful magic.

Of course, Manna is not evenly distributed on this continent, some places have a stronger power of Manna, and some places have a relatively weak Manna power, but there are also some places that contain powerful Manna power, they are like the center of everything, endlessly exuding Manna power, pushing them to spread around, and this is the so-called "source".

The power of Mana contained in the "Fountain" is infinite, and after learning this, human beings naturally began to develop and use it. They soon built devices that drew on the power of Mana to power them and improve their civilization. And every "source" discovered by human beings is either a central city or the capital of a country, and with the help of the power of Infinite Mana, the civilization of those places has far surpassed the level of other regions. Despite the medieval poverty of the twilight forest, it was a different kind of civilization in the central capital of the kingdom, with tall buildings abounding and people there not using carriages to lead them like people in other regions, for whom magical structures powered by the power of Mana were obviously a better choice. All this is simply because there is a "source" there, and it is only that.

Of course, although the level of civilization in the area where the "source" is located is relatively high, there is a limit to this power, and after the power of Mana spreads to a certain extent, the effect will be weakened due to the decrease in concentration. In addition, humans have not yet fully understood this power, and there is no way to store and move them like batteries, only magic crystals and mages have the ability to store the power of Mana, but the former is scarce and expensive, and there is no way to popularize it. As for the latter......... Who would expect those arrogant mages to be human batteries?

Because of this, although the central city with the "source" is relatively very developed, on the battlefield, the weapons used by various countries have to be said to be mainly cold weapons and magic attacks of mages. In addition, the effect of the source itself will vary depending on the scale, just like the oil field, some "fountains" release enough power to support a huge city, but some "fountains" can only sustain a town at most. Their quantity and quality also limit the development of cities, which cannot be changed.

Although people can still rely on that device to extract energy in places where there is no "source", it will cause the power of Mana in that area to be depleted. Not only will the rivers dry up, the soil will not be able to grow any crops, the forests will be completely destroyed, and even the most capable of survival will die of strange diseases - Manna is the source of life, and no one wants to face the consequences of losing one's life. In this way, it will take hundreds of years, or even longer, for that depleted land to regain its former vitality, which is naturally something that no one wants to see.

And this explains why Offariel is so excited, she can foresee that once the "source" is indeed found in the twilight forest, it will immediately become one of the hottest centers in the entire continent. That kind of thing is like the difference between a copper coin and a gem compared to the "source"! If Ofariel didn't understand what Yuren did before, now she fully understood. If the source can really be determined, then you must immediately draw a demarcation map, at least legally, so that you can clearly and unmistakably own this land!

But...............

"So, my lord, you have already thought about which force to show favor to?"

Looking at Yuren's calm expression, O'Faryl had to make such a guess. It is important to know that the Mana extraction device is not accessible to everyone, especially after the discovery of the disastrous consequences of using such devices in non-"source" areas, and countries have stepped up their scrutiny of them. At the moment, only three organizations are qualified, and only they are able to make such an extraction device.

The first is those royal families who have the "source", they all master this technology, of course, this is the most central link of state secrets, and naturally it will not be easily shown to others. Although Yuren would definitely get a response as long as he reported his discovery to the West, it also announced the end of his lordship's life. After all, Yulian is now only a lord of a noble fiefdom, not only does he not have any power of his own, but with his identity, he is not qualified to control a territory with a "source". It is conceivable that after Yu Lian reported to the royal family, he would definitely be secretly surrendered by Mingsheng, give him any official title, and then re-seal him another territory, and return the twilight forest to the hands of the royal family - this kind of thing of picking up sesame seeds and throwing watermelons away, Yu Lian would never do it.

The second force is the Mage Association. As Manna inditants and users, they certainly couldn't have lived without the Manna Extraction Device. In fact, the city of ten thousand laws, the central city of the Mage Association, is built on one of the largest "sources" in the mainland. And those mages also have strong strength and combat effectiveness. Not to mention, the influence of the Mage Guild spreads all over the continent, and they are naturally very attentive to the new discovery of the "source".

As for the last force, it is the Cult of Divine Grace, unlike the Mage Guild, which uses and treats Manna as a mere energy, the Cult of Divine Grace sees Manna as a supreme being, and they are a gift from the continent to humanity. Because of this, the Cult of Grace advocates the use of Mana with a grateful heart, and they oppose the waste and use of Mana to expand human civilization endlessly. It is believed that this will inevitably lead to destruction in the end. Although this claim contradicts the ideas of the upper classes, it has also become a force to be reckoned with on the mainland because of its good reputation among the lower classes and the great power of the Holy Grace sect itself.

However, whether he chooses the Mage Guild or the Cult of Grace, Yuren will not be in a much better position - although it is likely that he will retain his semblance of lordship. However, they will inevitably become pawns and puppets of the Mage Guild and the Cult of Holy Grace, you must know that the Mana extraction device is in the hands of the big forces there, with Yuren's current identity and qualifications, how can he order them to do things for themselves?

"Didn't think about it. ”

In the face of Ofariel's inquiry, Yulian wiped his hands and answered crisply.

"After all, I haven't yet confirmed if that's really the source, and where the center of it is. ”

It is very difficult to find the source, after all, many sources are like oil, and without exploration and development, the existence of the other party cannot be found at all. This is obviously a very professional job, and there are people in the royal family, the Mage Guild, and the Cult of Holy Grace who carry out this kind of work. They had been searching for hundreds of years, but they didn't get much, and besides, the source itself was a very rare thing, which made it even more difficult.

And Yulian happens to know some of the necessary knowledge to find the "source". Under ordinary induction, they can't detect the source, but the concentration of their energy is completely incomparable to the ordinary power of Mana. This is also the reason why Yuren became suspicious after coming into contact with the alien boar - with the local concentration of mana, it is impossible for the animal to mutate, unless there are places where the concentration of mana exceeds the usual standard. This possibility was almost certain after he killed the xenos and found that there was no magic center in the other party's body.

Of course, the Fountain is not without its influence on humans, in fact, those who live in the center of the Fountain will become healthier under the influence of Mana's power, and there is a good chance that they will give birth to children with magical potential - such as Miss O'Faryl in front of her, which is a good example, although she awakened a little later.

"So ..............."

"Don't worry. ”

Julien waved his hand, blocking Ofariel's inquiry.

"I don't need to trade with those vampires, I have a better way. ”