In Teyvat, it all begins with rescuing the grass god.

do not know when.

The ice on the ice shield had spread to the Holy Beast's claws, pinning it firmly to the ice shield.

brush--

A cold light flashed.

The once arrogant Holy Beast let out a miserable scream, and with a sudden burst of strength, it tore off its own claws. Without looking back, it fled in panic, its entrails hanging from its ripped abdomen, spraying blood everywhere.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 22 The Life of a Mercenary

The sandstorm lasted for more than two hours before it ended.

Candice came over once during that time.

Then they left very quickly.

With Rhodes here, the Atia Mercenary Group doesn't need her to worry about the drawbridge at all.

This also allows Candice to focus more of her energy on other suspension bridges.

Compared to the exhausted mercenaries, Rhode, who had killed no less than a hundred monsters, was also slightly tired, but his spirits were still good.

After the sandstorm.

After arranging a celebration banquet with Attia, who was cleaning up the battlefield, Rhodes hurriedly returned home.

Just opened the door.

The scene of chaos before him made him sigh.

The experimental field that had withstood a small sandstorm and had been painstakingly cultivated for half a month was destroyed again.

The tamarisk wall he planted was in good condition; although there was some damage, most of it was still intact. The straw grid was not severely damaged either; some of the wheat straw had fallen over. However, some of the new seedlings, which had not yet grown very tall, lay flat on the ground, while others were uprooted, leaving only a bare, shallow pit in the ground.

Compared to the experimental field that was completely destroyed, the experimental field that received the benefits of abundant fertility remained unscathed. The seedlings that should have been limp and weak now stood tall and straight like steel spears, completely unaffected by the sandstorm.

"What exactly is added to this bountiful harvest?"

Rod smirked and squatted down to pinch the seedlings.

The feel is still the same as before.

It's not as sturdy as it appears on the surface.

Now Rhodes was completely baffled.

It's unreasonable.

Yes.

The Fertile Garden contains herbaceous element crystals.

But when did elemental crystals become so effective?

Rhodes has been reading quite a lot lately.

He even went to look through the materials he had on hand and the papers written by scholars of the biological theory school regarding the crystallization of elements.

However, none of the sources mentioned that grass element crystals could give ordinary crops such a strong ability to resist natural disasters.

Rod picked up a handful of soil and rubbed it, then frowned again: "Could it really be the power of the Grass God used in this?"

Sparse and ordinary soil.

It is indistinguishable from another experimental field.

The water and soil used in both experimental fields were exactly the same. The only difference was that this field had sufficient amounts of Fertilizer added to it according to the instructions.

As a result, even with the soil quality unchanged, these bountiful benefits allow crops to grow regardless of soil fertility and possess a resistance to wind and sand comparable to that of monsters.

The so-called "Fertile Blessing" actually uses extremely high concentrations and activity of herbal elemental energy as nutrients to promote crop growth and provide a protective film similar to an elemental energy shield.

After writing this down, Rod observed carefully for a while, and then added another entry to his notebook.

[Continue adding Fertile Blessings to replenish the damaged protective membrane of the Grass Element.]

One of the points in the description of the bountiful benefits is...

If a natural disaster occurs, the abundant resources must be replenished as soon as possible afterward.

Rhodes easily deduced this conclusion through observation after adding the Bounty of Fertility.

After taking notes, he twirled his pen in one hand and rested his chin on the other, continuing to ponder.

Based on the current results, the effects of Abundant Harvest are largely due to the grass element crystals within it.

In the absence of the technology to refine grass element crystals, could we use elemental creatures that can modify the surrounding environment to replace the bounty of abundance?

Several naturally occurring grass-elemental creatures quickly flashed through Rhodes's mind.

Grass slime, grass floater, floating grass fungus.

Slimes are found throughout the Teyvat continent and are a very common type of monster. They are not very intelligent and have a moderate level of aggression. They are often used as tools or food by humans or other monsters.

The distribution of floating spirits is relatively limited. Most of them are found in Inazuma, which is thousands of miles away from Sumeru. There are very few reports of floating spirits appearing in Sumeru, and grass floating spirits are even rarer.

As for the last fungus, this creature is an elemental being unique to Sumeru. No other country has reported any trace of their natural existence to date. Floating fungus are usually found in the rainforest area of ​​Sumeru. They can also be found in the desert area, but due to the unsuitable environment, their distribution is relatively less.

Rhodes carefully recalled the characteristics of the three elemental life forms he had observed.

A bold idea popped into my head.

Do you want it?

Catch some grass slimes to tame? Use them as a reward for Fertile Grounds?

The reason Rhodes thought of grass slimes, rather than the floating grass fungus beasts that are more widely distributed in Sumeru, is because of this.

The reason is that the fungus is extremely aggressive and will attack almost as soon as a stranger gets close.

Rhodes hasn't figured out a good way to tame the fungus yet, and even if he did, he wouldn't be able to conduct experiments in Aru Village.

If he were away from home one day and the fungus he kept suddenly broke free and attacked people, that would be a violation of the rules of Aru Village, and he would inevitably be whipped a few times, and it would also cause the villagers to panic about him.

Therefore, the relatively mild-tempered grass slime became Rhodes's target.

"No, we can't be too impulsive."

After writing the idea down in his notebook, Rod touched his empty wallet, which was now empty again, and decided to wait until he had gathered enough information before taking action.

Time passed by day by day.

After Rhodes' third batch of experimental seeds sprouted, the long-lost Blazing Beast finally returned from the desert.

Calculate the time.

The Blazing Beast Hunter spent nearly two months in the desert on this mission.

When I saw Desia again.

The usually energetic mercenary leader looked utterly exhausted.

She, who has always been very concerned about her personal image, can only be described as disheveled at this moment.

The pleasant scent of face powder was overpowered by a faint smell of blood. Her shoulders, arms, thighs, and abdomen were all wrapped in bandages, and even the bandages on her abdomen were still seeping out traces of blood.

The other members also had some injuries, more or less.

It is clear.

The Blazing Beast Hunter has met its match this time.

Even worse.

Rhodes keenly noticed that there were fewer Blazing Beast Hunters.

Not one.

"Hi, Rod."

Exhausted, Dixia forced a smile: "Sorry, I probably won't have time to drink with you today. I'll treat you tomorrow."

Say it.

She then limped toward the camp of the Blazing Beasts.

Looking at the oppressive atmosphere of the Blazing Beast Hunter, Rhode, who hadn't had a chance to speak with Desia, didn't choose to chase after her to comfort her, but just sighed heavily.

This is the life of a mercenary.

Living on the edge of a knife, their lives are precarious.

No one knows whether they will be able to return safely from their next mission.

That's why mercenaries need to seize the day and have no regrets.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 23 Let's go catch slimes together!

Desia kept her promise as always.

I said I'd treat Rod to drinks yesterday, and here he is today.

What she brought this time was a bottle of dandelion wine from Mondstadt.

Rhodes, who had just finished tending to the experimental field, saw the bottle of wine, shook the mud off his hands, and said with a smile, "This stuff isn't cheap."

"Given by the employer."

Dixia shrugged: "It's not strong enough, the brothers don't like it. I thought you don't like strong liquor, so I brought it for you."

"That's great, this good thing has fallen into my lap."

Rod chuckled, walked to the basin, washed his hands, which were covered in mud, and then took the expensive bottle of dandelion wine from Dixia.

Dandelion liqueur of Mondstadt is a famous beverage known throughout the continent of Teyvat.

Corresponding to its fame is its price.

If it weren't for a gift, Dixia would never have wasted money buying this kind of wine that nobody likes to drink and is ridiculously expensive.