Wei Yuan discovered that Yu Zhizhuo had embraced the concept of mass production from the world beyond the heavens almost without friction, and had even become utterly obsessed with it.
The Weaponsmith Workshop originally had over three hundred Dao Foundation cultivators. With the eight hundred Dao Foundation cultivators Wei Yuan had newly reassigned, the total now exceeded a thousand. In terms of Dao Foundation numbers alone, it already surpassed many third-rank blessed land sects.
With ample manpower and sufficient materials, Yu Zhizhuo cleared a vast tract of open ground and built four Four Symbols furnaces side by side in one go.
He was not even entirely satisfied with the Four Symbols furnaces and had made several improvements. The primary modification was installing a central spirit gathering formation that supplied spiritual energy to all the Four Symbols furnaces simultaneously.
This formation required at least forty-nine Dao Foundation cultivators to maintain operation. Fortunately, hands were plentiful now, so Yu Zhizhuo assigned one hundred and fifty cultivators with deep Dao power and rapid mana recovery, dividing them into three shifts to maintain the formation in rotation.
With over a thousand Dao Foundation cultivators working together, all the Four Symbols furnaces were completed in under three days. Yu Zhizhuo then specifically invited Wei Yuan to witness their ignition.
The ceremony was remarkably concise. Yu Zhizhuo climbed onto a high platform and directly declared the formation active and the Four Symbols furnaces ready for ignition. Over a hundred pre-positioned fire-element cultivators simultaneously funneled Dao power into the blast furnaces, and raging flames instantly erupted from the furnace mouths!
In the blink of an eye, the Four Symbols furnaces roared to life one after another. Only then did Wei Yuan realize that Yu Zhizhuo had never even thought of inviting him onto the platform to say a few words!
Yet before Wei Yuan could grumble internally, his attention was drawn to two steel bars laid along the ground before the Four Symbols furnaces. The sight looked somewhat familiar—could this be the steel rails Xu Wenwu had spoken of?
Wei Yuan shifted his gaze and saw a railcar specially designed for transporting molten steel parked at the end of the tracks, confirming his suspicions. Yu Zhizhuo truly had built a railway! Though it was only one li long, it was the very first railway in Qingming—and indeed, in the entire world.
Evidently, Yu Zhizhuo understood the terrifying weight of nether iron all too well, and had specifically constructed tracks to bear the load.
The molten nether iron tapped from the Four Symbols furnaces would be transported to another base adjacent to this one, which originally housed blast furnaces for smelting ordinary steel. Once the molten nether iron arrived, it would be measured out and added into the ordinary steel furnaces, resulting in a special steel alloyed with a small amount of nether iron.
This steel had a much higher melting point than ordinary steel and possessed exceptional strength, making it an extraordinary material for crafting weapons. Even though it contained only a trace of nether iron, it was already a magical artifact material suitable for the Dao Foundation realm.
Taking wartime needs into consideration, Yu Zhizhuo intended to use most of the first batch of molten steel to forge bayonets and sabers. This would translate into immediate combat strength in time for the next major battle. Constructing the new city defense cannons was far too slow, and their designs had yet to be finalized.
The steel furnaces alloyed with nether crystals were located on another site, and all the steel plates produced there were dedicated to manufacturing heavy armor.
Within seven days, Wei Yuan planned to produce several hundred more suits of nether crystal heavy armor to bring the existing supply up to a full thousand. Aside from traditional fire guns, every warrior would be equipped with standard-issue nether-iron-alloyed steel sabers and bayonets.
Whether the nether crystal heavy armor or the nether iron sabers, their inherent quality already reached the grade of superior magical artifacts. What Wei Yuan had wielded when he first stepped onto the battlefield years ago could not even compare.
Wei Yuan intended to forge a thousand-man heavy elite composed entirely of Dao Foundation cultivators. Outfitted with superior magical artifact armor and sabers, and bolstered by the Peerless Dao Domain and Wei Yuan's dharma idol, their combat strength would rival late-stage Dao Foundation cultivators!
Even cultivators of Cui Yu's or Ren Suxing's caliber during their Dao Foundation stage would have to think about how to escape the moment they were besieged by four or five soldiers from such a force.
While Wei Yuan was feverishly preparing for war, Hongye had hurried back to the Land of Rain. Surrounding shaman states and great tribes had all dispatched envoys to learn about the frontline situation.
Flanked by dozens of attendants, he walked slowly into the Sacred Vault Hall.
The Sacred Vault Hall was the sanctuary where the Land of Rain received its highest-ranking guests and conducted ceremonies. It resembled a leaf of unimaginable scale, elegantly blanketing the earth.
Its roof was transparent, like a solid piece of frozen sky—clear and ethereal. Sunlight cascaded through the ceiling, casting kaleidoscopic patterns of light and shadow across the hall like a living painting.
When Hongye strode into the Sacred Vault Hall, over a dozen Nether Shamans and Desolate Shamans were already waiting at the long table in the center, along with two prodigious Dao Shamans. Yet because of Ju Ling's death, not a single Spirit Shaman was present.
Hostility shone in the eyes of many shamans. They all knew the Spirit Shamans were already mustering an army. The moment Hongye showed any flaw in carrying out the Ancestral Shaman's task, the Spirit Shaman army would surge forth like a deluge to crush the Land of Rain.
Hongye remained composed as he walked to the head seat and sat down. His chair was elevated slightly above the others, allowing Hongye to look down from on high upon the shamans before him, his gaze sweeping across them one by one.
Though Hongye's realm was currently only that of a Great Shaman, nearly half the Nether Shamans and Desolate Shamans reflexively looked away, not daring to meet his eyes. Only the two Dao Shamans held their ground, their eyes burning as they stared back without fear.
The attitude of the two prodigious Dao Shamans made Hongye frown faintly. After a moment of thought, he said, "Frontline warfare is pressing. For everyone to visit the Land of Rain at such a time... your timing is quite impeccable!"
A Nether Shaman said, "We heard Lord Hongye suffered a crushing defeat just a few days ago? You lost over a hundred thousand warriors, while enemy casualties were less than fifty thousand?"
With a wave of his hand, Hongye projected several images, all showing human legions marching across the battlefield. Certain soldiers among them were highlighted with conspicuous marks. At the formidable sight of these heavy-armored warriors, the atmosphere in the hall grew instantly taut.
Hongye said slowly, "I must admit, the humans I face fight remarkably well. Even the Nine Armies of the State of Tang are likely no more than this. Furthermore, these humans are exceptionally cunning. In truth, within such a massive heavy-armored legion, the genuine elites number only three to four hundred, all of whom I have marked. They mingled their finest warriors within the battle ranks, tricking my frontline commanders into believing the entire legion was composed of such elites."
Hongye adjusted the projection, shifting the viewpoint toward several advancing human heavy-armored legions in the rear. "Among these ten ten-thousand-man legions, only the two on the flanks are true heavy legions. The rest wear medium armor, and quite a few are even in light armor. They merely look like heavy infantry.
"Likewise, my frontline commanders lacked experience and mistakenly assumed the humans truly possessed a hundred thousand heavy-armored troops, which is why they chose to retreat and regroup. If you do not believe me, you are welcome to send troops to the front to experience the humans' combat prowess firsthand."
The threat in Hongye's words was unmistakable, implying that if they thought it was easy, they should try it themselves. Yet not every shaman bought it.
A Desolate Shaman sneered, "Lord Hongye blames every fault on the frontline commanders' misjudgments. But during such a great battle, where was Lord Hongye? Could it be you were hiding, afraid to show your face for fear that a Yang bullet or a Yin Bomb might land on your head?"
A flash of murderous intent flickered across Hongye's face. He asked coldly, "And you aren't afraid?"
The Desolate Shaman laughed heartily. "Of course I'm not afraid! I'm not worthy of taking one, so what do I have to fear?"
Hongye's expression finally shifted, darkening. "Did you come here simply to provoke me?"
"No, we aren't that idle. We merely heard that Lord Hongye suffered grievous losses, so we came to see if there was anything you needed help with. Surplus territory, for instance."
Hongye answered without hesitation, "Victory in this war is within sight. I can handle the Ancestral Shaman's demands on my own, so none of you need trouble yourselves. What you should consider now is what you will do once I fulfill the Ancestral Shaman's decree. Half of you sitting here will likely have no homes left."
Once Hongye became a Heavenly Shaman, precedent dictated that the Land of Rain would expand severalfold, annexing all the neighboring states and tribes. Even if their chieftains objected, it would be futile; Hongye would take it by force.
At this, several Nether Shamans loyal to Long Zhe sneered. "Win the war first before talking!"
Hongye no longer concealed the killing intent on his face, practically poised to strike right then and there. But at that moment, Nether Shaman Shu Li, who had been sitting toward the back, suddenly paled. He rose hastily and retreated from the hall.
Shu Li's voice resonated in Hongye's ear: "There are disturbances in my realm. I must attend to them."
Chapter 549