I built a manor in the Middle Ages

Chapter 33: The War Between Man and Mice (Part )

Food is sacred to a commoner.

Ryan, who had tasted the tithe and the heavy tax of fifteen from his village lord, had never had so much food in winter.

Although these foods essentially belonged to Luke, Ryan still held the idea that they would all prosper together and suffer together. When he heard that there was a rat plague, his heart felt as urgent as if it was burning on fire.

Looking at Ryan's gradually red face, Luke nodded and said, "Okay, I just happen to need a helper."

"Excellent, Master! Then let's eat without further delay."

Ryan happily served soup to Luc, and Luc's eyes moved to the round shield wrapped in wild boar skin.

Luc only cut back half of the boar's hide, tanned it for the shield, and made two belts and two pairs of gloves for himself and Ryan.

"I just checked, and there's indeed only that one nest of rats in the cellar. I've figured out a way to deal with them. They'll be completely eradicated before noon tomorrow!"

Luc sipped the hot soup and pointed at the pigskin gloves with his chin. "Put them on tomorrow morning. I'll sew you a rabbit fur hat later. After we catch the mice, we have another thing to do!"

"what's up?"

Ryan drank the broth with a sigh of relief. His cold was indeed almost healed, and his appetite was even stronger in the evening than at noon.

Luc's eyes were focused, "Brick Kiln!"

……

The next morning, the two fully armed men walked out of the room and headed straight for the cellar.

After opening the closed wooden board, although it was bright enough during the day, in order to see the interior of the cellar more clearly, Luke asked Ryan to find a few pieces of wood and diagonally chisel them into the circular soil layer, then pour oil and light a fire.

Leaving little Charlie in the cellar, the two men jumped in and searched for new rat holes along the uneven dirt.

Luc had a hunch that a new hole would appear today.

Sure enough, not far from the sealed cave entrance, Luc found a new cave entrance that was slightly smaller than the previous one. Before he could call Ryan, Ryan also found another one on the other side.

"Master, master, there's a rat hole over here. Could there be two nests of rats in the cellar?"

Picking up the still damp soil at the hole and sniffing it, Luc shook his head. "No, this one is newly dug too. It seems these mice have learned their lesson and know how to dig two holes!"

A cunning rabbit has three burrows. The big rat that Luc saw last night was as big as a hare, so it was no problem for it to dig two holes in one night.

"But even if it's a new brood, so what? They'll all die anyway!"

Luke sneered and waved his hand, saying, "Bring the food up!"

"It's the master!"

Ryan quickly climbed out of the cellar and in the blink of an eye he brought back a large piece of pottery.

Luke bought five pieces of pottery in Cooper Castle. Excluding the ones for eating and cooking, the one in front of him was the largest.

Ryan, wearing wild boar leather gloves, carefully placed the pottery and opened the lid. A puff of hot air rose up, and thick mist hit Ryan's face. He suddenly felt hot and quickly turned his head away.

After finishing all this, Ryan took out a pile of firewood and piled it at the entrance of the rat hole.

Everything was ready. Ryan lit the firewood at the entrance of the second hole, then took off his harder wild boar leather gloves and frantically fanned the rat hole!
Thick smoke billowed into the rat hole with the wind, and soon a squeaking sound was heard from inside the hole. Hearing the sound, Ryan fanned the choking smoke even harder.

The wood Ryan lit was ash, a tree that produces smoke containing a special oil when it burns. These oil particles can irritate the eyes and are more intense than ordinary smoke.

Ryan turned his head to the side and closed his eyes in the leeward direction, for fear of choking.

It is conceivable how choked the rats would feel when the thick smoke seeps into the rat hole.

Luc's guess was correct.

These two holes were the holes dug by the mouse last night. In order to avoid them being sealed again, the huge mouse deliberately dug two holes to provide a retreat for itself and its children.

Now thick smoke was pouring out of one hole, and the mice hurriedly ran towards the other hole with their children.

But just as the mouse was about to run out of another hole, Luc, who had been waiting for a long time, picked up the pottery with a grim smile, and poured the pottery filled with boiling water on the mouse that was about to show its head!
"Squeaky!!!"

The smell of burning water poured on the rat skin quickly spread, and the sound of boiling water crackled.
The mouse that was hit on the head with the water let out a miserable howl, and a foul smell continued to come - the mouse was directly scalded to the point of shitting!

The other mice had no time to react at all. There was a lot of boiling water in the pottery. The leading mouse was not even dead yet before it was drowned by the large amount of boiling water that followed. The other mice behind it were also either dead or injured. The few that were still alive turned around and ran back even faster than when they came.

Most of the dozen rats in the group were drowned on the spot, leaving only the big rat that had been following behind and two or three cubs to escape back to the nest.

But it's not over yet!
Thick and dazzling smoke continued to rush in from behind. Although Luc's boiling water was running low, using water to hit the rat hole not only scalded some of the rats to death, but also had the ability to collapse the internal structure of the rat hole!

Looking at the gradually collapsing cave entrance, Luc's mouth twitched. He had thought about using a trap to catch mice before, but eventually gave up. One reason was that the trap might not catch the mouse, and the other was that the mouse was too big. Now this method seemed very good.

No matter how strong the hole-digging ability of the rat as big as a human foot is, it cannot dig a new hole and get out in such a short time. These rats are doomed!

After pouring all the boiling water, Luc prepared to go back and get some more boiling water - there was still a pot of hot water heating on the fireplace.

But unexpectedly, after just a few steps, there was a sudden sound at the cave entrance in Ryan's direction. Because smoke can also irritate people's eyes, Ryan only turned his head and closed his eyes to fan himself, and did not notice the movement at the cave entrance at all. Luke quickly spoke up to remind him:

"Ryan, stop slapping and catch the mouse!"

"It came out of you!"

Hearing Luke's shout, Ryan was startled and opened his eyes quickly, but as soon as he opened his eyes, the scene in front of him made him stunned.

The sturdy mouse had actually pulled most of its body out of the cave, and its gray fur was scratched by the earthen wall, making a crackling sound. Because it used too much force, the mouse's head became extremely hideous, with bulging eyes, which was very scary.

Seeing this, Ryan picked up the wooden stick beside him and was about to hit the mouse on the head. Unexpectedly, at this moment, the mouse directly came out of the cave, and then climbed up the earth wall at lightning speed, and rushed out of the cellar like flying!

Its children were completely abandoned.

"Don't worry about it, just kill those cubs at the back!"

Stopping Ryan who was still trying to chase him, Luc looked outside the cellar, took a deep breath, put his hands together, closed them around his mouth, and shouted at the top of his voice:
"Little Charlie!!"

"Woof woof woof!!!"

A burst of ferocious dog barking echoed through the mountains and forests!
Luc had been on guard against this scene, so letting little Charlie stay outside the cellar was the last insurance!

After five months of continuous feeding, the puppy had grown into a mighty hunting dog.

The full two feet in height, the shiny black hair and the bulging muscles on the limbs all prove the strength of this hound.

Hearing Luc's voice and smelling the strange smell, little Charlie, who had been squatting by the cellar for most of the day, stood up quickly, showing his sharp fangs. The moment the mouse just appeared, he pounced forward. The mouse didn't even have time to react before he grabbed its head in his mouth. With a click, the mouse's head burst instantly, and its brains splattered everywhere!
(End of this chapter)