Chapter 296 Broken Dragon Bones

"Translate, what is a surprise?"

A chair was dragged over, and Horn sat down on it, resting his legs, which had not yet been removed from the splint, on the table.

Shilov pushed her wheelchair to her usual workbench and took out a white hollow tube from the oak table.

"Here!"

"Translate, translate." Horn leaned back in his chair comfortably, looking lazy.

Shilov made a rare human expression and rolled her eyes at Horn: "The surprise is that we have found the materials for the bone flute that can drive away giant spiders, and we can mass-produce it."

"That's a real surprise." Horn sat up straight immediately. "How did you find out?"

"When I was copying a book, I suddenly found that it mentioned a material called Broken Dragon Bone, which came from the Longmian Mountains."

"Dragonbone? It sounds like the name of a sword."

"The prefix 'broken' here is an adjective, not a verb. Your cultural papermaking is suspected to be a bit low."

Shilov joked and explained to Horn.

This material is called broken dragon bone but it is actually a mineral that must be mined from the mountains.

This flute was not chiseled out of bones at all, but was molded from crushed dragon bones that were calcined.

The alchemical properties of Broken Dragon Bone itself are very weak, so it has similar properties to Fluorite, that is, it has extremely low requirements for the environment of alchemical reactions.

Even when it is low enough to be blown by natural wind, alchemical reactions will occur, but they will consume the alchemical properties of the main body.

This kind of ore is basically waste except that it is regarded as a holy object by the Dragon Cult dwarves.

“Broken dragon bones are a hard material. I guess it has similar properties to pyroxene and can be powdered through calcination.

So we secretly calcinated it and found that it really worked, and the bone flute made from it could also drive away giant spiders. "

Horn was stunned: "Why do you want to calcine it secretly?"

"Because my father has an objection. In the teachings of the Dragon Worship Cult, broken dragon bones are considered to be part of the body of the Creator Dragon. 'Those who burn bones will be burned by the dragon's breath.'"

Standing in front of the workbench, Halkin used a knife to enlarge the small hole on the bone flute:
"But it doesn't matter. As long as you don't tell him in front of him that it was broken dragon bones that were burned, he will pretend not to see it."

Seeing Horn's somewhat surprised look, Halkin explained with a smile:

“My generation of reformist dwarves is very different from the traditional dwarves of three hundred years ago.

For the sake of faith and ideals, he took his weapons and fled to the deep mountains and forests and lived there for three hundred years.

What did we get?
The population has been decreasing year by year, the beer is as tasteless as horse urine, all the money is taken away by smugglers, and people live worse than bandits. Whoever loves such a life will get over it.

When the Hundred Years' War just ended, our elders tried to reconcile with the Empire. The content is very long, but to put it simply, they have honestly begged for mercy.

But the Empire only opened the borders and still refused to allow the Dragon Cult dwarves to gather on the plains. If more than 10 dwarves gathered, they would be captured and made slaves. "

After blowing away the powder on the dragon bone flute, Halkin said calmly, "Your Majesty, I followed you because I didn't want to live like this. I just wanted to drink wine, eat meat, and fuck women."

Taking the dragon bone flute from Halkin, Horn took a deep look at this dwarf who had lost sight of high tastes.

He lowered his head, turned the dragon bone flute in his hand, and asked Shilov: "According to you, this kind of flute should only be used by wizards. How do priests use it?"

"That brings us to its second characteristic." Shilov turned the wheelchair around and faced Horn, "I don't know whether it was discovered by the church or another secret party.

The dragon bone flute was inexplicably stimulated to undergo an alchemical reaction in the ghost wood incense.

At this time, depending on the different tones of the flute played, strange sound waves can be emitted to drive away the giant spider, and the effect can last for half a day.

The priests of the Blue Blood Monastery used this method to disperse the giant spiders around the orphanage."

"You mean, even ordinary people can use the dragon bone flute?" Horn looked down at the dragon bone flute with some surprise.

If this is true, then the wild spider forest that previously blocked the flow of people in and out will now become a smooth path.

The original plan to transport crushed stone and raw wool will also become a reality.

But doing so would expose this treasure trove that could defend against the Knights of the Imperial Order.

Or after removing the Wild Spider Forest, build a fortress at the original dangerous pass?
Anyway, the current mortar production capacity far exceeds demand.

If infrastructure cannot bring convenience to transportation, it will be quite difficult to recover the costs overall.

Shilov pointed to Halkin next to her: "No, it's more than that."

"Your Majesty, have you noticed that the clothes I'm wearing are very special?" Halkin showed off his clothes with a smile and turned around in front of Horn.

In order to control his son, Brock, who became a senior executive of the Autumn Dusk Island Industrial Zone, arranged a job for Halkin as a textile supervisor. This is also the reason why Halkin appeared here.

Horn reached out and touched Halkin's sleeve.

A soft and comfortable touch rubs across your fingertips, the texture feels like silk and cotton.

Rougher than silk, softer than linen, it feels oddly like cotton.

"what is this?"

In front of Horn, Halkin did not continue to keep the secret and said directly: "When I was in charge of the textile workshop, I thought, spider silk is also silk, flax is also silk, why can't spider silk be woven?
So I found Robert, an alchemist from the White Mountain Priory, and he actually helped us figure it out.

We first experimented with the silk of jumping spiders and found that although the silk was good, it was too thin and the yield was very low.

Jumping spiders are very aggressive. Even if a flute is played, they will fight back violently or even die from stress if touched.

Bull spiders are much more docile. They will run away after the flute is played and rarely show aggressive behavior in an environment with flute sounds.

Although the silk of bull spiders is not as tough as that of jumping spiders, it is more abundant and thicker than that of jumping spiders.

A bull spider can produce a pound of silk a day, of which about half a pound is usable, and its thickness is about the same as the finest combed golden wool.

But compared to wool, this spider silk is lighter and softer, and its strength and elasticity far exceed wool.”

Horn's eyes widened immediately: "Have you mastered the method of taming giant spiders?"

Halkin showed an embarrassment on his face, and he said with a wry smile, "Not yet, both the bull spiders and jumping spiders are too violent to be controlled.

The methods used to train livestock did not work on them. We caught three bull spiders and two jumping spiders, and all of them died...

But if you find the right method, this kind of cloth will definitely make a lot of money!
This spider cloth is light and warm, and will not be damaged no matter how hard you try. It is very useful for wiping feet, wiping mouth, or making clothes.

Next to silk, this is the finest cloth I have ever seen.”

Looking at Halkin and then at Shilov sitting next to him, Horn suddenly realized: "Are you here to ask me for research funding?"

Shilov did not hide it: "Yes, this is the first project of our Papal Royal Seminary. I hope His Holiness the Pope will support it."

Exhaling slowly, Horn rubbed his swollen temples and said, "Okay, write a plan for the entire project and submit the samples. I estimate that I can approve 200-300 pounds of research funding for you."

"Then this project is..."

"It's under the name of, um, the Senate, so it's semi-private." Horn seemed a little dazed when he said this.

Now there are mortar workshops, mountain copper workshops, furniture workshops, and so on.

At present, the production side under his command has achieved production efficiency above the average level through alchemical industry, assembly lines and scientific management methods.

However, the vigorous and rapid development of the production side led to a problem that Horn had not expected, that is, insufficient consumption.

To put it simply, there is no market and the products cannot be sold.

After the flood, famine occurred everywhere and food prices soared.

After most people spend their money on necessities (food and cheap clothing), the market for daily necessities begins to shrink.

This year, the workshop in Joan of Arc had a large backlog of unsold goods, leading to its closure and bankruptcy, and it was for this reason.

For this reason, Horn even suspended production in the textile workshop on Autumn Dusk Island.

He placed orders for the Salvation Army's uniforms and rifles with the local workshop in Jeanne d'Arc.

Precisely because their production efficiency is lower, more labor is needed, which can provide more jobs and maintain the stable order of Joan of Arc.

But this market prosperity maintained by military orders is an abnormal prosperity.

With the local consumer market in Langsand County shrinking, the best way is to export.

But the problem is that although North County to the east of Joan of Arc is a friendly army, it is extremely poor.

Even if you want to go through North County to Norn, the transportation cost is extremely high due to the small plateau terrain of North.

To the south are the Ibe Knights of Jinhe Township, who belong to the church. Now they have blocked all roads and refuse any merchants entry or exit.

Lower River County in the west, like the Ibe Knights, is a force belonging to the church and will not give Horn any chance.

Only Kasha County in the southwest was the least affected, and it borders the Kingdom of France and Black Snake Bay.

It seems that both food and the economy of Longsander County have to rely on Kasha County as a springboard.

I have to talk to Martin in a couple of days.

(End of this chapter)