Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 256: Natural Treasure House of the Wasteland

Egno, who worked at the territory medical hospital, squeezed a huge sum of "scientific research funds" from Harvey some time ago, and then happily took his research partner Chris and a hundred Northern Army soldiers borrowed from the army commander Pierce, and went out to collect materials on a speeding magic scooter.

The main purpose of this trip was to carry out the "supplementary sampling" plan of magic plants for the territory's magic potion plantation proposed by Egno. The plantation had been in operation for almost half a year. In addition to introducing a large number of common magic potion plants from the southern border for planting, some newly discovered magic plants near the territory had also been included in the plantation for artificial cultivation after their medicinal properties and practical methods were determined through experiments.

After the harvest festival, Harvey took time out to let Egno accompany him to inspect the general situation of the plantation. He thought that the types of magical plants in the plantation were still too single. In addition to the large-scale cultivation of widely used rubber fruits, only a few species such as winter frost flowers, hawkwood, human-faced grass, and dog-headed thorn potatoes were planted on a large scale.

These are the raw materials needed for the territory's medical hospital to mass-produce magic vaccines. They are magical plants that can only be cultivated in the special temperature difference and soil environment of the northern wilderness. This is why Harvey insists on exporting only finished plague potions to the Federation and cannot directly sell the potion formula - the raw materials for the potion cannot be obtained in the southern territory, and he is the only raw material production site in the northern wilderness.

Considering that a magical creature that was accidentally discovered before and is a specialty of the North - the snake-headed leech - has played a very important role in the medical development of the territory. Even the medical alchemical beasts that are now popularized at the civilian level are transformed from the soul of this giant leech with a disgusting and slippery appearance, Harvey believes that it is necessary to go out regularly to collect samples.

The vast wasteland north of the Shenji Mountains is essentially a huge natural treasure trove where humans find it difficult to gain a foothold.

……

And Egno and Chris did not disappoint Harvey. Although they stayed outside for nearly two weeks, the samples they brought back were extremely rich.

In addition to some edible non-magical wild crops, there are three newly discovered magical plants that Harvey is very interested in.

"These ordinary wild vegetable and fruit samples can be directly catalyzed with magic power and handed over to the Ministry of Agriculture for cultivation and research. It will take time to verify whether they can be mass-produced..." Egno reported to Harvey while holding a thick stack of sampling lists.

One of them is a reed-like plant that has not yet been named, but looks very thick. It was discovered by the sampling team near a dried-up salt lake more than 200 miles away. Harvey found it incredible that a rich, salty juice could be squeezed out of its thick stems.

Isn’t this just a super salty version of sugarcane?
There are no natural well salt veins near Harvey's frontier territory. The large amount of salt needed by the people in daily life is imported from the southern border with real money. The Dragon Stone Chamber of Commerce owns several super-large sea salt mines in Faros, the country of a thousand sails. Although it needs to be transported from thousands of miles away, the price is relatively fair.

However, since the outbreak of the plague in Saint Valen, the Dragonstone Chamber of Commerce has requested to suspend transactions and needs to wait until the epidemic eases before resuming the transportation of bulk goods. Other luxury goods such as sugar, wine, silk, and tobacco are not affected. However, if salt, which is related to people's livelihood, is not replenished for a long time, it will inevitably greatly affect the quality of life of the people in the territory.

Reiner had also thought of a way to use alchemical camels to transport some brine crystals from a natural saline-alkali land far away outside the territory, but the journey was too long and the transportation cycle was long, and he also had to be on guard against attacks from the surrounding evil orc tribes at all times. The mining and production efficiency were very low.

Furthermore, most of the people in the territory, accustomed to fine sea salt, were not short of money. Having long since achieved a moderately prosperous life, they were more willing to spend a little more to buy sea salt, which was already in short supply, and they scoffed at this slightly bitter natural mineral salt. It's easy to go from simple to luxurious, but difficult to return to simple...

"Are you sure that this salty... sugarcane can really be squeezed out to produce a large amount of salt-rich slurry, and can be purified into a large amount of salt crystals without impurities?" Harvey pinched a small piece of plant stem, a little unsure.

Although he had seen spherical olives for oil production and knew about sweet wild fruits that could be used to extract rubber, this was the first time in his life that he had seen a plant produce salt.

"My lord, it is absolutely true. We have verified through repeated experiments that although the magic power contained in this sturdy reed plant is extremely weak, it can be squeezed into a rich salt juice that is safe, non-toxic and pure in composition..." Egno answered firmly.

Chris came over and echoed, "Planting them is incredibly easy. All you need to do is cut a section of the stem and stick it randomly into the soil. It'll quickly take root and sprout, and in three to five days it'll grow quite a bit taller. They're also not picky about soil quality; you can even plant them on sandy riverbanks!"

Harvey nodded and instructed, "Then have the Ministry of Agriculture allocate a piece of sandy riverbank for use as a test field. Plant a batch and see how the yield goes before making any plans."

He then turned to look at the several strange plants carefully placed on the lab table, shielded by glass, and asked, "Aside from ordinary wild crops, I heard you also discovered several very strange magical plants?"

Egno and Chris immediately became excited. They brought Harvey to the lab table and began to introduce him enthusiastically - this was the most important gain from their sampling trip, besides the salty sugarcane.

Chris carefully picked up a crystal-clear, bean-shaped wild fruit with his metal arm and explained happily, "This is a magical fruit never before discovered in alchemy and alchemy. It has a very unique property—the juice extracted from it can change color at will, from the azure blue of the sky to the dark green of the jungle, or even the brown and black of the soil... My lord, we have discovered a brand new magical dye!"

Harvey stared at Chris's movements, watching him crush the fruit in his hand. The transparent juice covered his originally silver-white metal palm, but the stained part soon changed in the sunlight. As he brought his palm closer to a piece of dark black cloth, his palm quickly changed to the same color.

A term for equipment that often appeared in various modern war games in his previous life quickly flashed through Harvey's mind - optical camouflage!
This isn't some magical dye! No, it's not just for dyeing textiles, but is more suitable for military use—whether it's camouflage uniforms for soldiers or concealed coatings for weapons and military vehicles.

"How long does this dyeing and color-changing effect last? Is it permanent?" Harvey asked impatiently.

Egno had already prepared the answer and smiled, "It's similar to the properties of rubber fruit. If it's not bleached by soaking in strong salt water, it can almost maintain this color change. We tried to use it to stain an ordinary cotton coat, and then had a soldier wear it in the woods. As a result, it perfectly simulated the various mottled colors of tree trunks, soil, and bushes. Although the soldier was standing only a few dozen meters away from us, he looked invisible and difficult to detect!"

(End of this chapter)