Gou is a dark elf in Warhammer

Although it was noon, Ryan's performance review was not over.

The Dragon Islands are over, but the Southern Jungle Lands haven't even begun yet.

But that's about it.

Before Darkus first went to the continent of Lustria, the war between the snakes and the rats was undoubtedly at its lowest point, a state of near stagnation.

Was the second raid on Quetzal a restart of the war between the snake and the rat?
However, this pitch is a bit too high...

The plague clan was utterly destroyed, and its core members were wiped out.

It wasn't weakened, but rather its structure was destroyed outright, eliminating even the possibility of recovery.

Then, the second round of the war between the snake and the rat began.

The main form of this was that Tehenhoin, along with members of the Sotigo Cult and reinforced and supplemented lizardmen forces, waged guerrilla warfare against the ratmen in the southern jungles.

Dense forests, swamps, and ruins have become the new chessboard.

This would increase the strength of the Sotigo, which would then support the Sotigo faction.

A closed loop.

So perpetual motion?
Inflating GDP?

"A crested snake?" Darkus looked at the crimson snake-man described by Renn and was at a loss for words.

The image was so vivid—the bright red scales, the exaggerated crest, the outline that was neither lizard nor snake—that it forcibly dragged certain images that originally only existed in legends into reality.

Is it a legend coming true, or something else entirely?
He couldn't express it either; he only knew that there were just too many strange and wonderful things in this world, and the crested snake was nothing special.

However, this is undoubtedly good news.

Under his intervention, the lizardman society accepted the snake people. The appearance of the crimson snake people was undoubtedly Sotigo's public endorsement of the snake people, granting them licenses and, in a religious way, completely establishing their status in lizardman society.

Currently, there are approximately 25,000 snake people living in the Duruci society.

This is the statistical data from the year before last.

These snake people operate within the army and are followers of Sotigo.

Unfortunately, not all of them are combat-ready. They have a growth cycle.

In addition, and most importantly, training is essential.

Their biological characteristics, or rather their instincts, endow them with certain combat skills, such as basic movement, climbing, and pouncing.

And then no more.

The remaining aspects, such as weapon use, require training and group training in coordination with movement.

Otherwise, those instincts will only turn into chaos.

The snake-man cannot speak, only hissing. But fortunately, he is intelligent, more so than the monitor lizard.

Roughly the size of a dolphin?
Although Duruci needs to communicate with them using commands or gestures, some are quite adept at it, like Kewell, who can generate meaningful hissing sounds through oral resonance to drive the snake people.

That's already close to being a domesticated language, and it could potentially become a discipline.

But no matter what, snake people are still very popular!

The snake-people possess a very high skill ceiling in combat. They can use multiple weapons simultaneously, and even reload their crossbows while fighting with melee weapons.

It was an efficiency that made even veterans uneasy.

Although raising them is quite troublesome, they can snowball.

After training the first snake handlers, subsequent snake handlers can be trained by the original snake handlers.

Most importantly, they are loyal!
They are extremely loyal!

There's no better bodyguard than this!

Of course, the premise is that the snake-men should not be allowed to attack another Duruchi who is surrounded by snake-men.

That will only lead to disappointment.

Follow up...

Dakos had envisioned the future of the snake people more than once, and in his opinion, the population of this race was destined to increase rather than decrease.

These creatures have an astonishingly long lifespan.

While not as nearly eternal as the elves, they were able to leisurely traverse centuries, allowing time to flow slowly rather than be a pressing pressure.

Are the snake-people filling a void in the lives of the elves, a void related to companionship?

The thought wasn't sharp, but it kept popping up in his mind.

The lifespan of an elf is so long that the birth, aging, sickness, and death of an ordinary pet becomes a recurring wound. It is not a one-time grief, but a memory that is constantly being reopened.

Darkus still vividly remembers what happened on the day he first met Walter. In the bustling, chaotic, yet vibrant dock market of Krakarond, Walter was completely captivated by a cheetah cub from Arabi—a pure, fervent, and rare longing.

Later, when he returned to the continent of Lustia from Elsin Alvin, he obtained a black panther cub with glowing eyes from the spirit lizard priest who managed the Pyramid of Brilliance in the City of the Moon.

Black Panther accompanied Walter for thirty years.

Until twenty years ago, a letter arrived at Dakos, bringing news of its passing. Walter's words in the letter were as restrained and concise as ever, yet they couldn't conceal the desolation within. It wasn't the pain of instant loss, but the sudden emptiness revealed after a long farewell.

It is precisely this emptiness that gives the snake-man's existence a unique significance.

They are far more than just pets; they undoubtedly carry an emotional connection that transcends mere tools.

The loyalty of the snake people is a quiet and enduring thing.

It will not fade with the passage of time, nor waver with changing circumstances.

This loyalty stems from a symbiotic relationship developed day after day.

For long-lived elves, the weight of an intelligent being who can accompany them for hundreds of years and understand most of their life's trajectory far outweighs any fleeting comfort.

Their role is more like an eternal guardian hound, or an elven warhorse? Forget about the cold lizards; aside from the big ones, the others are too ugly to look at, even their resentment is unbearable.

It's not about taming, but about standing shoulder to shoulder.

Snake-people possess powerful combat and vigilance instincts. They can lie in wait silently in the shadows, or unleash deadly and precise actions the moment a crisis strikes.

But they can do much more than that; they can also do physical labor. At the very least, they can lend a hand when a certain tool is needed.

As long as the environment isn't too harsh, they are the most reliable all-rounders.

However, deeper than these practical values ​​lies a bond akin to that of family.

Although snake-people cannot speak, they possess the ability to observe and remember. They gradually become familiar with the habits, preferences, and even subtle emotional fluctuations of the spirits, and respond in their own unique ways. Perhaps they subtly adjust their guard positions, or perhaps they simply quietly coil up in a corner of the room, bringing a sense of security that needs no words.

This tacit understanding that transcends race is something that has been gradually built up over a long period of time.

It transformed the snake people from useful servants into an integral part of their lives.

What the snake-man gave the elf was perhaps a kind of companionship that could withstand the erosion of time.

In the near-eternal span of life, many relationships will eventually fade away.

The snake people are loyal, long-lived, wise, and resilient, and may be among the few who can truly walk side by side through the long years.

They are not pets, but guardians in the shadows, silent companions.

It is a consistent and reassuring outline that has remained unchanged throughout the long years.

Of course, the various thoughts about the snake people only flashed through Darkus's mind.

He quickly brought these emotional judgments back to rationality.

As for the situation in the southern jungles, he intends to maintain the status quo for the time being rather than escalate it.

Now is not the time to take action.

At least, that's how it's arranged during the first planning cycle. Deployment will only truly begin once the second plan starts.

"Has Lord Whitney Atanquie made any discoveries?"

After learning about the situation in the southern jungle, Darkus raised his eyes and changed the subject.

After Master Hui healed the wounds of the soul with the tears of Elsa, he was sent to the southern jungle.

This is not a resettlement, but a return to service. Master Hui has many tasks, which are also very scattered. He needs to use the mist to protect the temple city, conceal the spiritual vein nodes, and disrupt the enemy's reconnaissance and advance; he needs to cooperate with the Prophet at the strategic level to carry out guerrilla warfare and create local advantages; at critical and necessary moments, he must also act as a reserve force of extraordinary power to directly intervene in the battlefield and provide backup for the Prophet.

In addition, he has a more secretive but equally important responsibility—to control the behavior of the prophet and prevent him from crossing a certain insurmountable boundary.

This is not superfluous.

Slanquaxmu, who guarded Zetland, was a fervent supporter of the Sotigo faith.

Accompanying Master Hui on his journey to the Southern Jungle was the fourth Slan – Lord Tenukli, who had fought alongside Darkus.

Tenucri was assigned to guard Theatequa.

The world's edge is marked by a continuous mountain range that stretches from south to north across the entire Old World. In the Southland, this mountain range, like a giant blade, cleaves the Southland jungle in two, completely isolating it.

To the right of the mountain range lie four spiritual vein nodes, and Tiatequa sits at the geometric center of these four nodes. It is precisely because of this unique location that this place has always been fiercely guarded.

It did not fall; the incubation pool is still operating.

It is one of only two temple cities still in operation in the jungles of the Southland.

While strengthening and protecting the Southern Forest, Master Hui also shoulders another task—leading the Lizard Prophets to conduct a systematic search of the entire Southern Forest.

"Have."

As Raine spoke, he stood up, his fingertips already turning the pages of the book.

"Wait."

Darkus raised his hand to stop Renn from turning the pages. His gaze lingered on the diagram of the ley lines connecting the nodes of the Southern Jungle. He stared at the lines and intersections for a moment, as if reconstructing a structure in his mind. Then, he clipped the page shut and turned the book forward.

This time, he was looking at the spiritual vein connection in the direction of the Sea of ​​Fear.

There's really nothing to see.

His main goal was to confirm which temple cities located on the western side of the world's edge mountains were connected to the ley lines from the Sea of ​​Fear.

After confirming, he turned to another page, his fingertip landing on one of the pictures.

"Electric motor?"

"Loom?"

Raine was visibly taken aback by the unfamiliar combination of words Darkus uttered. He hesitated for a moment before responding uncertainly in a low voice.

"How did he describe it? Can it be powered by energy?"

Darkus pressed on, his gaze still fixed on the diagram. “A power system! Yes, it can be powered by energy, I’m certain of that!” Rein paused, then added, “There’s also a complete set of slabs that explain how to refine the highly corrosive liquid from the fire lizards into fuel. He found these two sets of slabs in a satellite city near Tiatequa.”

After listening to Renn's explanation, Darkus suddenly laughed.

The laughter was somewhat abrupt, carrying a hint of absurdity, yet also tinged with an inexplicable sense of helplessness.

After his smile faded, he spoke again.

Do you have the actual item?

As he asked the question, his gaze returned to the pages of the book.

“No.” Renn shook his head. “When it was discovered, there was only a stone slab, not the matching black box.”

The term "black box" originated from Darkus, but it is now used to describe the ancient artifacts whose principles are incomprehensible.

"Clearly, there are some things that even the ancient sages could not have foreseen."

Daxus wanted to say those words, but he swallowed them back.

Because he was also an ancient sage.

It was really strange for him to say those words.

Although it's strange in every way.

The reason that such a thought came to mind was because the ancient saint obviously did not expect that he would produce 2-wheat.

Of course, on the other hand, another possibility cannot be ruled out.

Perhaps the ancient sages foresaw the emergence of Alcohol-2 wheat, but they were standing too high, at the fifth level, or even the atmosphere. From that height, the energy conversion efficiency of fuel refined from Alcohol-2 wheat was inferior to that of the corrosive liquid from the salamander.

Conversely, one could say that the fire salamander is an integral part of the package.

It was because of the existence of the loom that they were designed by the ancient sages to become the most stable, most efficient, and also the most savage gear in the entire energy system.

"you say……"

Dakos's gaze remained fixed on the pages of the book, but he suddenly looked up.

"From a dragon, is that alright?"

"should?"

There was a clear sense of uncertainty in Ryan's tone.

In fact, the moment he learned of all this, he asked Master Hui the same question. Master Hui didn't respond, not because he was asleep, nor because he didn't understand.

Rather, it was because even Master Hui himself was unsure.

“It doesn’t matter.” Darkus waved his hand, his tone regaining its composure. “The number of fire lizards is enough.”

After saying this, he leaned back in his chair, the wooden chair making a very soft sound. He crossed his arms and remained silent for a moment, as if rapidly mentally rehearsing an entire production line that had not yet been put into operation.

Then, he sighed softly.

"It seems we need to upgrade our military equipment."

He turned to look at Renn, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"Do you know about chain blades? A true aesthetic of violence."

Seeing that Renn shook his head, Darkus gave a rough explanation of what a chain blade was. He did not go into the details, but only described the most basic construction logic: chain, saw teeth, high-speed rotating cutting surface, and a continuous and stable power source.

Even with just this brief explanation, Renn's eyes lit up quickly.

Six months ago, he might have subconsciously questioned: Can this really be achieved?

But now, he doesn't even have that thought. In his mind, it's no longer a question of whether he can or cannot.

Rather, they're just too capable!

“The alloy needed for the saw teeth and chain can be entirely achieved by forging metal slabs.” Raine almost immediately switched to engineering thinking, pausing for a moment. “As for the power source…”

He pondered for a moment, then his tone gradually became more resolute.

"The power comes from the loom, which can be driven by fuel or embedded with crystals to draw energy."

“Exactly.” Darkus continued, spreading his hands in a gesture that suggested anything was possible. “If powered solely by fuel, it would certainly be an efficient tool for slaughter. But in this world where magic and energy flow, physical destruction alone might seem somewhat inadequate. What if it could be powered by both fuel and energy simultaneously?”

His tone suddenly shifted, and a sharp glint flashed in his eyes.

“That would be completely different; it would be a dance of physics and magic. It would tear apart flesh and blood while also tearing apart the laws of reality.”

He leaned forward slightly, lowering his voice accordingly.

"Think about it, Renn. Fuel-powered, it's pure violence."

His hand traced a sharp arc in the air, as if the weapon was already spinning in his palm.

"The high-speed rotating saw teeth can easily cut through the thickest armor. The violent vibrations transmitted by the chain can directly shatter bones and churn internal organs. The wounds will not be clean cuts, but festering pits that are torn apart and hollowed out. Facing flesh and blood, it is like a hot knife cutting into grease."

He paused, his tone cold and precise.

"However, this knife is composed of countless rotating sharp teeth. Wherever it goes, it only leaves behind shredded flesh and splattered slurry. But this is just the basics!"

His voice changed again.

"When energy is injected, the chain blade awakens its true soul. The rapidly rotating chain can even stir the surrounding energy field, forming a brief magical vortex that deflects the protective shield."

He paused for a moment.

"or……"

A meaningful smile curved at the corner of his mouth.

"When wielded, it generates a flowing magical shield to protect the swordsman from fatal attacks."

After he finished speaking, he slowly leaned back in his chair.

That posture was like admiring an unfinished painting that was already exhilarating.

If the loom were only powered by fuel, it would be somewhat of a waste. Because in this world, magic and energy are naturally more useful than simple physical attacks.

Unless, of course, we enter space, or the planet's energy begins to thin.

Then physics reigns supreme, and magic?

Magic is a thing of the past; we have to look it up in history books.

But if the loom could be powered by both fuel and energy...

That would be completely different.

It is both magic and physics.

It is both physical and magical.

When facing ordinary, armored targets, use fuel to create pure and brutal physical damage, eliminating the target directly; however, if the target is a magical creature or wearing magical armor...

Switch mode!

If waterproofing is done well, it can even become a powerful tool in underwater environments.

"This feeling... is very uncomfortable."

After a moment, Dakota sighed.

There was no hesitation in that sigh, only repression.

Because all of this was not his imagination, not wild speculation, not theoretical talk, and not a daydream.

It is absolutely possible to make it!
And it's not just weapons.

There's also armor.

Elven spellcasters may not be good at physics, but they are definitely experts in chemistry.

How about learning about advanced alchemy?
Ceramics themselves are not chemistry.

It is a material, or more precisely, an inorganic non-metallic material, which is an important and ancient branch of materials science.

However, the problem is that the ceramic preparation process itself involves a large number of complex and delicate chemical changes.

Therefore, it can be understood that ceramics are matter, materials, not the discipline of chemistry. However, the manufacture of ceramics cannot be separated from chemical principles and chemical reactions.

The ceramics of the Duruci Society were not obtained through trade with Aurora; they came from local production at the Chapeyuto Porcelain Factory.

Aside from those ornate decorative porcelains that resembled a clearance sale at a dragon palace, what the Storm Weavers Order led by Serene and Master Xia truly devoted their energy to researching was—how to improve the strength of porcelain.

It is pressure-resistant, impact-resistant, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant.

Combined with the metal forging stone tablets that Renn discovered on the Dragon Islands...

This is just ceramic steel!

As for power swords, they've always existed.

However, their manifestation has always leaned towards magic rather than physics.

Want to try a flashlight? (Chapter 193)
There is no psychic power in this world, and even less so, no spiritual bones.

But the ancient sages offered another solution.

When Raine correctly activated the Blade of Reality, Darkus once thought that phase weapons could be used on a large scale.

Unfortunately, no.

The Blade of Reality is merely a toy for Huang Qi.

A dazzling, yet fleeting illusion.

Fortunately, things took a turn for the better, and a glimmer of hope appeared.

There are no phase weapons, but there are chain blades and alloys.

However, new problems also emerged.

Whether it's alloys, crystals, ceramics, or fuels, either the research and development has progressed to 90% but is stuck at the last step, or there aren't even any samples yet.

Everything was hanging on the edge of completion, so close yet just out of reach.

"Yes, it's very uncomfortable."

Renn nodded in empathy and softly agreed.

It's not the pain of failure, but the anxiety of seeing the future clearly yet not being able to truly grasp it.
-
On the third day after Renn returned to Lorthen, an event occurred in this city that the world longed for, though not large in scale, yet enough to stir countless nerves and create ripples—perhaps it could be called a high-profile political appearance; or perhaps, a silent but profound exchange of civilizations? (End of Chapter)