Chapter 124: The First Finished Product

Over the next three days, Xu Yin and a group of officers studied how to train this brand-new Armored Water Rhino legion. Du Long did not intervene for the time being, choosing instead to observe carefully from the sidelines.

Although he did not interfere with General Xu Yin's training, he consulted with the beautiful Spirit of the Ring in his mind on how to maximize the combat effectiveness of the Armored Water Rhinos. For example, he considered adding leather armor, Black Profound Iron eye guards, and a layer of flexible Black Profound Iron mail beneath their relatively soft bellies.

Furthermore, he planned to design a set of heavy armor for all the soldiers of the Armored Water Rhino legion, primarily made of Black Profound Iron. Each soldier would also be equipped with ten Black Profound Iron javelins, heavy lances, and other offensive and defensive gear. In short, Du Long and the Spirit of the Ring focused on equipment first, aiming to push the combat power of this heavy beast legion to its limit. They wanted to arm every rhino cavalryman to the teeth, striving to ensure that they could strike the enemy while remaining invulnerable themselves.

In addition, Du Long took the time to fetch a massive boulder from the distant Beast Forest and placed it in the center of the Armored Water Rhino camp. On it, he carved a cultivation technique spanning from the Essence Gathering stage to the Gang Dan stage, available for all soldiers of the Brave Cavalry Legion to study at will. The thousands of soldiers were incredibly excited; a cultivation method that could lead all the way to the Gang Dan stage was something only great aristocratic families possessed, far beyond the reach of ordinary people like them. Common families usually only had access to low-level techniques, and it was considered an achievement to reach the Qi Whirlpool stage in a lifetime.

Three days passed quickly. Although Du Long was not entirely satisfied with the training methods for the Armored Water Rhino legion, he did not say much. Before the equipment arrived, much of the training was merely adaptive. Once the gear was ready, he would implement targeted, intensive training.

Early on the fourth morning, Du Long set off with another two thousand men. As the commander of the Brave Cavalry Legion, Xu Yin naturally had to follow. Half of the officers remained at the Armored Water Rhino camp, including the newly joined Tie Niu. This fellow was so captivated by the Armored Water Rhinos that he could hardly tear himself away. With his tower-like build, he eventually earned the approval of the Armored Water Rhino King, Ben Lei, and was lucky enough to become the king's rider. Since he had become a member of the rhino legion, he naturally had to stay behind.

Leading two thousand men, Du Long and his group could not travel on foot. Instead, they requisitioned all the Armored Water Rhinos in the Ben Lei territory—not for combat, but to transport troops and supplies through the Beast Marsh. Even the elderly and young rhinos could handle this task, and there was little risk involved. Through this experience, Du Long realized that his subordinates would frequently need to traverse the Beast Marsh for supplies and personnel transport in the future, and they could utilize these elderly and young rhinos for such tasks.

After crossing most of the Beast Marsh, the group arrived at the edge of the inner Beast Forest five days later. They were now close to Xiao Lie’s territory. Led by the beast, the army soon entered its domain and rendezvoused with the Blazing Tiger King, Rooney, who had been waiting for a long time. Beside a massive lake, thousands of Blazing Tigers lay resting in packs. Although they had expected it, the sight still shocked Xu Yin and his soldiers.

"Rooney! Come here, let me introduce you. This is Xu Yin, commander of the Brave Cavalry Legion. If I am not here in the future, you must follow his commands! And this is the Armored Water Rhino King, Ben Lei!" Du Long introduced them enthusiastically. "And this is the Blazing Tiger King, Rooney, whom I mentioned to you all earlier. He has reached the early stage of the fourth rank!"

The scene of the men and beasts meeting was somewhat comical. Ben Lei and Rooney could communicate through beast language, but Xu Yin could only stare blankly, unable to understand a word. Du Long had to step in as an impromptu translator.

"Husband! I've wanted to ask for a long time—how is it that you understand beast language?" Princess Fire Phoenix took advantage of a lull in the conversation to whisper to Du Long.

"Hehe!" Du Long replied with a cunning smile. "Don't you know your husband is a genius? Is there anything in this world I don't understand?"

"Hateful! You're just pulling my leg..." Fire Phoenix pouted and rolled her eyes at him, clearly not believing his nonsense.

The establishment of the Blazing Tiger legion also went smoothly. With only two thousand human soldiers and six or seven thousand Blazing Tigers, the supply far exceeded the demand, and the tigers chosen by the soldiers were overjoyed. For the sake of command, General Xu Yin became the rider for the Blazing Tiger King, Rooney. One was at the intermediate Gang Dan stage, and the other was at the early fourth rank; their strength was well-matched, and Rooney was willing to partner with the commander of the Brave Cavalry Legion.

The subsequent adaptive training went smoothly. Du Long also discussed the equipment for the Blazing Tiger legion with the Spirit of the Ring, and they both offered their suggestions. They ultimately decided on the future direction for the Blazing Tiger legion: they should capitalize on their speed advantage, so they could not be equipped with heavy gear like the Armored Water Rhino legion, as that would only restrict their combat effectiveness. To maintain stealth, Du Long ordered that the Blazing Tiger legion should not camp in the open like the rhino legion, but instead inhabit the interconnected mountain caves. They would only emerge for training during the day, and for the sake of secrecy, they chose a remote valley to minimize the chance of exposure.

After staying there for another three days, Du Long finally decided to leave. Besides arranging for more men to join the Blazing Tiger legion, he had to begin organizing the targeted production of weapons and equipment. Xu Yin originally wanted to stay to train the Blazing Tiger legion, but Du Long overruled him, telling him to leave the training plan to his subordinate officers and return with him. As a main commander, Xu Yin needed to oversee the overall situation and consider the training and logistical support for both beast legions, fully understanding Du Long's vision for their future development.

Thus, Xu Yin led dozens of Blazing Tigers and the Armored Water Rhinos that had transported supplies, while Du Long took the two ladies and rode on Xiao Lie to set off ahead; he had no time to waste following the slow-moving rhinos. In just half a day, Du Long returned to the Armored Water Rhino camp, had Tie Niu arrange for a rider to report to Black Profound Iron Mountain, and then headed back without stopping.

At the secret military base within Black Profound Iron Mountain, Du Long ignored his travel fatigue and went straight to the secret weapon manufacturing cave to find Ou Yezi, who was busy working himself to the bone.

"Brother Du Long! You've returned just in time! Come with me, I have something good to show you!" As soon as Ou Yezi saw Du Long, he excitedly pulled him toward a heavily guarded storage cave. Suppressing his urge to speak, Du Long followed him, curious to see what was so important that it demanded such urgency.

In the empty storage room, Ou Yezi led Du Long to the only item present. Sitting on a stone platform was a crossbow with a peculiar design. As a young man with a military background, Du Long had seen many standard crossbows, but he had never seen anything like this. The bow body was similar to others, but it featured an exquisitely crafted cylinder! On the cylinder, there was a lever and a sighting mechanism.

"Oh! What a strange crossbow!" Du Long exclaimed softly.

"It is strange, but also very practical!" Ou Yezi laughed. "This is the result of the first weapon design you showed me! It is the first finished piece I've managed to produce after many days of work!"

"Haha! Brother Ou Yezi, could you explain to me how this thing is practical?" Du Long asked with a faint smile.

"No problem! Watch this!" Ou Yezi didn't stand on ceremony; he picked up the two-foot-long crossbow and pulled the trigger toward the cave wall.

*Puff! Swish!*

With a light twang of the bowstring, a bolt of black light shot from the cylinder and embedded itself into the hard Black Profound Iron rock wall. The eighteen-inch bolt had only its tail left, vibrating in the stone.

"Good heavens! That’s quite some power!" Du Long sighed in admiration.

"The power is impressive, but if that were all, it would be no different from an ordinary crossbow," Ou Yezi said, stroking his mustache with pride.

"Oh? How so?" Du Long asked, puzzled.

"Hehe! Watch closely, little brother!" As soon as Ou Yezi finished speaking, he repeatedly pulled the lever on the cylinder and kept pulling the trigger. A stream of black light erupted from the cylinder, continuously slamming into the hard wall!

"My god! This... this thing can fire continuously? Without having to reload each bolt manually?" Du Long finally realized the magic of this crossbow. It was capable of rapid-fire, and every bolt shot out was an incredibly sharp and hard Black Profound Iron projectile. The power was truly astonishing!