Volume 3: Fellow villagers, let’s farm together~ Chapter 79 Cursed Land
Xiao Yun covered the goddess bust of Tong Liya with a spider silk veil produced by the dark elves (which Balke brought with him), and then pulled Balke to sit in front of the experimental table again.
In order to facilitate Green Dragon's experiments, half of the kang in this room was removed and converted into a laboratory table. The purpose of the experiment was to study how to put the phosphate rock into use.
Phosphate rock is a general term for phosphate minerals and an important chemical mineral raw material. It can be used to produce phosphate fertilizer, and can also be used to make yellow phosphorus, phosphoric acid, phosphides and other phosphates. It is suitable for use in the fields of medicine, food, matches, dyes, sugar making, ceramics, military industry, etc. In this world, it is mainly used as a raw material for mineral dyes and match heads.
This is a waste of resources... With abundant reserves of phosphate (where there is quartz, coal, and limestone, there may be phosphate), they use it to dye cloth and make matches? Are those dark elves crazy?
Well... considering the Dark Elves' hegemony over the underworld, it's hard to say this directly.
In short, Xiao Yun's expectation for phosphate rock is not just to make match dye. He has only one goal in mind: to find a way to produce phosphate fertilizer that can be used on a large scale through experiments. Mass production is the most important thing!
Through the exploration of the goblins over the past year, two large sedimentary deposits have been discovered within a hundred miles of the tribe. The phosphate reserves... well, cannot be calculated, mainly because there are no instruments and equipment to explore it . Xiao Yun even suspects that there are rare earths associated with the deposits... What a pity, even if there are, they can't be used.
What is the current progress... Xiao Yun is trying hard to find a way to make sulfuric acid from pyrite... Uh... This is also a highly polluting chemical project. The annoying thing is that Xiao Yun has forgotten most of his high school chemistry since he graduated more than ten years ago. He has completely forgotten the formulas and can only do experiments bit by bit based on his fragmented memory. Because it involves dangerous goods, this part will not be described in detail...
Winter in the north of Bloomfield Continent is a feast of ice and snow.
In the Samal Snow Mountain in the north of the grassland, the howling cold wind rolled up the snowflakes and blurred the sky and the earth. The pure white world of ice and snow was a forbidden area for all non-supernatural creatures. If someone stood at the foot of the snow mountain and looked up, even if they exhausted their eyesight, they would never be able to see the extraordinary royal city on the top of the mountain - the City of the Elf King, the Northern Ice and Snow King's City, the Untouchable City, the City of the Snow Goddess, and also the eternal city on the Bloomfield continent.
A snow elf wearing silver-white armor and dragging a cloak stood on the towering city wall, with a relaxed look on his delicate face and peaceful brows. He was happily appreciating the unique scenery of the northern winter. When the biting and violent cold wind blew across the snow elf's cheek, its fierce power suddenly diminished, and it became as gentle as a girl's hand stroking a flower, hovering gracefully on the snow elf's face for a moment, and then reluctantly left.
"king."
The snow elf tilted his head slightly and saw that the person who came up to disturb him was his commander of the imperial army.
"Lord Austin is here to visit." The commander of the imperial army touched his chest and bowed his head humbly.
"I saw it. That green color was particularly dazzling in the sky." The Elf King turned around and asked, "What is he doing here?"
The commander of the imperial army looked a little strange: "His son... Lord Balk ran away from home."
The Elf King was startled, then slowly raised his hand to cover the corner of his lips, lowered his eyes, and chuckled quietly and gracefully: "Is that so? The dragon-slayer didn't come to the north, but the entrenched evil dragon couldn't stand the loneliness."
The Elf King and his commander walked down the city wall, crossed the snow-covered square that was becoming increasingly pure and flawless, and returned to the castle that was protected by a magic barrier and was as warm as spring.
The dragon guest was waiting in the Elf King's reception room. His shoes were relatively clean and did not dirty the Elf King's carpet. However, his sitting posture on the sofa was not very decent. He sat sideways with his feet crossed, which made the Elf King, who was taking off his cloak with the help of his maid, frown slightly.
Walking around the sofa and sitting down in the armchair in front of the guest, the Elf King raised his eyebrows and looked at the dragon guest who was waiting impatiently: "Should I say welcome? Austin Aldridge Francis..."
"Stop talking about that. Help me find my son. This is your reward." Austin didn't have the patience to wait for the Elf King to repeat his name slowly, so he stretched out his hands.
The Elf King lowered his eyes and saw a small box on the crystal coffee table. Inside the box were some gorgeous jewellery.
The craftsmanship of the dwarves seemed quite crude to the snow elves. The attention to detail in this batch of jewelry made the Elf King somewhat uncomfortable, but the shapes were indeed quite unique, and the flower patterns created with the unique colors of gold and silver had a unique stunning beauty.
The Elf King looked up, expressionless... He wanted to control the snow elves by carrying a small box of jewelry. Only the dragon clan could do such a thing.
"Isn't this enough?" Austin struggled, raised his finger as if he had paid a great price, and said painfully, "Okay... I'll give you another 10,000 gold coins, how about that?"
The Elf King rested his elbows on the armrests, gently supported his cheek with his fingers, and looked at the other person calmly.
"Don't be greedy! Just looking for someone!" Auston shouted.
The Elf King spread his hands, palms facing up, and made a "please" gesture towards the living room door.
Auston's face turned green... If he could find someone himself, why would he need to beg him? "Wait, how about this, I'll show you a statue of the goddess of life in my collection. How about it, a real statue of the goddess, let me show you, others may not be so lucky——"
As well-mannered as the Elf King, veins appeared on his forehead. His slender fingers resting on the armrest were clenched, and veins bulged on the back of his hands.
Auston jumped up, picked up the jewelry box and walked out quickly: "You are so stingy. You just found someone, but you want to ask for a lot..." If he didn't leave, he would probably be beaten. It would be even more impossible for him to transfer the statue of the goddess.
The Elf King watched expressionlessly as Austin transformed into a flying dragon and left the square. He turned to look at the commander of the imperial army and said, "If he comes again within a month, use the city defense spear to shoot him down."
The commander of the imperial army twitched his lips: "Uh..."
"The fact that he came here so quickly shows that he has not made up his mind to bleed heavily, and he just wants to try his luck. If he is unwilling to return the gold mine in the west of Samal Snow Mountain, then there is no need to pass on his message. I will not agree." The Elf King said indifferently. He has been annoyed by this group of greedy green dragons for more than a day or two. The forest elves will definitely not help these guys who are competing with them for the forest. If they ask him to do so, at least they should take back the advantage they have taken.
"...Yes." The commander of the imperial army bowed his head.
The Elf King stood up and walked inside. He took a few steps and then stopped. "What's the situation in the east?"
There is the Elf King in the north of Bloomfield Continent, and the Dwarf King on the other side of the forest and the west of the continent. The east, of course, refers to the Beast King.
The winter in the north, when it is frozen by wind and snow, is actually the time when the snow elves are most active. The commander of the imperial army immediately replied: "When the first snow fell, the imperial general had just left the grassland from the York Mountains."
The Elf King was immediately a little disgusted and strode towards the corridor: "In the dispute between the Imperial Marshal and the Beast King, they have to involve the grassland survivors. This is becoming more and more outrageous."
The commander of the imperial army quickly followed: "The Tiger Tribe wants to return to the empire, so they will naturally not refuse the hand extended by the Marshal... I believe they will not choose the grassland as the battlefield. After all, no one wants to disturb the cursed land."
The Elf King paused and said, "Send a team to the Tiger Tribe's royal court. We will not get involved in their disputes, but we will not allow too much blood to be shed on the grassland."
"yes."
Meanwhile, at the southernmost tip of Bloomfield continent.
The north is covered with ice and snow, but people here still only need to wear thin clothes.
In the capital of the Kingdom of Saint Bridge, the elderly king sat by the fireplace with a magic pattern blanket on his feet, listening to his beloved youngest son.
Carlisle Harvey Ferdinand, the second prince of the Kingdom of St. Bridget, seemed much more mature than he was six months ago. His skin was slightly darker, and his face and hands were a little rough. He sat in front of his father in a neat suit. His sharp yet calm temperament made his father feel very gratified.
"My son, I support what you do." The old king reached out and gently patted his young son's thick shoulders with a kind smile on his face. "You have a good teacher. In the past six months, more nobles have supported you than Anthony..." He sighed slightly, "I hope you brothers can live in harmony, but I hope Saint Bridget can become more powerful. Don't blame Anthony, he is your brother."
His father's words were almost a direct expression of his support for him, which made Carlisle's eyes a little hot, and he almost couldn't control his emotions: "Father, I... I thought you would blame me..."
"How could that be? You are also my son. Which father doesn't want his son to be better? You just want to express that you are qualified to compete for the crown prince. You have never attacked your brother Anthony. Although I am old, I can still see these things clearly." The old king sighed and said, "Anthony... He is too used to being the first prince. Perhaps, it is time for him to know that nothing in this world can be stable and unchanging."
Carlisle raised his hand to wipe his eyes, and couldn't help but think of what Teacher Ayun said - your father was also a little prince competing with your elder brother for the position of crown prince, and in that competition he defeated the previous Prince Hillbot. If you want to gain your father's support, then you must let your father see his shadow in you.
Every father wants his son to be like himself, and a beautified version of himself. Remember to imitate him as much as possible in the details. In the big picture, do it better and more openly than your father did when he first fought for the throne. It doesn't matter if you put yourself in a difficult position. If your father can empathize with you and sympathize with you, the more you put yourself in a difficult position, the greater your chances of winning.
Carlisle secretly clenched his fists. In the teacher's words, family affection, love, and friendship can all be analyzed calmly and objectively, and measured and calculated ruthlessly. At first, he was somewhat dismissive, but now... he felt more and more that Teacher Ayun was right. He used to only look at Anthony's father, but now he was looking at him longer and longer.
The old king nags on and on, telling Carlisle to respect and love his eldest brother. Carlisle, who used to be impatient when hearing such words, listened very attentively this time, because he knows that his father is not persuading him to give up, but is considering Anthony who is about to face failure - the prince who fails to seize the throne can succeed to the prince, and if he cannot wait until the next king takes over, his son can also get the right to rank in the next succession.
Finally, the old king solemnly took out a key from the pocket watch he was wearing. This was the key to the royal collection room of St. Bridget's royal family, which only the crown prince could access. The old king gave it to Carlisle, which was equivalent to putting the crown on his head in advance... Of course, if the old king had not died, Carlisle would still be just a prince.
Carlisle took the key and knelt down to his father with emotion... He was very calm in his heart. He knew that his father's action was not out of any father-son relationship, but after he won over most of the nobles with the political slogan of reviving St. Bridget and the interests of maritime trade, the old king expressed his compromise with the second prince who had not paid much attention to him before. Compromise is the soul of politics, politics is the art of compromise, how to compromise decently and compromise valuablely is a skill that politicians and politicians must learn. Teacher Ayun always said too straightforward words to guide him, but these words were the most effective and direct.
Standing in front of the gate made of mithril and steel at the deepest part of the castle, Carlisle took a deep breath and inserted the key to the royal secret collection into the door lock.
The true historical secrets of this continent, which only the orthodox royal family members can access, finally appeared before Carlisle.
The dusty black cover contains the true history recorded in the common language of the continent, secretly collected by every royal family - the secret about this land that will surely shock the continent if it is lost!
"Ah!" Prince Carlisle almost dropped the black book as soon as he opened the cover... The first chapter actually tells the story of the giants!
This book of historical secrets, written by every king of the Saint Bridge royal family and inherited only by the orthodox royal family, contains the content of the first chapter about the battle to expel the giants from the Bloomfield continent a thousand years ago!
The giants who once ruled this continent and brought terror and oppression to all races...were expelled by the elves, humans, orcs, dwarves, centaurs, minotaurs and other races!
The first King of Saint Bridge did not participate in that war, but only served as a logistical force to provide supplies. There are not many records about him, but there is a mention of a civilization that Carlisle came into contact with in the Northern Federation during his study tour, which once stood in the southern part of the continent but was lost: the Old Empire.
According to the records of the first King Saint Bridge, the Old Empire was the main force of the human coalition.
Prince Carlisle flipped through the pages tremblingly. The second king, the third king... These handwritten records showed no signs of erasure. The deceased kings faithfully recorded the process and secrets of the succession of royal power in this thick black book, without any taboos or concealments. Since only the successors to the kingdom could see the content, what was there to be shy about? It would be better to leave behind lessons to warn future generations.
Prince Carlisle's face became paler and paler. In the letters from these kings, he saw countless terrible conspiracies and vicious calculations... The struggle surrounding the royal power had always been bloody and cruel, so cruel that it was impossible to watch. In comparison, what Teacher Ayun taught him, the method of using righteousness and aboveboard to undermine Anthony's reputation and win the support of the old king, was as gentle as coaxing a child.
Halfway through reading, Prince Carlisle saw the record about the old empire again... That huge empire that was once the main force of the human coalition finally collapsed after five hundred years of prosperity. In the records of King Saint Bridger, he saw the words that people occasionally used to refer to the northern grasslands.
"Cursed Land?!"
Carlisle quickly calmed down and read the record carefully. After all, this was closely related to his beloved teacher Ayun.
As a result, Prince Carlisle's face became paler and paler, and more and more beads of sweat appeared on his forehead...
The part of the story that was publicly circulated on the mainland about the fall of the old empire was vague, as if the powerful empire disappeared overnight, leaving behind only many regrets. However, in the royal records, the process was far from so dignified - the old empire went downhill for a full two hundred years before it collapsed. The royal family fought among themselves, the nobles were corrupt, the upper class was in chaos, the middle class lived a life of drunkenness and debauchery, the lower class had no means of living, and a large number of refugees fled. Even the population of the six southern countries increased by nearly half during that period.
Finally, there was the terrible disaster that people didn’t even want to mention and passed by in vague terms…
A great noble of the old empire started a territorial war and conscripted 100,000 laborers in his own territory, but he was unwilling to provide food for them. When the laborers were driven to the battlefield by the army, they, who would starve to death if they did not resist, launched a riot.
This kind of riot is not rare, or it is very common on the continent, and it often does not arouse much interest, because the riot will be suppressed quickly. How can the unarmed civilians who look like skeletons be the opponents of the knights? Two hundred knights launched a charge, and it only took half a day to subdue the rioting 100,000 civilians.
But the situation this time was different. When the civilians launched a riot, the army happened to be marching to the border between the two territories, and a necromancer happened to pass by.
Black magicians are not uncommon on the continent of Bloomfield. This is a continent where the Elf King, the Dwarf King and the Beast King rule the roost. The power of the Holy See is not as pervasive as in other continents.
The desperate civilians turned to the necromancer for help and were willing to offer sacrifices at the cost of their broken lives. The necromancer gladly accepted the sacrifices of the civilians. He transformed these desperate civilians who were willing to sacrifice their lives for revenge into an army of undead and launched a natural disaster of undead.
When Carlisle saw this part, he broke out in a cold sweat. Let alone a hundred thousand people, the sacrifice of dozens or hundreds of people would cause a disaster that would shake the continent. He quickly turned the page to read on.
The largest territory of the old empire was transformed into a lost area of the Scourge in just a few months ...
In the name of conquering the army of the undead, various countries frantically encroached on the territory of the old empire...
The necromancer transformed into the Lich King...
The chaos and panic lasted for nearly ten years. The threat and destructive power of black magic were far less than that of the various forces who treated the Old Empire as a delicious cake and madly participated in the war, hoping that the more chaos there was, the better. Finally, the Church joined forces with the Elf King, the Beast King, and the Dwarf King to drive the Lich King out of the southern continent. The forces of various countries, having lost their excuse, had to stop the party. By this time, the Old Empire had been completely destroyed, and not even the wreckage was left.
That king faithfully recorded the greed of various countries in this incident, and only noted the whereabouts of the Lich King at the end - he fled to the northern grasslands, the territory of the Tauren and Centaurs, and died there for some reason.
On the surface of history, this Lich King was the culprit for the fall of the old empire. He was indeed powerful enough to be feared by people. The place where he died was called the Cursed Land. All tribes agreed to never attack the grassland to avoid a large amount of blood to revive him.
Carlisle was so stunned that he couldn't recover...
When he saw the beginning, he thought that it was the necromancer who brought the terrible disaster. After all, black magic is always mysterious and frightening, and that's the reputation of the world. But in King Saint Bridget's letter, the truly terrifying thing is not the Lich King, but... the human heart!
The fall of the old empire is actually a carnival for all countries in the human kingdom!
Needless to say, the northern countries, which have the advantage of geographical location, have the loudest voice in the Kingdom Federation. Even the weak six southern tribes, although unable to send troops to fight for territory, have also received a large number of remnants of the old empire and wealth...
Carlisle closed the black book with slightly trembling hands, and pressed hard on his forehead for a long time before his breathing calmed down. He closed his eyes and relaxed, turned his head to the north, and smiled bitterly: "You are right, teacher... There is nothing to be afraid of in this world except the human heart. What's the big deal about making a deal with the devil? There are devils hidden in the hearts of many people..."
"A-A-choo!"
Xiao Yun sneezed violently. Qiu, who was next to him, glanced at him, stretched out his paws and hugged Xiao Yun. The long, fluffy hair on his belly covered the back of Xiao Yun's head and back tightly.
"It's okay, I don't have a cold. I guess someone is secretly praising me for being handsome." Xiao Yun raised his hand to hold Qiu's paw, and waved his other hand forward, "Run, Mumu, faster!"
"Okay!" Mumu, who had transformed into a snow wolf, responded happily and dragged the sled at a very fast speed, at least 120 miles per hour.
Qingyan, who was sitting on the sled, did not transform. He was still relatively cold-resistant. He rested his elbows on his knees, supported his chin with the back of his hands, and lazily looked at the snow scene on both sides that was rapidly receding.
"If you go out to play without Dahe, she will definitely complain about you for a long time when you go back." The cold wind that blows on Qingyan's face is nothing. He is still stubborn and slowly eats the dried fish in the cold wind.
"How can we call this going out for fun? Even though it's snowing hard, we still don't forget our old friends the Tauren. We send them maltose and honey!" Xiao Yun held Qiu Mao's fluffy forelegs and stroked him wantonly, using him as a cushion and a pillow. "Why do you always think about Da He and want to have an interracial relationship? I don't agree. You two can't have cubs."
Qiu & Qingyan: "..."
Qiu turned his face away: "No, Qingyan, do you want to be a partner with Dahe?"
Qingyan's face turned dark, and he twitched his lips and said, "I...you...Da He and I are friends! Good friends!"
Xiao Yun didn't even bother to respect Qing Yan's explanation. He rubbed Jiojio's feet, which were a little numb from sitting there. "It's good that you didn't feel any pain. Why are you so excited? My feet are numb from sitting for so long. Mumu, are you tired from running? Let's switch."
"Not tired!" Mumu ran and jumped happily.
"If you're tired, come and switch with me!" Xiao Yun pressed more and more of his body weight onto Qiu. Look at him, he is indeed a good student with excellent character and academic performance, and he is so self-conscious... If he brought someone like Dahe out, he might have to do all the work of pulling the sled!
