The Cornflower Witch Chapter 139

In the stable,

Hylial stood on a tall wooden box, stroking the draft horse’s head, then took out the alfalfa flower ball from behind her and displayed it in front of the horse.

“Want some?”

The girl asked softly, and the roan draft horse sniffed the flower ball.

Almost without hesitation, the draft horse rolled the fist-sized flower ball into its mouth with its thick lips, chewed a few times, and swallowed it.

In the trough were alfalfa branches and leaves that Hylial had just brought over, the parts that had just been cleared from the field.

As if its appetite had greatly increased, the draft horse lowered its head and furiously chewed the alfalfa, occasionally shaking its head and gently swishing its tail. Seeing its demeanor, Hylial knew it was in a very good mood.

Thus, Hylial stood beside the roan draft horse, observing, occasionally pressing her hand against its neck to sense its physical condition.

About half an hour later, Hylial sensed that the ‘Blood Discipline’ aspect within its body was slowly increasing. Although the progress was not fast, it was indeed changing.

If the strength of the aspect power required to condense ‘First-Order Blood Discipline’ was 1, then the aspect power in this draft horse’s body was currently around 0.3.

(‘Roan Lakeside Horse’ Blood Discipline aspect +0.02)

…

(‘Roan Lakeside Horse’ Blood Discipline aspect +0.02)

…

(‘Roan Lakeside Horse’ Blood Discipline aspect +0.01)

…

(‘Roan Lakeside Horse’ Blood Discipline aspect +0.01)

…

(‘Roan Lakeside Horse’ Blood Discipline aspect +0.005)

…

The effect gradually weakened, so Hylial fed it another ‘Alfalfa Flower Ball’. Seeing that it continued to absorb steadily and was in good condition, constantly chewing on fodder, Hylial left with peace of mind.

It seemed to indeed have an effect, and a good one at that. Unlike the [Blood Wine] which directly increased one’s own ‘Blood Discipline’, the [Alfalfa Flower Ball] enhanced absorption and transformation, promoting the condensation of one’s own aspect.

This meant that even though the [Alfalfa Flower Ball] was a ‘Jade Nectar’, consuming it would not cause the creature to condense Jade Nectar.

From this perspective, its versatility was much better than Blood Wine, and it was also more stable.

The next day, when Hylial returned to the stable, she was met with a stench that drove her away. She had to summon the toads to clean the stable again. She only re-entered in the afternoon after the smell had dissipated.

The roan draft horse in the stable was almost unrecognizable. Its physique had become very robust, with clearly defined muscles visible under its coat. Its previously messy fur was now much neater and lustrous. Just by approaching it, one could faintly feel its surging vitality and awakened sense of power.

Species: Lakeside Horse (Enhanced)

Status: Healthy (Docile)

Talents:

Endurance [Good]: Good endurance is essential for a draft horse, allowing it to pull heavy loads for long distances for several days without rest.

Fate Card: [Sturdy Draft Horse] (Blood Discipline – First-Order)

‘Long-term labor and exercise, sufficient food and nutritional supply, and good living conditions have slowly increased the power of your bloodline, making you incredibly sturdy.’

–

Effect [Strong Lv.2]: The power of the ‘Blood Discipline’ aspect fills and circulates within the body, significantly enhancing physical fitness and increasing its strength and endurance.

Ability Cards:

[Trample Lv.3] (Beast Fang): A tall physique, a heavy body, hooves like solid rock. When forcefully brought down, it can easily shatter the bones of other creatures. (Most beastly creatures acquire three types of abilities: teeth/horns/claws, derived from the instinctive ‘Beast Fang’ aspect flowing in their bloodline.)

[Digestion Lv.1] (Blood Discipline): Stimulated by the ‘Alfalfa Flower Ball’, you possess stronger digestive abilities, can better utilize nutrients from food, and from them absorb a weak aspect power, slowly enhancing your physique.

Upon seeing Hylial, the draft horse trotted over with ‘fragmented’ steps, almost knocking over the stable. It leaned against the girl, constantly licking her face with its wet, warm tongue.

“Mm, no more licking.” Hylial raised her hands to block, but couldn’t resist its enthusiasm.

After a while, the tall draft horse slowly calmed down, resting its head beside Hylial.

“I know, you’re very happy, very grateful.” Hylial gently stroked its head, speaking softly.

Occasionally, she looked up, surveying the stable. The fodder that had piled up in the stable was mostly eaten after last night, and the ground showed signs of being cleaned.

It probably defecated a lot last night, otherwise it wouldn’t have smelled so bad when Hylial came in the morning.

Now, after being cleaned by the toads and washed with well water, it was clean again.

After comforting the draft horse for a while, Hylial brought out the two ponies and fed each of them half an Alfalfa Flower Ball.

“You’re still young, you can’t eat too much.”

Looking at the two little ones who still wanted more, Hylial amusingly told them, “There’s no more, only this one,” and then let them go graze on alfalfa in the field.

Through this experiment, she found that the Alfalfa Flower Ball’s effect was quite good. She just wondered if the toads could eat it, and planned to feed them small doses to try.

On the evening of the second day, the toads set up a large pot in the open space in front of the house as usual, boiled water, and prepared to cook noodles. However, something was different today. Hylial, with a rare abundance of time and energy, prepared fermented and kneaded dough for them, then cut it into small pieces and steamed them in the pot.

“Don’t lift the lid yet, wait patiently.” Hylial stood in front of the steamer, pulling out a crude hourglass, and told the toads to wait for a while.

“Croak, we know, croak.”

“Boss is giving us good food, croak.”

“Smells good, I smell it, croak.”

The toad subhumans curiously gathered around the large pot, occasionally craning their necks to sniff the rising steam, which carried a faint scent of flour.

Estimating that the time was right, Hylial opened the steamer lid, revealing the steamed buns inside.

[Alfalfa Bun] (Rare): A special bun made from excellent quality wheat flour and first-order Jade Nectar alfalfa flowers. Its nutritional value is about ten times that of ordinary buns, and with the action of alfalfa, even ordinary creatures can digest and absorb it. (Greatly supplements energy and nutrients, and promotes the condensation of one’s own aspect.) Hylial’s original intention was to break up the alfalfa flowers and mix them into the dough to weaken their effect, avoiding discomfort for the toads. However, the combination yielded a result of 1+1>2.

The excellent quality wheat provided ample nutrition, and the alfalfa enhanced absorption while also providing ample nutrition itself. With their mutual promotion, this highly nutritious [Alfalfa Bun] was born.

Looking at the information displayed in her field of vision, Hylial hesitated about whether to give these buns to the toads. What if the nutrition was too much and they died from overeating?

She hadn’t expected the two effects to stack and mutually promote each other at first.

But now that the arrow was on the string, she had to act. After opening the steamer, the surrounding toads, sniffing the aroma, all crowded around, staring expectantly. If it weren’t for Hylial’s authority and the suppression of her ‘Second-Order’ aspect power, they would probably have eagerly reached out to grab the alfalfa buns.

“Croak, so fragrant!”

“I want to eat.”

“Boss hasn’t spoken yet, can’t eat.”

“But, I still want to eat.”

“Croak, I want to eat too.”

Looking at the buns, then at these drooling creatures, Hylial had to gently cover her forehead, abandoning her intention to stop them.

However, order still had to be maintained. She cleared her throat and made the toads line up one by one, standing by the large pot.

“One by one, no duplicates, and go into the house once you have it.” The girl’s soft voice echoed in the night, making the toads incredibly happy.

“Croak, we can eat now, croak.”

“Do we have to line up? I’m best at lining up, croak.”

Although the process was a bit noisy and crowded, the toads finally lined up, coming one by one before Hylial.

As each toad came, Hylial placed a steamed alfalfa bun in its palm, letting it take it and leave.

Basically, these toads swallowed the buns immediately after getting them, chewing contentedly.

Even without obvious teeth, they enjoyed the feeling of the dough slowly melting in their mouths. Now eating buns, it was the same as usual: they held it in their mouth, slowly savoring and enjoying.

Today, like usual, after eating, they found a place to sit or lie down, slowly enjoying the happy moment. However, today’s alfalfa buns were completely different from their usual dough.

Powerful carbohydrates melted and absorbed in their mouths, blood sugar soared, and large amounts of insulin and other digestion-promoting hormones were generated. This further led to increased serotonin and melatonin, and a strong drowsiness began to set in.

Before long, snoring sounds from the toads resonated from the house.

By the time Hylial finished feeding all the toads, they had all, without exception, fallen asleep in the house, lying disarrayed.

Although they were all asleep, there were no other major issues. In fact, they were in excellent condition, with nutrients being gradually absorbed by the toads.

It seemed she wouldn’t be able to wake them tonight. Hylial closed the door behind them and went out, then moved the remaining alfalfa buns back to her own living quarters.

She planned to cut a small piece to taste, but wouldn’t eat too much.

At night, Hylial, after eating a small piece of alfalfa bun, also felt waves of drowsiness. Fortunately, she could still resist it. After yawning for a while, she closed the door of her house, washed up, and then slowly lay down in bed to sleep.

Tonight, she seemed to sleep exceptionally well, having an interesting dream.

In her dream, she held an alfalfa staff and sat on a tall throne. All sorts of toads, large and small, were under her command, carrying weapons and charging into battle for her. Wherever the toad army went, all enemies were crushed and defeated.

Finally, she held a bronze crown adorned with alfalfa flowers, seated on the throne for her coronation, with a cheering chorus of “croaks” from below.