There were three werewolves talking and laughing, returning to their lair with relaxed expressions. One of them was dragging a pointed-eared brown bear weighing nearly half a ton. This was their prey, and they returned with a full load.
As he was walking happily, suddenly, the werewolf walking at the back was shaken, then staggered forward a few steps, and finally fell to the ground.
The remaining two werewolves looked at each other, confused for a moment what was going on.
"Is he sick?" a werewolf asked.
"You'll know just by looking at it."
The two werewolves went over to check.
After this inspection, the two werewolves discovered that there was a small thing stuck in the werewolf's neck. This thing had spikes on one end and cotton wool on the other end...
Even a werewolf whose head usually lacks a string on his shoulder knows that this strange little thing is absolutely impossible to grow from a certain tree or grass.
"Someone stole..."
"Puff" and "Puff" were two more inaudible sounds. The bodies of the two werewolves were also shaken, and then they followed the footsteps of the first werewolf and fell forward to the ground.
As soon as the three werewolves fell unconscious, ten highland hunters crawled out of the bushes less than five meters away from them, several of them holding long hollow pipes in their hands.
This is something the leader came up with. He said it was called a blow dart, and the elves also use it.
After testing by highland hunters, this thing is indeed very effective. Combined with the anesthetic extracted from the rhizome of the Qinghua flower, you don't need to expend any effort. You just need to ambush on the path where the werewolf must pass, and you can shoot accurately.
"Hurry, hurry, drag these idiots away."
The leader of the team waved his hand, and the hunters rushed forward. They first tied the hands and feet of the fainted werewolf with special tough hemp ropes soaked in wood gelatin to prevent him from retaliate after waking up, and then tied the wolf's mouth tightly to prevent it from attacking.
He howled to summon his companions, plugged the werewolf's butthole with a peach plug, and clamped his genitals with a nutcracker. This was to prevent these werewolves from pooping or peeing, so as not to leave trace clues.
The ten hunters had a clear division of labor, with six hunters dragging away the werewolves, three dragging away the pointed-eared brown bears, and one at the back responsible for sweeping away traces and scents to prevent werewolves from following.
All in all, after experiencing several mistakes, the highland hunters who are good at summing up experiences and lessons have become experienced werewolf hunters.
As a result, these three werewolves disappeared silently.
This kind of drama has been going on in the forest every day for a month. Except for the beginning, when Sun Ran followed him all the way. After that, the highland hunters operated independently.
Hunters never have a direct conflict with werewolves. They use traps, poisons, and all kinds of endless conspiracies to capture werewolves.
After a month, the number of werewolf slaves in Falling Star Valley reached more than a hundred, and they had already started mining.
Soon after, three newly captured werewolves were transported to Falling Star Valley.
Immediately, craftsmen came forward and put wolf muzzles made of hard iron wood on these werewolves, and then installed special thorn rings on the wolves' necks. As long as these werewolves were slightly angry and their muscles bulged, the thorn rings would touch their backs.
Then cut off their carotid arteries.
These external controls were not enough. The highland hunters also had a trump card. They fed each werewolf with a strange toxin extracted from a kind of poisonous tree called balsa.
This poison is very sinister. It will take twenty-four hours for the poison to take effect after being eaten. After the attack, it must be relieved with medicine within three hours, otherwise the whole body will ulcerate.
The rules set by Sun Ran are: exchange ore for antidote and food. The transaction is clearly stated. You can exchange as much ore as you have for food and antidote. After working for three years, you can leave and you will never cheat.
Therefore, although the captured werewolves felt angry and helpless, they still had hope in their hearts and slowly began to accept this treatment that was similar to that of slaves.
Of course, almost no werewolves can work for three years. Under the double devastation of poisons and hard mining, even the extremely strong bodies of werewolves will be exhausted after three years. If they can survive, Sun Ran will not mind letting them go.
.
The new Falling Star Mine has just begun to operate. The mining efficiency of werewolf slaves is much higher than that of humans. One day of work is equivalent to five days of work for humans, and the output is extremely high.
Falling Star Valley.
Sun Ran and several supervisors inspected the ore dug by the werewolves.
"Chief, the quality of these deep-seated ores is much better than that of the surface. The iron ore is purer, and the proportion of emery is much greater. And look at this, the probability of krypton gold particles that were rarely seen before is also much higher.
, we have collected four now.”
A month passed, and these supervisors saw more and more werewolves appearing, and the mining efficiency increased instead of falling, and they gradually recognized the authority of the new leader.
Sun Ran nodded: "This is very good. But I have an idea. We can't give all our ores to that dwarf. Can we use some ourselves?"
"We can use it ourselves? How should we use these iron ores if they can't be burned?" The supervisor touched his head, confused.
There is no way, the human race is too weak and has no concept of metallurgy and forging.
Sun Ran could only explain: "When I was in the elf castle, I saw that the elf blacksmiths could use fire to burn the ore into juice and extract pure steel from the juice. They used this steel to forge various weapons and equipment with great power.
.If we can also do this, the power of our human race will be greatly enhanced."
"But this is very difficult. I heard that the reason why elves and dwarfs can melt steel is because they have mastered the secret fire." A supervisor said with awe.
"The dwarfs never revealed the secret of the secret fire. Leader Ada wanted to forge the weapon himself, but in the end he failed. I think the elves will also keep the secret fire a secret." Another supervisor said.
"It is said that it was a gift from the Creator." Someone else said.
Sun Ran's face was solemn: "I know it's difficult, but we can't completely rely on dwarfs. If we want to be truly independent, then we must obtain the secret fire and be able to forge our own weapons!"
"Chief, I have an idea." It was Eddie who spoke.
"Oh, tell me." Sun Ran said with interest.
"I heard that when the elves forged weapons, a lot of the heavy work was handed over to their slaves. I was thinking that these slaves must have learned something from being with the elven blacksmiths all day long. If we can get these slaves, maybe
You can explore some of the mysteries of the secret fire!" Eddie's eyes sparkled as he continued: "Moreover, even if it is a gift from the Creator, if you don't cherish it, it will be taken away!"
Sun Ran laughed and patted Eddie heavily on the shoulder: "What you said is good! Just do it!"
"But leader, is that an elf?" It was incredible to have an overseer.
The terror of the elves has penetrated into the marrow of every intelligent creature in the forest, and now the leader actually wants to take advantage of them. Just thinking about it makes people feel guilty.
"It's just an idea. How to operate it must be carefully considered." Sun Ran reassured.
"Chief, I have another question." Another supervisor spoke.
"you say."
"We don't have much food. These werewolves are very good at eating. Even if hunters keep hunting to replenish food, I'm afraid they won't be able to survive for a month. You know, the number of beasts in the forest is always limited."
A month ago, the head supervisor raised this issue and was whipped and even killed, so the supervisor was careful when he spoke.
This is indeed a problem. Sun Ran looked at Eddie again. This Eddie was very spiritual and he liked it very much.
Eddie also nodded and admitted: "There are fewer and fewer prey in the forest. We must hunt further afield, not just here, but also around Highland Village. If this continues, we will soon have conflicts with the elves. You
You know, those elves seem to follow a strange concept of balance and never kill wild beasts indiscriminately."
Sun Ran had long considered this problem. The primitive food collection method of catching wild beasts and collecting plant fruits and tubers from the forest could support a very limited population.
The current scale of Highland Village has exceeded this limit.
If you want to get rid of this, there is only one way to go: learn from the elves, switch from food collection to food production, and cultivate wasteland to grow crops.
This is the development path that Sun Ran has long thought of, but he lacks seeds and planting technology. Although he knows these things, he cannot say them out of thin air.
After much deliberation, there was only one way to go, and that was to learn from the elves.
Sun Ran pinched his eyebrows and said: "It seems that we must deal with the elves."
"leader?"
"There are many elven farms, but they have a small population and little food. They have a lot of food in store. Let's go negotiate with them and see if we can find a way to exchange for some food."
"Will they change? Those elves are very arrogant and have always only regarded humans as slaves."
"Arrogant, but not unreasonable. Besides, can you think of other ways to solve the current problem?"
Everyone looked at each other and finally shook their heads.
"Then it's settled. Let's get ready. Let's go to the elf farm closest to here and explore the road first." (To be continued...)