Necromancer, What the Heck Is Summoning a 055? Section 36

Clearly, Peiwen was not very interested in firearms. In the Golden Scale swordsman's view, a smaller projectile naturally meant less power, just as a mage's big fireball was bound to be more powerful than a small one.

In substance, Blue Star's weapons systems fit that understanding perfectly: a 155 mm weapon was definitely much fiercer than a 5.8 mm one.

When Chen Mo brought out a pack of hand grenades, Peiwen's attention was immediately drawn to it.

Clearly, Captain Peiwen was most interested in a weapon he had used once and personally verified to be effective.

"Is this the same as the one you gave me last time?"

"There are quite a few differences!"

Chen Mo had to explain with both words and gestures before the Golden Scale swordsman finally gained a hazy understanding of the differences between [offensive], [defensive], and [thermite] grenades.

"If..." Captain Peiwen rubbed his hands. "If I wanted these... hand grenades, how many could I have?"

"I've never forgotten the kindness the commandery princess showed me by giving me medicine twice. If you want them, you can have all of these. If that's not enough, I'll ask the great... uh... Industrial Emperor for some more!"

"Wasn't it the Mechanical Monarch you mentioned just now?"

"...Same thing, same thing!"

Dinner was lavish, but as far as Chen Mo was concerned, it was nowhere near as good as the food back home in Eastern Xia. So it made no difference to him whether he ate at a noble's camp or the academy cafeteria.

After dinner, his hosts also arranged a grand social gathering for the nobles.

Those who liked dancing danced, those skilled at archery competed, the cultured recited poetry, and those who couldn't do any of that could still arm wrestle...

It was clear that the people from Cloudmist Territory really wanted Chen Mo to become part of the group as soon as possible.

Chen Mo couldn't do any of it, not even arm wrestling, so he could only sit quietly to one side and watch.

After a while, Commandery Princess Liushuang sneaked over, sat down in the chair beside Chen Mo, and spoke in a low whisper.

"You think it's boring too, don't you?"

"I hate occasions like this the most. It's like this at home, and it's still like this when I'm away. It's so annoying."

"I'm so jealous of you. You dare to go traveling all over the place on your own. You must have had lots of adventures."

Chen Mo smiled sheepishly. "What adventures? It's just been an ordinary life."

"Liar! You were hurt when I first saw you!"

"Did some bad person ambush you?"

Chen Mo said, "...Would you believe me if I said a dog bit me?"

"Impossible! You're lying to me again. How could a dog use a bow and arrows?" The little commandery princess puffed out her cheeks and glared at Chen Mo, deeply indignant at his deception.

"Heh, it was a simp!"

"???"

Chapter 59: The Little Grind King Teaches Rote Memorization

The Cloudmist Territory group began its journey home.

According to their established plan, they would return to White Stone City, fly across the Dark Forest into the Green Pine Kingdom, then travel through it back to the Emerald Duchy, and finally return to the Emerald Territory, an earldom under the duchy.

The journey covered over a thousand kilometers and would take more than twenty days.

During this monotonous journey, the people from Cloudmist Territory witnessed Chen Mo's madness.

He always woke up exactly fifty-five minutes before departure and did a quick, simple morning workout. Occasionally, he used that time to ask Captain Peiwen about physical training methods on the Starry Continent, making every second count as he worked up a heavy sweat.

He washed and got ready in a whirlwind. While everyone else was still leisurely enjoying the morning light, Chen Mo swallowed his breakfast in half a minute and turned to enter his carriage.

While the other members of the group chatted and joked, Chen Mo laid out an array in his carriage, set down magic materials, and began meditating. After meditating came spell model practice, followed by a short rest, then more meditation...

Apart from the reminder alarm that rang right on schedule and Chen Mo's steady breathing, no other sound came from his carriage.

The maid assigned to serve tea in the carriage scarcely dared to breathe. Whenever the knights rode past Chen Mo's carriage, they would involuntarily slow their horses and keep the sound of their hooves down to avoid disturbing him.

In the presence of a grind king, and one whom the leaders of Cloudmist Territory held in great respect, everyone showed heartfelt respect from the inside out.

At noon, the group made camp and prepared food.

Normally, the timing of meal preparation couldn't be controlled precisely: it might start a little earlier or later, or take a little more or less time. So it was normal for lunch to be off by half an hour or forty minutes either way.

But not for Chen Mo. His schedule was fixed to the minute.

If the food wasn't ready when he "came out of seclusion," he would drink some water, chew on some rations, and proceed straight to the next stage of his training, skipping lunch altogether.

If he wasn't finished when the food was ready, he had specifically told everyone not to wait for him. When he came out, he would casually wolf down a few bites of leftovers.

His discipline was enough to make even Peiwen, a great swordsman with a military background, feel a little creeped out.

In just two days, Chen Mo had forcibly brought the Cloudmist Territory group's schedule into line. Lunch and dinner were now served with a margin of error of no more than three minutes.

Out of respect for the Cloudmist Territory group, and because he needed to continue learning about this world, Chen Mo set aside fifteen minutes every day after dinner to talk with the little commandery princess and Master Locke, or ask Captain Peiwen about matters concerning swordsmen.

The experience and perspective he had brought from the modern world enabled him to chat with anyone. Occasionally, he tossed out a joke or two that had everyone rocking with laughter.

The little commandery princess was probably genuinely amused. As for the others, he couldn't tell. In any case, they looked amused, and that was enough.

But no matter how much everyone was laughing or how lively the conversation became, the moment his wristwatch rang, Chen Mo would nod apologetically and turn to leave.

At first, everyone was baffled, thinking someone had said something wrong and offended their honored guest. But they soon understood: this guy was a heartless cultivation machine.

His conduct even prompted Lady Linda, who had always harbored some reservations about Chen Mo, to start using him as an example to instruct the little commandery princess.

"Look at Mr. Chen Mo! Though his origins are a little... well, mysterious, just look at his attitude toward learning!"

"Even when no one is watching, one should exercise discipline in word and deed. That is the true bearing of a noble. Doesn't that move you at all?"

"All right, Mr. Chen Mo has gone back to his studies. It's time, Your Highness. We should study too!"

Commandery Princess Liushuang's little face fell instantly. Resigned to her fate, she pulled out the Complete Compendium of Noble Etiquette, a book thicker than her fist, and began her daily routine of "torture"-rote memorization.

As she mechanically read aloud, she cast resentful little glances at Chen Mo's tightly shut carriage. Clearly, once the name "Chen Mo" had become the standard Lady Linda held up, the little commandery princess suddenly felt that this guy was a little annoying.

Anything that interfered with the little commandery princess slacking off was an enemy!

Chen Mo keenly noticed the little commandery princess's "nothing left to live for" expression and the less-than-friendly looks she gave him, and alarm bells rang in his head.

After running a microexpression analyzer, Chen Mo decided to give up some of his cultivation time and try to coax this "top-tier medicinal ingredient supplier" into a better mood.

The little commandery princess had kept her word, and the three pills were already in Chen Mo's hands. Because he had used the altar to transfer supplies too frequently before, all four diversion uses had been exhausted, so he still had to wait for the skill's cooldown.

In the course of their daily chats, Chen Mo had also learned one thing for certain: these medicines were not products of the human race, but a high-end product refined from the legendary elves' spring water of life-Life's Eternal Song.

Given the elves' self-contained and isolated stance, there was almost no possibility of obtaining this medicine through trade. The aunt the little commandery princess spoke of had to be some important figure among the elves, which was why she sent some to her niece every year.

What was this in Chen Mo's eyes? A monopoly on a channel for strategic resources.

As the most valuable item Chen Mo could currently send back home, he had already made up his mind to secure the little commandery princess's entire future supply of medicine. If the little commandery princess was unhappy, then Chen Mo certainly couldn't be happy.

Cultivation? That could wait for now! Keeping this little ancestor happy was the top priority.

Chen Mo soon got to the truth from the little commandery princess, who had little guile.

The girl simply didn't want to memorize the book. Not only was she extremely slow at it, she forgot the next day what she memorized today, and forgot the day after that what she memorized tomorrow. That thick volume of Noble Etiquette had left Commandery Princess Liushuang so desperate that she had even thought of ending her life.

"Wah... I can't memorize it, I can't! I have to do it every day, it's so annoying! I might as well just die!" Liushuang frantically tousled her hair.

"Absolutely not!" Chen Mo hurriedly stopped her. If you die, what will happen to my medicine?

"Come on, I'll think of a way to help. Read the passage you need to memorize with me, and I'll see if there are any tricks to make it easier to remember."

The little commandery princess was thoroughly reluctant, but she still read through the day's assignment from Lady Linda, half skeptical and half hopeful.

Chen Mo corrected her several times along the way, having her adjust her reading speed, pay attention to pauses, and control her rhythm... They went over it again and again, until the little commandery princess's face had begun to turn slightly pale, and only then did he end that day's "study session" with her.

In the meantime, Chen Mo found opportunities to quietly review the material with the little commandery princess a few more times and gave her some specific guidance on "memorizing."

Then a miracle happened. When Lady Linda tested her that evening, the little commandery princess recited very slowly, but she actually got every word right.

Lady Linda's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, while Master Locke's eyebrows twitched wildly. Even Captain Peiwen, who never let his feelings show, couldn't help casting a surprised glance her way.

Having passed her lesson without trouble, Liushuang came bouncing over, overjoyed. "Chen Mo, Chen Mo, the method you taught me works so well! You have to teach me how to memorize tomorrow too."

Chen Mo smiled and nodded. "Mm, I'll try to make time..."

"You have to help me! Don't worry, as long as you help me memorize the book properly, I'll give you all the medicine my aunt gives me from now on!"

Chen Mo snapped into a deep, ninety-degree bow. "Your esteemed Highness, it is a great honor to be of service!"

The little commandery princess's schoolwork improved by leaps and bounds, and the whole group was in high spirits. Everyone was both curious about and appreciative of Chen Mo's remarkable abilities.

Of course, Chen Mo had paid quite a price too.

For example, a miniature recording device.

And a pair of wireless earbuds made by the Eastern Xia Micro-Ripple Electronics Precision Laboratory, with bone conduction, high optimization, strong sound confinement, and no sound leakage.

All right, Chen Mo didn't have some golden touch that could instantly turn a poor student into a good one. After giving it a simple try and gaining a profound appreciation of the little commandery princess's "natural ineptitude" for learning, he decisively turned to technology.

He helped the little commandery princess cheat outright!

Chapter 60: On a Long Journey

These earbuds had originally been Chen Mo's personal pair.

Since Chen Mo was in another world where combat power was off the charts, the wireless earbuds his family had supplied him were naturally extraordinary. To prevent certain "sharp-eyed and keen-eared" people with special abilities from noticing anything amiss, the laboratory had poured money into them, using pure bone conduction along with directional sound-beam confinement to maximize sound suppression and noise reduction.

Many things in Eastern Xia went unused in practice because their cost made large-scale commercial use impossible. Producing a few top-of-the-line products in a laboratory without regard for expense was still no problem. The final result with these earbuds was that the user could hear everything clearly, while not a single sound wave leaked out.

Thinking of the Life's Eternal Song the little commandery princess might provide in the future, Chen Mo knew that no matter how precious the earbuds were, they had to, and could only, belong to Commandery Princess Liushuang.

Because of her bloodline, Liushuang's outer ears were a little pointier than an ordinary person's, so she usually kept them hidden in her long, tassel-like hair. Concealing an earbud there was easier still.

From then on, the little commandery princess's memorization career underwent an earthshaking change.

Every day, all the little commandery princess had to do was read the material she needed to memorize once at a suitable speed, then pretend to stare blankly at the book for a while, her gaze unfocused as though she were "trying hard to remember." With that, the day's memorization chore was easily "completed."

Having had a major problem solved for her, Liushuang was in a wonderful mood and offered all sorts of rewards and promises. Chen Mo merely smiled, pulled out a "fifty-year agreement on the transfer of Life's Eternal Song medicine" from behind his back, and coaxed the little commandery princess into signing it.

The main reason he had signed for only fifty years was that Chen Mo felt anything longer would have been taking advantage of her.

After fifty years... that was fine too. The agreement also contained a clause granting priority renewal rights; as long as he was strong enough by then, it would automatically come into effect.

Of course, having helped her and reaped ample benefits, he naturally had to face the trouble that followed.

"Chen Mo, Chen Mo, Aunt Linda won't let me recite the whole passage. She wants to test me on random parts. What do I do, what do I do?"