In Great Stone City, there was a special area set aside for the foreign recruiters to live in. In a medium-sized courtyard, Old Bai crouched in the center and carefully dropped a few drops of Black Ring Snake venom into a large stone bowl.
The bowl had a diameter of two feet and was already filled with half a bowl of pale blue translucent liquid.
As soon as a few drops of viscous Black Ring Snake venom fell into it, the pale blue liquid began to emit small bubbles, accompanied by a faint popping sound.
Old Bai somersaulted backwards in place and rolled a few tens of meters away, crashing into a room.
Several rat-like people quickly closed the door and sealed the gap with wet fur to make it airtight.
The pale blue liquid in the stone bowl quickly turned dark, then suddenly boiled. A large amount of liquid splashed, with some falling on the ground outside the bowl. Faint black smoke rose and blended into the air.
In the distance, a cold wind blew from several large passageways.
As the strong wind passed through Great Stone City and this courtyard, the faint black smoke, which was no longer visible to the naked eye, was blown away without a trace.
After a quarter of an hour, the closed door quietly opened. Old Bai cautiously poked his head out through the gap, then eagerly opened the door.
With hands behind his back, he walked towards the stone bowl, shaking and swaying. As he walked, he smiled at the dozen or so juniors following him and said, "Actually, when it comes to preparing poison, boldness and attention to detail are important, but the most important thing is to remain calm in the face of major events..."
Before he finished speaking, a little water bubble burst in the stone bowl, making a crisp popping sound.
Old Bai and the dozen or so rat-like juniors turned around and ran. They tumbled and scrambled into the room and slammed the door shut.
After another quarter of an hour, Old Bai cautiously walked out with the juniors, who were all trembling with fear.
Standing far away, he gazed at the stone bowl for a while before patting his chest and laughing. He turned around and solemnly lectured the juniors, saying, "When traveling the world, safety comes first... and things like face... heh, they're not important."
The group of rat-like juniors looked at Old Bai with admiration and nodded vigorously.
Old Bai smiled with satisfaction. He led the group to the side of the stone bowl and carefully examined the remaining black liquid, nodding in satisfaction. "Hmm, it's a success. The quality is not bad... it's almost on par with 'Rotten Marrow,' which your grandpa, my grandpa, concocted."
As he spoke, Old Bai narrowed his eyes.
He looked at the juniors next to him and reached out to pat the head of one of the young and strong rat-like people.
"Lao Jiu, remember the order in which your old man just put in the various materials and the approximate dosage... This time, your old man will handle the mixing, and the next time, it will be you... If you die, then your old man will go...old, eleventh, twelfth... one by one..."
Old Bai's heart was filled with extreme anguish and helplessness, but also a sense of detached understanding of the world.
Rat-like people were weak, and if a rat-like tribe wanted to survive, it must have a skill for self-preservation. The venomous "Rotten Marrow" passed down from Old Bai's rat-like tribe was a highly toxic method.
Even a powerful expert in the Heavy Tower Realm, if their flesh was scratched even a little, it would rot through their bones, causing the entire body to decompose and die in excruciating pain.
However... mixing "Rotten Marrow" was an extremely dangerous task. Even someone like Old Bai, with his level of experience, would only succeed once or twice out of ten attempts, let alone these rookies who had never mixed it before.
There was a high possibility that Lao Jiu would be poisoned while mixing it.
It was very likely that his several younger brothers, who were Old Bai's grandchildren, would die one after another.
But... damn it all...
What did it matter if a few sons died? There were so many cubs in the tribe who needed to survive.
Old Bai carefully picked up the stone bowl and led the group of juniors into a small building.
Sneaky rat-like people entered the small courtyard one after another, bringing bags upon bags of shoddy forged weapons, as well as daggers and the like.
Old Bai guided the dozen or so sons as they carefully coated these weapons with the venom of the "Rotten Marrow." It was essential for a rat-like tribe's survival to ensure that these weapons had sufficient toxicity while preventing the waste of the venom.
Old Bai let out a long sigh.
There was no other way. The materials for mixing "Rotten Marrow" were not easy to collect. To hunt down a Black Ring Snake, several dozen tribe members might need to die. Therefore, the process of mixing "Rotten Marrow" required a great deal of time and effort, and Old Bai himself had to take considerable risks.
Everything had to be used sparingly... everything had to be used sparingly...
Although this bowl of venom seemed small, it contained the lives of over two hundred tribe members.
Even though rat-like people had a strong reproductive capacity, such losses were enough to cause Old Bai heartache... it had to be used sparingly.
"If our tribe could produce a true alchemist, that would be wonderful." While urging his sons to poison the weapons, Old Bai sighed softly, "Legend has it that alchemists never fail when it comes to concocting medicines, and their medicinal properties are maximized."
"If we had a true alchemist..." Old Bai looked at his sons busying themselves and whispered, "Your older brothers... sigh..."
With his hands behind his back, Old Bai paced anxiously in the room.
Mixing "Rotten Marrow" was an unavoidable task, even though it was risky.
The rat-like people naturally heard unfavorable rumors about Great Stone City from various sources over the past two days. It seemed that something bad was about to happen within the Stone Family.
They had to ensure their children had the ability to protect themselves.
"Let's not move unless absolutely necessary... It's rare to find such a generous host who feeds us meat every day... for the cubs to eat." Old Bai sighed deeply. "To ensure our cubs can eat meat every day... I'm willing to give my life."
Smacking his lips, Old Bai took out a small piece of jerky from his sleeve and chewed on the slightly rancid meat, nodding with satisfaction.
"Ah, Xiaotiezi actually went to that ghostly place... and Elder Shi Gui brought people there too... Xiaotiezi, Xiaotiezi... take care not to get into trouble. This old man doesn't often find a little guy who isn't a rat cub easy on the eyes."
"Hei Pi, Du Yan'er, Tie Ba Ba, those guys aren't anything good... only you, this old man finds you pleasant to the eye."
Muttering to himself, Old Bai walked around the room before stomping his foot suddenly.
He sighed at a shadowy mass in the corner of the room, shaking his head. "Go, go, a few brats, keep an eye on the Nether Demon Mine outside... find out what's going on over there... If you happen to meet Xiaotiezi, if he's still alive, lend him a hand... help him..."
With his hands spread open, Old Bai sighed helplessly. "We rat-like people have a hard life... this is all we're capable of, this is all we're capable of..."
Looking up at the ceiling, Old Bai muttered, "Ah, the legends left by our ancestors... they wouldn't deceive us grandchildren, right? Our rat-like ancestors once lived on a star?"
"Stars? Hanging in the sky, shining stars? Are they real?"
"Extinctive Rats... our rat-like ancestors must have experienced that!"
Old Bai's face wrinkled with a smile, showing a lingering expression. He took out an extremely small piece of rancid jerky from his sleeve and chewed it slowly.
Just now, that shadow seemed to have become a bit lighter, and there seemed to be dozens fewer tiny poisoned daggers and assorted weapons that had already been soaked sitting on the table.
"It would be great to have an alchemist... if each of your children could have 'Rotten Marrow' soaked on their claws... tsk, tsk." Old Bai sighed and then sighed heavily again.
"Bang~~~!"
The mellow sound of a copper bell spread throughout Great Stone City.
The rat-like people who were busy in the room simultaneously pricked up their ears and looked around vigilantly.
Just now, Lao Jiu, who had just been cautioned by Old Bai, asked nervously, "Did the children steal something again? Are they going to lock us in again?"
Another rat-like person widened his eyes. "Did they steal food or gold coins? Tsk, I've warned them not to do business on Stone Family's territory..."
Another rat-like person suddenly picked up a poisoned dagger and anxiously shouted at Old Bai, "Grandpa, are they here to catch us? Hurry, let's get out of here! Grandson will bring the brothers and provide cover from behind, grandpa and uncles can go first..."
Old Bai clenched his teeth and slapped each of the nervous cubs behind him, one after another. "Look at you, lacking courage... ah? Is it necessarily because they rang the alarm that they're here to catch us? Show a little courage, okay?"
Old Bai abruptly opened the door and anxiously looked outside. "However, could it be that the children have done something again? Is it really necessary to make such a fuss? Is it really necessary to make such a fuss?"
Heavy footsteps sounded, and more than a dozen heavily armored warriors burst into the courtyard.
Old Bai shouted, and with lightning speed, he fastened sharp poisonous iron needles onto his claws, but the leading warrior had already bellowed, "Is Senior White here? How many young and strong can you spare? Take your tribe and go to the armory... prepare for battle!"
Old Bai blinked desperately, and a group of juniors stood in a neat row behind him, doing their best to shield the bowl of venom and miscellaneous items on the table. The rat-like people grinned and made an innocent expression, as if they were harmless.
"Prepare for battle... who will we be fighting?" Old Bai's voice trembled. "The Church of Longevity? No way! Are we really going to oppose them? They're a group of monsters..."
As the rat-like people of the Stone Family, Old Bai naturally heard about the sinister and terrifying aspects of the Church of Longevity from various sources.
"Cleaning up the traitors." The leader of the warriors who had entered the courtyard stared at Old Bai with a contorted expression.
The half-open door was suddenly pushed wide open, and a head of Old Bai poked out through the gap, appearing sneaky and cautious. The warriors really wanted to just kick him in the face at that expression.
He really wanted to beat him up for his sneaky looks and beady eyes!
"Cleaning up the traitors... this was an order issued by Lord Six!" The leader of the warriors turned around and walked towards the outside of the courtyard. "Although you lot are useless rat scum, aren't you hiding behind, shooting arrows from the back? Hurry up and go to the armory... take all the young and strong under your command."
Old Bai's eyes suddenly lit up.
The eyes of his group of juniors also suddenly gleamed.
"Go to the armory and get the crossbows and arrows... and it's free, right?" shouted one of Old Bai's sons, sticking his head out from under Old Bai's armpit, loudly asking the warriors who had walked out of the courtyard.
The bodies of more than a dozen warriors shook, and they turned back with an expression of confusion, glancing deeply at Old Bai. Old Bai hurriedly grinned, revealing two shiny incisors.
"Of course... it's free." The leader of the warriors grinned. "As long as you remain loyal to Lord Six... what kind of good things can't you get?"
"It's free, huh?" Old Bai laughed.
"It's free!" Old Bai's group of sons laughed.
Within the time it took to brew a cup of tea, over two thousand rat-like people surged into Great Stone City and rushed towards the armory, chattering and running.
The previously chaotic armory suddenly became a scene of bustling activity. Those who had entered Great Stone City with external recruitment, such as Hei Pi, Du Yan'er, Tie Ba Ba, and others, had already led their tribes and subordinates, choosing their favored weapons from the armory.
A pile of armor was stacked in the warehouse, a pile of weapons neatly arranged on the shelves.
The weapons stored in the armory of Great Stone City were not all top-quality, but at least they were all second-grade or above.
Armor made of lizard skin, heavy armor made of refined iron, boots of various types of leather, as well as various swords, long spears, longbows, crossbows, short knives, and daggers, and so on.
The weapons stored in the armory of Great Stone City were enough to arm a military force of five thousand soldiers.
Although Stone Second had recruited so many people, the armory of Great Stone City was also sufficient to arm everyone to the teeth.
Old Bai, overjoyed, led all his agile and lively children to run over, gleefully rushing into the armory.
The already bustling armory became even more filled with the chaos of over two thousand rat-like people who were almost three feet tall. Those who had never seen such a scene could never imagine what it was like to have over two thousand rat-like people running amok.
It was truly spectacular!
"It's a pity we don't have armor specifically made for rat cubs... how come there's no armor specially made for them?" Old Bai stood at the door of the armory and looked at the armor that was too big for rat-like people, sighing helplessly.
Chaotic footsteps came closer, and a dozen burly bull-like warriors surrounded a brawny young man as they rushed over.
The young man held a whip and lashed at the wolf-like warriors who were guarding the armory entrance, "Rebelling? You wanna rebel? Who let you lowly wild people come here?"
"Rebelling? Have you started a rebellion? What do you want to do? Who let you come here?" A deep roar suddenly sounded from the side.
A Dwarf suddenly appeared from somewhere and swung his axe at the young man. Blood splattered, and the young man's body was split in half by the axe.
(This chapter is complete)