Volume 5: If you are poor, you should be alone Chapter 153 Who is the one to sharpen the knife
Based on the concept of making the best use of everything and everyone, when Evelyn proposed that she wanted to work in the flour mill and hone her mental strength, Xiao Yun naturally... rejected this unreasonable request.
Are you kidding me! Balk was honestly creating fans because this idiot was not serious about the application of magic science. If he was unwilling to work hard, he would naturally have to work hard. Compared with Balk, Evelyn, who was a complete academic master, was also sent to create fans. What kind of person would Xiao Yun be!
So Xiao Yun quickly gathered thirteen cat warriors to form an applied magic research team, put Evelyn in as the team leader, and then threw a bunch of research topics to confuse Evelyn's face...
"Uh... fiber material project? Natural fiber? Inorganic fiber? Synthetic fiber?" Evelyn read the words laboriously. She knew them all when they were taken apart, but when they were put together, she had no idea what the hell this research topic was. "Highly elastic polymer material... plant latex?!"
"That's right." Xiao Yun said righteously, "Why should we advocate a scientific understanding of magic? Why do we have to learn from scratch to use scientific methods to understand magic power and explain the connection and influence between magic energy and the laws governing the operation of all things in the world? Do we have to spend our entire lives studying how to throw bigger fireballs to hit people like traditional magicians? Of course not!"
"The magic energy of throwing a small fireball can create an air bomb, which can blow up a cubic meter of thick rock that is difficult to dig by human power, allowing the engineering team to build the road. The magic energy of throwing ten small fireballs can create a large-scale resonance, which can knock down the rocks blocking the road and make the road smoother!"
"Magic, this omnipresent energy in the world, can be used not only to destroy, but also to create!"
Xiao Yun, who was waving his arms vigorously while giving a speech, seemed to have his own holy light. The eyes of the cat warriors who had been transferred to magic apprentices were shining, and Evelyn was also infected with passion: "Of course, teacher, scientific magic is definitely stronger than traditional magic!"
Xiao Yun smiled and nodded: "I'm glad you support my point of view, Evelyn. We, the Snow Wolf Clan, love peace. As a Snow Wolf, I pursue the path of scientific magic, and what I pursue is the path of using magic to benefit the world." He showed a lost expression, "I regret that I cannot feel the magic power myself, so I can only place my hope on you." He paused, and swept his eyes over the cat warriors, "I believe that everyone has the same ideal as me. The time and effort we spend on learning scientific magic are only to achieve this only common goal - to let all intelligent races know that not all spellcasters are destroyers, and magic is definitely not just a trick to kill people."
"Yes!" The cat warriors nodded vigorously. There was no need to express it in words. After becoming a member of the Fire Tribe, they would naturally understand and agree with the Fire Tribe and Ayun's ideals and pursuits.
"We have taken the first step in scientifically understanding magic. Next, we need to study how to use the power of magic to find ways to benefit the world." Xiao Yun picked up the group's research topic and said solemnly, "How to take this step requires all of us to explore together. Since we are exploring, we should of course start with the most fundamental need: research on new materials that can benefit all intelligent creatures."
"The first topic we need to study is fiber. There are several major categories of natural fibers. The mid- to high-end fibers include spider silk from the dark elves, an animal fiber that the dark elves monopolize; seaweed fibers from the sea tribe; and plant fibers from the forest elves. As for the low-end ones, there are plant fibers such as flax and cotton that are circulated everywhere , as well as wool produced by our Snow Wolf tribe and animal fibers provided by long-haired sheep."
After a pause, Xiao Yun smiled and asked, "So are these the only types of natural fibers? Who can answer this?"
The cat warriors looked innocent. Xiao Yun's words were beyond the scope of the topic. They couldn't understand...
Evelin did understand, but she couldn’t answer the question, and after hesitating for a long time, she said, “There should be… more, right?”
"That's for sure. Before the Minotaur cultivated wild grass into food, who knew which seemingly insignificant wild grass could be used as food?" Xiao Yun smiled and nodded, "There are countless kinds of plants in the world. There must be some plants like cotton and linen that can provide plant fibers that we can process into cloth, but we haven't discovered them yet. This is the topic that our magic science application team will study long-term and persistently."
"As for inorganic fibers, we can think of them as fiber materials that can be provided by substances other than animals and plants..."
The cheapening and popularization of cloth and cloth products on Earth began in the early 20th century when American scientists discovered that the melt produced by the polycondensation reaction of diols and dicarboxylic acids in petroleum could be extracted into fibrous filaments - this melt was called polyamide, and the extracted fiber was named nylon. (Nylon fiber is the raw material for many artificial synthetic fibers, and the Americans made a lot of money)
Yes, that's right. The hypocritical people in the 21st century hate all chemical products and are crazy about the so-called 100% pure cotton and wool. But the fact is that if synthetic fibers had not appeared (not counting the gap in industrial and military industries), then although the seven billion people on the earth would not be naked , there would definitely not be many people who would be so extravagant as to throw cabinets and cabinets of old clothes into the trash; except for a very small number of wealthy and powerful people at the top of the pyramid, there would not be many people who have the capital to replace new clothes every season or every year...
In the early days of the liberation of New China, it was not an exaggeration or a joke that a family in remote areas only had one pair of pants. Natural animal and plant fibers alone cannot meet the needs of all people on the earth for warmth and appearance.
With the tribe's current population base and average cultural level, it would be a pipe dream to produce synthetic fibers now, but we can still work hard on plant and animal fibers; we have unscientific things like spider silk, bark cloth (sun cloth), and seaweed cloth (sea magic cloth). Who can say whether there are some magical plants and animals waiting somewhere for people to discover and utilize them?
By the way, it can also lay the foundation for future synthetic fiber technology and "implement" the major issue of cooperative fiber on paper first. While New China was researching the atomic bomb, it also established the hydrogen bomb project. The big trees planted by the old predecessors in advance will provide shade for future generations for days and nights. Xiao Yun has no big trees to rely on after traveling through time, so of course he can only choose to plant trees himself...
As for tricking Evelyn, a forest elf, into planting trees for her family... What race does academics have to distinguish between? Vulgar or not! As long as they have a master-disciple relationship, what's the big deal about the disciple being a laborer?
Nothing wrong.
I don't see that Sean is not even qualified to help, he is still stuck in junior high school math...
Eastern grasslands.
The camp closest to the York Mountains is the largest camp of the Tiger Tribe in the east, at least half the size of the royal court. The tall and thick walls make this camp look like a solid fortress, storing a large amount of grass, food, armor, cowhide, and a large amount of magic crystals, magic cores and other spellcasting materials collected from adventurers in the York Mountains.
In addition to supplies, this camp also has the largest number of troops stored in the eastern camp... a full tent of elite tiger warriors!
The warrior organization habits of the Tiger Tribe were brought over from the Orc Empire. The head of a tent is the most basic officer, leading twelve soldiers. Thirteen tents make up a medium tent, and thirteen medium tents make up a large tent. The total number of soldiers and officers is more than two thousand. If such a force were deployed to the human kingdom, it would be enough to capture a city of one hundred thousand people... Of course, this does not include subsequent rule.
As the leading fighting race among the orcs, the Tiger Tribe has no habit of using auxiliary soldiers. When they are on the "front line", there will naturally not be too many non-combatants of their own tribe in the camp - except for a few logistical and military supply personnel, there are only slaves who can be abandoned at any time.
Yale, the soldier who was promoted to the account master a year ago, crossed his arms, stared expressionlessly at his own soldiers who were carrying weapons and armor in front of the warehouse opposite.
Behind Yale, two soldiers belonging to the middle tent were lowering their heads to drag a dead cat out of the tent, preparing to take it outside and throw it away.
That was the tent where Yale was, a hot-tempered officer. In just half a month, four or five cats were dragged out and thrown away.
The two soldiers assigned to dispose of the bodies hurriedly passed by Yale. When they walked a distance away, Yale couldn't help but glance over with the corner of his eye. He found... the dead cat was not dragged on the ground, but was being carried properly by the two men.
Yale withdrew his gaze and continued to look at his soldiers.
The hands tucked in my armpits were clenched into fists at some point.
It is somewhat ironic that Yale, who could not stand the atmosphere in the royal tent, voluntarily transferred back to the east for only a year, and a large number of soldiers were transferred here one after another, along with slaves from various pastures and a few slave warriors.
The latter was what most displeased Yale and people who thought like him - for orcs, warriors were glorious. Whether slaves became warriors or warriors became slaves, it was unbearable for the proud tiger warriors.
Unfortunately, Zhongzhang was also one of the people who had such thoughts, but his actions were undoubtedly even more unacceptable... At least Yale couldn't accept it. Could letting those cat slave warriors die in humiliation offset the impact of Tiger King's decision on the warriors?
"What on earth is Tiger King thinking?"
Half a year ago, this question only occasionally popped up in Yale's mind. At that time, he felt that such a thought was quite disrespectful and was eager to get rid of it every time. But now, this question always appears frequently in Yale's mind, and Yale is no longer so actively avoiding it.
"It's moved, Yale." The soldier came back wiping his sweat.
Yale came back to his senses, nodded silently, gestured to follow him, and turned to walk towards the camp gate.
"Are we going on patrol?" the soldier asked curiously.
Yale nodded, thought for a moment, and then explained, "We found deer footprints in the north a few days ago, so we caught a deer with horns to roast. We've been eating jerky lately and our mouths have lost their taste."
The soldiers were delighted to hear this. Soldiers from other tents could often get some prey to change their taste, but the tent owner, Yale, was always silent and serious, so the soldiers did not dare to ask for it rashly.
Yale just wanted to get out and get some fresh air... If he hadn't been appointed as the head of the camp, he would have wanted to be transferred to another camp. Whether it was the bad-tempered head of the camp or the slaves that could be seen everywhere in the camp, they all made him feel suffocated.
When walking out of the camp gate, Yale and his party met the two soldiers who were returning from abandoning the body.
Yale had some impression of them. If he remembered correctly... these two people should have been in the same account with his good friend Yaheng. During the period when he and Yaheng returned to the royal court for rest, these two people somehow became the subordinates of the central account.
The two young tiger warriors, who were about the same age as Yaheng, probably around forty years old, had no trace of the youthful vigor and vitality that young people should have. Instead, they looked gloomy and decadent. They always walked with their heads slightly lowered so as not to make eye contact with other people.
When they passed each other, Yale turned his head slightly to look at the two of them, then quickly looked away.
The terrain in the east is not as flat as that in the central part. The closer to the York Mountains, the denser the jungle becomes. This environment makes the tiger warriors who are used to the grassland feel depressed. Once they leave the camp, they feel like they are surrounded by the jungle.
"When I was first transferred here, I thought there would be a war soon, but after more than a year, nothing happened." A soldier muttered, "Yale, do you know when we are going to leave?"
Yale shook his head.
"If we continue living like this, we're going to get mad." The soldier made an exaggerated face at the others.
"Didn't you say before that it was great that we didn't have to go to the pasture to look after the slaves?" an old soldier who was familiar with this soldier laughed.
"That's what I said a long time ago!" The soldier shouted, looked around to see if there were any outsiders, and lowered his voice again, "Besides, these slaves in the camp...are not as well off as those on the pasture."
"You really dare to say anything!" The old soldier slapped him on the shoulder. "It's fine to say it when there are no outsiders around, but if others hear it, don't blame us for not recognizing you."
“How cruel!”
Yale's ears moved, and he raised his hand and gestured to quiet down. The soldiers who were still teasing each other instantly quieted down.
The experienced veteran sniffed, his face changed slightly, he gently pulled the young soldier, and walked quietly to the outside of the team.
Yale stood there waiting for a while, then suddenly squatted, jumped up, and pounced to the right; with a light swipe of his strong right arm, his sharp claws cut through the dense and thick vines like a curtain, and his left palm stretched out like a claw to grab forward.
“Clang!!”
Amid the ear-piercing sound of metal collision, Yale's sharp left claw, powerful enough to tear a brown bear apart alive, scraped against a thick broadsword; and the man who hastily swung the thick steel knife across to block it was actually a snow werewolf with a physique comparable to Yale's!
"?!" Yale was shocked when he saw the opponent clearly. Before his brain could react, his body had instinctively rushed forward and swung his right arm towards the opponent's throat.
"Roar--!!" The snow werewolf's fighting instinct was equally strong. Without dodging, he opened his mouth and bit towards Yale's right arm.
At this time, the old soldier also rushed forward, bent his waist and knees, and grabbed the snow wolf who suddenly appeared from bottom to top.
Another snow werewolf appeared from behind a big tree, and his snake-like spear stabbed the half-crouching veteran.
A strong gust of wind suddenly appeared in front of Yale, and the old soldier who wanted to assist him was swept away quickly.
The fight lasted only two seconds. It was not until the Yale veterans returned to their original positions that the other Tiger warriors reacted and cried out in shock: "Snow Wolf Tribe?! Why are the Snow Wolf Tribe here?!"
Behind the vines that were blown into large gaps by Yale's strong wind, more than twenty snow werewolves appeared from behind trees, thorn bushes, and grass, staring at them with hostility!
"Although there is a Snow Wolf tribe in the east, they are not close to the York Mountains. Who are you?!" Yale shouted.
This group of snow wolves ignored Yale. The closest snow wolf warrior holding a steel knife even rushed out of the dense forest and slashed at Yale fiercely.
"Be careful, Xiaohua." The Snow Wolf warrior holding a spear followed closely behind, attacking the old soldier whose reaction was second only to Yale.
"Roar!!" Yale was furious. He slapped the steel knife away with one claw and bit the other party savagely.
The opponent was also very ferocious. It transformed into a wolf and bit Yale on the head with its even bigger bloody mouth.
The path in the dense jungle didn't allow much room for maneuvering, and Yale barely avoided the attack. Then another cunning werewolf took advantage of his companion's transformed body to kick Yale, nearly knocking him down...
For an elite warrior like Yale, it was a shame to transform and fight. However, the narrow terrain left him no choice. Without taking off his clothes, Yale transformed into a large tiger and started to fight with the wolf-like snow werewolf. As the two beasts fought and bit each other, branches and thorns were broken and crushed, and the trees that were not thick enough were also broken under the impact...
Yale was not at a disadvantage when fighting one against two, and the other tiger warriors were not just for show. Although the Snow Wolf warriors had twice as many people, they could only fight a stalemate with the tigers, and the fight was so fierce that birds were startled in the entire dense forest, and it was difficult to tell who was better for a while.
A few minutes later, the group of Snow Wolf warriors suddenly helped each other to get rid of the Tiger tribe and retreated deep into the dense forest. Yale, who was furious, was not willing to let them go so easily, and immediately called on the soldiers to chase them. Just as they chased them a hundred meters or so with the wind, another group of more than 20 Snow Wolf warriors jumped out from the big trees, thorn bushes and grass, and enthusiastically welcomed the chasing Tiger tribe...
The individual combat power of the tiger tribe is the strongest in Bloomfield. Even if the Elf King's royal army fights against the tiger warriors, they can't get the upper hand. However, no matter how strong the tiger tribe is, it is still flesh and blood. After "beating away" three groups of snow wolf warriors in a row, Yale can only choose to retreat no matter how angry he is...
They retreated, but the Snow Wolf Men did not chase them. The doubtful Yale led the soldiers out of the jungle and retreated to an open area where they could see the camp gate. Only then did he calm down and have the energy to think about the question that puzzled them:
"What's wrong with these snow werewolves? Are they crazy?!"
"They don't even have that wolf smell on them. Did they go out of their way to wash themselves clean just to tease us?!"
"Where on earth did these guys come from?!"
On the other side, deep in the jungle.
Xiao Hua covered her torn shoulder with her teeth bared. "That tiger leader was really powerful. He almost bit through my shoulder. Hiss - be gentle, A Tian!"
"Don't touch the wound with your hands, your hands are dirty." A Tian felt sorry for Xiaohua's injury and blew on her to apply medicine.
"The tiger warriors here are really strong. They should be the elite of the tiger tribe. Even I can't hold on for too long alone." Yu frowned and said, "The patrolling warriors we intercepted these days are all this elite... It's really strange, why are they piling up so many warriors in the camp here?"
"Maomao, do you think Ayi's people will be locked up in the camp here?" Xiaohua said.
Yu was silent... He didn't know this either!
"If we are locked up here, we won't be able to save anyone even if we come here in winter." A Tian told the truth, "There are many more tigers here than in the two camps we visited before."
"... Let's wait here for another two days." Yu said, " See if we can find any abandoned cats... alive. If we can ask them questions, we'll have the answer."
These words made the soldiers silent, even the older naughty boy A Yan kept silent with a sullen face.
They had been in the tiger camp closest to the York Mountains for a week and had picked up three abandoned cat... bodies.
It’s not that the soldiers are afraid of seeing corpses. It’s normal to see so many dead people on the grassland, right?
But if the body is tortured to the point of being covered in wounds and without any intact skin, it is very uncomfortable - if you don't want others to live, why not just kill them directly, why torture them? !
The Snow Wolf people didn't let the cats they took in see the corpses they picked up... they just couldn't bear it.
"The tiger tribe is going too far." Xiao Hua ignored the pain and slapped her thigh angrily, "If you want to fight the Beast King, just fight him. What's the big deal about bullying us grassland people?"
Yu remained silent and did not show his uneasiness.
He had attended Ayun's "upgrade course", and being a man with good comprehension, he was still deeply impressed by Ayun's analysis of the Tiger Tribe. Now that he had come to the East in person to see the situation there, he had a vague feeling... Ayun's guess might be correct, and the enemy that the Tiger Tribe was targeting might not be the Beast King.
Yu had no definite answer as to who the Tiger Tribe was targeting, but he could understand more deeply why Ayun was so eager to gather his fellow tribesmen as soon as possible - the Snow Wolf Tribe was also likely to appear on the Tiger Tribe's target list.
After packing up and preparing to go back to where he was staying for the night, A Yan walked into the bushes and picked up the cat corpse he had just found today. He looked at Yu and said, "Maomao, where should we bury him?"
Yu Bu Luo looked at the skinny cat corpse wrapped in the clothes brought by his people with disdain: "This is a snow leopard... I remember Rosemary said that snow leopards like to stand on high places to enjoy the scenery. Let's find a mountain and bury him on the top of it."
A Yan nodded and on the way back, he kept an eye out for any higher mountains. When he saw one halfway, he carried the nameless snow leopard up the mountain and dug a hole for the unknown snow leopard to rest in peace.
After finding a branch and sticking it in front of the simple earthen mound, Ah Yan sat down and patted the mound, saying somewhat sadly: "I don't know if you know Rosemary. You look a bit like him. If you know him, then when you are born again, you can be Rosemary's child... Our tribe has a good relationship with you cats."
"Ayan? Are you ready? Let's go!" A Tian shouted from the bottom of the mountain.
"Here I come!" A Yan patted his butt, stood up, and ran down the mountain.
