CHAPTER 139 - STEEP-LY TEA-LIGHTFUL EXPLOSIONS
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“Lady Violet, you’re using explosive shot?” asked the older clan member.
“Yes.” I showed him the cannonball I was using which was made of two wooden hemispheres held together by bronze rings. Cannonballs were hollow and could be filled with explosive talismans. I had placed five in each one. “I’ll load this into the cannon now.”
“But surely this cursed cannon is extremely dangerous,” said the younger brother, who gave the weapon a look of consternation.
“Nah, it's safe if you know how and aren’t careless.” Of course, I had used the potato cannon before instead of this one, but the principle was the same.
[Potato Cannon:
Happy Adventure Incarnate Anniversary!
This magical autocannon can rotate 360°. Guaranteed to never hit a human.]
The cannon I was using tonight was a regular, non-rotating one since I was pretty sure the others would be scared of having cannonballs going off in all directions, even if they never got hit.
“Here I go.” The cannon was a System item that I could load with the explosive cannonballs using my inventory, but I made a show of loading it manually. All I had to do was place the ammo at the mouth of the cannon, and it automatically went inside. I aimed it at the tower, adjusting it as needed by getting feedback from the clan members regarding the angle.
Then I lit the fuse.
I expected the cannon to roar to life with a thunderous sound and the scent of gunpowder to fill the air, but no such thing happened. There was only a soft, almost gentle sound as the cannonball was launched.
The explosion that was produced by the cannonball hitting the wood of the [Scorching Spire] sent shockwaves of sound in all directions and caused an impressively large ball of flames to erupt at the spot of the collision. The intense heat transformed the structure into a towering inferno, with the dry wood of the tower swiftly consumed by the hungry flames. In minutes, the tower collapsed on itself with a loud crash. The crackling of burning wood and the scent of charred debris filled the air.
I looked behind me and saw that awe lit the faces of my apprentices and staff.
“Not bad, huh?” I said.
There was a belated cheer and a dozen people rushed towards me to congratulate me on my success.
“That was amazing!”
“Spectacular! Just one shot destroyed that whole tower.”
Another person chimed in, "The precision was incredible. It's as if that cannonball had a homing instinct for the weakest point in the tower."
“Teacher, that was incredible!” Mo’s eyes were shining.
My other two apprentices echoed her words.
Unfortunately, other people couldn't fire my cannon since it was bound to me.
I let everyone gawk at the destroyed tower for a few more minutes before I turned off all the lights and set off a ton of pretty fireworks from the Cash Shop. Afterward, I nodded to Fengying, who announced that the party was over for all the young people under the age of thirty. That meant me and the kids. The older people were staying until late to eat, drink, and enjoy themselves some more.
Since the tent and other items might disappear, I put them back in my inventory, including the destroyed tower, which I dragged into the System trash can for disposal.
My apprentices and I said our goodbyes, and when the clan members gallantly offered to escort us back to the house, I graciously accepted.
“What do you think? Would the clan want to buy the explosive arrows and cannonballs?” I asked them. “How does it measure up your skills?”
The night was dark, and we were some distance from the house. I hadn’t bothered to light this area, so I was happy enough to accept the older clan member’s arm when he offered it.
“My lady, it’s hard to tell. I could easily generate a force greater than the explosions, but that is only to be expected. We don’t normally use enchanted arrows or cannonballs when we fight,” said the older, more senior clan member. “I’m not an expert on these things.”
“Hey, did you forget? Every family has warehouses full of magic items!” said the younger clan member.
I covered my mouth with a hand to hide my smile when my escort sent his younger brother a quelling look.
“To answer your other question, Lady Violet, your arrows seem to be around middle grade. The cannonballs as well,” said the senior clan member.
“That’s great! I will send a letter to Shuye now that I’ve field-tested the items,” I said.
If these simple [Bronze Arrows +E] were middle-grade in this world, that meant that the better arrows we should be able to produce when the kids leveled up to 30 would probably be high-grade ones.
Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.
Tonight was the first step in showing people that I would be useful during the World Boss Event.
I went to bed in high spirits.
***
The next day, just as the sun rose and there was enough sunlight to see where we were going, we flew back to the forest farm. I was anxious to return in time to water the plants in the morning since I felt that leaving them until later in the day was not as good as watering them at sunrise. I didn’t want the crops to dry out. Thus, I asked the driver to go faster this time.
“This ride is too rough!” I said to my apprentices when the sides of the carriage rattled.
“Should I ask the driver to slow down?” asked Mo.
I yelped when the jolting of the carriage made my elbow hit the side of the carriage. “No, we’re in a rush.”
“Teacher, if you’re that worried about the crops, why don’t we land? You can rest with Mo while I fly to the farm at top speed,” said Kharli. “The carriage can return for you later.”
“No. It’s horrifying to fly like this but I can bear with it. Thanks for the offer,” I said.
We’d gone to bed a little after midnight and gotten up before sunrise. I was feeling tired from the lack of sleep, but the two girls looked lively. Lari was with the others who were using the flying ox carts. I made Mr. Bear bigger so that he formed a plush cushion between me and one side of the carriage. Cutie was safely stored in the System’s pet tab.
One hour of spine-jarring travel later, I collected a few bruises, and we arrived at the forest farm. I shrank Mr. Bear until he was small enough to hang from my belt.
“Home sweet home!” I jumped down from the vehicle and spread my arms, blissfully inhaling the wet, earthy, and green scent that I loved so much.
Mo and Kharli got down from the carriage after me.
I laughed when I saw that the soil under our feet was very wet. “We didn’t even need to rush home since it looks like it rained here this morning.”
All those bruises were for nothing! Thank goodness that my body here healed much faster than my old body on Earth.
Mo untied her hair from its updo and shook it loose. “It’s so nice to be back home.”
“No, don’t relax yet, Mo. We have to inspect the crops with Teacher,” said Kharli.
Kharli was being her [Bossy] self again, but I kinda liked it.
I checked the sky for the ox carts but saw no sign of them yet. “Should we wait for Lari?”
Kharli and Mo exchanged glances then shrugged.
“Okay, let’s start with the rice paddies,” I said.
Just as we started walking, the staff came out from the house to greet us. Haoran, one of Deming’s assistants, asked if we wanted to go inside for tea first, but I declined. Before we started our work, I got Cutie settled into her [Slime House] with plenty of flowers and fresh water.
I got my pet settled and then my apprentices and I started our inspection. The rice plants had grown quite fast and were almost waist-high now. Many of them had small white flowers already. The carp had likewise grown a lot and were around five to six inches long now. I dug the trenches deeper to give them more space.
[Fish Refuge:
A deeper area in the Rice-fish Culture System that serves as a refuge for the fish in case the water level drops. It can take the form of trenches, ponds, or pits, but trenches are preferred since they also provide the fish with passageways for feeding in the rice field.]
We were adjusting the water level when Haoran arrived with a bunch of rice balls and tea eggs, a boiled egg that was cracked slightly and re-boiled in a sauce made of tea and spices. Of course, he also brought tea with him. Everyone at the farm was crazy about tea ever since I built the [Tea Machine].
We sat down on picnic blankets and waited for the water to rise to the proper level while eating the snack and drinking tea. Lari arrived just in time to join us.
“These tea eggs are amazing! I can't wait until we have eggs from the spirit chickens. That should be something,” said Lari.
“I prefer duck eggs,” said Mo.
“Duck eggs are great. I also liked those quail eggs we had before,” said Kharli.
“Quail eggs aren’t bad but they’re too small.” Lari gestured with a hand that was holding a teacup and splashed some of the liquid on me. “Sorry, Teacher!”
“It’s fine.” The robes I was wearing were Cash Shop items so I could easily replace them. “Don’t worry about it.”
By the time we finished eating, the water was at the appropriate level, and so we moved on to the vegetable fields. We carefully inspected every single plant and the soil around them. Thankfully, no bugs were attacking the plants today. The crocuses were still small since they never really grew that high, but they were disease-free and healthy.
The field of tea plants was our last stop. A System pop-up told me what I needed to do.
“Guys, I told you before that we would hang cloth from the trees to cover the tea plants, but I’ve changed my mind.” The System now offered me a better choice, probably since I was higher level now. “Stand back.”
They obediently retreated a few paces while I mentally clicked on the System’s [Build] tab. Two seconds later, they were ooh-ing and aah-ing over the results.
I smiled proudly even though I hadn’t done anything myself. “Nice, isn’t it?”
“Teacher, why do the tea plants need this?” Mo pointed up at the canopy of reeds and straw above us that was held up by bamboo poles.
“I don’t know why, but when tea is grown under shade, the tea leaves develop a sweeter, richer, and more mellow taste.” At least, that was what the System claimed. “Let’s check if there are any bad bugs.”
Lari walked beside me and whispered, “Teacher, this structure seems a little flimsy, will it be okay?”
“Hmm.” I grabbed a bamboo pole and shook it gently. Though I used very little force, the whole canopy swayed alarmingly. “Oh dear, it does seem like it. Well, if it falls, I can just [Build] a new one.”
Lari used his foot to probe a pole’s stability. “I could ask the others to reinforce the bamboo framework.”
“Good idea!” I was very pleased that Lari was showing some initiative. “You can go to the house and let Fengying know.”
Lari left on his errand. The girls and I inspected the plants for problems, and I was relieved to see that everything was alright. Beneath the shade of the canopy, the air was perfumed by the tea leaves, giving it an invigorating and captivating quality. I felt refreshed and the fatigue from last night’s lack of sleep melted away.
The last thing we did before going to the house was to check on the animals. This time, at the Demon Chef’s request, I had placed pig eggs in the pen before I left for the desert. The staff had been amused by the idea of mammals hatching from eggs, but that was just how all the farm animals in Adventure Incarnate were born. The kids had reported that the piglets were normal-looking. The chef knew a farmer who raised the best pigs in the Westerlands and these piglets were going to be sold to him.
“What do you think we should hatch next, guys? More [Perfectly Ordinary Prairie Chickens]?” I laughed at Kharli and Mo’s reactions. “Just kidding.”
I let them choose three chicken eggs each while I picked two. We placed them inside the pen and parted ways. I went to collect Cutie before going to my [Ranch House] while they went to the courtyard house.
Once at my house, I took off my shoes and put on my most comfortable pair of slippers. My work was not yet done.
“Time for a sweet harvest!” I cackled merrily as I took Cutie in my arms and stepped through the portal into the Chitinous Caverns.