fantasy novels Chapter 6: The Evil Beasts Attack!
Chapter 6: The Evil Beasts Attack!
"Oh my god."
Ronan felt incredibly impressed—making a lump of abstract iron awl that could barely be identified as a sword was not the same as making a complete set of iron equipment!
His first reaction was, of course, surprise.
Just minutes ago, he was still worrying about the armed issues in his territory, but unexpectedly, Madel showed him a trick.
The second reaction was concern—the result and the effort are often equal, and the pollution from making a full set of iron equipment is obviously completely different from skewing a pile of iron.
Currently, everything in Thorn Territory is in a difficult startup phase, and Maddale is the driving force behind his farming empire; no amount of equipment can compare to her value.
"Don't worry, the consumption won't be much."
As if sensing his concerns, Madel offered, "Making two or three sets of this equipment would consume about the same amount of iron as creating pig iron in a morning, which is perfectly manageable for me right now."
"Is that so?"
Ronan nodded, but the cost was still a bit high: the value of this set of equipment was roughly equivalent to about 120 pounds of pig iron, and three sets would be less than 400 pounds.
Meanwhile, Maddal can brush nearly 700 pounds of pig iron in a morning, which is almost twice the value of the former.
Of course, for the current Thorn Territory, weapons are priceless and unavailable.
In a truly desperate situation, it's better to lose a little money than not have any weapons at all.
Anyway, she can currently farm over a thousand pounds of pig iron a day, which is more than enough for Thorn Territory, so losing a portion doesn't matter.
"That's good. After you've completed your daily iron quota, if you still have time and feel good, you can make some equipment. But it's better to do less than more."
After pouring Madonna a cup of lavender tea, Ronan half-jokingly wagged his finger, "I bet this is the result of your secret overtime work, right? Diligence is certainly commendable, but it shouldn't affect your rest."
"I didn't secretly work overtime."
Madale subconsciously pursed her lips slightly, realizing that such a gesture was somewhat inappropriate in front of the lord, and immediately switched to a serious expression. "I was acting according to your instructions."
"My guidance?"
"Yes, you said eight hours of work, eight hours of rest, and eight hours for yourself."
Meidel took the hot tea. "I heard you were short of weapons, so I took the time to try making one myself. It was quite rough at first, but after practicing a couple of times, I was able to grasp all the details."
You instructed me to avoid exacerbating pollution at all times, so I started by trying to create simple products like daggers, and then gradually moved on to more complex products like swords, armor, and helmets.
Later I discovered that higher difficulty doesn't necessarily mean higher consumption. For the same volume, a complex creation I've already successfully sculpted actually consumes less energy than a simple, unfamiliar one…”
Ronan was delighted to see Madonna talk so eloquently for the first time.
He originally only intended to use Maddale as an economical farming girl, but he never expected that this little girl would be so good at exploring and would create so many unexpected surprises without anyone noticing.
Her description also matches the state values observed in Ronan's system log: in recent days, Madonna's state values have been generally stable and trending upwards.
During working hours, this curve will remain flat or fluctuate; during rest periods, it will show a significant upward trend.
The most intriguing aspect is the amount of free time: previously it had been a smooth, linear increase, but after Medall recently incorporated steel-shaping training, it has become an inverted U-shaped exponential increase, that is, a small, slow increase followed by a large, rapid increase.
Currently, Madel's status value has surpassed the 30% mark. She has accumulated 287 units of purified pollution, just one step away from unlocking the second node!
This further convinced Ronan of his guess: this is how witches are used!
Besides these things, the girl's noticeably more cheerful demeanor also pleased him: it seemed he hadn't lost his style even after transmigrating, and his ability to handle people around should be above 60 points...
However, this harmonious atmosphere did not last long, as it was abruptly ended by the guards who rushed in.
"Evil beast! The evil beast is coming!"
The guard looked terrified. "Sir, this is no place to stay. You should leave the territory and lay low for now!"
"Which direction are the evil beasts heading? How many are there? How far are they from here?"
Upon seeing this, Meidel immediately asked in a deep voice, her slightly girlish demeanor vanishing completely, replaced by the courage and composure of a warrior.
"That's right! Explain the situation clearly first, and I'll take care of it if anything happens!"
Ronan nodded in agreement.
Perhaps seeing that the two were relatively calm, the breathless guard finally took a few breaths and reported the situation in a voice that was as slurred as possible.
It turned out that a farmer was preparing to cultivate the land as usual today, but he saw from afar that the land he had cultivated yesterday had grown thorns again.
In Ronan's plan, the area of land reclaimed was linked to work points, so the impact on this farmer was obviously far greater than finishing a paper only to find it hadn't been saved.
He immediately went to find the recorder, and the land register did indeed show that the plot had been cultivated. Just as the group was puzzled, Bart, who was in charge of supervision, was the first to realize something was wrong and sternly dismissed everyone present.
Sure enough, as soon as the farmers left, the strange thicket of thorns sprang up from the ground and transformed into a hideous monster resembling a centipede, its body radiating blood and attacking the panicked crowd.
"Emitting a blood-red glow, it's a level four evil beast..."
Ronan frowned deeply.
The level of a demonic beast can be determined by the glow on its body. A blood-red glow is the mark of a level four demonic beast, whose theoretical combat power is roughly equivalent to a four-star human knight.
However, due to his cunning, unpredictable, and fearless fighting style, knights of the same rank often find it difficult to contend with him.
"The Chief Knight is fighting with all his might, but he probably won't be able to hold out for much longer. You should retreat quickly! At least lay low for a while!"
The guards were as anxious as ants on a hot pan.
"No need."
Meidel slowly stood up. "I can handle a level four Blackthorn Centipede."
Ronan quickly stood up as well: "But your pollution—"
"My contamination is not a problem. I've rested well these past few days and have enough energy to fight four or five battles. Besides, level four evil beasts are far from requiring my full strength."
The girl placed the steaming hot lavender tea back on the table and nodded to Ronan.
"Please rest assured, I have sworn to give you the rest of my life, and I will not die easily against your will."
"Okay...I believe you."
Ronan then nodded.
"Wait a moment."
He called out to the girl who was about to leave.
Under the astonished gazes of Madale and the guards, Ronan, clad in iron armor, picked up the broadsword leaning against the wall.
"I'm too lazy to take them off, I'll go with you!"
At this moment, Thorn Territory was in complete chaos.
The farmers who fled the reclaimed land told their families and neighbors about the invasion of the evil beasts. When they also witnessed the evil beasts approaching from afar and the highly skilled chief knight being repeatedly defeated, a strong sense of fear enveloped everyone in the territory.
Humans are naturally afraid of beings larger than themselves, let alone cruel and ferocious beasts.
"Damn it..."
Bart reached out to wipe the dust off his face, only to find his palm stained with blood in addition to the dirt. A few meters away, a tall, black thorny centipede was baring its fangs and claws.
Whether it was his imagination or not, the beast's hissing sounded somewhat like a human mockery and sarcasm.
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