I opened a clinic in the Abyss World

The Elf Forest's unique environment and fertile black soil make it perfectly suited for farming and growing crops.

Many cities face food crises as soon as winter arrives, such as Abyss, which has to purchase food from outside.

Food is also one of the hard currencies on the continent of Aesop.

"It's not as easy as you think. After the Red Moon, the number of magical beasts in the Elf Forest increased dramatically. Not only are there carnivorous magical beasts, but there are also quite a few herbivorous ones. After the crops are planted, they will be coveted by magical beasts. If they are not managed, even the seeds will be dug up and eaten, let alone during the harvest season. The planting area is surrounded by magical beasts." Benjamin shook his head with a smile. "The planting area you see here is also surrounded by a wall more than 300 meters high, and a magical protective shield has been set up. There are also sentry posts set up at intervals, with resident elves responsible for guarding it. This is already the limit that our elven race can withstand. We don't have the spare capacity to cultivate any more crops."

Charlotte suddenly realized that this involved management costs, as well as transportation costs after the food was grown.

The Elf Forest is surrounded by mountains, making land transportation underdeveloped and air transport prohibitively expensive.

"High Priest, this way please," Jobs said, leading them to the right.

After turning the corner of the mountain range where the cave was located, a dense forest of nettles of varying heights came into view.

The hybrid nature is clearly visible; these plant-based magicians hybridized nettles with various other plants, thus creating new varieties of nettles.

Four of them were planted at the very front, which should be the premium variety that Steve Jobs mentioned.

The one on the far right is clearly a hybrid of ironwood. Its jet-black trunk is very straight, with a diameter of over five meters and a height of over two hundred meters. The trunk is covered with thorns that are more than a meter long, like sharp spears. The closer to the root, the thicker the thorns become, while they gradually become finer as they grow towards the top of the tree.

The oppressive feeling is extremely strong. If you were to crash into it head-on, an ordinary magical beast would be riddled with thorns, and even a large magical beast with thick skin would have to lose a layer of skin.

More importantly, ironwood itself has extremely high hardness, which is why it was chosen by the elves as the city wall. Even super-large magical beasts cannot easily break it, making it very durable.

"This is not the complete form yet. With the continued cultivation by plant magicians, the ironwood nettle can grow to 500 meters tall, 10 meters in diameter, and its thorns can reach 3 meters in length," Jobs explained.

"Wow, amazing!" Charlotte exclaimed in admiration. If this were done on the same scale as the Elven walls, it would be far more effective than the low-level magical shields of small cities.

Spikes can effectively kill low-level magical beasts, and at the same time, the nettle thorns can be used to remove magic from high-level magical beasts, thereby disrupting the rhythm of the surging beast tide.

The cultivation of this nettle is quite in line with the requirements.

  

"Is it feasible to plant another ring of trees around the Elf City before the next Red Moon night?" Benjamin asked.

Jobs pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "If we mobilize all the plant-type mages in the clan, it shouldn't be a problem, but we can't achieve the density of the existing city walls, and the height can only reach about three hundred meters. Planting three trees in a row, staggered in arrangement, can also achieve a certain effect. Ironwood has a long growth cycle, and catalysis requires more magic power, while our city walls are quite large."

Benjamin nodded and said, "Okay, I will convene the elders' council when I get back, and hold a mobilization meeting tonight to gather all plant-type mages to follow your command and make arrangements to erect a new city wall before the night of the red moon."

Jobs immediately said with confidence, "If we continue to cultivate it for four months, I am confident that we can rebuild an ironwood nettle wall, and with full use of the spikes, it will be no smaller than the current wall."

"Okay, I'll give you five months." Benjamin nodded.

Charlotte was amazed by the Elven race's efficiency. He had witnessed the scale of the city walls before, and to rebuild one required immense confidence.

His gaze fell on the second mutated nettle. This one was cultivated in a completely different direction from the ironwood nettle. It looked like it was a hybrid of cacti, with double the thorns, but its branches and leaves were exceptionally large and thick. The skin was very thin, and it looked plump and juicy. It had also grown to be ten meters tall.

Standing there, it looks like a goose's foot.

"This is a hybrid of schefflera and nettle. Let me demonstrate how much extract this schefflera and nettle plant can yield." Jobs took a knife and cut off a palm-sized leaf from a branch at the bottom.

After being cut open, green juice oozes out from the cut. The thick leaf is then squeezed between two metal plates, and the squeezed juice fills a small bottle.

Charlotte made a simple estimate and estimated that the extract could be over 70%.

One of his requests was to obtain more extract, but he never expected that these plant-based mages would be able to do it so perfectly.

A ten-meter-tall nettle plant like this is estimated to weigh over three thousand kilograms, and can yield more than two thousand kilograms of extract.

This yield is remarkable. If the feasibility of the plan to corrupt all of humanity is verified later, the demand for the extract will increase significantly, and this cultivated variety will play a crucial role.

"This is good too, and isn't it easy to grow? You can just cut a slice off and stick it anywhere and it will grow?" Charlotte asked curiously.

Jobs nodded: "That's right, it has a very high survival rate, but it won't work in the Elf Forest. It's too short and can't get enough sunlight to grow on a large scale."

The remaining two are either vine-like nettles, which can climb on other trees and grow with very broad leaves and many dense thorns, making them very suitable for places like the Elf Forest with many trees. If planted on a large scale, they can make the entire outer forest defensive.

The last one is only two meters tall and looks much like a nettle, just a bit bigger. If you look closely, you can see a few small flower buds among the branches.

Jobs continued, "The vine nettle has been adapted for the Elf Forest, allowing it to get more sunlight and grow better. And this last one, though it looks unremarkable, is actually the most practical. We hybridized it with the dandelion, which is most common on the Aesop continent, increasing its size and giving it the ability to be widely sown. After it matures, it will flower, and the seeds are very light, scattering easily in the wind, thus achieving the goal of large-scale planting."

Benjamin nodded slightly and looked at him, saying, "Very good. You've worked hard these past two days. Give me ten portions of each of these four hybrid seedling varieties, pack them up, and let me take them with me."

"Okay, please wait a moment." Jobs nodded and turned to leave.

A moment later, he came over carrying a box.

Upon opening the box, one finds forty nettle seedlings, ten of each kind.

Benjamin looked at Charlotte and said, "Take these forty nettle plants back for your research. If you need them, just let me know and I'll have someone send them to you."

"Okay." Charlotte reached out and took the box.

Seeing Charlotte take their research results directly, Jobs finally couldn't help but ask, "High Priest, who is this guest?"

Benjamin replied, "He provided us with nettles and proved their usefulness."

Jobs was immediately filled with respect and extended his hand to Charlotte: "Thank you for your contribution."

"Your contributions are equally important," Charlotte said solemnly, grasping his hand.

Benjamin took Charlotte away from the experimental field, but instead of using the teleportation array again, they rode a bald eagle back to the temple.

According to Benjamin, the teleportation array is one-way; it can only transport people from the temple to this location, not the other way around.

Whether Charlotte believes it or not is another matter.

When the bald eagle soared into the sky, Charlotte finally saw the boundary of this reclaimed black soil. There was only a small sentry post every thousand meters, which was why he hadn't seen anyone before.

After returning to the temple, the two discussed the feasibility of using ironwood nettles to protect the city walls.

Based on past experience, in areas with large-scale beast tides, it is advisable to plant more ironwood nettle to prevent the city walls from being breached in the first instance.

Secondly, there is the use of nettle extract in city wall siege warfare, such as soaking arrows in the extract to obtain certain enchantment effects.

Charlotte also suggested that a large amount of nettle extract be placed in the monster's drinking area a few days before the Red Moon, so that the monsters could consume the extract in advance and see if it could reduce the number of monsters on the Red Moon.

Benjamin nodded thoughtfully: "This method is quite feasible. The monsters' drinking areas are relatively concentrated in several large lakes in the Elf Forest. We can physically separate the water on the shore from the water in the middle and inject more extract into the shallow waters on the outer edge to increase the extract content in the water."

The Red Moon Night is only one night, and the range of the beast tide is limited. It is unlikely that they can travel thousands of kilometers in one night. Dealing with the monsters within a range of hundreds of kilometers would solve a big problem.

Benjamin's smile faded, and he looked at Charlotte with a rather solemn expression, saying, "The experiment to demonize a city will take place on the next night of the Red Moon. The Night Watchman has already told me that he has found several small cities that meet the criteria, and two of them are on the trajectory of the small vengeful mist."

However, the key issue is how to persuade the residents to participate in this experiment. We must ensure the safety of the participants; the consequences of a failed experiment would be difficult to bear.

Charlotte was somewhat surprised by the Night's Watch's efficiency; in just two days, they had already preliminarily identified their target. Benjamin's words, however, made his expression serious. He nodded and said, "I understand what you mean. When we get back, I will train Horace well to ensure the experiment proceeds as we expect. Or, perhaps it would be safer to postpone the live-action experiment by a month and test it with magical beasts first."

When he first proposed that crazy idea to the Hermits and the Night's Watch, he never imagined they would move forward so quickly, going so far as to use several cities as test sites.

Even the effect of nettles on monsters has only been tested on the level one monster, the Gold-Eating Rat, while the Hermit has already begun to arrange for the construction of a new city wall around the Elf City.

These real big shots are truly insane when they get going!

"Do you know how many small and medium-sized cities disappear on the continent of Aesop during a single Red Moon night?" Benjamin asked, looking at him.

Charlotte shook her head; this was beyond her knowledge.

Benjamin calmly said, "During the last Red Moon Night, 86 small and medium-sized cities on the continent of Aesop were completely destroyed. Of these, 32 had evacuated in advance, and most of the young people continued to live in new cities. 54 cities were destroyed and their inhabitants perished under the impact of a beast tide far exceeding the scale of previous times."

Charlotte's head buzzed, and she was a little dazed.

Fifty-four cities, cities destroyed and people killed—what kind of concept is that?

Even if those cities were only the size of the Abyss, the number of souls who perished in the beast tide during the last Red Moon Night still exceeded five million!

Charlotte knew that the continent of Aesop was incredibly vast, with Calva located in a relatively central position. The Elf City was 6,000 kilometers away, and the Imperial Capital was more than 8,000 kilometers away, with countless cities of all sizes standing in between.

But he certainly didn't expect that dozens of cities would disappear overnight and millions of people would die from the beast tide.

Besides those 54 cities, the fate of the remaining elderly in the 32 cities where young people were evacuated in advance is equally predictable.

What's even more disheartening is that the beast tide is still growing stronger.

This means that when the next beast tide arrives, more and larger cities may be breached, leading to even more deaths.

Benjamin continued, "The cities the Night's Watch sought out were those where young people had evacuated, but some elderly people were unwilling to leave and chose to stay and defend their homes. Based on past experience, cities that lose their main defensive force are easily overrun by the beast tide. These older people are more willing to cooperate, allowing the younger generation to learn from their mistakes and pave the way."

We don't have much time left for trial and error. Whether it's the demonization experiment or the nettle effect experiment, we have to verify them on the next Red Moon Night.

If its feasibility is verified, it should be immediately rolled out on a large scale to help more people survive the beast tides and the gloomy fog.

"I understand." Charlotte nodded, paused for a moment, and then said, "If the demonization is ultimately proven to be effective, Horace's strength would make it impossible for him to cast dark magic on an entire city."

Benjamin smiled and said, "You don't need to worry about that. If necessary, I will take the lead in becoming a necromancer and ensure a sufficient number of high-level mages. Saving more people is far more important than anything else."

Charlotte looked at the elder in front of her with deep respect.

They had no way out; even if their opponent was a god, they had no choice but to grit their teeth and go for it.

Upon returning, he still had much work to do, such as gaining a deeper understanding of Horace and mastering the side effects of necromancy.

Dinner was still simple, but the variety of fruits and vegetables increased, making it quite delicious.

After dinner, Lois and Charlotte sat on the edge of the square, overlooking the elven city dotted with lights.

"I've already made arrangements for Lina's younger brother and sister. I moved them this afternoon and completed their enrollment procedures at the Elf Academy. I've spoken with the teachers at the school to keep an eye on the two children's situation at school." Lois's feet dangled outside, revealing her smooth calves, which swayed gently.

"It's great." Charlotte nodded. Apart from the lack of Lina's company, the living and learning environment for the two children has been greatly improved.

"I also spoke with Ino's debtors, and out of respect for me, they promised not to pursue the debt for three years, and even waived the interest for three years," Lois continued.

Charlotte glanced at her; the title of the Elven Saintess was indeed useful, she could get Ino exempted from tens of thousands of copper coins in interest just by showing her face.

"Betty said that he visits Ino's father when he has time. He is still able to take care of himself and can earn a living through some simple jobs, so he doesn't need special care."

"That's good. It relieves them of their worries, and they can focus more on studying medicine in the Abyss." Charlotte nodded with a smile. Lois was very reliable; she got everything done in one afternoon, which would make their departure tomorrow morning much smoother.

"How about..." Lois looked at Charlotte with hopeful eyes and said, "You can talk to my master and tell him that I am a genius and a good candidate for studying medicine, and take me to the Abyss to stay for three years."

"You are indeed a genius, but if you make the elven saintess work for me for three years, I'll be beaten to death by your master." Charlotte shook her head with a smile, looking at her and said, "Being a doctor is nothing special. You are destined to become a high priest like your master, protecting the millions of elves in this city."

Upon hearing this, Lois sighed softly, slowly bent down, and looked down at the city below, saying wistfully, "Then, who will protect me?"

The girl's profile was stunningly beautiful, still glowing white in the moonlight, and Charlotte felt a fleeting flutter in her heart.

However, he quickly calmed down.

He felt as if he were being watched from behind, but when he turned around, he found nothing. It was just that he was facing the temple, so perhaps the goddess of life was watching him.

"When you have time, you can come to the Abyss to visit me. I'll be happy to host you," Charlotte said with a smile.

Lois's eyes lit up, and she turned to look at Charlotte: "Okay, then next time you come, take me to see the sea."

"Didn't you say there wasn't much to see?" Charlotte laughed.

"It would probably be different if I went with you."

"..."

Charlotte got up early the next morning.

In the plaza in front of the main hall, the familiar white roc was already waiting there. Betty, who was wearing a longsword, stood to the side. When she saw Charlotte, her usually cold and beautiful face softened a little. She said, "Dr. Charlotte, I am ordered to escort you to the Abyss."

"Hello Betty, but isn't this the High Priest's exclusive flying mount?" Charlotte walked up to it and asked in surprise, looking at the roc. He had thought that the bald eagle would take them back, and that would be enough space for them to sit down.

"The journey to the abyss is long and arduous. Taking this back will be safer and faster," Benjamin and Lois said with a smile as they walked out of the main temple.

"Thank you for your arrangements." Charlotte had no reason to refuse the possibility of returning home more comfortably.

"Goodbye, Dr. Charlotte. Remember our promise." Lois waved to Charlotte.

Benjamin and Betty looked a little strange, but they refrained from asking.

It was a promise to go to the sea together, not what you think! Charlotte thought for a moment, then decided against explaining, to avoid making things worse.

"Goodbye." Charlotte climbed onto the back of the roc and sat down in the front row.

Betty gave Benjamin and Lois a knightly salute and leaped onto the bird's back.

With a flap of its wings, the roc takes flight!

Then it swooped down towards the elven city below.