Chapter 80: Chapter 80: Products of Civilization
[Wind-breaking Blade, Expert (1523→...→...2187/6000)]
Tang Wen stood on the spot, motionless.
"Xiaowen!"
"Commander Tang Wen!"
"Holy shit, the Earth Beast is dead?"
"..."
After a series of explosive attacks, Zhou Bing had finally killed the Stone-toothed Wild Boar. She rushed in with her people, dragging her exhausted legs.
She froze on the spot.
The High-level Exotic Beast, the Earth Beast, was dead.
Captain Liu was completely dazed. He looked left and right, but saw no one else. "Commander Tang, you killed it by yourself?"
Tang Wen didn’t answer.
He’d just grasped a flash of inspiration—an inspiration for his cultivation.
’Since the Contemplation Method can be unleashed through my Sword Skill, why can’t I throw a pebble as if it were a blade?’
Slender, pale fingers gently rested on his shoulder.
Tang Wen turned his head and saw Zhou Bing’s pretty face, etched with worry. "I’m fine. I just pushed myself a little too hard."
It was true. Even with his formidable constitution, he was now on the verge of exhaustion.
That’s right, merely approaching exhaustion.
Zhou Bing, Wu Tian, Captain Liu, and the others were even more exhausted.
Now, seeing that Tang Wen was unharmed, they all let out a collective sigh of relief, wishing they could just lie down and sleep on the spot.
Tang Wen helped Zhou Bing go rest. Meanwhile, Captain Liu stared at the massive, still-warm body of the Earth Beast, his excitement flaring up again. "We can’t wait until dawn! Quick, bring out all the carts. We may have to rush back to camp overnight! Messenger, go notify the camp! Tell them we’ve hunted a High-level Exotic Beast and to send people to meet us!"
Although several stone houses had been knocked down, they had made a huge haul this time.
Sand Wolves, a Stone-toothed Wild Boar, and an Earth Beast.
The Guards pushed through their exhaustion and got to work.
About an hour later, they still hadn’t finished packing up.
The sound of hooves approached from the direction of the camp.
Upon hearing that a High-level Exotic Beast had been killed, General Zhao had come personally with a team. He glanced at the corpses of the various Exotic Beasts and asked, "Where are Tang Wen and Zhou Bing? I hope they’re not injured."
"General! The two Commanders overexerted themselves and are currently resting."
Before Captain Liu could finish, Tang Wen walked out of the house.
General Zhao looked him up and down, beaming. "Good lad! You’re an absolute monster! You’ve only been a Martial Artist for a few days, and you’ve already managed to hack an Earth Beast to death!"
Tang Wen gave a wry smile. "I even broke my blade."
Seeing that Tang Wen was alright, General Zhao couldn’t contain his excitement and became much more talkative. "If your blade broke, we’ll just get you a new one! A High-level Exotic Beast! Those things are hard to kill and even harder to find! You’ve got some damn good luck, kid. The long-range trade team is due back soon. We’ll see what goodies they bring back, and when they do, you’ll have your pick of the lot!"
With General Zhao present, the Hunting Team was no longer in a rush to leave.
With him here, they weren’t afraid of any other High-level Mutated Beasts showing up.
"Go back inside and rest. Don’t worry about security!" General Zhao said with a wave of his hand.
"It’s fine, I’m not in a rush. There’s something I need to discuss with you."
"What is it?"
Seeing the hesitant expression on Tang Wen’s face, General Zhao’s demeanor grew serious as well.
「A few minutes later.」
"You want to resign as Commander to focus on your cultivation?"
A strange look appeared in General Zhao’s eyes.
’Are the thoughts of geniuses always so unconventional?’
"Will it be difficult to arrange?" Tang Wen asked quietly.
General Zhao shook his head. "Years ago, someone else made the same request."
"Who?"
"The Queen."
’That wasn’t surprising. The Queen loved to drink and fight; she had no interest whatsoever in leading teams or management.’
"Alright! I’ll bring it up when I get back. Given your contributions and talent, it shouldn’t be a problem for you to retain your Commander’s benefits while focusing on your cultivation within the camp."
"Thank you, General Zhao!" Tang Wen said with a smile and a cupped-fist salute. ’I was just thinking that if the camp stopped paying my salary, I’d have to start hunting Mutated Beasts for a living.’
"It’s a small matter," General Zhao waved his hand dismissively.
The two strolled through the Hunting Team’s encampment, chatting casually.
The next day, General Zhao personally oversaw the hunt.
They splashed the Earth Beast’s blood on three lures.
Three days flew by. The Hunting Team killed seven or eight Middle-level Exotic Beasts and over a hundred Low-level Exotic Beasts.
But not a single High-level Exotic Beast appeared.
This was why the camp didn’t dispatch General Level combatants for long-term hunts.
High-level Mutated Beasts were highly vigilant and intelligent enough not to rashly attack a human encampment just for food.
On the fourth day, a Guard suddenly arrived from the camp with a report. "General, Commanders! The long-range trade team has returned. The three of you are requested back in the city at once."
General Zhao’s eyes lit up in realization. "They’re finally back. It hasn’t been easy for them—this trip took another year and a half! In that case, let’s pack up our haul and head back to the city."
The camp’s trade teams were divided into two types: short-range and long-range.
Short-range trade teams would venture out and operate in the nearby areas.
A round trip could take as little as a month or so, or as long as two to three months.
But for a long-range trade team, the shortest trip was measured in years.
After all, they relied on horse-drawn carts, traversed desolate mountain paths, and faced all sorts of dangers.
The long-range teams couldn’t even guarantee they would bring anything back.
Sometimes, they had to use all their strength just to stay alive.
The entire camp burst into a lively atmosphere.
Children ran back and forth along the streets.
The adults craned their necks, staring at the procession of carts covered with thick tarps.
Even though it had little to do with the people of the Outer City, everyone was still eager to watch for a while.
Ultimately, life in the camp was simply too harsh. It was rare for ordinary people to find something worth celebrating.
「Royal Palace.」
Everyone curiously examined the goods brought back by the long-range trade team... and the women.
They were a group of beauties from the Western Regions, with deep-set eyes, high-bridged noses, and fair skin. Dressed in Gauze Clothing and furs, their attire accentuated their full bosoms, slender waists, and long legs.
Tang Wen saw them and nodded to himself. ’Needless to say, in this world, the Western Regions must also be a primary target for conquest by the civilization of the Central Plains.’
The Trade Team Leader, a portly man named Qian Sanduo, explained to the group, "They’re a song and dance troupe from the west. They ran into some trouble and were rescued by our team, so they followed us back."
The Queen sized them up with great interest.
Upon learning that this was the Queen, they quickly dropped into a curtsy.
"Greetings, Her Majesty the Queen, General, and Commanders!"
"Not bad!"
Commander Qian Sanduo seized the opportunity. "I plan to establish a tavern with singing girls in the Inner City, where they can perform and sell wine."
"Hm? Wine? What kind of wine?" the Queen asked, trying her best to feign nonchalance.
"There’s grape wine and sorghum wine!" Qian Sanduo clearly knew the Queen well. He led the group to a cart filled with black porcelain wine jars, their mouths sealed with black clay.
"Good, good, good." The Queen fought back the urge to rush over, crack open a jar, and drink her fill. Instead, she had Qian Sanduo introduce the other goods.
As tarps were pulled back and wooden crates were opened one by one, Tang Wen saw something that astonished him.
Mantle clocks!
Inside a black wooden crate were two mantle clocks, each half a meter tall.
They were the old-fashioned type of large timepiece meant to sit on a surface.
Tang Wen took a deep breath and pinched the back of Zhou Bing’s hand.
She frowned at him, not understanding why.
Tang Wen nodded to himself. ’So it’s not a dream.’
"These are mantle clocks. They say craftsmen assemble them from hundreds, even thousands of parts. We can place them in the Council Hall to make it easy for everyone to tell the time."
From the next cart, a crisp, tinkling sound came from a small box.
"A music box. It can produce sound. The craftsmanship is ingenious."
Someone then unloaded a massive wooden machine.
"A water-powered loom! It uses the force of flowing water to weave cloth rapidly. I saw them use it in person—it weaves faster than ten people combined!"
Next were transparent glass bottles filled with liquid.
"Glass, ink, and also traditional writing brushes and quill pens."
"..."
At first, the crowd was merely surprised. By now, they were completely numb with shock.
A massive storm was raging in Tang Wen’s mind. ’Because many of these items were clearly mass-produced!’
’Products of civilization! Products of a modern civilization!’
’This world has an industrial civilization!’
’But there are no nations, no federations, and the neighboring Black Mountain Camp still practices slavery?’
’People are still starving to death in droves because of the barren land and a lack of food and clothing!’
’Who could possibly have the capacity for such invention?’
A monumental question churned in Tang Wen’s mind.
