Chapter 8 Intimidation
Of course, those favored by God would not be afraid of insects. It would be unbelievable to tell others that the hero of the empire and the savior of the world was afraid of a tiny insect.
He was just the one who, in his childhood, beat up the boys who played pranks on his "pretty sister" with insects until they cried and regretted it, and he became even more brutal towards enemies who had anything to do with insects.
So it’s not fear, it’s disgust.
He mentally repeated the judgment that his companions in his memory would sneer at and shout "Princess," and stared at the other person seriously and sincerely.
His old enemy gave him an ambiguous look, gently placed the plump bug on a bluegrom flower, and let it paddle slowly on its short legs, mercifully not pointing out that every little expression on the savior's face betrayed resistance.
The black-haired young man flipped open his notebook again, motioning Azuka over. This time, he switched to Common. "The first option is low-cost but generally effective. Adjust the positions of the trebuchets to avoid destroying houses. Based on my observations, small and medium-sized dragons living in groups prefer to attack from shaded and tree-filled areas—in other words, from this direction—rather than swooping down from overhead. So, placing them in these locations will provide a wider range of defense."
He drew a few circles with charcoal and wrote a few vertical lines next to them.
The other party hummed and nodded thoughtfully: "What's the better plan?"
"The second option is to build a net." The professor tapped on the map. "I don't know your exact smelting level, but based on what I've observed within my tribe, it's manageable. The net will give you more time to react, and enlarging the mesh will minimize any accidental harm to animals and birds. The downside is that it takes a lot of time and energy, and requires dedicated personnel to maintain and inspect it constantly."
Without waiting for the other person to comment, he continued, "There is a third option, one that I'm personally very interested in: sonic weapons."
"…What is sound wave, a spell?"
"It's not a spell. To put it simply, it involves finding a specific sound that's inaudible to humans but audible to dragons. It won't harm humans, but it will be unbearable for dragons and could even kill them." The black-haired young man explained casually, completely unaware of how terrifying these words would sound to the natives of the other world. "Since you raise dragons in the valley, I suggest placing sound wave transmitters in specific locations outside the valley. Based on observations, the gentle slopes near Asachi Peak are good. If you can't find effective sound waves that can kill the dragons, try to drive them away, or drive them together and kill them all at once. This will also avoid accidentally harming the human-tamed dragons."
"...Have you found the 'sound waves' that can drive away dragons?" The voice of the God-Favoured One became gentle.
"No, I know how to build a simple, preliminary transmitter, but as for the specific frequencies of sound waves, the development of high-power, strong sound sources, the directional radiation or focusing of sound waves, the absorption and attenuation of sound waves, and so on, so far, it's just an interesting research concept." The professor spoke a little faster. Many of the technical terms he used were obscure and lengthy, sounding like he had pieced together a collection of synonyms.
"But if you could provide me with a few dragons to conduct experiments at a few locations around Asaqi Peak—"
"No." The God-favored One interrupted him sternly.
The other party nodded calmly with an expression that said, "I thought of that a long time ago." "I knew you wouldn't agree. This plan is too difficult and unrealistic for the current situation of the Natalin people."
"And mass annihilation is also very cruel?" Nova glanced at the expressions of the God's Favored Ones and added reluctantly. "So I personally recommend combining the first and second methods."
"...It's not out of cruelty," the God-favored One said softly, "Humans kill dragons, and dragons kill humans. To occupy limited resources and survive on this plateau is a matter of life and death."
"Oh, that's because it's dangerous."
A new type of weapon capable of silent, dimensionality-reducing strikes, capable of silently killing even dragons without the need for magic, and easily leading people to associate the experimental subjects with humans. Although Nova considers himself not a sociopath who disregards scientific research ethics, he cannot control the opinions of others.
Sure enough, the other person answered him seriously: "Because it's dangerous."
Nova blinked. "I can sign a soul contract to guarantee that I will not disclose this technology, use it to harm humans, or harm the interests of the Natalin people. As I said, I am personally very interested in this topic."
He had actually used the soul contract as a project application.
"...This is just one aspect, Professor. I personally don't think you would use this unrealized technology to do anything to humanity. You are not that kind of person."
"Okay. So what's that?"
The black-haired young man, who was earnestly explained and comforted, quickly and perfunctorily pulled the corners of his mouth, with a look on his face that said, "I don't care about your true thoughts at all," and continued to urge him to continue.
Azuka sighed - he suddenly felt that he had more opportunities to sigh when he was with his old enemy.
"Are you cold?" he asked suddenly.
The other party looked at him warily, asking what this had to do with the next topic.
But the one favored by God simply dug out the flint from another person's backpack, and slowly used the wind to gather some dead branches from everywhere, gathered them together to make a fire, and then pulled out a squeaking thing from an inconspicuous cave.
"That's why I said dangerous."
"...a gray-backed voles?"
"That's right." The God-Favoured One easily lifted the struggling rat and, as a matter-of-fact gesture, extended his slender, white fingers towards Nova. "Did you bring water and a knife?"
“…”
The professor watched expressionlessly as the other party skillfully used a knife to cut open the belly of the unfortunate gray-backed water mouse, processed the fur and fascia, then used the wind to control the water to rinse out the internal organs, and then threw all the waste down the mountain.
This scene reminded Nova of the fairy godmother again, or the wilderness survival version.
Soon, the hamster, whose only white and tender flesh was left, was roasted on the fire, sizzling with oil. The air was filled with a strange fragrance. Nova suddenly felt his stomach twitch violently and greedily, and he had a long-lost appetite.
He couldn't help but frown, pressed his hands to his abdomen, and looked away.
"It's edible, don't worry." The other party, obviously misunderstanding his reaction, explained gently, "Gray-backed hamsters only eat plants. They're very clean, and they taste good too."
Professor Brody said coldly: "I don't think now is the time to discuss whether rats can be eaten."
"You look terrible now. You need food."
"It's none of your business."
Despite being bluntly rebuffed, the God-Favored One remained unperturbed. Instead, he gazed at the other person with tolerance, gentleness, determination, and silence. Nova stared at him for a moment, finally taking a forbearing breath and removing a glove.
"...Please give me a leg, thank you."
He said reluctantly.
Seeing his old enemy begin to eat, a little color representing warmth finally appeared on his pale face. Azuka turned the prey over with satisfaction to keep it warm, and finally continued his explanation.
"Gray-backed voles are a plague on this plateau. These little creatures are incredibly homesick. A pair of rats will produce five to eight pups each year. Loving parents and elders won't expel the grown pups from the group until the swarm becomes too large for the crevices and the food supply is exhausted. Then, the entire group will migrate and carve out new territory. No matter how many of their own kind are lost along the way to the harsh natural environment or voracious predators, the group will not break up."
"But every once in a while, a wandering rat with strange behavior suddenly appears among the rats." The voice of the God's Favored One became softer, inexplicably elusive and strange amid the noisy and monotonous wind on the plateau. "It will break away from the group, ignoring the anxious calls of its fellows, and head alone towards the Asaqi Peak. Even if its legs are bitten off by its companions, it will still struggle and crawl towards its destination."
"The closer you get to the snow-capped mountains, the more extreme the environment becomes. Vegetation will be completely buried by ice and snow, leaving the hamster unable to find food. Its only fate is death." His voice was almost a whisper, but perhaps because of the force of the wind, his words still stubbornly penetrated the ears of the other person present. "Why does it do this? What does it hear? What is calling to it from the depths of the snow-capped mountains, attracting its brain, which is smaller than a nut? We still don't know."
"However, if even one 'pilgrim' appears among the rats, this suicidal behavior will spread like a plague throughout the entire population," the voice whispered softly. "It's an incomparably absurd and terrifying scene. The gray-white rats no longer hide in their deep nests. Instead, they surge like a tide, filling every corner of the sight, heading deep into the mountains, until they freeze and starve to death along the way. This pilgrimage, destined for death, will continue until only a dozen rats remain from the entire, bloated swarm. Only then will they awaken from their dreams and burrow back into the crevices of the rocks."
"Professor," the voice said, now close at hand, "do you have any idea about this?"
"...some kind of ultrasonic or infrasonic frequency?" Nova thought, frowning as he held a roasted leg of shrew in his mouth. He shifted uncomfortably to the side—if he could just talk, why did he suddenly get so close? The strange breath tickled his ears.
"Perhaps." The God's Favored One straightened his tilted body and resumed his normal voice, concluding, "Deep within the Asaqi Peak lies something capable of emitting sounds inaudible to humans. I've been at a loss for words, but your suggestion of 'sound waves' is a plausible explanation. So, if we rashly deploy 'sonic weapons' around here, would that trigger a reaction from that thing, unleashing an unforeseen disaster? That's what I mean by 'danger.'"
"Your concerns are correct, and I was careless," the professor admitted his mistake straightforwardly. "But I still have to point out one thing."
"You say."
"Please don't communicate with me by telling stories in the future. It will affect my efficiency in obtaining information." He raised his eyes and accused me without any hesitation. His smoky gray eyes showed that you are too long-winded.
The chattering God's favored one: "..."
The professor stared at him for a moment, then suddenly realized, "Wait, I see—were you trying to scare me?"
Another man sighed deeply and helplessly—and again, the frequency of his sighs was increasing day by day. "Yeah, every time I tell this story, the children in the tribe are scared to tears."
This will have an exceptionally good safety education effect.
Azuka lowered his eyes, cut off another leg of the slug with a knife and handed it to his nemesis. Seeing the man subconsciously take it and chew it with a crunching sound, a smile suddenly appeared in his eyes, but it quickly disappeared.
"Then I'll be frank." The God-favored One spoke calmly, a familiar sense of majesty and oppression emerging from him again.
"Whatever you do, don't try to get close to Asaqi Peak. You will die."
The author has something to say:
Pay attention! Do not imitate eating wild game!
One of the prototypes of the story of the wandering mouse is a penguin that traveled alone in a documentary. I was extremely scared of this story and felt particularly embarrassed.
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