Chapter 337 - 277: Village Defense Battle (13)
"They have horns. Is this a new breed?"
"The white one is so pretty. It looks so clean."
"I like the red one."
"The patterned one is so beautiful."
The female villagers chattered excitedly, a few of them gently stroking the Feathered Oxen.
Zhao Chi nodded. "That’s right. They’re a new breed of Feathered Oxen. From now on, they’ll be a breed unique to us."
They all gasped in amazement, "Wow!"
The Hunting Group Leader, Yang Lu, pointed to the side.
"My Lord, which are better? The 12 oxen you just bought, or these Feathered Oxen?"
Not far away, the oxen Zhao Chi had spent 30 Gold Coins on were grazing in the woods.
He had bought them before he’d gotten the Random Livestock Treasure Chest.
’If I’d known, I wouldn’t have bought them.’
’30 Gold Coins is a lot.’
Zhao Chi said, "Of course the Feathered Oxen are better. These Feathered Oxen, along with our Experience Fruits and wheat, are secrets. Don’t tell any outsiders."
The female villagers all nodded.
Now that they had the Feathered Oxen, the 12 ordinary oxen were basically useless.
It would be too much of a waste to just slaughter them for meat.
Zhao Chi thought for a moment, then contacted Zhao Cang again.
He wanted to return the oxen.
As it turned out, Zhao Cang readily agreed, offering a full refund at the original price and even covering the tax for Zhao Chi.
Zhao Chi’s Gold Coins returned to 36.
Right now, there were no dedicated Pastoralists in the territory to raise livestock. He would just have to convert a few of the new arrivals tomorrow morning.
For now, he put Yang Lu in charge of looking after the 60 Feathered Oxen.
She was a hunter, so she had some animal husbandry skills.
Besides, the ground was covered in green grass, so he could just let the Feathered Oxen graze freely.
Yang Lu and her hunter team would be responsible for their safety, just making sure they weren’t attacked by wild beasts.
Yang Lu gladly accepted the task.
At first glance, these Feathered Oxen took some getting used to.
But once you were familiar with them, you’d find them fluffy and a bit like giant stuffed toys.
Although the Feathered Oxen were vastly different from normal oxen, they were still fundamentally a type of cattle.
Zhao Chi took out the Cattle Improvement Book and the Cow Super-Improved Book, activating them one by one.
Soon, an interface appeared before his eyes.
The ox in the interface was a normal one, but the corresponding Improvement should still apply to the Feathered Oxen.
The interface was already very familiar to him.
But what he saw before him were two oxen.
A bull and a cow.
Their Improvement interfaces were surprisingly separate.
’This is good, too.’
Zhao Chi clicked on the bull first.
[Please Select an Improvement Path]
[Bull Improvement Points] 20 Points
[1. Physical Strength +10%] 10 Points
[2. Movement Speed +10%] 10 Points
[3. Body Weight +10%] 10 Points
[4. Traction +20%] 5 Points
[5. Obedience Level +20%] 1 Point
[6. Health +20%] 1 Point
Every option was useful.
The first two options, Physical Strength and Movement Speed, were common Branch Attributes.
After all, oxen were draft animals and could be used to assist with labor.
If their Physical Strength increased, their working hours could also be extended.
’Increasing Physical Strength is a decent option.’
’As for increasing Movement Speed... I’ll pass.’
’It’s not like I’m going to ride them into battle, after all.’
For pulling carts, there was no need for the oxen to be particularly fast for the time being.
Later, if he got Improvement Points for horses, he could consider increasing their Movement Speed.
He wouldn’t consider it for the oxen, since there were better options available.
The third option was excellent.
Increasing the oxen’s Body Weight seemed like a single metric, but it was actually a comprehensive type of Improvement.
An increase in Body Weight meant an increase in meat yield and the amount of Fur produced.
The benefits of more meat and Fur went without saying.
Zhao Chi had originally intended to use these oxen for meat anyway.
Increasing the meat yield was a must-have.
More Fur was also good.
After all, the hides from these oxen were a new kind of high-quality leather.
The more, the better.
It would also increase the yield of down and feathers.
Although the women’s carrying capacity had been greatly enhanced and they would basically all be wearing Iron Armor later on, they still needed leather for linings, clothing, and other things. Ultimately, they would need a lot of it.
’I definitely have to choose this option.’
Traction was also very good.
Traction was pulling power.
It was similar to Power and carrying capacity, but not exactly the same. However, it could be seen as a rough equivalent to the oxen’s own carrying capacity and Power.
Plowing fields and pulling carts all required Traction.
Physical Strength increased an ox’s working hours, while Traction increased its work intensity.
He had to add some points to this as well.
As for Obedience Level, there was no need to add any points at all.
These Feathered Oxen were already as docile as normal oxen. Even if they suddenly went crazy, they would be facing the Peach Blossom Females.
They could probably tear a Feathered Ox apart and eat it for dinner in minutes.
He skipped this option directly.
The last option, increasing health, had some use.
But it didn’t really matter.
After all, the Feathered Oxen had a growth cycle as fast as a chicken’s. It wouldn’t matter if a few got sick and died.
So, Zhao Chi now had three target options in mind: Physical Strength, Body Weight, and Traction.
After thinking it over, he ultimately decided to give up on Physical Strength.
The reason was still the same.
The Feathered Oxen had a fast growth cycle, and their numbers were destined to become enormous later on.
If one ox got tired from working, he could just swap it out for the next one. It wasn’t a problem at all.
’My mind is made up. Transfer the data!’
He would transfer the Improvement Point costs from Obedience Level and Health to Body Weight and Traction.
[Data match in progress. Transfer success rate: 68%. Confirm?]
He spent 3 Racial Improvement Points and clicked confirm.
[Data Transfer Successful]
Then he maxed them all out.
[Your Improvements are as follows]:
[Body Weight +10%] x10
[Traction +20%] x10
[Confirm?]
Confirm!
In an instant, the bodies of the 30 Male Feathered Oxen nearby swelled up like balloons.
Their Body Weight all shot up to 2,000 kilograms.
Yang Lu and the others jumped in fright, staring at the Male Feathered Oxen with looks of utter confusion, having no idea what just happened.
Standing next to them, the women were a real-life depiction of beauty and the beast.
From now on, the meat yield of each of these Male Feathered Oxen would be as high as 1,400 kilograms, or 1.4 metric tons.
That was even more than the snow bears they had killed before.
Their size could be seen with the naked eye, but their Traction couldn’t be measured directly.
But the data, after all, didn’t lie.
The Traction of these Male Feathered Oxen had increased by 200%, reaching three times its original value.
Normally, an ox’s Traction is five to ten times that of a Human.
Now, the Traction of these Male Feathered Oxen could reach fifteen to thirty times that of an ordinary person.
If measured against the Power of these Peach Blossom Females, it was about fifteen times greater.
That was quite impressive.
The territory was still relatively small now, but there would definitely be long-distance transport in the future.
These oxen would prove to be very useful then.