However, as dusk arrived and the sun slowly set below the sea level in the west, the situation began to change.
They saw that the guys who were originally searching in the woods, grass and bushes in groups of three or four were gathering at a very fast speed towards the beach where they landed and stored the boat.
After a while, a huge bonfire made of wood was lit.
The soldier who had rested for a whole day stood on the top of the mountain and looked at the scene in the distance. He immediately turned back to the cave and said to his summoner: "Master, those pirates are gathering in one place. I think it won't be long before they find that many of their companions are missing."
"Oh? Are they finally starting to gather together?"
Zuo Si's eyes lit up slightly, and even his hand that was stirring the crucible stopped.
This so-called "crucible" was made by him using the metal weapons such as scimitars and swords in the hands of the killed pirates, using the creator's [Shaping] ability.
As for the sticky paste stirred with water in the pot, it is some crushed plant seeds with a little water added.
And this plant has a very famous name on earth, called castor.
On the way back to the cave on the top of the mountain, Zuo Si accidentally discovered these plants growing halfway up the mountain. Suddenly, an idea flashed in his mind, and he thought of a way to quickly make a large number of pirates lose their combat effectiveness or even kill them.
That's poisoning! As we all know, castor seeds contain a highly toxic substance called ricin.
Just a few tenths of a milligram can cause a strong adult man to die painfully.
Even in Faerun, which is full of various mysterious powers, magic and divine arts, it is not difficult and troublesome to alleviate and eliminate ricin.
Perhaps [Antidote] can do it, and so can spells like [Slow Down the Onset of Poison] and [Neutralize Toxicity].
But its scarcity means that none of the above methods can deal with more than 200 poisoned pirates at once.
There are many ways to kill people, and it doesn't necessarily require fighting.
This is one of the most valuable experiences Zuo Si learned from the great necromancer, Asta.
After working for a whole afternoon, he first gathered a large number of castor seeds together using simple and primitive methods such as crushing, adding water, and stirring.
Then use the [Refining] ability to obtain crystals with higher purity.
High-purity ricin has now been obtained in doses sufficient to kill thousands of people.
Now, all that's missing is an opportunity for the pirates to gather together to eat and rest.
The soldier was clearly aware of his master's plan and nodded immediately. "Yes! Judging from the current size, they have gathered more than a hundred people. It is estimated that in about forty minutes, the remaining pirates will arrive one after another. And that is exactly when the sun sets and night falls."
"In that case, let's go add some spice to our guests' dinner."
As he spoke, Zuo Si stood up and used [Refine] on the crucible.
moment!
A handful of crystalline powder flew out of the turbid liquid and fell accurately into a glass jar nearby.
After doing all this, he carefully picked up the jar and led the way to the beach where a bonfire was lit at the foot of the mountain.
The summoned soldiers and leopards followed closely behind.
After about half an hour, the two men and the leopard arrived and hid behind the bushes near the beach.
Since there was only a ray of sunlight left at this moment, the visibility in the surrounding area was extremely low.
But for the hobgoblins and orcs who have [Dark Vision], these are not big problems.
Even in the darkest night, these humanoid creatures can see everything within eighteen to twenty meters in front of them.
At this moment, these guys were busy carrying wine and food down from the stranded ship.
Coupled with the pirates who kept returning from the jungle and joining in, the scene looked very chaotic.
Zuo Si was quick to notice this and immediately ordered the soldier beside him who had changed into pirate costumes, "Now is the time! Sneak in and add some ricin to their stew pots, wine barrels, and fresh water. Remember, if anyone asks about your identity, use the name Asted."
"clear!"
The soldier took the glass jar and hid it in his arms, then pretended to walk towards the campfire.
It was not known whether it was because the human pirates were unfamiliar with monsters such as hobgoblins, orcs, and ogres, or whether they had consumed too much energy walking and searching in the dense forest during the day and had no mood to pay attention to their companions coming and going around them.
In short, the soldiers did not arouse anyone's suspicion along the way and arrived at the place where supplies were stored safely.
Just as he was about to take out the jar in his arms and start poisoning, the orc who was cooking next to him suddenly shouted at the top of his voice: "Hey! Human boy! What are you doing?"
moment!
The soldier who was still trying to take something out froze.
He was extremely nervous, and subconsciously put his other hand on the hilt of the scimitar, his mind full of thoughts on how to kill the other pirates without alerting them.
However, the half-orc cook did not notice this. Instead, he walked over and snatched the jar full of ricin crystals from the soldier's arms. He unscrewed it carelessly, grabbed a small handful and put it in his mouth to taste.
After a few seconds of Hong An, he grinned and sneered: "Aha! A jar of spice worth a lot of money. You bastard, you dare to steal the seasoning for everyone's cooking. You are really tired of living."
Fragrance...spices? Seasoning? The soldier who was ready to kill suddenly was stunned.
He really didn't know how to describe the stupidity of the orc in front of him and his extremely bad taste.
You should know that high-purity ricin is a crystal with a slightly bitter taste, which should have nothing to do with spices or condiments.
But what the chef did next made him even more dumbfounded.
The orc took a glass jar filled with ricin crystals and sprinkled a handful into each pot of soup. He didn't do that until all the ricin was used up. Then he threw the empty glass jar to the ground and cursed viciously: "Get out! Dirty and lowly bastard! If I see you stealing anything again, even a glass of wine or a mouthful of salt, I will twist your head off and throw it into the pot to feed those ogres. Anyway, they are never picky about food!"
"Yes...I'm sorry, I won't dare to do it again next time."
Resisting the urge to burst out laughing, the soldier pretended to be panicked, turned around and ran quickly into the dark woods.
I was afraid that if I ran too slowly, the other person would see my face distorted from trying to hold back a smile.
The orc chef, thinking he had done a good thing, spat in the direction of his escape, then smugly continued to stir the stew and seafood soup in the pot with a spoon.
After the soldier returned to his hiding place and recounted the entire story, Zuo Si could no longer hold back.
He laughed and complained: "Okay. Now we have good news and bad news. The good news is that the toxin content in those meals and soups, even if the toxicity disappears after being boiled, is enough to knock down the strongest ogre. The bad news is that if some pirates only drink alcohol and eat grilled fish, they will not be poisoned."
"What should we do next? Just wait here for the pirates to be poisoned?" the soldier asked curiously.
"No! Of course not. Remember those zombies wandering around the foot of the mountain and on the mountainside? It's time to put them to use. You and Red wait here. I'm going to use this time to set up a small magic ritual."
After saying this, Zuo Si took out some bone meal, some black agate, and an eyeball with nerve tissue soaked in preservative fluid from his bag.
Just from the materials, it can be seen that this is definitely a necromancy magic ritual.
After all, he has studied with Asta for so long, and he has the best understanding and proficiency in necromancy magic.
(End of this chapter)