Chapter Thirty-Six: A Different Evolutionary Path and Tech Tree
If someone had told André that there was a giant beast in the world that was the size of a skyscraper but could survive and reproduce without eating, he would have thought that someone else was joking with Ultraman's partner. But when he really got to see the creatures that he thought existed only in myths and legends, he realized that what the druids told him seemed ridiculous was probably the truth.
The desolate demon realm did not have such an abundance to feed such a behemoth, and as Marcellion had said, only the inexhaustible thunder and lightning between the heavy clouds, such a force of nature, contained enough energy to power their colossal bodies. Otherwise, the entire Broken Sky Mountain would probably not be enough for the two of them to eat for a few days......
It's just that Andre's knowledge of the system has already formed makes it impossible for him to guess the specific structure in the giant beast's body, whether their digestive system has degenerated and shrunk, or has it not existed at all?
"Battery" like an organ to replace!?
It is said that most of the wild beasts in the Demon Realm, that is, the magic dragons in the mouths of the elves, can survive without ingesting any normal food, and even if there are occasional aliens, most of them only eat as a hobby. This magical quality is completely different from Garlandia's dragon, and André feels that this magical ability should be inextricably linked to the environment of the demon world.
There are no rich forests and oceans in this inhospitable world that can give birth to an ecosystem that can feed such a behemoth. Of course, not all demon dragons have this mythical and legendary body size, some of them are not even taller than snake demons, and of course, adult demon dragons weigh less than the flame demons, which can be said to be rare.
As for why these creatures are called "dragons", the druid's answer is that any monster with legendary supernatural powers and a certain amount of intelligence can be called a dragon. For example, the hydra lizard "Xudra" in the deep blue sea, and the white demon wolf "Fenrir" on the Northland ice fields have long been called dragons or drakemons. The meaning of the word "dragon" represents a transcendent level, and it has no absolute relationship with the specific form and bloodline of the "dragon".
As for the meteorite that attracted the Lei Huang whale to visit here, in the eyes of the giant beast, it was probably a toy-like thing. Wandering through the clouds, the beasts stumbled upon the falling flames of a meteorite in the distance, and relied on their superb perception of magic to find Andrarui all the way...... Then the bear child found that this toy did not have much to his liking, so he said hello to the original owner of this thing and left in such a dashing manner.
Whoever instills in him any more superstitious doctrines that have no scientific basis such as what dragons are sacred creatures will surely be scorned and seriously despised in his heart!
Marcellion interpreted this matter from another aspect, since even the demon dragon who lived by magic became interested in this meteorite, then it must be a rare treasure of extraordinary value!
Rainy days don't do much, and the Children of the Abyss participate in the forging experiments of the dwarven craftsmen and the fire demons in the name of "advisors". It was this onlooker that allowed him to discover many very obvious problems from the perspective of an otherworldly.
"If only there were enough crystals containing fire-based magic power!When we dwarves were in our hometown, we dwarves didn't need to be able to cast fire spells to forge this kind of magic iron!" Several blacksmiths of the limestone clan complained bitterly, in Garlandia, any dwarf clan has a rich accumulation of ores, as long as the forged magic iron has enough value, and the living gems can also be stacked to pile up master-level heirlooms! It's just that most of the fire magic crystals in the demon realm are in the hands of powerful lords with lava caves in their territories, and even if the gray rock clan has accumulated for hundreds of years, even if all of them are used by the fire demons to restore their magic power, it is only enough to knock a few more hammers on that piece of meteoric iron.
You must know that the Shattered Sky Mountain is a mountain that has been "moved" by divine power, and the ancestors of the Limestone Clan have already exploited the precious mineral deposits in this mountain even more years before the outbreak of the Demon Invasion War.
The dwarves had tried almost every fuel they could find, raw coal, firewood, charcoal, and even charcoal from several different textures of wood from the elves, but they were so much worse than the most ideal magic flame that they couldn't even completely burn the meteorite red.
André had spent most of the morning in the repetitive, unconstructive arguments of the dwarven craftsmen, and he had carefully examined the construction of the stove several times, and asked the apprentices many more in-depth questions, and he couldn't help but ask, "Why don't you try to make a bellows?"
"Bellows!? What's that?"
“...... A tool for blowing air into the stove. André replied softly to the dwarves who were grumpy because of their irritability.
"Aren't you adding to the chaos, the temperature is not enough and the heat is blown away...... "The straight-tempered dwarf, whether you are the leader of Andrarui or not, the inexplicable advice of the Children of the Abyss has made him save all the honorifics.
All the craftsmen agreed that the layman should not come to make do with this, knowing that even the fire demon who was proficient in the control of fire magic was humbly learning the long civilization inheritance of our dwarves.
"How do you have such a thought?" The dwarf with his rectum was not accustomed to speaking in a gentle and euphemistic tone like an elf, but that didn't mean that Elder Claude looked down on Andrari's children of the abyss. In the old dwarf's impression, this son of the abyss has a wisdom that ordinary people can't find in cooking and some other aspects, and from some ordinary conversations, he can see that Andrei is definitely not the kind of superficial person who does not know how to pretend to understand.
"This ...... Haven't you heard of fire borrowing wind?"
Seeing that all the dwarves shook their heads very tacitly, the question of the dwarf elder really stumped the children of the abyss, he couldn't tell this group of bearded people that increasing the circulation of oxygen can help the oxidation reaction, that is, the intensity of the combustion, right!?
In fact, this can't be completely blamed on the dwarves for distorting the technology tree, for most civilizations in Galandia, the application of magic - magic is the first "science" in the whole world! In this era when the smelting process is still very primitive, the dwarves are not able to refine a large number of special metals with a high enough melting point. Occasionally, by chance, a piece of one of these precious metals is enough to solve the problem with the fire magic they are better at.
In Garlandia's primitive civilization, the process of making fire was much simpler than the drilling wood to make fire as Andre knew, and even for a layman with only a little caster qualifications, releasing a small flame was only the simplest basic trick. It only took a few days for Andrei to learn this fairly convenient ability from Garuda.
And what is the essence of the magic flame?
To put it simply, it is the process by which the fire element, or fire magic, is directly transformed into a high-temperature flame. If you have to distinguish it from the flame that usually cooks rice...... The process of transforming mana into flame can be completely free of oxygen and combustibles. With enough magic and skill to control it, you'll be able to unleash deadly heat enough to melt any metal!
And such examples are not completely absent in the body of knowledge that Andrei is well aware, the most common example is gunpowder. Sulfur and saltpeter replace oxygen in the combustion process, and their combined effect is far more intense than that of oxygen in normal air!
So the phrase "fire borrows the power of the wind" has become the idea that the wind will blow out the flames in the experience of the dwarves and elves. The difference in basic philosophy prevented André from explaining to the dwarves the role of the wind in helping the flames burn. In the end, he could only come up with the most stupid way - practice is the truth. He customizes a bellows for the elves to work with the stove, and then proves himself to the dwarves with facts.
The efficiency and craftsmanship of the elven carpenters were so outstanding that in just half a day, the children of the abyss, like the dwarves, confirmed that wind is extraordinary to mortal fire.
As they watched the flames, which were more vigorous than usual, rise from the furnace, the dwarves, who were limited by their usual "common sense", were a little undecided.
And the next words of the Fire Demon provided them with full confidence.
"Your Highness, I feel the magic of fire more actively!" "Garuda had originally thought that his noble Highness knew the secret method of smelting steel, but now it seems that his seemingly unrealistic extravagance at the time was in fact a conservative speculation, and His Highness's mastery of mortal fire far surpassed that of himself and the dwarves who were skilled in forging!
It's just that practice not only proves the wisdom of His Highness Andre again, but also makes many dwarven blacksmiths and fire demons realize that they are happy too soon. In addition, the fire of the bellows could only heat the meteorite to a reddish tint, and after a few hammers, they had to put it in the furnace for ten more minutes, an efficiency that was unbearable for the dwarven blacksmiths who were skilled at removing impurities from the metal through forging.
The saying that 100 years into steel is not simply a saying!
At this time, the Children of the Abyss proposed that coarse coal and charcoal could be processed first and then used as fuel to make it fully burned, although it was also a new theory, but Andre, who had already proven himself, had won the unreserved trust of the dwarves this time.
Then the major renovation of the furnace and the construction of the new coke oven began in full swing.
While this may be a bit of a fuss for a piece of magic iron, Andrei's theory opens a completely different window for the dwarven blacksmiths. The path outside the window may well lead to a new pinnacle that represents a breakthrough in the forging process!
The traditional craftsmanship of the dwarves mainly relies on repeated forging to achieve most of the metal smelting and forging processes, but this does not prevent them from being keen on smelting furnaces with higher fire temperatures, which will greatly improve their efficiency in the forging process. It seems that it is not so difficult to create a fine product that was previously difficult to create by craftsmanship alone, and the new furnace is an irresistible temptation for all blacksmiths. All the dwarves in the camp who know how to forge are vying to join the ranks of the Demon Iron Forge, and they can't wait to try out what kind of vitality the new gadgets in the Demon Leader's Theory can inject into the traditional forging process!