Chapter 437: Nightmare, Underground Workshop, Destroyer (2)

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

Under the steps, Sonia stood, awaiting orders.

“I’ve come this time to instruct you on some matters.”

“Please, speak, my lord. I will act according to your will.”

“No need to be so tense, have a seat.” Ji Chen glanced at the solemn-faced Sonia and smiled.

Sonia hesitated for a moment but eventually sat on one of the stone chairs, only halfway, keeping her back straight.

Seeing this, Ji Chen didn’t say anything more and continued, “Currently, the Western Mid-Ocean is under attack by a Sea Beast Tide. Our connections with settlements like the Northern Continent have been forcibly severed, which has a significant impact on the development of the Crown of the Ocean.”

Sonia nodded. The Lord had previously mentioned the outside world to her to some extent, and she was aware of places like the Western Mid-Ocean and the Northern Continent, so understanding now was not a problem.

“Although the Sea Beast Tide has passed through the Stormy Sea, there are still many scattered sea beasts roaming.

In the coming days, I will lead the Legion to the Starshine Islands, which are several days’ journey away from our territory, to acquire the resources needed for the development of our domain. So, you must quickly pacify the Great Luminescent Sea and, if necessary, lead the Coral Palace army to take on some of the defense responsibilities.”

Sonia’s face lit up with joy. Didn’t this mean that they would soon be able to visit the colorful Main World?

While Ji Chen spoke, he observed Sonia’s demeanor discreetly, and after seeing that her worries had been dispelled with the prospect of visiting the Main World, he nodded in approval.

Her concerns were all but gone.

After a moment of joy, Sonia stood up again and saluted. “1 am willing to issue a military order that the Coral Palace will resolve the remaining remnants of Dragon King’s City as soon as possible.

And handle other matters in the Great Luminescent Sea promptly, and, if necessary, lead the Coral Palace army to take on defense duties.”

Seeing Sonia’s commitment, Ji Chen nodded with reassurance.

“Besides this matter, you should also dispatch reconnaissance teams to explore the terrain, enemies, and other aspects of the Abyssal Layers of Darkness.”

Sonia’s expression changed slightly. “My lord, do you intend to explore the Abyssal Layers of Darkness in the Great Luminescent Sea?”

Ji Chen nodded without hesitation.

Dragon King’s City had once obtained a large number of precious resources from the Abyssal Layers of Darkness in the Great Luminescent Sea. With such a treasure trove before them, it would be a waste not to explore it.

However, they knew nothing about the current situation inside, and it was clearly not suitable for large-scale exploration.

Sonia proposed, “We can go to the human kingdoms above the sea. They are descendants of those humans and may still possess and preserve important information about the Abyssal Layers of Darkness.”

“Sure, I’ll leave this matter to you.” Ji Chen considered the approach feasible and agreed with a sweeping gesture. “Feel free to be bold with your ideas as long as they align with the interests of the Crown of the Ocean.”

He didn’t want a mere obedient robot who followed orders blindly. He wanted someone who could oversee the bigger picture.

All along, he had been consciously or unconsciously nurturing the autonomy of his subordinates. For example, Wilus was the best representative of this approach.

By establishing legions, he aimed to transform his heroes into generals who could both fight and command, rather than mere brutes charging into battle.

Heroes like Alice, Herald, Benbo, and others were progressing in this direction.

As for Anina, it seemed she lacked such talents, so she would be treated as a super-powered individual.

After explaining these matters to Sonia, Ji Chen left the Great Luminescent Sea with Alice.

The current inventory of the Crown of the Ocean had just over two hundred thousand rare resources, barely enough for one round of recruiting units. Therefore, he decided to use this limited resource to strengthen the core heroes—those who played crucial roles in the Legion.

It typically took around 50,000 to 70,000 rare resources to upgrade a blue excellent-tier hero unit to a purple rare tier. With just under 240,000 rare resources, he could roughly upgrade four heroes.

The list of upgrades had long been in his mind: Half-Orc hero Daro, Lobster Guardian Knight hero Wilun, one Naga Guardian hero, and a Water Nymph Archer.

The Naga Guardian hero would take on temporary leadership duties when Herald fought alone, while the Water Nymph Archer would command the Guardian Legion.

When four new purple rare-tier hero units appeared on the territory panel, it signified that the Crown of the Ocean had become stronger and that its rare resource inventory had been completely depleted.

If no new resources came in, they would be left with nothing to recruit more units.

As Ji Chen was preparing for another sea expedition with great enthusiasm, Thotmudo brought good news: the object from the second alchemical blueprint had been successfully manufactured.

During the previous Sea Beast Tide attack, Thotmudo stayed in the underground lizardman world, working tirelessly in the blacksmith’s forge. His goal was to create the prototype from the second alchemical blueprint as quickly as possible.

Upon receiving this news, Ji Chen quickly made his way through the lengthy tunnels and returned to the underground.

The underground lizardman world remained the same, with molten lava and rocks constituting its eternal landscape.

However, outside the capital of Dork City, on the vast surface, there stood imposing workshops. Molten lava, redirected from the lava rivers, flowed through designated channels, providing ample heat and energy for the workshops’ production operations. Piles of ore as tall as mountains accumulated on the nearby open ground.

Under the supervision of the legendary dwarf blacksmith Thotmudo, several large-scale production workshops were established here. They utilized the abundant ore resources and the continuous flow of lava to produce various iron tools, weapons, alchemical cannonballs, arrowheads, and ammunition.

It could be said that this place was the industrial park of the Crown of the Ocean, occupying more than eighty percent of its industrial capacity.

This was Ji Chen’s original plan, to leverage the secrecy and security of the underground lizardman world to ensure the production of various supplies.

In addition to being an excellent refuge, the underground lizardman world also served as a backup production base.

Ji Chen walked into one of the towering workshops and saw Thotmudo standing in front of a pitch-black cannon platform.

“Sir Thotmudo, I heard that you have successfully manufactured the prototype from the second blueprint. Is this it?”

Upon hearing this, Thotmudo turned to look and confidently replied, “Of course, this little thing doesn’t require much technical skill. It took a bit of time, but 1 managed to make it.”

Ji Chen smiled and didn’t press him further. Instead, he looked at the cannon platform.

The hexagonal metal base of the cannon platform extended diagonally in the middle, with an extremely thick barrel that was longer than a battleship’s cannon, exuding a terrifying aura with its jet-black color.

At a glance, it exuded a sense of security.

“This cannon is called the Destroyer. It’s a type of coastal defense alchemical cannon with a considerably long attack range. It can accurately hit targets several kilometers away, and its power is quite impressive. A single shot can sink small iron warships immediately or render them combat ineffective.”

But the drawbacks are also quite evident: slow ammunition loading, high craftsmanship requirements, and a relatively long manufacturing cycle. However, these shortcomings cannot overshadow the power of the Destroyer cannon.”

Thotmudo, who was usually critical and proud, couldn’t help but show a hint of admiration. “It seems that over the past few thousand years, humans have made some progress in alchemical technology.”

“What’s the relationship between you and that daughter of the Lienhardt Grand Duchy? Is she your mistress? How could she be willing to give you a blueprint for something like this?” Thotmudo questioned, wearing an expression that said he found it hard to believe.

Ji Chen almost spat out his drink and chuckled, saying, “Monica is just a friend of mine, not my mistress.”

Thotmudo gave him a skeptical look. Would an ordinary friend give such a valuable item as a gift?

However, he didn’t dwell on it and continued, “Right now, this Destroyer is only the prototype, and there are some adjustments needed in terms of design and craftsmanship.

It can’t be put into use immediately if you want to deal with those sea beasts.”

Ji Chen waved his hand and had an air of confidence. “That’s okay. We can go at your pace. The Crown of the Ocean can afford to wait.”

“You’re easy to talk to, and I bet you get along well with other dwarves.”

Ji Chen smiled. “Thank you for your praise. There’s one more thing… we’ve run out of alchemical cannonball inventory. Can you produce another batch quickly?”

“Of course, that’s not a problem. I’ll have the apprentices work overtime to produce them.”

Thotmudo nodded..

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