Let go of that monster girl!

That was indeed the case; every time they went to the slave trader camp, it was always Morren who led the team.

The foreman rats immediately started squeaking.

"Don't go, Your Excellency."

"It'll be almost a month since you left. What if the beast tide comes again while you're gone?"

"Exactly, exactly, I almost couldn't hold on last time."

"But our supplies are almost gone too."

The other foreman rats seemed to be deep in thought, one of them lowering his voice.

"It seems some rats saw Miss Lime controlling the acid fire. Is that true? Will Miss Lime be allowed to lead the team?"

Lem's body trembled, and he raised his head from behind the crowd, his bangs peeking out from under his eyes as he looked at Moren.

Although it's terrifying, it's possible if the owner requests it.

"Lyme's an idiot. Are you guys planning to send her to haggle with those foxes?" Morren said speechlessly.

"Ugh." Lyme huddled up pitifully.

Molen waved his hand, signaling the rats to be quiet.

"Everyone, please be quiet. This is the problem we need to solve right now."

He picked up the charcoal pencil and tapped it twice on the map.

"This time I'm going to deal with those cunning fox merchants, so only I can do it. But the caravan in Dwarf Mountain needs to be set up so that it can operate even with just Rat Girl."

"If the foxes really want to control the dark zone by cutting off the supply lines, resistance from the major settlements is inevitable."

“We can’t be led by the nose. If the foxes are willing to maintain the trade routes, then we will use their trade routes.”

"If they really have any ideas, then we also need to be prepared to build our own trade route."

“The low hills are too far from other settlements and lack the protection of war rats for caravans.”

"We only have a few rats. It's unrealistic to expect to train militia rats into soldier rats in a short period of time. We need to start with equipment."

A foreman rat patted his chest and said:

"We have cannons and acid guns. Let's work overtime to build a few more for the caravans."

The other mouse girl immediately asked:

"It takes six rats to push one cannon, and there's no road outside. How can we push it?"

Molen tapped the table.

“We can transport artillery even if there are no roads. We don’t use wheels, we use boats.”

The black ships and cannons went to trade freely with those foxes dressed in kimonos; Morren had seen this episode.

Shipping?

The foreman rats all turned to look at the map on the table.

The Cheese River flows from south to north through the low mountains, makes a bend at the foot of the mountains, and flows westward into the luminous sea.

If you were to sail along the Cheese River, you'd probably only be able to reach the west and do business with the octopus girls in the glowing sea who sing praises to the flying bread god every day.

But Morren wasn't building a boat that would be stuck on the Cheese River; he was building a boat that could travel on land!

He unfolded the largest blueprint from the stack, placed it on the map, and then grabbed a few odds and ends to weigh down the four corners.

The foreman rats had previously circulated a portion of this grand blueprint.

This is the most complex blueprint Molen has ever drawn, with dense charcoal lines marking various data and structural details.

The colossal Zeppelin.

A rigid aircraft that uses lightweight gas for buoyancy, with a streamlined outer shell supported by a metal frame, and the interior divided into multiple independent airbag compartments, with pods suspended at the bottom for carrying personnel, cargo and weapons.

In the Middle Ages, when the elevation angle of artillery was generally less than ten degrees, being able to fly was the real game-changer!

Why is Blind Bird, a blind creature, one of the most threatening chimeras?

Because as soon as their feet leave the ground, they automatically occupy the high ground, leaving all the wingless creatures standing below helplessly.

This is a true war behemoth. According to historical development, it should be 20th-century technology, and it would not be invented until 500 years later!

Now, Morren has turned on the power ahead of schedule, and all the materials are ready.

Helium is currently impossible to obtain, as it is a byproduct of natural gas production; inert gases cannot be produced by any means.

But hydrogen, which can be obtained by electrolyzing water, can be produced in large quantities as long as lime is available!

The mouse girls squeaked in amazement as they surrounded the blueprint.

"So big, so magnificent!"

After many, many meals.

"So small, looks so pitiful."

Ideal is full, the reality is very skinny.

On the experimental site atop the hill, a small hydrogen balloon swayed precariously in the cold wind.

Although it's not small in diameter, once it's high in the air, it looks like a deflated little circle.

The ball, made of coated cloth, was wrinkled and the seams were hastily sealed with slime, making it obvious at a glance that it was underinflated.

The rope was tied to a stone post on the ground. When the wind blew to the left, it tilted to the left, and when the wind blew to the right, it tilted to the right.

The rope was stretched taut and loose at times, and it looked like a strong gust of wind would blow it into the sky.

Below are a group of rat girls with their heads tilted back and Moren with his head tilted back.

Well, it's an experimental model, so it's normal for it to be a bit rough around the edges.

Chapter 30 The "Alchemy" of Turning Wood into Wine

A female mouse was holding a basket of nutritious mushrooms that she had just picked from the mushroom rack. A few pieces of mushroom residue were stuck to her round ears. She was winking at her companion next to her.

"Have you heard? The Baron is going to brew wine from wood and make a boat from intestines."

"Wow! That's great, I haven't had any alcohol in ages."

"Last time, I finally managed to find a few cases of berry wine outside, but the Baron sold them all to the cat, Zhi."

"That's right, we didn't even get a single bite."

"I really want to drink, I really want to drink, I really want to drink."

The other mouse girl, who was holding a mushroom, smacked her lips twice, and drool almost dripped from her mouth.

"But how can wood be used to brew wine? The Baron is indeed a super-powerful alchemist!"

Smoke billowed around the experimental site atop the hill, where several large pots were placed on stone platforms, their charcoal fires glowing red-hot.

Lyme's witch hat is making a limited-time return, with the brim still crookedly covering half of her bangs.

She stood on a wooden bench, her body unsteady.

Two small hands gripped a rough iron spoon, struggling to stir the contents of the large pot.

Every time she stirred for a while, she would tremblingly extend a hand, carefully gathering some slime on her fingertips, and slowly dripping it into the pot.

He really does look like a beginner alchemy apprentice.

Behind Lem were several large pots of the same size, all sealed with copper lids, and white steam was bubbling out of the pressure valves on the lids.

This strange liquid didn't have a particularly peculiar smell, unlike the previous smelting of saltpeter which could knock people unconscious.

A little mouse girl stood on tiptoe, curiously peering into the pot.

"Sister Lime, what's cooking in the pot?"

"..." Lem remained silent.

“It’s sawdust,” Morren said, walking over and answering for her.

"Why are we boiling sawdust? Are we going to grow mushrooms again?"

Molen reached out and touched the mouse's head.

"This time it's for something sweet."

"What's sweet? Is it sugar?"

"Yes."

"Wow, Baron, you're amazing!"

Lem stood on the bench, still holding the iron spoon in his hand, looking enviously at the little mouse being patted on the head by Moren.

Moren noticed the gaze, so he reached out and gently patted Lyme's witch's hat twice.

Lyme lowered his head shyly, hiding his face under the brim of his hat, and stirred much faster.

A mouse girl next to her, who was holding a piece of fungus wood, couldn't help but stick out her tongue and lick the fungus wood on her hand. She immediately stuck out her tongue and wrinkled her face.

"It's not sweet at all, can it really be made into sugar?"

"If the Baron says it's possible, then it definitely is."

The other mouse confidently poured the fungus wood blocks into the small pot and started stirring with a small spatula.

Beside her, a little mouse girl was also stirring her own little pot, beads of sweat on her forehead. She wiped them haphazardly with the hem of her skirt, then scooped up a spoonful and looked at it.

The wood was completely overcooked, with strands of fiber clinging to the surface of the spoon, stretching into long, thin threads before breaking.

These rat girls were specially selected and trained by Moren as "alchemy rats".

When they first learned that they had been recruited by the Baron as alchemy apprentices, they were all so proud of themselves that they were practically strutting around with their tails in the air.

The mouse girls are all Muggles, they won't produce witches, and they will never learn magic.

But if you learn alchemy from the Baron, wouldn't that be the same as becoming a witch?

As long as I can become a powerful witch rat, I'll have the energy to stir the pot for over ten hours!

Looking at the alchemical rats working exceptionally hard, Morren silently marveled at how effective the apprenticeship system was, providing free labor that was also driven by its own enthusiasm.

The alchemical rats covered the large pot where lime was boiling with a copper lid, fastened the four copper buckles, and let it continue to simmer under high pressure.

Then they carried the boiled wood filaments from the small pot into another clean large pot, added most of the pot of water, and stirred it well.

Lyme got off the stool, walked to the new large pot, reached out and condensed a small ball of acid above the rim of the pot, and slowly dripped it into the pot.

She stepped back onto the stool, picked up the iron spoon, and continued stirring.

For time travelers like Moren, there's a basic chemistry concept from junior high school.

Wood is cellulose, cellulose is polysaccharide, and sugar can be used to make wine.

Therefore, wood can be used to brew wine.

It can be hydrolyzed into glucose.

A long time ago, Molen told the cook that he wanted to brew wine with mushrooms from the mushroom forest, but he actually wanted to brew wine with dried nutritious mushroom powder.

Since this thing can be eaten as a staple food, it must contain a lot of starch.

However, after successfully growing nutritious mushrooms, Morren finally understood why no rat girl had secretly used dried mushrooms to brew wine.

It's not sweet at all, and tastes awful.

Only a few fungi are composed of cellulose; the vast majority of fungi are mainly composed of protein and chitin.

These things are rich in nitrogen and other elements, so they are nutritionally comprehensive, but their composition is complex.

Who knows what the products of hydrolysis will be? In any case, it's probably not glucose.

Brewing wine with nutritious mushrooms is no less difficult than brewing wine with chimera meat, since chimera blood should at least contain blood sugar.

Is there a type of mushroom with a simple composition that is obviously mainly made of cellulose?

Yes, brother, yes.

The wood mushroom, the one that makes the waterwheel.

It makes a thumping sound when you tap it; it's all cellulose.