The harvest is good, thirty-one pirates, although a lot of them are crooked melons and cracked dates, and there are disabled people like one-eyed and lame, but their strong obedience will make them Qin Song's first armed force.

Strong, sane and calm, Talivik has a ruthless and tyrannical personality, and is an excellent presence among pirates. But Qin Song would not allow this kind of guy with prestige, ambition and a sense of rebellion to exist, this is the reason to kill him.

The guilt of killing someone or something, Qin Song didn't feel anything. There will always be a day when a pirate with his hands covered in blood will come to this day, and besides, his men themselves stabbed him in the heart with a dagger, which shows that he seems to be unpopular.

Of course, apart from the pirates, the biggest surprise is the talking parrot - the clever tongue Mons. Before the pirate ship approached, Qin Song sent a three-eyed black crow to secretly observe the pirate's every move.

A parrot that can talk and beg for shredded meat, so it was found. The wisdom of the Dream Walker Spirit is not high, but it can perfectly receive Qin Song's instructions. The parrot's oral structure is special, the tube wall is very thin, the vocal tube muscles are very developed, the voice generator is very similar to that of humans, and the tongue rotates flexibly, which can perfectly simulate the human voice.

Before the pirate ship could take overboard, Qin Song summoned the Spirit of the Dream Walker and took possession of the body of the clever tongue Mons. In fact, before Talivik stepped on the deck of the Grim Reaper's Howl and flew to his shoulder, the clever tongue Mons had already been occupied, and the line of begging for shredded meat was Qin Song's first human language test.

It turned out to be perfect!

Under the control of the curse, these pirates have no chance of escaping, and can only be at the mercy of the 'parrot captain'. The destination of this voyage is the Black Mist Forest at the southern end of the Blackstone Territory, where pirates will land and establish a stronghold.

Qin Song would not waste the perfect bait of the Death Reaper's Howl, it would continue to float on the sea, bringing more slaves and gradually increasing the power at his disposal.

......

"How do you sprout barley?"

In Alice's room, Alice holds her chin in both hands and stares at the orange-yellow grains of wheat spread out on the table. This is the new wheat harvested this autumn, and the grains are warm and plump.

"Buried in the soil?" Alice poked her finger at the grains of wheat, which she knew were able to sprout and grow when buried in the soil, "but now is not the season for planting." ”

"No, no. Alice shook her head, picked up a pile of wheat grains in her hand, and carefully picked up the grains from which had been hammered by the threshing flail. She remembered her father telling her that the smashed grains of wheat would not germinate even if they were buried in the soil. And the wheat kernels do not have to be put in the soil to germinate.

Because every year after the autumn harvest, one-third of the wheat grains are kept as seeds. But if not stored properly, the wheat will sprout on its own, even in the pocket of the barn.

"Oh, I see. Alice thought thoughtfully, and her mind seemed very clear: "What I am looking for now is the reason for improper storage." Only in that case will the wheat grains sprout. ”

"I'm so smart, hehe!" Ellie didn't hesitate to praise herself, and made her clear purpose, so she naturally had a goal - old Ron, who had been in charge of guarding the barn for more than ten years, should know the mystery.

When old Ron stepped into the castle parlor with trembling feet under Eric's guidance, there was a flattered tension on his old face. After all, after living in the Blackstone Collar for decades, he really has no sense of existence, let alone being summoned by the lord.

"Big ...... My lord. "Restrained old Ron, who didn't have a few hairs left, was flustered when he saw Alice, and he didn't know where to put it, let alone salute.

"You don't have to salute. Alice didn't blame him: "Ron, how many years have you been guarding the barn?"

"Eleven years or twelve years, I don't remember very well. Old Ron touched his bare head, and there was some trepidation in his eyes: "It is still Lord Jarot's mercy to let me go to the barn and not have to work anymore." ”

"Eleven years is not too short. Alice went straight to the point: "So, under what circumstances will the wheat seeds in the barn sprout?"

"Ah......" Old Ron was taken aback, his eyes were full of panic, and he fell to the ground with a pop: "My lord, I know that I am wrong, please forgive me." ”

"Huh?" Alice's expression was a little confused: "What did you do wrong?"

"Your Excellency. Old Ron began to wipe tears from Alice and Eric's stunned: "Because of my fault, I didn't ventilate in time and turned the sun, so that two bags of seeds germinated this year, so that there were not enough seeds when planting." My lord, please forgive me, I am indeed too old to carry a bag, a shovel, or pull a basket. ”

"Uh......" Alice's words choked in her throat, but seeing that he was old, he was indeed excusable, so he waved his hand: "Eric, you can help him up." I forgive your sins. ”

"Thank you for your forgiveness, I ...... I'm going to work hard. Please don't kick me out of the castle. Eric lifted old Ron up from the ground, and he continued to ask for mercy.

"I said no, you're too old, and it's understandable. I'll arrange a helper for you. Alice couldn't laugh or cry, grabbed a handful of wheat from the table, and walked up to him: "I just want to ask why the wheat sprouts." Ventilation and drying, I've seen it. It turns out that it is to prevent germination, so why do wheat grains germinate?"

"Uh......" Old Ron was a little confused in his eyes, "I don't know, it was the lord who asked me to ventilate and dry regularly." I just did it, but I wanted to...... It's probably too hot, isn't it? Every time I turn over the wheat kernels that have been stored for a long time, when I open the bag, the wheat grains are very hot. ”

"Hot?" Alice remembered the point, "How hot is it?"

Old Ron shuddered and gestured with his hand: "The further you go inside, the hotter it gets, probably hotter than your hand." Oh, and it's a little damp. ”

Turning over and ventilating is to prevent the seeds from getting too hot, and heat may be one of the reasons for the germination of the seeds. Alice made a secret note of this: "And what else are you doing in the barn?"

"Moisture-resistant. Especially after the rain, there are also insects and hateful rats. Bugs will eat the seeds, and rats will eat the seeds. At the mention of the mouse, the elder Ron had a hateful expression on his face.

"Heat, dampness, and bugs. Alice pondered for a moment: "Those two bags of germinated seeds ......"

Old Ron reacted quickly: "My lord, please don't kick me out of the castle. ”

Alice: "......"

"I'm trying to ask, what does the germinating seed look like, or how hot, how damp, or is there bugs or something?"

"It's just sprouting, a very small white bud with a little bit of green on it. Old Ron's vocabulary was not flattering, but he tried to justify: "Those two bags are too inside, and when I was about to turn them over, it rained heavily." ”

"Alright, alright. I don't care. Alice waved her hand: "Eric, you arrange an assistant for him." I don't expect to see germinating seeds in the barn next year. ”

"Yes, yes, sir. ”

Once you have made an important discovery, of course, you should share it with your close friends. After Ron Sr. leaves, Alice heads straight to the workshop, where Linda is making the 'Sacred Dust'.

"Linda, I have good news!"

Alice pushed the door open and came to the inner room of the workshop, where Linda was sitting on a small bench, rubbing the sacred dust with her hands, her body, and her face were covered with black marks.

"Wait a minute, Alice!" Linda stopped abruptly, and the large lump of coal turned into powder fell from the tips of her fingers, and her eyes were filled with an inexplicable surprise.

"What's wrong?Linda?" Alice's face was full of curiosity, and the introverted Linda had never interrupted her, so there must have been some important discovery.

"I feel a special divine power in my body!" Linda took a deep breath and held it, slowly closing her eyes, as if sensing the existence of divine power.

Soon, Linda found inspiration and pulled that wonderful power into her hands. Under Alice's gaze, her hand made a crunching sound, and the gray-gray stone skin seemed to come to life, expanding at a speed visible to the naked eye, enveloping her hand layer after layer.

At last, the hands seemed to be magnified tenfold, starting with the forearm and gradually enlarged, the palms were as big as a dinner plate, each finger was as thick as Alice's little arm, and the whole back of the hand was rocky and covered with terrifying stone spikes.

With a crisp click, Linda slowly opened her eyes, bursting with joyful light, clenching her fists tightly, forming two basketball spicy rock spur punches.