Volume 4: How big is the heart, how vast is the earth Chapter 101 Qualifications for Survival (I)
West of the tribe’s central square, in front of the greenhouse area.
Hailin held her head high with a dazed look on her face, while Kai looked around in confusion.
"I really remember that when we came here last year, there were only two rows of greenhouses here. How come there are suddenly two more rows? What kind of magic is this?" Hailin muttered in a dreamy voice.
"No, Hailin, have you noticed that there are more than a hundred snow wolves who have left the tribe since a while ago. When did so many of them appear?" Kai reached out and pulled the corner of Hailin's clothes.
"..." Hailin came back to her senses and looked back at the grassland people hurrying . After a moment of silence, she swallowed her saliva and asked, "Have they gathered all the tribes in the western part of the grassland?"
Xiao Yun came out of the nursery shed and saw two elven warriors standing on the roadside in a daze, helpless and confused. He raised his hand and rubbed his face vigorously, pushing the facial muscles that were somewhat stiff due to excessive fatigue, and put on a warm smile in a second: "Hai Lin! Kai!"
"Ayun!"
"You guys came so early this year?" Xiao Yun smiled and walked over to Hailin and hugged her. "It's not easy to travel in this weather. Don't stand here. Come, let's go to the activity room to rest and eat something."
"That's perfect. I've missed your tribe's braised pork for a long time." Hailin put her arm around Xiao Yun's shoulders, her attitude not at all awkward.
"Ahahaha, the most popular dish in our tribe's cafeteria right now is not just the braised pork, but also the hot and sour rice noodles. Do you know how to add some minced meat and greasy sauce? It's extra tasty!"
"I don't know, I'm just waiting to eat!"
The two of them were laughing and hugging each other as if no one was around, which made Kai, who was hanging behind them, twitch his mouth... Hailin, this bastard, has the nerve to say that I have changed, but you are the one who has changed the most!
A large shallow bowl with hot soup with red oil floating in it, green vegetables, white bean sprouts, a few fried soybeans, a handful of chopped green onions grown in the greenhouse, a spoonful of minced meat and a spoonful of oil residue, accompanied by dark brown and reddish sweet potato vermicelli in the red oil soup. Once it is served and you smell the aroma, it is hard for anyone to control their saliva.
She picked up the chopsticks, rolled up a piece of sweet potato noodles and put it into her mouth. The chewy noodles and the fragrant and spicy soup burst in her mouth. Hailin, who was about to say a few words, suddenly had her eyes light up and immediately buried her head in the food, not caring about talking at all...
Xiao Yun also had a bowl of noodles in front of him, but he had been staying up late lately and didn't dare to eat anything oily or spicy, so he had the potato vermicelli in clear soup. Seeing the two elf warriors who were not used to using chopsticks almost buried their heads in the bowl, Xiao Yun laughed: "Is it delicious? How does it taste?"
"Hmm! Ha, it's a little spicy, delicious!" Hailin raised her head in the midst of her busy schedule.
"Hai Lin, are you here to see me or do you have a mission? If it's the former, stay a few more days. It's rare for us to see each other." Xiao Yun said again.
Hailin raised her head in pain: "Ha, there is a mission, ha, the general asked us to confirm the number of sauces and porcelains prepared by your tribe, hiss, it's really a bit spicy."
"Oh, don't worry about that. We have already prepared the quantity agreed upon last year, and even brewed a hundred more jars." Xiao Yun smiled.
"Uh, Ayun, the general wants us to ask you if you have any new products. Oh, this food is good, can you sell it?"
New products? Xiao Yun thought about it for a moment and understood what was going on. The amount traded last year was definitely not enough for an elf tribe to consume, so they must have bought the sauce last year and started reselling it. We snow wolves are so honest and simple, and it will be difficult for us if you don't explain clearly. He immediately laughed, pretending not to hear the elf general's implication, and nodded simply: "Sure, this is called sweet potato flour, and the white one in my bowl is potato flour. These two kinds of vermicelli are made using our traditional flour-making process of the snow wolf tribe. The finished product is dry vermicelli. If it is sealed and stored away from moisture, it can be kept for two to three years without going bad. When you eat it, just take it out and cook it with water and add ingredients. One pound of sweet potato flour can cook three to four bowls of this amount. If you elves eat it, I think one pound a day is enough for one person, and there may be some left."
Hailin and Kai looked up halfway through. After hearing Xiao Yun's introduction, Hailin couldn't help but gasp: "It can be stored for so long? How long does it take to cook it?"
"If you cook it in boiling water, it will be cooked in a few minutes." Xiao Yun said with a smile.
This time Kai and Hailin both gasped... It has a long storage time and is easy to eat. To soldiers like them, it sounds like the most suitable dry ration for war!
Forest elves are good at hunting, but if they are on patrol, reconnaissance, or even cross-border missions with a long cycle, it is unlikely that they can hunt prey every day. If they have to carry military rations, firstly, the shelf life of most rations is only a few months, and secondly, they are really unpalatable...
If this kind of vermicelli is used, the shelf life will no longer be a problem. Even if you need to bring a copper pot, sauces and spices, it is much more convenient and less troublesome than carrying military rations. After all, space props are very precious, and the forest elves don't have many. The most important thing is that this vermicelli is really delicious!
"Ayun, how much is this vermicelli?" Hailin almost stretched out her little hands (`) with tears in her eyes.
"Six copper coins per pound." Xiao Yun smiled. Still the same old rules, since the Snow Wolf Tribe is weak, don't always think about getting rich overnight. The end of greed is nothing. Xiao Yun just needs to ensure that he can make two or three times the profit... The price of sweet potatoes in the whole continent is so low that it can't be sold by pound. The price of St. Bridge is that one two-gram copper coin can buy ten pounds of sweet potatoes. If five pounds of sweet potatoes are sold for one pound of flour, this selling price minus the labor cost is still a huge profit~
Six copper coins are enough to cover a soldier's daily staple food needs. Hailin and Kai both have an unreal sense of happiness... Add to that the prices of sauces (salt, vinegar) and spices (pepper and chili), and the cost of rations is shockingly low!
"Burp!" Hailin was so nervous that she burped unconsciously. He didn't care about his own loss of composure and asked anxiously, "Then how much of this vermicelli can you sell to us?"
"Well... in a month we can probably produce 400,000 kilograms of both types of powder." Xiao Yun was a little embarrassed, "We hope to settle in gold coins... Is that too much to ask?"
"Not too much, not too much!" Hailin breathed heavily. "Then, Ayun, can you let me try your potato noodles?"
"Of course, of course." Xiao Yun quickly pushed his bowl over...
With the help of delicious, easy-to-carry and easy-to-store vermicelli, the two elf warriors completely forgot the hint given by General Lexter when they came here, stayed in the Fire Tribe for two days and ate and drank to their heart's content, and then each of them returned with dozens of kilograms of vermicelli as samples. Before leaving, they repeatedly stated that the forest elves would definitely need a lot of these two vermicelli, and asked Ayun to meet their needs first before selling them to humans...
So, when doing business, you also need to play the long game to catch the big fish. The trading foundation cultivated last year allowed Xiao Yun to negotiate a big deal of 4,800 gold coins at the beginning of spring. This is the benefit of repeat customers~
People who really love to eat can learn to cook quickly. Besides, cooking sweet potato noodles is not much more difficult than instant noodles. When Helin and Kai returned to Ananas City, the Elf General ate spicy and sour sweet potato noodles and clear soup potato noodles that night.
Before a certain evil cub dumped sauces into Ananas City and induced the forest elves to buy a lot of spices from Prince Carlisle, the forest elves had a very light taste. Generally speaking, their main meal was oven-baked bread with various fruits and vegetables, and a whole piece of stewed or grilled meat. Heavy oil and salt were far from them. But after Xiao Yun taught them the techniques of grilling skewers, the tips of enhancing the flavor of sauces, and the spicy pickled cabbage to relieve greasiness and stimulate appetite, Ananas City became more homely - please refer to the mental journey of foreigners who became addicted to China's "unhealthy food" after coming to China.
Anyway... as a more traditional forest elf, General Crest is now used to eating bread slices with pickled cabbage and grilled meat (or fried meat slices). This is also the main reason why the handsome Crest's chin became rounder in one winter...
The clear soup potato noodles were impeccable. The bone soup passed down from the Snow Wolf Tribe was so smooth, soft, and tasty that it was even delicious when bread was soaked in it. The strong-tasting sour and spicy sweet potato noodles were a little difficult for General Crest to accept, but he was reluctant to leave any, and he ate all two taels of the noodles.
Then General Kleist was no longer in a hurry to leave for the port to perform his guard duty. He packed up and went to the Council of Elders. He carried Helin, and Helin carried a backpack of vermicelli.
Elder Gwendolyn is older than Crest, but he is a great magician with a strong receptive ability. He ate the spicy and sour sweet potato noodles without frowning. After finishing, he wiped his mouth and pulled Hailin to him to ask questions. After hearing the very tempting price, Gwendolyn raised her eyebrows and said, "Haileen, the Snow Wolf Tribe has not yet expressed whether it is willing to increase the volume of sauces and porcelain transactions?"
Hailin was confused: "..."
General Kleist then remembered this. His expression remained unchanged, but his eyes began to wander.
"Uh... Ayun seemed to say that they brewed a hundred more jars..." Hailin held it in for a long time before finally remembering a sentence that Xiao Yun mentioned inadvertently at that time.
Elder Gwendolyn is so smart that she immediately understood the intention of the Fire Tribe... There is no problem with increasing the trade volume, but they must take the initiative to negotiate and let those who have a say do the talking.
Gwendolyn did not blame the warrior Hailin, and changed the question: "Did you make any new discoveries during your visit to the Fire Tribe this time?"
"Their buildings have doubled in size, and there are many more people. According to Ayun, several tribes in the southwest of the grassland have moved here to live with them... When we arrived, they were devoting all their manpower to expanding the cultivated area..." Hailin racked his brains to recall what Ayun had said to him, "Well... Ayun said that they hope to open up farmland on both sides of the river and grow food. That way, they can feed all the tribesmen and there will be no fighting due to lack of supplies."
General Crest looked surprised, and Elder Gwendolyn's eyes became a little sharp.
Hailin didn't know whether the big shots at the table were satisfied with his answer or not, and said hurriedly: "Ayun said that they had to move from the central grassland to the southwestern border because of the disputes over the grassland... Every tribe is actually not easy, and he didn't want to see the two sides who were short of supplies fighting to the death for a little profit... Uh... Ayun said... I'm sorry, Ms. Gwendolyn, Kai and I were... only concerned about the vermicelli transaction at the time, and didn't care about anything else..."
Gwendolyn sighed inwardly. It was not wrong for the soldiers to care about the rations that were easy to carry. It was inconvenient to rely on the soldiers to pass on the message. Even her own disciples sometimes misunderstood her ideas, didn't they?
After agreeing to the vermicelli deal and seeing off General Crest, Elder Gwendolyn called a maid to prepare tea for her. She walked into the courtyard, put her hands behind her back, took a few relaxing breaths, and made up her mind to go to the cursed land in person.
But...whether her visit is for peaceful trade or for other reasons depends on the circumstances.
Since this grassland on the northern continent became Melville's burial place, the Forest Elf Queen, the Snow Mountain Elf King, the Beast King, the Dwarf King, and even... the Dark Elf Matron, have all agreed to the grassland non-invasion agreement and regarded the cursed land as a non-conquerable land.
Elder Gwendolyn, who was in a position of power, naturally knew the reason very well... It was not out of respect for the fallen demigod, but because she did not want to see the Lich King reappear on the earth - the forces on the continent of Bloomfield were already complicated enough, and no one wanted to add another top powerhouse who could influence the continent's structure.
Melville J. Bantroft was desperate about the short-sightedness and shallowness of his own people. He was so desperate that he chose to seal his life box and fall into darkness. Let him stay in the darkness forever... Dead enemies are enemies worthy of respect. If Melville were alive, the various tribes would not have such respect for him as they do now.
It is in the interests of all ethnic groups that the Cursed Land remains peaceful and tranquil forever, and it is even more in the interests of all ethnic groups that the grassland tribes remain in disarray forever.
Elder Gwendolyn sat in a flowery courtyard, sipping the fine black tea from Bradrick Continent gracefully. Her eyes narrowed as a gentle and pleasant voice came out of her mouth: "...The previous Tiger King's intention to rule the grassland was suppressed by the joint efforts of many parties. The Tiger Tribe had to change its strategy and turn to the Far East. Although the Beast King was dissatisfied, he could only allow the Imperial Marshal to secretly fight with the Tiger Tribe... In any case, it is beneficial to the continent to move the battlefield to the other side of the York Mountains. But the Elf King... The Snow Elves frequently appear in the Cursed Land. What is he thinking? Is he still interested in interfering in the orcs' family affairs?"
"He is too arrogant."
The delicate white porcelain cup was gently placed on the tray by soft hands without making any sound.
Elder Gwendolyn leaned back in her chair, her chin resting on the back of her hand, her eyes looking into the void.
"The Snow Wolf Tribe is smarter than I thought. Choosing 'creation' will undoubtedly greatly please the Elf King." The gentle and pleasant voice came out softly, but it seemed... vaguely sharp. "But... did they really choose 'creation', or did they learn the lesson of the Tiger Tribe?"
Elder Gwendolyn's eyes, as beautiful as emeralds, seemed to be filled with murderous intent in an instant.
"Have they already retrieved the inheritance, but are still playing dumb?"
A few days later.
Spring sowing has not yet ended, and during this busy farming season of intensive and high-intensity physical labor, being assigned to a patrol team is as worthwhile as a holiday for the Snow Wolf warriors.
Several soldiers were playing and rolling on the grass, which was more than one meter high, fighting and biting each other, laughing and joking. Yu and Hongye checked the wild beast nests around to see if there were any signs of monster activity. When they came out of the cave, they saw that everyone was in a mess. Mumu, the naughty guy, even slid down the low hill with dense vegetation like skiing while holding a piece of rotten wood that he had picked up from somewhere, yelling and knocking away two soldiers who happened to be playing in front of her. The three of them rolled into a ball, yelling and cursing.
"Hey, stop messing around, it's time to move to another place!" Hongye didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She turned to look at Yu and said in a reproachful way, "Maomao, you should also take care of them. They are like this outside the tribe. What will we do if we encounter monsters?"
Yu smiled and waved to the soldiers who jumped up and returned to the team: "Let's go."
"You really indulge them too much." Hongye shook her head. As soon as Mumu approached her, she immediately stretched out her hand to grab Mumu's neck. "Mumu, why can't you learn your lesson? Tell me the truth. Do you usually make Huoyan angry?"
"No, no, I'm very obedient at work!" Mumu quickly begged for mercy.
"I don't believe you. Next time the cement factory changes employees, I will persuade Ayun to transfer you, a troublemaker, out."
"Hey - I'm going to the cafeteria then!"
"You wish!"
The soldiers were so happy that they pointed at Mumu and laughed. Yu, the leader, looked back, shook his head, and then turned around to smile.
Xiao Yun asked Yu to lead the warrior team out of considerations for balance in the beginning , but he accidentally arranged Yu to the most suitable position - when the Beast King borrowed soldiers, most of the elite warriors of the Snow Wolf Tribe in the central grassland were borrowed, and none of them came back, causing the Snow Wolf Tribe to suffer a loss in strength; and the tribes living in peace on the southwestern border were fortunately not harassed, and all the elite warriors were saved, such as Xiaohua and her partner in the Li tribe. The two of them have the same level of combat power as the original owner's mother. They can tear snow beasts apart with their bare hands without turning into wolves, and one of them can fight against five or six ordinary warriors.
The Grassroots Tribe was not asked to borrow soldiers either. Among the eleven warriors of the Grassroots Tribe, Yu was the strongest one... So when the Grassroots Tribe leader took the risk of asking his tribesmen to come out to work, he sent Yu out without hesitation.
Yu is a taciturn man who knows what's going on but lacks quick wit and decisiveness. He is not only the strongest in the grassroots tribe, but also the strongest among the six merged tribes... It's just that he has no chance to show his fighting ability, so Xiao Yun has no idea that the honest man who calls him "Maomao" all day long is actually a super warrior.
For Yu, he doesn't care whether he is valued or not. He likes the peaceful life he has now.
As the group was moving to the next patrol site with laughter and relaxation, a brilliant magical light that shouldn't have appeared on the grassland suddenly flashed in the bushes at the foot of a low hill not far from them.
At first, there was only a tiny dot, at most the size of a grain of rice. In the blink of an eye, the rice-like light expanded hundreds of times, and in an instant it expanded thousands and tens of thousands of times, turning into a huge magic circle that almost covered the entire mountain. In another instant, this slowly rotating magic circle suddenly burst out with brilliant and colorful light, projecting upwards, projecting a colorful pattern that was opposite to the array diagram in the sky dozens of meters high.
“?!”
It was impossible for the soldiers not to see such a big noise. Yu rushed to the front without hesitation and held the more than two-meter-long spear in his hand across his body.
“This is…” A’yan, who was among the warriors, exclaimed in surprise. But before he could finish his words, a dazzling light burst out from the magic circle beam that enveloped the entire hill. The hill disintegrated and collapsed as if it was crushed by an invisible giant foot. The earth also shook as if it could not withstand the tremendous pressure.
Yu raised his left hand and waved backwards, signaling everyone to retreat, his eyes fixed on the collapsing hill in front of him. The Snow Werewolf was a race that forbade magic, and he was not afraid of magical attacks, but... this strange magic array beam of light made him feel a tightness in his heart for some reason!
Hongye pulled the silly A'yan back a few steps. Just as she was about to protect A'yan behind her, she saw a huge figure appear above the collapsed hill that was only half left!
The mountains on the grassland are not high, with an average altitude of less than 100 meters, and the area is not large, but they are still mountains after all... and the figure that appears above the low mountain is not much smaller than the low mountain!
In the horrified eyes of the warriors, the small hill was razed to the ground by an unknown force, and the monster, which had originally only a vague figure, also revealed its general outline.
"This, this is——" Yu's eyes were bloodshot.
The moment the light of the magic circle dissipated, the monster of astonishing size finally revealed its true form - the upper body was a human, and the lower body was a nimble horse. Both the human and the horse were covered in ferocious black armor, and in its hands as thick as giant trees, it held a pair of giant axes that were at least thirty meters long!
"Centaur Evil Spirit, Nightmare Knight?!" Hongye exclaimed, "Isn't this the legendary big devil? How could he appear here?!"
The nightmare knight revealed his true form, with a head as big as a house facing the Snow Wolf warriors. Under the visor of the helmet, a pair of eyes suddenly opened, and the eyes that were like burning crimson soul fire just cast their gaze over there. A Yan, who was just there to make up the numbers, felt his legs go weak and he fell to the ground.
"Hongye, take Ayan away!" Yu only had time to shout before he had to rush forward - the nightmare knight who symbolized terror and despair had raised his giant axe and threw it at him!
Hongye instantly turned into a wolf, opened his mouth, bit Ayan's collar, turned around and ran away. Mumu and other soldiers didn't even bother to take off their clothes, they turned into wolves, and scattered!
Yu clenched the spear with both hands and charged head-on at the giant axe that was more than ten times larger than him. His arms suddenly became thicker as he exerted force, and only an afterimage of the spear could be seen!
“Clang!!”
"Ahhh!!" A'yan, who was being carried away by Hongye, suddenly screamed and covered his ears with his hands. Two streaks of bright red blood slipped from his fingers.
Yu, with just his strength, stopped the giant axe!
