Chapter 414: Let Us Celebrate! (Part 6)

After Jier and Xueya Site drank several bowls of ale that refilled automatically, they finally sat on the ground, belching and opening their shirts at the chest to start talking.

"That alien god didn't do anything to you, did it? I saw you two suddenly start fighting just now, and you even got grabbed." Xueya Site had been drinking less; he was holding a large, fatty chicken leg condensed from Divine Power, asking while gnawing on it ferociously.

At this moment, the most popular items on the field were these roasted fatty chicken legs. The commoners discovered that as long as they twisted off the whole leg and waited, in just a few dozen seconds, the chicken—missing two legs—would shine with Divine Power and be restored to its original state!

This was fantastic. After discovering this, the commoners lined up in front of the strings of fatty chickens. When it was someone's turn, they would go up, twist off two large, oily, plump chicken legs, hold one in each hand, and eat while walking—it was incredibly satisfying!

Ordinary people had never eaten like this before; everyone stopped drinking the delicious, mellow ale and just waited for the fatty chickens to automatically restore themselves so they could eat this!

However, Xueya Site knew how to eat best: a large roasted chicken leg in his left hand and a wooden bowl of automatically refilling ale in his right, taking a bite of meat and a sip of ale—it was extremely enjoyable!

Hearing his partner's question, Jier laughed out loud: "It's nothing. Sigh, I just don't want to add any more trouble to my body. That's why when the god chose me, I wanted to dodge it."

He shook his head: "But how could I be a match for a god? Still, it's not without benefits; look, my strength has increased quite a bit!"

Jier picked up a piece of Suishi from the ground, gestured with it on his finger for Xueya Site to see, then exerted force with his finger—*pop*—and crushed it directly.

"Hmm, that's very impressive. You were already very strong, so aren't you even stronger now?" Xueya Site swallowed the meat in his mouth and asked curiously.

Jier shrugged: "You can't say it like that. If you have too many skills and abilities, you won't go far; what's the use if your techniques aren't strong? Besides, I don't know or understand the God of Strength of the Dwarves at all. Forcing this strength into my body—who knows what kind of trouble there will be in the future. After all, for me, Knight training has only just begun, and there is so much training to do. Where would I have the time to have Faith in the God of Strength?"

He complained in a low voice again: "And it's an overbearing and unreasonable alien god. By comparison, I've heard that our Human Warriors' Hall Church is more suitable for highly skilled Knights and Warriors, and the God of War also seems quite good."

"Of course, I also get along very well with our great Agricultural God, and the Agricultural God Church has been very good to me. These are all fine, but the alien God of Strength—sigh, what kind of situation is this."

Hearing Jier's complaint, Xueya Site smiled and raised his wooden bowl: "Don't think about it so much, come, have another bowl!"

"Alright, drink it all in one go! No leftovers allowed!"

After saying this, Jier tilted his head back and finished the ale in the wooden bowl in a few large gulps, while Xueya Site drank the ale in his bowl with some difficulty. It wasn't that he couldn't drink, but he had already eaten lunch, and now that he was eating large mouthfuls of chicken leg meat, there was no room left in his stomach for ale.

After finishing the ale, Jier seemed quite happy. He stood up, saw the high spirits in the Yingdi, and shouted loudly: "Come, come, come! Everyone, let's get the celebratory performances that weren't finished earlier going again!"

"Oh oh oh oh!"

"That's right, that's right, it's rare to eat so well, how can we do it without a performance!"

"Knight Jier, you have the list, whose turn is it now?"

Facing the commoners' inquiries, Jier put down his wooden bowl and searched his body left and right. Finally, the end of the handle of the Yueshui Skull Two-Handed Axe beside him bumped against his waist pocket, and only then did Jier find the paper he had stuffed inside earlier.

"Let me see. Hmm, next it's the Lumberjacks' turn to perform! Come, come, come, stop drinking, it's your turn to perform a Lumberjack's Chant for everyone!"

Jier shouted, calling out the large group of highly satisfied Lumberjacks to let them perform.

These Lumberjacks didn't hesitate; they put down their wooden bowls and, after some pushing and choosing, sent ten Lumberjacks to the open space in the field.

At this moment, the images of the Agricultural God on the campfire, which had been silent, also turned their bodies and watched the performance of these Lumberjacks with smiles on their faces.

"My lord, you're letting us perform, but how should the performance start?" one person asked.

Another Lumberjack rubbed his hands and chuckled: "We are all clumsy, rough fellows, not like those young masters and young ladies who know how to sing while pinching their throats."

Jier turned around, picked up his wooden bowl, took a small sip, and smiled triumphantly: "Is that hard? I've cut trees with you so many times, I know how to do it. You guys, listen to my command; whatever I say, you do, and that's it. We'll perform a pantomime right here for everyone!"

"What is a pantomime?" someone asked.

Jier explained with a smile: "Ha, it just means pretending there's a tree here, pretending there's a tree, and we chop it down!"

The Lumberjacks laughed out loud: "That's a performance? That's too easy. Everyone watch closely. We're going to do a pantomime now!"

After saying this, the ten selected Lumberjacks held their axes, walked out of the crowd with a swagger, and stood still in the center of the field. But as soon as they stood still, Jier shouted: "Start walking, start walking, walk in circles around the empty space in the middle. Show what you look like when you set off."

The Lumberjacks were at a loss, having to crowd together in a mess and walk in circles. They didn't know whether to hold their axes, carry them, shoulder them, or drag them.

This made the commoners laugh out loud. These Lumberjacks were always acting cocky in the team, shouting all day that the firewood everyone used to eat and light fires was all chopped by them venturing into the forest, and they were very cliquey. Seeing them make such fools of themselves made everyone very happy.

Jier slapped his face and shouted loudly: "Is this how you usually set off in such a mess? Line up properly, then carry your axes on your shoulders, and then shout the chant for the journey!"

Upon hearing Knight Jier's command, these blushing Lumberjacks finally came to their senses. According to their status and height within the team, they lined up in two rows, and their axes were all uniformly carried on their right shoulders.

Then, they took a deep breath and, while walking in circles, began to shout the chant for the journey.

"Body is light, axe is heavy, shoulder it up."

"Walking while singing, then switch the axe to the other shoulder."

"Left, right, left, left, right, left, the line is so neat."

"Right, left, right, right, left, right, steps are light and comfortable."

Once this travel chant was sung, the feeling suddenly came to life. After they sang it once, the commoners clapped their hands excitedly.

When the applause died down, Jier took a small sip of ale and shouted: "Alright, now you've arrived at the edge of the forest, and now, we need to choose the tree to chop!"

The two rows of ten Lumberjacks stopped in unison, some not knowing what to do. After all, there was no real tree here. Although they had heard of a pantomime just now, it was just a new term, and they didn't understand its meaning.

Jier commanded: "The team should spread out in pairs, look for which tree in the forest ahead is more suitable, and sing the chant at the same time!"

The Lumberjacks immediately spread out in pairs, carrying their axes on their shoulders, their arms mimicking brushing aside grass and bushes, and their legs imitating the action of stepping over small flowers and trees, while they also shouted a new chant.

"Watch your feet, watch your head, snakes by your feet, branches blocking your head."

"Step on small trees, kick away flowers, watch out for spiders, jumping onto your body!"

"Push branches away, let them return, otherwise behind you, you'll get slapped in the face!"

"Move big, shout loud, wild beasts and animals, scare them all away!"

"The forest is dark, don't go deep, wander around the edge, find a tree!"

"Can't be too tall, can't be crooked, can't be too thick, can't move it away."

"No dead trees, no insect holes, don't want small trees, not worth chopping!"

"If beasts roar, then shout, step back slowly, hold the axe high!"

"People fear beasts, they fear people, we have many people, they will retreat!"

Another round of applause broke out. Jier shouted his command at the right moment: "Look, there is a tree right in the middle of the open space, not tall, not short, not crooked, not sick, not dead. It's just right to chop for firewood! The Lumberjack who discovered it, shout out, gather the others, and prepare to chop the tree!"

One Lumberjack closest to the center of the open space was now fully in character, truly pretending there was a large tree in front of him. He planted his axe on the ground and shouted loudly to the others: "Hey! I found a suitable large tree here! Hey, all come to my side! I found a tree that's good to chop!"

The others smiled and hurried to his side in a few steps. These guys were so into their roles that they actually started commenting on a place where there was nothing at all.

"Ah, what a good tree!"

"The texture of this tree is just right, not too much moisture, perfect for chopping as firewood."

"Alright, that's it, brothers, prepare to fell the trees!"

Jier shouted: "Start the Lumberjack's Chant! Pretend there's really a tree there, and show everyone your whole process!"

The lumberjacks surrounded the empty clearing where there was nothing and began to perform. Calling it a performance, it was actually just their daily logging routine.

"Yo-ho, what a big tree! Heave-ho, climb up, climb up, tie the rope to the top!"

"Yo-ho, what a big tree! Heave-ho, clear it out, clear it out, the area around the big tree."

"Yo-ho, what a big tree, heave-ho, find the angle, find the angle, pull the rope straight this way."

"Yo-ho, what a big tree, heave-ho, swing the axe, swing the axe, chop where it's going to fall."

"Yo-ho, what a big tree, heave-ho, be careful, be careful, don't chop too much, don't chop too much."

"Yo-ho, what a big tree, heave-ho, turn to one side, turn to one side, chop the other side too."

"Yo-ho, what a big tree, heave-ho, it's falling, it's falling, everyone get out of the way fast."

"Yo-ho, what a big tree, heave-ho, the tree is down, the tree is down! Pull the rope to make it fall."

Watching the lumberjacks quickly get used to performing without actual objects, Jier nodded with satisfaction. When the fake big tree was felled and pulled down, Jier shouted loudly: "The tree is down! Watch out and dodge!"

The crowd watching the performance laughed heartily, not knowing that this was the most dangerous moment during logging. Jier was fine; he could go logging alone, but for others to log, they had to act as a team. The most important thing in team action was coordination. If the coordination wasn't good at this moment, it was easy for an inattentive lumberjack to be knocked to the ground by the falling branches of the big tree, which was very serious.

The force of a big tree falling was more than ten thousand pounds; every branch was like a heavy club swung down from a height of over ten meters. An ordinary person hit by one would be knocked directly to the ground.

Even wearing a Helmet was dangerous, because the force of the fall was too heavy, so it was an impact injury; even with a Helmet on, one's head would be broken.

It was just like being hit hard on the Helmet with an iron hammer.

"Very good, the big tree crashed down. Next, the lumberjacks must clear the branches and chop the entire tree trunk into suitable sections that can be dragged and moved by manpower or horses."

The lumberjacks stood in two rows on the empty ground, working together, swinging their axes lightly to pretend to chop off branches. Some stood in the middle, chopping the tree trunk in half, as if the big tree they had chosen this time was a tree with the chest circumference of a normal person. For a tree of this thickness, as long as each section was six or seven meters long, they could drag it away.

There was no need for Jier to remind them; the chant was sung at the right time.

"Heave-ho, heave-ho, remove the branches."

"Heave-ho, heave-ho, busy at work."

"Heave-ho, heave-ho, tie the rope."

"Heave-ho, heave-ho, chop into two sections."

"Heave-ho, heave-ho, remove the bark."

"Heave-ho, heave-ho, pull by manpower."

"Heave-ho, heave-ho, out of the forest."

"Heave-ho, heave-ho, the horses come to help!"

With the chant reaching this point, the entire logging process was over. The lumberjacks had gone through the motions for nothing, and not knowing if it was from exhaustion or nervousness, they were all covered in sweat. Now that it was finally over, they were as excited as if they had really felled a tree, high-fiving each other in encouragement. The surrounding crowd also applauded and cheered, asking them to perform it again.

Jier stepped out to the center of the field, holding a Wooden Bowl full of wine, and said loudly: "There are other programs, so let these poor guys off. Look at them, they're all covered in sweat."

"Hahaha, are you guys even capable?" someone teased.

The lumberjacks gave that person contemptuous gestures one after another, then hugged each other to celebrate, and returned to the crowd laughing and chatting. Many of the images of the God of Agriculture nodded, feeling that although these lumberjacks were not professional performers, their performance just now did not lose to the professionals, and in terms of publicity, it was even better, after all, these lumberjacks really went logging every day.

Jier took a sip of the wine in his hand and announced loudly: "Next, let me see. The next performance is..."

"Oh, it's the handsome Weier from our team, who has superb Sword Technique. He is going to bring everyone a poem about homesickness from his hometown, titled 'The Most Distant Moonlight', which tells the story of a wanderer missing his hometown from afar."

Weier's face turned slightly red, not because the female crowd around him was looking at him with burning eyes, but because Knight Jier said his Sword Technique was superb. He was not a match for Knight Jier at all, so how could his Sword Technique be called superb?

That was just the Basic Sword Technique he learned at the academy that all students could learn. At most, it was added with a little bit of insight and thinking he had figured out during his own battles over the years; it couldn't be called superb Sword Technique at all.

Thinking this, Weier straightened his clothes and nodded to the old Merchant Fentijia who was drinking, and Bobo who was eating a chicken leg in big bites: "I'm going."

"Give a good performance." The old Merchant squinted his eyes and said with a smile.

"Everyone is watching you! Weier!" Bobo encouraged with his mouth full of oil. The fat chicken leg he didn't want to eat before, he couldn't get enough of now.

"I will." Weier responded in a low voice, then strode out of the crowd, and with a smile on his face, waved to the female members of the team who were cheering for him.

"What a handsome boy."

"That face of his is just too handsome! Ooh, I think I'll dream of him tonight."

The people around were discussing, but there were also some who didn't like Weier.

"That's the guy. Don't think I'll forget; this guy was also one of the Bandits who attacked us on the Shanglu back then."

"Really? Then he can still join our team? Shouldn't he have been sold to a local merchant or something back in Dorn Town?"

"How would I know? It seems that guy was playing dumb among the captives at the time, and nobody took a fancy to him, so he wasn't sold. Later, he followed and killed a few Bandits, and the Knight let him join us."

"Really? His hands are stained with our blood."

There was much discussion, with both praise and criticism.

Weier heard most of this, but he struggled to keep smiling and waved as he arrived at the center of the clearing, beside Knight Jier.

Jier was covered in the smell of alcohol, and there was even a hint of vomit mixed in on him. His originally clean clothes also had some suspicious stains. At this moment, Jier was holding a piece of paper in one hand and a Wooden Bowl in the other. Seeing that Weier was in position, he raised the Wooden Bowl in his hand toward Weier: "It's up to you. Try to be as loud as possible, otherwise the people far away won't be able to hear."

Weier nodded vigorously, and then Knight Jier walked to the side.

Taking a deep breath, he first tested his voice with some "ah-oh-yi" sounds, adjusting the volume to a level that most of the people present could hear.

Then, he began to speak.

"'The Most Distant Moonlight', from my hometown, the Southern Alliance Kingdom, a famous poem by the Bard Aobi-Meiyin-Dujiate."

"I once wandered."

"Wandering, my footsteps far from home."

"I once was lost."

"Lost, unable to find the road back home."

"I once was afraid."

"Afraid that upon arriving home, no one would recognize my face."

"Ah, I look up at the moon."

"The goddess's face."

"In the quietest night, only she and I gaze at each other alone."

"Comforting whispers reach my ears."

"She says, 'I have watched you since you were born.'"

"That moonlight once gently caressed my youthful face."

"My dream-talk, my self-mutterings, my noise and my crying."

"She has carefully observed them all, every single night."

"Until I walked out of my hometown."

"She says, 'I will watch you venture forth on your journey.'"

"Every night, in noisy taverns, in high-end halls."

"Whether amidst the singing of crowds or the whispered appreciation of nobles."

"She has escorted me through every single night."

"Using moonlight."

"To illuminate the confusion of the path ahead."

"Now, having traveled everywhere, I fear returning home."

"She says, 'I will also accompany you on your journey home.'"

"Every night, I set sail on adventures like a sea vessel."

"And she, like a harbor, accepts my return."

"Even if I travel alone, she will accompany me back home."

"That moonlight gently caresses my face."

"Even if my face is already lined with furrows and frost."

"Even if my hair no longer radiates light like gold."

"But I no longer fear hesitation."

"Only because the color of that hair is just like the moonlight in the firmament."

"That is your face, radiating a bright, clear light."

"Ah, returning home, ah, returning home."

"That distant moonlight shines upon my face."

"Ah, reminiscing, ah, reminiscing."

"Every night you have accompanied me."

"Ah, hometown, ah, hometown."

"No matter how distant, a wanderer will eventually bring their lover back to their homeland."

"Bringing his lover back to that long-lost homeland."

"To be buried in the soil of the homeland."

?? I feel I wrote this chapter quite well, hehe. If you like it, please give this book plenty of recommendation votes, monthly tickets, and tips to support it! Thank you everyone.

? (End of chapter)