Chapter 1337

"Totally baffled." Fierce Tiger.

"I don't understand a word, but it sounds incredibly awesome!" Iron Fist scratched his head.

"Wait, did the master just say His Highness is a meddlesome person?"

"Actually, that does make some sense."

"But we belong to His Highness! So annoying — the master actually called His Highness a meddlesome person."

"I don't accept it!"

"Mm, mm."

Lin Cheng walked over. The three were still debating with each other. Seeing this, he simply shoved the blueprints straight into their arms.

"Alright, discussion's over. Get to work.

"Your task is to wait for those materials to arrive, then use these blueprints to assemble a catapult. Come ask me if you don't understand, but there shouldn't be much of a problem."

The blueprints he designed were so simple even an idiot could understand them — just follow the diagrams to cut and assemble, and anyone could build one. The only trouble might be efficiency.

Three people were too slow; in two days they probably could only assemble two. With those three thousand soldiers helping them, it shouldn't be a problem.

As for Lin Cheng, he set about making the Blade Chariots and the heavy crossbow bolts.

The heavy crossbow bolts weren't much of a problem; the focus was on the concept of the Blade Chariot. He had originally planned to use mechanical mounts to pull the Blade Chariots, but the moment he thought of the magic-crystal internal combustion engine, using mechanical mounts to pull them would be putting the cart before the horse, wouldn't it?

Using two magic-crystal internal combustion engines, four-wheel drive, tremendous kinetic energy, a single driveshaft turning four rotating blades — wouldn't that feel even better than being pulled by mechanical mounts?

How many to build? Ten should be about enough.

Wait.

The Blade Chariot is forged from metal, so first it needs speed and basic defensive capability. Two magic-crystal internal combustion engines guarantee the speed; as for defense against a seventh-rank powerhouse, forget it.

The cost is too great, and there aren't enough materials — the gains wouldn't justify the losses. Better to keep it simple. Heh.

Lin Cheng had an idea.

Outside, large numbers of soldiers began tearing down houses and stripping tiles, hauling massive quantities of timber and metal to the temporary armory. When the three thousand soldiers arrived with the materials, Lin Cheng immediately had Iron Fist and the other two start directing these three thousand men to split into ten groups and get to work, two hundred per group.

Compared to the Blade Chariots and the heavy crossbow bolts, the catapult's principle and construction were simpler — build as many as possible. He had other plans.

The remaining thousand soldiers were assigned to assist Lin Cheng. Lin Cheng forged the basic assembly materials for the Blade Chariots and heavy crossbow bolts, and they were responsible for watching the blueprints and putting them together.

Very soon, large quantities of metal materials for blades, swords, and shields were fused by Lin Cheng's spell flames, finally taking shape as individual components. Once they cooled, he directed the soldiers to begin assembly. In less than two hours, a simple Blade Chariot took shape.

All that remained was to install the magic-crystal internal combustion engines and link up the four rotating blades.

The pointed spike at the front, like a city-breaker, ruthlessly smashed through enemy lines, while the four rotating blades at the front, back, left, and right reaped the enemy's lives.

The only thing to worry about was enemy powerhouses, who might seize the chance to launch a sudden attack.

"You keep building them according to this design. I'll handle the final installation of the magic-crystal internal combustion engines."

"Yes, my lord Lin Cheng."

Some soldiers had been discussing how to make such a war machine move. That was until Lin Cheng stepped in — two pre-prepared magic-crystal internal combustion engines were installed inside, linked levers drove the rotation, completing the four-wheel drive and the spinning blades.

The tires were a special off-road type Lin Cheng had custom-made, with extremely strong grip; the interior was fixed with metal brackets.......

Another hour later, the first Blade Chariot was finished. As for its appearance — no further comment; it was terribly crude. Considering the soldiers weren't professional forgers, he let it slide. As long as the function was roughly what Lin Cheng had designed, that was fine.

For the test, Lin Cheng got straight into the vehicle, dropped a magic crystal into each magic-crystal internal combustion engine, then started the engines, gripped the steering wheel, and drove off directly.

The surrounding soldiers had long since retreated to a safe distance — even though the rotating blades hadn't been activated yet, safety first.

The Blade Chariot wasn't large; the cabin could carry eight soldiers. The whole chariot, including the rotating blades, was no more than four meters wide. On a battlefield of that scale, ten Blade Chariots probably wouldn't be enough.

Sigh, he could only do his best.

Afterward he activated the rotating blades to test the effect. The result was decent — ordinary armor shattered instantly. The ground clearance was about half a meter; considering Western Region people tended to be rather tall, this ground clearance should be sufficient.

With the experience of the first Blade Chariot, the soldiers clearly worked much faster on the second one.

Lin Cheng, meanwhile, threw himself into the development of the heavy crossbow bolts. Traditional bows used air-dried bull sinew as the bowstring.

He had originally wanted to forge the bow body from metal, but the demands on the bowstring would be too high. He could only settle for the next best thing: layering solid wood to make the bow body, lowering the requirements for the bowstring. As for the heavy crossbow bolts, they were forged from metal, three meters in total length, with a tail chain at the rear.

He had originally planned to use a metal tail chain, but later discovered that a metal tail chain consumed too much kinetic energy, so he had to use a wooden cord tied to a small iron block as a substitute.

In the process of developing the heavy crossbow bolts, Lin Cheng was struck by inspiration and, along the way, also developed a Blade Crossbow Cart that fired powerful rotating blades — its power was considerable as well.