Chapter 23 Chapter 23 Visiting the Ratmen

Sitting in front of me was a fat middle-aged man, his skin was as pale as Shanda under the light, which was the reason why he hadn't seen the sun all year round.A pair of big eyes emit special light. It seems that the eyes have been mutated because the Ratmen lived underground for hundreds of years, and they have a special ability to see things in the dark. "You are Lan Hu?" He looked at me with caution in his eyes. Shan Da, who had been restlessly sitting next to the middle-aged man, said excitedly, "Dad, let me tell you, he is very powerful, he can even defeat that Phantasy Starman, as if that guy is still a big shot. "

The middle-aged man reprimanded: "When I'm talking, don't interrupt me." Although he reprimanded him, I could see clearly that his eyes were full of doting when he looked at Shanda. Shanda curled his lips and stopped talking.I smiled and said, "You knew me before?" After Shanda's gags, his father Shanhua seemed to remember that I was his son's savior, so he put away his indifferent face and said, "I heard that a different feathered person came to the feathered people recently. He is taller than ordinary Yuren, and he is also a very powerful fighter."

I said: "Didn't you have no contact with the Yuren clan for many years, how could you know about me?" He chuckled and said, "The arrival of the Fantasia Stars has made the ground even more unsafe, so we seldom communicate with the ground, but sometimes there will be some contact, but most of the Yu people don't know that's all." When he said this, he stopped talking, obviously he didn't want to tell me who he was in contact with and from whom he knew of my existence.But that's okay, I heard Yuren said that the Ratmen are a peaceful race. I smiled, and changed the topic: "I just saw that your people have opened up a spectacular living place underground."

He stood up very satisfied, and said in a proud tone: "What you have seen is only a small part of our Ratmen's underground empire. We have opened up almost one-third of the Huanping Mountains. It took us more than a dozen It took hundreds of years for thousands of people to achieve the current scale. We live here without worrying about wind and rain, war, and hunger. Compared with the outside world, this place is more suitable for us to live in." I can't help but be amazed by the astounding achievement of the ratfolk.It took hundreds of years to achieve the current Ratmen Empire. This kind of perseverance is indeed not easy. The Ratmen are an intelligent race worthy of my respect.

I said: "This is too shocking. It turns out that the rat people have made such a big spectacle in hundreds of years." He smiled and said, "It's nothing, although our ancestors, the Golden Crow Warriors, were once the most powerful fighters on this planet..." Speaking of the Golden Crow Warriors, his expression was a little gloomy, it seemed that he still remembered the glory of his ancestors from time to time. After a while, he continued: "But our rat people are born weak, and we can't even fly. On the ground, we are just the weakest intelligent race. Only underground can my people and I live carefree , so in order to survive, my ancestors and I must develop the underground world. Facts have proved that we succeeded."

He stepped down from his throne, followed by six ratmen guards. Shan Hua said: "Since you're here, let's stay here for a few more days and let Shan Da guide you around our Ratman Kingdom. Well, you saved my child, which means you saved my kingdom. Because he will be the next king of the Ratman Kingdom, and will also be the new patriarch. As long as you need our help, our Ratmen will never refuse." I hesitated for a moment, thinking whether to ask Shanhua for some weapons immediately, or ask him to help dig an underground passage to the military fortress of the fantasy star...

Shan Hua smiled and said: "You are my honored guest, just ask for your request, don't worry about our Ratmen's dishonesty. Do you want gold? I know the value of gold on the ground, I can give you several thousand catties of gold .If you don't like gold, I can give you other things. We have a lot of diamonds here, in various colors and sizes. You must know that we have the most powerful craftsmen in Houyi. Don't you like diamonds? If If you have a wife, I suggest you take some diamonds and see my crown." Shan Hua enthusiastically took off the shining crown on his head and handed it to me.

Honestly, it's an amazing piece of art, and I think on earth, it's a priceless gem that would drive anyone who loves beautiful things crazy.But this is not what I want. I handed the crown back to him, and Shan Hua looked at me appreciatively and said: "Lan Hu, you are really a picky person, but I like your attitude. This crown is a product of a hundred years ago Now, you know, our craftsmanship has far surpassed the craftsmanship of this crown thirty years ago, and I have recently considered whether to build a new crown for my son." Then he began to introduce to me the accomplishments of their skilled craftsmen in this area. Shanda shrugged his shoulders next to me and said to me helplessly: "Father has not seen a stranger for a long time, and he is not usually so wordy." .”

Shanhua led me out of the so-called palace. Because it is underground, the palace of the Ratman tribe is not large in scale and majestic, but the palace composed of more than 20 houses is very suitable for living, and the surrounding layout is also very distinctive. When we passed a yard through the corridor, I saw some animals in captivity, and I asked strangely: "What are these?" Shan Hua said: "This is the source of meat raised in our palace. Even though I am a king, I can't ask my people to pay tribute at will. We need to produce our own food." I nodded, probably these animals have the same concept as the domestic pigs on the earth.

Shan Hua said: "I see, since you don't want gold or my crown, you must want a weapon, a weapon that is sharp enough to cut the Phantasm's throat in an instant." "Ah?" Seeing Shanhua's very sure tone, I hurriedly said, "I already have a weapon." I don't want a request to be wasted like this, a sharp weapon?Is there anything sharper than the "Fish Sealing Sword"? Shan Hua laughed and said: "No, no, you must first see the weapons made by our Ratmen before you know what is sharp. Do you think other intelligent races can create weapons that surpass our Ratmen? That is Absolutely impossible."

Shanhua was obviously very confident in the Ratmen's weapon-making skills. He gestured, and one of the guards behind him took off his long sword and handed it over. As soon as I got this sword in my hand, I could feel that it was obviously carefully crafted, not only beautiful but also extremely lethal.I said, "It was made by Blue Star Iron." Shan Hua said unexpectedly: "Good eyesight, he really is a qualified fighter." "Huh?" I don't understand what this has in common with a qualified fighter. Shan Hua explained: "Weapons are the life of a warrior. A qualified warrior must not only be proficient in martial arts, but also know his own weapons." I asked curiously, "Do you want to know the raw materials of the weapon, the process of making it, and related crafts?" Shan Hua waved his hands and said: "That's all inferior. The ultimate meaning of a soldier's understanding of weapons is to cultivate feelings with weapons. Until the soldiers and weapons are connected with each other, they will have incomparable confidence in their hands, even if they are powerful. enemies will not be afraid." I looked at him again in surprise, and I was immediately awed by these words, which made me feel that it is necessary to get to know the patriarch of the rat people again. Shan Hua smiled triumphantly and said: "There is nothing to be surprised about. Before I became the Ratman King, I was a skilled craftsman. This is just a little bit of my experience when I was a craftsman. It is also the common feeling of many old craftsmen. .” I have always believed that life experience is our most important wealth. I spread my five fingers and stroked the blade of the long sword, feeling the natural texture of the blade and some artificial patterns.The blade is curved and curved, thin and sharp, but due to the toughness of the blue star iron, the blade is thin but not easy to break.The sword's edge is thin and sharp, and one can vaguely feel the coldness and the pressure brought by the sharpness. The thickest part of the sword body is inlaid with incomparably hard diamonds. I smiled lightly, the sword is a weapon, and there is no need to add flashy things like diamonds.Such a sword can only be used as a saber in ceremonies, and cannot be used to fight against the enemy. But I have to say that apart from the diamonds inlaid on it and some gold thread on the hilt, everything else is suitable for combat.Xiao Tie's short sword is too rough in comparison, if that short sword was mine, I would not take it out, it's too shameful. I randomly input a dark energy into the body of the sword, and the long sword suddenly shone like a new life. The faint blue light suddenly became dazzling after the reflection of the diamond on the sword body, but I got used to it immediately after a moment. It seems that the diamond on the sword body is not as simple as I thought, and the position of the diamond on the sword body is also very particular. I can even feel that when the dark energy flows through the sword body, several positions of the diamond inlaid act as the acupuncture points of the human body. The same effect, greatly excited the dark energy. "Good sword!" I waved it casually, and the long sword seemed to blend into the space. The special setting of the sword body made the long sword only suffer from minimal air resistance, so the speed was extremely fast, and there was almost no sound. I sighed in admiration and handed the sword back to Shanhua, and the sword light disappeared again. Shan Hua's chubby fingers grabbed the long sword and swung it a few times, clumsily.He shook his head and gave the sword to the guard. It was only then that I realized that everyone was looking at the sword with fascination. It seemed that a sword made of Blue Star Iron had never been found to be able to release such a charming light. Shan Hua sighed and said, "Today I finally saw the brilliance of the Blue Star Iron Sword." Hearing his tone as if he had settled his mind, Shan Hua said to me: "I don't know how many generations ago, our Ratmen and your Feathermen can no longer cultivate energy, so we It is getting weaker and weaker, and was almost wiped out a few times. Although we are good at forging various weapons and tools, we only know from the records of the clan's classics that once the energy of the warrior is stimulated by the Blue Star Iron Sword, it will release amazing power. Power. Today I finally have the opportunity to see it with my own eyes, and it’s not in vain.” I said: "A long, long time ago, did the Blue Star Iron Sword exist?" Shan Hua said: "Of course, as early as the era of the Golden Crow Warrior, there already existed the Blue Star Iron Sword. The Blue Star Iron is a specialty of our planet, very precious and rare. The Golden Crow Warrior is not only a powerful fighter, but also a Qualified weapon makers are proficient in making various weapons. The current craftsmanship of our Ratmen has been passed down from that era, and it has been transformed from generation to generation to develop to the present level." I hesitated and asked: "Are you just good at making such cold weapons?" Shan Hua shouted: "Who said that? Don't you know that we Ratmen exist in the Royal Academy of Sciences of the Houyi Royal Family? Without us, they can't build warships, and without us, they can't build nuclear magnetic guns! The Phantasy Stars also captured many of our clansmen to help them develop modern weapons, so my clansmen and I hid underground and did not let anyone find us." Shan Hua took a breath, and continued: "Don't think that we live underground, you think we are an ignorant race!" I blushed immediately, and expressed my apology to the furious Ratmen clan leader, and Shan Hua returned to normal. Not long after, we came to the place where the patriarch of the ratmen usually eats. Shanhua said: "I usually eat very simple, but today we have guests, so we have to eat more." As a guest, I can't express my opinions randomly, so I can only listen to Shanda telling me anecdotes about the Ratman tribe , while waiting to eat. More than a dozen dishes were delivered in a short time. Looking at the attractive aroma of the dishes, I think the Ratmen are doing well underground. Who said that they lack food and can't eat enough?It is definitely a rumor. Shanda acted as a narrator on the side to explain each dish to me. These dishes are very special, and each dish is taken from underground animals or plants, including many snakes.There is a snake-based dish, which is said to be the smallest snake in the world, only the length of a thumb, two to three centimeters. The gray skin is like an earthworm, and the head cannot be seen, and the tail is unknown, but the meat is very delicious. Shanda smiled and told me that almost every ratman household now has some of these snakes, which feed on some microorganisms, and these snakes are not poisonous and pose no threat to the ratmen.Only when the snake sticks out its tongue can you know where its head is. After the meal was finished in a pleasant atmosphere, someone brought a book to Shan Hua. Shan Hua opened it to a certain page, pointed it out to me, and said solemnly: "Look, this is what the ancestors said about the Blue Star Iron Sword. narration, followed by a picture." The guard then brought the book to me. This is a very large and heavy book, which can only be held with both hands, and the pages are yellowed. From this, it can be inferred that the book is very old. I don't know what kind of process this book was made of, but it can be preserved so well. , and the handwriting and pictures on the scroll are still clear. I looked at the page that Shanhua opened, and it described the manufacturing method of the Blue Star Iron Sword. The content was very detailed, from the selection of materials to the completion of refining, every step was described in detail.On the other page, a sample of the Blue Star Iron Sword was successfully produced with pigments. The weight, size, and the shimmering blue light that can be released after inputting energy are clearly written. This book does not seem to be an ordinary book, I raised my head and looked at Shan Hua suspiciously. Shan Hua said: "This is the "Secret Code of Refining Artifacts" handed down by our ancestors. Originally there were only six volumes, but after so many years of ancestors' additions, there are now twelve volumes. Each volume is the hard work of our ancestors. So it's so precious." I thought to myself, no wonder Shanhua was so loud before, saying that without the Ratmen, the Houyixing Royal Family would not even be able to build a battleship. It turns out that these twelve "Secrets of Artifact Refining" are the foundation.I said, "Can all Ratmen learn these twelve secret books?" Shan Hua laughed and said: "Of course not. Our clever ancestors divided eight of the twelve "Secret Artifacts of Refining" into eight levels and passed them on to the clansmen. Only after completing eight levels of study can we get the opportunity to learn the following four secret books. The wisdom of our ancestors for thousands of years cannot be fully mastered by one person, so the refining tools have been refined into more than one hundred different books in our clan. career." I nodded. These twelve secret tomes are the crystallization of the wisdom of the rat people for thousands of years. Compared with the Ratmen, I think the Feathermen are really down and out.I believe that the earliest six secret books also belonged to the Yuren tribe, but unfortunately, the technology of refining weapons has gradually disappeared in the long inheritance of the Yuren tribe. I sighed, flipping through the secret tome in my hand, and suddenly stopped on one page, because I saw that the page recorded how to forge a legendary weapon, which was very similar to the casting method of the Excalibur.I carefully compared it with the casting method of the Excalibur in my memory, and sure enough, there are surprisingly similarities in the main links. When I was watching the description of this weapon next to me, Shan Hua said: "What you are looking at is the 'Golden Crow Excalibur', which is said to be the most powerful weapon of the Golden Crow warrior among our ancestors. It is very powerful and invincible, even if it is Even the strongest warships can't stop the blow of the 'Golden Crow Excalibur'." "Golden Crow Excalibur." I let out a sigh of relief, it really is a top-notch Excalibur. Shan Hua said: "If there is any wish I want to realize before I die, it is to forge a 'Golden Crow Excalibur' with my own hands, but to create a 'Golden Crow Excalibur' not only requires a large amount of rare raw materials, but also requires skilled The skill of the "Golden Crow Excalibur", combined with the right time, location, and more importantly, luck. The refining process of the "Golden Crow Excalibur" is very complicated, and it requires the cooperation of more than a dozen people to refine it, but the "Golden Crow Excalibur" requires every link It is very strict, as long as there is a slight deviation, all the efforts will be in vain." I said, "It sounds difficult to do." Shan Hua said: "It's not only difficult to do, it's simply impossible. Our genealogy records that there are as many as ten sword masters who died because of refining the 'Golden Crow Excalibur'." I was surprised and said: "Smelting swords can also kill people?" Shan Hua sighed: "Even if these people die, although they have regrets, they should be satisfied. Poor sword masters can't die even if they want to." I couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat. There are still people who have such thoughts. I am really obsessed with practicing swords. Shan Hua said: "Refining the 'Golden Crow Excalibur' requires all of one's energy. He must go all out and put all his heart and soul into refining the 'Golden Crow Excalibur' to be successful. However, often The final result is that the 'Golden Crow Excalibur' has not yet been refined, and the sword refiners have exhausted their efforts and are unable to complete the rest, some died on the spot spurting blood, and some died in depression." I nodded my head in sympathy. Shan Hua said: "Even if the refinement is successful and the sword master is not exhausted, the sword master will still die at the last step. A 'Golden Crow Excalibur' has gathered all the painstaking efforts of the sword master, and it can even be regarded as a sword refiner. The incarnation of the master, so once the 'Golden Crow Excalibur' is refined, the sword master will use his own death to endow the 'Golden Crow Excalibur' with life." I recalled the method of making the divine sword that I saw in the cave of Shanshenzi. It didn't seem to mention that one death should be used to endow the divine sword with life, but it was mentioned that the divine sword must be endowed with aura in order to achieve the ultimate powerful divine sword. I was shocked and sighed authentically: "Sacrificing my own life to refine the 'Golden Crow Excalibur', it doesn't matter if I don't refine it." Shan Hua said with a heavy voice: "'Golden Crow Excalibur' is the dream of all our people." I said, "Then have you ever successfully refined it?" Shan Hua sighed: "It is recorded in the genealogy that our earliest ancestors had successfully refined the 'Golden Crow Excalibur', and until now, no one has successfully refined it." The earliest ancestor was thousands of years ago. In other words, whether there is a "Golden Crow Excalibur" is an untestable record. It can be regarded as a legend, but it may not be true. I shrugged my shoulders and said, "With the 'Golden Crow Excalibur', is there a 'Golden Crow Battle Armor'?" Shan Hua flipped through the "Secret Code of Refining Weapons" and said: "Of course there is a 'Golden Crow Armor', but the whole set of 'Golden Crow Armor' weighs hundreds of catties, and it is no longer suitable for the current battle." After chatting for a while, I declined Shanhua's kind invitation and left the Ratmen tribe. Of course, I also brought some personal gifts from the Ratmen tribe leader, a simple and sharp blue star iron sword, and some exquisite diamonds... In front of me, Shanda asked his father to go to Xiongying Town to learn martial arts with me, but Shanhua refused without hesitation.In this war age, it was much safer to stay underground, and he hoped that his son would inherit his forging skills rather than become a second-rate fighter. The physical fitness of the Ratmen meant that Shanda could only be a second-rate or third-rate fighter at best. Shanda was very sad because of his father's resolute refusal, but he could only accept this fact.But Shanhua promised to send some ratmen to help us dig the tunnel. So I left with Shanhua's gift and the friendship of the rat people.I didn't go back to Eagle Town right away, but first went to the valley where I hid the battleship. The development of the matter is beyond my expectation, so I will contact Longyuan immediately to revise our plan. Enter the battleship and immediately establish communication with Renyan City. It is already late at night. I am afraid that Long Yuan and his wife are asleep. I hope someone is waiting in the command room. After about a few minutes on Earth, the communication channel was successfully established. I immediately asked the person waiting in the command room to inform Long Yuan, and after a while, Long Yuan rushed in, and at a glance, he was awakened from a sleep, his eyes were dim. I quickly gave an overview of what happened in the past few days. Long Yuan became more energetic as he listened. With your support, we will be able to capture the military fortress of the Phantasmal Starmen at the lowest cost. The best thing is that the enemy will never think that you, a fake feathered man, will be their enemy. It is best to try to let the Ratmen help us dig An underground passage leading to the fantasy star military fortress, I promised them that as long as I am here, I will protect them for one day." I know this is an excellent opportunity, but whether I can capture the military fortress of the Phantasy Stars also depends on whether I can gain the trust of the other commander and find out their reality.If we can achieve our wish, we will be able to defeat the enemy internally and externally, and seize the military fortress. I feel again that there is a long way to go.