Well, the water tastes better this way.

In the giant tree forest of the Mu tribe, Songshan, with a grass nest on his head, hid behind a giant tree and peeked out. After repeating this action more than a dozen times, he finally saw the person he was waiting for.

"Why are you waiting here today?" Hu Xiao put the backpack in his hand on the ground.

In order to avoid being discovered by the cannibals, each tribe would set up a hidden spot and put the animal skins used to trade salt there at night. The Wood tribe would take the skins and put down the salt. The tribes would then move the salt back to their own tribes at night.

So it was a bit strange to see Songshan and Huxiao here.

Songshan replied: "I am waiting for you here."

He squatted down with his eyeballs almost turning into coarse salt. He happily touched a handful of not very white coarse salt, "I put the animal skins for exchanging salt in the old place, remember to get them. It's not easy for me to carry so many out. The cannibals have recently sent more people to wander around the tribe. All the salt has to be hidden there and moved back to the tribe after dark."

"By the way, has your priest returned?" Songshan covered the backpack tightly with the leaves of the giant tree that he had plucked from the tree in advance. "Our tribes have never used the "meat men" to exchange salt stones with the cannibals. Now they are beginning to doubt us."

Hu Xiao nodded, "Just got back."

Songshan was holding a basket full of coarse salt. His previous joy was gone and he was filled with melancholy. "In five days, it will be time to exchange salt stones with the cannibals. They sent someone to inform us to rob the salt mountain of the Salt Department in three days. I came to you to discuss this matter. It's just right that your priest is back. You can talk to him and ask him if there is any way for us to escape."

There was obviously enough salt, and he really didn't want his people to be used as "meat". Moreover, in order to seize the salt mountains of the Salt Department, all of their tribes would have to act as meat shields in front of the cannibals.

By then, we don’t know how many orc warriors will die.

Hu Xiao looked solemn and replied, "Okay, I'll tell the priest when I get back. You go back and wait for news."

Songshan was slightly relieved after receiving the promise, hoping there would be a solution. If even the priests of the Wood Tribe couldn't do anything about it, they would just have to accept it.

Now think about it, the priests of each tribe are also good in the Wood Tribe, at least they can survive. As long as the priests of the tribe are alive, the tribe will not perish.

At the same time, in the large earthen house where the Mu tribe held meetings, Shen Nong told the seven priests his conditions with a smile on his face, "We need orc warriors from your tribe to come and work for me."

If there were enough people, everyone in their Mu tribe would be able to live in small brick houses.

Limestone, clay, and iron ore slag are also available. Use the traditional method to make simple cement and repair the roads in and around the Wood Tribe. As long as the orcs don't transform into beasts and jump back and forth on it, this low-quality cement road will have a good lifespan.

But it is useless to perfect the plan. Now the iron ore has begun to be mined and the transaction on the seaside has to be put on the agenda. People are needed everywhere.

There really aren't enough people in the Mu tribe, and there's a lot of work but no one to do it, which is worrying.

The priests didn't understand what "working" meant, so Shen Nong gave a brief explanation. There was no currency here, so the orcs who came to work were provided with three meals a day.

The orcs were busy with just food every day, and Shen Nong promised to make sure they had enough to eat, and also give them a piece of tanned animal hide every thirty days.

The priests knew what the hides of the Wood Tribe looked like. They couldn't sleep unless they lay on them. They just wanted to make sure the orc warriors who came to work were well fed...

The others didn't dare to ask, and finally Shanfeng asked uncertainly: "Wood Tribe Priest, you know that orc warriors have big appetites, right?"

Shen Nong nodded strangely. Of course he knew. For example, Ze could eat nearly 20 kilograms of meat at a time. The higher the level of the orc, the bigger the beast, and the more it eats.

Take the group of young orcs in Maocao who have just awakened. They now eat at least six pounds of meat in one meal. Every time Shen Nong saw them, he sincerely wondered how they could eat so much meat with such a small body. If the orcs in the beast world traveled to the interstellar space, they would all be big eaters.

Shen Nong felt that Shan Feng's expression was a little strange when he asked this question, "I know, what's wrong?"

The seven people looked at each other with hesitation. After they lowered their heads and whispered to each other, Yumu's old voice rang out, "Mu tribe priest, if you can really feed the orc warriors who come to work, Mu tribe will not need to let the seventh-level orc warriors help us tame wild beasts, and we don't need to give them animal skins...as long as you don't drive them back to the tribe."

The other six people nodded repeatedly, fearing that Shen Nong would disagree.

The orc warriors are really big eaters. They are afraid that the warriors in their tribe will come to the Mu tribe to eat for two days and then be driven back by the Mu tribe priests.

Shen Nong raised his handsome eyebrows slightly. Is there such a good thing?

He glanced at the seven people and found that they were serious, so Shen Nong didn't hesitate and agreed on the spot.

Ever since the Mu tribe had bamboo rafts, fishing nets and fishing boats, they could never finish eating all the fish, and even the salted fish were almost sold out.

In the past, the Mu tribe worried about having no meat to eat, but now they worry about not being able to eat enough meat.

Perhaps it was a concept etched into the orcs' genes that they would never let go of prey that was right in front of them. Therefore, even if there was too much meat in the tribe to eat, the hunting team would still bring back a lot of fish every day.

I feel uncomfortable if I stop for a day.

As a result, there were so many fish skin clothes that the warehouse could hardly hold them.

Shen Nong has re-demarcated a piece of land and is preparing to build a brick warehouse to store various supplies for the Mu tribe.

He couldn't guarantee anything else, but he was 100% sure that the orcs would be able to eat their fill.

The seven priests also felt that they had made a fortune. Although the tribe no longer had a shortage of salt due to the trade with the Mu tribe, they were short of meat.

It can be said that the orc warriors in the tribe have never really eaten their fill.

As both parties felt that they had made a great deal of money, a specific agreement was quickly reached.

Shen Nong was well prepared and repeated the rules that the orcs must follow when working. After listening to him, the priests from various tribes felt that there was no problem.

After the deal was finally reached, Shen Nong wanted to send them away, but the seven people hesitated, "Do the priests have any other questions?"

Everyone looked at each other, and finally Shanfeng stood up and said with a guilty conscience: "Mu tribe priest, can we swear an oath to the beast god?"

Shen Nong understood, not to mention the priests, even he himself was worried. He was not afraid that they would leave after doing the work halfway, but that the orcs from other tribes would not follow the requirements and guidelines they had agreed on.

Because there are no constraints between them.

There is no such thing as signing contracts in the beast world, and some related systems have not been established.

Everything is just verbal promises, so it's normal for everyone to feel unsure.

However, "wealth and honor are sought amidst dangers", and the Mu tribe really does not have the manpower, so recruiting workers is the result of careful consideration.

Shen Nong was quite in favor of Shan Feng's proposal. After all, the people in the Beast World were full of awe for the "Beast God". The restraint effect of the Beast God on them was stronger than the contract in later generations.

"OK."

Shen Nong, with mixed feelings, followed the seven people and swore to the beast god they revered, promising to abide by the agreement and never betray. Fortunately, there were not too many rules, and they were all finished in a short while, and Shen Nong breathed a sigh of relief.

Having solved the food problem for many orc warriors in the tribe, the seven priests prepared to leave with smiles on their faces.

Ze was walking in the opposite direction with the seven people, holding a pottery cup, his eyes glued to Shen Nong, "Priest, I have boiled the water according to your request."

He walked to Shen Nong, lowered his head and pushed the ceramic cup forward, "Are you thirsty?"

Last night, Ze made too much noise and was too disorderly. When Shen Nong woke up in the morning, his lips were even slightly swollen. The strange feeling on his lips made him annoyed whenever he saw Ze, so he asked Ze to go out and boil water slowly over a low fire, intending to ask Ze not to hang around in front of him.

Now I am really thirsty. The water in the ceramic cup is already warm, and the temperature is just right when I drink it.

Shen Nong gulped down half a cup of wine before his thirst was quenched.

Shan Feng had always been curious about how to make hot water. He joined in again, and after Shen Nong finished drinking the water, he asked, "Mu Tribe Priest, when I came in, I saw the orc warriors beside you boiling water outside with a very small fire. Is this to make the water taste better?"

Putting the ceramic cup on the wooden table, Shen Nong raised his eyes to look at Ze and said jokingly: "Well, the water will taste better this way."

Ze's breathing tightened when he was looked at that look. He clenched his fists and pressed them against his sides, trying hard to suppress his surging restlessness.

Now Shen Nong has evolved to the point where he can quickly sense Ze's emotional changes. He realized that something was wrong. They were outside. Not to mention that Shanfeng had not left, even if he had left, someone could come in at any time.

He didn't dare to tease her anymore, not even dare to look at her, and quickly turned his head away.

Shanfeng was unaware of the twists and turns involved and believed it to be true. That night he boiled water over low heat and drank it. Unexpectedly, it became a habit afterwards.

..

When the tiger roared, the mountain breeze came out.

The door of the earthen house was open, and the situation inside could be seen clearly at a glance. Seeing that everyone had left and only Ze was inside with the priest, Hu Xiao hurried in and then told Shen Nong what Song Shan had told him.

Shen Nong tapped the wooden table with his fingertips, making a regular "tap tap tap" sound.

If what Hu Xiao said was true, then the recruitment plan he had just agreed upon with the priests of various tribes would have to be shelved.

It has to be said that the fight between the cannibals and the Salt Tribe will affect the Wood Tribe in any way.

They cannot remain immune from this fight.

Shen Nong flexed his knuckles and asked Hu Xiao, "During the time I was away, did the cannibals and the Salt Department come to look for me?"

Hu Xiao nodded, "The Salt Department came to visit us, but they still said that if we don't listen to them, we won't exchange salt for our tribe."

"The cannibals have never come here once?" Shen Nong confirmed.

Hu Xiao's answer was still, "No."

Shen Nong frowned slightly, somewhat unable to guess what the cannibals were going to do. The Salt Department had always only dared to speak to them, not to really take any actual action. To put it bluntly, they were still not sure they could defeat them.

The cannibals' exceptionally gentle attitude towards them was probably one of the reasons why the Salt Department was wary of them.

Unknowingly, they have formed a delicate triangular balance.

However, compared with any other tribe, the Mu tribe is more like a paradise, without many disturbances.

Shen Nong drew a triangle on the table with his fingertips. After thinking for a long time, he finally made up his mind.

If we want to develop, we must break the current precarious balance.

The cannibals were planning to rob the Salt Tribe’s salt mountain in three days, and the orcs from the Yu Tribe would come back to the Mu Tribe to deliver things two days later.

Shen Nong calculated the time difference and prepared to wipe out the cannibals and the Salt Ministry in one fell swoop.

After thinking of the general plan, Shen Nong called the two captains of the production team and the guard team.

The guards practice firing crossbows and catapults in an open field every day. Although they cannot hit the target every time now, their accuracy is much better than at the beginning.

Shen Nong asked the guard team to intensify their training in the next two days and asked Yang Lei to keep a close eye on them. He would also go to see the training progress.

Shi Xia came after Yang Lei left.

Shen Nong asked about the production of crossbow carts and wooden arrows, and how many spares the tribe had. After getting accurate answers, he felt that there were enough crossbow carts, but there were still a few wooden arrows. He asked Shi Xia to put aside other things at hand and take the production team to prepare more wooden arrows.

Shixia nodded in response, but did not leave.

Ever since Shixia came in, Shen Nong saw that Shixia was holding an unidentified object wrapped in animal skin in his hand, and he never put it down, looking like he was holding it very preciously.

He guessed that Shi Xia wanted to tell him something, so he took the initiative to ask: "What is that thing in your hand that you have been holding and can't bear to put down for a moment."

Shi Xia, who rarely smiled, couldn't help but smile when she heard Shen Nong's question. She walked to the wooden table and just raised her arm to put something on it, but her wrist was stopped by a strong force.

The muscles in his arms are firm and the veins on the back of his hands are bulging, all of which demonstrate his powerful strength.

Shixia endured the pain in her wrist and put the thing in her hand into the other hand that Ze extended to her.

After receiving the item, Ze released Shi Xia's wrist. He opened it and saw that it was a strange-looking piece of wood. After seeing that it was not dangerous, he handed it to Shen Nong.

The conflict between Shixia and Ze came and went quickly. Shen Nong didn't react at first, but by the time he reacted, Ze had already let go of him and quickly checked his things.

I don’t know why Ze suddenly became so alert.

When Shen Nong saw what was wrapped in the animal skin, he didn't bother to ask about the changes in Ze. He happily picked up the animal skin, fiddled with it, and asked Shi Xia: "You made a crossbow!"

When making the crossbow cart, Shen Nong mentioned this to Shi Xia, but he didn't say much because he himself didn't know the specific structure very well, he only knew that it had similarities with the crossbow cart.

He didn't expect that Shixia could actually make a crossbow!

Shixia moved his wrist without changing his expression, trying to relieve the pain, but he couldn't hide the excitement in his tone, "This is the closest to the crossbow you mentioned, Priest, try it out."

This was the final product that she had spent a lot of effort on and had undergone countless improvements. Shixia couldn't wait to get Shen Nong's evaluation.

Shen Nong also wanted to try out the power of it quickly, so the three of them came to the open space where the guards usually trained in shooting crossbows. Yang Lei was very fast, and there was already a team of people on the open space operating the crossbows to shoot.

A large wooden arrow whizzed through the air, and a muffled sound was faintly heard in the distance.

When the orcs in training saw Shen Nong, they all stopped and said, "Priest."

Shen Nong waved his hand, "Don't worry about me, just practice yours."

Then he took Shixia and Ze towards the mountain.

The crossbow made by Shixia is of moderate size, and he also prepared ten suitable wooden arrows.

The crossbow has a crossbow arm and a crossbow mechanism. The crossbow mechanism is the core, with a sling, a hanging knife, a hook, and keys on both sides to integrate the various components. This part is made of giant trees. Shen Nong pulled the sling upwards, and the lifting force of the teeth lifted the hook, so that its lower teeth were stuck in the notch of the hanging knife, and the wooden arrow was placed in the arrow slot of the crossbow arm.

He recalled the general method of aiming a crossbow that he had read in a book, tilted the crossbow arm upwards and adjusted its position, using the sight glass to aim at a tree trunk fifty meters away within his sight. When the target, the wooden arrowhead and the sight glass formed a straight line, he pulled the trigger and fired.

“Swoosh—”

"boom--"

After the two different sounds were heard, Shen Nong secretly moved his slightly numb arm and ran forward to check.

Shen Nong's shooting accuracy was quite good, and the huge impact force caused the wooden arrow to penetrate three-quarters of the way into the tree trunk.

If a wooden arrow is tipped with an iron arrowhead, its power will be even greater.

Shen Nong was very satisfied with the final test results of the crossbow, but it could not be used after three days because the time was too short to produce enough.

The production team's top priority is to prepare more wooden arrows for the crossbow.

As night fell, the orc warriors of the Wood Tribe hunting team entered the dark moonlit night and dispersed among the vast woods, bringing the priest's instructions to the seven tribes.

Shen Nong wants the seven tribes to take advantage of the battle between the cannibals and the Salt Department in three days to save their lives.

There is no need to worry about retaliation from the cannibals or the Salt Tribe afterwards. The Wood Tribe will make them unable to care about the other tribes.

Of the seven tribal chiefs who received the news, except Songshan who nodded in agreement directly, the other six had the same reaction - silence.

However, after careful consideration in silence, whether because the tribal priests were in the hands of the Wood Tribe, or because they truly believed that the Wood Tribe had a way to prevent the cannibals and the Salt Tribe from doing anything to their tribe, the chiefs of the six tribes finally chose to cooperate with the Wood Tribe.

Rather than watching his fellow tribesmen die as meat shields, it is better to choose to trust the Mu tribe and take a gamble.

It was supposed to be three days of agony and despair, but the appearance of the orcs from the Wood Tribe brought a glimmer of unspeakable hope into the despair.

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