Chapter 121: Bombs that Grow on Trees

Yang Ling had not been sitting down for long when a few elders with dog heads and human bodies walked in. The fox elder began to explain that the Dogmen and Foxmen each accounted for half of the three thousand five hundred members in the tribe, with each race having their own elder. The two elders would discuss and come to a consensus whenever there was an important decision to be made.

“Sir Leader, might I ask if you could supply us with weapons and armor!” The impatient dog elder directly stated the tribe’s difficulties after a few formalities.

The Beastmen had accumulated a good amount of rations after a long time of preparation. They wouldn’t have any problems lasting through the winter.

But both the Foxmen and Dogmen were not adept in forging weapons, and thus the tribe had a perpetual shortage of weapons and armor. They often felt that they were powerless when facing against the surrounding aborigines who pillaged for a living. That was also the reason for their exceptionally strong defenses.

“I have a group of dwarves and human steelsmiths under me. Unfortunately, I have expended much of my steel ore in recent times. I might not be able to supply you with much in the way of weapons and armor for the time being!” After a pause, Yang Ling continued, “The problem would be much simpler if you could supply me with a large amount of steel ore!”

Seeing that the Beastmen had been the first to state a request, Yang Ling knew that he was one step closer to his plan. The Foxmen had slender and weak frames, but they had the highest proportion of priests amongst all of the Beastmen. The Dogmen were not suitable to charge in the vanguard, but they were as fast as lightning and had keen senses, making them the most suitable scouts and hunters.

It would definitely be beneficial in the long term development of Wissen Town if he could successfully subdue a large group of Foxmen and Dogmen. Taking a step back, even if he were unable to subdue them, it was still a decent choice if he could obtain a large amount of cheap labor through cooperation.

Supply a large amount of steel ore?

The expression of the dog elder became worried. He had never seen any steel mines around the area, despite having lived here for dozens of years. The tribe had never possessed many weapons or pieces of armor, and a lack of steel ore was part of the reason for that shortage.

“Sir leader, there are no steel mines around our tribe!” Seeing the worry on the dog elder’s face, the fox elder deliberated for a moment before continuing, “But there is a large sulfur mine about ten miles to the east!”

Yang Ling shook his head after a moment’s surprise. A large sulfur mine would definitely have great value and attract many investment firms on Earth, but in this foreign world, Yang Ling could not think of any uses for sulfur in such a short span of time.

“Sulfur might not have too much use to an average person. But a few years ago, we unintentionally discovered a secret!” The fox elder carefully took out a black fruit the size of a pineapple from a bag.

A secret?

The black fruit had a vile stench, its scent similar to wet paint or petroleum. Yang Ling could not understand what secrets the Beastmen might have discovered. Could they be trying to stink their enemies to death with this vile stench?

Seeing Yang Ling’s confusion, the fox elder slowly began his explanation.

The black thing was called a Black Pulp Melon. It not only had a vile stench, it would also explode when touched after it became mature. It would split into countless fragments, and it was incredibly rare.

A few years ago, one of the members of the clan unintentionally brought back some sulfur from outside. The fox elder deemed it useless and threw it casually under a Black Pulp Melon tree. No one noticed anything strange at the start, but something surprising happened after the Black Pulp Melons matured.

A few playful kids had been playing under the Black Pulp Melon tree. One of the kids picked a Black Pulp Melon and threw it at their friend. When it landed, the fruit blasted the kid’s leg off!

After his shock, the fox elder realized that this was all caused by the sulfur. After the Black Pulp Melon tree absorbed the sulfur on the ground, the fruit it grew became larger and smelled worse. It also became more explosive when it matured. The more sulfur it absorbed, the more powerful the explosions became. If the blasts were concentrated, they could even be used to blast open large rocks.

Bombs?

Yang Ling was rather surprised as he looked at the dark, smelly Black Pulp Melon. He never expected that the Black Pulp Melon would be this powerful. He quickly estimated their value after he came to his senses.

With a large number of Black Pulp Melons, he could rapidly open and pave roads with much less manpower. Perhaps he might even be able to expand the merchant route from Wissen Town to the Aila Mountain Pass in just a month.

He could also start to conduct large-scale developments on the resources in the Terras Forest. He could open mines and gather ore, quickly obtaining a large amount of resources. Perhaps it would not take too long for him to build up the fortress at the Aila Mountain Pass and the port in Wissen Town.

These melons would also allow him to set up hidden mines underground. He could even allow his flying Magical Beasts to attack targets on the ground from high up in the air, building a tactical bombing unit. Then, the defenses of his territory would reach unprecedented levels. The Banto people might find it hard to attack the Aila Mountain Pass even if they sent out an army of a hundred thousand Black Armor Guards.

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“Sir, we can test the power of the Black Pulp Melon outside!”

Seeing Yang Ling deliberating for a long time, the fox elder had thought that Yang Ling did not believe him, so he was prepared to show Yang Ling the power of the Black Pulp Melons. For the prosperity of the tribe, for the future of his clansmen, it was all worth it.

Coming to a vast field, the fox elder signalled for a guard to throw out the Black Pulp Melon. The melon blasted a tall tree into two sections. This proved that the power of the Black Pulp Melon was even more terrifying than Yang Ling had imagined. It was much more powerful than the bombs made by terrorists back on Earth.

“Elder, give me a hundred Black Pulp Trees and two thousand Black Pulp Melons, and I’ll supply you with a thousand weapons and sets of armor!”

How could Yang Ling bear to miss the opportunity after understanding the power of the Black Pulp Melon? The fruit were absolutely necessary, but he definitely had to have the Black Pulp Trees. With the Black Pulp Trees, he would naturally be able to obtain a large number of powerful Black Pulp Melons without being forced to depend on others in the future.

A hundred Black Pulp Trees and two thousand Black Pulp Melons?

The fox elder let out a bitter laugh as he shook his head. There were only ten Black Pulp Trees in the entire tribe, and only around twenty Black Pulp Melons left. They would not have to live constantly in worry of their tribe being attacked by other tribes if they had a large quantity of powerful Black Pulp Melons.

“Sir, a two-hundred-year-old Black Pulp Tree can only bear a few dozen Black Pulp Melons a year under normal circumstances. We might not even be able to satisfy your request in a few years, much less in such a short span of time.” After hesitating for a moment, the fox elder gritted his teeth and continued, “Unless we obtained a large amount of sulfur to greatly boost the growth of the Black Pulp Trees.”

Yang Ling quickly understood what was going on after the fox elder’s explanation.

The Beastmen tribe only had a single mature Black Pulp Tree. The other nine trees were saplings that were only a few years old, their growth was incredibly slow. According to the historical records, a Black Pulp Tree could not reach full maturity unless given a few thousand years. Only at full maturity could it bear a large number of Black Pulp Melons.

After long periods of research, the Beastmen had realized that sulfur could not only boost the power of the Black Pulp Melon, it could also boost the growth of Black Pulp Tree saplings. Unfortunately, the land in a thousand mile radius of the sulfur mine was dead and barren, with monsters crawling at every corner. As such, the tribe had been unable to do a large scale development with their current abilities.

After turning past a small forest, the fox elder led Yang Ling to one of the rare Black Pulp Trees standing on a hill. There were many Dogmen defending the hill, in case any enemies infiltrated the tribe to harm the tree.

Similar to the Black Pulp Melon, the Black Pulp Tree also had a vile stench. Yang Ling felt like vomiting despite being a few dozen steps away from the tree. He felt nothing but awe for the Dogmen warriors who stood near the tree, unfazed.

Yang Ling fought back the urge to retch and walked forward, pretending to be casual as he stroked a sapling that was half the height of a person, secretly injecting a shred of life force into the plant. Indeed, the Black Pulp Tree had an immediate reaction, releasing a strange ripple. It was not too different from the Sapling of the Tree of Life that the elf tribe had gifted him.

Setting up a Spirit Gathering Spell Formation and injecting life force from time to time would definitely speed up the growth of the plant by a few multiples!

Yang Ling soon had an idea after making his way around the Black Pulp Trees a few times.

“Sir, if you could supply us with two thousand sets of weapons and armor, we will gift you two saplings. How about that?” Seeing Yang Ling nod in satisfaction, the fox elder took the opportunity and voiced his request.

“Elder, to tell you the truth, our steel ore is all imported from the distant Livenza Alliance. The cost is very high!” Yang Ling pretended to shake his head in frustration. “If you could give us the required steel ore, even three thousand sets would not be a problem, much less two thousand. Unfortunately…”

After sighing and looking at the disappointed Beastmen, Yang Ling continued, “But if you could gift us the two-hundred-year-old Black Pulp Tree, I will sell the warhorses of my warriors and try my best to purchase enough steel ore to forge weapons for you!”

Gift him the two-hundred-year-old Black Pulp Tree?

Looking at each other, the dog elder and fox elder shook their heads in unison, rejecting Yang Ling’s request with determination. The Black Pulp Melons were their greatest weapon and secret. If not for the fact that they were severely lacking weapons, they would have been unwilling to even reveal this secret, much less offer to give Yang Ling the saplings of the Black Pulp Tree.

“Three saplings, Sir. We cannot give you any more!”

“I’ll take all nine of the saplings in exchange for two thousand weapons and sets of armor. In addition to that, I can give your tribe protection and support of various kinds. On my territory, Beastmen and humans have the same status and rights. I will protect your interests!”

Seeing that there was no way that he could get the two-hundred-year-old Black Pulp Tree, Yang Ling asked for all nine of the saplings. Yang Ling believed that the saplings would grow quickly as long as he nurtured them with the Spirit Gathering Spell Formation. Perhaps he would be able to close the gap of two hundred years in just the short span of one month.

Beastmen and humans will have the same status and rights?

Yang Ling had just said this when the fox elder became excited. The Beastmen had always been discriminated against, either becoming slaves in big cities or hiding in the deep wilderness without status or dignity. If Yang Ling could give the Beastmen a fair status and rights, then it would be a huge blessing for all of the Beastmen.