Chapter 389 - 362: Success Can Be Replicated
Da Fei stepped onto the fishing village supported by wooden beams over the water. Although primitive, it was not lacking in finesse, with intricate carved patterns everywhere on the wooden railings and floors. Unfamiliar floral wreaths hung alongside dried fish. Children from the village, sitting on the railings and fishing, watched Da Fei with intrigued eyes.
Indeed, they appreciated the arts and had children. This was a species with taste and a future. If they were truly assimilated, it would greatly enhance the cultural rating of his city. However, the so-called Demigod Eight-Headed Snake was quite troublesome. For someone like him, who had toppled powerful bosses multiple times, it seemed like no boss was unconquerable, but the key was preparation time! How much time did this scene leave him?
Under the elder’s enthusiastic invitation, Da Fei arrived at the village chief’s wooden house, a room filled with various beast bones, bottles, jars, and herbs. A steaming pot of soup emitting green smoke was already placed on the table.
Da Fei and Tai Da were momentarily stunned.
The elder smiled and said, "This is our specialty dish, Swamp Fresh Fish Mushroom Soup. Consuming it instantly recovers fatigue, raises Life Value and Stamina limits by 15% within a day, and increases Poison Resistance by 50%. Although it doesn’t look impressive or taste great, it is an exceptionally powerful cuisine I’ve never encountered in the surface world. With full ingredients, its attribute boosts would further improve, as would its taste and fragrance."
Da Fei was startled, "It truly is a powerful dish! I’ve never heard of such a thing in the surface world either!"
Cooking, along with mining, forging, tailoring, alchemy, fishing, etc., were considered life skills. Life skills did not possess the "leadership" and "influence" attributes of hero skills, affecting only the player individually. Therefore, they did not consume the player’s hero Skill Points and had a traditional proficiency upgrading model, divided into beginner, intermediate, advanced, expert, Grandmaster, and God-level. Skill Leveling was lengthy in the late stages, not as relaxed as hero skills, which could be upgraded to Master Level as long as there were enough Skill Points.
Generally speaking, life skills often appeared in non-combat NPCs, like doctors, chefs, and barbers. Lord Players recruited these high Skill Level NPCs with hefty sums to enhance their territory’s comprehensive scores. Among life skills, cooking was undoubtedly the most popular, offering affordable and good-quality military rations. Meanwhile, players could open taverns in the city to make money.
Da Fei’s immediate reaction was, of course, to open a tavern in the city for profit! Hobbits were indeed a culinary race. To create such an amazing meal in such a harsh place, what could they achieve upon leaving the mountains?
While in shock, another Attendant brought up a large pot of red, smoky meat. Tai Da wrinkled his nose involuntarily.
The elder smiled and said, "Braised Croc Monster Meat from the swamp, consuming it increases damage by 2 points within a day! Of course, it still smells unpleasant due to the shortage of ingredients. I’m very sorry."
Da Fei was dumbfounded, shocked on the spot! Raising damage by 2 points! There’s no need to say what that means for level 1, 2, and 3 soldiers, right? Impressive! These Hobbits are truly impressive, indirectly boasting about their prowess with a table feast! I salute you!
Tai Da couldn’t help but praise, "I haven’t seen such a powerful recipe across the entire Elf Kingdom!"
The elder shook his head with a smile, "You’re too kind, sir. The primary reason is this swamp is unlike an ordinary swamp; it’s the space of the World Tree, capable of producing very special ingredients. In short, although this place is harsh, it’s actually a land of wealth. We are reluctant to leave."
Ah, so that’s it! Leaving this swamp would greatly reduce their value, so assimilating them might not be as beneficial as cooperation? Sure, cooperation is easy; assimilation is hard. I already have too many things giving me a headache and no reason to increase my difficulty. Of course, if cooperation becomes intimate and they plead to join me, I’d certainly not oppose it.
Da Fei then laughed and said, "I understand the elder’s meaning. Although it’s temporarily difficult, connecting trade with the outside world will naturally improve everyone’s living standards. All right, I can’t wait to cooperate with you. Please, elder, tell me more about the Croc Monster!"
The elder laughed heartily, "Great! The Lord is decisive and straightforward. Please look at the map—" the elder placed an animal hide map filled with red, yellow, blue, and green on the table.
Such a map was unheard of for Da Fei and Tai Da, leaving them dumbfounded.
The elder smiled and said, "At the center of this map is our village. The blue area is the deep water lake district, requiring a raft to navigate. The green areas are the shallow water regions, where one can wade. The red zones are extremely dangerous areas. The monster strength here is compared to the Kingdom’s army strength from 1,000 years ago in the surface world. The yellow zones are manageable by us Hobbits. The Croc Monster is in the wadeable shallow area, and our fishing grounds are nearby..."
With the elder’s explanations, Da Fei gained a considerable understanding of the swamp’s geography. The red zone is vast, taking up at least half the map, showing that the Hobbits cannot develop half of this territory. Conversely, the more dangerous areas are, the higher their value, making this swamp’s value unimaginable!
Moreover, the blue deep water lake areas were ample, appearing to have significant winds, suitable for large ships. Could he invite a massive group of mages from the Elf Kingdom to teleport his large ship here, just like with the Epic Quest back then? It’s not impossible since he’s triggered another annoying Epic Quest. As long as he had a big ship, even if he couldn’t deal with the Demigod Eight-Headed Snake, clearing this red zone might not be impossible!
The elder started detailing the Croc Monster: "This Croc Monster is enormous. Once full, it rests on this small island. It’s the perfect opportunity to kill it. However, its Attack and Defense are incredibly high, its speed astonishingly quick, and it’s immune to all swamp toxins. We Hobbits are helpless against it. Once it goes underwater, it’s an invincible presence that can easily demolish our largest raft. The trickier part is that since we attacked it once, it’s become very cunning and alert, even tracking us to the vicinity of our village. If it goes on a rampage, our village will be in great danger..."
Da Fei began to realize the complexity of the problem as he listened to the elder’s description. Though he’d slain many crocodiles on Pirate Island, even gaining the Lonely Hero Hundred Victories achievement thanks to them, that situation was extraordinary; they overate and couldn’t move. Otherwise, even an NPC would fear them, let alone a single player?
"Lord, what do you think?" the elder inquired, staring intently into Da Fei’s eyes after finishing the introduction.
Da Fei felt a jolt in his heart! Damn, the elder’s expression was too serious! He had casually agreed earlier—what if he failed and they called him a liar?
Da Fei gritted his teeth, determined! Some of his successes couldn’t be replicated, but others could, like killing a crocodile! Last time, didn’t the crocodiles get overfed? Then, this time, he’ll do the same to this crocodile. How simple!
Da Fei pulled out a card with information about the killer crocs from Pirate Island: "Elder, this is about the large crocodiles I encountered on the surface world, and I single-handedly killed nearly a hundred of them. How does the crocodile you mentioned compare?"
Seeing such a detailed information card, the elder was also startled, respectfully saying, "Lord City Lord, no wonder you’ve taken up the mission to save the World Tree at such a young age. But this Croc Monster’s attributes are far stronger. The key is, it’s very cunning!"
Da Fei said earnestly, "No matter how cunning, a crocodile remains a crocodile. Its insatiable nature won’t change. I killed so many back then because I baited them with numerous giant lizards, which made them unable to move once swallowed whole. So here’s my strategy: feed this crocodile until it’s overfed, then finish it with my Crossbow Cannon!"
The elder’s expression changed, "Impossible! This crocodile could eat half our fishing grounds’ yield and still not be full. Moreover, we’re already food scarce. How can we feed it? If we fail, wouldn’t we strengthen it further?"
Da Fei hurriedly pointed to other red zones on the map, "What monsters are in these areas? You mentioned giant lizards and pythons? We could start by hunting weaker monsters. Wouldn’t that work?"
The elder’s face darkened, "Is this the only strategy Lord City Lord can offer? If you can accomplish this, we have no objections!"
Damn! I’ve only got a few troops! Fine! I’ll show you!
Da Fei gritted his teeth and said, "I have 39 elite Tree Spirits in the Black Forest. As soon as today’s mercury vapor clears, we can open a path to bring them over. As long as it’s in the shallow regions, their powerful combat abilities will ensure our safety. Then, the elder can assign people to assist in hunting, and we can definitely clear them out. How about it?"
The elder’s face grew even more sullen.
The young hero beside him, who had remained silent, suddenly exclaimed angrily, "If you let those 39 elites into our village, what of our village’s safety?"
Da Fei was greatly shaken!
The elder sternly rebuked, "Billbo, watch your manners!"
Da Fei sighed quietly, realizing that the issue was the lack of trust due to the "red name" status. Of course, if he did let his troops into the village and got annoyed, he might beat them into submission and make them sing "Conquer" on their knees, couldn’t he?
In other words, the mission demanded him to single-handedly and ingeniously solve the problem without the help of any loyal troops? Damn! Collaborating with you people is so aggravating; it’d be less hassle to just fight! But the problem is, I’m outmatched!
At this moment, Tai Da suddenly exclaimed, "Lord City Lord, crows! Dead crow bodies all over the Black Forest!"