Winter Lord: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 108 The Poor Turtle
Louis spurred his horse and galloped deeper into the hot zone of the Red Tide Territory.

However, as soon as they stepped into the outer perimeter, the warhorses began to feel uneasy and began to whinny anxiously.

"Is this the end?" Louis tightened the reins, dismounted, and walked forward on foot.

Although it is already autumn and the northern land should be bitterly cold, the surface temperature in this area has already exceeded 80 degrees Celsius.

Even thick-soled riding boots couldn't block the burning sensation on my feet, as if I were stepping on a scorching hot iron plate.

He took off his heavy wolfskin coat and wore only a light shirt.

His internal fighting spirit surged, transforming into a thin protective membrane that barely withstood the invading high temperature.

Even so, I still felt like my whole body was being steamed, and my back was almost instantly soaked with sweat.

Before me stretched a reddish-brown fissure zone, with scorching steam rising from the cracks in the rocks. A dozen or so fireback turtles lay half-buried in the geothermal zone, lazily yet warily exhaling hot air. Occasionally, they would raise their heads, their shells gleaming with a faint red light.

This is the nest of the Fireback Turtles, the core of the gushing geothermal activity, and the foundation upon which the Red Tide Territory stands.

Louis took a deep breath and strode toward the core area.

The Red Tide Knights have been in the geothermal area for a while now.

Without the protection of battle aura, ordinary hunters could only offer advice from the outside; the actual actions were carried out by these knights.

They all looked grim; it seemed the operation hadn't been very successful.

"Reporting, sir!" A knight rushed forward, panting, "These Fireback Turtles are really too difficult to deal with!"

Although they are not aggressive, they are extremely alert, retreating into their shells at the slightest approach... their defenses are comparable to a city wall, and coupled with the high temperature of their surface, they are completely impossible to attack!

Louis paused for a moment, then made a decision: "Let's stop for now, observe them, and not provoke them."

The knights nodded in relief and went to rest.

Louis stood on the scorching ground, carefully observing the fire-backed tortoise.

He knew he had to find a smarter way, and his time was running out.

After observing for half a day, Louis finally noticed something was wrong.

The fireback tortoise is entering its mating season.

In the scorching geothermal area, a few scattered female turtles were surrounded by a group of male turtles.

The restless male turtles breathed heavily, their eyes filled with a hunger that had been suppressed for an entire season.

When the males approach the female, they tap her shell with their heads, making a clear sound – this is the fireback tortoise's direct courtship signal.

If a female turtle is interested, she will usually rub herself lazily on the ground a couple of times, making a faint rubbing sound.

If there is no intention, it will simply retract its shell and spray out a scorching white mist, which is very effective in deterring people from retreating.

However, the female turtles here are very intelligent.

They neither nodded nor refused, but simply acted as if to say "you still have a chance," dangling a circle of male turtles around them.

Some of them rubbed against the shell a couple of times before retracting back into it, leaving the male turtle empty-handed.

Some turtles would stick out half of their tails, attracting a group of male turtles to fight each other. Then they would casually spray a puff of mist, causing the turtles to roll around on the ground from the fumes.

The more cunning female turtle simply stuck out her tongue and tapped the ground, the meaning being quite simple: bring me food.

So the male turtles dragged their heavy bodies around, searching everywhere, bringing back charred little lizards, dried-up berries, and other things, piling them up in front of the female turtles.

The female turtles ate while being picky, slowly and methodically chewing the delicious food that the male turtles had gone to great lengths to find.

After they've eaten and drunk their fill, they casually shake their shells, leaving a faint hint, before continuing to hang the group of male turtles.

Louis squinted, feeling like he'd seen this scene somewhere before.

At this moment, the male turtles' sexual repression has been pushed to its limit.

They are restless, anxious, and almost always on the verge of losing control.

Louis's eyes lit up, and a brilliant, underhanded plan popped into his head: "Great, let's do something dirty, operation codenamed Turtle Trap." So he immediately ordered the knights to start collecting the female turtles' urine.

The urine of female turtles during mating season has a strong, pungent smell, like sulfur that has been roasted over a fire mixed with mud, which makes people's eyes water.

The knights turned pale, but they couldn't refuse their lord's order.

I could only pinch my nose, hold the bottle, and carefully begin to collect the urine.

To enhance the effect, Louis summoned an alchemist to prepare other liquids, which were then mixed in, instantly amplifying the aroma several times over.

The entire camp seemed to be covered by a thick, stinky lid, and even the bravest knights were forced to squat on the ground and cough violently from the stench.

At the same time, he also ordered craftsmen to weave a batch of simple reed fake tortoise shells.

Inside the fake shell, several real small stones are suspended.

With just a gentle shake, it can produce a rustling sound similar to a female turtle rubbing against the ground.

With these preparations complete, the plan began.

The following day, Louis led his knights to hide behind the scorching rocky ground, specifically targeting the male turtles who were restless and agitated by sexual repression.

These unfortunate creatures had their carapaces gleaming from polishing, and their eyes practically spitting fire.

Some even hugged the stones and rubbed them against them to relieve their loneliness, creating a pitiful scene.

After identifying the target, Louis took out the fake turtle covered in the pungent urine of a female turtle as bait.

With a pull of the thin vine, the fake tortoise shell swayed back and forth on the ground, making an ambiguous and flirtatious friction sound.

Coupled with that "love scent" so strong it could suffocate flies, the effect was devastating.

The restless male turtle suddenly stretched its neck out, its nostrils flared wide, and its eyes almost popped out.

He acts like he doesn't even recognize his own mother, only his "wife".

Then it let out a series of strange, low roars and pounced on the fake turtle with a thunderous roar.

opportunity!

Louis immediately waved.

Several knights who were already prepared quickly moved and precisely looped the thick hemp rope, which was soaked with the same female turtle urine, around the neck of the male turtle.

The vines suddenly pulled!

With a deafening thud, the fiery male tortoise was forcibly dragged into the cold iron cage.

The heavy and sturdy iron cage can not only withstand the full force of the fireback turtle's charge, but also isolate it from the high-temperature mist it spews out due to its anger and thirst.

Captured successfully!

In just two days, under Louis's personal command, four of the most restless, most irrational, and most hopeless male fireback turtles were captured.

Although they were still thrashing about in their cages, uttering mournful and thirsty cries, they ultimately had no outlet for their pent-up passion.

“Poor turtles,” Louis said softly, looking at the fireback turtles that were tightly imprisoned.

Without wasting any time, he immediately arranged for people to escort the Fireback Turtle to Fir Territory.

Although these fireback tortoises were far from being truly domesticated, Louis safely transported them back to Fir Ridge without resorting to excessive force, laying the foundation for their eventual domestication.

The journey will take approximately four days.

To prevent the fireback turtles from causing an uprising during the journey, Louis designed a simple mobile protective device.

He also had the doctors prepare mild herbal remedies to gently hypnotize the fireback turtles, keeping them in a semi-conscious state throughout the journey.

In the autumn wind of Red Tide Territory, Louis stood atop Red Tide Fortress, looking down at the receding transport convoy, hoping they would arrive soon.

(End of this chapter)