The Dusk Oil Swamp is filled with boiling steam and the pungent smell of asphalt all year round. This oil swamp in the land of strife was formed after a certain disaster. The original Dusk Oil Field was rich in oil and igneous crystallized black ore, gnomes and goblins.
We have been drilling for oil and mining in this area for nearly a thousand years. Years of drilling and mining have gradually transformed the geology of this land.
There was a tendency to collapse, so the goblin consortium in the Western Continent came up with a bad idea. Pour asphalt into the dry oil wells to support the collapsed geology. Then a large number of asphalt factories were opened here, but the oil wells and the burning element crystallized black
The ore mining work did not stop, but the disaster finally occurred during a rare thunderstorm.
The geology collapsed slightly under the erosion of heavy rains, and subsequent thunderstorms ignited the combustible substances rich in the underground. The phlogiston crystals can burn without oxygen. However, because these black ores are still buried deep underground, the combustion contact surface is limited.
So it didn't cause a big explosion, but the slow burn didn't
The heat released continuously is enough to melt the asphalt. As the terrain collapses, rainwater begins to gather here to form lakes, and oil continues to emerge from the ground, and is mixed with the melted asphalt, plus the burning matter in the ground.
The crystals keep baking, and this area really couldn't get any worse.
Of course, this is terrible from a human perspective. For some races, this place is simply paradise...for example, the sludge giant tribe.
Ulukan was comfortably soaking in the steaming mire of filthy oil. The highest among the giants was undoubtedly the Titan. Because he carried a trace of the blood of the Titan, although Ulukan was not yet an adult, he was among the sludge giants.
He has a very high status in the tribe, and the bloodline ability he activates is a bit different from that of ordinary sludge giants, with a faint aura of thunder.
The bubbles in the oil mire rolled a few times, and a blue-black adult sludge giant emerged from the rolling oil slurry. He breathed a comfortable sigh and said: "Little Urukan, there are no more damn lizard people."
Harassment, life is really pleasant during this period.”
Apart from these sludge giants, the only creatures that are interested in the Dusk Oil Swamp are the swamp lizardmen. For many years, the sludge giant tribe has been powerless in the face of endless harassment from the lizardmen. Those agile little creatures let their bulky bodies play their best.
Not as powerful as it should be, but some time ago
When those lizardmen launched a large-scale attack on the Dusk Oil Swamp, they encountered a big trouble. When they attacked the giant tribe, they wanted to plot something against a young human girl who settled on the edge of the oil swamp. The girl had always been at peace with the sludge giants.
Ulukan even wanted to remind her at that time.
But before the lizardmen could surround them, a terrifying figure sprang out from the oil swamp, spitting out a pale storm with milky gray turbid venom that swept away all the lizardmen in front of him in just a few strokes.
Under the double blow of the whirlwind and poison, not even a scrap of the lizardmen was left. Then, under the horrified eyes of the defending sludge giants, the figure picked up the human girl and jumped away like a toad.
A few days later, the furious lizard-men tribe gathered all their troops and were about to fight the mud giants to the death. The endless war had just begun. Another human came over. After checking the signs of the battle around him,
He just vented his anger and slaughtered everyone he could see.
Fortunately, the giants dived deep into the quagmire to avoid the man's sight and escaped. However, the attacking lizard men suffered heavy losses. Except for those who fled in all directions, the rest were turned into mud, forever.
The earth became part of the Dusk Oil Swamp...
"Forget about the lizard men, Quaro, the power of those two humans makes me sweat all over just thinking about it now." Urukan rolled over and got up and said, "Especially the later one... But the recent flight
What happened to those big birds that came..."
"I don't know, but those birds definitely won't stay in the oil swamp anyway." Quaro rinsed his mouth with oil mud and said vaguely, "Fortunately, humans are not very interested in this quagmire..."
Just as Quaro was gargling, the boiling steam above the quagmire was suddenly pushed away by the airflow. With the sound of a huge propeller, a huge steam airship slowly landed. The steam engine on one side of the airship was emitting black smoke, as if
It's like being struck by concentrated lightning.
With a pop, the airship landed lightly in the mire, and the displaced oil immediately knocked over the two sluggish mud giants. Wulukan struggled to stand up again, wiped the oil off his face, and then saw the edge of the airship deck.
The few people standing were looking at him. He pushed Quaro uneasily and asked in a low voice: "Didn't you say that humans are not very interested in this place...Why is there another group of people, and an elf?"
!”
Herath glanced back at the sweating Goblin Marin, who immediately explained sharply when he saw this: "It's not my fault, distinguished sir! Those Thunderbirds were a complete accident..."
"Scholar Emma, the migration route of the thunderbirds has indeed never passed through the Land of Dispute. I don't know why this happened." Glalenya said worriedly: "It seems that the Land of Dispute is going to be even more chaotic..."
It has been a week since they entered the Land of Dispute on a steam airship. The speed of the airship is faster than the flying speed of an intermediate mage. Moreover, with Marin's skillful control and the intelligence of Northerridan City, they were able to avoid what was happening in time.
The war zone, but as we approached the Twilight Oil Swamp, a large flock of Thunderbirds migrated from the front, and there were even some Lightning Eagles among them!
The Lightning Eagle Knight is the main air force of the Odin Empire. As an old rival of the Desert Eagle Knight, the Quicksand Empire has a good understanding of the habits of flying monsters like the Lightning Eagle. It is with this understanding that Heras was surprised.
He commanded the airship to avoid the Thunderbirds without any danger, otherwise even ordinary master-level professionals might be killed under the overwhelming magic lightning strikes... However, one side of the airship's engine was still unfortunately destroyed by the magic lightning.
.
Heras frowned and listened to the faint chirping of birds in the sky. The group of thunderbirds lingered in the land of disputes. It seemed that they were preparing to build a nest here... This is really a big trouble, Xi
The colonies of flying monsters that can be domesticated on the mainland are basically occupied by the Elf Empire. These sudden migrations of Thunderbirds are undoubtedly rare.
The news about the flying mount resources will soon spread throughout the Western Continent. At that time, the swarming hunters will completely turn the land of disputes into a bloody place. Maybe for these Thunderbirds, many people in the Western Continent
Countries will wage war on disputed lands...especially those that lack air force...
"Would the Elf Empire be interested in these thunderbirds?" Heras asked thoughtfully. Those thunderbirds looked frightened and were definitely not migrating on their own initiative.
"The Elf Empire has many specialized training grounds for flying monsters, so the possibility of intervention is low. I don't think the higher-ups would risk intervening in the land of dispute just for the sake of these thunderbirds. We don't like war." Glenlenya said slightly.
He shook his head and said unsurely.
"As long as the Elf Empire does not intervene, all parties will take action and will not act rashly. However, these thunderbirds are a huge temptation for any regime that does not have a training ground for flying monsters. They will not be able to bear it for long." Heras pointed out.
He nodded and said solemnly: "Let's go to Northerridan City first. Don't fly away. Those thunderbirds don't know what kind of stimulation they have. It's best to stay away from them."
Although most of the birds circling in the sky are thunderbirds, and only a small part of the giant lightning eagles, Herath will not ignore the power of those raptors. In the war history of the Quicksand Empire, an army group composed of elite desert giant eagle knights can be regarded as a company.
It has killed legendary strong men, and the ability of the giant lightning eagle is comparable to that of the giant desert eagle...
"Fortunately, there are no knights to control those thunderbirds..." Glenlenya sighed with lingering fear. The blood knights who control the flying monsters themselves have the extraordinary blood of their mounts, and many knights use their blood abilities better than their mounts.
They are even stronger than before, and the combat effectiveness displayed by working together is beyond what those stragglers can fight against...
"Distinguished sir... I am very familiar with the road to Northerridan City!" Goblin Marlin interjected in a shrill voice. Now that the airship is destroyed, he must try his best to show his worth, lest those
The big shots were unhappy and killed themselves.
But Heras was not ready to leave immediately. As soon as the airship descended, he smelled a strong smell of asphalt in the oil swamp. The family library did not have much record of this. If there was really a large amount of asphalt, he wanted to try it.
Can he find something in it? The land of dispute is about to usher in the bloodiest turmoil. He must try his best to enhance his self-protection ability.
"Do you know the history of this oil swamp, Marin? Where did the smell of asphalt come from?" Heras asked in a calm tone.
Seeing that his employer finally spoke to him, the goblin cheered up and said loudly: "Of course I know, sir, this place was originally called Dusk Oil Field, which is the energy base jointly owned by the Northerridan Technicians Association and the Goblin Venture Capital Group...
." Marin said as he took out an engineering waterproof notebook from his waist bag and handed it to Heras.
Heras took it and looked at it, and couldn't help but twitching the corner of his mouth, while Glenlenya glanced at the corners of his eyes a few times, turned his head and walked away unnaturally... There was nothing about engineering in Marin's waterproof engineering notebook.
The knowledge and records are basically some messy operations.
The production process and graffiti are colored content, basically fantasizing about women of various tall races. One page even depicts a goblin getting under the iron skirt of a sleeping female titan. It seems that this goblin
His ambition is really not small...
Finally, Heras found what he wanted to see on a page with a background painted with goblins tying up the female vampire prince. However, this background was a bit scary. The vampire princes were at least legendary powerhouses, and in this background
But the goblin made him scream and reveal two delicate fangs...
After carefully reading all the history about the Dusk Oil Swamp, Heras threw the notes back casually, "How much do you know about the special asphalt that can produce dwarf death ray devices?"
"Dear Sir, it seems that you are a little confused about the terminology of engineering technology. Asphalt is asphalt. There is no concept of special asphalt. It is just that sometimes some harmful substances can be purified from asphalt, but this is rare.
, we can make powerful weapons by collecting those harmful substances that we accidentally obtained." Marin continued to say, being able to understand something that the Amarrians didn't understand made him full of confidence.
...
"Oh? What's the name of that harmful substance?" Heras asked with interest.
"Concentrated asphalt!" Marin said grandly, and then he added to prove his authority: "This is the result of research by the top technicians of all dwarves and goblins!"
"Understood..." Heras ended the conversation expressionlessly, and couldn't help but curse in his heart: "Idiot, that's pitchblende..."
In the summary of the research on the sun in various planes, Pillar of the Void unanimously confirmed that the sun is a pure energy star separated from the origin of the plane. When Herath analyzed those research results, he did not find any characteristics related to nuclear reactions.
, since even the sun has never had a nuclear reaction, Heras is very doubtful about the existence of critical mass in the magical universe.
Even if there is a critical mass, it is a luxury to master atomic energy with his current level of power. However, since there is a device like the dwarf death ray, some solutions should be available, although that device seems very crude to Heras.
, the dwarfs can't figure out what exactly works in the so-called 'concentrated asphalt', but this undoubtedly proves that in this strange universe, there are also radioactive elements, but in the magical world, the properties displayed may be somewhat