Chapter 20: The Hungry Race (Part 1)

  A few days later, Liu Yu and Feite, along with Ailina, saw off Bernan and Victor. Watching the reluctant parting of Ailina and Victor, Liu Yu's expression remained calm on the surface, but in his heart, he couldn't help but feel a little envious. The emotions from his past life had naturally dissipated with his rebirth, and indulging in them again would only add to the sadness.

  As for the women around him, Liu Yu didn't dare to have any interest, and last time Princess Naya even joked that after he came of age, she would choose a female vampire of the same age for him to get engaged.

  This scared Liu Yu so much that he was thinking of how to escape from the Fire Fortress, after all, he always remembered his identity as a descendant of Yan and Huang, the aesthetic view of the East, or human aesthetics made him unable to accept these women with fiery red or brown, golden hair.

  He thought that if he were to marry someone, he would have to spend the wedding night with her, and a chill ran down Liu Yu's spine. So, in the camp, apart from Ailina, he kept his distance from all the other women.

  ...........

  After Benan left, everything returned to normal. However, Liu Yue, inspired by the departure test, added another item to his training - training strength, in addition to practicing Dou Qi magic.

  He specially found Tolemmy and asked about the weight of the stone pillars last time, which were 200 bute, 400 bute, 800 bute, and 1600 bute from low to high. Butte is one of the basic units used by the beast tribe to measure weight, Liu Yu estimated that its weight was roughly the same as the market catty in the previous life.

  It's impossible to train strength without equipment, so Liu Yu, Ivan and Fitte, the three little Bimon, found some suitable stones from the mountain to train with, as their strength was limited, these stones weighed around 100 steps.

  After the Blood Refining, the camp reassigned accommodations for all the little Bimons, changing from small tents to small wooden houses that one person could live in. Because Liu Yu was the most enthusiastic about this voluntary training of strength, these stones naturally ended up being placed in front of his wooden house.

  A few hundred catties of heavy stones, about the size of a water bucket, Liu Yu thought that if there were several stonemasons, these stones could be carved into stone lions and other things, which not only can be used for training but also can ward off evil spirits. Unfortunately, there are no stonemasons in the camp, and even if they go to Di Huo Fortress to find one, it's all in vain.

  The boulders were in place, and Liu Yu began to arrange them. Over a hundred pounds, they weighed more than Liu Yu himself, but with great effort, he was still able to lift one of the stones and walk around his doorway for half a circle.

  This also made Liu Yu realize that his physical strength was already a level higher than that of ordinary humans. If he were to go back to when he was 14 years old, there's no way he could have lifted over 100 kilograms and walked half a circle with it on his head. Moreover, he had heard that after Bimon grew up, its strength would increase greatly, and if he were to undergo specialized training, this physical strength alone would be a powerful combat force.

  ................

  One autumn rain after another, the Dusas Mountains welcomed a bountiful harvest. The Bloodstone Camp had been reinforced with ratfolk troops drawn from the eastern reaches of the kingdom in the spring and early summer, following the end of the war with Farhod.

  These mouse people are scattered around the camp with their families, expanding the area of the camp several times. Under their diligent cultivation, this barren and desolate land has its first harvest year.

  Liu Yu and the others didn't need to go cultivate the land like the Mongolians, but entering the forest to kill magical beasts and man-eating demons became a task for all of them in order to create good conditions for opening up the land. As a result, the frequency of entering the forest also increased, and the number of injured Mongolians continued to rise. Fortunately, Ptolemy once again took action and killed off a few six-tier magical beasts, reducing many of their life-threatening threats.

  More than 10,000 mouse people were busy for nearly a month and finally finished the autumn harvest. The land on the Cordillera Plateau is generally poor, and the frequent blizzards that often occur in winter will destroy those still growing grain crops, so the beastman kingdom's land can only be harvested once a year.

  Next, Tolomei organized two thousand stronger mouse people as a lieutenant and loaded the surplus grain harvested this year with horses to be sent to places in the kingdom where food was needed. Liu Yu and others were also summoned to follow along.

  This time, these half-grown youngsters played the role of guards, and any uncooperative magical beasts along the way were dealt with by them. After more than a month of traveling, the team arrived outside the Earthfire Castle, where Ptolemy ordered that the food be divided into two halves: one small half was sent into the city with Marlan leading the way to hand it over, and the other larger half of the food was brought by him to continue advancing eastward, with Liu Yu and these "probationary warriors" following him.

  This caused a stir within the team, as some of them thought they could go home once more, but Tolemmy didn't give them that chance.

  "What are we going to do?" The team's rear guard, Liu Yu and Tuo Le Mi, walked shoulder to shoulder, facing the majestic silhouette of the gradually disappearing Di Huo Fortress walls behind them.

  "You're not wondering why I didn't let you have a drink with me, are you? Come and see." Ptolemy said calmly.

  "Oh, let me see what's going on here. You're taking charge of everyone, and this is something that Marlan usually does. Why are you personally coming? Commander Du has never been so diligent."

  "Marlan's rank is not enough, this time it has always been led by the captain. Moreover, it is also the kingdom's rule, you don't need to think about what, you don't need to ask what, when you arrive, you will naturally understand." Ptolemy rarely had a gloomy face, without explaining anything, he walked towards the front of the team to find his own fifth-order wolf.

  "Uh,...... okay!" Liu Yu nodded with a smile, knowing that this fatty was never ambiguous in official matters. Since the other party said it was an official matter, it should be about 80-90% true. However, when Liu Yu raised his eyes to look forward again, his gaze unconsciously ignored the hundreds of young men and the large fleet in front of him. At this moment, his eyes only had the vast grayish-blue highland in front and the sun at the horizon.

  It's been almost ten years since his rebirth. He had always headed west, but now he finally passed the Fire Fortress and went east. Although he knew that place was not his hometown, he still remembered many things that were about to be forgotten.

  "I'm coming for the East!"

  .............

  Dozens of days later, on an afternoon, a mouse tribe under the rule of the Mongols welcomed a batch of unexpected guests.

  "Dalri Chief, I'm bothering you again." In the village entrance composed of thousands of thatched cottages of varying sizes, Torimi bowed his head and held the hand of a short, elderly mouse-like person, laughing.

  At this time, behind Ptolemy was a large army of several hundred young men, including Liu Yu, Feite, Yifan and others, as well as thousands of mice transporting grain, and hundreds of simple horse-drawn carts formed this army.

  "It's not a bother, it's not a bother, Commander Tollemi. Every time you come, you bring food to our tribe and save the lives of our people. How can that be a disturbance?" The old mouse-man who spoke to Tollemi was extremely respectful, and his eyes shone with genuine gratitude. Behind him stood a large crowd of mouse-people who had just arrived from all directions in the village.

  "Alas! I never thought that the vassal tribes of our kingdom would be living in such a state!" Liu Yu stood at the front of the troops, looking at these mouse people who came to welcome them, and his heart was not pleasant.

  Apart from the leader, Old Mouse, who wore a coarse linen garment that barely covered his body, the other mouse people only had a few pieces of animal hide to cover themselves and stood at the village entrance with their bodies exposed. Adding to this, the mouse people were generally short and thin, about 1.5 meters tall, and from a distance, they looked like a group of beggars with mouse heads.

  It's already early winter, and it's very cold on the plateau. Just a few days ago, there was a snowfall, and there is still a thin layer of snow on the ground. Many animals are starting to hibernate to avoid the severe cold.

  But these half-naked rat people shivered in the cold wind, their dull hair, sunken faces and skin-covered skeletons were all obvious signs of malnutrition.

  "Alas, this is all I can do, but the Desa Mountains have also produced grain this year. The grain I brought back is more than usual, so your situation should be a bit better." Tollemi said with a sigh of helplessness and some excitement after glancing at the miserable state of the other mouse people behind the old mouse man.

  "Ah!" Hearing that this year's harvest is more than last year, the mouse man's eyes widened and let out a soft cry at the same time, his small hands turned over and tightly grasped Tolemia.

  "General, between you and me, I won't say more than necessary. I know all the words you've spoken for our tribe in front of His Majesty and the elder council over the years, and the things you've done. These kindnesses, neither I nor the entire tribe will ever forget." The old mouse paused for a moment before speaking out his heartfelt thanks, but before he could finish, a circle of ripples had already appeared in his eyes.

  "Alas! Elder brother, I can bring so much grain is all thanks to His Majesty's benevolence towards you, I just did what I should do. Alright, let's not talk about this anymore, let them hurry up and move the grain." Towards the mouse people's gratitude, Ptolemy was somewhat helpless, shaking his head and letting out a soft sigh, with an expression of not wanting to say anything more on this matter, clearly he was not satisfied with what he had done.

  "Alright, alright!" The tearfully grateful old mouse-man, who was somewhat frail and stooped, waved his hand to signal the mice behind him to move the grain that Liu Yu and the others had transported, while Tolemy also instructed the mice and young Bimons in the team to go help.

  ............

  A moment later, Liu Yu, dressed in a black robe, walked into the mouse village with a large package of grain, accompanied by several companions and several mouse people.

  "Hmm...Hmm..." Just as they entered the village, the sound of children's wailing cries pierced Liu Yu's ears. Liu Yu looked around and saw that the roadsides were lined with simple and dilapidated thatched cottages. The floors inside were generally covered with straw mats, and almost every room had several emaciated people lying on them.