After dispelling [Eye in the Sky], Xia Duo reopened his spell notes and continued to study petrification spells.
Combining some of the existing [Mud-Stone Transformation] information from the Tower of Time, he has determined the overall picture of the petrification spell that is powerful enough to petrify metal.
The bloodline awakening not long ago brought Sha Duo into contact with the sixth level of the magic network. Although this was not in his expectation or even plan, he had to admit -
Exposure to the sixth level of the Magic Network has a considerable role in deriving the full picture of the petrification spell.
Does this prove from the side that it is almost impossible for low-level mages to develop high-level spells that express low-level elements?
…
Near noon, Norman, the guard downstairs, suddenly came to report, "Sir, Cook wants to see you!"
Xia Duo didn't raise his head, still focused on his notes, and even the mithril pen in his hand didn't even pause when he was writing. He only raised his eyelids during the line break and glanced at the door:
"What's Cook doing here? Isn't he supposed to be busy in the canteen at this time?"
"Sir, Cook is here to deliver lunch to you!"
"oh?"
Xia Duo put down his pen and suddenly remembered that he had given Cook many opportunities before. Although the end of the year was agreed, it was almost the end of the year, so he said: "Let him come in! Let's see how much he has improved during this period!"
"
Norman quickly followed the order and left, while Chateau calmly put away the notes on the desk and went to the restaurant downstairs, where Cook was already waiting.
"Cook, don't make progress like last time! It's almost the end of the year, you know!"
"Sir, this time is different. During this period of time, I have left all the affairs in the cafeteria to my apprentices, while I have been practicing my cooking skills. This time, I promise to satisfy you!"
Cook said proudly that so far, no one except the lord who has tasted the dishes he cooked has not praised it!
The lord's evaluation is actually in the past tense, and now he is confident that the lord will also say yes!
"Oh? Then I'm going to taste it carefully!"
Xia Duo turned his attention to the dining table. The dishes were the same as before. They were still braised pork (venison), stir-fried vegetables (lettuce), and mushroom egg soup.
If you practice for a long time, you may actually be able to make a breakthrough.
Picking up a piece of braised pork and putting it into his mouth, Xia Duo looked at Cook in surprise. It was really different from before.
He is not a professional gourmet, he just tastes it with the taste of an ordinary person. Before, Cook had problems such as insufficient heat and too many spices. This time, there are basically none.
If you close your eyes while eating this piece of sweet and soft braised pork, Xia Duo would almost think that it was made by a chef on earth.
This familiar smell made him take action one after another.
"It's really good! As far as this braised pork dish is concerned, your cooking skills have completely surpassed mine!"
I have to admit that the braised pork cooked by Cook this time is really good! Chateau naturally praised it, and at the same time he did not forget to stretch his chopsticks towards the lettuce plate.
"Well, the lettuce is not bad, but it's a little raw. It will be better if it is cooked next time!"
"Yes, sir!"
Cook hurriedly agreed. He was already happy at this time. Two dishes had been approved by the lord. It seemed that he was not worried about his position being replaced by others!
…
The mushroom egg soup was also quite good, and when eating the steamed buns as the staple food, Xia Duo finally couldn't help but frowned, "Who told you to put sugar in the steamed buns!"
"grown ups--"
Cook was suddenly stunned. He had passed the previous tests normally, was he going to fall to the last staple food?
Xia Duo reluctantly ate a sweet steamed bun and looked at the nervous and confused Cook in front of him. He knew that his words and deeds would have a huge impact on the people below him, so he said:
"It's not that sweet steamed buns are bad, it's just that I don't like sweet steamed buns. I don't need to make sweet ones in the future. I can put some fillings such as vegetables and minced meat to make them salty. I will see the results at the end of the year!"
Ending with an order can be regarded as a rule secret that Xia Duo has discovered. Being friendly to the people in his territory will make them feel uneasy, so this is just right.
As expected, Cook, who received the new task, immediately no longer felt nervous or confused, but instead was full of confidence and fighting spirit. He stroked his chest and replied loudly:
"Guaranteed to complete the mission!"
…
After lunch, Xia Duo came to the military camp. Gibb, Qiao Qi and others were already waiting here, but Xia Duo came here not to listen to their report this time, but for something else.
"Where's Jabas? Isn't he here yet?"
"Sir, Jabas has to rush back from the ruins, so he will probably be late."
"Then I'm going to go see the statue first. Jabas comes back and asks him to find me at the statue. You can go and do your work first. You don't have to accompany me!"
With that said, Xia Duo walked straight towards the location of the statue.
Although he had not participated in the excavation and transportation of the scale statue, when he was observing the territory through the [Eye in the Sky] in the morning, the excavation site was also his observation target.
The most important thing is that such a large statue is placed in the open air in the military camp, and it is clearly visible from the sky.
…
Slowly approaching the statue, Xia Duo still felt a little uneasy. Not only was the shape of the ferocious scale creature frightening, but the petrified field that could be triggered at any time also gave him a great sense of oppression.
However, relatively speaking, no petrification occurred during excavation and transportation. Perhaps the statue's only remaining petrification event after a long period of time has been triggered by Jabas.
"Is this the legendary creator race, Saluk Wuhu?"
After circling this tall statue of a scaly creature with a human body and a snake's tail for several times, Xia Duo had some guesses in his mind.
The statue is about three meters high, but this is obviously not the true length of the scale creature it depicts. Almost half of its tail is coiled around the stone pillar that serves as the base of the statue.
The statue is relatively complete as a whole. Except for a broken section of the tail, which is a major damage, the rest are damage to some details, which do not affect Xia Duo's overall impression of it.
However, judging from the raised shape of one hand of the statue and the hole held by the fingers, it seems that this statue is missing an important component.
That is something held by the owner of the statue, perhaps a weapon or a personal accessory.
Shado speculated that it should be some kind of weapon, or at least it had the properties of a weapon. As for what it was, he would have to wait until Jabas came over to ask.
He walked around in a circle, and except for the truncated tail placed next to the base of the statue, there was nothing related to the statue.
Finally, Chateau took out his notes and imprinted the image of the statue on the notes from all angles. He also wrote a sentence under the front view, "Suspected of a Saluk witch."