Chapter 334 - 290: Hope for Rebuilding the City of Ten Thousand Races (2)

"Hmm." Pazani nodded in agreement, but he immediately realized that what the goblin had said didn't seem quite right.

"Let's go back and see their Clan Leader first." Shire waved his hand, leading the frowning, muttering Naga Prince back into the egg-shaped building.

This time, he observed the building's exterior more carefully. This "stone house" was stacked on top of two other egg-shaped structures. After Shire and Pazani entered, they didn't feel any shaking or deformation whatsoever, which proved that the mixture of Frogman mucus and other materials was perfectly sturdy.

Of course, its color was a dark black, unlike "cement," but that wasn't a major issue.

"Outsiders, how did your discussion go? Quack," the Frogman Race Leader asked slowly.

"I'd like to see that strange fish before I make a final decision. Of course, rescuing your people from here is something I must do. I'd also like to trade some resources with you." Shire sat down cross-legged again, raising a hand with a smile. "This mucus material you use for construction is something my Race is also in great need of. I was just wondering if the Frogman Race can provide it, and if so, how much."

"You mean this Black Mud?" The Frogman Race Leader turned to look at the wall. "We actually have a lot of it. How much do you need? Quack."

"A lot?"

"Yes," the Frogman Race Leader said, raising his hand and pointing into the distance. "There are many jars stored over there, sealed with the Black Mud we've made. If you need them, my people can give them to you as a thank-you gift for opening the Egg-Birth Gate."

"Won't they solidify?" Shire asked with a frown.

"As long as they're sealed properly and not exposed to the air, it's fine," the Frogman Race Leader said with a smile. "We often scrape the mucus off our own bodies and store it, waiting to unseal it when it's needed. Quack."

"May I go take a look?" Shire asked after a moment of thought.

"Of course. Quack." The Frogman Race Leader nodded, then took out a strange metal object that looked like a round iron disc. He then used a branch to strike the disc, producing a "BANG! BANG!" sound.

Soon, the sound of footsteps echoed from outside, and a Frogman arrived at the entrance of the egg-shaped building, letting out a series of croaks that ended with, "Quack."

"Take the outsiders to the back of the village. Let Wa Er San Wu Qi Yi go with them. Quack."

Shire and Pazani followed Wa Er San Wu Qi Yi through the entire Frogman village. The settlement was filled with similar egg-shaped buildings, all roughly the same size. The Clan Leader's dwelling was the tallest and stood at the very edge of the village, directly facing the pitch-black lake.

As they walked into the Frogman village, Shire finally got a detailed look at this Race. Numerous long strips of air-dried seaweed were hung on the exteriors of the buildings, much like the dried corn and chili peppers hung outside houses in his previous life. Wa Er San Wu Qi Yi explained that they cultivated the seaweed, which they not only wore around their waists for clothing but also ate like dried vegetables.

Shire also noticed some strange things around the Frogman village that looked like taut screens. They were very thin and covered in odd patterns. Through his guide's explanation, he learned they were called Insect Catching Nets, also made from diluted Frogman mucus. The flying insects they caught were scraped off to be eaten as food.

Wa Er San Wu Qi Yi also enthusiastically invited Shire to try their race's "Insect and Seaweed Hotpot." "How could we not properly host our people's savior? I know whose family makes the tastiest version! Quack."

The corner of Shire's mouth twitched at the invitation, and he promptly waved his hand to decline.

Before long, they arrived at the back of the village. Shire's eyes widened as he stared at the unbelievable scene before him.

An entire wall—or rather, the wall of the subterranean cavern—was lined with densely packed jars. They were the size of wine urns, their mouths tightly sealed with bundled seaweed. A rough count suggested there were several thousand of them.

'When I first heard the Clan Leader say they used jars to store the Black Mud, I thought it was strange,' Shire mused. 'Considering their low production capabilities, how could they have possibly made pottery jars in this cavern?'

'But then again, the Clan Leader did mention that some Frogmen had tried to leave through the underground river in the past. It wouldn't be that surprising if they had managed to get some pottery jars from the outside.'

The reason he wanted to see for himself was to confirm whether the "Black Mud" was really as the Frogmen described.

However, the sight of several thousand jars of Black Mud lining the entire stone wall left Shire rooted to the spot. 'This is an enormous amount. Where did they get all these jars?'

He strode quickly toward one of the jars and reached out to open the seal, but his hand stopped midway. He turned his head and asked, "Is it all right if I open this to take a look? It won't cause any problems, will it?"

"You can open any of them you like. We sometimes need them to repair our houses anyway, and we can produce a whole jar's worth of this mud in a single day. Quack."

Hearing Wa Er San Wu Qi Yi's words, Shire crouched down, untied the rope of twisted seaweed from around the jar's mouth, and pulled off the seal. A peculiar smell immediately wafted out.

The odor carried a hint of seaweed's grassy scent, but it wasn't pungent or foul. It smelled much like freshly cut grass.

He found a small, thin piece of rock nearby, dipped it into the jar, and stirred a few times. When he lifted it out, the black liquid dripped slowly from the rock, looking just like black "syrup."

"The Black Mud takes a while to solidify. It won't change at all just from this. Quack," Wa Er San Wu Qi Yi explained from the side. It was clear from his tone that he was quite proud of his people for possessing such a substance.

"Are all of these jars filled with Black Mud?" Shire asked, gesturing at the wall of jars above them.

"Yes," Wa Er San Wu Qi Yi nodded. "We only have this many jars. Quack."

"The jars?"

"Yes. These are all the jars we had for the Divine Water, so this is all the Black Mud we could store. Quack."

"What is Divine Water?" Shire asked, turning to look at the Frogman.

"Divine Water is... well, Divine Water," Wa Er San Wu Qi Yi said, tilting his head. His two large, 'wise' eyes on top of his head blinked a few times. "It was originally in the pool. It's said to have been a gift from a Divine Being. Unfortunately, there was only a limited amount, and once it was all drunk, there was no more. They say that after you drink the Divine Water, you fall into a strange state of mind. Quack."

"Divine Water?" Shire leaned down, examining the outside of the jar. "Have you ever drunk it?"

"I haven't. Of all my people, only the Clan Leader drank from the last jar, and that was a very long time ago. Quack." Wa Er San Wu Qi Yi sounded deeply regretful, clearly lamenting that he'd never had a chance to drink the Divine Water.

Shire didn't reply, carefully studying the outside of the jar. It seemed to be ancient, with only faint remnants of some patterns on its surface.

He stood up and walked to the next jar, examining their exteriors one by one. 'Maybe I can figure out what these jars were originally used for by looking at them.'

Before long, after inspecting a dozen or so of the Black Mud jars, he found writing on one of them. It was in Common Speech and read: "Property of the Third Imperial Winery - For Storage."

'So that's it. These were originally wine urns,' Shire thought, wiping the jar's surface again to confirm the writing. 'If these jars were originally filled with wine, does that mean this cavern used to be a massive wine cellar?'

He already knew which Empire the writing referred to, and drinking alcohol would certainly put these Frogmen into a "strange state of mind."

"How did this place go from being a wine cellar to an underground pool?" Shire muttered to himself as he inspected the remaining jars. Millennia had passed, and the wine had been perfectly preserved. But time reshapes all things; the environment that once served as a natural cellar had been unexpectedly flooded by an underground river's Water Flow.

'In that case, the Rune Speech carved on the stone wall of the pool is even more interesting,' Shire thought, caressing the outside of the jar as if stroking a young maiden's fair skin.

'Constant Temperature.'