Chapter 116: Fighting Landlord?
The "Iron Boots Hunting Group" was originally a large hunting group in Oma with tens of thousands of hunters.
This time, a very strong detachment from their team came to the Plague Base, led by the deputy leader, the fourth-level [Monster Hunter] Burgos.
This large-scale hunting group with strong strength, excellent equipment and advanced machinery can always capture "opportunities" with its super keen sense of smell.
This time they wiped out an entire tribe of barbarians and looted so many treasures. It was also the most exciting time for the hunters of this "plague base" to open up the swamp in the ruins for two months.
At this moment, in the open space inside the "Plague Base", monster furs were piled up into mountains.
This is the best raw material for making magic scrolls, robes, and leather equipment.
The civilization of the barbarian tribe is still in the Stone Age, but they have superb skinning skills. Because they live in the wild all year round and hunt monsters all the time, the tribe has accumulated a large amount of monster fur.
The animal skins looted by the "Iron Boots Hunting Group" were of very high quality, and the skinning skills were impeccable.
No matter which chamber of commerce it is placed in, it will definitely be a hot commodity.
"One thousand three hundred first-level monster skins, five hundred second-level, and three-level..."
"One thousand five hundred kilograms of nugget gold..."
"Nine hundred and fifty-one first-level magic beast crystal cores, second-level magic crystals..."
"Thirty top-grade gemstones of various colors, and mid-grade gemstones..."
"Ingredients for high-level magic potion: three [Snake Head Flowers], nineteen [Ghost Skull Mushrooms], and a fifth-level magic beast skeleton..."
“…”
The manager of the "Sunflower Chamber of Commerce" was counting the value of the goods, recording them as he counted.
Every time the number was announced, it would draw enthusiastic cheers from the onlookers.
The waste hunters sell the goods to the Chamber of Commerce here. Although the price will be lower, it will save them the trouble of transporting the goods back to the city themselves.
Moreover, after cashing out, the wasteland hunters can continue hunting, maximizing the benefits of this outing.
…
Ryan had no interest in watching the fun.
Even from a distance, he could see the dark-skinned human heads with totems painted on them hanging on the mechanical city.
This is also one of the main tasks released by "City of Glory", hunting barbarians.
Every head is a merit and can be exchanged for at least ten contribution points.
There were as many as four or five hundred bloody human heads hanging there, just the right number for a small tribe, regardless of age.
It is also customary to hang human heads on the mechanical city in order to highlight military achievements, to intimidate the barbarians, and to provoke them to attack the mechanical city and wait for the opportunity to tire themselves out.
Because this "luring the enemy" tactic has already appeared in other bases, and it works quite well.
Heads were hung outside the mechanical city, and the remaining barbarians from the nearby tribes would attack the steel-cast mechanical city frantically with spears, bows, arrows and stone weapons to snatch back the heads of their people...
This is much easier than fighting guerrilla warfare with them in the wilderness, and it is easier to reap military merits.
I don’t know if it’s because of his acquaintance with Udo, but in Ryan’s eyes, those people of the Coleman tribe are no longer the uncivilized “savages” like gorillas in the eyes of others.
They also have their own civilization and are reasonable.
But resource plundering is bound to be bloody.
Ryan is not that saintly. He doesn't think he can change anything, nor does he think about changing anything.
If he encounters someone who threatens his life, he will kill without hesitation.
But what we can do is not to take pleasure in it.
…
The "Plague Base" now has three "Ghoul-level" mechanical cities. They are in a triangular shape, and engineering vehicles have built a circle of steel walls on the three sides, enclosing a hunting camp of tens of thousands of square meters.
People of the upper class stayed in the mechanical city, while ordinary hunters set up their own tents in the enclosed campsites.
Ryan and his "Soy Sauce Hunting Group" were allocated a camping site of several square meters in the corner of the camp, and they built a field marching tent with the help of a sausage cart.
Ryan's laboratory and Carl's mechanical shop are both here.
When we returned to the barracks, Tust was using his octopus mechanical arm to tinker with a mechanical doll with a complex clockwork.
Little Karl was lying on a small wooden table, holding a ruler, drawing a mechanical drawing very carefully.
Hearing the noise, he raised his head and greeted happily: "Brother Ryan, you are back?"
"Um."
Ryan nodded, glanced at the drawing in his hand, and asked casually, "Karl, what are you drawing?"
Carl said: "The blueprints of the Mechanical City!"
Independently designing a mechanical city of one's own is the lifelong dream of every mechanic, and it is also one of the necessary conditions for a senior mechanic to advance to a "mechanical master".
A behemoth like the Steam Mechanical City is a technological product that embodies the wisdom of mechanics. To design a complete mechanical city, one needs an extremely deep knowledge reserve.
Power boilers, steel structure mechanics, enchantment, weapon systems...without decades of immersion, success is simply impossible.
"Oh? You've already started designing the mechanical city?"
During this time together, Ryan knew that although Carl was young, his talent in mechanics was definitely a "top genius". Many of his fantastic designs could even make Ryan, a time traveler, shine.
He thought it was just a design for Karl to practice, so he asked casually, "What kind of mechanical city are you going to design?"
Carl picked up the sketch he was drawing and said, "I plan to design a flying mechanical city!"
"Ah? Can fly?"
Ryan didn't care at first because he knew nothing about mechanics.
But when he heard Karl's idea of "going to heaven", he was stunned for a moment.
Hearing this, Tust put down the clockwork puppet in his hand.
The old man chuckled and said to Carl, more like explaining something to Ryan, "Imagination is the most valuable gift of a mechanic. Theoretically, as long as there is enough power, the mechanical city can indeed fly into the sky."
After a pause, he glanced at his grandson and said, "But little Karl, with the current level of world technology, there are still many technical difficulties to overcome if we want the mechanical city to fly into the sky. It will take at least several decades..."
This was a clever statement, probably meant to make Ryan, an outsider, understand what a mechanic's creativity and imagination meant.
It is also meant to encourage and will not extinguish Carl's "sincere heart" for mechanical technology.
“No, no, no…”
Ryan shook his head and said sincerely: "I think Carl's idea is very good. Maybe it will be realized soon!"
Far from thinking that Carl was "dreamy", he completely agreed with it.
In the past, humans have already landed on Mars in manned spacecraft, so what’s so surprising about a lump of iron flying into the sky? This is the inevitable path for the future development of machinery.
What shocked him was that Carl had reached such a high level of "imagination" with the current level of technology.
In the field of science, there are often some "pioneer" geniuses who emerge out of nowhere and leave a significant mark in history.
Their ideas are often inconsistent with the ideas of the secular masses, and they are shocking and will be destroyed by the mainstream as "heretics". But many years later, people will find that those pioneers represent the truth.
Like the Copernicus of Ryan's previous life...
…
When Carl heard Ryan praising him, his face was full of excitement, and he shared his sketch: "Wow...Brother Ryan, do you also think my 'Flying Mechanical City' is feasible? Other mechanics say I am wishful thinking..."
"Of course it's possible."
Ryan nodded, his tone full of encouragement.
As he spoke, he carefully looked at the drawing in Carl's hand and asked, "So, Carl, what kind of flying mechanical city are you going to design?"
The secret of the mechanical wreckage now belongs not only to him, but also to Princess Ymir.
He had no right to disclose it in advance.
But I thought that after I got the technology of the Mechanical City, I would definitely let Carl and his grandfather see if they could create something new.
Carl was excited: "This is the 'Flying Crab' I drew. It can walk on land, fly in the sky, and swim in the water..."
“…”
When Ryan heard this, his face twitched.
Besides dachshunds, there are crabs.
Can't the design be a little more domineering?
For example...a dragon?
There are two types of geniuses: ordinary genius and “pioneer-level” genius.
Carl was probably a pioneer in the field of mechanics.
However, there is nothing wrong with the technology, but the aesthetics seem to be immature...
Ryan felt that he needed to guide little Carl's aesthetic taste appropriately.
He said, "Carl, have you ever thought of designing a more powerful shape, one that can fly?"
Carl blinked: “More powerful?”
Ryan guided: "Karl, what is the most powerful flying monster you have heard of?"
"You mean... a griffon?"
Carl thought for a moment and said, "The griffin that is the emblem of the Omar royal family? I heard that it is a mythical creature that is a combination of a lion and an eagle..."
Ryan thought the griffin didn't look domineering at all, but rather a bit strange, so he said directly: "Have you ever thought of it as a dragon?"
Carl's concept was a little vague: "Giant dragon? The dragon in mythology?"
"yes!"
Ryan added: "Haven't you heard of the legend that there is a black dragon living in a cave in the Alcoron Mountains? It is said to be the absolute overlord at the top of the food chain of Warcraft... If the flying mechanical city you designed is a steel dragon, wouldn't it also be the most powerful in the mechanical city?"
“Eh…”
Carl thought about it seriously, and his eyes, which were as bright as the starry sky, suddenly lit up, and more and more inspiration burst out: "Ah! Brother Ryan, I figured it out! The composition of a super flying mechanical city suddenly appeared in my mind..."
He could no longer contain his excitement, as if he had seen a huge mechanical flying dragon in front of him, and he shouted: "Oh, God! It's so beautiful, so perfect, I must design it immediately! It is the ultimate dream that I must fulfill in this life..."
Then, the little brat seemed to have forgotten about Ryan in front of him in an instant, tore up his original draft, and began to draw the blueprint with full concentration.
…
Ryan didn't care. This was the nature of fanatical scientific researchers.
Once I start researching, I immediately forget about eating and sleeping.
His teacher Irubek is one, as is Karl and Tust.
He felt that he was about to be infected with this disease.
Tust looked at his grandson who was obsessed with his work, shook his head and smiled, his eyes full of satisfaction. Turning back, he said to Ryan, "You are thoughtful."
Ryan smiled indifferently and said casually: "Haha... I also want little Carl to design a super mechanical city. If I become a lord in the future, won't it be just in time for use?"
Tust glanced at him and replied with a smile: "If you can really become a lord in the future, how about I help you design a ship? I'm just afraid you don't have this ambition..."
"Okay! It's a deal!"
Regardless of whether it was possible or not, Ryan agreed.
Lord? It's often hundreds of billions or trillions of dollars, so you need a lot of small coins...
Tust smiled and skipped the topic.
He looked at the injuries on Ryan's face again and asked with a smile, "Ryan, did you get beaten again during the sparring today? Why does it feel like the injuries are more serious this time than usual? Did you meet a strong opponent?"
"Yes, I met a noble lady from the imperial capital."
Ryan responded with a smile and took out the handsome white boxing gloves again, "But at least I won the fight and won a nice pair of boxing gloves."
"Haha, a noble lady would go to a fighting arena? That's quite rare..."
Tust was not awake much now, and he felt sleepy after chatting for a few words. "The old man is sleepy and is going to sleep."
Having said that, he turned around and went into the tent to sleep.
"Okay. Grandpa Tust."
Ryan nodded.
After thinking about it, he took out another monster corpse and practiced his daily compulsory homework as usual - surgical anatomy.
But I never expected that while they were cutting, two uninvited guests walked towards the tent.
Looking closely, he found that he recognized one of them.
It turned out to be the bearded administrator who looked like Marx in the Central Library of the "Glorious City"!
This time, the national war conscription allows civilian personnel like these to participate in the mission?
Ryan thought so.
Seeing an acquaintance, he greeted him casually as if he were in the library: "Hey! Mr. Administrator, why are you here too?"
Ryan just waved his hand to greet him, but at this moment, a strong wind blew over.
There was a burly man beside him.
Basel, who had never taken the initiative to appear except for the last assassination attempt, suddenly appeared beside him at this moment with an extremely solemn expression.
“…”
Ryan's eyelids twitched, and his gesture of greeting suddenly froze.
He knew that things might get serious.
…
Before Basel could speak, the cloaked man took off his cloak and said hello with a smile: "Hey, Mr. Basel, don't be nervous... I don't mean any harm."
It's a pretty handsome face, and except for the fact that his eyes squint a little when he smiles, he doesn't look like a bad person.
Ryan also remembered, wasn't this guy the one who played cards with the bearded man in the library last time?
Bazel didn't say anything, but looked at the bearded administrator.
"I don't know what this guy wants to do, but he really doesn't mean any harm."
The bearded administrator responded, and then said meaningfully: "Maybe, I just want to play cards with this friend next to you?"
When Basel heard this, he narrowed his eyes and said nothing more.
Ryan finally understood. These three people seemed to know each other?
…
Playing cards?
Is this guy so idle?
Unexpectedly, at this moment, the cloaked young man actually took out a deck of cards, grinned, and asked, "Mr. Ryan, would you like to play a round?"
Can you avoid it by pretending to be a coward?
Obviously not.
"OK!"
Ryan had a smile on his face and responded heartlessly.
He suggested again: "How about four people playing Landlord?"
