Chapter 19
Chapter 19
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: From Primitive Era Chieftain to Space Age Emperor
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After successfully hunting the mammoth, we immediately began dismantling it.
Since it was spring, leaving it until the next day made no sense.
It was truly a speed operation.
If decomposition started, the meat would spoil, and the hide and tendons would be ruined.
All tribe members except essential personnel were mobilized.
The tribe now had about 400 members.
Even without my orders, the executives moved on their own and started dismantling at a rapid pace.
The tribe members were experts in this.
Red Rock took overall command.
They dug a pit, drove stakes all around, and pulled the mammoth's four legs separately.
Then they drained the blood.
You might think to discard the blood, but they collected it in containers like water skins.
Wasn't it an excellent iron supplement for this era?
If the tribe was small, even just the meat would be overwhelming, but our tribe had passed that stage.
By heating concave stones to boil it, it could even be edible.
Like eating blood sausage.
When the entrails spilled out, they sorted the edible parts.
I closely watched how to skin it.
They made a long cut from the nape to the tail, then circular incisions on the front and outer legs.
The trick is not to separate the hide from the meat, but to make it fall with the weight of the hide.
By hooking ropes on several edges and pulling, the huge chunk fell off with a thud.
The hide was cut and immediately sent to the leather workshop.
Since skinning and cutting hides was daily work right after hunts, everyone knew what to do.
Next were the enormous chunks of meat.
They portioned out only what could be eaten in a few days and immediately started salting, smoking, drying, and so on.
In that process, a tremendous amount of tendons were extracted.
Especially from the back of the calves and the spine; arm-length ones were twisted and dried immediately, and short tendons were pounded on flat stones to separate into threads like yarn.
Bones were separated by use.
Femurs and humerus with axes, chisels, and hammers; vertebrae after extracting oil for various supports; ribs for bow side plates and round shield rims (edge reinforcement).
Tusks are luxury items, so we need to think of uses.
Once dismantling finished, we immediately started expanding the warehouse.
Rats move even in winter, no way they'd stay still in spring.
Rather, they get tougher.
With the weather warming, insects swarmed around, so building warehouses for storage was the most urgent issue.
The foundation of the new warehouse was built high.
High enough that rats couldn't jump up.
Can't skip mentioning bricks here; this was possible because bricks were abundant.
Having kilns meant we could make pots and bowls for daily life.
Fired pottery in the primitive era.
If we could get glaze, various arts would develop quickly.
Also, improvements and production of armor and weapons took place.
In this era, military power is the basis of survival.
70 sets of leather armor were completed, and major reinforcements were made on shields, spears, bows, and blunt weapons.
Truly squeezed every benefit, like a tree that gives without stint.
Enough to make me want to hunt another mammoth if one was found.
With the Black Tribe people joining—those with superior physical abilities— the increase in labor was tangible.
They were models of diligence.
They handled even unassigned tasks swiftly and never slacked off.
They woke first at dawn.
Revived the embers, adjusted the kiln temperatures, and checked cracks in yesterday's bricks.
Even with shifts assigned, after finishing their duties, they were eager for more work.
And with time left over, they even went logging—unbelievable people.
Thanks to them, construction speed visibly accelerated.
Bricks piled up day by day, and the scale of residences, warehouses, and workshops greatly expanded.
The fields expanded too.
It was still not too late for sowing, so they planted more seeds.
The other tribe members were stimulated by the Black Tribe folks working like mad and threw themselves diligently into their tasks.
Suddenly, I wondered.
Why were the Black Tribe people so diligent?
I asked their chieftain, Stone Fist.
"Why do we work so hard?"
"Yes."
"Because we saw hope here."
"Hope."
"A word we learned from the Whirlwind Tribe. We've died too much until now. Our daily life was one of risking our lives. But here? If you work hard, you survive. That's more than enough reason to work."
He gave various reasons, but it seemed like diligence was ingrained in their DNA.
It wasn't just my imagination that they reminded me of Koreans.
As weapons improved, hunt success rates rose too.
With nets introduced, capturing livestock increased—not just rabbits, but chickens, pigs, mountain goats, goats, and more, diverse kinds.
For now, it was possible to raise them somehow within tribe lands, but as the scale expanded, we needed to consider breeding dogs too.
Meanwhile, another brick kiln was completed.
Firing bricks now had its knack, allowing double production with the same manpower.
That meant we could develop the village even further.
I even started thinking it was time to build walls.
The officials pondered how sturdy the brick walls would be.
This was possible because they had found the ratio for primitive mortar.
To be precise, volcanic ash or lime should be used, but since we couldn't obtain those, they discovered a substitute that could serve as mortar.
Mix clay, sand, and dry grass in a 3:2:1 ratio.
Add a handful of chamotte.
This wouldn't completely prevent erosion in rain, but stability would improve depending on how the bricks were stacked.
Once the walls were up, they planned to add buttresses everywhere for support.
Construction began from the safe riverbank side, dismantling the palisade first.
For the foundation, they dug a pit, laid gravel and crushed stones, and tamped it down.
Then they filled bricks from the outer and inner sides to fully solidify the foundation and began stacking the walls.
The first course was all upright headers for bonding, the second course supine stretchers, and the third upright again to create a net pattern.
Of course, mortar substitute was placed in between.
This was still the stage of trials and experiments.
They had successfully built enclosure walls with this technique, confirmed no issues even in rain, but how many meters the main walls would hold—who knew.
We needed to experiment gradually to find the optimal height.
Once the walls were complete.
For this era, it would be the pinnacle of overtechnology.
No.
To build high-rises, we needed volcanic ash or cement at least, so we had to keep striving.
Wheat and barley sprouted vigorously.
The tribe members buzzed with excitement at the prospect of harvesting grain from the land.
Naturally, people's voices grew louder.
"Really, food grows from the ground!"
"Whirlwind is great!"
"Great Whirlwind!"
The honorific was almost becoming an official title.
Whenever people met me, they sent awe-filled gazes—pure respect, not knowing how else to show it.
The atmosphere itself had changed, proof that deification was proceeding smoothly.
As the population grew, women became pregnant more often.
Births increased, and baby cries began echoing everywhere.
But White Flame still hadn't conceived.
She was depressed.
Whenever baby cries rang out, she would stare for a long time with a deeply thoughtful expression.
I couldn't fail to notice.
'High probability it's my fault.'
Even with Wise Flower, I had no confidence a child would be born between White Flame and me.
Was it impossible for me to have descendants?
Humans have a lifetime limit on the number of children.
If I kept having kids, the number of descendants would be incalculable.
If bound by nature's laws, I figured I'd see only a few even eternally.
This was just my hopeful guess.
One day, she said to me,
"I'm a strange woman."
"No, I'm the strange one."
She looked at me.
"Baby cries are everywhere now. It's good, but it hurts that I can't have your child."
"..."
I took her hand.
White Flame continued.
"I know we can be happy without children. Whirlwind has already given me more strength than I deserve. I can't live without you, so I wanted a child just in case."
In this world where language was underdeveloped, this was the limit of what she could express.
I figured it was because her love had fully taken root.
I might have taken away this woman's happiness.
I pulled out a small pouch.
Inside was a ring carved painstakingly from a mammoth tusk fragment.
I slipped it onto her ring finger.
"Marry me."
"Marry? What's that?"
"It means we'll be together forever. Let's promise it before the fire. If I fall, you lift me; if you tire, I carry you. Before others, we'll declare we're on each other's side."
Her lips trembled faintly.
"Really?"
"I promise."
Only then did White Flame's anxiety ease a little.
And she finally burst into tears.