Chapter 252: The Duchess's Dinner, Laurel Potion

The divinity of the goddess of youth was like the magnificent aurora, ethereal and uncertain, and finally descended upon Yeats.

Witnessing the miracle, the bards in the venue were shocked, and then they all gave heartfelt applause.

This poem by Yeats seems to have won the recognition of the goddess of youth!

This God-chosen goddess of art and youth won the first prize in this poetry festival and became the champion of the first event of the competition! Cran held his pipe in his mouth and clapped with everyone. He was from a wealthy family and well-read. He could see the uniqueness of Yeats's poem. He won the first prize with this famous poem. Yeats was the one that everyone expected! Cheers and applause rang out. Cran took the opportunity to observe Duchess Lee Matilda on the side. She clapped gracefully, her sparkling eyes staring at the boy who was particularly eye-catching in the crowd, her eyes full of admiration and respect.

She doesn't look like a lady at all, but more like an unmarried girl who would blush and be moved by a talented poet.

Cran slowly exhaled smoke, his eyes surprisingly bright in the smoke, and thought to himself: "High-end hunters often appear in the guise of prey... Isn't Yeats not a good disguiser."

"I'm sure we can find some key clues at today's dinner at the Duke of Suffolk's house!" Cran thought to himself.

On the second-floor balcony, Elsa sighed and said, "It's a pity that His Majesty the King did not come to the meeting in person today, otherwise Baron Yeats would have left a deeper impression in His Majesty's eyes."

"Your Majesty is not in good health and may be resting now," said June.

Elsa was surprised and asked, "But at the opening ceremony that day, wasn't His Majesty still in high spirits?"

June tapped his hands lightly on the table in silence. His Majesty must have paid a huge price to get up from his sickbed and regain the vitality of his youth.

June and her father, Duke Lannister, are not optimistic about how long this vitality can last, and they all agree that when King Lionheart dies, the six dukes will start a civil war for the throne.

Duke Blood Spider is lurking among the six dukes, also eyeing the Golden Lion throne.

If the vampires were allowed to become the behind-the-scenes rulers of the Golden Lion Kingdom, the people of Golden Lion would become blood-eaters and slaves, and it would be a hellish scene.

June speculated that not only Ye Zhi, but His Majesty the King must also be trying his best to track down the whereabouts of the Blood Spider Lord. If the Blood Spider Lord could be killed, he would definitely be rewarded handsomely.

The reason why the king did not make the news public but investigated it secretly was because once it was made public it would cause mutual suspicion among the six dukes, and the civil war would break out prematurely, which would be beneficial for the Blood Spider Duke to act in secret.

"If I tell my father about this, he will have an advantage in the battle for the throne. With my father's help, it will be easier to investigate the Blood Spider Lord. However, I have promised Ye Zhi that I will not reveal this to my father." June frowned and fell into a trace of self-doubt.

"I'm not even a hero, how can I really solve this case......"

June hesitated, tapping her fingers on the table.

Elsa held the excerpted poem and read softly:

"Seven times I despised my own soul... The fifth time, between the difficult and the easy, I chose the easy. June, what does this mean?"

June was slightly stunned, as if she had received divine inspiration, and a gleam of light flashed in her eyes.

"It means that even if there is blood everywhere, we must keep going on this thorny road!"

'Among the six dukes, the Duke of Suffolk is a leper and the Duke of Cornwall is an eight-year-old child. I don't think these two are the Blood Spider Dukes.'

June thought to herself, "The Duke of Alba may seem pious, but I'm most suspicious of him... Why don't I take advantage of the fact that everyone is in London and rush to his territory to investigate!"

June decided to discuss her plan with Yeats later, only to hear Elsa suddenly say with some jealousy: "I was looking for Baron Yeats's signature, but you got there first!"

June's cheeks flushed slightly, and she whispered, "I didn't."

"What? I'm talking about her, the Duchess!" Elsa pointed.

June looked in the direction she was looking and saw a black-haired noblewoman in a fiery red dress, holding a small parasol, almost leaning on Baron Yeats's shoulder, handing Yeats a booklet and a feather pen, as if asking for his signature.

"Lady Lee Matilda..." June frowned slightly, "When did she marry the Duke of Suffolk?"

"Why are you asking that?"

"I'm just a little curious. It seems that the Duke of Suffolk has had leprosy since he was a child... I didn't expect that he would marry such a beautiful lady." June said lightly.

Elsa tilted her head to think for a moment, then said, "The Duke of Suffolk's wedding was about two years ago. My father and I attended it together, and I still have some impression of it."

"I heard that the Duke of Suffolk's leprosy was almost cured at that time, so the wedding was held." Elsa said, "But now it seems that he still hasn't recovered."

June's heart skipped a beat.

Before her eyes appeared the image of the Duke of Suffolk wearing an iron mask and wrapped tightly in chain mail and a hood.

In June's memory, the look that shot out from the gap in the iron mask suddenly became quite strange.

"Perhaps the Duke of Suffolk has already been replaced?" June frowned, "What kind of face is under that iron mask?"

June looked down at the Duchess who was still chatting and smiling with Yeats, and said thoughtfully:

"Do you know where the Duke of Suffolk's estate is, Elsa?"

"It's in the south, a relatively remote manor. But the Duchess often holds banquets and often invites poets and artists to visit the manor." Elsa paused and said with some dissatisfaction, "Do you also think that lady is beautiful?"

June was stunned. In the past, she would not hesitate to cast admiring glances at the Duchess, but now, for some reason, her eyes were more focused on Yeats' broad shoulders and slender hands.

June cleared her throat and said, "If I'm not mistaken, the Duchess will invite Yeats to her dinner party... Let's go with Yeats."

"Really? I have no objection!" Elsa's eyes lit up slightly, and she asked suspiciously, "How do you know that the Duchess would invite Yeats?"

June smiled coldly and said, "That woman is a fisherman. She won't miss the big fish."

Ten minutes ago.

Ye Zhi took a bottle of golden potion in a transparent container from the blind priestess and asked in surprise, "What is this?"

Heber said softly, "This is another award given to the Poet Laureate in addition to the blessing of the Goddess of Youth, the [Laurel Potion]."

Ye Zhi was slightly surprised: "Could it be the lost five-ring magic potion?"

Magical potions can often activate the potential in extraordinary people and give them new talents.

The [Laurel Potion] in front of you is extremely rare in the original plot. It is a potion that can only be obtained after completing tasks related to the God of Light.

After drinking this potion, one can acquire combat talents related to the God of Light. It is also extremely compatible with the bard profession and is considered one of the most suitable high-level potions for bards!

Ye Zhi was a little shocked. He didn't expect that in addition to the blessing, there would be an unexpected surprise! Heber nodded gently, the silver eye protection on his face reflected the light, and he placed his hands elegantly in front of him and said softly:

"The laurel and olive trees are the sacred trees of the goddess of youth, and many years ago, the laurel was actually the symbol of the god of light. This bottle of [Laurel Potion] has been treasured in the Temple of Youth for many years. I received an oracle asking me to give this potion to the winner of the poetry festival."

Ye Zhi couldn't help but let out a breath and suppressed the ups and downs in his heart.

The Five-ring Potion is priceless, not to mention that now that the God of Light has fallen, the craftsmanship of making the Laurel Potion has long been lost, making it particularly rare!

Ye Zhi solemnly took the [Laurel Potion] and asked, "I would like to ask, what kind of talent can this potion give me?"

"After digesting the [Laurel Potion], your poetic way will grow, allowing you to break through to the fifth-ring poet faster. It can also provide you with talents related to [Archery]." Heber said.

The God of Light is both civil and military, and can unleash his combat skills through a golden sword and a silver bow. He is known as the 'King of Golden Swords' and the 'God of Bows and Arrows'.

[Laurel Potion] As a five-ring potion, it would take an ordinary person three to five years to fully digest the power contained in the potion. But once it is fully digested, one will gain a powerful talent that will allow archery skills to advance by leaps and bounds!

Ye Zhi's eyes lit up.

In terms of swordsmanship, after the enhancements from the two major professions of Sword Dance Bard and Wild Hunt Knight, I am now able to perform well.

But archery was Yeats's weak point.

This bottle of [Laurel Potion] containing the divine power of light can just make up for Ye Zhi's shortcomings, giving him a powerful archery talent, allowing Ye Zhi to take a step closer to becoming the God of Light! 'This poetry festival is really a great harvest.' Ye Zhi thought, 'Not only did I get the [Blessed Poetry Honey Wine] suitable for cooking, but I also got the Five Rings Potion!'

"The Mist Goddess is just for fun, if you really want to cling to someone, you have to look at the Youth Goddess!"

Please...collect 6...9...books...!

Zuan Ya complained: "I don't think you said that before?"

Ye Zhi calmly ignored it and said, I will hug whichever thigh is closer to me!

"The digestion of a potion is a long and painful process, especially for the Five-ring [Laurel Potion]." The blind priestess said in a gentle voice, "After you take the potion, you don't have to rush. You can speed up the digestion of the potion by constantly training your archery skills."

Yeats nodded.

The reason why he was able to advance through the ranks without any bottlenecks, in addition to relying on powerful people, was largely due to his talent of "Spirit of Food".

This talent can improve potions, speeding up the digestion time of potions to the time of a meal.

Ordinary people must spend time to digest the power contained in the advancement potion, so young high-level people are particularly rare. This is why June and others were so shocked to learn about Ye Zhi's rapid progress.

From a certain perspective, Yeats's speed of promotion has broken the generally accepted theorem and can no longer be simply summarized as genius.

However, if you want to digest the Five-Ring [Laurel Potion], there is no shortcut and you must practice diligently.

Thinking of his worrying talent in fighting skills, Ye Zhi's happy mood turned into a little helpless, and he didn't know how long it would take to unlock his archery talent.

"Now that things have come to this, I will drink the laurel potion when I return." Ye Zhi thought to himself, "I have the Silver Oak Sword, which has a deep connection with the God of Light. Maybe it can help me digest the potion!"

In addition to the laurel potion, another big gain is the [Blessed Poetic Honey Wine].

The 'Poet's Honey Wine' brewed by the Goddess of Youth is coveted by even the gods. One drop of it can turn a mortal into an extraordinary poet.

The 'Poetic Mead' obtained by Yeats is a low-end version of the Poet's Mead mixed with water, but it has the advantage of being able to be mass-produced. With the advantage of its endless supply, it is comparable to the 'Fountain of Minerva'.

In Yeats's opinion, this "poetic honey wine" can be used to remove the smell of mutton, enhance the aroma and flavor when cooking... It is simply an ideal cooking wine! "The oracle said that the blessing bestowed on you by the goddess of youth can actually be traced back to the [god of wine]. The god of light and the god of wine are the most revered gods by poets in the ancient era..."

Heber sighed softly and said, "But at present, both beliefs have declined. The goddess of youth bestowed this blessing on you, hoping that you can revive literature and art."

Ye Zhi thought of the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics and thought to himself, "Does this Bacchus you are talking about look similar to the Smurfs?"

Heber said that he would stay in London for a while and return to the imperial capital after the competition was over.

Ye Zhi couldn't help but think: The Frostwind Witch is in charge of building the Winter Temple in the territory, and the construction of the Art Temple has not yet received professional guidance.

Why not lure this fire keeper up the mountain and trick her into helping build the temple? This plan was not urgent. Yeats said goodbye to Heber and met Clan who was waiting.

"It's a really good poem," Crane praised.

Ye Zhi smiled and asked, "What did you find in the investigation?"

Crane replied: "Soon... Look, she's coming over here."

Yeats smelled a rich perfume. A beautiful and dignified black-haired lady, holding a parasol, smiled modestly:

"I have long heard of the poetry of Baron Yeats. Today I have the honor to see him at the poetry festival. He is indeed worthy of his reputation."

"You're welcome, Duchess." Yeats was polite.

Lady Matilda Lee said that she was particularly fond of poetry and wanted to ask Yeats to sign the poems she had excerpted, and invited Yeats to attend the dinner to be held at White Oak Manor tonight.

"I have also invited Richard, Rilgaud, Perron and other talented poets, and they have agreed to attend." The Duchess smiled and said, "I would be honored if you are willing to come."

Entering White Oak Manor to investigate was the plan made by Yeats and Cran.

Ye Zhi pretended to be silent, then smiled and said, "The Duchess has invited me so kindly that I cannot refuse. I will definitely attend the banquet tonight."

Madam Matilda smiled even more and nodded gracefully: "Looking forward to your visit!"

Looking at Matilda's receding back, Cran stroked his mustache and said, "She is truly a charming woman... Baron Yeats, you must not fall for her."

"I've seen it all," Yeats said calmly, "Besides, I'm not Perron."

"I'm afraid that poet Perron is not interested in humans." Crane held his pipe in his mouth.

Ye Zhi was stunned, then nodded and said, "That makes sense!"

Cran smiled and said, "See you later. I'll take advantage of you and go see the Duchess's dinner party!"

Yeats nodded.

"We must first return to Silver Birch Manor and drink the [Laurel Potion]."

Ye Zhi pondered secretly and guessed that the rewards for the champions of the next two events of the competition would be equally impressive.

"My archery skills have improved, and I will be more confident in the upcoming duel!"

(End of this chapter)