Chapter 577: Chapter 577. A Rifle
The factory was a large smith workshop inside Surly Gate Town. Zhong Yuan told Amon that such a factory was a common facility in Khode. Almost every large settlement had them. A few were used to produce weapons, while most were used to construct machinery or devices for various purposes.
Amon entered the facility and saw that it was still running. The workers continued to work under the supervision of Echos’ soldiers. The difference was that the items they produced were now confiscated by the First Demon Army. These workers were also ordered to repair Echos’ battle puppets that needed repairs.
Amon called a soldier to bring him to the superintendent of this place. The soldier told him the original chief had died because he tried resisting when Echos’ soldiers came to take control of the building. Amon told the soldier to bring him to the next person in charge.
The soldier brought Amon to a scrawny bald man with dark circles under his eyes that made him look like he hadn’t slept for days.
"Your name?" Amon asked the scrawny man.
"My... My name is Xia Lugong," the man stammered. He seemed timid and fearful. His cultivation was only at the Beginning Strength Stage.
"So, I heard you are in charge of this place," Amon said.
"No–No, Sir, you are the one in charge," Xia Lugong replied in a hurry.
Amon displayed a small grin from hearing that. "I like smart people. You continue to perform your tasks, and I may offer you a better opportunity than your previous employer. Now, give me a list of the goods you produce in this place."
Xia Lugong pulled out a piece of paper from one of the pockets in his coat.
"You don’t have a space ring?" Amon asked.
"I... I can’t afford it," Xia Lugong answered.
Amon turned to the soldier and asked, "Did the previous superintendent have a space ring?"
"Yes, it is among the things we confiscated," the soldier answered.
"Go fetch it," Amon ordered.
Amon read Xia Lugong’s list while the soldier ran to fetch the ring. He saw that a large portion of what the workers were producing here were the elemental balls, which served as the ammunition for the Yuanxu Cannons, and the elemental mines, for use as the border defense. Other things included weapons, armor, and battle puppets.
"This place doesn’t build the Yuanxu Cannons?" Amon asked Xia Lugong.
Xia Lugong shook his head. "The Yuanxu Cannons require precious materials which are not stocked here. They are only built inside the factories in Fire Boiler Town and the capital, Dabao City."
’A pity,’ Amon thought. This meant the eight Yuanxu Cannons here were all they had, unless they could steal more from the enemy army. But looking at the bright side, they would never run out of ammo so long as they occupy this town.
Amon turned his attention to a large furnace inside the factory. "Tell me, Lugong. How hot can that furnace get?"
"Our furnace is among the best in Khode. It is as hot as you can get."
"Can it melt extremely hard materials?" Amon asked.
"How hard are we talking about?" Xia Lugong asked in return.
"This hard," Amon produced a piece of pitch-black rock.
Xia Lugong identified the rock with a glance. He uttered, "Blackstones?"
Amon collected many Blackstones during the Royal Academy’s excavation mission. They had been sitting in a corner of his black space ring for a long while because he never found the means to utilize them, until now.
"This blackstone is indeed very hard, but our furnace can melt it," Xia Lugong said.
"Khode has a supply of this material?" Amon asked.
"Yes, but it is very rare. Only the capital has a stock of it."
"I see," Amon took out a large pile of blackstones and placed it on the floor. The sight astounded Xia Lugong. He then gave Xia Lugong a piece of paper with a drawing on it. "Use these blackstones and mold them into this."
Xia Lugong was confused after studying the paper. From the drawing and instruction on the paper, the things Amon wanted them to make were tiny cone-shaped things. He couldn’t contain his curiosity and asked, "What is this for?"
"Lugong, I like smart people but not nosy ones," Amon said.
Xia Lugong was reminded of his position. Amon was an invader, and he could be considered a hostage. He quickly uttered, "For–Forgive me, Sir."
"Do as you are told, and you will be fine," Amon said.
"How many of these things do you need?" Xia Lugong asked.
"Smelt all these blackstones into them," Amon answered.
"It will be thousands," Xia Lugong said with a surprised expression.
"I expect hundreds of thousands," Amon said. "I have more blackstones. I will give them to you once you run out of the stock here."
The soldier who went away earlier returned. He brought a space ring with him.
"Has the goods inside been confiscated?" Amon asked the soldier.
"No, General. This space ring is still on queue to be inspected."
Amon checked the ring’s content. It had plenty of aer stones and several useless trinkets. Amon took a book, which was the superintendent’s journal. The rest he left inside. He offered this space ring to Xia Lugong.
"Uh... Sir...?" Xia Lugong was unsure of the gesture.
"This is yours, until you decide to cross us and we find a replacement," Amon said.
Xia Lugong gulped. He accepted the space ring and uttered, "Thank you, Sir."
When he checked the content, his eyes turned wide. He never possessed so many aer stones before. He looked again at Amon to ensure the space ring was truly for him.
Amon snickered internally. He remembered the reports about the stifling rift between aristocrats and commoners in Khode society. He figured Xia Lugong was part of the latter camp.
"Do you have a family?" Amon asked Xia Lugong.
"I... I have," Xia Lugong was again fearful. What does Amon want with his family?
Amon turned to the soldier and instructed, "Clear out the house of the previous superintendent, then bring his family to that house."
"Yes, General!" The soldier replied.
Amon left afterward, leaving Xia Lugong, who was still dazed by what had just happened.
Amon was brought to a smaller workshop within the factory. This seemed like a place where workers experimented with new samples. Shi Hei was there. He was studying something in his hand, a long tube with a handle on one end.
"Boss!" Shi Hei greeted Amon. He showed the long tube in his hand. "Zhong Yuan said that you designed this? It is quite fascinating. What is it called?"
"A rifle," Amon answered.
"A rifle...," Shi Hei muttered. "What does it do?"
"It shoots a projectile by generating an explosion in its inner chamber."
"Ah... That’s why that chamber uses extremely hardy material... But what’s so special about shooting a projectile? What’s the difference between this weapon and the energy gun that we usually attach to a battle puppet?"
"The energy gun requires a bulky frame. That’s why it is only used on a battle puppet. This weapon can be carried by a cultivator. Also, this weapon will be deadlier than the energy gun."
"Really?" Shi Hei sounded sceptical.
"Have you ever been hit by an energy gun?" Amon asked.
"I had, when I was still a student in the Royal Academy. But the energy gun that hit me is from a low-tier engraved battle puppet, so it didn’t truly bite that much."
Amon nodded. "Getting shot by the energy gun is akin to getting punched or hit by a blunt weapon. This rifle can discharge a projectile at high velocity. The one hit by the projectile will be like being impaled by an arrow or a spear. If we use an extremely hard material for its projectile, it can puncture the body of a Mystic Stage or even a Spirit Stage cultivator. In other words, if we equipped our troops with these weapons, even a Mortal Stage cultivator could wound a Spirit Stage opponent."
Shi Hei was captivated by the idea. If what Amon said was true, this would truly provide a huge upgrade to their military power.
"The tricky part is generating an explosion inside the chamber," Amon said. "Have you deciphered the way to copy the method they used on the Yuanxu Cannons?"
"Yes, Hu Hua and Diao Xin helped me with that," Shi Hei answered. "Hu Hua gave me a modified explosive talisman to use as the trigger, while Diao Xin copied the engraving on the Yuanxu Cannon that channeled the outside explosion into the inner chamber."
"Have you given it a try?" Amon asked.
"Actually, I was just about to," Shi Hei answered.
"Proceed, then," Amon said.
Shi Hei nodded. "This is the projectile," he showed a tiny metal cone held between his two fingers. "It is made of common iron, so I don’t think it will do much good when it hits a Transformation Stage cultivator. We are using this just for the test."
He slid the iron cone into a narrow slot on top of the rifle. A clicking sound was heard.
"Now that the projectile is in place, we used this," he picked up a talisman on the table. He injected his aether into the talisman, which made it flash. He then slapped the talisman behind the slot where he inserted the iron cone.
The words of power on the rifle’s surface flashed as it absorbed the explosive power generated by the talisman. This was followed by an explosive sound and a burst of fire from the nozzle of the rifle. The metal cone flew out at blinding speed and hit the wall at the other end.