Apocalypse Gachapon

Chapter 2111: High risk high reward (3)

“My second preparation.”

As Ye Zhongming spoke, he asked everyone else to step back from the control console, as there were currently about a hundred people in the control room.

Though puzzled, they did as Ye Zhongming instructed.

With a casual wave of his hand, Ye Zhongming made at least a hundred mechanical war beasts appear in the room.

Whether it was the small clan alliance members in the control room witnessing the scene firsthand, or the Su Clan members watching through the light screen, their jaws dropped in astonishment.

“So, so many… mechanical war beasts?!”

A small clan from Dark Strip City had done extensive research on machinery. Back in the day, they had been only slightly behind the Talos Red Dwarves. Unfortunately, that slight gap had made them unable to withstand that clan’s relentless competition. After several trade wars and direct conflicts, they had fallen from a large clan to a small one. They had not only moved away from the Survivor’s Fortress, where the Talos Red Dwarves resided, but had also gradually drifted to a small city like Dark Strip City. Now, like the Star-Eye Clan, they were on the verge of extinction.

They were also the first to be persuaded by the Star-Eye Clan to join the small clan alliance. Their thinking was simple: regardless of the benefits promised by the Star-Eye Clan, even if there were none, they needed to take a gamble. The Star-Eye Clan had produced a Novice number one, but they hadn’t. If they didn’t take a risk now, they would lose their chance.

The leader of this small clan rushed to the front of those mechanical war beasts, practically drooling. Many of their technologies had been lost, but their discerning eye remained.

“Red Condensation-grade mechanical war beasts! Good stuff. Ah, but they’re a bit old and show significant wear. Although they’ve been refurbished, compared to their peak performance, their power has dropped by at least one-third.”
“Ke Steel-grade! And all brand new? So many? Hmm, not bad, very good. Eh, this doesn’t quite resemble Talloss Red Dwarf technology. No, no, besides those dwarves, no one should be able to create such things. It seems over the years, those dwarves have also been making various attempts. Our ancestors losing to them back then wasn’t entirely unjustified.”

“These… are mostly just Standard-grade. Since when did the Talos Red Dwarves make mechanical war beasts of this grade? With these materials, wouldn’t it be better to make Ke Steel-grade or above? In recent years, they seem only to produce Red Condensation-grade. Strange, strange.”

The clan leader’s voice was very clear in the extremely quiet control room. Even though his volume was low, everyone else heard him distinctly.

Everyone exchanged glances, looking at Ye Zhongming with some curiosity.

Everyone knew how valuable mechanical war beasts were. They recalled how much money Ye Zhongming had spent when he purchased Raini-grade mechanical war beasts back then.

There was no denying that these things were indeed very powerful. A Red Condensation-grade mechanical war beast might be equivalent to a Furelai expert of over fifty thousand combat power.

A high-quality Raini-grade mechanical war beast, although not comparable to a top-tier expert, could at least perform at the level of seventy to eighty thousand Furelai warriors.

However, while acknowledging their strength, the number of mechanical war beasts was ultimately limited. These things were troublesome to manufacture, required many materials, and demanded high technical skill. Even the Talloss Red Dwarves did not produce them casually. With the same time and resources, they could make several pieces of equipment of the same level.

Huo Zhi suddenly turned his head to look at Jie Su.

Previously, he had heard Clan Leader Yaohan Su mention in passing that Jie Su had purchased a number of mechanical war beasts through some Su Clan channels, presumably also for Ye Zhongming.

Jie Su hesitated for a moment, then nodded, but inside, his mind was in turmoil.

He had indeed purchased mechanical war beasts on Ye Zhongming’s instruction, even placing an order with the Talos Red Dwarves at the time.

But he really had not expected Ye Zhongming to use these mechanical war beasts here.

Actually, that was not the main point. What truly surprised him was that he had only ordered a handful of Red Condensation-grade ones from the Talos Red Dwarves, yet here, there were Standard-grade and Ke Steel-grade ones!

Had Ye Zhongming purchased these through other channels? It was possible, but could he have bought so many in such a short time? That seemed rather unlikely.

If he hadn’t purchased them, then he had made them himself.

The ability to manufacture mechanical war beasts… this…

Jie Su felt that his good friend was progressing a bit too quickly and seemed to have mastered most of the Talos Red Dwarves’ technology. This point was truly terrifying.

“These mechanical war beasts are indeed very good, but their numbers are limited. The role they play in our defense is not significant.” That Su Clan strategist spoke after recovering from his shock.

The mechanical war beasts that had appeared in the control room numbered just over a hundred. In small-scale battles, these mechanical war beasts could certainly play a role, perhaps even a decisive one. However, in a large-scale war involving hundreds of thousands, this number of mechanical war beasts was somewhat like a drop in the bucket.

Ye Zhongming nodded, his composure steady as he said, “Oh, these are just a portion. The total number is quite large, so I won’t bring them all out.”

The others paused for a moment, and then another Su Clan strategist asked with a hint of challenge: “Large? How large?”

“Lai-grade, two units. Red Condensation-grade, thirty units. Ke Steel-grade, one thousand units. Standard-grade… five thousand units.”

Hiss~

Many people gasped at this.

So many?!

The combat power represented by this quantity was likely comparable to the total strength of a small clan that had deployed all its forces.

The leaders of the small clan alliance exchanged glances, their expressions a mix of delight, disappointment, and lingering fear.

They truly had not expected that the Star-Eye Clan had already grown so powerful. Initially, they had thought that their alliance together held significant importance, at least forming a symbiotic relationship with the Star-Eye Clan; after all, it was because they had sided with the Star-Eye Clan that the Eight Heads had abandoned the idea of taking action.

Now it seemed that if a real fight broke out, the Star-Eye Clan might indeed be wiped out, but the Eight Heads would also suffer heavy losses, and it was possible one or two races among them could be destroyed!

With warriors capable of defeating the Huaitang Clan, plus these mechanical war beasts, the Star-Eye Clan’s strength was likely among the top in the entire Dark Strip City.

As members of the Star-Eye Clan’s camp, they were naturally happy, but also disappointed, because it seemed that just the day before, everyone was on the same level, and the next day, the other party had become a higher-tier existence.

At this moment, Jie Su was even more certain that Ye Zhongming had mastered the technology to manufacture mechanical war beasts. Firstly, even if he were purchasing from various races, setting aside whether they had this many or would sell them, it was impossible to acquire so many in such a short time. Secondly, the Talos Red Dwarves rarely sold Standard-grade mechanical war beasts externally. Those were said to be practice pieces for various craftsmen, incorporating basic technologies, and selling them in large quantities risked having their technology reverse-engineered. Therefore, the ones here were likely manufactured by Ye Zhongming.

Jie Su’s guess was correct. Many of these mechanical war beasts were indeed made by Ye Zhongming, Jikesu, and those ten talented Star-Eye Clan members. Of course, at their current level, Ye Zhongming was the only one capable of completely manufacturing a mechanical war beast. The others were merely assistants, making parts and components under Ye Zhongming’s guidance, after which Ye Zhongming performed the most critical step—assembly.

That was the most difficult part of these self-operating mechanical war beasts.

In Ye Zhongming’s view, these mechanical war beasts were part of his plan, but also a way to ‘utilize waste’ by training the Star-Eye Clan’s craftsmen.

They could not yet master the Talos Red Dwarves’ manufacturing techniques. Having them make small parts for these mechanical war beasts was also a form of practice.