Chapter 131 Barriers and Vegetable Picking Barriers, Vegetable Picking, Iron Furnace
The interior and edges of the Great Eton Forest offer different scenery. Abundant in magical elements, it is a gathering place for magical beasts and a happy home for various magical plants and mutated plants.
The small village is located on the very edge of the Eton Forest. Although the forest is connected, there are several mountains in between, so you can hardly see any powerful magical beasts.
If you venture further afield, you might encounter level 5 or 6 individuals. Level 4 is already considered the absolute highest level, and if you encounter one, you'll simply run for your life.
Wokain and his companions entered the Great Forest of Eton. Following the instructions on the parchment map in their hands, they circled around several times before finally finding the location of the magic circle.
This map was revised and drawn by the archmage who carried out the last mission, and several decades have passed since then.
After so many years of internal development, coupled with external influences, the environment of the Eton Forest has changed significantly compared to before.
The obsidian stele inscribed with ancient characters was covered by weeds and could hardly be seen without careful observation. Hundreds of years of wind, frost, rain and snow had long since tarnished its former glory.
Soil, beetles, and vine branches lay quietly on the stone tablet.
The human activity startled these timid little creatures, who quickly darted into the shadows among the plants.
"Sir, here's a piece!"
The defensive mage yelled and cleared a path with magic.
Wocain approached and casually picked some grass leaves to clean the surface of the monument, revealing the inscription on it, a line of poetry by a wandering poet.
—He is everything, He does not love the world.
What does this sentence mean?
"A defensive mage asked."
"have no idea."
The wood-type mage didn't want to talk to him.
Wokain placed his hand close to the surface of the monument, and ripples of pale gold magic spread across it. The beads on his wrist dangled and swayed in the air.
"Shh, it's starting."
The wood-element mage offered a reminder.
The defensive mage erected a barrier, and Vokain then began chanting obscure and difficult-to-understand incantations.
Many, many years ago, mainland China was not like it is now.
At that time, various races lived together, living in constant fear of starvation, lacking sufficient food and a stable life, relying entirely on the power of nature.
Later, people discovered foods that could be grown in large quantities, and their lives began to improve. To facilitate cultivation, people gathered together and settled down.
As people's lives improved, "landlords" emerged in the settlements, possessing large amounts of food and land.
Having more land means having more food and more wealth.
And so, the conflict began.
Various races began to frantically seize land for their own interests, thus triggering countless small wars.
And so, this friction continued for hundreds of years.
Race, individual, land, wealth.
The interplay of various interests, while fostering closer ties within the race, also fueled one war after another.
It wasn't until the demon race rose up unexpectedly and cruelly reaped countless lives that the various races began to cooperate and eventually defeated the demon race, leading to the current situation on the continent.
The barrier of Eaton Forest was established at that time. In order to maintain the stability of the settlement, people set up a barrier in the area of Eaton Forest about a quarter of the way from the land.
Mbato was used to prevent powerful monsters from entering the settlement and to seal the demons forever in the "graveyard".
Mbato, a place that strikes fear into the hearts of all. It is the "other side" of the continent of Casa, a dimensional space with two suns, and the legendary birthplace of the demon race.
Once upon a time, somewhere in the Great Forest of Eton, there existed an entrance connecting Kasa and Mbato. Later, after the war with the demons ended, human mages and saints of various races sacrificed their lives to create a barrier that sealed Mbato.
It can be said that this barrier severed the connection between the two regions and prevented the demons from setting foot on the land of Casa again, making it crucial for the entire continent.
There are hundreds of obsidian stone tablets like these across the continent. They can be used to transmit energy to the barrier. Theoretically, as long as they are maintained, the barrier will continue to exist.
But even the most powerful magic eventually becomes ineffective, and now, hundreds of years later, the existence of the demon race seems to have been lost to the long history.
A comfortable life makes people numb, and everyone focuses more on their own small families. Only those ancient families and various organizations still maintain this tradition.
The White Tower, where Wokain is located, is one of the organizations that is still maintaining the barrier.
Not long ago, another stone tablet was vandalized.
This damage could be due to a lack of maintenance for too long, an accident that damaged the integrity of the magic circle, or even deliberate sabotage by someone.
The barrier would weaken as a result, so the White Tower sent Wocain out this time to check and reinforce the stability of the barrier.
As Wokain uttered the last word, a magic circle began to appear centered on Wokain's palm.
What he needs to do is repair the magic circle used to absorb magical elements, and if possible, further improve it.
Each stone tablet is engraved with a different magic circle, and a "token" is needed as a key to modify it.
The beads on Wocain's wrist are one of the keys.
How long will it take?
The defensive mage asked in a low voice.
"I have no idea."
Answered by a wood-elemental mage.
He was alert to his surroundings; he had to ensure Wocain's safety.
"All right."
The woods returned to silence.
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After seeing Edmund off, Ray went back to farm work.
Many of the people Ray knew loved spicy food, but very few families in the village grew chili peppers. So, in the spring, he planted all the chili pepper seeds he had in the ground.
Now that vegetables are ripening in large quantities, the chili peppers in the fields are also reaping a bumper harvest.
Even if Lai only picked the largest ones, he still filled two baskets. There were still many peppers in the field that had turned dark green. This color of pepper is the spiciest, and apart from adding one or two to stir-fries, they are basically inedible.
So they can only be left on top, waiting for them to slowly turn red, and then dried into chili peppers for consumption.
After picking the chili peppers, Lai picked a lot of cowpeas. If he didn't sell more, these cowpeas would really rot in the ground, which would be a complete waste.
Leigh would rather sell it cheaply than see that scene.
At this time of year, it's practically impossible to find very tender vegetables.
Many of the cucumbers that Lai grew have turned yellow and old, and taste sour.
These cucumbers, which are in a state of being neither fully ripe nor fully mature, taste very bad and have basically disappeared from the dining table. Villagers mostly use them to feed their livestock.
Lai picked out some of the better-looking cucumbers and left them until the skin turned a deep brown, which was when he harvested them.
These naturally grown, aged cucumbers make an amazing soup! They used to be an ingredient that Lai couldn't even buy, so he kept them this year.
Theoretically, the sweet potatoes in the field should take some time to fully mature. But thanks to the magic, the sweet potatoes in Lai's family grew faster than those in other families.
Fresh potatoes are already being sold in the market, and Lai plans to dig up some sweet potatoes to sell first and test the market.
He first cut the sweet potato vines with a sickle, and then used a pitchfork to dig the sweet potatoes out of the ground.
The pink sweet potatoes came with a lot of mud and needed to be processed a second time. Although they were harvested a bit early, they were quite large. After cleaning them, Lai picked out two to cook and eat that evening.
He dug out a basket and a half of sweet potatoes from just a small plot of land. Looking at the large area of potatoes and sweet potatoes in the vegetable garden, he felt very satisfied.
If these potatoes and sweet potatoes are handled and stored properly, they will definitely last until next spring!
The more Lai thought about it, the more excited he became.
After finishing his work, he still had some time, so he quickly tidied up and went to Temuqi's house.
The iron furnace he ordered was basically finished. Temuqi had previously sent word for him to come over and see if there were any modifications needed.
Temuqi still lives in a stone house by the river. His business seems to be not doing well lately, and he hasn't even turned on his blacksmith's furnace.
On the surface, that's how it appears to be for Lei Yi, but whether Temuqi is doing any other business on the black market behind the scenes is unknown to him.
As soon as Lei approached Timuch's house, he saw a small pile of stones at the base of the wall.
Most of them had been neatly cut and then carelessly discarded here. They were of various sizes; some contained very poor-quality agate, some contained clusters of transparent crystals, and some were just pieces of stone.
Ray: ...
This is bad news. Temujin seems to have become obsessed with gambling on stones. In such a short time, he has accumulated so many stones.
"Temuki, are you home?"
"I'm at home, there's someone there."
Temuqi quickly came out of the house.
Despite the sweltering heat, he was still wearing a thick apron, and just looking at him made Lai feel hot.
"Long time no see, how have you been?"
"I greeted you," Ray said.
Temuji shrugged.
"It's the same as always, nothing new. Oh, my friend, tell me more about that switch. I've been studying it for a long time, but I still have no clue."
"good."
"Are you here to see the iron furnace? It's here."
Temuqi took Laiyi to the open room where blacksmiths worked, where a very simple iron furnace was placed on the floor.
"Take a look and see. Ventilation and firewood-adding areas have been provided, and the chimney you requested has been made, along with a place to boil water."
"Very good, excellent."
"I sincerely praised him," Ray said.
Temuji always manages to get what he wants, and sometimes he even exceeds expectations, which makes life much more convenient for Laiyi here.
"Then I'll start painting it, and you can take it back in a few days."
"Um."
After showing Lai the furnace, Temuji led him to the workshop. A pile of small parts lay on the workbench, all his recent work.
"Look at this, and then look at this."
Temugi handed some small items to Laiyi to look at.
"These are some gadgets I made recently, as well as small parts for switches. I've assembled them several times, but I haven't been able to achieve the effect you described."
"Don't be discouraged, you can do it."
"Oh, it's been so noisy in the village lately. I heard from the villagers that the woods outside the village are on fire?"
Temuqi asked curiously.
"Yes, it was made by the mage from the royal city."
Why did they do that?
Lei looked at Temuqi with a puzzled expression.
"That forest has been withered for half a month, didn't you know?"
“I’ve heard villagers who pass by say it, but I thought I was dreaming.”
Temuqi scratched his head.
Haven't you gone out recently?
"No. I've been studying that little thing called a 'switch'."
"Then why are there so many stones in the yard?"
Lei raised his question, and Temuji looked somewhat embarrassed.
"Yeah, I wasn't in a good mood because I couldn't figure it out before, so I went for a walk."
I'll also buy some stones to play with and relax.
Lei added in his mind for Temuji.
"Did you cut out what you wanted?"
Temugi gets angry whenever this is mentioned.
"I smashed their stall!"
"ah?"
Ray was clearly not familiar with his dwarf friend's volatile temper and didn't react immediately.
Why was it smashed?
"They cheated me with bad stones!"
Temugi got angry when this was mentioned, and even swore a few times.
"How much did you lose?"
"Ten gold coins."
Temugi immediately deflated.
It seems he suffered a lot because of this, and he probably won't be addicted to jade gambling anymore, which puts Lai at ease.
"Why did you suddenly decide to build that iron furnace?"
After hesitating for a long time, Temujin finally raised his question.
“I rented a piece of land to grow fruit trees, which is quite far away, so I need to build a new house. A stone fireplace is not very convenient, so I plan to get an iron one over there.”
When did this happen?
Temugi's eyes widened, feeling that he had missed out on so much.
"It's been a long time. I've been so busy selling vegetables that I didn't tell you. It was my mistake."
"What else has happened recently? Can you tell me about it?"
"no problem."
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Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2024-04-02 23:03:09 and 2024-04-04 23:58:47!
Thank you to the little angels who watered with nutrient solution: Zuimeng Liuyu (20 bottles); Suoyi and Fengyu (5 bottles each); Lvxiansheng (3 bottles); and Luoning (1 bottle).
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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