It is impossible to know when the first human civilization came into being. All people know now is the fact that they migrated from south to north.
To survive, food and water are the most basic needs. As early as the Stone Age, our ancestors learned to use stones and sticks to hunt, and to use bark and leaves to obtain sufficient fresh water.
What changed everything was the emergence of fire, and the time when the technology of drilling wood to make fire appeared is unknown. But since the method of making fire was mastered, people's lives in ancient times have undergone earth-shaking changes.
Campfires drove away wild beasts and could be used to smoke the meat of captured prey. After mastering the technology of igniting fire, people also tried to make mud tiles. More and more effective water storage containers were made, and people no longer Needing to compete with dangerous carnivores for precious territory by the stream, the population growth territory began to expand, which also led to the existence of exploratory and pioneering people.
Gradually migrating from the southern region where food was abundant and the climate was warm, and technology continues to advance, today's people are no longer the same as their ancient ancestors. However, if they want to enter the wilderness, their survival needs are still the same as in the past. two.
"Huh..." Mira breathed out softly.
Although Aibut City is the largest city in the south, to be honest, it is not easy to find mercenary jobs here. There are few ordinary listed tasks and most of them are searching for people. The largest number is the war mission that Henry does not want Mira to participate in now.
Killing people in a state of survival and taking the initiative to take the killing task are two different concepts, and although most of the lower-level soldiers fighting here have not mastered any professional sword skills, some veterans who have been fighting for a long time can also use their fierce strength to poses a great threat to girls.
There was no need to explain Henry's thoughts, and the girl herself had such a self-awareness, so after staying in Abute for a few days, they decided to move forward with a caravan of a hundred people to the central city of the Krant Kingdom - Monroe.
The caravans were bustling and carrying a lot of goods, half of them were merchants on foot and those with carriages. This kind of caravan is already considered large in Krant, but compared with the original one in Ecasta, it can barely reach even one-tenth of the number of people.
Commodity goods are mainly nuts and pickled fruits. Secondly, there are furs. Some of the cars also carry ceramic pots, but they are small in size and have exquisite patterns. They must be sold to the upper class for fun rather than ordinary civilians.
Furs and fine utensils are already worth a lot of money. However, there is no organization like the United Chamber of Commerce in Ecasta. It is just a loose group of merchants in Abut who do not have enough money to recruit and do not trust the mercenaries who may come to protect them.
They only carried their own machetes and longbows made of pig iron, partly for hunting and road clearing needs on the road. On the other hand, it can also be used for self-defense.
Ken allowed Henry and Mira to join, mostly because of their status as outsiders.
There is no required fee, plus the mercenary identification mark he wears, as well as sophisticated equipment and war horses are also one aspect, but if it is replaced by two locals from Crant - or Avenella who looks quite similar to them People, under the same conditions, the chances of these businessmen agreeing will be greatly reduced.
Judging people by their appearance is a biological self-defense instinct. In relatively peaceful and xenophobic prosperous countries, people will reject foreigners; but in such war-torn areas, people are wary of familiar compatriots.
Even if oneself has not changed, if one goes to a different environment, the same thing that happens will be very different.
…
The place where the caravan chose to station was in a forest with relatively sparse trees to the east.
Another difference from their counterparts in Ecasta is that the merchants here do not always follow the same route. Although having to reopen the road every time will cause some trouble and time delay, it can also ensure that you will not be ambushed by wandering thieves - at least to a certain extent.
Another disadvantage of choosing to take a different route is that water problems for humans and animals are more difficult to solve. Because not every inch of land has a reliable source of water. Fortunately, the area near Aibut is a tropical rainforest, where horses and donkeys can replenish water from the succulent leaves of plants, while humans can temporarily quench their thirst by picking fruits.
Most merchants travel in groups because they are not familiar with other people. If one person goes out to collect food, there is a risk that the items will be stolen by other merchants.
Naturally, there are also dry foods that people carry. In addition to rice, people on this side also carry cereal paste made from wheat. However, because there is not much farmland available for planting and is often abandoned due to war, the supply of wheat or rice is not very sufficient. Ordinary residents usually eat large amounts of cassava in order to save money.
This kind of potato, which only grows in tropical areas, has a much worse taste and texture than potatoes. It is also toxic and needs to be soaked in water for a long time and thoroughly cooked before it can be eaten.
The cereal dough sold by local residents in Aibut and eaten by themselves is made from cassava starch mixed with other things, and their taste is not very good. But this is also valuable when there is no access to fresh food.
Food can be solved by carrying it, but the problem of drinking water cannot be completely solved even by abundant tropical fruits, but as we mentioned before. The weather in the Aibut area can change at any time.
The businessmen who stopped and stationed in this small forest set up a huge tarpaulin to tilt it and placed a huge water tank at the end. Mira didn't understand what they wanted to do at first, but after a while, the sky Lightning and thunder were followed by heavy rain. Seeing the rain hitting the tilted tarpaulin crazily, the girl reacted immediately.
"Knowledge exists in the details of life. It exists in bits and pieces..." Mira, who felt that she had learned a lot, murmured the words that the sage told her when she first met Henry. The businessmen who decided to station here watched leisurely. They seemed to already know when the rain would stop, so they chatted with the people nearby. After more than half an hour, the heavy rain did stop, so they took machetes and Ax began to search nearby for materials to set up a temporary camp at night.
Not everyone has horses and sufficient supplies like Henry and Mira. Some people with carriages can build a simple camp like them. The construction of this kind of camp is quite simple and time-saving. After all, it only takes one night. There is no need to spend too much energy decorating when you leave.
The camp, which can be built in about ten minutes, is supported by a hemp rope. The strong and tough rope is tied in a straight line between two trees and tied with slip knots at both ends. Then a tarpaulin coated with tung oil was put on top, and the grounded part was pressed with stones. In this way, a triangular space that can protect against wind and rain was established. Many people also collected moss on the ground nearby, shook it dry, and dried it next to the campfire. It can be used as a temporary bed.
But even a large tarpaulin wiped with paraffin or grease is not available to everyone. Some businessmen with more difficult conditions have to use the ax they carry with them to chop down trees to make supports, and then spend another He spent many hours collecting palm leaves that are common in tropical rainforests, tearing them in half and covering them to make a temporary waterproof roof.
Compared to ropes and tarps that can be easily stowed away. Naturally, these bulky and useless materials cannot be taken away. The temporary camp that took a long time to set up from the time of rest until the sky turned completely dark had to be abandoned after just one night.
The effect of spending money on saving energy and time was deeply engraved in Mira's memory through this comparison, especially since she had experienced such a life in the past and had to follow a bad sage. Spent the night on the tree trunk.
Come to think of it, today's life has really come a long way compared to before, Mira tied the knots of the fabric skillfully. But just as she was about to sit down and start lighting the fire, Henry stopped her.
"This is not Avenella. The poisonous insects in Krant are hundreds of times larger in size and number than there. Always remember to check whether there is any danger in the pile of dead leaves you plan to sit on." The reporter used a wooden stick to sweep away the wet fallen leaves on the ground, and then said to Mira: "Follow me."
He said, then turned around and walked out from the right side of the camp. The sound of flints hitting each other came one after another behind him, but it was not very easy to make a fire because of the humidity.
The sage led the girl to a slightly lower bush. After searching for a while, they saw sharp weeds growing on the ground.
"Are you also here to get the thorngrass?" The two of them were not the only ones who had this plan. A short and fat brown-skinned businessman next to them said with a smile to them. Henry nodded, and Mira saw the man Holding a ball of grass, he turned around and walked towards a nearby big tree.
"The commercial road we are taking is close to the east, and beyond that is a beach full of rocks, so I guess there will probably be sand dunes in the forest." The sage lowered himself and started grabbing the grass, and Mira followed suit. , but as soon as he stretched out his hand, he was stabbed with an "Ah!"
"It stings..." The hard blades of grass poked into the skin, causing extremely unbearable discomfort. But her stubborn temper still made the girl grit her teeth and continue to collect them.
"This feeling is the same for other creatures. Putting this under the temporary bed can prevent you from waking up in the middle of the night and finding something crawling on your body." Henry explained, and Mira nodded. Frowning slightly at the stinging sensation, I added it to my memory.
"Crack-" A loud sound came from where the short and fat businessman whom he had just passed by was walking. The girl subconsciously turned her head and saw him tearing off a large piece of bark from the tree with ease.
"Those are peeling trees. Their bark is soft and thick, and can make a good field bed." Henry said this, and Mira nodded again.
The skin of my bare arms was constantly irritated by sharp weeds, but I endured it and after returning to the camp, I spread these thorny weeds under the cleaned beds. More or less, the white-haired Luoan girl eliminated the uneasiness caused by coming to a strange environment.
"The teacher is right..." Henry took off another tarpaulin from his horse, folded it, and spread it on the thorngrass. He also used other things to cushion the stinging feeling. Mira's words made him turn around, and the girl continued: "Just learning how to live may be more difficult than learning how to fight."
"These two things are equally important. If you learn to fight, you may still not be able to control your own destiny, but if you can survive anywhere, everything will change a lot." She concluded to herself, while He frowned and nodded more and more like a scholar.
The sage next to him showed a smile: "You have become more refined, little Mira."
He said this, and Mira rolled her eyes at him, walked to the side and took out the iron pot and started to prepare the food.
But just as the girl was getting ready, the heavy rain started falling again. The campfires that many people had just lit were easily extinguished. White smoke rose and the merchants cursed one after another.
Only a few people who had protected the campfire well looked at each other and smiled.
Time passed peacefully, and it was the first month of the first spring after arriving in the south.
It's almost over.
…
r: Double update, second update at 16:00. (To be continued.)
