Volibear, who is on Bear Island, is preparing a trap to meet these two guys who dare to boldly blaspheme the majesty of the gods.
But unfortunately, his trap was destined to fail to catch the person he wanted - Lux and Ashe changed directions and planned to cross the ice sea elsewhere.
Although Lux was quite confident in her own power, her confidence did not swell into pride even though she had always been favored by Carl Yal. She carefully persuaded Ashe.
As the route changes, Lux and Ashe need to make more preparations.
First of all, because the journey across the sea is longer, the two need to prepare more food and water. In addition, they need to take Yukar with them, so they will need a larger boat than originally planned.
If Lux and Ashe cross the sea to Bearman Island, then they only need to prepare the simplest sheepskin raft - the inflated sheepskins are tied together with wooden frames, and then the wood is used to build a hull for carrying people and goods.
The above is enough.
But if the landing point is chosen under the ice cliff of a large glacier, then this kind of raft will not be enough to meet the needs. Lux and Ashe will need a more reliable boat.
Moreover, since Jukar needs to be carried, the ship must be deep enough to ensure that it will not capsize, and it must also contain enough fodder for Jukar to eat. The more calculations are made, the larger the hull size of the ship will be.
In the end, Ashe decided that they needed at least a ship with a length of more than thirty feet and a width of more than ten feet, and to drive such a ship, they also needed to prepare simple sails.
There is no doubt that building such a ship is a big project for two people. Even if Lux can use light cutting technology to easily cut logs into wood, under normal circumstances, it is difficult to build a ship from wood.
Boats that need to be dried in the shade and are freshly cut and made are prone to water leakage quickly.
For this problem, Ashe has "Freljord Technology" to make up for it.
"Just use birch bark and oak glue to bond the rock sheepskin to wrap the hull." When Lux asked her how to treat the wood, Ashe's answer was that no additional processing was needed, "Add a layer of krona
In this case, even if there are gaps in the hull, you don’t have to worry about water leakage.”
"The spliced rock sheepskin... won't break even if it is used as a pressure-bearing material for the bottom of the ship?" Lux was quite curious, "Also, what is Kronger? This seems to be different from the shipbuilding industry I know."
"Because the sea water in the Sea of Ice is different from what you have seen in the past." Ai Xi obviously knew this problem very well. "The sea water in the Sea of Ice is colder than ice, but it will not freeze. In the cold
On the sea of ice, birch bark and oak glue will stick together completely, making them stronger than iron."
Water colder than ice?
Lux didn't understand this sentence at first, but when they turned west and arrived at the seaside of the Ice Sea under Ashe's guidance, she finally understood what "sea water colder than ice" meant.
It is no exaggeration to say that washing your hands with the sea water of the Ice Sea and grabbing ice cubes will feel like holding a charcoal fire!
Even Lux, without using elemental magic to protect her arms, would suffer slight frostbite if exposed to this seawater, and even cause skin chapped!
"Is this really water?" Withdrawing her hand, Lux looked at the blue ocean again, her eyes seemed to be looking at a blue hell, "Unbelievable... I dare to say, those Bills
I’m afraid Jivot’s big ship won’t be able to sail on this sea!”
"It is difficult for foreign things to gain a foothold in the Freljord. Only the environment of the Freljord can breed unyielding Freljordians!" Although his personality is relatively peaceful, Ashe will still be affected by the Freljord.
The Lejord people are proud of their tenacity. "The Sea of Ice will only freeze briefly during the coldest time of the year. Otherwise, no matter how fierce the Breath of Anivia is, it will keep flowing."
Lux nodded.
"Many people say that Zhenbing is the frozen sea water of the Sea of Ice." Ashe held Yukar's hand while taking Lux along the coast. "But you should know that this kind of coldness is similar to Zhenbing.
It’s far worse than that.”
"Zhen Bing will really get hurt if he comes into contact with it."
"But the seawater in the Sea of Ice will not." Ai Xi smiled, "So you don't have to worry too much - I guarantee that the finished raft will be absolutely safe and reliable."
Lux smacked her lips, and just when she was about to ask more about birch bark and oak gum, Ashe suddenly took off her longbow and quickened her pace.
"Aha, I finally found you!" She lowered her voice and signaled Lux to step more lightly, "Come here, be gentle - it's not easy to find a Gruffen at this time."
Grufen is the Freljordish name for iceworms.
In spring, ice worms, like most animals, enter the breeding season. These guys who usually like to catch prey in shallow seas need to return to the deep sea to complete the task of passing on their family lineage.
Therefore, ice worms rarely appear on the coast in spring. The ice worms still in the shallow sea at this time are either sub-adult individuals, or they are so old that they have lost their ability to reproduce and are about to die.
What Ai Xi found was an old guy.
"Gruffin's skin is Kranger." When Lux came to Ashe carefully, Ashe explained in a low voice, "You should have seen these guys, right?"
"We call it an ice worm." Lux nodded, "Wrap it in its skin and live outside?"
"Yes, Kronger is hard and tough. There is no problem except that it is difficult to process." Ashe nodded lightly, "But my Ice-Immortal Dagger plus your magic is completely sufficient."
Lux was stunned.
"Furthermore, although Grufen's meat looks a little too heavy in color, it's actually quite good and can be eaten raw." A smile appeared on Ashe's lips, "It's sweet!"
Old ice worms are not easy to deal with. This top predator in shallow seas has always been more dangerous as they get older. Age gives them more experience and allows them to run their nests very well - they usually eat
After you are full, dig the dark area as a special waterway to create whirlpools and undercurrents near the nest.
As long as any prey approaches the nest, it will be attracted by the undercurrent. Even if it escapes immediately, it will take a lot of effort. At that time, the ice worm can wait and catch its prey easily.
But this time, when this unlucky ice worm poked its head out of its nest and wanted to find an unlucky egg to fill its stomach, it was very unfortunate that it became that unlucky person.
With Lux and Ashe joining forces, let alone the ice worm, even its close relative, the Soul-Eating Sea Worm, would not be able to gain any advantage in the shallow sea.
A moment ago, the ice worm proudly poked its head out to intimidate its prey, causing Yukar, who was not far away, to tremble and become incontinent on the spot.
At the last moment, before Yukal could excrete it completely, the menacing ice worm was directly hit in the head by three arrows and decapitated by a sword.
Jukar almost sat back.
Although it had seen Lux and Ashe hunting before, they were just hunting wild Jukal or Enuk, at most adding some cunning ice sheep and long-eyed direwolves.
This is the first time that Jukar has seen them hunting prey of this level like ice worms, and they did so lightly.
Jukar's intelligence is not enough for it to fully understand the power of these two humans, but judging from the way it flexibly sifted out a lot of grass seeds during its meal that day and piled them up in a flattering manner, it seemed to be interested in Lux and Ashe.
has a new identity.
"Would Jukar still do this kind of thing?" Looking at the grass seeds piled in front of her that were stained with Jukar's saliva, Lux couldn't laugh or cry, "I really didn't realize that they still have this habit.
"
"This is a good thing. Although Jukar is not very courageous, as long as they identify a leader, they will become very obedient - the kind that won't blink even if they rush off the cliff." Ai Xi looked at it.
Banana seeds, then smiled and touched a bunch of hair on the head of Yukar, "But it's not easy for him to identify a leader. Maybe this Yukar is a smart guy!"
"So, do we want to accept its allegiance?" Lux looked at a handful of grass seeds next to her, "These things?"
"It'll just take a while to burn it." Ai Xi nodded, "Anyway, you can't give it food. That means rejection. If you refuse, it will run away secretly."
……………………
After lighting the fire, Lux finally understood why Ashe said that the meat of ice worms was sweet.
This kind of iceworm meat, which looks dark red in color and seems to have blood congestion, actually has a bit of a rustling feeling after eating it in the mouth. When the granular substances wrapped in muscle fibers are chewed, a refreshing feeling comes out.
The sweetness spread instantly.
Even Lux, who has never liked eating raw food, couldn't help but widen her eyes at this time - not the "fresh and sweet" that describes the deliciousness, but the real thing, like honey but clearer and not greasy.
Sweet!
"Does it taste good?" Seeing the surprise on Lux's face, Ashe smiled and said, "However, only the ice worms around the Sea of Ice have this taste - over there in the Frost Harbor, the ice worms taste very good.
It’s fishy.”
"Different things will always be different in different places."
Ai Xi nodded when she heard this, because in her impression, Walrus Tusk would never eat ice worm meat. When the Avarosa Tribe held trials before, the ice worm meat was also given up.
.
It turns out that it’s because the varieties of Ice Sea are different!
With this thought in mind, Lux lifted up a piece of meat and observed it carefully - she even illuminated the meat with a strong light, and under the strong light, she finally saw clearly the "blood congestion" in the sea worm's flesh.
The sugar particles you feel on your tongue are not an illusion. There are indeed such tiny particles inside the muscle fibers of the iceworm meat!
At this moment, Lux suddenly remembered the parasite that Kalya told her.
Wait, could this thing be...
Lux, who felt a slight chill in her heart, looked curious on the surface. While observing these sugar granules, she manipulated the slender beam and cut open one.
There is no slurry, and it seems that its interior is filled with crystals, so it is not a parasite.
Um, wait, why do you suddenly feel so familiar with this crystal?
Blinking her eyes, Lux began to carefully recall the similar crystals she had seen, and then she finally remembered that in the black market of Uzeris, Kalya once mentioned the crystals in the body when talking about magic supplement food.
phenomenon.
According to Karya, many animals in extreme environments have the ability to create elemental crystals in their bodies to adapt to the local extreme environment. Certain organs in their bodies will be enriched with crystallized elements, and
These parts have always been regarded as great tonic by the Shurima people.
Is this also true for ice worms?
With a slight movement in her heart, Lux simply released a de-crystallization magic on the piece of meat in her hand.
Under the irradiation of strong light, the particles dissipated visibly to the naked eye.
Then when Lux put it into her mouth, the sweet taste completely disappeared, replaced by a fishy smell that was difficult to swallow.
really!
It is the too cold water in the Sea of Ice that causes the ice worms to spontaneously form sweet elemental crystals in their bodies to withstand the extremely harsh environment.
Speaking of which, the taste of this crystal is really good. I might be able to study its elemental composition if I have the opportunity in the future - although elemental synthetic crystals cannot be used as a substitute for sugar, they can at least be used as a high-end product!
With this thought in her mind, Lux turned her head and spit out the piece of meat. After taking a long breath, she finally started to feast again.
……………………
After a meal of iceworm meat, Ashe and Lux found a cave to rest briefly for the night. The next day, they climbed up the nearby hills and began looking for available wood.
In the boreal coniferous forest, Ashe walked around and observed carefully for a long time before finally selecting three pine trees - the specific types were unknown to Lux, and they were completely different from those in the Dragon's Back Mountains.
After arranging the task of felling trees and cutting wood for Lux, Ashe returned to the cave from yesterday and began to process the ice worm skins.
After a night of dehydration and storage, the surface of the iceworm skin has dried and is obviously shrinking. This is a good time to peel the skin.
Although it had been a long, long time since she had done this kind of work, Ai Xi still moved quickly when she picked up the Zhenbing knife and accurately cut into the third section of the ice insect's spine, easily preparing a circular incision.
He became more proficient.
When Lux returned to the cave at noon with a pile of wooden boards that were slightly burnt on the surface, Ashe had already completed the skinning work. The huge ice worm had turned into a pile of cut and packaged meat pieces, and
A zipped leather bag.
"Very good, the outermost Kronger is ready. Next, we just need to catch a few ice sheep and find a birch forest!"
However, looking at the giant leather bag on the ground, Lux couldn't help but shake her head.
