Foreign Land Reclamation By a Vegetable-growing Skeleton

“Alright, now we’re at the most critical step, storing the Angel’s Tear. Where are those Angel’s Tears?” Sava asked expectantly, looking at Ange.

She now understood that Ange was the hands-on one, and the Bronze Dragon merely offered advice. Still, being able to offer advice was already quite admirable, and Sava admired those who could solve everything with a few words of command.

Negris calmly smiled, holding a bowl before the Little Angel. He proposed, “Um…be good, cry a few tears for me.”

The Little Angel, so bored that it was squatting on the ground idly drawing circles, glared at Negris and promptly punched him in the eye.

Tears extraction plan one: failure.

With no other options, they had to try the Holy Spirit Angel that Ange had captured.

But the Holy Spirit Angel, having been imprisoned for so long, was full of rage and not an ounce of tears. After a lot of effort, not a single tear could be obtained.

“If Holy Spirit Angels are so difficult to deal with, how did the Church of Light get those Angel’s Tears?” While thinking about this, Negris suddenly had a moment of enlightenment and angrily cursed, “Kvada, those fakes! The ones from the Church of Light aren’t real Angel’s Tears, Angels don’t shed tears.”

Well, guessing was pointless. Even if they knew the Church of Light had faked it, they wouldn’t know what they used to forge. Research and development were stuck at the most critical step – obtaining the main ingredient.

“What about using bitter almond salt instead?” Bitter almond salt, a deadly poison, is a white crystalline granule or powder with a faint bitter almond odor.

Negris shook his head, “No, the reaction is too fierce. The insect would die instantly if it consumed it before getting back to its nest.”

They discussed other types of poison, but none were suitable. Just when they were at their wits’ end, Ange took out a bowl, “Use this.”

In the bowl was some pure black liquid that emitted an overwhelmingly inviting…scent. It was a scent rather than an aroma because, although the Bronze Dragon did not have a sense of taste or smell, it felt an intense desire to lick the liquid just from seeing it.

It wasn’t just him. The Little Angel darted over, wanting to lick it but was swatted away by Ange. A Little Zombie attempted the same, only to be swatted away too. Sava also ran over and was met with a smack to the head that knocked her out.

Perhaps because the sensation felt off, Ange checked on the unconscious Sava and realized he had used too much strength.

“What…what is this?” With the kind of force one would summon to get through a thick book without the prospect of eating until it was finished, Negris managed to suppress the urge to stick out his tongue.

“Holy Bug Ash. Purified with Holy Water, evaporated of moisture. Holy Bug Ash,” Ange explained.

Upon hearing this, Negris understood. They had used the same method to infuse the Bug Ash with the Holy Essence Liquid and extracted the moisture, but doesn’t that result still look like Bug Ash?

“Uh—” Negris lost his appetite instantaneously, pushing the bowl away slightly, he asked, “Why does it smell so tempting? Everyone wants to lick it; it’s like it touches the soul.”

Ange tilted his head, unsure of how to explain. He turned around and picked up a stone egg from a corner of the room.

“That’s a Stone Dragon Egg I bought. It’s said to be the egg of an Ancient Dragon that was buried in the ground for too long and became a stone. I bought it for five copper coins to use as a paperweight,” Sava said quickly.

Negris scoffed, “Egg or no egg, I wouldn’t know at this size. But in comparison, the egg of an Ancient Dragon we have is bigger than your whole room.”

“Really? Is my room that small?” Sava was greatly offended.>

Ange dripped some Holy Bug Ash onto it.

Only then did the Insect Ash Liquid slowly seep into the stone. The fossilized egg, which had turned a brownish color, started to slowly turn gray where the Insect Ash Liquid had been dripped. That was the original color of the eggshell.

“…Not only can it cause wilted wood to sprout new growth, it can also rejuvenate fossils. This is indeed a more concentrated version of Insect Ash,” Negris didn’t know what to comment anymore.

He wanted to say that this wasn’t in line with the plane rules. But then he thought of the fact that these insects were originally the creation of Hermorthos, a kind of holy relic. Therefore, it wasn’t strange for them to have these strange effects.

Upon careful examination, only a thin layer of the fossilized egg shell had been restored. The underneath was still stony. Perhaps if they could get more Holy Bug Ash Liquid to soak it, it might actually be restored to a living, breathing egg.

However…

“This is just a liquid capable of reversing the state of life. Is it poisonous?” Negris asked.

Ange shook his head, “Not a reversal, it is blessed with powerful vitality. Let’s go.”

He beckoned Negris back to the Resting Palace and led him to a secluded corner where several pits had been dug into the Breathing Soil. Breathing Soil was being used to cover these pits that housed insects.

Breathing Soil was filled with the scent of death. It could dehydrate and dessicate any creature, making it a natural enemy to all living beings. Only Skeleton Zombies, who were already dead, would be comfortable in such an environment.

The wall of the pit was made of solidified Breathing Soil, which the insects wouldn’t even touch, let alone bite. In order to live, the insects needed a layer of regular soil lining the bottom of the pit.

In such an environment, there was no worry of any of the insects escaping.

Each pit had a different situation. Some pits had very sparse, weak-looking insects, some contained only dead insects, some insects were in a state of hibernation, and some were laying eggs.

Some pits even contained food residue, each pit’s residue being different from the others.

“Is this yet another comparison group?” Negris asked helplessly.

Ange nodded as if it was only to be expected.