Volume One: The Infernal Lord's World Chapter Ten: Discoveries in the Village

Lifting the door panel, Chen Gu overturned the cabinet. Shielded by the door, it had suffered little from the ravages of wind and rain. When he opened it, he found inside a collection of documents preserved in excellent condition.

The elves habitually recorded information on a kind of paper made from leaves. As long as it wasn’t soaked, this leaf paper was remarkably durable; the records remained clear and legible as Chen Gu flipped through them. The documents chronicled changes in the village’s population—when newborns arrived, when elves passed away, and so forth. But Chen Gu wasn’t here for such mundane details; he swiftly turned the pages, searching for something different. A place meticulous enough to track population changes was sure to contain more comprehensive information.

Soon, he found what he sought.

“March 17, 1776: The village was invaded by sinister forces. The defensive shield was activated to repel evil spirits, consuming 101 units of energy.”

This was it.

Chen Gu’s eyes lit up. The elven village had a defensive shield.

He quickly extracted the relevant document and traced it backward, discovering more information about the village’s defenses. There were records of when the shield was first constructed, its design blueprints, instructions for activation and usage, the energy cost per activation, and detailed logs of its total usage and energy consumption since completion.

Eagerly, Chen Gu flipped through the documents and hurried to the place where the shield was installed. When he arrived, he laughed aloud.

The defensive site was now overgrown with all manner of plants. Yet, it was precisely because of these plants that the magical runes on the shield’s array had been spared much of the weather’s damage.

With a few swings of his rusty sword, Chen Gu cleared the vegetation. Then, following the positions noted in the documents, he set several stones on the ground. Instantly, the magic array vibrated with a deep hum, and a blue light radiated outward, enveloping the entire village.

Watching the blue shield encase the elven settlement, Chen Gu finally relaxed. Now he had enough time to explore the village’s contents. If the place proved valuable, he would make it his base.

If not, he would simply take whatever treasures remained and leave. At the very least, he could expect to find a few weapons and perhaps some building stones. With resources and building stones in hand, he could construct a new city anywhere.

After activating the shield, Chen Gu promptly returned to the council hall. This time, he methodically organized every item within.

During this process, he discovered a wooden chest that had never been opened. Using his rusty sword as a lever, he pried it open—and was astonished by its contents.

Inside were six layers of eggs, each the size of a chicken egg.

The chest was imbued with special magic, ensuring that every egg remained in excellent condition. As Chen Gu picked one up, he could feel the powerful vitality emanating from within.

Staring at the eggs, he recalled the documents he’d seen earlier. He hurried to the cabinet and sifted through the records. Sure enough, in 1783, an elf had mastered the art of spirit crows, granting the villagers the ability to control crows. That year, the village chief decided to collectively purchase a large batch of spirit-infused crow eggs, so all the elves could learn the crow arts.

This chest was filled with those very eggs.

Holding a crow egg in his palm, Chen Gu reflected on the information from the records. The spirit crows were described as extraordinary: swift in flight, possessing some offensive power, and, most notably, highly intelligent. They could learn several spells crafted exclusively for crows.

[Death’s Mark: Crows can perceive death. Each day, a crow may assist the reaper in locating a soul, allowing the reaper to claim an enemy’s spirit (provided the enemy is not above crow level 2).]

[Sparks: While in flight, crows activate sparks—magical embers that orbit them until they alight.]

[Sparks·Explosion: Detonates three sparks, producing an explosion as powerful as a grenade.]

[Sparks·Projectile: Fires a spark at an enemy, with force comparable to a standard bullet.]

[Sparks·Sweep: Launches all sparks at a designated area, unleashing a barrage whose power scales with the number of sparks used.]

[…]

Reading the detailed spell descriptions, Chen Gu was momentarily stunned. Were these truly crows?

No wonder the elves had paid dearly for so many crow eggs; clearly, the villagers were ambitious.

Yet now, all the crow eggs belonged to Chen Gu.

As for the rule that each person could only raise a single crow, Chen Gu dismissed it entirely. Others might be limited, but his unique talents—and pet synthesis skills—would allow him to command a multitude of crows, even without limitless abilities. Perhaps there would be a cap, as with the corpse vine, but certainly not just one.

Understanding this, Chen Gu returned the crow eggs to the chest, then hefted it and carried it out of the council hall.

According to the documents, the crow eggs needed to be baked in magical fire to hatch. However, details about the nature of this fire, its temperature, and duration were absent. Chen Gu didn’t bother investigating further; he had his own methods.

Outside the hall, he retrieved an oil lamp from a nearby ruin. The elves’ lamps were oil-based but infused with some manner of magical energy. Whatever the magic was, Chen Gu wasn’t sure, but the flame within was undeniably magical. That was good enough for him.

He found a switch on the lamp and pressed it. Despite years of abandonment, the lamp ignited on its own. Chen Gu beckoned to the flame, and the magical fire leapt forth.

[Crow Egg] + [Lamp Spark] = [??? (Success rate: 88%)]

Chen Gu smiled lightly. Rather than synthesizing directly, he pointed at the wooden chest nearby, and the magical flame settled upon it. All the crow eggs inside were bathed in magical fire.

Calmly, Chen Gu spoke.

“Batch synthesis.”