Chapter 9 Javelin Throwing

Through the gestures of a militiaman, Leo roughly understood the mu measurement system in this world. The area of one mu in the mouths of the villagers was about the same as one acre in his previous life.

To be more intuitive, it was about half the size of a football field.

Although the farming techniques in this world were extremely backward, and the degree of reclaiming wasteland didn't need to be as intensive as plowing and tilling in his previous life. In fact, it could even be said to be very primitive. However, the idea of clearing nearly three hundred acres of wasteland within three months, without any mechanical equipment and relying on their small group of almost three hundred people, mostly the old and weak, was still beyond Leo's imagination.

Clearing wasteland and cultivating fertile land were completely different concepts. From burning the weeds, plowing the land, clearing gravel and shrubs, to leveling the land, building ridges, digging ditches, and finally sowing, maintaining, and harvesting, the amount of labor required for one acre of wasteland was more than ten times that of fertile land.

It was only because there was a large expanse of grassland and lakes on the river - bend peninsula, with flat terrain, fertile soil, and abundant water sources, which was very suitable for land reclamation, that gave Ulyan the confidence.

Places a little further away from the river bend and the vast plains across the river were covered by primeval forests filled with giant coniferous trees. That kind of land and vegetation were not something that a refugee - like exploration team like theirs could conquer.

Leo, who grew up in a modern rural area, subconsciously always thought that if there was no need to pay taxes, each person could have enough to eat by cultivating about two Chinese mu (about 0.133 hectares) of land.

However, this was a remote border in the Northern Region. The farming techniques they mastered were quite backward even in this world, and the grains they had were not high - yield genetically modified crops.

In the previous village of the original owner, only one season of rye could be planted in a year. On one acre of land, two hundred pounds of rye seeds were sown, but only eight hundred pounds of grain could be harvested.

After deducting the rye seeds used for sowing from the annual harvest and without paying taxes, one acre of land could only keep one person from starving.

Calculated in this way, the three hundred acres required by Ulyan were really not a lot. Even if the goal was achieved, there was still a significant distance from having enough food and clothing.

Three hundred acres, which was equivalent to converting to more than eighteen hundred Chinese mu. Even if I had a tiller, I couldn't finish plowing it!

But Leo was obviously not a person who would reason things out. Knowing these facts only made him more annoyed and then irritable.

He said rudely, "I don't care. Train first. I'll beat up anyone who wants to leave!"

The militiamen looked at each other in dismay, but no one said a word. Many militiamen might not necessarily be convinced by the young Leo, but they definitely feared his fists.

Moreover, the members of the militia who had been massacred by a volley of kobold javelins just a few days ago already had a strong sense of the power of javelins.

That shower of javelins directly took the lives of more than ten militiamen. There were still several people lying in the tents in the settlement camp unable to get up from bed.

This was the most lethal long - range attack the militia had suffered during their migration, second only to the flying axes of the Beast Race warriors and the head - hunting spears of the troll scouts back then.

So a bunch of people, carrying various javelins, long spears, and wooden sticks, came to an empty and unoccupied area outside the settlement camp.

Leo estimated the distance and temporarily changed the rules. He drew a straight line at his feet and pointed to a small hillside more than twenty meters away and said, "Start practicing throwing from here. Hitting the tree trunk is considered a valid throw."

There were some small trees growing sparsely on the small hillside. Hitting the tree trunk from more than twenty meters away was not an easy task.

A militiaman stepped forward enthusiastically, picked up a handy javelin, and hurled it with all his strength.

The javelin flew crookedly for twenty meters and landed several meters in front of the sapling.

The rest of the militiamen burst into laughter and stepped forward confidently to take their turns throwing.

As a result, only a few javelins managed to fly into the small forest, and only one javelin was lucky enough to stick into the root of the tree trunk.

The results were simply abysmal!

But Leo wasn't disappointed. As a former sports student, he knew very well that under the conditions of no training, no running start, and low-quality javelins, this level was already good for ordinary people.

He had seen javelins flying horizontally, spinning, or skipping on the ground.

The javelins collected by the militiamen could only be said to resemble javelins in shape. Except for those captured from the kobolds, the rest were all kinds of long pole weapons of different thicknesses, and there were even several hay forks mixed in. Their weights ranged from half a kilogram to three kilograms, and the feel of throwing these was worlds apart from that of standard javelins.

Throwing a javelin successfully twenty meters on the first try was already considered to show great athletic talent.

"Keep going!"

Leo first let the militiamen throw two rounds of javelins, and then after picking up the thrown javelins, he began to carefully demonstrate the throwing techniques of the javelin.

The way to hold the javelin, the skills of applying force, the throwing techniques with a running start and without a running start, the throwing angle, and so on.

As he explained, he stepped back, then held the javelin horizontally above his shoulder, took a few slow running steps, and then threw the javelin.

The javelin he threw followed an elegant and stable arc, easily flying over twenty meters, and precisely nailed into the trunk of a sapling, even piercing through the trunk, with a section of the spear tip sticking out from the back of the trunk.

Perfect!

Years of training as a sports student in his previous life, combined with his strong physique in this life, maxed out his javelin throwing skills.

This was even when he was injured and not suitable for strenuous exercise.

Right now, Leo was simply a natural athlete. Not only in javelin throwing, but with his brute strength and athletic talent, if he were in his previous life and received a little training, even if he couldn't become an Olympic decathlon champion, he would at least be able to tower over others in multiple events.

The militiamen present were also shocked by his display and began whispering to each other.

Who do you reckon throws the javelin best?

Answer 1: Leo, who has never thrown a javelin before.

Answer 2: The kobold leader that got bitten to death.

The correct answer: "Soul Transmigration! (a term referring to a person's soul traveling to another body)"

After about an hour of training, Ulyan rushed over from the settlement camp.

By this time, the militiamen's javelin throwing was already shaping up nicely. After mastering the basic throwing techniques, the strong militiamen were able to hurl the javelins in their hands thirty meters without a running start, but their accuracy was worrying.

Improving throwing accuracy requires long-term practice and the standardization of throwing weapons, and these things can only be done slowly.

Looking at the militiamen rubbing their sore arms, yet with excited expressions, Leo shouted, "The morning training is over. I'll grudgingly count you as qualified. From now on, you have to train javelin throwing for at least an hour every morning!"

Ulyan, who had been watching for a while, looked pleasantly surprised. He patted Leo on the shoulder and said, "I never thought you had this trick up your sleeve, kid?"

"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!" Leo shrugged his shoulders and curled up his body, while dodging Ulyan's pats and explaining, "I figured it out while hunting before."

"Very good, very good! With this, we are even more confident in wiping out the kobolds."

"Don't rush. Watch carefully. I have plenty of tricks up my sleeve." Leo said, beaming with excitement on his face.

"Hey! Do you think I don't know exactly what you're capable of?" Ulyan lifted his foot as if to kick Leo. "You're so happy. Is your wound healed? If so, go work in the fields!"