CHAPTER 52: CHAPTER 50 LEG OF LAMB

How to use it as medicine, and the dosage—whether to swallow it raw, press it into juice, dry it and boil it into a medicinal soup, or directly inject it into the veins—is something that Austin, who is essentially illiterate in traditional Chinese medicine, has no idea about.

Even though, theoretically, these plants can grow inside the Spider Cave and have a high chance of neutralizing the poison produced by the spiders, figuring out how to enable those substances to work in Rodney and others’ bodies without harming them is indeed a profound and complex field of study.

However, under the current circumstances, there is no way for Austin to spend a year or two exploring this; otherwise, Rodney’s grave would probably have grass several meters high by then, and even if he managed to gather experience, what use would it be?

There’s no choice but to take measures one by one.

First, for Rodney, with the strongest physique, they directly took a nameless plant from the Spider Cave, ground it into a mass, and fed it directly into his mouth.

As for the Jackal Wolf People, with a slightly weaker body, the amount was also a whole plant, pressed into juice to feed them.

Lastly, for the Kobold, it was boiled into a medicinal soup to feed them.

Whether these nameless plants growing in the Spider Cave were toxic or could resolve the spider poison in Rodney and others, or whether they would make things worse, no one knew. Ultimately, it was left to fate.

All the beastmen and the Blue Young Dragon stood by the bedside, waiting patiently. Would a miracle occur, or was it all in vain? Nobody knew.

An hour passed.

The purple-blue hue on Rodney’s face began to fade, but soon his entire lizard face turned a mix of blue and red in a short time, with the colors changing very strangely.

The complexion of the Jackal Wolf People also quickly dissipated, although they didn’t experience Rodney’s situation. However, their breathing became rapid, which seemed to suggest that the spider venom inside them had been resolved, although it also produced some unknown side effects.

Finally, for the Kobold, the blue-purple hue on his face slowly started to fade. Although not as quickly as the Jackal Wolf People, at least more than half had dissipated, without any side effects like Rodney’s or those of the Jackal Wolf People, and his breathing became stabilised.

"It worked!"

At the moment of witnessing these "weeds" taking effect, all the beastmen erupted into enthusiastic cheers.

Even though Rodney and the others hadn’t woken up yet, it was apparent, under such circumstances, that the spider poison in their bodies could be resolved.

The cheers were deafening as all the beastmen loudly exclaimed phrases like "Long live His Highness Austin."

"Your, Your Highness... this is truly..."

Throughout the event, the Fox-faced Man Quik stood by, so moved by the scene that words failed him.

However, the Blue Young Dragon wasn’t blinded by the joy. Under his command, approximately three to four hours later, the beastmen brewed individual bowls of medicine from the nameless plants extracted from the Spider Cave and fed them to Rodney and the others.

From the analysis of the three cases, although the effects of brewed herbs were slower, the side effects were not as severe.

Meanwhile, the beastmen who were previously bitten by spiders also each received a bowl of medicine. For those whose injuries weren’t severe, just a single bowl almost instantaneously cured them, as the swelling quickly dissipated, indicating that the toxin was easily resolved.

This further boosted Austin and the others’ confidence. With careful care, Rodney and the others finally awoke the next day.

Though having narrowly survived the ordeal of Ghost Gate, Rodney and the others would take more than ten to twenty days to fully recover, but the danger to their lives was entirely gone.

On the evening Rodney and the others were cured, the beastmen of the Dragon Nest Tribe held another celebration.

Without wine, they used juice from fruits similar to coconuts as a substitute, and with the recent victories in hunting, large quantities of fish and meat were served, allowing everyone to eat joyfully.

Perhaps celebrating Rodney and the others being saved by the Blue Young Dragon, or celebrating the recent hunting bounties, or perhaps welcoming newcomers, but whatever the reason, this was the beastmen’s most enjoyable gathering.

The wandering beastmen who later joined the Dragon Nest Tribe, even after military training, still felt a slight gap with the older members of the Dragon Nest Tribe, but after this grand feast, that trace of separation vanished, and they fully integrated.

Of course, Austin did not prevent this celebration from happening, as there was a need to occasionally relax, but he didn’t participate.

Rather than join the beastmen in their revelry, Austin preferred to stay quietly in the nest, looking down at the brightly lit Dragon Nest Village below.

Although the glow in that area seemed insignificant amidst the endless dark forest, like a tiny spark in a vast dark prairie,

Austin believed that one day, that spark would grow into a prairie fire, and the bright lights would illuminate this dark land, blossoming with brilliance under the night sky.

And when that time came, he would stand at the highest point, his enormous membranous wings shrouding the sky, casting a shadow that covered the sun, looking down at the empire that belonged to him:

"This is my empire!"

Of course, the Blue Young Dragon’s utopian fantasies did not last long before the peace of the nest was broken by a little girl named Nina, who discovered during the feast that her most revered His Highness Austin was not amongst the crowd. She then tottered forward with her most cherished lamb leg to present it to the most esteemed Blue Young Dragon and to convey all the beastmen’s esteemed greetings to Austin.

Watching little Nina hold up that roasted lamb leg, the Blue Young Dragon raised his head proudly, snorting coldly.

"Hmph, foolish beastmen, how could you understand the pride of a king like me?"

Then Austin gulped down the lamb leg, bone and all, and licked his lips,

The taste lingered.

He hadn’t eaten such delicious food in a long time. Thinking back to when he was clumsy, he even struggled to start a fire, let alone do anything else.

And those beastmen were also clumsy and rough, and what they made was only barely edible.

Then by chance, Austin noticed Nina had some cooking talent and gave her a few pointers. In truth, those pointers were learned from some culinary videos Austin watched in his previous life, and to his surprise, little Nina could actually make roasted lamb leg.

Though the lack of salt was mildly unsatisfying, the taste was fragrant,

Crispy,

Letting Austin, who had gotten used to eating raw or charred prey since coming to this world, relish the aftertaste.

A night passed in the blink of an eye,

The next day dawned with the rising sun, marking the start of a new day.

Rodney and the other three teams were still recuperating, but no longer needed much attention. At this time, the kudzu vines in the wild had started to sprout, and it was time for planting Pueraria.

Thus, Austin led the beastmen to the plains by the river to continue with his grand plan of land-reclamation farming.