Strongest Lord by Opening Blind Boxes

Chapter 54: Chapter 54: Flame Bow Cavalry Squad Prototype

In a large courtyard within the Black Mountain Stronghold, Duan Hu materialized in a flash of brilliant light.

”I—I got ganked? Are you kidding me? I’m one of the Fourth Celestial Calamity!”

His loud shout woke three of the stronghold’s dozing guards.

”Another intruder!”

”Damn, not a pretty girl. Send him straight to the Feces Hall!”

”Right! Seize him and haul him off to the Feces Hall!”

Without giving him a chance to explain, the three stronghold guards rushed forward and gave Duan Hu a vicious beating.

Duan Hu had now reverted to his true self—just an ungraduated college student. He was no match for mountain bandits who reveled in violence, and he was soon beaten black and blue, crying for his parents.

A moment later, Duan Hu was dragged before an outhouse.

The wooden door of the outhouse creaked open, and Ma Changgui walked out, hitching up his pants. He glanced at Duan Hu, who was sprawled on the ground, and said, ”Well now, look what we have here. A tenderfoot!”

Duan Hu looked up, saw Ma Changgui’s character information, and exclaimed in shock, ”Holy crap, Feces Hall Master! Y-You’re a Player? I’m a Player, too! One of the Fourth Celestial Calamity!”

”Fourth Celestial Calamity my ass! You’ve played yourself stupid!”

Ma Changgui kicked Duan Hu square in the crotch, making him howl in agony.

”One look at you and I can tell you haven’t taken your lumps from the real world. Come on, throw him in the cesspit! Let’s give him a rude awakening!”

At a wave from Ma Changgui’s hand, two figures approached from the distance. Surprisingly, they were also Players.

To be precise, they were Wandering Players who had died once and respawned in the Black Mountain Stronghold.

In the distance, a plump female Player watched with undisguised glee. It was Lu Hongyan. She was now responsible for making Toilets and had actually lost weight from the exhausting work.

...

Yang Wanli and Man Datou traveled through the night. The Rock Giant Scorpion was adept at traversing mountains, but its stamina was average and ill-suited for long-distance travel. By the time they reached Eggshell Village, the sky had already brightened. The Production Team was already hard at work, and Wang Yi had already taken Pang Damao aboard the Floating Mountain to explore to the west.

Man Datou handed the money from flipping the pearls over to Jelena.

Jelena was overjoyed, but she didn’t dare to appropriate the funds. The decision on how to use the money still rested with Wang Yi.

By the time Wang Yi returned, it was already evening. He had explored another sixty or seventy li of territory that day, consuming nearly 700 points of Chaos Energy. Although he hadn’t discovered any resource nodes or wild Treasure Chests, the trip had not been fruitless.

He had discovered a large bamboo forest about thirty li due west of Eggshell Village.

The bamboo in this forest was known as Long-Sectioned Bamboo. Its stalks were slender and exceptionally tough. Wang Yi thought the bamboo would be perfect for making arrows, so he cut some down to bring back, intending to try his luck at the Premium Weapons Factory.

In truth, Wang Yi had been searching for materials to craft arrows, and Long-Sectioned Bamboo was undoubtedly the most suitable.

When he returned to Eggshell Village and saw Qin Mo at the Huanghua Fishery, Wang Yi knew that Yang Wanli and Man Datou had returned.

Soon after, Jelena brought the two of them to report to Wang Yi.

Man Datou, feeling he had completed his mission brilliantly, stood with his head held high and his chest puffed out. Yang Wanli, on the other hand, was blushing slightly and felt uneasy. Besides having him deal with the pearls, Wang Yi had also specifically instructed him to recruit talented individuals.

He had returned safely, but he was empty-handed, having failed to recruit a single person.

Wang Yi had already learned the gist of the situation from Qin Mo. He waved his hand and said to Yang Wanli, ”Never mind. For now, go recruit some able-bodied villagers from Pottery Village and Gourd Village. Incorporate them into the Production Team, and report to me on anyone with special talents.”

”Yes, sir!”

Yang Wanli bowed and retreated, his heart finally at ease.

As for the chest of coins Man Datou had brought back, Wang Yi took 500 Gold Coins for his own use and left the rest for Jelena.

Jelena also reported to Wang Yi about the ”wage standard” she had formulated.

Wang Yi didn’t know how Jelena had conducted her research and calculations, but according to her, a daily wage of 100 Copper Coins was considered a middle-class income in Kaiyuan County. Yet, she had drafted a proposal for the average daily wage of an ordinary worker in Eggshell Village to be 200 Copper Coins!

Jelena suggested implementing this standard starting the next day, beginning with daily wage payments for the ”contract workers” at the Huanghua Fishery, the Gourmet Processing Plant, and the First Dining Hall.

At the same time, Crispy Fried Small Fish would be sold to the workers in the First Dining Hall at a provisional price of 20 Copper Coins per jin, which would help to recirculate the currency.

Wang Yi thought Jelena was being quite generous. He accepted her suggestions and told her to proceed with confidence.

After dealing with a few more trivial matters, Wang Yi went to the Premium Weapons Factory. He swiped a finger across his Storage Waistband, and a large bundle of slender, emerald-green bamboo poles appeared on the ground.

Next, Wang Yi deposited 100 Gold Coins into the Premium Weapons Factory, then fed the slender bamboo poles into the Automatic Production Line.

”Ding! Detected main material input into production line: Original Long-Section Bamboo Pole. Analyzing material properties, generating cold weapon manufacturing plan...”

”Ding! Manufacturing plan for Bamboo Section Arrow approved!”

”Ding! The Premium Weapons Factory will use [Original Long-Section Bamboo Pole] as the primary material, select for premium quality, and automatically produce Bamboo Section Arrows. Calculating manufacturing cost...”

”Ding! Manufacturing one Bamboo Section Arrow requires 5 Copper Coins!”

”Ding! Funds sufficient. Production beginning...”

As soon as the system prompts ended, the Automatic Production Line whirred to life.

Wang Yi was overjoyed. ’Finally, I can make arrows!’

Soon, Wang Yi saw the first Bamboo Section Arrow.

This arrow was a white-grade, common item with no special effects. It was about 1.2 meters long with an emerald-green shaft, a Triangular Iron Arrowhead, and three unidentified feathers for its Arrow Feather.

It looked simple, yet elegant.

’Not bad. Five Copper Coins each. The production cost isn’t too high,’ Wang Yi thought with satisfaction. ’Now my Cavalry Archers are a real possibility!’

He was quite satisfied, imagining the sight of Yang Qingniu and the others riding Rock Giant Scorpions, all drawing their bows to fire arrows in unison.

A moment later, the Long-Section Bamboo Poles Wang Yi had brought back were all used up, producing exactly 300 Bamboo Section Arrows. The total cost was 1,500 Copper Coins, equivalent to 15 Silver Coins.

Wang Yi’s research wasn’t over. He collected the 300 Bamboo Section Arrows, left the armory, and went to check on the production status of the Fire Dragon Oil.

Today, Zhang Dashan had assigned three people to specialize in making Fire Dragon Oil. The trio had used a large Iron Pot to brew it all day, but they had only managed to produce two pottery jars’ worth, weighing about 20 jin.

To Wang Yi’s surprise, the Fire Dragon Oil was crystal clear but viscous, like a transparent adhesive.

Wang Yi placed great importance on the Fire Dragon Oil, treating it as a form of liquid gunpowder. He summoned Man Datou and the members of the Civilian Militia to conduct an experiment.

However, after some testing, he discovered that the substance was surprisingly stable. It wasn’t easily flammable, let alone explosive. It would only ignite upon encountering a swift wind, and would only detonate if it suffered a violent shock after being lit.

At any rate, you couldn’t light it with a flame. But if you took a deep breath and blew on it with all your might, you could actually make it burn!

Wang Yi had no idea what principle was at work. He suspected there might not be a principle at all. After all, this was a game world monitored by a system, so one couldn’t expect it to follow the Law of real-world physics.

Because of the Fire Dragon Oil’s stability, the Molotov cocktail-style weapon Wang Yi had imagined would be difficult to create.

’I might not be able to make Molotovs, but Flaming Arrows seem possible!’

With this in mind, Wang Yi took out a Bamboo Section Arrow, dipped its tip in the Fire Dragon Oil, and handed it to Man Datou. ”Here, try shooting this.”

Man Datou snatched up the Iron-Clad Bow and drew it back fully. With a WHOOSH, the Bamboo Section Arrow flew into the sky. The arrowhead rapidly burst into flames, and when the arrow landed, it set off a small BOOM!

Yang Qingniu and the others were thrilled by what they saw. They immediately asked Wang Yi for some Bamboo Section Arrows and, following his example, dipped the tips in Fire Dragon Oil before nocking and shooting them.

These men had all learned the [Hundred-step Arrow Technique]. At Level 1, their Archery was already excellent enough to be called masterful.

The [Hundred-step Arrow Technique] was not named for a range of a hundred steps, but rather for its connection to the concept of superb marksmanship—the Hundred-step Piercing Willow. It was a measure of accuracy.

In fact, an Iron-Clad Bow combined with a Bamboo Section Arrow had an effective range of up to 300 meters. For someone with Man Datou’s astonishing arm strength, a flat shot of 500 meters wasn’t difficult.

Of course, as the level of the Hundred-step Arrow Technique increased, so too would the archer’s accuracy and, to a lesser extent, their arm strength.

Strangely, however, the arrows shot by Yang Qingniu and the others failed to ignite the Fire Dragon Oil on their tips. The men looked at each other in confusion, not understanding why.

Wang Yi said, ”The arrows probably aren’t flying fast enough. Try leveling your Hundred-step Arrow Technique to Level 2 and try again!”

So, Yang Qingniu and the others immediately started practicing their Archery.

Leveling the Hundred-step Arrow Technique from Level 1 to Level 2 was very easy; it only required 10 proficiency points, meaning they just had to shoot ten arrows.

The five members of the Civilian Militia all quickly reached Level 2 in their [Hundred-step Arrow Technique]. They tried the Fire Dragon Oil again, and this time, the result was different. As the arrows flew through the air, they rapidly ignited, and they exploded upon landing!

”Excellent! I’ve put together a Flaming Arrow Cavalry Archer squad!”

Wang Yi’s spirits soared. If he had enough arrows, then between the Civilian Militia and Man Datou, he had six Divine Archers capable of the Hundred-step Piercing Willow. With that kind of power, what was to stop him from taking the Floating Mountain to attack the Black Mountain Stronghold?