Volume 4: How big is the heart, how vast is the earth Chapter 97 Exercise
Xiao Yun only considered for five minutes whether it was cost-effective to take time to strengthen his personal combat power.
Five minutes later, Xiao Yun, with an expressionless face, had only one thought running through his mind: "Force can make people stupid."
Those who are beaten to death on the streets are all boxers, and those who are drowned are all good swimmers.
Not even a disagreement counted, the two sides started fighting without saying a word. The two big cats, Qingyan and Yugu, lost too much blood and fainted. The snow elves were not in a good situation either. Private Yalin had broken his left arm and right leg, and was grimacing in pain. Private Gilbert was covered in blood and fainted.
Balk's wounds made him look like a blood gourd, but he was still full of vitality and alive and kicking; Sergeant Selina, whose shoulder armor was bitten through and whose entire right arm was covered in blood, looked like she could still fight for a few hundred more rounds...
When Mumu returned pulling the sled, Xiao Yun and Qiu had just managed to hold down Balka with great difficulty. Ed and Xiu also struggled to hold the frenzied sergeant.
Xiao Yun: “…” He held his forehead with his hand.
Another five minutes later.
"They attacked me first! They!" Balk, who had transformed into a human, pressed one hand on the biggest wound on his neck and pointed angrily at the snow elf on the other side, "I was playing with Wool, and they suddenly rushed over to chop my neck and grabbed Wool!"
"Don't move, don't move. It hasn't been bandaged yet. Hongye, please help me hold him down." Qiu was sweating.
"Green Dragon? With them?!" The female warrior took off her helmet with a look of horror on her face. She pointed at Balk in disbelief with her left hand which could still move.
"Yes, Sergeant!" Xiu said sadly, "I released the Snowbird to report to Lieutenant Shirley a day ago about the Snow Wolf Tribe taking in the green dragon Balk... If nothing unexpected happens, Lieutenant Shirley's new order should be in your hands in the next day or two."
"But I clearly saw the green dragon attack—"
Selina looked at the "victim" in doubt, only to see that... the cub who came with Xiu and Ed had already walked up to the "victim" white-haired giant wolf, and was squatting down with his hands holding the wolf's head. After a while, the giant wolf trembled and let go of its claws that were holding its head, and buried its head in the cub's arms.
"It's okay, Yangmao. It's all over. Be good and don't be afraid." Xiao Yun stroked the wolf's head gently and looked at Selina with a very complicated expression.
"Ayun, Ayun, woooo, woooo~" The giant white-haired wolf made the voice of a little girl and stretched out its two paws to hug Xiao Yun... If converted into human form, her age would be only eight or nine years old. She had always been well protected by her tribe members. She was really scared when she suddenly encountered such a bad thing.
Selina: “…”
"Where are you injured, Yangmao? Why is there so much blood on your body?" Xiao Yun asked gently.
"It's not my blood, it's Balke's blood. When Balke and I were playing, a lot of blood came out of his neck..." Yangmao felt particularly aggrieved. A cub of her age had never even had any experience with hunting, and suddenly others were fighting to death in front of her. It would be strange if she was not scared.
"..." Xiao Yun looked at Selina with a deep gaze.
Selina slapped herself in the face.
Hongye and Mumu picked up branches and vines to build the frame of the house. Sally made a fire to melt the snow and poured water out of the igloo. They moved the four seriously injured people to the igloo covered with animal skins and settled them down. The two groups sat around the campfire, and the atmosphere was a bit awkward for a while...
Sergeant Selina, who had a gorgeous face and a cold temperament, looked extremely ashamed at the moment. She explained with a drooping face, "We searched all the way here and found that four Snow Wolf tribes and one Cat tribe had disappeared, and there were no traces left at the scene. We suspected that it might be a conspiracy of the underground world, so we rushed to the exit of the underground world to find out..."
"Uh..." Xiao Yun had to interrupt, "If you mean the Grassroots Tribe, the Li Tribe... and other tribes, they didn't disappear, they migrated here and merged with our tribe. No one was missing, they are all in our tribe."
"...Huh?" Selina was stunned.
"The development direction of our tribe is somewhat different from other places on the grassland. We focus on farming and supplement it with animal husbandry. The same area of land can feed a population ten times that of nomads. What we lack is manpower, so at the invitation of our tribe, these tribes moved here." Xiao Yun wiped his sweat. He really didn't know that the snow elves would actually pay attention to the migration of tribes on the grassland. It seems that he also played a role in the suffering Balk suffered this time.
"Then you don't have to come right up and try to slay the dragon!" Balk, who was almost wrapped like a dumpling, shouted at Selina in frustration.
"..." Selina didn't look at him. "We arrived here not long ago when we heard some noise in this direction. When we came out, we saw this green dragon knocking down... well, your cub, and was about to bite off your cub's head."
"I didn't!" Balk was so excited that blood gushed out of his neck again. Hongye, who was sitting on his left, quickly held him down, and Qiu stood up skillfully and wrapped a bandage around his neck.
"...So, I attacked the green dragon." Selena still ignored Balk and said with great sorrow.
"..." Xiao Yun had a blank expression on his face, and his heart was calm. He even felt like laughing... Logically, he should sympathize with Balke, who was the most seriously injured, but... to be honest, the fact that he could hold back his laughter was a sign of the friendship he had for Balke.
"...I will apologize to those two innocent cats later. It was our impulsiveness that led to this conflict. I am personally very sorry for this." Selina said solemnly.
Xiao Yun couldn't help but take a closer look at this snow elf female warrior who looked... how should I put it, like a gorgeous vase. Admitting one's mistakes and apologizing for wrong words are not uncommon qualities, but it is rare for someone with a particularly good appearance and who looks arrogant to have such qualities.
"...The consequences of this misunderstanding are something neither of us wants to see. To be honest, it's because of the lack of communication and understanding between the two sides, as well as the green dragon." Xiao Yun said straightforwardly, "If it weren't for the sudden appearance of such a huge green dragon, I don't think Sergeant Selina would have acted rashly. The reason is that Sergeant Selina was eager to protect the cubs of our tribe and was worried that our cubs would be hurt. It's not the style of the Snow Wolf Tribe to blame others for worrying about our safety. Since this misunderstanding has not caused irreversible consequences, I think we should not talk about whether to apologize or not."
"Hmm..." Selina glanced at Hongye and Mumu's faces in surprise and doubt, and nodded after hesitating for a moment, "In this way...in that case, we will be responsible for the losses of the two cats during their recovery." It would have been fine if Xiao Yun had interrupted before, but the one who made the formal response now was still this snow wolf cub, which made Sergeant Selina a little confused.
Xiao Yun didn't care about other people's surprise at his identity as a cub. After all... a normal cub should be like wool, not like him.
In fact, Xiao Yun was a little happy at this moment. The bottom line of the snow elves was almost the same as that of the forest elves. The sergeant of the Elf King's Royal Army said this, which was tantamount to admitting that they owed the Snow Wolf Tribe a debt - the beating that Balke received was worth it!
With a chuckle, Xiao Yun placed the wire mesh on the grill and said, "It's good that the misunderstanding has been resolved. Come on, let's have a barbecue. We can talk while we eat."
"Hmm..." Selina's face changed slightly. The food from the Snow Wolf Tribe... was really a bit... but now she had lost money from others, and she didn't have the face to refuse... She was so conflicted!
She grilled the frozen fish she had gotten by breaking the ice, the leftover snake meat, the thorny wood demon meat, and the frozen cabbage. She also thawed the salad and canned fruit. In less than twenty minutes, Selina had completely thrown away her previous concerns and was feasting on the food while exhaling from the spiciness - it was so delicious!
Qingyan & Yugu, who were lying in the igloo and unable to move, said: "..."
"Please take care of us too!" Yugu was more steady, but Qingyan could not care less and shouted outside while twisting his neck.
"I will definitely not forget you guys~" Sally came in with a plate, smiling, and sat between the two big cats, feeding them on the left and right. "Does your wound still hurt? If it hurts a lot, you can ask the snow elf who can perform healing magic to help you."
"It doesn't hurt anymore, but I'm a little dizzy." Qing Yan chewed the crispy thorny wood demon cartilage, "Why are they all roasted? Isn't there any vegetable soup?"
"Of course not. We didn't plan to spend the night outside, so we didn't bring any." Sally stuffed a whole piece of meat into Fishbone's mouth, grabbed Fishbone's big front paws, and played with the meat pads.
"I listened to them for a long time. It turns out that this thing happened to us because of Balk. If I didn't know Balk, I would have thought that he had bad intentions when such a big green dragon pressed on my wool." Qingyan ate something, but he was still angry. Especially when he and Yugu were lying down, Balk was still jumping around outside. It would be strange if he didn't get angry. "Really? I won't bring him with me when I go out to play in the future."
"I can hear you!" Balk yelled from outside, "Qingyan, I'm done with you!"
"Keep your voice down, your saliva is spraying on my flesh." Qiu's complaint followed.
"Qiuqiu, you dislike me too!" Balke was about to cry.
"No, no, if you keep shouting so loudly, the wound will really split. Here, I'll give this to you to eat." Qiu stuffed the fish meat covered with Balk's saliva into his mouth.
Selina paused while eating, shifted her gaze, subtly glanced at the young green dragon, then turned to look at Ed and Xiu.
"Lord Balk seems to have adapted well to the Snow Wolf tribe." Xiu: The polite and courteous version of dealing with strangers.
Balk had just stuffed the fish meat that Qiuqiu gave him into his mouth. He chewed it for a few times and then stopped. He stared at Ed for a few seconds with a faint sweat on his forehead. He suddenly turned his head to look at Xiao Yun, and his voice was a little trembling: "Ayun, why did the snow elf come back with you?"
Xiao Yun smiled and said, "Because the snow elf is here to find you."
"...Why did the snow elf come to me?" Balk swallowed.
"Your father, Lord Austin, asked them to do it~"
Balk: “…”
"don't want--!!"
Balk screamed and the fish meat he had just chewed sprayed all over Xiao Yun's face. Before Xiao Yun could even curse, this guy rushed over and hugged Xiao Yun: "No - I won't go back! I want to stay in the tribe, Ayun, you are not allowed to abandon me!!"
Xiao Yun, who got goosebumps all over his body, was shocked: "...Fuck!" Are you acting in a melodrama and you're playing the female lead?
After tearing it apart with great effort, Xiao Yun wiped his face and looked at the stunned Snow Elf: "You have also seen... Lord Balk has no intention of reconciling with Lord Austin. This is also a headache for our tribe."
The Snow Fairy nodded synchronously...
"Ed, Xiu?" Sergeant Selina shook her head and looked at the two soldiers seriously.
"Lord Balk seemed to have a disagreement with Lord Austin and chose to leave home on his own initiative." Xiu said.
"The Snow Wolf Tribe had no choice but to take him in." Ed added, pointing at Balk who was still pestering Xiao Yun.
"... " Sergeant Selina's expression was really quite interesting.
The snow elves synchronized again and stared silently for a long time at the green dragon who was about to throw a tantrum... How disgraceful! It was not wrong for the elves to hate the dragons.
Not to mention, this scene alone is quite appetizing. Selena took a bite of half of the roasted cabbage with a crunchy sound.
"What is the Snow Wolf Tribe's plan?" Turning her gaze to Xiao Yun, Sergeant Selina blinked her ruby eyes meaningfully.
Xiao Yun understood immediately. It seemed that the Snow Elves had really high moral principles. This eldest sister of the Gorgeous Faction acted as if she would risk her life for the Snow Wolf Clan if they wanted to "get rid of" the Green Dragon. She was quite humane.
"Of course it depends on your opinion. After all, Lord Austin entrusted the task to the Snow Elf." Xiao Yun returned the favor and winked at Selina... If you need it, we can sell it to you anytime! No, give it to you!
Xiao Yun said, I definitely don’t have any moral integrity!
Sergeant Selina couldn't help but laugh. It was true that the elves disliked the dragons, but this young green dragon accepted by the Snow Wolf Clan was not so annoying. At least when there was a conflict, it had the awareness to protect the cats. In addition, it had to give the Snow Wolf Clan some face. "Lord Austin asked my king to find his son Balk and confirm Lord Balk's life or death. This has been accomplished. Whether Lord Balk is willing to reconcile with Lord Austin is not within the scope of our mission."
"No reconciliation!!" Balke was quick-witted and shouted gruffly.
Sergeant Selina nodded and said, "I will report Lord Balk's intention to Lieutenant Shirley at our headquarters later."
"Thank you very much." Xiao Yun smiled, turned around and pushed Balk away, "Did you hear that? Why don't you thank me now?"
"I should thank them?!" Balk raised his voice.
Xiao Yun made two "tsk tsk" sounds and shook his head as if this guy was hopeless.
"..." Balk felt aggrieved and sat back, hesitating for a long time, "Thank you."
The snow elf was stunned again... and was chewing the roasted cabbage.
Staff Sergeant Selina is a new generation elite non-commissioned officer in the Elf King's Royal Army. She was awarded the rank of staff sergeant in the regular army at a young age (just over 200 years old). She had previously served in the Elf King's Guards and had close contact with many green dragons. She had seen Lord Austin twice alone. Seeing with her own eyes that the snow wolf cub "taught" Balk to be so "not so annoying" and to do whatever he was told to do, the new non-commissioned officer had deep doubts: Why did this snow wolf cub give her the impression that he was a more qualified father than Lord Austin?
...This thought gave Sergeant Selina a chill, and she quickly ate a few more bites of meat to calm herself down.
After spending a night in the snow, the five snow elves followed to the Snow Wolf tribe the next day.
After the team set off, the three snow elves who were able to move freely did not pay too much attention to Balk, and they were not worried at all whether he would sneak away halfway. This attitude made Xiao Yun ponder, and his eyes became a little deep...
"It seems that Xiu was right. The agreement between the Elf King and Austin does not include taking Balk back." Sitting on the sled and hugging the wool, Xiao Yun stroked his chin and thought to himself, "This means... the Elf King totally diss Austin's green dragon? It's fine as long as he takes back the gold mine, but whether Austin is satisfied or not is not within the Elf King's consideration?"
"So... Xiu and Ed went on this trip because they were hit by the food shells. As for Sergeant Selina..." Turning his head slightly, Xiao Yun glanced at the female soldier who was following the sled on skis. He was suddenly moved and couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
They "monitored" the tribes on the grassland, and would spontaneously search for them if they found that several tribes were missing. After knowing the whereabouts of the missing tribes, they would run along and take a look before they felt at ease. The attitude of the snow elves made Xiao Yun feel a little uneasy, but suspicion also followed.
The tiger tribe attacked small tribes to capture slaves, but the snow elves did not care; a large number of warriors of the snow wolf tribe were deceived, but the snow elves did not care; the cat tribe fought to the death among themselves, but the snow elves did not care; and when five tribes disappeared, they immediately became nervous. It seemed that...when the conflicts on the grassland were small in scale or the number of casualties was not large, the snow elves would let things take their course; they would only take blatant action when a larger population was involved.
"...Virgin Mary? Impossible. There are only a group of Minotaur who are gifted. Then..." Xiao Yun secretly exhaled, and the fog that had been covering his eyes seemed to dissipate a little. "Then it can only be because of the nickname 'Cursed Land'... In this world with magic, gods and demons, the name 'Cursed Land' must not be called randomly. This grassland... maybe there are more secrets that I don't know."
"Forget it. If enemies come, we will fight them. If floods come, we will block them with earth. The forest elves didn't say anything when the tribe spread out to farm. This means that there is at least no problem with developing and reproducing on the grassland. If there is a problem, the sauce we produce cannot be purchased by both elves."
"In any case, we can still hug the thighs of these two elves for the time being."
Xiao Yun's eyes flashed with brilliance, and then gradually calmed down. He didn't know how bad the grassland was, and he couldn't control it, so the most important thing for him at the moment was to develop the basic foundation - it was unrealistic to expect to be valued and respected without the status of equal dialogue with others. The elves on both sides, including the Tauren, kept it a secret and vague about the origin of the "cursed land". When he was strong enough, he would naturally know it even if he didn't bother to ask.
Xiao Yun's guess was correct. Sergeant Selina "let Balk go" not just to save face for the Snow Wolf Tribe. After confirming Balk's life or death, their mission was indeed completed. The agreement between the Elf King and Austin did not include bringing Austin's son back, because if it was signed in this way, the contract would be a complete trap - if the dragons died before the end of their lifespan, they would definitely be killed. If Balk was killed and his parts were sold to people all over the continent for collection, how long would it take for the Snow Elves to find all the parts of Balk and hand them over to Austin? Can the Elf King fall into this trap?
Auston only dared to say that he had found his son's remains, but he didn't say that he would collect his son's body...
So... follow the Snow Wolf Tribe to their tribe to take a look. For these snow elves, it has nothing to do with Balk - Ed and Xiuwei want to buy sauce, and Sergeant Selina wants to see with her own eyes whether the population of the five tribes is still there, and whether the cub Ayun is lying.
Xiao Yun's speculation about the snow elves' intentions was a misunderstanding... Before he became the cub Ayun, he had been an earthling for more than 30 years. He was used to the Chinese way of thinking on Earth. Although he knew that the longevity of this world was measured in thousands of years, when it came to things that happened five hundred years ago, his mind would naturally classify this matter as "history"; in other words, Xiao Yun didn't think that the Lich King who died five hundred years ago still had a "role" - the burial place of a demigod was regarded as "land that cannot be desecrated by blood and killing". This kind of thing that the natives could accept as a matter of course was a complete conspiracy for Xiao Yun, a superficial gimmick used to cover up certain facts...
The generation gap in thinking patterns between the two dimensions also exists in our Ayun.
When the group returned to the tribe, the heavy snow that had been falling for nearly ten days had stopped. People who had been studying hard in their rooms rushed out of the door as if they had heard the bell for the end of get out of class, picked up various tools and cleared the snow. They were full of energy and enthusiasm, as if they wanted to vent all the frustration they had felt in the past few days.
Sergeant Selina, whose right arm had almost recovered, saw rows of buildings in the snow from afar. She was so surprised that she lifted the visor on her helmet. Looking more closely, she saw groups of snow wolves and cats working hard to sweep the snow around the buildings. At first glance, it seemed that there were at least hundreds of people working together...
"So many houses?" Ed slid forward and looked ahead curiously. "There's no place on the grassland to mine stones. How did you build so many stone houses?"
"It's built with bricks. We use a special kind of stone that is burned into lime, and then add the gravel and sand dug out when we were dredging rivers and canals. The brick house we built is as strong as a stone house." Hongye said.
"I can do it! I can make bricks!" Mumu, who was pulling the sled, said with his tongue sticking out.
The tribesmen also spotted them, and a group of them trotted out to greet them: "Ayun, you're back!"
"Hey, why are Qingyan and Yugu injured?"
"Why are you wrapped like this, Balk?"
"I'm hurt too!" Balke shouted.
"Does it hurt, fish bone?"
"Qingyan, can you still get up? Are you just lying there and unable to move? Come, I'll carry you."
"Hey, I said I'm injured too, look at me!" Balke shouted, pointing at his nose.
"Okay, get off quickly. You're not tired of riding the sled yet." Xiao Yun jumped off the sled holding the wool and urged with disgust.
Balk: “…”
