Winter Lord: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 122 Turtle Charm

An indescribable odor permeated the laboratory.

It smelled of urine, some kind of burnt herbal residue, and a mix of other unpleasant odors, creating a wonderfully hellish flavor.

Scattered on the ground were fragments of herbs, overturned medicine bottles, and traces of dried, unidentified liquid.

Pale yellow steam floated in the air, carrying a damp and ambiguous temperature.

Wearing gloves and covering his nose, Hilko's face was filled with utter despair: "Tsk, this is really something."

I was a genius alchemy apprentice, a future grand alchemist, recognized even by the Emerald Federation! And what happened? I'm here refining turtle urine?!

His face was full of resentment, yet he had no choice but to undertake this arduous task.

A few weeks ago, Lord Louis, who seemed gentle but was actually a pervert, personally issued this seemingly inexplicable experimental order:
"Prepare a medicine to soothe the agitated male tortoise and induce a gentle fever by leveraging its mating instincts."

Upon hearing this mission, the first thought that popped into Hilko's mind was:

Is this guy out of his mind? Is this what the great art of alchemy is for?!

But Louis explained the importance of the drug very carefully.

“Winter is coming soon. Red Tide Territory can hold on because of its geothermal resources, but what about the places outside? There’s no geothermal energy, no resources, and the little bit of firewood for heating is completely useless…”

So Hilko had no choice but to grit his teeth and fail seven rounds.

It would either explode, burn through tables, or even nearly blow up the lab once.

Until yesterday, he finally extracted a slightly smoky element from the excrement of countless female turtles.

He used the urine of female turtles as the main ingredient, combined with several common but difficult-to-mix herbs, and finally went through a complex extraction and neutralization process.

The estrus hormones of female fireback turtles were simulated, with a trace amount of sedative added.

It can both trigger the male tortoise's mating instinct to generate heat without depleting their vitality, and also soften their terrifying aggression.

He gave this thing an extremely embarrassing name: "Turtle Charm Incense".

"I have to say, although this method is a bit underhanded, the effect should be... well, reliable."

As he summarized, Hilko glanced down at his stained robe and sighed, "I should never have stolen that damn recipe..."

He took off his gloves, pushed open the laboratory window, and a cold breeze rushed in, finally diluting some of the nauseating smell.

…………

Outside the experimental field, the cold wind was biting, but the crowd of onlookers was in high spirits, and the atmosphere was exceptionally lively.

"...It's finally starting." Hilko rubbed his hands, which were red from the cold, and felt a little nervous.

His gaze fell on the center of the field, where a huge male fire-backed tortoise was the subject of this experiment.

Steam was faintly rising from its shell, and its thick limbs were restlessly pawing at the ground.

On the other side, Louise stood at the front row with her hands behind her back, looking focused.

The experiment officially began, and several assistants slowly poured the "turtle fragrance" into the distillation apparatus.

"Release the first round of 'Turtle Charm'!" the assistant shouted, immediately retreating.

Soon, a faint yellow smoke slowly spread across the open ground, enveloping the giant fire-backed turtle.

A subtle scent instantly filled the air.

It had a mixture of fishy, ​​foul, and strange herbal smells that made one frown.

"...Tsk, this smell makes me nauseous every time I smell it." Hilko wrinkled his nose while staring intently at the fire-backed male tortoise.

At first, the male tortoise only slightly raised its head, seemingly somewhat puzzled.

But less than half a minute later, it suddenly became excited, stomping heavily on the ground and slowly approaching the placed fake female turtle.

“They’re here,” Louis said expectantly.

The fire-backed tortoise began circling the fake mother tortoise, exhaling hot breath from its nostrils, its movements becoming increasingly agitated. Finally, it leaped onto her and began…

They rubbed together violently, emitting strange low growls.

"Ah...!" Sif covered her eyes, her cheeks burning red, but she couldn't help but peek through her hands at the strange scene.

Then he secretly turned his head and glanced at Louis out of the corner of his eye.

But his face remained completely expressionless, as if he were oblivious to the embarrassing scene before him, as if he were simply staring at an ordinary stone.

Before long, the fire-backed turtle's shell began to glow red, like a piece of iron that had been baked, faintly emitting heat.

“It’s starting.” Louis raised an eyebrow and took a step back.

Sif instinctively took a few steps back, her eyes fixed on the large turtle that was "working".

The fire-backed turtle grew hotter and hotter, its shell glowing with a dark red light. The surrounding air distorted, and steam billowed out in bursts, causing the entire test site to heat up.

"Getting too close will burn you," Louis warned in a low, calm voice.

The core temperature of the fire-backed turtle can reach 70 or 80 degrees Celsius, which is quite effective.

Sif bit her lip and nodded.

"Second contact." The lab technician sprinkled a little more reagent.

The male tortoise was noticeably more compliant this time. After being rubbed, it did not become agitated but instead lay down quietly.

"This medicine works even faster than expected." Hilko couldn't help but grin, his eyes shining.

After the third round of "turtle fragrance" release, the frequency of steam release by the fire-backed male turtle decreased significantly, and the released heat was not as high.

"The gentleness... is indeed improving." Louis nodded slightly, a hint of satisfaction flashing in his eyes.

He whispered, "Try again, and make sure it allows close inspection."

The knight experimenter, imbued with fighting spirit, slowly approached. The male tortoise merely swayed slightly, making no attacking move.

The experiment was successful.

"Very good, this experiment was a success." Louis turned around, his gaze falling on Hilko, who was smirking in the crowd, and called out, "Hilko!"

"Here!" Hilko immediately straightened up, his expression full of anticipation.

"Here's a hundred gold coins for you." Louis took the heavy purse from the knight and tossed it over casually.

"Ah!! It's so heavy!" Hilko almost dropped it and quickly said, "Your Excellency is wise! The Lord is generous! Hahaha, I've struck it rich this time!"

Complaining? What complaints? I've forgotten them all!
Hehe, it smells so good!
After just a few days of intensive training, the twelve male fireback turtles of the Red Tide Territory have finally completed their taming and adaptation.

The Crimson Tide Territory's beast-taming knight team quickly assembled, and twelve tamed male fireback turtles lined up, their deep red shells shimmering with a faint warmth in the cold wind.

"According to the plan, three units will be allocated to each of the four new vassal territories. They must arrive before the harsh winter," Louis gave the order.

"Yes!"

The knights responded swiftly and began loading batches of Fireback Turtles onto specially made transport racks from Cold Iron.

With their heavy bodies and slow movements, even when tamed, these behemoths are still not exactly "easy to manage".

According to the plan, each fireback tortoise in each territory will be centrally heated during cold snaps to maintain a warm environment for 3 to 5 days.

Once the energy blocks on the back are depleted, they are immediately sent back to the red tide to reheat, and then new turtles are sent out to the top.

Although the method is somewhat clumsy, it is currently the optimal solution.

"This is so troublesome..." Sif couldn't help but sigh softly.

Louis stared at the turtles for a long time and said, "They can save quite a few lives, but there are still too few of them. Transportation is troublesome, and they are not breeding actively... Next year, we must increase our breeding efforts."

(End of this chapter)