"A hundred knights from the Fralanvia Empire are enough to rout three thousand troops from the Dragon Tower Empire."

"My dear lord, you’d better not place too much hope on this big lizard."

With an innocent, harmless expression, Tisiana spoke words that struck straight at the heart. She set the wooden box beside Phield’s desk, took out a dessert, and placed it on the table without even sparing Ophelia a glance.

That was a completely undisguised slap to the face.

Phield almost lost his composure.

"Y-you! That’s slander!"

Ophelia panicked, ranting nonstop. One moment she shouted that "Fralanvia people only know how to scheme," the next she snapped that "Sacred Griffin Empire people only rely on brute force." The atmosphere instantly filled with chaotic energy.

"Ah yes, of course, the Dragon Tower Empire won. That’s why they paid reparations and retreated back to their island nation, hahaha."

Tisiana’s indifferent attitude nearly drove Ophelia to a breakdown.

"Alright, alright. In truth, as a naval power, the Dragon Tower Empire already does quite well to maintain a land army capable of contending with Fralanvia."

Phield stepped in to ease the tension. "Besides, I believe one thing. A flock of sheep led by a lion can defeat a pride of lions led by a sheep."

"Am I right?" Phield winked at Ophelia, offering a way out that offended neither side.

Ophelia nodded quickly. She was clearly furious, her tone no longer relaxed as she replied sharply, "That’s right! I’ll prove it to you."

"I’ll go command the corpses to move stones. Phield, call me when there’s a war. I’ll make that woman regret her words."

With that, she threw on a black robe and hurried off.

"That really hit her sore spot." Tisiana covered her mouth and chuckled. "Well, she wasn’t exactly respectful when speaking to you. Though Divine Chosen from military backgrounds tend to have rough language."

Phield looked Tisiana up and down as if seeing her for the first time.

So this gentle, holy-looking woman had a sharp edge after all.

He was genuinely surprised. Tisiana’s words had directly broken the defense of a second-tier Divine Chosen. That practically counted as fighting above her level.

From what Phield knew, the Dragon Tower Empire followed a variant of the Holy Light faith. To the orthodox church, that made them worse than heretics. It was only natural for Tisiana to dislike Ophelia. And their land forces could not possibly be as weak as claimed, otherwise they would never have sustained a century-long war with Fralanvia.

Patting Tisiana’s head, Phield smiled. "Hopefully she integrates into Nightfall Domain soon."

"The day she starts speaking to you properly, I’ll stop mocking her." Tisiana took an apple pie and bit into it. "Mm, delicious. I’ve never had this before. Is it unique to this place?"

"That’s right. I’ve been busy lately. When I have time, I’ll teach the cooks how to make cream cakes."

Tisiana tilted her head with a smile. "I’m already looking forward to it."

"Oh right, I’ve gathered the feathers you wanted." Tisiana bent over to sort through the box. When she noticed Phield’s gentlemanly gaze, she immediately covered her chest and teased, "Are you making a quilt? Actually, you could just use me as a pillow. I’m very soft too."

"Cough!"

Phield nearly choked on his tea.

Give me back my pure and adorable nun!

"Just kidding." Tisiana winked playfully. "Teasing you is so fun."

"Oh really? So that’s how we’re playing now? Guys, SOS, I’ve encountered a strange woman today." Phield slipped into joking mode.

Knock knock knock.

Before he could finish, someone knocked on the door.

"My lord, you called for me?"

The little fox Gogris gently knocked, and after receiving permission, stepped in cautiously and bowed properly. "My lord, what are your orders?"

"Come sit. I called you because I want to develop a batch of special arrows, Holy Light arrows specifically for dealing with monsters. It’s still just a concept for now, so I’ll need your help to develop them."

Divine Chosen could not only generate great value through their abilities, but also produce useful byproducts.

For example, Ashina’s Drakewolf could breed new magical beasts.

"Oh, you mentioned that before." Tisiana nodded thoughtfully. "Also, our arrow supply is indeed running low. The last battle consumed too much."

"Exactly."

Phield picked up a feather, examining it with fascination. "The hardness of this feather is perfect for arrow shafts. It’s practically ideal."

He pinched it between his fingers. Though it looked soft and weightless, the edges were frighteningly sharp.

It would outperform arrows made from eagle or hawk feathers, not to mention it carried a built-in Holy Light enchantment. Each shot would be deadly.

Gogris spoke timidly, "My lord, timber is scarce in our territory. The reserves from the logging camp are almost depleted."

"Yes, and newly planted saplings take time to grow," Tisiana added. "All we have here are toxic, corrupted plants."

"Who said we have to use normal wood?" Phield spread his hands. "Think differently. Why not use corrupted wood? Arrows aren’t furniture or buildings. They’re weapons meant for enemies. Isn’t poison exactly what we want?"

"Ah... that makes sense."

The two exchanged looks, both thinking how they hadn’t considered it.

Tisiana shrank back slightly. "Arrows made from corrupted wood... that’s ruthless. Anyone hit by one could be infected into a corpse. Even if they don’t turn, it’s still a poison arrow."

That was exactly the desired effect. Just imagining an outbreak within enemy ranks was satisfying.

"Mercy toward the enemy is cruelty toward ourselves." Phield remained indifferent, then added, "We can produce different types of arrows. One batch for corpses, another for living enemies, and even blunt arrows that only knock people unconscious."

"The weapon is in our hands. How we use it is up to us."

"My lord’s thinking is... very..." Tisiana hesitated before settling on, "expansive."

Gogris nodded quickly. "I think so too. Your knowledge is truly impressive, my lord."

"Whether they can actually infect enemies is still uncertain. We’ll need to test it. Try every type of corrupted wood in Nightfall Domain and record the results."

"As for crafting the arrows, I’ve drawn diagrams for straight fletching, angled fletching, and spiral fletching. Gogris, take the carpenters and apprentices and experiment. Practical testing brings real understanding. Don’t worry about making mistakes."

Phield handed over a blueprint. "To conserve resources, use a two-feather design."

"Yes, my lord!" Gogris’s eyes lit up as she studied the structure on the diagram.

"So many details..." Even Ophelia felt dizzy. "They’re just feathers. Do they really require this much attention?"

"Of course. The number of feathers affects accuracy and stability, while the arrangement determines speed and lethality."