My family runs an adventurer's guild.

Of course, lime is not a problem for producing bleaching powder using this method, but the production of chlorine still needs to be solved. In the laboratory, chlorine is usually produced by reacting concentrated hydrochloric acid with potassium permanganate. Although this method is mature, it is too expensive. The industrial method for producing chlorine is to use high-voltage electricity to electrolyze concentrated brine—and luckily, there are a few magicians in Totoro Town who are skilled in electric magic, making this a very professional and suitable task.

And so, with the coordination and assistance of city officials, and under the guidance of the already famous Tony Garfield Stark, the two alchemy workshops in Totoro hired several wizards to work together and successfully produced a batch of bleaching powder in just half a day. The townspeople tried it with some skepticism, and were overjoyed, because this stuff was truly, truly, truly useful!

In modern times, health-conscious ordinary citizens often complain about the bleach smell in tap water; but in the days before tap water, this white powder that could purify foul water was enough to make many people ecstatic.

Especially for sailors who steered large sailing ships through the waves, this strange white powder was almost regarded as a divine substance—stinking water with disgusting algae and hard bread infested with maggots, like the white sails, were classic symbols of seafaring life in the age of sail.

Therefore, after trying the first batch of bleaching powder, a passing captain immediately placed an order to take some back to his ship to try it out. Some merchants also saw a business opportunity and planned to transport the bleaching powder to various ports for sale.

The maids in the castle were overjoyed – the rainwater collected in the reservoir would finally be used.

Beyond the realm of food, an increasingly proud Tony began to explore other avenues for promoting Earth's new technologies, starting with pearl farming. In this fantastical world, pearls are not only raw materials for jewelry and high-quality beauty and health products (pearl powder), but also important tools for storing magical energy. Many magical artifacts and enchanted items require pearls, leading to a persistent shortage of natural pearls.

Therefore, Tony Garfield Stark used the freshwater pearl farming technology that is already very mature on modern Earth to teach a druid in town how to use fishing nets to suspend freshwater mussels for farming, instead of letting the mussels sink to the bottom of the river naturally, and how to make the mussels form pearls, etc.

Although these are very basic common sense facts on modern Earth, they are actually valuable experiences accumulated by countless wise people over many years. Without Tony's guidance and insightful explanation, scholars around the world would not know how long it would have taken to invent such technology.

Later, upon learning that Tony's previously announced pasteurization method could not only be used to preserve milk but was also even more suitable for preventing wine from turning sour, the town's wine association representative, wanting to curry favor, used magic to create a stone statue of Tony, intending to erect it in the central square of Totoro Town as a token of gratitude for Tony's selfless contribution. Tony, who naturally loved the limelight, was overjoyed, thinking it would be incredibly satisfying to leave his mark in another world.

However, when he arrived in front of his own stone statue, lifted the canvas covering it, and saw the exquisitely crafted statue, he was stunned.

"...Meow! Even if you sculpted an Iron Man suit out of marble, it would be better than this! What's so special about making a Garfield statue?!"

"...Ahem, well...Mr. Stark, have you forgotten? You're Garfield right now!"

Chapter 243, You can't eat this hamster!

Tony naturally felt somewhat disappointed and frustrated that all his hard work had resulted in Garfield's fame in another world.

However, as a superhero who has witnessed all sorts of great storms and scenes in the Marvel world, Iron Man Tony, although arrogant and sarcastic, has also experienced a lot of setbacks and lessons. He is not the kind of fragile young master who cannot bear the slightest grievance.

So, after a moment of frustration and bitterness, Tony Garfield Stark politely thanked the wine association representative, a dashing wolf girl, who had come to present the Garfield statue, claiming that he had only done some insignificant little work.

Then, Phil tried to smooth things over, saying he would add a life-size Iron Man statue next to the Garfield marble statue, so the residents of Totoro Town could admire Tony's "correct" image. He said that with readily available stone and magic, it could be completed in just one hour.

The reason it's a statue of Iron Man, rather than a statue of Mr. Tony Stark, is because sculpting a human figure is much more difficult than sculpting an Iron Man suit, especially the face, which is very difficult for an amateur to sculpt realistically.

His Mark series Iron Man suit was much easier to sculpt—basically a still life sculpture, even a novice could do it!

Phil's attempt to smooth things over finally cheered Tony up a bit, and he took the opportunity to announce that, in order to celebrate the erection of his stone statue in the square, he planned to hold a grand open-air banquet that evening, with a free, continuous feast, inviting all the townspeople to join in the fun.

To this end, he brought out the large rat that the local residents had given him as gifts over the past few days, the cheese from the Minotaur mother and daughter, the seafood from the pearl oyster farmers, and the two large barrels of beer from the wine association along with the Garfield statue, and so on, so that everyone could eat and drink to their heart's content.

—As Earthlings, both Tony and the other upright cats in the Earth Expedition team had some reservations about eating mice.

Moreover, in the past few days, many of the large rats that the enthusiastic townspeople and farmers have sent to the castle seem to have escaped due to improper storage. If we don't hurry up and roast them and eat them, they will probably all escape!

Well, even those rats that didn't escape, it's said, suffered many serious injuries because they were fighting all the time.

To avoid wasting these precious protein sources, let's eat them all! Otherwise, if the wound gets infected and we die, we won't be able to eat them anymore.

—Waste is shameful, meow!

However, when Tony Garfield the Great Technician Stark generously announced that he would hold a feast with the giant rats sent by the residents who had benefited from his kindness, he completely failed to notice that the castle maids standing behind him were all secretly showing sad expressions.

These large rats, which the Earth expedition team discarded like trash, were a delicious treat that the local native cat-eared girls coveted!

As we all know, cats are not an obedient and docile species.

So, in recent days, while Tony the cat, the owner of the gift, wasn't paying attention, and the other members of the Earth expedition team were not concerned, the cat-eared maids in the Totoro Town lord's castle have been using various excuses to embezzle Iron Man's property.

"...Meow! This mouse seems to have heatstroke; it's all limp. Why don't we stew it? It won't taste good if it dies!"

"...Meow! This mouse is always fighting and is covered in injuries. It's going to die if it keeps going like this. Why don't we make a mouse meat pie?"

"...Meow! This mouse seems to have developed anorexia. It hasn't eaten for two days and is about to lose weight. I'd better cook it as soon as possible!"

"...Meow! This mouse seems to be suffering from depression, meow. Something doesn't seem right. How about we make a pot of mouse meat soup?"

"...Meow! This mouse just fell into the water, it's probably going to get sick soon, meow, let's hurry up and roast it and eat it..."

……

And so, with a menacing green glint in their eyes, the cat-eared maids wandered among the rat cages that filled the castle courtyard every day, using all sorts of completely untenable reasons to drag out plump, meaty rats and fry, stew, and cook them into various rat meat dishes to satisfy their cravings.

Finally, seemingly because eating one or two wasn't enough, these increasingly greedy cat-eared maids brazenly fabricated the excuse that "the mice were burrowing and escaping," knocked out the entire cage of mice, stole them, and took them back to their respective homes to feast on.

—Thankfully, the local residents who bring mice to the castle every day to thank Tony are coming in droves, and the number is increasing daily. Otherwise, those mouse cages piled up in the courtyard would probably have been eaten up long ago by the greedy cat-eared maids and the dog-eared maids who are trying to take advantage of the situation.

In fact, some greedy cat-eared maids have already regarded the large rats piled up in the castle courtyard as their own possessions. They are just waiting for the day when the upright cats of the Earth expedition leave Totoro Town to go to the palace for an audience, so that they can divide up all the large rats. Looking at the disgusted look of Tony and the other cats from Earth towards the rats, they will definitely leave the rats behind.

Unfortunately, while Lord Tony Garfield the Great Technician Stark didn't care about the cat-girl maids' thieving behavior, he didn't forget about these squeaky creatures. He directly used them to entertain the townspeople, boosting his reputation and favorability, leaving the greedy cat-girls sighing in disappointment—although they could probably still have a big meal tonight, there wouldn't be any more free mice to eat in the future!

Looking at the cheering townspeople and the squeaking rats, the adorable cat-eared maids once again wore sad expressions.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

A bright crescent moon hangs in the deep night sky, casting its cool light upon the earth.

Under the bright moonlight, bonfires flickered everywhere in the central square of Totoro Town.

The firelight and moonlight mingled together, illuminating the newly erected Garfield and Iron Man statues.

Meanwhile, the enticing aromas of wine and food filled the square, and the beautiful sounds of flutes, harps, and tambourines drifted on the breeze. Interspersed among these were the laughter, shouts, songs, and dances of young men and women of various races.

In front of the crackling bonfire, the local residents of Totoro Town, farmers and ranch workers from nearby villages, members of the cat expedition team that had traveled from Earth, and a few passing travelers who were staying in the town all sat together around the fire, taking advantage of this rare opportunity to become gluttons, eating and drinking to their hearts' content until their faces were flushed, they reeked of alcohol, and their mouths were greasy.

Around the roaring fire were fresh bread, fruits, vegetables, and stuffed flatbreads. Above the fire, sizzling, oily roasted rats, fish, and squid were neatly skewered, crackling and popping from the high-temperature charcoal, their rich aroma of cumin and Sichuan peppercorns practically melting your nasal mucosa. Roasted chickens, ducks, and geese, stuffed with herbs, hung above the fire, slowly rotating and releasing an irresistible, enticing fragrance.

Dancers with animal ears, draped in sheer veils or wearing grass skirts, swayed gracefully in the firelight, their hips twisting energetically to the musicians' fiery beats. The guests, who had already drunk plenty of wine and beer, watched with rapt attention, some even unable to resist joining in the dance.

And Tony Garfield, the host of this feast, was also enjoying a skewer of roasted rat meat.

"...Wow—this is delicious! I never thought that roasted rat meat would taste so good!" he exclaimed in admiration.

"...Heh, who was it that said they'd rather starve to death or only eat black bread than eat rats?"

Sitting next to him, Phil was also holding two skewers of cumin-flavored rat meat. He joked with a smile, which made Tony a little embarrassed for a moment. In fact, until the banquet started, the proud Tony insisted on not eating rats, believing that this was not something a dignified superhero like himself should eat.

However, when the skewers of rat meat were cleaned, rubbed with salt and spices, and roasted over the fire, the rich aroma made Tony unable to look away from his eyes and nose—before long, he was conquered by the aroma and began to swallow his previous words along with the roasted rat meat.

"...Ah, thinking about it carefully, I also ate roasted guinea pig, a specialty of the Andes Mountains, a few times when I was traveling in Peru. So it seems that simply opposing eating rats is a bit prejudiced. Since I'm in a foreign country, it's best to do as the locals do, hahaha..."

Tony the cat said shamelessly, adding a little more ground catnip to the grilled mouse skewers. After enjoying catnip for so many days, Tony Garfield Stark had developed some resistance to it and was no longer so infatuated with its scent.

"...I knew it! The roasted rat meat in our town is pretty good! What kind of cat doesn't like to eat rats?"

Phil didn't delve into the details and casually continued, "...Besides, the rats we eat are farmed, not those filthy sewer rats. There's absolutely no hygiene problem—otherwise, why would everyone give you rats as a thank-you gift?"

"...Hmm, that makes sense. However, I do have a question about raising rats."

Tony chewed on a skewer of grilled rat meat sprinkled with catnip as he spoke, "...The live rats that everyone in Totoro Town gave me as gifts, after only a few days in the castle courtyard, hundreds of them started fighting, got sick and died, or dug holes and escaped. So, how do the rat farms in this town manage to keep the rats so obediently kept in captivity? Is there some secret to it?"

Actually, most of these missing mice didn't die of disease or escape; they ended up in the bellies of the cat-eared maids...

Faced with Tony's "naive" question, Phil's lips twitched, but he couldn't tell the truth.

Just as he was racking his brains to come up with words, a hearty laugh came from behind him.

"...Hehe, there's no secret to it! However, the pigs and rats on my farm are fed with the lees from the mead town."

John, the manager of the Totoro Town breeding farm, walked over with a beer in hand and a smile, and began to explain. He was a chubby middle-aged human with a face full of fat and a strong body. At first glance, he seemed quite fierce, but in reality, he was always smiling and kind to everyone.

Tonight, he wore a slightly tight bright red shirt, his thick belly bulging high, making one worry that the shirt buttons might suddenly pop off. "...Rat things are lively, but after eating several meals of fermented grains every day, they become as docile as pigs..."

—The town of Meadow, adjacent to Totoro Town to the north, is an agricultural town situated on a fertile plain, renowned for its mead and grains. The local brewery not only produces the best mead in the entire Golden Dragon Kingdom, but also generates a large amount of brewing lees daily. These byproducts, mixed with some aged grains, make an excellent feed, suitable for raising pigs or even mice.

So, the rats on Old John's farm ate nothing but lees mixed with stale wheat every day, and they all became drunken rats. Their activity level dropped drastically, and they were dizzy all day long, only knowing how to eat and sleep. Naturally, they became more docile and gained weight more easily.

"...Oh, I see... Now I remember, I've heard that distillers' grains are indeed a very good and healthy feed, healthier than most mixed feeds. Pigs that eat it grow quickly and firmly. But I never imagined that this stuff could be used to feed rats..."

After listening to Old John's explanation, Tony lowered his head and thought for a moment, indicating his agreement, but then changed the subject, "...By the way, Mr. John, could you buy another batch of rats from your farm? There are far more guests at the banquet today than expected, and they have very good appetites. One of the cooks just came to tell me that the last big rat in the castle has been slaughtered, but it still doesn't seem to be enough to eat..."

"...Oh dear, this is troublesome, Mr. Stark! It's not that I don't want to help you, but we simply have no stock left at home!"

Old John slapped his thigh and replied with a worried look, "...These past few days, the whole town has been buying mice from my house as gifts for you. Now all that's left are breeding mice and mother mice that have given birth. Even the newborn mouse babies were made into roasted suckling mice at this feast!"

However, although the rats are gone, there are still plenty of pigs. How about some pork? We happen to have some top-quality miniature pigs available right now..."

"...Meow! Who said there weren't any mice? Isn't there a live one over there? And it's huge, meow!"

A cat-eared maid wearing a chef's hat suddenly appeared out of nowhere, reeking of alcohol and rambling incoherently, "...Lydia, Elizabeth, Galatea! Hurry up, don't let this big rat get away! Our snacks for tonight's drinks depend on it..."

As she called out to her friends, she staggered toward the edge of the square, clutching a bloodstained kitchen knife in her hand.

Upon hearing this, Phili turned around and looked closely. Sure enough, she saw a huge, furry figure—wasn't that Kurasuke?

Then he heard the panicked screams of the extra-large female hamster.

"...Squeak! I'm an envoy from the capital! Is there a banquet here? Is there anything good to eat? I'm really hungry...Squeak! What are you doing with those kitchen knives? Waaah! You madman! Why are you actually chopping at me! Lord Phili, help!"

Chapter 244, Riding on a Hamster's Back

As night falls, everything becomes silent.

The cool, bright crescent moon cast its silvery, misty rays upon the vast land.

A refreshing sea breeze, carrying the scent of salt, gently blows across the beaches, hills, and fields.

With the night so dark and windy, it seemed like the time for travelers to find lodging and for weary birds to return to their nests.

Especially in this backward world where there are no electric lights or GPS.

However, on the seaside avenue connecting Totoro Town and Thousand Sails City, a convoy of cars was rumbling along under the stars and moon at night.

However, a closer look reveals why this convoy could travel so confidently at night.

—The lead carriage, a luxurious open-top, was pulled not by ordinary horses, but by a giant hamster with silver-white fur and a flat, round body—clearly a formidable magical beast. The carriages behind it, though pulled by ordinary horses, were driven by short, but piercing-eyed cat-eared men or women, who could perhaps see even more clearly at night than during the day.

Besides, the passengers on the bus were not ordinary people, but cats of various colors—orange, black, white, tabby, furry, hairless… Each one stared wide-eyed with bright eyes, curiously observing the seaside scenery on both sides of the road under the night sky.

As is well known, cats are nocturnal animals with excellent night vision.

So, what's so abnormal about cats going out for a nighttime trip?

—Otherwise, why would they be called "night owls"? Strictly speaking, it's abnormal to let cats go out for walks during the day!

In short, after receiving the invitation from His Majesty the Golden Dragon King Alaric Ingram, the more than four hundred upright cats of the Earth expedition team left Totoro Town overnight and embarked on their journey to the royal capital, Thousand Sails City, to pay homage to the emperor.

Totoro Town and the royal capital, Thousand Sails City, are about forty kilometers apart, connected by a well-paved road. The road is paved with neatly cut flagstones, with drainage ditches on both sides, making it appear wide and flat. Four-wheeled carriages travel very smoothly and comfortably on it.

Besides connecting Totoro Town and the royal capital, Thousand Sails City, this avenue will continue to extend in two directions, forming a major land transportation artery encircling the entire Golden Dragon Peninsula. Because the Golden Dragon Peninsula is centered on the towering Dragon Roar Volcano, most of its major towns are located in the coastal plains and hilly areas. Therefore, the Golden Dragon Peninsula's road network can only be built along the coastline, with the coastal avenue forming a loop, branching off into smaller roads that connect various towns and villages, forming the country's economic arteries.

The land between Totoro Town and Thousand Sails City was originally a low-lying, narrow swamp covered with reeds, sandwiched between the foothills of Dragon Roar Volcano and the turbulent sea. It not only produced various poisonous mosquitoes, but also roamed with ferocious lizardman bandits.

However, as this region has now become the most developed and prosperous capital area of ​​the Golden Dragon Kingdom, although the mosquitoes are impossible to completely eradicate, the lizardman bandits have long since disappeared. The former swamps have been drained and reclaimed, and dikes have been built to defend against the tides.

Looking out from the seaside promenade, the low-lying plains on the seaward side are almost entirely vast pastures and grasslands, enclosed by wooden fences, with hay planted inside, where pigs, cattle, horses, sheep, and some unique livestock from a fantasy world graze. On the inland side, the rugged hills are scattered with orchards, vegetable gardens, and villa villages—thanks to the cats' night vision, these don't appear eerie under the moonlight, but rather exceptionally pleasant.

However, Tony Garfield Stark wasn't really interested in appreciating the night view; instead, he was full of complaints and grumbling.

"...I say, Brother Phil, isn't your Dragon King far too arrogant? For so many days, he left us stranded in the town, ignoring us completely, providing nothing but food and lodging. Now, he suddenly sends a giant hamster to deliver a message, demanding that our entire delegation rush to the palace to see him overnight... Is this how you treat a diplomatic mission? It's incredibly rude!"

Don't forget, we also have official authorization documents from the United Nations. We are here as messengers representing seven billion people on Earth, not servants who pay tribute to him, pledge allegiance, and are at his beck and call!

Sitting amidst a pile of warm, fluffy fur, Tony pouted a little unhappily and grumbled at Phil, who was also an orange cat beside him.

—At this moment, Phil and Tony were not sitting in the crowded carriage, but were lying on the back of the giant hamster, Cangzhu.

This was the best first-class seat in the entire caravan. It had a fluffy hamster as a natural heater, so even if the evening wind was cold, it wouldn't catch a cold. At the same time, it didn't have to hold its nose and eat dust like the passengers behind it. When the carriage was speeding and the horses' hooves were flying, the dust it kicked up was far more intense than any car exhaust. After riding donkeys or horses for half a day, medieval travelers would be covered in dust and look as if they had been dug out of their graves.

So, Firi lay comfortably on Kurasuke's back—cats naturally love warm places.

(Among the amusing stories of Western families, there are often cats that sleep by the fireplace in winter and end up with their tails burned...)

"...Oh, Mr. Stark, there's nothing wrong with traveling at night! You're all cats now, so you can see better at night than during the day. Besides, there are practically no cars or pedestrians on the seaside promenade at night, so there's no need to worry about traffic jams..."

He lazily replied to Tony the cat, "...When it gets light, we can have breakfast in the palace!"

"...Damn it, am I talking about walking at night? I'm not the kind of coward who's afraid to go out at night!"

Tony rolled his eyes. "...I was talking about attitude!"

“…Mr. Stark, His Majesty the Dragon King truly did not intend to neglect you, but rather encountered an urgent matter and only just returned to the capital.”

Phil thought for a moment and felt there was nothing to hide, so he told the truth, "...Just last month, radical elves from the Green Forest Kingdom, together with an orc tribe, launched a surprise attack on Cold Harbor Town in the western wilderness of our country, and then massacred more than 3,000 border settlers, using their blood to sacrifice to the elven god of vengeance. By the time our border guards discovered the anomaly, it was too late."

Therefore, in retaliation for the massacre in Cold Harbor Town, His Majesty the Dragon King of our country, along with his entire family and trusted subordinates—a total of more than ten dragons—launched a surprise attack on the border of the Green Forest Kingdom. They used their dragon breath to burn down an elven tribe's settlement in the forest, roasting about one or two hundred elves and capturing more than ten as spoils of war… They only returned to the capital yesterday, and then immediately remembered to summon all the guests…”

Chapter 245, The Dragon King's Household Account Book (Part 1)

Based on human experience, in a sense, the history of civilized nations is essentially a history of continuous warfare.

So-called war is a collective armed conflict between different countries and interest groups.

Most wars between different countries are caused by the struggle for territory and interests.

Wars within the same country mainly involve disputes over the throne and changes of dynasty.