Chapter 481, what is that?, The servant standing outside the backyard breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the general come out of the backyard unharmed. ()

It's just that looking at General Char's face doesn't seem to look good.

Char's calm face is not, to be precise, it should be a black face, and what is even more peculiar is that his black face is not full of anger, but on the contrary, there is a little bit of embarrassment and grievance, as if he has just been insulted by some kind.

(Damn, the price......... What a shit bullshit idea this hell Merlin!!)

Char was annoyed, more of a helplessness.

Damn, if it's the kind of price Merlin said............ Don't be a dragon knight for the hell!!

When he rushed out of the backyard to his official hall, Dora's voice came to his mind.

"Lord Merlin............ What is the solution? What is the cost? Why do you seem to be in such a strange mood?"

Char didn't speak, just snorted.

... Just now, in the backyard, when Merlin finally said that, the "price" and the method, he first used a strange spell to temporarily cut off the sensory connection between Dora and Char.

"I can't let the cunning dragon know about what I'm saying for the time being, and after you hear it, it's best not to tell it. ”

This is Merlin's request..."No, or rather, an order.

So, Dora didn't know what Merlin's last words to Char were.

And Char ......"...... This kind of method, Lao Tzu will not tell Dora! No! Lao Tzu will never think of this method again! Don't even mention it again!!

Merlin's kind of words, it's good that it rots in the stomach!!

Char's mood was very impatient: "Don't ask, I will never say it...... ，... Well, this dragon knight thing "That's it!!"

Dora was still a little unwilling: "But Char, don't you want a mount anymore? After you put on the dragon scale armor, you don't have a mount" ............"

"!" Char was stimulated by the words.

It's really a pot that can't be opened!

"I ............" Char was angry, and suddenly slapped the table viciously: "It's really not good, Lao Tzu went to find a dwarf to ask for an earth-walking beast! That thing can carry thousands of pounds, "It's definitely no problem to carry me!!Damn, Lao Tzu can't ride a real dragon, so he rides a ground-walking beast! I heard that this thing also has dragon blood, isn't it?"

"That's a rumor!" Dora was unhappy with Char's insult to the noble blood of the dragons.

"Anyway, I don't want to mention this matter again!" Char snorted angrily and ended the conversation between the two, no matter how much Dora exchanged, Char ignored it.

A person was angry in the room for a while, and Char waited for his mood to calm down a little before going out again, riding out of the city and going to the military camp outside the city.

He really thought of it, and ran straight to the dwarven station, found the rock, and made his request straightforwardly.

"I need a Groundwalker to be my mount for the time being. ”

The dwarf grinned when he heard this request, and went to Char, but the honest rock still couldn't help but tell the truth: "That ...... "Honorable general." This, the ground beast domesticated by our dwarves, has a very strong weight-bearing capacity, "However, this creature, the degree of running is too slow, and a normal human can run with all his strength, and the degree is faster than it, such a defect, I am afraid it is not suitable for acting as a mount on the battlefield......"

Char didn't believe it, so he pulled the rock hard, and asked the dwarf to bring a landwalker to try.

The appearance of the earthwalker is indeed a bit of a "dragon", no wonder the legend of this creature is so related to the dragon, from the appearance, the earthwalker is very similar to the kind of earth-based dragon, but the size is much smaller.

The body of this earth-walking beast that was brought by the rocks was more vigorous and thick than that of the most majestic bull, more than three circles, but its neck was not as long as that of a real dragon, and its limbs were as thick as the trunk of a hundred-year-old tree.

According to the rock, the skin of the earthwalker is very strong, "even petrified, and ordinary swords cannot cut through the skin of this giant beast, and only powerful dwarves can inflict damage on them with heavy hammers."

Listening to Rock's proud introduction, Char shamelessly touched his chin, and then made a request even more shamelessly.

"Oh, this is hard, can I cut it with a knife?"

The rock listened and almost sat down on the ground.

Slash?!

It's just the others, but you're a warrior who can slay dragons! Even if the earthwalker has a strong skin, it can't withstand a dragon slayer's blow.

The earthly beast brought by the rock was domesticated by his own family, so why was he willing to throw it to Char to try the knife?

As soon as he saw the rock's expression, Char laughed dryly: "I'm joking, it's not me who will try, I'll let my soldiers try it, right?"

Rock hesitated, looked at the guards standing behind Char, and hesitated......... Although these guards are also considered strong men of the human race, in the eyes of the dwarves, there is nothing unusual.

"Okay. ”

For the sake of caution, Rock also proposed that he must choose the candidate.

Then the honest dwarf went back and forth twice around Char's guards, and finally picked out the guy who looked the youngest and had the least strong body......

The rock picked this man for his own reasons.

According to the dwarf's point of view, strength is directly proportional to age, and the older you are, the longer you cultivate, the stronger your strength will be.

This young human warrior selected by himself really doesn't look very old, how much time can he think he can practice martial arts? Besides, the group of guards around Char are all big shoulders and round waists, and they are all murderous, but this one looks a little more pleasing to the eye and amiable............

But soon, the rock made a fatal mistake!

"Oh, Hawke, our dwarven brother picked you. Char looked at the rock with a hint of sympathy in his eyes and patted him on the shoulder: "Good eyesight! ”

First, first, Gao Zhengyan immediately gathered his mouth wide!

The dwarves were chosen by Hawke, the leader of the young mercenary group that once roamed the wildfires.

Char's two mercenary groups recruited from the Wildfire Plain "The leader of the two mercenary groups, the older Russell is a steady and cautious person, and he is already serving in the army.

And this Hawke, because his temperament is too intense, temporarily stays by Char's side as the head of the guard, all along, Hawke is in charge of the guard of the garrison, and he did not go out with Char.

At this moment, the other guards that Char was carrying were all strengthened cavalry warriors in the "strong cavalry battalion", and from the appearance, these warriors who had been strengthened with the magic liquid of muscle fruits all looked taller and stronger than Hawk (although Hawke himself was also a rare strong man).

Moreover, the soldiers of those strong cavalry battalions are all veterans who have been on the battlefield for a long time, and they have killed countless people. Hawke used to be just a mercenary, and he was naturally inferior to the guards of this strong cavalry battalion in terms of murderous spirit.

But Char's statement that Hawke is the number one guard around him is not exaggerating at all!

Hawk Ke is a standard mercenary warrior, his martial arts skills are very exquisite, "his strength has reached the level of the imperial rank samurai, he can skillfully use his fighting energy, and his martial arts are strong" is also a good master!

And the other guards, even though they are very murderous, but after all, they are not orthodox warriors, they are only trained in the army, and if you want to say that the individual strength alone is really inferior to Hawke's.

The rock looked apprehensive, and Hawke was already grinning and strode out. The young mercenary warrior pulled out a long-handled machete from behind him.

Originally, Hawke's effective lance and battle axe were not suitable for the role of the guard leader, so he had switched to a long-handled sword.

The knives are specially crafted, and the back of the knife is a finger thick, and the iron material is also high, and the weight is heavy.

Hawk took the knife in his hand, strode to the side of the earth-walking beast, the young warrior sneered with a sneer, the earth-walking beast seemed to also feel the evil aura on Hawke's body, and immediately let out a hostile low roar, but although the body moved, the chain around the neck and the hand holding the rock were domesticated, and they didn't dare to struggle too much.

Hawke had already raised the knife, at this time, he didn't look at Char, and when he saw Char winking at him, Hawke suddenly realized and shouted!

Suddenly, the samurai's blade and his body burst out with a ball of fighting light!

As soon as he saw that this guy burst out of his fighting spirit, the rock's eyes suddenly darkened, and his heart secretly shouted: It's over!

The fighting spirit of a human warrior is a symbol of strength, and the dwarves are naturally very aware of this.

Dwarves domesticate the land beasts, they are all domesticated by themselves, which is their own private property, and a land beast is domesticated from a young age, and it takes a lot of effort to tame it. Moreover, not every dwarven family has the strength to domesticate the earth-walking beast! The amount of food required for an earth-walking beast is staggering, and it is not something that ordinary dwarf families can afford. Although the rock has a high status in the tribe, there are only two earth beasts under its name. If you are slaughtered here because of Char's words, it will really make the dwarf's heart bleed!

Seeing this human warrior slash down with a knife with a fighting light, the rock had already subconsciously closed his eyes......

Bang!!

After a muffled sound, I heard the earth-walking beast suddenly raise its neck and roar, the sound of which was like that of a cow or a horse, but it was much louder. And there was a painful smell in the roar.

When Rock opened his eyes, he thought he would see blood all over the ground...... , but he froze!

This earth-walking beast of his own, was just beaten directly to the ground, and there was a mark on his left back, which was obviously a blow from the samurai, and it was very unbearable to beat it, but that's all, and there was no bleeding and injury.

"I'm using the back of a knife. Our general is merciful, how can you really kill your livestock" Hawke walked over and patted the rock on the shoulder, smiled, put away his knife, and then looked back at Char, and said, "My lord, this thing is indeed not bad" Although the knife I used just now was the back of the knife, it can be regarded as using fifty percent of the strength! It is estimated that it is a broken bone, but it is not a big problem! Such rough skin and thick flesh are indeed worthy of being a magical beast. Warcraft is Warcraft, even if the tamed guy "is Warcraft after all, not ordinary livestock."

*......”

Rockheart was relieved at first, but then looked at the place where his earthwalker had broken its bones, and his heart ached again.

Char laughed and grabbed the rock: "I'm sorry, my dwarven brother, it's not that I want to hurt your livestock, but if you don't have the real strength to try" How can you try it? Now, I'm happy with the result.

A rank warrior used fifty percent of his strength, and added fighting energy, although he used the back of the sword, he couldn't kill this thing............ It seems that this thing's ability to resist blows is indeed extraordinary!

Moreover, the weight-bearing capacity of the earth-walking beast is extremely excellent, "I don't have to ask about the body at all when I carry thousands of catties!"

Such a stout and powerful guy...... , and the body is so large and majestic, if you put a hard iron armor on it, throw it on the battlefield, and go on a rampage......

Char's eyes are starting to shine!!

The turtle began to imagine such a picture in his mind: on the battlefield, a terrachian beast with full body of iron armor "rushed into the enemy's array and collided, and the surrounding enemy soldiers swords were all on it, but it was only in vain that the iron armor on the earthcrawler made a clanging sound" could not stop this infinitely powerful thing from continuing to collide, and the people who hit it along the way turned over on their backs......

The Earthwalker is not running fast enough"...... It's a flaw......

But if..."I don't use it as a cavalry mount, but as "...

Use it as an infantry?!

Imagine a group of fully armored earthworms charging and rushing to the front! Even if the enemy is an array of ironclad heavy infantry, I am afraid that such a rushing team will not be able to stop it, right? As for the archers......... For this kind of demonic beast that is difficult to hurt by swords, it can't even be tickled!

If there is such a team of pioneers, the number does not need to be too much, and the battlefield is "responsible for attacking the fortifications and can knock a gap in the enemy's array, then it can play a decisive role!"

The more Char thought about it, the more excited she became, and in the end, she even wanted to slap herself twice!

Damn, I'm such a pig brain! How come I didn't think to use such a good thing!

The relationship between humans and dwarves has always been very stiff, except for a very small number of caravans that can gain the "limited trust" of the dwarves and make some small transactions with the dwarves, the entire human world cannot cooperate with the dwarves in other fields on a large scale.

As for the earthly beasts domesticated by the dwarves, they have never been sold to any human caravans!

The dwarves distrust, and even hostile to, humans, and this situation has never really improved.

Myself, if it weren't for the powerful backstage existence of Merlin, these proud dwarves would probably not even look at themselves.

Taking a deep breath, Char suppressed the excitement in his heart, and looked at the rock with a calm look on his face: "Hmm............ It's not bad, I'm happy with the result. Now, rocks, let's discuss, can you sell me these earthwalkers?"

Only, "Wait, wait!" Suddenly the rock seemed to hear a hint of something wrong: "What you said was, "These ,?? great thunder gods! Honorable general, did I hear me wrong?

Char smiled slyly: "Don't forget, I am a nobleman, and the habits of our nobles ......"

"Alright, General, we dwarves are simple, but not fools. After all, the rock still has a brain, and after thinking about it for a while, he smiled and said, "It seems that you are attracted to the earth beasts domesticated by our dwarves." Do you want to use these animals on the battlefield?"

Char smiled, being seen through his mind, and he didn't feel embarrassed, so he simply picked it out and said: "Yes, I just mean this, this thing seems to me to be of some use, let's just say it, my dwarf brother, what conditions do you want to offer to sell me half of the earth-walking beast?"

Char quickly calculated in his heart, these dwarves came to him this time, and there were almost a hundred earth-walking beasts with them, and if he ate all of them, it would be enough to form a separate "siege camp"!

No matter how slow the beast runs, it is as fast as a normal person, and it is enough to use it as an infantry attack.

In the field, "no hoplites want to block the onslaught of such monsters!"

Can the shield wall stop the mighty earthwalkers?

Spearmen......... Can you pierce the hard skin of the Earthwalker, not to mention that you're going to cloak these things in a layer of hard and thick iron armor!

As for the archers...... "...... Hmph, for the earth-walking beasts, they are all gods and horses..."

In Char's memory, the weapons of the human army that he knew were only afraid that only the hammers of high-level warriors might be able to inflict damage on the Groundwalkers in close combat, "Ordinary soldiers can ignore it."

Is there anything else...... Well, ballistas can also kill ground-walking beasts, but ballistas are generally used for fortifications on city walls, and although the ballista is huge, it is not very accurate, and can only cause damage by covering an area.

Good stuff, absolutely good stuff!!

It's such a good thing, why didn't the human chamber of commerce that traded with the dwarves think of buying it all the time?

"Honorable General, I have to tell you that I have no right to sell you these earth-walking beasts. Rock's answer made Char's heart chill.

"The tribal composition of our dwarf clan is different from that of you humans, these earthly beasts are the private property of each dwarf family of the dwarf clan, even our graybeard king can only requisition dwarf warriors, let dwarf warriors carry their own domesticated beasts to use, and have no right to sell these things. The ownership of these earth-walking beasts belongs to their respective owners. ”

So it was, and Char breathed a sigh of relief.

That's easy to do, Lao Tzu sent people to talk to these dwarves one by one and beg for a purchase and left.

In addition, "the dwarves are an important productive force in the dwarves' homes. We dwarves are good at mining and forging iron tools, but we have to carry heavy ore out of the mines in large quantities, and even the strongest dwarves will not be able to withstand the intense physical labor. The Earthwalker is our greatest help. I am afraid that the dwarves are seldom willing to sell their earth-walking beasts, and if they do, although they gain temporarily, they will lose their greatest labor and future source of income. ”

Hearing this, Char frowned a little, but he was not discouraged. Although the earthwalkers are important to the dwarves, "it is nothing more than asking a higher price for themselves and leaving."

"The dwarves have always been reluctant to make any deals with humans, and we don't trust humans...... Oh, "I say this, and please don't mind, General." The rock explained: "Although our tribe also has some human caravans that will come and trade with us, these transactions are controlled at the tribal level, that is, those human caravans trade with our tribe, and our dwarven tribe will prepare the goods and trade with the human caravan in the name of the tribe." However, the individual dwarven families are not willing to deal with human merchants. ”

I see, no wonder the human caravan can't buy the Earthwalker.

Human caravans trade large sums of money with tribal leaders, but tribal leaders do not have the right to sell earth-walking beasts, as these are the private property of the dwarves. The dwarves alone refuse to trade with human merchants.

These dwarves are really stubborn and excessive.

"I must explain to you that you see the good side of these earthwalkers, but not their flaws. "The rock was a kind reminder.

"You mean the problem about how well they run, I don't think it's a problem, I have my own solution. Char smiled, but the kindness to the rocks was still very useful.

"No, no, no...... Running isn't a big deal, and as stupid as I am, I probably understand that you need these Earthwalking Beasts, not as cavalry mounts. What I'm trying to say is the other flaws of these earthwalkers. The rock sighed: "First, these things...... They eat a lot of food! Because of this, domesticating terrass is a very expensive thing for dwarves. Ordinary dwarven families don't have so much idle grain to domesticate the land beasts. Of our dwarven tribes, only those well-to-do dwarven families have the ability to domesticate the beasts. The amount of food consumed by these earthwalkers is definitely a staggering amount!"

"Oh? How many?"

The rock groaned for a moment and gave a number.

As soon as he heard this number, Char's face changed a little.

But then, Char's face quickly returned to normal.

Consumed a lot of food?

What are you afraid of! Lao Tzu's territory is the largest grain-producing area in northern Byzantium!

Are you still afraid of the big man who runs a restaurant? Joke!

Besides, although the figures of the rock newspaper are a bit excessive, it depends on how to analyze it!

If this earth-walking beast is used well, "its combat effectiveness is definitely better than that of three battalions of heavy infantry troops!" and its ability to attack fortifications is even more comparable to the heavy infantry of a banner regiment!

Heavy infantry is the second most expensive arm of the human army after cavalry! An infantry army covered with heavy armor, whether it is the selection of soldiers, salaries, or equipment, is a huge number!

And a battalion of earth-walking beasts can be worth the heavy infantry of a banner regiment! Even if the food consumption is higher, it will not be higher than feeding the heavy infantry of a banner regiment!

"Grain, Lao Tzu has grain! My area is a grain-producing area, and these are not problems for me. Char shook his head: "Anything else?"

Rock sighed, he was really envious of Char's "luxury".

Dwarves have always been poor at cultivating food, which is also a necessity for dwarves.

Although the dwarves are hostile to humans, they still have to maintain trade and contact with some human merchants."

The dwarves want to grow stronger, food is the biggest constraint, the dwarves are good at digging holes, good at iron, but they are really not good at working in the farmland. Planting is not a dwarven talent.

But if the dwarves want to grow, they need to dig bigger mines, and if they want to dig bigger mines, they need more landwalkers"Domesticating more landwalkers, they need a lot of food............

Food is the biggest shackle that imprisons the dwarven tribe.

For this reason, the dwarven tribe had to trade with the human caravans, and even exchange the valuable minerals of their own tribe for the high-priced food brought by the human caravans!

Those human caravans are all black-hearted, "The same grain, trafficked to the dwarven tribes, sold for at least ten times more than in the Byzantine Empire!"

And the ore dug up by the dwarves in exchange for food from the dwarven tribes "There are even iron tools made by the dwarves, and when they bring them back to China, they can be sold for a hundred times the price they bought!!

This is one of the important reasons why the dwarven tribes do not trust humans!

Grain"... Dwarves dream of getting a lot of food!

The dwarves like to drink, but because of the shortage of food, the dwarves don't have much food to brew, and anyone in any caravan knows that the most common spirits in the human world can be exchanged for a * person's silver coin with a barrel of inferior rye wine!

His own food is so expensive, but this human general "can squander it at will......

Rock Heart sighed with emotion, and then said: "Okay" If food is not a problem, then there is another problem" "These earthly beasts, they are burrowing things, that is, every winter, they have to hibernate, at least for two or three months, they are not able to do any labor. ”

"Huh?" Char froze.

Can't use it in winter?

Even if Char can control himself not to start a war against the enemy in winter, he can't guarantee that his enemy will not come to fight him in winter!

"Is there no other way for them to sleep in winter?" Char frowned.

"If you force them, it's not impossible. The rock scratched his head: "This............ Earthwalkers will be listless and lazy if they are forced to do it in winter, and in addition, driving them to work in winter will consume much more food than usual, so we dwarves never do this. ”

"Or food...... Then no problem. Char nodded: "In the winter, their role will be much reduced, I remember." Anything else?"

"No more. Rock smiled, "If all of this is not a problem for you, then I can tell you responsibly that these earthwalkers will be the best laborers you have ever seen! They can go three days without drinking water, and are very obedient, absolutely obedient to their masters, and very loyal to their owners. ”

"Well, now, it's time to make an offer. Char held a horsewhip in his hand and shook it gently.

"As I said, these beasts are private property" I can't make a price for someone else, this ............ You're going to talk to them yourself. Let me start by reminding you that we dwarves are stubborn, and we don't trust humans very much, so most dwarves are reluctant to trade with humans. So, ""

"What if I trade it for food?" Char smiled.

"Maybe it's possible. But "...... "If I sell you one or two, that's fine, but if you need a lot," ............ I'm afraid it won't work. The code of our dwarven Graybeard King stipulates that the earth-walking beasts are important assets of the dwarven race and cannot be traded with humans. You're a friend of our dwarves, a few, or even a dozen, and I thought, "We dwarves have lived with you for so many days, and if we get your hospitality, maybe someone will be willing to sell it to you, but if you want to buy more, even if we do, the dwarven code won't allow it." ”

"Damn, what a headache. Char's eyes sparkled.

Obviously, the turtle began to hold back some ideas again.

After a while," Char suddenly glanced at the rock, and he spoke in the most sincere tone.

"Brother Rock, can you do me a favor?"

The rock smiled, "Let's talk about what it is." ”

"It's not too difficult, I need you to help me make a trip, I want you to go back to your tribe and convey a few words to your Greybeard King, and tell him some of my proposals. ”

Rock was stunned: "Proposal?"

"Yes. Char cleared his throat: "You remember my words: I, the general of the Northern Garrison of the Byzantine Empire" Duke of Noz of the Empire, Grand Duke Char Thundering, greetings to the great Graybeard King, may the God of Thunder bless you. As a garrison general in the north of the Byzantine Empire, my domain had four counties, millions of people, and tens of thousands of troops. I am willing to start some sincere cooperation with the tribe of the dwarven Graybeard King "I know that the dwarven brothers need food, and my territory is the largest grain producing area in the Byzantine Empire" As a gesture of goodwill, I propose that "we can have some grain trade between the two sides in the future." As for the price............ I think it's probably in ............ This number fluctuates between them. ”

Char groaned for a moment and quoted a number, and this price was already twice the price of grain in the Byzantine Empire!

And when the rock heard this number, he was immediately stunned!

Before Char finished speaking, the rock had already grabbed Char tightly: "General, you, what you said is true?!Is it true?!!!?"

"Of course it's true! Lao Tzu, General of the Northern Garrison! Here, my words are the supreme decree!"

The rock almost fainted on the spot!

Char began to get confused.

Judging from the rock's reaction, the turtle suddenly realized that his offer was too low............

He immediately couldn't help but ask, "What is the price of the grain sold to you by the human caravan that your tribe is trading right now?"

I have to say that the dwarf is still very honest after all, and he said the answer very sincerely: "After the number you reported, add a zero." ”

"I'm and ...... ,...※ ...... again"" Char scolded a few foul words.

He scolded the black hearts of those human caravans!

Why are you in such a hurry to make a quotation!! if you had known, as long as your offer is a little lower than that of those human black-hearted merchants, these dwarves may be begging for their own deals! !

However, the turtle is still a turtle after all, and he is cunning, so he immediately thought of a way to make up for it.

"The price I'm talking about doesn't include shipping!, that is, in order to trade at this price, you dwarves must come to my territory with your own team to buy it, and I am not responsible for home delivery. Char added a very righteous and stern explanation. I thought to myself: at least save some shipping costs.

"Although I don't have the authority to promise you, but in my judgment, there is no problem at all!" The rock is eager to kiss Char fiercely! The dwarf said in a sincere and loud voice: "General Char, you will be the best and closest friend of our Graybeard tribe!!"

Char immediately took a step back to prevent the guy from actually hugging him.

You know, none of these dwarves are in the habit of bathing.

"But have you forgotten something?" Rock suddenly looked a little worried, "I heard that there seems to be a law in your country that does not allow the sale of grain to us dwarves......... The emperor of your country has decreed that he is not allowed to trade grain with our dwarves! And those caravans are also secret caravans sent by some of your country's great nobles to conduct some secret small-scale transactions with us. But your status is different, you are an official of one side, and if you are openly engaging in such an official direct transaction with us in your capacity as a local official...... Are you not afraid that the emperor of your country will punish you, or that the law of your country will punish you............

Char rolled her eyes directly.

The turtle replied arrogantly.

"Law? In Lao Tzu's territory, Lao Tzu is the king's law. ”

The rock is still worried: "But the emperors of your country have made harsh imperial decrees"... You are just a general, a duke, after all, you are not as big as the emperor, are you not afraid of the emperor to you.........

Char didn't even bother to roll his eyes this time, and his tone was very disdainful, "Emperor, what is that? Is there still such a thing in the world?"