Yvette was skeptical, but this was, after all, Qin's domain. She gave Bai Pu a deep look, then followed Guna to meet the Lord.
In the room, only Qin and Bai Pu were left.
The atmosphere was somewhat ambiguous.
Qin pulled Bai Pu to sit on the bed, giving him a gentle push.
Bai Pu did not expect Qin, who seemed like a delicate scholar, to have such strength, and he fell onto the bed. He propped himself up with his hands, trying to sit up, when Qin pressed a finger on his chest.
"Don't be nervous, I'm just giving you a physical check-up."
Qin took a red-framed magnifying glass out from the collar of her black robe and leaned over Bai Pu's chest, inch by inch observing the wound on his chest.
"Your constitution is indeed very special. Normally, if someone is scratched by a Dead Plague and not treated in time, they would quickly turn into a new Dead Plague, but you managed to hold on for so long and even had the energy to fight... There should be some mysterious substance in your body that acts as an antibody."
After a pause, Qin continued, "However, this mysterious substance seems to have been forcibly injected and fused afterward. You can't freely manipulate its power; otherwise, you wouldn't need me to detoxify you."
Listening to Qin's words, Bai Pu felt admiration. The "mysterious substance" Qin mentioned was obviously the Evolutionary Source Blood!
Bai Pu couldn't freely control the Evolutionary Source Blood, only activating its adaptive defense by passively getting hit. This was also because he hadn't awakened. Perhaps after advancing to an Awakened, it might improve.
"Qin Scholar, can you help me master this power?" Bai Pu sat up, closing the tattered linen shirt on his chest, "My home was destroyed by the Blood Ring, I want revenge."
"Our positions align. However, before I agree, I also need some help from you." Qin said with a smile.
Bai Pu felt a chill at the back of his head as he looked at Qin, who was smiling at him.
Right now, Qin's eyes on him were exactly the same as Dean Zhao of the Superpower Group!
As if looking at an extremely rare and precious experimental material.
"What do you need?" Bai Pu asked.
"Your blood."
Qin looked into Bai Pu's eyes and said with a smile, "Don't look at me like that, I'll be careful to control and take preventive measures when collecting your blood; it won't endanger your life."
"I'm not worried about that. I want to know, what significance does my blood have?" Bai Pu pressed on.
Qin said, "With the invasion of the Blood Ring, there are many people in the Brandon Territory whose bodies contain the curse of the Flesh and Blood Plague. Once the curse erupts, except for a few whose constitution matches, everyone else in the territory will become Dead Plagues! There wouldn't even need to be a fight."
After a pause, Qin continued, "However, your blood can be used to create an antibody for the Flesh and Blood Plague, restoring health to those infected. As compensation, I can help temporarily develop the power within you, creating an alchemy potion that greatly boosts strength in a short period!"
With Qin's explanation, Spirit Realm Will also sent a task prompt.
[Side Task: Blood Donation]
[Task Objective: Provide Qin with 1000 milliliters of blood.]
[Task Deadline: None (equals the remaining duration of your stay on this plane)]
[Task Difficulty: C+]
[Task Reward: Blood of Aggravation]
Bai Pu accepted this side task without hesitation.
The difficulty of C+ should not pose a life threat. However, this difficulty rating is assessed based on Bai Pu's special constitution that has fused with the Evolutionary Source Blood, and for others, the task difficulty might soar to S.
Therefore, the value of the task reward, Blood of Aggravation, cannot be measured simply by a C+ level task reward.
Once Bai Pu agreed, Qin was very excited. She opened her toolbox and took out a series of gruesome tools.
Sharp-tipped feather tubes, a bladder from an unknown animal, ropes twisted from tree bark fibers…
Honestly, if the difficulty rating wasn't just C+, Bai Pu might have bolted. Now, he had to endure the discomfort, letting Qin tie his upper arm with the rope, watching as the feather tube was inserted into his vein, counting the blood flowing into that animal bladder…
After several blood extractions, even though Bai Pu's constitution was twice as strong as an ordinary person's, he still felt dizzy.
His heart was beating powerfully, greedily extracting nutrients from Bai Pu's body, pumping fresh blood to replenish the body's needs!
The familiar hunger pang returned, as if there was a black hole inside him constantly devouring.
Fortunately, Qin had prepared provisions, with long strips of hard bread and frozen wild boar ham. Qin's maid sliced the bread and ham into thin slices and spread jam on them, surprisingly making them quite palatable.
While Bai Pu was enjoying his meal, Qin began her research. Bai Pu's job was done once the bloodletting ended, requiring no further assistance from him.
It's worth noting that after the blood extraction, Qin's favorability towards Bai Pu increased by a full 500 points, reaching the initial stage of friendship.
After eating and drinking to his fill, Bai Pu felt sleepy and fell asleep on Qin's bed.
...
When he awoke, Bai Pu found several more people in Qin's room.
Among them was the Female Knight Yvette, who was looking at him with a complicated expression.
Bai Pu stretched lazily, feeling fully refreshed.
He glanced at his arm, and suddenly discovered a surprising fact: his entire body had been thoroughly washed, his original tattered linen clothes were gone, replaced by a rather exquisite silk pajama set!
No wonder Yvette had that look.
Bai Pu suddenly rose and asked, "How long did I sleep... No, was I unconscious?"
Bai Pu possesses 9 Spirit Attribute points, which ensures that even when asleep, he doesn't sleep too deeply and can wake up at the slightest disturbance.
Yet in his sleep, Bai Pu not only had his clothes changed but was also dragged and cleaned! The only explanation for him not waking up is that he was unconscious.
Qin chuckled and said, "Oh, woke up so soon? You expended so much energy, I thought you'd sleep a bit longer."
Yvette: "..."
"Lady Qin, please stop joking. What did you do, and why did I pass out?" Bai Pu was a bit displeased. He immediately opened his Attribute Panel and, not finding any abnormal status, felt slightly relieved.
Qin waved her hand and laughed, "When the blood was drawn, you were injected with the Sinola Blood Vine Fruit Essence. This essence rapidly replenishes blood, with the side effect of causing a deep sleep for a period of time.
"Theoretically, even an elephant needs to sleep for eight hours. Unexpectedly, you woke up in four—truly astonishing! I'm even more curious about your body now."
As she spoke, Qin handed over a red potion with a feather-tipped tube: "Here you go, this is the promised reward."
This potion is obviously the reward for the side task: blood donation, [Blood of Aggravation].
Bai Pu cast a glance. Spirit Realm Will provided a prompt message.
[Blood of Aggravation: Special item, quality unknown. Pure blood essence extracted from the host of the Evolutionary Source Blood. After injection, the host of the Evolutionary Source Blood can temporarily gain (7) free attribute points, lasting 120 minutes.]
[Warning: Injection of Blood of Aggravation by anyone other than the host of the Evolutionary Source Blood requires a power test. If the test fails, the injector will become a slave to the host of the Evolutionary Source Blood.]
"It's also good that Mr. Dior woke up earlier, as our time is pressing."
Speaking was a young man with slightly curled golden facial hair. He stood in the center of the room without a helmet, his long golden curls hanging down on both sides like a majestic lion.
The man wore black armor with gold inlays, a longsword decorated with a sculpture of an eagle at his waist, and a wide-collared cloak adorned with a random distribution of gold and silver threads and gemstones, indicating his noble status.
Besides him stood a scholar in a gray robe and a heavily armed strongman, presumably subordinates.
Qin spoke up at the right moment: "Dior, allow me to introduce you. This is the Elector of Brandonburg, Duke of Prussia, the great Frederick William; and these are the learned Court Wizard Jialan and the reliable Cwieg's Adjutant."
An Elector refers to the prince with the right to elect the Roman Emperor, a feudal major lord with the privilege of voting for the emperor.
Bai Pu didn't know much history, but he had heard of Prussia, the predecessor of the German Empire! This Duke William is an ancestor of the later Emperor of the German Empire.
To Bai Pu, Duke William holds a more important identity—he's the main boss of this dimension's Brandon Camp!
"No need for formalities."
Duke William waved his hand to stop Bai Pu's action of paying respects, saying lightly, "Lady Yvette has reported everything to me. My aunt—Lady Eleonor—has been imprisoned. She hopes Brandon can dispatch elite troops to land in Scania. In fact, even without her communication, a war between Brandon and the Blood Ring Fortress is imminent."
Qin nodded and said, "Indeed, the vanguard of the Blood Ring has already crossed the Baltic Sea. Gustav's ambitions extend beyond the Nordic Peninsula; he wants to conquer the entirety of Europe."
Duke William said, "I must return to the territory to convene a meeting with all the Electors and Lords and form a resistance army to jointly fight against the invasion of the Blood Ring monsters. I need you to confront the Blood Ring vanguard, to delay the Blood Ring main force from landing as much as possible."
Court Wizard Jialan quickly offered a suggestion: "Gustav sent the vanguard across the sea to probe Brandon's strength and establish a forward base. Eliminating the vanguard commander is the most potent retaliation and will definitely delay the Blood Ring main force from landing."
Qin chimed in:
"During the Duke's inspection of the territory, two Blood Ring bases were encountered and destroyed. Along with the Blood Ring base that Dior and Yvette eliminated, there are a total of three.
"From the enemies, we found secret orders issued by the Blood Ring Vanguard Commander. Through Lady Yvette's decoding, we learned the commander's name—
"'Blood Hand' Colun."
Qin looked at Bai Pu and said, "This is a tricky fellow; during the previous Blood Ring Fortress' conquest of Denmark, he earned a notorious reputation, known for his bloody fighting style as 'Blood Hand.' Since the Duke cannot be everywhere, we can only rely on the few of us to eliminate him. Every ounce of combat power is precious."
A prompt message from Spirit Realm Will came through.
[Main Quest II: Sever the Blood Hand]
[Quest Objective: Kill the Blood Ring Vanguard Commander: Blood Hand Colun.]
[Quest Deadline: 10 days.]
[Quest Difficulty: S]
[Quest Reward: Brandon Merit 500~1500 points (depending on contribution to the quest's completion).]
[Failure Penalty: Exile (equivalent to the failure penalty of the Trial Task)]
Now that Bai Pu had chosen his camp, the camp's main quest had to be undertaken, with little room for negotiation.
However, this didn't prevent Bai Pu from bargaining a bit. He looked Qin straight in the eyes and said, "For Brandon, I will do my utmost. However, you mentioned before the latent power within me. After completing this mission, I hope you can assist in developing this power so I can truly master it."
Qin replied helplessly, "I've studied your blood sample. You do indeed have a mysterious substance in your body, but currently, its strength is insufficient. It needs to double at least, reaching the standard for development."
Translated, it means Bai Pu needs to find a second vial of Evolutionary Source Blood and get Qin's help to fuse it in order to finally complete the Awakened's Trial Task and unlock the various applications of the Evolutionary Source Blood.
"Alright, I will strive for this. At that time, I hope you will honor your promise," Bai Pu said.
Qin nodded.
The prompt information for Main Quest II quietly changed, altering the last line of the quest reward to:
[Quest Reward: Brandon Merit 0~1000 points (depending on contribution to the quest's completion); you gain the qualification to fuse Evolutionary Source Blood once (Evolutionary Source Blood to be provided by yourself).]
The Evolutionary Source Blood should still be seized from the Poison Thorn Squad.
Bai Pu checked the warning message of the Trial Task.
[Countdown to the Poison Thorn Squad's arrival in the dimension: 35 hours 03 minutes 46 seconds.]