wandering fairy

As they were talking, a large and luxurious team of nobles came in front of them.The caravan hurriedly avoided the side of the bridge, giving way to the wide road on the bridge.

This team is flying flags of different colors, or yellow, red, blue, or green flags depicting various iconic patterns, or lion faces or dragon patterns, or colorful symbols or architectural signs.All shapes and colors, colorful.It's obvious that it's not a group.

Walking in the front are several mages, ranging from young people in their 20s to old people in their 50s.They all rode on tall, healthy, shiny horses, and wore mage robes of various colors and styles.There are bright red ornate gold-edged mage robes, white solemn black-pattern mage robes, and blue vibrant mage robes with ruffled edges.Someone was holding a simple-looking golden staff with neat incantations engraved on it; Wearing a pearl necklace the size of a quail egg, which contains changing seven-color flashes, this is the manifestation of magic energy; an earring worn by an old mage is inlaid with a square obsidian the size of a middle finger, which is gorgeous yet stable, weird Without losing the majestic color.

They are all riding on horseback with their heads held high, and at first glance they look rather "defiant".

But they are qualified!

When the team was still far away from Dong Hezi and the others, they could feel a surge of magic spells surging like a tide, and even Dong Hezi himself felt suppressed.Judging from the situation of Yuanshen's exploration, the strength of these mages is around the fifth-order arcane technique, and the magic items they carry are not only large in number but also high in rank.

And Lelin wearing the "Secret Vision Ring" saw a burst of intense colorful light rushing towards her face!It was as if looking at a dozen colorful suns, those intense magic aura pierced the eyes, and the pain was like a needle prick, it was unbearable!In the end she simply took off the ring and removed the arcane vision.Staring angrily at these mages with beautiful eyes, his aversion to this profession deepened imperceptibly.

Grimm's eyes were full of greed and envy, and his eyeballs turned around to look around, from hats on people's heads to gold and silver buttons on their bodies, spell badges, magic belts, Spell shoes.None of them are spared.He seemed to be whispering in his mouth: "These guys are wearing gold brick clothes, when can I have such good equipment!"

The next thing that passed was a four-wheeled carriage with beautiful appearance and fine decoration.Surrounded by some priests and capable armored soldiers guarding them.Although the number of those priests is as rare as that of mages, their spell fluctuations have also reached the level of fifth-order divine spells.For reference, Palik, who is also a fifth-level priest, is really a bunch of guys who are not easy to mess with.

The boss came over and introduced in a low voice: "This is the lords of various places. The mages in front are supported by them for a long time. All tuition fees and equipment costs are borne by the lords, while the mages have to bear the burden of encircling the territory and making low-level magic. The obligation of the equipment. However, the relationship between them is not a master-servant relationship like a knight, but a contract relationship, and the better ones can become friends."

Dong Hezi nodded, and then thought that this boss and the mage beside him must also have this kind of "support relationship".A mage needs a lot of money to advance, and rich lords and merchants support these mages and even make friends with them.When the mages reach a high-level position, they can bring high-level helpers to their territory or open up the upper-level road for their business.It can be regarded as a combination of intellectual elites and power (wealth) elites.

It seems that there are some things in ancient and modern China and foreign countries, and in different worlds.

The team left the city, and the avenue in front of them was really wide.

On the open plain is a flat road that can run four carriages in parallel, and it winds and stretches out towards the horizon.There are flat fields on both sides, and some farmers are doing spring plowing activities.

Seeing the emerald green crop sprouts spread far away like endless carpets on both sides, Dong Hezi's mood improved—he had finally reached a human activity area similar to the earth.Unlike the days before, wandering around in the ravine all day, seeing all kinds of strange plants, and no one could touch them.

However, the good mood didn't last long. In the middle of the night, he found that there were no farmlands and crops on the plains on both sides, but it was covered with unknown tall "weeds".It was still so barren as I walked all the way, and I didn't see an acre of farmland until the sun was about to go down.

Dong Hezi finally couldn't bear it anymore, and turned to ask the boss: "I think the terrain here is as flat as a carpet, and there is plenty of soil and water. Why don't you reclaim it as farmland? What do those lords do every day? This kind of thing of bending over to pick up money Don’t they all come and see it? It’s a waste of tens of thousands of natural fertile fields! It’s heartbreaking to see.”

The boss looked at him in amazement, he was tongue-tied for a long time but asked back: "You~~ don't even know this?"

Dong Hezi's complexion didn't change, but his heart froze: Oh no, I said something wrong again, and I'm about to show my feet.

So he relaxed and slowly argued: "I have been living with my teacher on a remote mountain, where I can experience the magical changes in the atmosphere. My teacher is very strict in teaching and has not allowed us students to go down the mountain easily. Until recently, my magic After making great progress, he allowed me to come down and walk around. So I don’t know much about things here. Please advise.”

The boss felt relieved, the God of Qi Element was notoriously ignorant of ordinary people's affairs, and sometimes he didn't even care about his own disciples' affairs.It is not surprising that such a deity has some solitary servants.

So he introduced in detail: "Because these fields can't grow crops at all! You can't harvest anything. Planting wheat can't bear fruit, but growing cabbages are all smaller than fists. No matter how much water is poured or how much Good fertilizers are useless. Only weeds and these papana grasses can grow smoothly. In fact, more than 100 years ago, only the area ten miles outside Rodriguez could be cultivated."

"But we walked dozens of miles today, and it's all farmland. It's only in this area that it disappears." Dong Hezi asked.

"That's because the temple of the goddess of the earth was built at a huge expense. With the help of the goddess, it took nearly a hundred years of divine power to expand the arable land to dozens of miles away. Otherwise, you won't be able to see it soon after leaving the city. Farmland."

"It's true that you can't grow any crops?" Dong Hezi was surprised, this is too evil.

The boss said very positively: "As long as people eat it, you can't grow it! If you don't eat it, you can grow a good one. For example, this land can grow Galveston vegetables that green goblins eat. Plant one and grow another. And all of them are half the height of a person. Therefore, there are always large and small goblin tribes who come to this area to cultivate and plant in order to survive. In order to expel them, the lords of various places have to launch troops to patrol around every year to kill those little monsters. , pull out their Galveston dishes. Otherwise this place would have been green goblin country."

Dong Hezi hurriedly asked: "That Galveston dish, can't we humans eat it?"

"Of course you can't eat it!!!" The boss was taken aback by Dong Hezi's "ignorance". He stared and said loudly: "This kind of food will cause chronic poisoning if people eat it! Haven't you seen it? But Miserable! It’s okay to start eating, but after two months of eating, I started to feel weak in my hands and feet. If I stop at this time, I can recover slowly, otherwise, if I continue to eat, I don’t want to eat every day, and I vomit when I eat any human food. Galveston food is fine. But this is not a good sign, because people will become thinner and thinner, and even a strong man of two hundred pounds will become like a rib in a month or two. In the end, all the muscles in the whole body couldn’t use their strength, and they couldn’t open their eyes, talk, or open their mouths to eat, and even had difficulty breathing. They starved to death or suffocated to death! You said it was miserable Not miserable? Not to mention humans, even cattle and sheep can't eat that thing, although they won't die, but they are also very thin, like zombies."

Dong Hezi became serious. According to the boss, the plants in this land have evolved special toxins. Ordinary animals cannot adapt to this change. On the contrary, the goblins, whom everyone looks down on, are at ease.He asked again: "Since grass can grow here, why not raise cattle and sheep here? This can also expand the sphere of human influence and resist the invasion of goblins."

The boss looked helplessly at the "ignorant" pastor, and had to bear his temper and said, "Didn't I say that? There is papana grass here, which is not suitable for cattle, sheep, and horses. And it can Destroy the growth of ordinary grass. You see, in such a large area, only one-tenth of the growth is ordinary grass, and the rest is papana grass. Cattle and sheep have to pick and twist for a long time if they want to eat something. If they are not strong enough, they can only be guaranteed not to starve to death. That’s why everyone doesn’t come here to graze. Some deer like to eat them, and they will run away after eating them. If they don’t run away, they will get sick. to hunt."

Dong Hezi looked at the vast "grassland" that couldn't be seen, and asked helplessly: "With so much land, crops can't be planted, and grazing can't be done. Just let it go to waste like this?"

"Then what can we do?" The boss said, "Aside from asking the goddess of the earth to expand the arable land every year, what can we mortals do?"

"Is it the same in other places?" Dong Hezi turned his head and asked again: "Is there any arable land for hundreds of miles in a row?"

The boss smiled and said, "Yes, those are the territory of some big countries. Medium-sized countries like Hereford are composed of such fragmented arable lands with a radius of several miles or tens of miles. And those small countries are Worse."

After the sun went down, the caravan camped and rested on the green plain.And Dong Hezi walked to the grass beside him, and carefully observed the "Papana Grass" in the dim light.

I don’t know if I don’t see it, but I was shocked when I saw it—there are scales and sporangia on this “grass”!Where is "grass" here?It is simply a kind of thin dwarf fern! (Note: Grasses are angiosperms.)

Dong Hezi pondered: Even ferns should not be eaten by cattle, sheep and horses. It seems that these ferns have evolved to resist common herbivores, so that they can prevent them from digesting effectively.

Human intelligence has no absolute advantage in the face of these miraculous evolutions.

Dong Hezi thought worriedly, and slowly walked back to the singing and dancing camp.The people there are celebrating the hunt of a strong deer around a big bonfire.

Four or five days later, the team arrived at the border of the Principality of Hereford.

Here the plains turned into hills and sparse forests, and a frontier town about the size of Harmonville stood on one side of the trade road.

"It seems that there are very few robbers here," Dong Hezi said to the boss with a smile, "Just a simple town with a mixed structure of wood and stone can be captured by a large group of wolf men."

The boss nodded and said: "There are not many robbers. Sometimes some green goblins or kobolds will come here every summer to try their luck. But they are too small, don't have good equipment and high-level spells, and don't have enough food. So this kind of town can handle it."

Dong Hezi asked: "Then what about the jackals? Aren't they coming?"

The boss said casually: "There are mountains on both sides, and the gnolls living in it have been slaughtered and eaten by those rough dwarves. The two races are feuds, and they will kill each other when they meet."

Dong Hezi noticed that he used the word "they", obviously treating dwarves as animals.Combined with what he said a few days ago, it seems that the relationship between dwarves and humans is very bad.

The caravan is getting closer and closer to the humble town.

Unexpectedly, many caravans gathered outside the city.Everyone crowded around the city wall, or feeding horses or playing cards, or sleeping bored or gathering to brag.A lively and leisurely scene.

However, the caravan should not stay in such a small place with no business to do, let alone be so idle.The boss suddenly became nervous, not knowing what happened in front of him.He ordered the team to stop, and then ordered several people to split up to inquire about the situation.

Those few people separately asked the large and small caravans under the city wall, and they all came back after a while to report: "In order to compete for a crystal mine, the Kingdom of Escobar and the Kingdom of Mansikert gathered three to 4000 people on the plain in front of them. The zone is ready for war. We can't get through!"

"Damn ◎#※!" The boss yelled, "Isn't it bothering to fight back and forth between two big fart countries! That crystal mine is not big, and hundreds or thousands of people will die because of it. It's not worth it at all! I think the two kings are out of their heads."

Those who came back said: "I heard that the price of crystals has increased by four times, and it will increase again! Later, the prophecy mage in Giffen City used magic to detect that there is a larger crystal mine under the small crystal mine." of."

"Ah!" The boss exclaimed: "Why is the price increase this year so ridiculous? This is too bad. With such a big profit, these two poor little countries will not give up regardless of whether they live or die. I don't know how to fight When will it be!"

He kept lamenting: "Why am I so unlucky! If I can't transport the goods to Giffen City in time, I will violate the contract of the Semano Chamber of Commerce. It's over! When the time comes for usury, my life is over!"

The border area of ​​the Principality of Hereford.

On a large open plain, two armies of thousands of people faced each other.They not only set up their camps, but also transported thick logs from distant mountains to make large fences, big tents, towering watchtowers, various vehicles and other war implements, making preparations for a long-term war.

But the sky is not what people want, at least the Escobar Kingdom is currently the case.

In his simple tent, the king received a village chief—the chief of a large village next to the crystal mine.

The village chief was over sixty years old, and he was trembling when he walked, as if he was about to fall at any moment, which made people feel nervous.However, his spirit is not bad, and he has a lot of courage. He didn't panic about the mighty and fierce generals in the big tent, the ferocious blanket made of beast skins, the bloody big ax and long sword, and the golden armored king. Busy, as if all the neighbors are sitting around.

He knelt down to the king with difficulty, and after saying a compliment that was not nutritious, he stepped into the formal: "It will be spring plowing in the next few days. I hope your mighty army can start the war with the enemy and end the battle as soon as possible. Otherwise, the villagers in the village People don’t dare to go to the fields to cultivate, if the farming season is missed, this year’s harvest will be over. And the goddess of the earth will blame it.”

The old king was also over fifty years old. He wore thick armor and a thick red cloak to resist the damp and cold breath of early spring.On the head is a crown made of pure gold, but the crown is really "not fancy".Even the border pattern and the string of runes in the middle are rough in workmanship, as if they were typed in a goldsmith's shop in a small town.And there are no gems inlaid on it, just some cheap pearls inlaid on it as a substitute.The clothes of a rich man in a big city are dozens of times more gorgeous than him!

There was no such thing as the legendary "king's airs" on his face. Instead, he asked with a sad face, "Did you also send someone to the opposite King Mansikert to say the same thing?"

"Yes, wise King Escobar." The old village chief said, "It is your business for the two countries to compete for crystal mines, but now that the battlefield is set here, it will affect the work of us farmers. .Your food until the crystal mine has been supplied by our village at a fixed price. If this leads to a bad harvest this year, there will not be enough food to sell to the owner of the crystal mine. At that time, no matter who wins, both sides will have to spend a lot The merchants who hear the news will take the opportunity to raise the price of grain higher than the sky, and the one who suffers is the winner among you."

The old man continued to say with a mature and fearless expression: "So, please start the war between your two countries as soon as possible, so as not to delay agricultural production. I think the two wise kings will definitely understand our painstaking efforts."

"Of course I understand." The king showed a helpless smile: "I will discuss it with King Mansikert and try to start the war as early as possible. Don't worry, this year's farming will not be missed." Send it out without daring to neglect it.

"Do you really want to start the war early? Our magic equipment is not ready yet! The two mages in Giffen City have not yet delivered the goods we ordered. Once the war starts, we will lose." A golden face A muscular man in his 20s with a short beard rushed forward and said hastily.Wearing a golden cloak and shining golden armor, he looked like a golden man.That momentum was even brighter and more majestic than the king's.

The old king waved his hands helplessly and said: "Dear Duke, don't worry. As far as I know, King Mansikert doesn't have many magic tools. Our two countries are still even, and neither side will suffer if we just go to war like this. "

He pondered and said, "Besides, if we fight like this, the number of casualties may be less. After all, neither side has powerful magic tools. This can be regarded as a blessing for the soldiers."

The strong man with the title of Duke still insisted: "However, we have been preparing for a long-term war, and now we have suddenly changed it to a quick battle. I am afraid that the situation will become unfavorable. Are we really going to fight for a mere German? Will Raffles Village change our plan? This is a war between two countries!"

Old Wang Guo sighed and said, "It's all because of my poor consideration that led to this situation. Don't underestimate that village. They are just a village in name, but they actually have arable land nearly ten miles around, with a population of six to seven hundred people. .It’s more than one-fifth of your territory. And you know, those big merchants have sharper noses than flies. Once they know that this year’s harvest is not good, they will unite and raise the price of grain. Do you remember how many years Did they raise the price of grain by six or seven times because of the drought and the reduction of grain production in our country?"

He sighed again: "This year we don't have much surplus food to support the production of the mining area. Maybe there will be a situation where we occupy the crystal mine but can't make any money. Even if we have surplus food, it can be used as a reserve for war. Against those greedy dwarves. It is very difficult to support the production of a large mining area."

The Duke hesitated and said: "But once the crystal mine is in hand, it can continue to bring in income. If you lose money for one year, what about two years? Three years? One day you can earn back with interest."

The old king smiled helplessly: "You counted it according to the current raised price, but is it possible that the price of crystal mines has always been so high? This year's price increase is too abnormal. I worry that it won't last long. "