Chapter 11 Sling

The usage technique of the curved-shaft plow is very simple. The curved-shaft plow made by Leo doesn't have complicated parts such as the plow balance, plow arrow, or plow lever. The user only needs to use the plow rudder close to the ground at the end of the plow beam as a fulcrum, and lift or press the plow handle to adjust the depth of plowing.

With just a few words of guidance from Leo, even children and women can master it with proficiency.

Soon, the young and strong in the village shifted their positions, leaving only the elderly, women, and children on the wasteland.

The children led the donkeys in the front, the women steered the plows behind, and the elderly followed to pick up grass roots and stones.

Pulled by the donkeys, the iron plows cut through the soft soil, easily turning over the grass roots and gravel that were buried in the soil. The wasteland that had been burned pitch-black by the fire quickly turned into arable land.

All the men moved to the slopes to the west of the river - bend peninsula.

Land reclamation isn't just plowing the land. Besides leveling the land and clearing debris, Ulyan also had to lead people to dig a canal at least five feet deep along the inland side of the river - bend peninsula, starting from the lower part of the small hill, to connect the southern swamp and small lake, in order to regulate the excessive or insufficient water in the farmland.

Although the wasteland in the north of the peninsula chosen by Ulyan is the flattest and most suitable for the initial land reclamation.

After all, it's natural land, and there are still many drops and undulations in the terrain, which don't meet the standards of farmland yet.

Some places are several meters higher and have shrubs growing on them, while some places are just swamps.

Most of the places can be slowly leveled by manpower, while some places can only be irrigated by diverting canals or drained by digging ditches.

After sowing and before the river rises in summer, a small dam also has to be built on the river bank to prevent the suddenly rising river water from flooding the farmland on the river - bend peninsula.

Everything has its pros and cons. There must be a reason why there are no trees on such fertile land on the river - bend peninsula.

Although Leo was injured and not convenient for farming, he didn't idle around. While watching the iron plow farming, he twisted the hemp fibers stored in the settlement camp into hemp ropes.

The original owner's over ten years of semi - wild life had already maxed out his wilderness survival skills. Not to mention having ready - made hemp fibers, he could even strip tree bark and twist it into a hemp rope with his bare hands in the wilderness and make a rope trap capable of hanging a wild boar.

Moreover, the various knowledge and even common sense brought by the transmigrator's soul made Leo even more powerful.

Take the hemp rope in his hands for example. The original owner's technique of twisting hemp ropes was completely self - invented, relying mainly on brute force. Every time it exceeded one meter, a knot had to be tied to keep the hemp rope from coming apart.

But with Leo's current dexterity, the hemp rope he wove was only as thick as a chopstick, yet it was stronger and more durable than the previous ropes that were as thick as a finger.

As he moved, a rope over one meter long with a small net pocket woven in the middle showed up in his hand.

One end of this rope was woven into the shape of a wheat ear, while the other end was woven into a ring. Leo put the ring on his right index finger and held the wheat ear at the other end at the same time.

He casually picked up a pebble the size of an egg and put it into the net pocket. Then Leo gently waved the rope.

As the rope spun faster and faster in the air, Leo let go of the wheat ear, and the stone in the net pocket instantly flew out, crossing the dozens - meter - wide river beach and falling into the calm water of the Anzerno River.

Sling! The wisdom of our ancestors!

Even in modern times, there are still legends about it all over the place.

Giving it a feel, Leo put it aside and started weaving the second sling.

Seeing this, Olivia and Little Mouse beside him set about twisting the hemp ropes. The difference was that the sling Olivia twisted and braided was almost identical to Leo's model, while the one Little Mouse made resembled a huge centipede.

It couldn't be made straight even if you tried!

After braiding more than thirty slings in one go, Leo stood up. Looking at the sky, he called out to the villagers not far away, "Those in the militia, come with me to the riverbank!"

Once everyone was present, Leo distributed a sling to each person and then demonstrated the technique of slinging.

Like the javelin, all you need is a pair of hands to use a sling. It's very easy to learn. At the same time, its power is far greater than the soft bows and bone arrows made by the villagers themselves.

In small-scale battles, especially against small-sized alien races like kobolds and goblins without armor protection, it's incredibly useful.

But it also has many drawbacks, and the biggest one is the hit rate.

The militiamen who had just started practicing slinging were not only unable to hit any objects, but they also had difficulty in launching the cobblestones straight forward correctly.

"Don't use too much force. Just gently swing it. That's right! A little lighter. Let go of the stone when it reaches the front. You, you, you! What on earth are you doing? Do you think you're some kind of stone - throwing machine?"

As Leo walked back and forth, he gave instructions to the militiamen. Upon seeing one of the militiamen attempting to put a lead - ball - sized cobblestone into the sling pouch, he simply gave him a kick.

Under his command, most of the militiamen successfully launched the cobblestones into the river in front of them.

The broad river surface was immediately splashed with splashes of water.

There were also a few impatient militiamen who sent the cobblestones flying everywhere.

One of the cobblestones flew straight towards Leo's forehead, knocking stars into his eyes.

Covering the big bump on his forehead, Leo stared at the negligent militiaman in disbelief.

How on earth did you manage to shoot blindly from fifteen meters with your back to the target and still hit it spot - on?

Although Leo had expected this and repeatedly warned the militiamen not to use too much force and had stayed far away early on, the cobblestone launched by the sling still had quite a bit of power.

If the militiaman had used a bit more strength, hitting the forehead would have raised more than just a bump.

For the next hour, the militiamen familiarized themselves with the use of the slings.

When they could skillfully project small cobblestones into the river in front of them, Leo began to teach them the Vertical Spin Slinging Method (a common technique used by ancient Greek heavy slingers), which was also the usual technique.

After they were familiar with both techniques, Leo allowed them to gradually increase the force and project the cobblestones to a farther distance.

At the same time, the selected cobblestones gradually became bigger and heavier, and finally reached the size of goose eggs.

A goose-egg-sized cobblestone thrown out by a sling had already started to show its terrifying power.

At first, Leo didn't dare to let them project such big and heavy stones. Once there was a mistake and someone was hit, it would lead to broken bones and injuries.

Even so, this kind of training was still too easy for the militiamen. Compared to the arduous tasks of tilling the land and digging canals, training with the slings seemed like a game.

But at the same time, they could also feel the power of the slings. After all, none of the people present could throw a goose-egg-sized cobblestone more than fifty meters away with their bare hands, but they could easily do it with a sling.

Little Mouse Little Mouse, who was standing beside, was also practicing with a sling in an orderly way. However, her arm strength was too weak, so she could only throw small stones, and the distance was not far.

But compared with the clumsy militiamen, her throws were unexpectedly precise. Every time, the cobblestones landed in a very small area.

Watching the militiamen spread out on the river beach, excitedly training with their slings, Leo Leo felt full of fighting spirit.

I'll come up with a small invention every day. (Literally: I, the old man, will have a small invention every day. Here it's an expression of determination in a colloquial way) I don't believe I can't lead everyone to pull through!