Cang Xu, the old scholar, was exceptionally knowledgeable and broad-minded. He could often discern many things from the corpses of magical beasts. Before Zhen Jin took over the leadership responsibilities of the Exploration Team, Cang Xu relied on this skill to bring tremendous help to the team.
Cang Xu had already examined the ordinary Flying Squirrel corpses earlier, but he had given special instructions that if the Flying Squirrel Leader was dissected and any abnormalities were found, he should be reported to promptly.
"My lord." Soon, Bai Ya brought the corpse of the Flying Squirrel Leader to find Cang Xu.
"Ah, it's Bai Ya." Cang Xu nodded, his gaze immediately shifting to the corpse of the Flying Squirrel Leader that Bai Ya was holding.
"My lord, please take a look. Perhaps I'm being too nervous, but it's indeed somewhat different." Bai Ya presented the corpse of the Flying Squirrel Leader for Cang Xu to inspect closely.
Cang Xu observed for a moment, his expression gradually turning solemn.
"Bai Ya, you've done well." Cang Xu praised him, reaching out as if to lift the corpse of the Flying Squirrel Leader. Although he managed to lift it, the old scholar soon sighed and put it back in its original place.
The old scholar was physically frail to begin with and had previously suffered from magical erosion. Although the poison had been neutralized, his body had still suffered massive damage.
"Carry it and come with me to report to Sir Zhen Jin." Cang Xu said to Bai Ya.
"Yes, my lord." Bai Ya immediately acknowledged the order.
Inside the tent, Zhen Jin and Zi Di were discussing matters concerning bows and crossbows.
"Because of the magical erosion, the actual combat strength of the entire Exploration Team has still dropped quite a bit." With no outsiders present, Zhen Jin looked deeply worried. "Exploring this island was already quite difficult to begin with. Now the risks we have to shoulder are even greater."
Zi Di pondered and said, "Sir Zhen Jin, we have already done our utmost. In the short term, the state of the Exploration Team can only remain like this, unless we employ mid-to-high-tier magical potions, or corresponding magic, divine arts, and so on for treatment."
"However, given the current situation, we cannot produce mid-to-high-tier magical potions. Furthermore, I do not advocate doing so."
"Because it is simply not cost-effective."
"Whether it is mid-to-high-tier magical potions or equivalent magic and divine arts, the costs are extremely high. Merely to cure these ordinary people—even though there are two Bronze-level elites among them—the gains simply do not outweigh the losses."
After a brief pause, Zi Di added, "In fact, magical erosion has many other sequelae, such as various strange or even incurable chronic illnesses, as well as a shortened lifespan and so on."
Zhen Jin sighed. "Let's put those aside for now. Right now, I only want to supplement our actual combat strength. Do you think we can manufacture crossbows?"
These past few days, Zhen Jin had fully experienced the benefits of ranged strikes.
Take the Flying Squirrel Leader from not long ago, for instance; it was a Bronze-level magical beast. Yet under the dagger that Zhen Jin hurled, it suffered a fatal blow. Once the Flying Squirrel Leader died, the attacking flock of flying squirrels instantly plunged into chaos, allowing the Exploration Team to seize the opportunity and reap a major victory without a single casualty.
After carefully weighing her words, Zi Di spoke earnestly, "My lord, your idea is very correct. As long as we enhance our ranged firepower, we can supplement our combat strength to a great extent, while also preserving our physical strength and reducing potential casualties."
"However, I'm afraid we still cannot manufacture them at present."
"First, we have no crossbow artisans. The structure of a crossbow is very simple, but manufacturing it requires mature craftsmanship. We are all laymen."
"Second, we have no blacksmiths. Truly powerful crossbows use steel plates as prod arms, and the draw weight pulled can be extremely high. At the same time, the trigger mechanism's structure is delicate and requires metal leaf springs. All of these need to be forged by a blacksmith. Excellent crossbows even have auxiliary mechanical devices for drawing the string. Not even the Empire can mass-produce such devices on a large scale, and every year they make massive procurements from the goblins of the Lava Continent."
Scholars are not necessarily mages, but every mage is a scholar.
Zi Di was even the current president of the Purple Vine Merchant Guild, and the arms trade was usually the most volatile and profitable business of all. Therefore, she was extremely knowledgeable about crossbows.
Yet Zhen Jin did not easily give up.
He still insisted, "I have no intention of using steel plates as crossbow arms; I only want wooden boards. We can dry tree bark and peel it apart to make hemp rope. That way we'll have our bowstring. In fact, we still have quite a few tendons from magical beasts."
"Crossbows crafted this way will have a much lower draw weight, but stringing them will be much easier, using purely human labor alone."
"The only thing that can become an obstacle is the trigger mechanism. The trigger mechanism is delicate and requires crafting metal accessories of specific shapes, with the leaf springs being the hardest part."
"Zi Di, you are right; we don't have a blacksmith. But our personnel are few, and we don't need a blacksmith for large-scale manufacturing. I only need you to use potions to corrode the specific metal accessories and leaf springs."
Zhen Jin was also very familiar with crossbows.
Although he had not recovered the relevant memories, his common sense held a wealth of information.
In fact, Temple Knights were all equipped with cavalry crossbows. This type of crossbow was relatively small and specifically designed for knights to use on horseback.
Zi Di sighed. "I'm very sorry, my lord, but I currently do not have any potions that can corrode metal accessories into specific shapes. I am not carrying this special kind of potion with me. However, if the corresponding materials are gathered, I can still formulate it on the spot. It's just that magical beasts possessing corrosive acid are not easy to deal with, and they would likely inflict heavy casualties on the entire team."
"There is also one more point I would like to remind my lord to pay attention to."
Saying this, Zi Di subconsciously lowered her voice slightly.
"If the lord's plan is smoothly implemented and almost everyone in the team has a crossbow, then this team will become difficult to control and extremely dangerous."
Zhen Jin's pupils shrank slightly.
Zi Di's reminder hit the mark.
Zhen Jin immediately recalled the scene of Huang Zao running away.
People cannot be overestimated, nor can they be underestimated. Zhen Jin muttered inwardly.
Human hearts are unpredictable.
Faced with his lifesaver, Huang Zao fled with a dagger, regardless of whether he intended to or not. On this island full of crises, what kind of extreme situations would appear in the future?
Right now, these people all supported Zhen Jin as their leader. But what if some extreme situation occurred?
For instance, if everyone fled together while being pursued by magical beasts, would someone use the crossbow in their hands to shoot and kill a companion just to let that companion become bait and slow down the pursuit of the magical beasts in order to survive?
Especially in the current environment where mid-to-low-tier magic and Battle Qi could not be mobilized, both Zhen Jin and Zi Di were extremely weak. A single sharp sword or a single arrow could cause both of their deaths.
Humans had fatal weaknesses.
The members of this Exploration Team were not soldiers of the Hundred Needles Family. Moreover, the cultivation of loyalty usually took time.
Zhen Jin was not someone who refused to listen to advice.
"If crossbows won't do, then we can only try bows."
"Longbows definitely won't do; in dense forests, this kind of bow would be extremely inconvenient, and the requirements for the archer are also high."
"Shortbows will do; making them is much more convenient than crossbows. But this similarly requires some training."
Ranged strikes first and foremost required precision.
However, the situation where Zhen Jin suddenly mastered the ability to perform ranged strikes due to the surging of his memories was very difficult to replicate.
The members of the Exploration Team could not skillfully master bows and arrows, except for Bai Ya.
He was the son of a hunter, and wielding bows and arrows was one of the means he relied on for survival.
If manpower were sufficient, Zhen Jin could select archery experts to form a dedicated archer squad. But right now his manpower was severely lacking, and the primary purpose of building bows was also to protect these people and minimize casualties as much as possible.
"Wood can be found everywhere here, and manufacturing shortbows is not difficult. If a person's accuracy is insufficient, the team can perform a volley, forming a curtain of arrows to make up for the deficiency."
We still have to conduct assault training, otherwise we won't even be able to form a rain or curtain of arrows.
However, to conduct training, we need sufficient food.
Zhen Jin began to feel a dull headache.
Drawing a bow and pulling the string consumed a lot of physical strength, and the higher the draw weight of the bow, the more so. Many crossbows required mechanical devices; otherwise, relying purely on human labor alone would make it impossible to draw the bowstring.
When shooting an arrow, one needed to aim and maintain the state of the bow arms being intensely bent for a period of time, which also consumed a lot of physical strength.
The greater the physical consumption, the higher the demand for food.
Without food supplements, rashly training was definitely asking for trouble.
Therefore, the problem boiled down to food!
Yet food shortages had long since become the most severe problem at present!
While Zhen Jin was troubled, Cang Xu and Bai Ya requested an audience.
The two brought the corpse of the Flying Squirrel Leader.
"We have some surprising discoveries, my lord." Cang Xu said in a serious tone.
Zhen Jin's gaze subconsciously shifted to the corpse of the Flying Squirrel Leader. "Could it be that you've discovered a magic crystal?"
"Not that." Cang Xu signaled Bai Ya.
Only after seeing Zhen Jin nod did Bai Ya place the corpse of the Flying Squirrel Leader he was carrying onto the table.
Cang Xu instructed Bai Ya again to forcefully pull open the incision of the Flying Squirrel Leader, exposing the distinct and vivid muscle texture.
"Sir Zhen Jin, Lady Zi Di, please look here." Cang Xu pointed his finger at these muscle textures.
Zi Di took a look, and her brow immediately furrowed slightly. "It is indeed somewhat different from ordinary magical beasts."
Zhen Jin also discovered that the muscles of ordinary magical beasts were usually in strands and bundles, forming an overall whole. But the muscles of the Flying Squirrel Leader were divided into many fine, thin muscle flakes. Each thin muscle flake was closely arranged like fish scales, extremely neatly.
"The two of you, look here as well." Cang Xu continued to display the internal organs of the Flying Squirrel Leader.
Zhen Jin and Zi Di discovered once more that the surfaces of these internal organs had a layer of white, fascia-like covering, which was quite thick.
Zi Di was puzzled. "This is indeed different from normal magical beasts. But what can this kind of different structure explain?"
Although Zi Di was a mage, she was not as erudite in this aspect as Cang Xu.
Zhen Jin's common sense could not make him understand the old scholar's intent either.
Seeing the puzzled expressions of the two, Cang Xu explained, "I strongly suspect that this kind of Flying Squirrel Leader can release powerful electrical currents!"
"Oh? What do you mean by that?" Zhen Jin was puzzled.
"There are also rats that can discharge electricity?" Bai Ya's mouth gaped open.
Cang Xu continued to explain, "There is a special kind of fish that breeds and multiplies in the sea or in major rivers, which people call the electric eel. The body structure of this fish is very similar to this Flying Squirrel Leader. When they want to discharge electricity, the muscles throughout their bodies will rhythm and pulse, bursting forth with terrifying electric shocks capable of electrocuting an elephant to death in an instant. But they also possess insulating fascia within their bodies to protect their own safety during the electric shock."
"Then why didn't this Flying Squirrel Leader release an electric shock earlier?" Bai Ya asked.
Cang Xu shook his head slightly. "This kind of electric shock is not magic, but originates from the unique structure of life. Magic is when a mage uses their own spirit, borrows elements, and creates something from nothing according to the laws. Whereas the electric eel relies on its unique organ tissues. It's just like having a throat enables one to make sounds, and having wings enables one to fly."
"An electric eel at most generates current and cannot control the direction of the current's flow. However, electric eels live in water. Once a strong electric current is generated, then the aquatic life in the water near it will suffer terrifying electric shocks."
"As for the Flying Squirrel Leader, even if it generates an electric current, it depends on the surrounding environment. Trees, the earth, and the air are often strong obstacles to electric current."
"Therefore, only when the Flying Squirrel Leader comes into contact with the enemy will its ability to deliver electric shocks be exposed. But because Sir Zhen Jin previously threw a dagger that directly killed it while it was in midair, this ability was temporarily concealed."
"So that's how it is." Bai Ya suddenly understood.
Zi Di narrowed her eyes slightly. "So, if we have to face this kind of Flying Squirrel Leader in the future, iron armor will instead be a weakness. It's best to wear thick leather armor."
Cang Xu shook his head. "Leather armor cannot provide sufficiently safe protection; a person's face is usually exposed. At the same time, the flying squirrel's claws and teeth are extremely sharp, and it can completely tear through the leather armor before discharging electricity."
Zhen Jin nodded. "Therefore, the best way to deal with this kind of Flying Squirrel Leader is still ranged strikes! But we have too few archers."
Although Zhen Jin could throw accurately, he couldn't successfully deliver a fatal blow with every single try.
He was not the babysitter of the others, nor were his subordinates meant to be protected.
"My lord, Lan Zao has come to report to you." At that moment, a voice came from outside the tent.
Lan Zao was a Bronze-level elite, which was why Zhen Jin had previously dispatched him to scout the surrounding area.
Zhen Jin summoned Lan Zao into the tent and found the latter's face full of joy.
"My lord, good news! I discovered a gathering place of flying squirrels not far ahead. These flying squirrels dig holes and build nests in the trunks of large trees. I counted roughly, and there are very many tree holes! The scale of this flying squirrel flock is huge, numbering nearly a thousand. If we can take them down, it can greatly supplement our food supply!"
Cang Xu pondered. "It seems the gregarious disposition of this kind of flying squirrel hasn't changed."
"Oh?" Zhen Jin raised his brow slightly, subconsciously looking over at Zi Di.
Zi Di knew what Zhen Jin meant and immediately said, "I have already tested it; the meat of ordinary flying squirrels is fine. Of course, the magical beast meat of the Flying Squirrel Leader definitely cannot be eaten casually."
Bai Ya cried out, "Hunting a large-scale rat colony like this is very dangerous."
Lan Zao glared at Bai Ya, then looked at Zhen Jin, taking the initiative to request to charge first and attack the flying squirrel colony.
Cang Xu shook his head. "Lan Zao, you underestimate these flying squirrels. A Bronze-level Flying Squirrel Leader can burst forth with electric shocks. A colony this large very likely possesses a Black-iron-level flying squirrel chieftain."
"What?" Lan Zao froze.
Zhen Jin fell into deep thought.
He found himself facing a difficult choice.
Yet for a moment, Zhen Jin was unable to decide. "I need to think carefully about this matter. All of you withdraw and go about your respective tasks."
"Yes, my lord."
"No matter what decision you make, I support you." Zi Di dropped these words as she was the last one to leave the tent.
Before you continue