A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 429 Sociology Points +1

The little blue man's language contains a lot of "whoosh" sounds, as if imitating the sound of the wind.

The two were stunned for a moment, when an elder appeared out of nowhere. He was so old that he was slumped on a floating chair, being pulled by two juniors riding flying beasts.

Upon approaching, the elder spoke with a strange accent, using a broken Common Language:

"Two venerable mages from the Land of Bliss, are you here to mediate a dispute, or to seek assistance?"

The elder was probably the only one in the entire race who could communicate in the common language. He claimed that when he was young, a spellcaster also came to the air elemental plane for an adventure. He was chosen to be the guide and servant. Until the spellcaster's long exploration was completed, he also gained a lot of knowledge and learned the language of the "Land of Bliss".

Luo Xia learned from his conversation with the elders that the waste gas emitted by the factory was actually being reused in the gas element plane.

He and Caroline looked over and saw what appeared to be a village behind them, in addition to the battlefield in front of them.

These indigenous people, like the Tanka people of Rorschach's previous life, live on boats and have drifted on the sea for generations. Their dwellings are also built on rafts and airships, and they have lived on them for generations.

The air bladder is mainly an extremely light bladder of elemental organisms. It can actively filter heavy components and absorb gases with small molecular weights, thus naturally gaining buoyancy.

Besides elemental creatures, these little people and some flying beasts are also carbon-based life forms, with the food chain based on network-like mycelium.

These mycelia absorb carbon dioxide and moisture from the atmosphere and perform photosynthesis. For the indigenous people, the mycelia are their food.

"We will chase the green mist with Kabayo, and when it matures, we will feed our people and livestock."

"Kabayo" refers to the net-like mycelium that floats in the air after it unfolds. When these mycelial nets mature, they do not grow into mushrooms, but rather into hollow air bubbles. After capturing gases, the heavy gases that can be used are absorbed, while the light gases that cannot be used are enriched and stored in the vesicles, providing buoyancy for the gradually developing and heavy mycelial mat.

The "green gas" the elders mentioned was not chlorine, but rather a rich source of carbon dioxide. After their conversation, Rorschach guessed that it was due to the specialization of these races' visual organs, allowing them to identify gases that were colorless to humans by color.

In the original environment of the gas element plane, there were ocean currents. The gas masses rich in nitrogen and carbon, which are essential for life, would constantly change positions. These natives had to follow the gas masses and cultivate edible fungi.

In other words, although they were farmers, their lifestyle was closer to that of herders.

Until recently, when Rorschach's "sewage outlet" was discovered, the other end of the portal continuously discharged gases containing sulfur, nitrogen, and most importantly, carbon dioxide, allowing the clan to settle down for the first time.

Rorschach and Caroline could see that the "sewage outlets" had "gas collection wells" made of animal hides above and below them. The gases would rise or fall due to their different molecular weights, forming a simple separation. What "Kabayo" needed was at the bottom of the gas collection wells, where it grew vigorously into a floating carpet of fungi. The mature fungi were golden yellow, like a field of wheat rising and falling.

It's true that there are only misplaced resources, not useless waste. Rorschach never imagined that greenhouse gases and toxic gases emitted into the gas element plane could be treated as treasures.

As this nomadic group settled down, their primitive society also developed, with not only a steady increase in population but also a gradually more complex social structure.

Soon after, conflicts arose within the clan. Originally, clan members shared limited resources with each other, but now the concept of property emerged. The clan, centered around two families, began to fight over the "gathering well" and livestock.

Thus, the clan was plunged into a "fierce" civil war, which was as "tragic" as Rorschach and Caroline had witnessed.

According to the timeline of the Prime Material Plane, a "gas well" was destroyed last night, and a "warhorse" accidentally entered the portal, which led to the factory accident.

Fine, you guys can do it. Rorschach didn't have any intention of not interfering in internal affairs. He really didn't want to get involved in the messy infighting of this primitive tribe, but he had to ensure that the pollution discharge continued normally.

So Rorschach promised the elders to stop fighting, saying that such fighting wouldn't kill anyone. As long as they properly maintained the portal, the waste gas—the precious gas—would be produced, and would only increase.

The elder was so happy that tears streamed down his face. He appealed to the two "big" families to cease fire and conveyed the Master's decree.

The still-bleeding soldiers froze, looked at each other, and concluded: Who are you? A commotion arose, and they seemed unable to resist continuing their attack.

Seeing the signs of renewed conflict, Rorschach frowned. Only after arriving in the gaseous plane did he discover that this sparse and chaotic realm possessed a relatively complete ecosystem, capable of accommodating even slightly intelligent life. It wouldn't be bad if there were such beings on the other side managing his vents; for example, with these tribes maintaining it, wild animals and elemental creatures wouldn't dare to intrude.

Since he and a disgraced elder alone couldn't control the situation, was the only option to eliminate one side of the conflict? Luo Xia began to seriously consider this question. His unpredictable expression terrified the elder; the young men present had no idea how terrifying a being called a mage could be.

"Should we stop them? Actually, I can set up a barrier to repel creatures near the portal, but I'd have to come and maintain it frequently," Caroline tried to offer a gentler solution.

"I think it would be interesting to cooperate with the indigenous people." Rorschach began to prepare his spells. He planned to end the war with war and then appoint a "king" to govern the tribe.

Suddenly, an anomaly occurred from the lower plane. Several screeching beasts burst out from the thick clouds. They were not large, about the size of a small gray-blue human, with sharp triangular heads, and frantically flapped their wings.

These pterosaur-like creatures struggled to fly upwards, their piercing cries instantly filling the entire sky. Even as they flew from the lower atmosphere to the shallower atmosphere, the change in atmospheric density made flight difficult, but these flying beasts still struggled relentlessly.

The pterosaur swarm swept across the battlefield like cannonballs, some panicking and colliding with tribe members before they could turn around.

The elder's face changed drastically. Panicked, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Tuntun! Tuntun is coming!" After warning the tribe members, he told the mages, "Elders, leave this place quickly! Tuntun is coming!"

What is "Tuntun"? The elders are using their own language here, and Rorschach guessed it was either a living being or some kind of extreme phenomenon. Caroline looked down and saw the colorful clouds beneath her feet beginning to ripple violently: "Is a storm coming?"

The elder had already ordered a junior to pull the cart in an attempt to escape, and he gave his final warning: "Tuntun will devour everything!"

The pterosaur swarm was still fleeing frantically, with more individuals charging upwards from the lower levels. Rorschach quickly understood why the pterosaurs weren't fleeing in all directions but instead flying wildly into the sky—the outline of a giant mouth was visible beneath the undulating clouds, thousands of meters away, and their field of vision could barely make out the creature's "mouth."

Tun Tun, a gigantic maw seemingly capable of swallowing a city, was rapidly approaching Rorschach and Caroline.

Why are you running? How can you escape? Rorschach watched the indigenous people struggling in vain as they fled.

(End of this chapter)