Chapter 65: Bulimu's Technology

Watching Bulimu's retreating back, Sinuoli did not delay any longer. After finally comforting the head of the guild and his wife, and assuring them that he would take good care of Bulimu, he led ten Eternal Hammer Guards out of Zhufuba.

They returned along the same road to Karak-Varn; because it had just been cleared by Prince Balin and his men, the journey was smooth sailing.

Sinuoli and Bulimu chatted briefly. Although Bulimu had not yet fully recovered from the great upheaval in his life, he still expressed sufficient respect for Sinuoli, the Chosen of the Goddess and his boss.

"What did you build that caused such a massive explosion?" Sinuoli was very curious about this.

"Well, I built, or rather, I planned to build a Warpstone-powered boiler. Those little things glowing with green light contain immense energy, far exceeding the coal we usually use to power Steam Engines." Bulimu had no intention of hiding the details of such a failed product.

"You know about Warpstone, right? And Steam Engines? And coal?" Bulimu asked uncertainly, as his understanding of Sinuoli was limited to the stereotypes that Engineers held about Rune Smiths.

"Of course, of course. I know more about technology than you imagine. I have no prejudice against new technology, provided that safety is ensured, of course." Sinuoli decided to add a limiting condition.

"I would like to ask a question first: where did you get your raw materials, I mean the Warpstone?"

"Oh, Prince Balin's spoils of war. According to him, you shared in that victory with him, didn't you?" Bulimu countered.

"What? That was only a few days ago? You managed to cook up a massive explosion in such a short time?" Sinuoli was shocked; he felt he had underestimated Bulimu's creativity and potential for destruction.

Of course, the fact that his raw material source was reasonable and compliant made Sinuoli breathe a sigh of relief; if his subordinates were secretly communicating with the Skaven, the future trouble would not be small.

"Three days, less than four! After I got the Warpstone, I spent a little time determining its properties, then simply estimated the energy contained per unit of mass, and then designed a set of equipment based on the calculation results." Bulimu seemed to be talking about a very ordinary matter, but Sinuoli's heart was surging with stormy waves.

"However, when it came to actual operation, I don't know if my calculations were wrong or if there were problems outside the plan, but the machine exploded, and you know the rest. Thank you very much for your help!" Bulimu briefly analyzed the cause of the accident.

Sinuoli knew that Warpstone was the condensation of Chaos Energy directly in the mortal realm, and therefore Warpstone also exhibited the attributes of Chaos, meaning the energy contained per unit volume was not constant.

Sometimes a piece of Warpstone the size of a thumb could release energy equivalent to a high-explosive grenade, while at its weakest, it couldn't even light a match. This might have been a potential reason for the failure of Bulimu's experiment.

"Then where did your inspiration come from?" Sinuoli continued to ask.

"The Doomwheel, do you know about that?"

Sinuoli recalled the giant wheel-shaped War Machine he had seen in his past life, which spun around with sparks and lightning. It was fast, powerful, and difficult to destroy. Thinking of this, Sinuoli nodded and then shook his head.

Bulimu didn't pay much attention and started his explanation directly: "A few years ago, my father and I commanded a battery and destroyed one. To be honest, its power still makes me have nightmares from time to time!"

Sinuoli nodded; the lethality of the Doomwheel was obvious to all.

"After the battle, we were surprised to find that the giant thing was driven by only one rat!" Bulimu said.

"What? One rat is enough? Is it a Warlock Engineer?"

"No, no, no, just an ordinary rat. It kept pressing a scale beam at the rear of the wheel. Its task was to use the scale beam to inject Warpstone powder into the boiler to burn it, which provided energy for the wheel." Bulimu's voice trembled slightly.

"Since then, I realized the immense energy contained in Warpstone and have always wanted to find an opportunity to study it, but it seems there will be no chance in the short term!"

Sinuoli suddenly thought of the Dimension Stone Halberd he had previously seized from a Skaven Warlord, but he suppressed the urge to tell Bulimu; it was better to let this young clansman settle down first.

At noon the next day, a group of twelve Dwarfs, traveling light, arrived at the outpost at the foot of Karak-Varn.

Sinuoli found that the number of people in the outpost was far fewer than before he left. After pulling a clansman aside to ask, he learned that the Miners were eager to restore production, while the other Dwarfs were busy rebuilding Mountain Lake Fortress itself.

The Valaya Ritual performed by Sinuoli only cleared the erosion left by the Greenskins and Skaven; it could do nothing about the destruction they had caused.

After a short rest, Sinuoli took Bulimu up the mountain path; he wanted to take another look at this first fortress he had conquered before leaving.

Arriving at the summit, he found a group of original Dwarf warriors who had taken off their armor and put down their axes and Shields, picking up hammers and chisels instead, and were busy re-sculpting the damaged statues in front of the gate.

Dwarfs are such a race; almost every member is an excellent craftsman.

Sinuoli watched from afar and found that the style of the newly repaired sculptures was very different from those in other cities.

The massive body of the Mother Goddess Valaya was carved on the front of the mountain; between her legs was the main gate of Mountain Lake Fortress, and standing at her feet, on both sides of the gate, were small reliefs of the two brothers, Sinuoli and Grom.

Looking at the statue of himself holding a hammer in his right hand with a smile, Sinuoli felt many emotions; he felt the respect and love of his clansmen, even though he was still just a Little Beard who had just come of age.

Big Brother Grom ran out from the castle upon hearing the news. He was not wearing armor either, dressed in the attire of a craftsman. "Perhaps he is decorating his bridal chamber!" Sinuoli thought to himself.

After a warm hug, Grom appeared a bit shy for the first time; it was clear that he already knew Sinuoli knew he was going to fetch his bride.

"Ah, your Rock Sheep is being trained; you have to grind away its wild nature before you can ride it!" After a moment of silence, Grom decided to talk about the Rock Sheep first.

"You better speed up the progress! Don't let your little brother walk to Karak-Breeze Fort on two legs. If I sprain my ankle on the way, it will be hard to say when you will be able to see that girl Pamila!" Sinuoli teased his big brother.

"You little Goblin brat, what? Can you stand up now?" Grom hammered Sinuoli's chest. "You need to work hard too, don't drag it out until your future nephew has to go fetch your bride for you!"

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