Of course, Tang En did not know that he was almost caught by Elijah. Not long after returning to Slag Village, the large group set off.
The dwarves in Slag Village were already used to this annual migration. Everything was carried out in an orderly manner. Under this almost primitive condition of communication, the efficiency and discipline of the operation were so strong, which surprised Tang En.
And Brian finally did not have to suffer the torture of flying, so he was very energetic on the way. He kept chatting with the others. Under Tang En's instructions, he described Ellington very well. His boasting made Tang En blush a little.
However, the results were great. On the first day, when they gathered at another dwarf village, there were already 20 more dwarves who had made up their minds to go to Elrington. This made Tang En so happy that he could not stop smiling.
The next few days were very smooth. There were already thousands of dwarves gathered. Even the magical beasts did not dare to harass such a large group, and the speed of their progress was faster than at the beginning.
"We're very close to Hammerforge Castle."
On this day, Brian pointed to the towering main peak of the Ambris Mountains in front of them and showed off to Tang En. "Hammerforge Castle is built on the mountainside of Ambris Peak. I'm not bragging, big brother, but your human cities are too weak. Only a castle like Hammerforge Castle can be regarded as a castle that can't be breached."
"Then I'll wait and see."
"You'll see it soon. In fact, it's not that far away, but it will take a day to cross the Black Swamp tomorrow. You can get there in two days."
"Oh …"
Tang En suddenly came back to his senses. "Black Swamp? What's that? "
Tang En was a little puzzled. Whether it was the Pale Forest or the Black Swamp, he had never heard of these places in the game. It was at this time that he really felt that this world was not the game after all. There were many places that were different.
"It's just a black swamp."
Brian shrugged and said, "Even a lot of daemons don't dare to get close to that place. It's regarded as a land of death that devours life. But don't worry, we've come up with a safe path over the years, so there won't be any problems. Besides, big brother, you're a mage. You can fly over there.
So Tang En didn't take it to heart. However, when he came to the black swamp the next day, Tang En finally understood what the so-called black swamp meant.
"This is the Black Swamp you were talking about?"
Tang En swallowed his saliva and looked at the endless asphalt lake in front of him, dumbfounded.
"That's right. Big brother, you have to be careful. This swamp is very strange. Once you fall in, you won't be able to get out. Even many magical beasts have died here. Look at those bones. You'd better fly."
Brian gestured to the side, where many huge black bones could be clearly seen. "Also, when passing through here, you have to cover your mouth and nose with a wet cloth. Otherwise, it's easy to pass out."
Tang En was so excited that his whole body was trembling. He did not listen to a single word that Brian said. There was only one thing in his mind right now: This trip was worth it!
Asphalt was one of the most important raw materials in the modern industrial system on Earth. It was a water-repellent material. It was impermeable to water and almost insoluble in water and various organic solvents. It was mainly used in paint, plastics, rubber and other industries, as well as paving roads.
Although Tang En didn't know how to use asphalt to extract plastics and artificial rubber, it could be used to pave roads!
Tang En had had enough of the bumpy roads. If asphalt was used to pave roads, even if the carriage didn't have rubber tires and shock absorption system, it would be much more comfortable.
What's more, building smoother roads meant that the efficiency of the transportation system would be improved. The products would circulate faster, which meant that he could make money faster!
In the eyes of the Prandal locals, this was a black swamp that killed without blinking, but in the eyes of Tang En, it was a huge black gold mine!
Tang En immediately anchored a spatial coordinate here and then caught up with the rest of the group.
Just as Brian had said, for thousands of years, the dwarves had come up with a very safe road made of solidified asphalt. Although the smell was still very dangerous, it would not be too harmful with a wet cloth covering one's nose and mouth.
All the dwarves walked on the safe road in an orderly manner. Tang En felt the solidified natural asphalt under his feet as he walked. The feeling of stepping on it was very familiar. It felt like the asphalt roads on Earth. If some solids were mixed in, it would probably be even stronger.
So Tang En was even more determined to develop this place.
"Brian, this black swamp is within the borders of your Dwarf Kingdom, right?"
"Yes, what's wrong?"
Tang En squinted and said, "I'm very interested in this black swamp."
"Are you crazy, brother? What's the use of this thing? "
Brian was very surprised. "We've tried it. This thing can't be used for forging, building, or eating. What can it be used for?"
"Of course it can't be forged … Wait!? Can't be eaten? What did you do in the first place? "
Tang En was dumbfounded.
Brian shrugged. "I don't know which idiot wanted to try whether this thing could be eaten or not. He said that although many things looked scary, they were actually very delicious. As you can imagine, his tongue almost broke."
There was actually such a foodie in Prandal!?
"If, I mean if, I asked the Dwarf King for this black swamp, how much do you think I would have to pay?"
Tang En looked at Brian's expression. If his previous guess was correct, Brian should be able to help him a lot in the Dwarf Kingdom.
"You want this place?"
Brian scratched his head. "This black swamp is not that important … If you give him some good wine, he will probably agree to give it to you directly."
"Good wine will be enough?"
Tang En was stunned for a moment and was overjoyed. If good wine could be exchanged for the development rights of this asphalt lake, it would be a huge profit!
"Yes, that guy will definitely … Oh, I mean the Dwarf King, he will most likely agree. You can give it a try. Anyway, this swamp has no other use."
Brian chuckled.
Because the speed of their progress on the asphalt lake was much slower, they only crossed the lake in the evening. Tang En flew into the sky to observe the area of the lake.
The result was very amazing. The shape of this asphalt lake was roughly pear-shaped, with a diameter of at least 40 kilometers. The widest part was more than 20 kilometers, and the narrowest part was nearly 10 kilometers. The total area was nearly 1,000 square kilometers!
What did 1,000 square kilometers mean?
For example, the well-known mega-city New York only had a total area of nearly 800 square kilometers!
And the area of this natural asphalt lake had exceeded the area of New York City!
Tang En also tried to use magic to detect the depth. Because of the poor magic conductivity of asphalt, Tang En only probed a hundred meters and gave up. Even so, this was a huge super asphalt mine in the hundreds of millions of tons.
If all the asphalt here was mined, the paved roads would be able to connect all the cities in Prandal!
Take it down, you must take down this asphalt lake!
At the very least, you must get the mining rights of the asphalt lake!
Tang En clenched his fists. Although there were many materials other than asphalt that could be used to pave roads, producing a large amount of cement would take up too much of Tang En's development time. If the asphalt here could be mined to pave roads, then only human resources would be consumed, and Ellington's productivity could be concentrated in other places.
And the benefits of paving roads were not only convenient for business. According to his plan, he planned to make magic powered cars in the future. When war broke out, soldiers could use magic powered cars to transport. With asphalt roads, the efficiency would inevitably increase a lot. This powerful mobility and strategic significance could not be ignored.
Fortunately, the natives here had not yet realized the use of asphalt. Maybe he could take advantage of it this time.
Not long after crossing the asphalt lake, the dwarves began to set up camp. There were dwarf villages nearby, but with the current scale, there was no way to enter the small villages to live. They could only camp around the villages.
With the approaching of the wine festival, the Dwarf Kingdom, especially the villages near Hammer Forge Castle, was full of a happy atmosphere. The compatriots attracted by the annual festival were also very enthusiastic. Good wine and food were all provided.
At this time, Tang En found that in addition to the common currency in the human countries, they also used metal ingots. This kind of race that was keen on forging was used to using their own smelted metal ingots to trade goods with others.
After resting in the dwarf village for a night, they also joined the team the next day. The team heading to Hammer Forge Castle was even larger. Tang En looked at the huge team of thousands of dwarves. He could not imagine how lively Hammer Forge Castle would be.
Could that place accommodate so many people to hold an event?
Tang En thought for a moment. If the capital of China held an event, the people of the whole country could come to participate, and eat, drink, and play for free, and then …
Tang En trembled. The picture was too beautiful. He could not imagine it.
The next evening, the huge team finally arrived at Hammer Forge Castle after half a day of mountain road!
Standing outside Hammer Forge Castle, Brian smiled proudly, "Big brother, how is it? Are you shocked? "
Tang En opened his mouth and eyes wide. This is the main city of the dwarves, Hammer Forge Castle?
This is the Hammer Forge Castle in the game?
Are you f * cking kidding me!?
Sure enough, fairy tales are all lies!
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
