Let go of that monster girl!

River Power!

Morren's gaze swept past the crowd and landed on the river north of the mill.

The river flows through the city walls, around the low hills, and meanders down, with a considerable flow.

However, this area near the low hill is all flat, rocky land with wide and shallow water. Building a dam to store water on this terrain would be an incredibly daunting undertaking.

However, this did not stump Moron. There were several underground lakes beneath the hill, and with just a properly positioned wooden waterwheel, a huge and continuous source of power could be obtained.

perfect.

Moren turned to look at the mouse girl dressed in a maid outfit beside him.

How much wood is left in the warehouse?

"There's not a single piece left, Your Excellency. The charcoal brought by the caravan is almost gone."

Molen rubbed his temples.

"Check the duty roster for Foreman Rat for me, I need to go to the Mushroom Forest."

The mouse maid's face turned deathly pale.

"You, you mean that terrifying mushroom forest upstream, overrun by monsters?"

"Just do it, I'll take care of the rest."

"Yes Yes!"

After the mouse maiden steward ran out in a flash, Lyme finally sat up unsteadily from the ground.

Moron gave her a merciless glance.

"Take a short break and prepare for the next ignition."

"Huh?"

Lyme almost fell back to the ground.

It seems that it will take a long time to desensitize this fire-averse slime girl.

-----------------

The sound of a lute string drifted from beside the largest campfire, accompanied by the meowing of a cat.

Jimmy's singing voice wasn't particularly good, but folk music is all about spontaneity, and a group of catgirls sat around her, swaying gently to the tune.

Beside it, a large iron pot sat on the fire, simmering and bubbling, its aroma filling the entire camp.

"Smells so good, meow."

"As long as Boss Jimmy is here, there's nothing to be afraid of, meow."

"After we finish this job, let's go back to Cat Village and get married, meow."

The cats were meowing, while the other side of the camp was much quieter, with most of the pragmatic lemming girls still busy at work.

The low mountain is the last stop on this treacherous trade route. The caravan will rest here for a few days, fully loaded with ore, before setting off back to the bright and safe civilized region. The queen's envoy who accompanied the caravan will also return to report.

Jimmy put down his lute, chuckled, and whispered:

"The cat has one last bit of good stuff left, let's share it together."

The catgirls immediately gathered around.

Jimmy mysteriously rummaged in his pocket for a while before finally pulling out a small green box about the size of his palm.

The box was decorated with cat paw and leaf patterns, and the corners were closed with pretty little brass clasps. Even before it was opened, a rich scent of catnip seeped out from the cracks in the box, causing the catgirls to purr incessantly.

Jimmy squinted, brought the small box to his nose, and took a deep, blissful breath.

"Meow, just a little bit, it won't hurt anything, meow."

The box is gone.

Jimmy's hand was still holding up air, and he froze.

Moren stood by the campfire, looking down at the circle of cats, and tossed the small green box in his hand a couple of times.

"I didn't expect Miss Jimmy to be using such cheap stuff."

Just as the cat merchant in front of him was about to breathe on his hands with his hips, Moren pulled out a small bottle from his pocket, filled with shimmering red powder.

"Come and try my good stuff."

Chapter 9 The Mysterious Device with Unknown Meaning

Jimmy took the small bottle and held it up to his eyes, waving it around.

The amber cat's eyes peered through the glass bottle at the shimmering red powder inside.

She thought for a moment, then pulled out the cork, shook out a small pinch of powder onto the back of her hand, and licked it lightly with the tip of her tongue.

Then he closed his eyes, his lips moved slightly, and he savored it carefully, just like a catnip vendor inspecting the goods.

After several seconds of silence, the cat's lips slowly, very slowly curved upwards, forming a cat-like mouth (ΦωΦ).

"Meow~~ This tastes amazing."

"expert."

Jimmy tightened the cork again and gently shook the bottle.

The copper powder slid inside the glass bottle with a delicate, rustling sound, a level of sound that could never be achieved by grinding copper ingots.

"My lord, where did you get such a fine item, meow?"

"Trade secrets".

"The Baron is so naughty, meow."

Molen ignored her coquettishness and took out a copper bar from his pocket.

It is about the size of a fingertip, smooth and shiny, with a clear reddish-gold hue.

He casually twirled the copper bar between his fingers, using it as a cat toy to entice Jimmy's attention.

"Your Excellency has been traveling with the caravan all this way. I'm sure Miss Jimmy, being so shrewd, has already overheard news about the new market. Well then, I won't keep you in suspense any longer. There's no future in following those foxes. As long as Miss Jimmy is willing, Dwarf Mountain can immediately provide a steady stream of pure copper."

The copper bar swayed to the left, and Jimmy's eyes followed it.

The copper bar swayed to the right, and Jimmy's eyes followed it.

Its tail also swayed from side to side.

Copper was by no means a cheap metal to have become the universal currency during the gold standard era; there was little difference between smelting copper and smelting money.

Moreover, while gold and silver are wonderful, copper and iron are practical materials. From swords to armor, from pots to cannons, even those barbarian settlements would never refuse a cartload of high-quality copper ingots.

"There's never a shortage of buyers for copper; it just depends on whether Miss Jimmy is willing to be the seller."

"Hehehe, the Baron is the best, then..."

Without a moment's hesitation, Jimmy was about to cling to Morren.

"but."

Molen tucked the copper bar into his pocket, took a half step back, and Jimmy missed his target.

"Since we're in a cooperative relationship, there's a very simple little favor I need to do for Miss Jimmy first."

Jimmy steadied himself, twirled his cat ears twice, narrowed his amber eyes, and stared at Morren for several seconds.

A moment later, the cat suddenly realized.

"Baron, you're out of stock? Trying to get something for free? No way!"

"It sounds awful to take something for free. This is called an investment. All you need to do is borrow the caravan's guards and giant rats to make a trip through the mushroom forest. It only takes four days round trip."

Molen spread his hands, sighed, and continued speaking with feigned regret.

"If it weren't for this final step, I would be happy to keep all the profits for myself."

"Well, since Miss Jimmy isn't willing, I'll have to contact other merchants to transport refined gold, silver, copper, iron, and tin."

He was about to turn around as he spoke.

The greedy cat's ears swayed unsteadily.

Since the Dwarf Mountain fell into a dark zone two years ago, the Dwarf Mountain's ore has been transported by the Cat and Mouse Caravan.

Jimmy knew everything about the hill's yield and the baron's wicked schemes.

She could figure out what refined pure copper meant even with a cat's tail.

But the fungal forest, a fungal forest full of mushrooms, was covered by fungal dust left by the disaster two years ago, which covered the entire upstream forest and left countless horrifying fungal corpses. No normal person dared to take a step closer.

Jimmy's tone finally turned serious as she asked:

"Cats never go to such dangerous areas, meow, but since the Baron has suggested it, why don't you tell me your plan, meow."

"Of course."

Molen waved behind him.

Several mouse girls pushed and pulled with great effort, making a creaking sound, to push a cart up to an open space downwind.

The cart wheels creaked under the weight, and a large pile of something covered with patchwork cloth was on it, its shape unrecognizable.

Several other mouse girls ran around at the same time, waving their little arms to drive the crowd back and clear a large open space.

"Squeak! Make way!"

Molen walked to the cart, cleared his throat, and began to introduce it with great seriousness:

"Now, please welcome the Dragon Breath Maker, the Ship Burner, the Byzantine Secret, the Trench Roast Lamb Master, the Secret Chamber Cleaner, and the Witch Burner."

"Greek Fire!"

The cover was suddenly ripped off, revealing what was underneath.

"Uh."

An awkward silence fell over everyone.

The two sets of huge copper pots are the only decent parts of the entire device; the rest is just a pile of cobbled-together junk.

The kettle connecting pipe, the hammer handle valve, the nozzle that was obviously knocked out by something with the lid, the extremely abrupt long pipe pointing to the sky, and the old and new patches on top of each other at every joint made it look like a complete pile of garbage.

Lyme sat in the very center of the giant pile of garbage, looking utterly hopeless, and vigorously cranked the crank.

"Meow."

The catgirls who were watching all turned to look at Morren, their faces showing the same expression of "you're teasing a cat."

Jimmy looked at the huge, incomprehensible lump in front of him, rubbed his forehead, and weakly stretched out his other hand.

"Give me back the catnip, meow."

boom!!

A series of loud bangs!

A blinding stream of red and green fire, mixed with light green acid mist, suddenly shot out from the nozzle, sweeping across the gravel ground in front of the open space.

The stream of fire exploded in mid-air into a fan-shaped curtain of fire, each drop igniting a greedy flame upon landing.

Green acid mist churned and billowed between the flames, mixing with the pungent smell of strong acid, forming a fire-acid barrier several meters wide.

The ground crackled and popped under the intense heat, sending red-hot gravel flying everywhere.

The firelight illuminated half the camp as bright as day, making the horrified expressions on the faces of every lemming girl and cat girl clearly visible.

"Meowhhhhh!"

The catgirls scattered and fled in a flurry of fur, while the lemming girls on the other side of the camp dropped their ledgers and combs all over the ground.

The fire lasted for about ten seconds before gradually subsiding, leaving a large area of ​​charred and burned marks on the ground.

The green, poisonous fog continued to flow slowly along the ground, licking at the distant rubble with the wind.

"Please, please, please don't let the kingdom's scientists see this."

Jimmy stammered, "What's in here, meow?"

Lem turned his face away shyly.