The sun is high

Although the continuation beacon brings a relatively stable space to the surrounding area, the time scale remains blurred here.

Fortunately, compared to before, Xiuge was now able to at least vaguely infer the passage of time through Van En through the magical connection between himself and the cane.

Although this inference lacks clear and accurate reference, it is enough to provide precious spiritual comfort to Xiuge who is "in a foreign land".

And it was precisely because of the concept of time that Xiuge truly felt the potential of the rats in front of him.

Each of them is an absolute pragmatist, so they tend to start from the actual utility and function of those tools, equipment and weapons. Once the rat people have completed the first step of understanding, they will be extremely bold and bold. Put this knowledge into specific usage scenarios.

This behavior is very dangerous.

Even though Azifu and other wise rat men continue to try to standardize this terrible risk-taking behavior, in those bold and radical attempts, cases of missing arms, legs, tails, and even deaths continue to occur. However, these tragedies have not There is nothing that can stop the rat people from exploring these unknown things.

It was only at this time that Xiuge finally saw the true scale of the rat-man community.

After Azifu's explanation and explanation, Xiuge realized that the relatively elementary "town" he had seen before was actually just a small part of the rat-man community living here in seclusion. The "political center" of the entire rat tribe is also a particularly conspicuous "target".

Once the worst happens, this settlement will be immediately abandoned by ethnic groups hiding in other areas.

The survival of the rats hiding in the dark will naturally be more difficult and painful, but those rat people living inside the settlements are also naturally responsible for attracting the attention of the enemy for the entire group - once an accident occurs, they It will become the first target of those terrible Dark Abyss creatures and will be completely destroyed in a very short period of time.

Shuge's visit and the revelation of the secret of the continuation base brought enough variables to this huge ethnic group.

It was on this basis that Aziv, as the supreme leader, finally decided to change the strategy he had formulated in the past. As a result, a larger number of rats emerged from the secrets hidden inside this huge mountain. Emerging from the settlements, they bid farewell to those nooks and crannies and collapsed dark passages, gathered near the community settlements, and began to expand the territory of the community with astonishing efficiency.

Aziv's concealment made the old guys of the Ernst family very dissatisfied. As senior officials who had been in Vann's political circles, they always had a high level of hostility towards this approach, no matter how relatively mild it was. Countess Alexandra and the grumpy old Bernhardt both believe that Shuge should pursue this matter and use this to strengthen his overall control over the rat people.

Shuge did not accept these offers.

Not only did he not question Aziv's specific reasons, he even took the initiative to reduce his sense of presence within the rat people. During this period, the most important thing he did was to check the files within the continuation base. While studying the magic system preserved from distant time and space, he quietly observed the development of the race that was a little crazy in its bones.

"Aren't you worried about them getting out of control?"

Through Shuge's sight, Old General Bernhardt also saw the quarrel that took place on the simple scaffolding, so he sighed in Shuge's mind: "I know these guys must be better than those outside. Monsters are more reliable, but they are ultimately different from any other race in Van En... Ah, every time I see them, I feel like they are a large group of crystal bombs dragging their tails around!"

Shuge withdrew his gaze from the bickering rat people. He glanced at the continuation beacon in the distance that was still functioning normally, and smiled silently: "You really don't trust them."

"Of course not."

As a former soldier, Bernhardt always likes to tell the truth: "Let me put it this way, when I was in the army, I dealt with dwarves, elves and even ogres, ah...each one is different." Each race will have its own characteristics, just like elves are always very confident, dwarves have a bad mouth, and ogres have trouble with their brains..."

"But no matter how outrageous they are, there is still a limit after all. But these rat people are different. What I feel in them is only disorder and madness. Even with Aziv's management and leadership, this temperament will still persist." Revealed.”

Bernhardt spoke very slowly, and it could be heard that his attitude at this moment was very serious: "What's more important is that I, or we, have all been affected by the so-called Mother Earth Goddess, you know ...Before you arrived, many of our members had been completely submerged in that terrible power. Once we reached that point, there would no longer be any rationality left in our souls.”

At this time, two figures hurried over from the other end of the hall.

They were two rat-man wise men from other settlements. They were now wearing white uniforms found in the continuation base warehouse. Although they didn't fit well, they inexplicably gave them a scholarly temperament.

They were obviously attracted by the noise here, so after arriving at the scene, they immediately began to teach and criticize the two rat men who almost caused the accident. After that, they turned around and came to Shuge. .

The rat wise men were still in awe of the "messenger of the Mother Goddess of the Earth" in front of them. They first greeted him respectfully, and then carefully asked Xiuge if he had any more "instructions" on what had just happened.

In response to this, Xiuge just smiled and waved his hand: "You handled it very well, but reprimands and punishments alone are definitely not enough for this kind of thing... You must think clearly about how to prevent accidents before they happen. , It doesn’t matter if you can’t think of a solution, you can discuss it with Azifu or other members of the same clan.”

Regarding the specific suggestions given by Shuge, the two wise rat men were obviously in a daze. They looked at each other twice, then bowed their heads in response, and turned away with respect and confusion.

"Well, have you noticed that in some respects they have become less difficult to understand?"

Shuge smiled at Bernhardt in his heart: "No matter what their beliefs and appearance are, fundamentally speaking, they are not much different from other ethnic groups in Van En today..."

He pointed at the light in the distance: "We are all successors, but they have different preferences and strengths. What's more, the Earth Mother Goddess they believe in has been completely expelled, and they themselves are trapped. In the Dark Abyss, this makes the gods they worship completely become a spiritual sustenance that cannot bring actual power. "

"Many of the powers, magic, and rituals they obtained from the gods in the past have lost their effectiveness. What supports them now in their fight against the Dark Abyss is actually their own power, which they have summarized through experience and is based on the actual situation of the Dark Abyss. specific methods of the situation.”

"So my attitude is that there is no essential difference between them and the races in Van En. In other words, they are at a certain stage that humans or elves have gone through. This is understandable and also It can be expected.”

"But... uh, okay."

Bernhardt was not that good at debating. He felt that what Sugar said was very reasonable, but his stubborn personality made him reluctant to agree directly.

At this time, Countess Alexandra spoke: "Child, can I understand that you think these rat people have great potential, but they should receive certain guidance and regulation?"

"Besides, there's still time."

Xiuge added seriously: "As I said before, everything here will allow them to enter a new stage, and even allow them to gain the strength to compete with those dangers, but this will ultimately require a cycle, and in this process, Their group needs to remain as stable and cohesive as possible. Any risk from within may create cracks that are difficult to bridge and even cut off that precious progress.”

"Once these guys start to divide themselves, maybe the madness hidden in their blood will attack again... I hope that they can vent this ferocity and madness to the Dark Abyss Palace instead of facing them internally. "

After hearing this, Bernhard finally understood what Shuge meant, and he couldn't help but ask: "So, you want to find a supervisor for these rats?"

"Yes, and a supervisor who is long enough, tireless, and knowledgeable enough about these Skaven."

Xiuge leaned his body against the cold metal wall. He instinctively reached out and touched his pocket - of course there was nothing there. So he reached out and grabbed it in the air, and the magic power was immediately compressed between his fingers. A "cigarette".

The "cigarette" simulated by magic power ignited spontaneously without fire. Xiuge held it in his mouth, and a faint magical mist drifted past his eyes.

He couldn't feel any smell of tobacco, but this action alone was enough to keep his mood stable.

In the swirling smoke, Xiuge's spiritual ocean was trembling.

"General Bernhardt, I hope that you can take the lead in this supervision work."

"What?"

"You understand me correctly. What I mean is that I hope you can lead other members of the family to monitor and guide this ethnic group full of unknowns on my behalf to ensure that their development will not deviate and always stand with Van En. On the same front, regard the Dark Abyss Palace as the most important enemy."

Even though Bernhardt was well-informed, he was still shocked by Shuge's words at this moment. He was silent for a long time, and then he spoke with difficulty: "If this is your order, I am naturally willing to carry it out. But I don’t quite understand, with the power of these rat men, how can we fight against such an opponent? Is there really any way for us to drag the Dark Abyss Palace to a level where we can compete?”

Faced with Bernhardt's question, Shuge did not show too many doubts. He gently blew away the magic smoke floating in front of his eyes and replied with a smile: "Yes, and this is what I will do next." It’s hard for me to explain to you the specific process of what we’re going to do, so... it’s better for us to focus on the goals and results.”

As he spoke, the metal disk, which was the home of many creations, began to rotate. Different from the past, this huge disk was no longer just the carrier of Xiuge's power, but became the carrier of Xiuge's own magic power. part.

Therefore, under his control and manipulation, the surging magic power slowly flowed along those precise lines towards the groove where the rats of the Ernst family lived.

For Bernhardt and other souls, this is a real order that cannot be disobeyed.

…

The Skaven's belief in the Earth Mother is firm.

Therefore, they are also very easy to accept these "gifts" from the messengers of the Mother Goddess.

At a grand gathering, an overwhelming swarm of black blind rats gathered and took shape in the shadow of rich magic.

He endured the pain caused by his mental tear, and personally handed over the blind rats that housed the souls of the Ernst family to the managers of the rat-man community - from now on, they will form a special As partners, these wise rats "born with the blessing of the Mother Goddess" will answer puzzles and solve problems for this growing tribe.

Shuge did not conceal his thoughts and plans from Azifu, and the old bard and rat-man wise man also did not express any objections. When Shuge personally placed General Bernhardt in Azifu, There were even smiles on both sides' faces when they were lying on Fu's shoulders.

In order to ensure the efficiency of the activities of the Ernst family rats in the rat colony, almost all the family souls were separated by Shuge. The only one left by his side was Countess Alexandra. .

"Are they going to be angry?"

"Angry? You're okay."

Countess Alexandra smiled and responded: "If it weren't for you, we would have already integrated with those crazy rats. How could we continue to use our abilities as we do now? In fact, everyone just feels reluctant to give up. "It's a pity, you know, son, in their opinion, you should actually go back and lead the family."

"Is that so? But I feel like General Bernhardt doesn't want to talk to me anymore before he leaves."

"That's because he was so excited."

Alexandra revealed Bernhardt's disguise mercilessly: "The weapons stacked in the warehouse, especially the big ones made of steel, have long made his hands itchy... He is afraid that I have long wanted to personally cultivate a real 'rat army'."