Lord of the Oasis - Chapter 74
Chapter 74: Needlegrass Meadows Acquirerd
There were so many gazelles. It would be a pity if they did not set aside a few to eat.
Just as well, Kant had with him the Ravenstern Rangers who boasted excellent archery skills. After all, they were a Level 5 troop, so hunting these little cuties would be a piece of cake.
“Easy enough. ”
The 20 Ravenstern Rangers nodded, their expressions unchanging.
The lake was only 30 meters wide—more accurately, it should be called a pond—and it could not pose much of a hindrance to the heavy bows in their hands. The gazelles were also gathered in a dense herd, so there was also no need to carefully take aim before firing, like in a jungle hunt.
One after the other, they raised their heavy bows, the bowstring and bow arm stretched out in a beautiful arc.
They loaded a special high-grade cone arrow…
Took aim calmly…
At the target from afar.
The Ravenstern Rangers released their grip on the arrow. The accumulated power of the bow arm was instantly converted into kinetic energy for the arrow, and the bowstring vibrated ceaselessly, firing out cone arrows.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh—
The cone arrows streaked through the air, shuttling through space like a flash of lightning.
Not far away from the pond, blood splattered everywhere.
The 20 gazelles that were still drinking by the lake collapsed instantly. Their eyes, which were bright like black pearls, had completely lost their luster.
That was because the arrowheads had already pierced through their eyes.
The arrows had violently destroyed their eyes, hard arrowheads piercing deep into their skulls and crushing their brains. They pierced through their tilted skulls, dragging out white brain matter and bright red blood.
The gazelles fell, dyeing the lake water red.
All of this happened in a single moment.
The other gazelles barely had time to react. What had happened?
“Baa Baa Baa… ”
Only a few of the surrounding gazelles moved aside. They looked at the other gazelle companions lying on the ground by the lake, puzzled, and they only understood when they smelled the blood. The bleats tore their throats as they jumped and ran, and all of them scattered into the depths of the desert.
These small creatures were extremely vigilant creatures. It was instinct to escape.
“My lord, it’s settled. ”
The Ravenstern Ranger put away his heavy bow. There was a calm look on his face.
This was par for the course to them. It was just a hunt, and there was nothing to be proud of.
However, Kant smiled and nodded. “Thank you for your hard work.”
At the same time, he turned his head and instructed the other soldiers behind him, “Round up the gazelles quickly. I think we’ll be able to have roasted sheep by noon!”
“Yes, sir! ” More than a dozen Swadian Footmen immediately ran across the lake.
There was nothing that could not be solved with a barbeque.
Even if there were, sprinkling some spices would do the trick. And if there were no spices, salt would do.
This was a delicacy from a non-modern era. It was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and one would have their mouth full of oily, roasted mutton. It could be served as the main dish for a national banquet. As long as it was dipped in white salt, it would be enough to satisfy one’s appetite, even without spices.
Kant, who had eaten enough air-dried meat, could not stop himself from this fresh red meat.
The soldiers were also delighted.
They shared Kant’s sentiments. Even if there was no roasted mutton, the taste of simply stewing mutton was equally splendid.
Especially fresh meat soup. Add a bit of chopped cabbage and date palms, and then add some flour after boiling for a period of time, to form a thick soup. Paired with bread, it tasted far better than air-dried meat made into a thick soup.
The dialog box appeared again on their retina.
Ding! A side quest has appeared.
Side quest: Hunt 50 gazelles.
Reward: One acre of Needlegrass Meadow.
Brief: How can you refuse such food this mouth-watering when you lack red meat? This is a good time to hunt. If you can hunt 50 gazelles, then there will be a bountiful reward waiting for you.
Kant was stunned as he took in the sudden mission that had appeared on his retina.
“Hunt 50 sand gazelles… ”
He repeated the quest and reward, “One acre of Needlegrass Meadow?”
Subconsciously, he redirected his stunned gaze to the gazelles that were fleeing in the distance. It was only then that Kant realized those little guys had already drunk enough water and continued to move towards the depths of the desert.
In a moment, the thousands of gazelles disappeared among the dunes in the vast sea of sand.
“This…” Kant felt a little helpless.
But before he could say anything, the Swadian footman on guard duty on the Watchtower behind him waved at the ground and shouted, “Heads up, there’s another batch of gazelles! ”
Kant raised his eyebrows and waved his hand without hesitation. He said, “I need you to set aside 50 gazelles! ”
“Understood, my lord.”
The 20 Ravenstern Rangers behind him still looked calm.
They drew their arrows from the quivers they had tied around their waist and gently loaded it onto their bows, and then turned their heads to look at the large group of gazelles that had appeared at the dune in the south. There was no pity in their eyes.
They were hunters from the Ravenstern Kingdom, and so they were the best of hunters.
“Baa baa baa… ”
The gazelles trudging through the Senwaya range were quite tired.
They whispered to each other and went to the lakeside to drink water. It was obvious they did not understand why the small oasis spring water had become so large.
But they did not care.
In the past, when the gazelles came here, the Jackalans would also be here to hunt.
The frail and weak gazelles would die at the end of each month during their migration.
The Senwaya Range stretched for thousands of miles and was so nebulous it could even obstruct the Nahrin Desert. Even then, the sheer number of gazelles living within it was overwhelming, and so the monthly loss of thousands of gazelles was completely acceptable.
Rather, this was also some sort of natural selection.
Gazelles subsisted on salt.
Once a month, the gazelles in the Senwaya Range would come to the Oasis Lookout in batches and head to the natural salt mine.
In fact, these gazelle did not come every month.
Instead, these gazelles came from different herds and different mountain areas, across 12 months. Every month, gazelles from a certain mountainous area would begin to migrate. Just as they had agreed, this dangerous but necessary migration for salt would commence.
Obviously, Kant did not know.
As the 20 Ravenstern Rangers drew their arrows and fired, 50 gazelles immediately fell to the ground.
All of them were shot in the eyes and not a single one bore damages to their fur.
If possible, these gazelles could be skinned for their hide that could be made into leather products. Skilled craftsmen could go one step further and use these soft gazelle hides to make warm and waterproof fur coats. These were also clothes that the noble sought.
Ding! After your unflagging efforts, the hunt has been completed.
Sudden mission: Gazelle Hunt has been completed.
Reward acquired: One acre of Needlegrass Meadow
Brief: There is nothing like fresh red meat to reward soldiers. When you obtain these needlegrass meadows, you must know that they are also the best green fodder for livestock. Remember to reward your warhorses as well. Perhaps you’ll be able to raise some other livestock.
The system dialog box also gave him a hint.
In Kant’s mind, the five acres of land marked out as “needlegrass meadow” also appeared in the form of a card.
The lush vegetation grew luxuriously on the sandy land.
Needlegrass was the easiest of the herb to ensure survival for on the sandy land. It was a medium-quality forage grass, and could quickly take root and sprout as long as there was water. It could be used to feed livestock all year round to sate their hunger.
Ding! System prompt.
Needlegrass: In the early days of its life, this plant makes for good feed for livestock. Its stem leaves are tough, long and smooth. It is a very useful fibrous plant for making paper and rayon. It can also be used for weaving baskets, grass curtains, brooms, and the like. Its leaves become extremely tough after soaking in water, and they can be used as grass rope. It can also be used to improve alkaline land, protect water channels, and maintaining water and soil.
The system explained the function of this herb.
Most importantly, it solved a huge problem that Kant was currently facing.
The problem of horse feed!
“We’ll be making the most of this, since the warhorses can consume this as well. ”
Kant smiled. The one problem that had been weighing on his heart was now resolved.
Although the nutritional value of this green feed was not very high, they could remedy this with a bit of breadcrumbs, date palms, and minced gazelle meat. It would then be completely possible for these tall and big warhorses of the Swadia army to be fed food that were high in nutrition calories, and thus gain an abundance of physical strength.
The effect would only be amplified if they threw the nutrient-rich alfalfa grass into the mix!
“Things are already pretty good now.”
Kant was satisfied, and he cast his gaze towards the lake.
He was deep in thought, especially about the vast flat land of sand on the west side of the lake. He also had some idea of what to do with the acre of needlegrass meadow.
“Use it. ”
His mind connected to the system, and the card in Kant’s mind instantly disappeared.
The data spread.
From the south to the north, on the west side of the 80 by 30 meters lake, large areas of vegetation began to appear.
The sandy layer had turned into sandy land.
Although it was still barren, at least there was soil that could allow the vegetation to grow.
Lush needlegrass began to appear, sprouting and sprouting. In an extremely short time, it appeared at the lakeside in full. The acre of land was even larger. Green filled the expanse from south to north, and there was a scattering of slightly bright flower stamens everywhere.
These were all ready-made grass meadows which could immediately be harvested or grazed on.
Even when the needlegrass meadow appeared, a few small birds, which had already existed in the Oasis Lookout, flapped their wings and flew over from the date palm jungle. They stared curiously at the lush grass meadows with their small eyes.
