From star abyss

Chapter 641 345. Magic Dragon and Mithril (Part 1)

Under the leadership of Mired, Li Ozi walked in the rain for a long time. They abandoned the road and had to avoid the pursuit of the knights of the Kingdom Council and moved along the forest stream.

Mired didn't like to explain. This woman shrouded in fog always had a frivolous smile, but her words were impeccable, and she never told him where her destination was.

His mood was a little impetuous at first, but gradually calmed down.

Caramel Snail followed him all the way around the Purple Star and saw the cultural scenery. This was probably how his temper was smoothed out.

Now, they were in a valley. Mired built a fire to drive away the damp, cold air, snakes, insects, rats, and ants, while Li Ozi was sitting at the edge of the cave, reading a book by the light.

"Magic, Dragons and Mithril"

This book was given to him by Mired to serve as his literacy material. Anyway, he had free time, and Li Ozi didn't mind reading a book.

[Echoer] has no head. He just can't learn knowledge, but that doesn't mean he can't absorb information.

Putting aside practical considerations, the content of this book is actually quite interesting. A short story was recorded to tell some interesting roads.

In order to facilitate understanding, Li Ozi has localized these stories to a certain extent, making it easier for him who comes from the Xingyuan Civilization to understand.

After all, the mainstream world view of Xingyuan is the grand narrative theory.

This book is different. Its original version is from the perspective of Long Weixing, thinking about the worldview.

The general content is: For a considerable period of time in past history, ‘environmental determinism’ became the methodology used by people to explain civilizational differences and grand narratives.

Initially, the reason why people moved civilization toward technology or magic and chose idealism or materialism was explained by the local environment.

To give a simple example, a certain planet will give birth to a dragon, a creature that can breathe fire, fly, and has a long lifespan. This means that the environment it lives in must have large marine creatures to satisfy the consumption of its huge body. Secondly, this There is less land in the place, mostly broken islands and high cliffs. Trees and forests are extremely rare, and most of the area is a damp desert environment.

As a result, the ancestors of the giant dragons had to survive by flying on the sea for a long time. Therefore, similar to the Aeolus pterosaurs, the radius and humerus were extremely extended, and complex large-scale active gliders evolved. At the same time, in order to dive briefly Bays require plate-like scales like those of crocodiles to aid swimming.

As for how the fire-breathing ability came about, it is generally believed that fire-breathing evolved actively. It may have started as a form of performance for dragons during courtship. They used the accumulated biogas in the body and the rapid friction of the rear molars to spit fire and ignite it, forming a simple fire. flow.

Anyone who understands the principle of a flamethrower will know that breathing fire is an extremely wasteful act of energy. However, because of this, the ability to perform fire breathing is considered by dragon females as a manifestation of the male's abundant resources.

Just like people think that "I would rather be the enemy of the whole world than be with you" is a romantic sentiment, this kind of risk-taking and waste of resources is actually a way to show strength.

From this perspective, holding a military parade is also a kind of romanticism.

Obviously, from the perspective of the female dragon, following such a man with flesh, brains and strength will give her offspring a higher chance of survival.

So generations of genes were screened out, and the spitfire's individual expression was passed on.

As the intake of calories and protein gradually increases, the brains of dragons become more developed. Those individuals who are good at breathing fire and accurately controlling the flow of inflammation are considered to be creatures with higher IQs. They are more inclined to teamwork in hunting and have the ability to With richer emotional expressions, females will give priority to these males who are smart and know how to please dragons.

The following story is actually no different from human history. In order to have higher brain capacity and fire-breathing ability, dragons' teeth began to differentiate, their body structures gradually improved, their body sizes began to increase, and their life spans also increased.

The process of biological evolution is measured in millions of years, and the huge size of dragons also makes their lifespans extremely long. Eventually, old people, grandmothers, and elders with rich experience began to appear in the dragon settlements. Individuals lacking hunting ability.

The young people of the dragon tribe knew how valuable these old men were and began to support them. Even if they did not provide hunting resources, they could still pass on knowledge, teach ambush techniques, and point out the direction of hunting. The cooked food baked in the flames also extended the life of the old dragons. , further promotes tooth differentiation, reduces jaw pressure, and frees up more space for the brain.

Gradually, a language was formed. With the advent of language, the dragons that were originally organized as a few families suddenly expanded to a settlement of dozens of family members. Hundreds of dragons could participate in hunting together, and the efficiency skyrocketed.

Language continued to evolve, and the dragons also realized the benefits of united hunting, began to live together, and even began to help each other with things and support new dragon cubs whose parents died. In this process, the social relations of the Dragon Clan began to take shape.

The environment is changing, genes are constantly mutating, species are gradually evolving, and dragons are beginning to move around. In the process, the dragons will encounter various difficulties, such as famine, fever, cold, parasites, and giant beasts. But as long as they kill They won't die.

It will only make them stronger. In order to deal with these problems, the dragon tribe began to form primitive clans and tribal organizations and carry out large-scale migrations.

After overcoming or coexisting with these difficulties one by one, the dragon tribe marched into the inland environment, and the group cooperation caused the mortality rate of the cubs to drop exponentially. The population began to explode for the first time, and the clan began to split outwards, starting to advance from all angles. , eventually covering the entire continent.

From this moment on, the prototype of social division of labor officially appeared within them. The initial matrilineal society allowed the dragons to unite under the command of the great grandmother. The female dragons began to climb up and dig out bird eggs, go down to fish and hunt shallow water bays, and collect berries from all around. Go back to protect and raise the cubs.

The male dragons began to arm themselves. They noticed that the stone on the mountain was very solid, so they began to consciously use their claws to drop the stone from a high place, hit it with another stone, and then use their claws to grab the two stones for grinding and finessing. of making.

First they were rough stone axes, which after being sharpened could be used to cut trees more effectively. Then they installed sharper horns on their sharp corners, and added maces and maces to their tail tips. Later, they A better material was discovered - metal.

Coincidentally, they were surprised to find that after years of accumulated genetic evolution, Longyan's temperature was just right enough to melt metal. The cooled metal could not only make weapons, but also forge various practical gadgets.

For example, currency.