Locke's sudden appearance surprised her, but she was more grateful to him than anything else. A warm feeling filled her heart.
"Thank you, Locke." As soon as she said that, she saw that Locke had already gone to help Daenie and Billie.
She also noticed that Locke was covering his chest with his left hand. It was obvious that he'd been pecked by the suicidal green cuckoo just now, all for the sake of saving her.
After calming herself down, Joaquin went to Bob and Chris. They were still too close to the forest where the magic-condensing fruits were. If the fight dragged on, it would attract the green cuckoo's attention and they'd be in big trouble.
Although it was slightly injured, a mid-rank Knecht was still a mid-rank Knecht. It could only be considered as an elite green cuckoo, but it was still a low-rank major monster. Under Billie and Daenie's combined firepower, the large green cuckoo was easily killed by Locke.
On the other hand, with the help of Joaquin and Angelina's spells, the green cuckoo that Chris and the others were fighting also died.
"Let's go!" Joaquin waved her wand.
Two weeks later, a convoy of carriages was traveling on one of the main roads in Iserves.
They were Joaquin and the others who'd just come out of the salt forest.
"We'll be able to advance to low-rank Lehrlings when we get back!" said Mina happily in the carriage.
Their mission was to collect magic-condensing fruits, but they only had to hand over half of the amount they'd collected. The rest could be divided among them.
Moreover, the academy would compensate them with a finished medicine made from the main ingredient of the Demon-Condensing Fruit, which was even more valuable than the Demon-Condensing Fruit itself.
In contrast to Mina's excitement, Chris and Bob were both gasping for air, their faces dejected.
This time, it wasn't as if there were no injuries in the team. For example, the two knights, Chris and Bob, had suffered varying degrees of injuries. Most of their injuries were peck wounds and scratches. From the outside, their bodies were covered in blood, and they looked quite frightening.
Locke was also slightly injured. He'd been pecked in the chest and lungs while trying to save Joaquin. The wound wasn't deep, but he couldn't do any strenuous exercise for a while.
On the other hand, none of the female casters were injured. This could only mean that the knights in the team were very responsible and protected them well.
"When we get back, I'll exchange some magic-condensing potions for a few scarlet potions!" Joaquin promised.
The Magic Coagulation Potion was made with the Magic Coagulation Fruit as the main ingredient. It was a potion that could increase a mage's magic power. For knights who cultivated qi, the Magic Coagulation Potion had little effect on them. Magic power and qi were two completely different cultivation systems.
The Crimson Potion was useful for low-level and middle-level knights. Due to the high cost of materials, it was rarely sold on the market. Therefore, Joaquin said to exchange for it instead of buying it.
For things like potions that burned money, most of the people who used them were mages. Even if it was a noble knight, no matter how rich his family was, it would not be able to support the accumulation of their expenses over time.
Because mages were more powerful and could also be used as potion producers, they were the mainstream of the potion-taking army.
Although Locke was fine with Joaquin's promise, Bob and Chris were much more excited.
Scarlet potions were as precious as magic-condensing potions. As long as Joaquin could give them a Scarlet Enchantress each, it would be enough to make up for the cost of completing the mission.
Seeing how excited Bob and Chris were, Joaquin felt more at ease. Not only did the formation of a team require friendship, but it also required the maintenance of interests. She only had a few bottles of Crimson Potion left in her family, and she could use them this time.
However, Locke's reaction made her a little puzzled.
There were two green cuckoo feathers in Locke's palm. Although they were just feathers, they were as sharp and hard as ordinary blades.
No wonder they could withstand the attacks of the casters. Even a mid-rank Knecht like him would need a lot of strength to break their defence.
Locke was thinking about whether they could be made into weapons like hidden weapons or daggers.
His dagger had been with him for seven or eight years. It was still usable when he was still an ordinary soldier, but it couldn't keep up with his usage anymore. Not to mention low-rank major monsters, it was quite difficult for him to cut through them. Locke's heart would ache for a long time if he were to make a dent in it.
This dagger didn't represent his combat power, but rather, it was something that he entrusted himself to.
"Angelina, can you fuse these feathers into my dagger?" he asked Angelina, who was leaning on his shoulder while reading.
"Let me take a look." Angelina put down the brown spellbook in her hand and took the green feathers from Locke.
After studying it for a while, Angelina said, "I can't for the time being. The material is easier to fuse, but I can't coexist with the green cuckoo's wind-attributed mana yet."
If it was just to strengthen the dagger, even an ordinary blacksmith could do it, let alone Angelina. However, casters couldn't compare to blacksmiths.
Angelina was thinking about fusing the green cuckoo's feather with the metal element of the dagger. Not only would it increase the dagger's sharpness, but it would also bring unexpected benefits.
By then, the dagger wouldn't just be an ordinary dagger anymore. It could be used as a piece of magic equipment.
Locke didn't expect to make the dagger into a magic dagger, so he was stunned when he heard Angelina's words.
"I can help you!" said Joaquin suddenly, interrupting his thoughts.
"Hmm?" Locke looked at her. The carriage wasn't spacious, so everyone sat relatively close together. He could see her tight figure under her red dress when he looked up.
"My father happens to know a master alchemist. He can help you this time," said Joaquin as she stroked her hair.
"I don't think that's a good idea." Locke hesitated. The master alchemist that Joaquin mentioned definitely wasn't a beginner like Angelina. She was most likely an established alchemist. It would cost a lot of money to hire someone like that, so he didn't want to trouble her.
"It's fine. He's my uncle after all, so he can still help you with this," said Joaquin nonchalantly.
"Then … Thank you." Locke took out his dagger and handed it to her solemnly.
She took the dagger and pulled it out of the scabbard out of curiosity. She didn't expect that the dagger inside the scabbard would be so simple and crude. It's basically a piece of iron wrapped with a layer of cloth, she thought to herself in surprise.
However, she didn't ask any more questions. She could tell from Locke's attentive attitude that he had deep feelings for the dagger.
"As compensation, I don't want the crimson potion," said Locke without hesitation. A dagger that had been enchanted in the alchemy room was more valuable than the crimson potion, so he wouldn't ask for more.
Joaquin pondered for a while, looked at everyone around her, and nodded. "Alright then."
This mission could be said to be a happy ending for everyone. Everyone got what they wanted, and there weren't any serious injuries like last time. This result couldn't be better for Joaquin, who was the leader.
She couldn't help but relax as she looked at the happy team. She glanced around and saw Locke and Angelina sitting in the corner of the carriage.
Under the setting sun, Angelina was leaning on Locke's shoulder, reading a thick brown magic book seriously. Locke, on the other hand, was still pinching the green cuckoo's feather in his hand, deep in thought.
For some reason, Joaquin suddenly felt a little jealous of Angelina, who was being cared for by Locke. She remembered the strong arm that caught her when she fell from the tree trunk that night, and the figure that stood in front of her when the green cuckoo rushed towards her.
A week later, everyone returned to Princeton.
Princeton had just gotten rid of the cool spring in June, but the scorching summer hadn't arrived yet. July and August were usually the hottest months in Princeton.
After saying goodbye to everyone, Locke and Angelina returned home.
"I can finally enjoy a month of leisure!" Locke got out of the carriage, stretched his back, and smiled.
"You're not going on missions anymore?" Angelina asked. In the past, Locke would only rest for about ten days before setting off for the next mission.
"Yes, I've agreed with Bond that we'll collect the blood essence in July," Locke replied with a nod.
Angelina had heard Locke tell her about the war that took place in Osdale. She knew that Bond was a friend that Locke had met during that mission.
"Be careful on the road," Angelina reminded. Angelina reminded. Although she didn't know how to obtain blood essence, it wasn't easy to obtain something of that level.
"Don't worry." Locke gave Angelina a hearty smile.
As if hearing Locke's laughter, a delicate voice came from the mansion. "Is Big Brother back?"
After a while, Kristin ran out of the gate with Laffey, followed by Glace, Suzanne, and Lia.
"Yeah, little Kristin's ears are so sharp!" Locke said as he went forward to pick Kristin up and gently pinched her ear.
"Ouch, it's ticklish!" Kristin giggled in Locke's arms.
Angelina usually didn't talk much to Locke's women, but since she had finally returned home after completing a mission, she actually smiled and greeted everyone. Finally, she held Locke's sister's hand and walked into the mansion.
Among these women, only Lia, Locke's sister, was able to talk to Angelina. Angelina was a smart woman, so she didn't sense the relationship between Locke and Lia at all. Instead, she treated Lia as her own sister.
Locke and the women chatted and laughed as they walked into the house.