Chapter 81: The Power of the Compound Bow and the Repeating Crossbow

Chapter 81: The Power of the Compound Bow and the Repeating Crossbow

Xiao Ce hid to one side, where there was a secret compartment.

Perhaps Bao An had made it for eavesdropping before.

Listening to their words from here was very clear.

He nodded with satisfaction.

These Family Heads, being able to stay here for so long, still had some ability.

Although he looked down on them, for now, just keeping them steady was enough.

As long as the Turks could be defeated, dealing with them afterwards would be as easy as playing.

Xiao Ce walked out. Qian Lai had a troubled look on his face. “Prince, are you just letting them go like that? Such opportunities don’t come often!”

Xiao Ce raised an eyebrow and said, “Letting them go? This is just the beginning! Unless I tie them tightly to the same boat as This Prince, would I let them leave?”

As Xiao Ce spoke, he headed towards the Divine Engine Hall.

Two days had passed. They should have produced a batch of Compound Bows and Repeating Crossbows.

Upon arriving at the Divine Engine Hall,

the craftsmen saw Xiao Ce and performed a bowing ceremony.

“Greetings, Prince. After working day and night these past two days, we have completed the first batch: fifty Compound Bows and fifty Repeating Crossbows!” said the leading man, about one and a half meters tall but full of muscle, clasping his hands.

Qian Lai introduced from the side, “Prince, he is Lu Xiu, the person in charge here.”

Xiao Ce nodded. “Take me to have a look.”

Lu Xiu nodded and led them to a room storing the finished Compound Bows and Repeating Crossbows.

After seeing the Compound Bows, Xiao Ce nodded satisfactorily. He stepped forward, picked one up, and weighed it in his hand.

It was a bit heavier than bows from later eras. This couldn’t be helped, as many lightweight materials available in later times couldn’t be produced here.

However, it was still within an acceptable range.

Da Lei said from the side, “Prince, you call this bow a divine weapon? Apart from its strange appearance, I don’t see any other advantages.”

“Da Lei, isn’t your strength among the top in the Twelve Fiends?” Xiao Ce asked with a smile.

Da Lei didn’t hesitate and nodded. “That is certainly true!”

Xiao Ce asked, “How heavy a bow can you draw?”

Da Lei thought for a moment. “I have drawn a five-hundred-pound hard bow, capable of shooting three hundred meters!”

As Da Lei said this, a flash of pride couldn’t help but cross his face.

Of course, he had every reason to be proud. After all, the requirement for an ordinary archer was to draw a hard bow of about eighty pounds. Being able to draw a hard bow over one hundred pounds was already extremely rare in the army.

Someone who could draw a five-hundred-pound bow could completely be called a superhuman!

Xiao Ce said, “This Compound Bow is equivalent to a five-hundred-pound bow. Yet, due to the pulley system within, even Qian Lai can draw it. Do you think this counts as a divine weapon?”

Upon hearing this, Da Lei quickly said, “Impossible!”

Xiao Ce handed the Compound Bow in his hand to Qian Lai.

Qian Lai said awkwardly, “Prince, I don’t know how… and, look at my physique…”

Xiao Ce smiled and said, “Just give it a try. If you can’t draw it, This Prince won’t blame you.”

Seeing this, Qian Lai took the Compound Bow. Then he notched an arrow and drew the bow, though his hands trembled a little while pulling.

However, it was clear he didn’t use much effort.

“It’s just some light bow, what’s so special about it?” Da Lei said.

As Xiao Ce gave the command to release.

Whoosh…

Accompanied by a sharp whistling sound, the arrow left the bow and shot straight out.

Finally, with a thud, it embedded itself into the wall nearly three hundred meters away.

Everyone present, including Lu Xiu, the supervisor of the production, was shocked.

Even Qian Lai himself was startled!

Although Qian Lai was chubby and looked quite fat, he was clearly not a person with much strength.

Just the range, and the sound of the arrowhead hitting the target wall, were enough to prove the power of this bow!

You must understand, the greater the force used to draw the bow, the greater the power.

The group jogged to the wall and saw that the arrowhead had completely penetrated into it…

Da Lei said excitedly to Xiao Ce, “Prince, can I give it a try?”

Xiao Ce nodded.

In Da Lei’s hands, drawing the Compound Bow was as easy as playing; he didn’t use the slightest bit of effort…

Whoosh… whoosh… whoosh…

Da Lei could even manage rapid successive shots!

Six consecutive arrows were fired, completed within just a few seconds.

“A divine weapon! Prince… it is definitely a divine weapon!”

Xiao Ce then picked up a Repeating Crossbow. This Repeating Crossbow was also quite heavy.

He again let Qian Lai test it.

Although the range of this Repeating Crossbow wasn’t as far as the Compound Bow, seeing Qian Lai fire it with one hand, and its lethality at a distance of one hundred meters was still quite terrifying.

Most importantly, it could fire twelve shots in one go, completely rapid-fire!

After seeing this scene, everyone fell into complete silence.

Da Lei said, “Prince, if this weapon is used, even we, the Twelve Fiends, would likely suffer if caught unprepared! What you said about it being a divine weapon is absolutely correct! Especially this Repeating Crossbow…”

Qian Lai chimed in, “Yes, if not mentioned, one might not even know it’s a weapon! Prince, when you give this weapon to the soldiers, you must strictly control it. Otherwise, if others use it to attack you, it would be impossible to guard against…”

Xiao Ce nodded. The killing power and portability of the Repeating Crossbow completely exceeded his expectations.

He had used Repeating Crossbows from later eras, but many materials for those weren’t available here. So, he had recreated the Zhuge Repeating Crossbow based on records he saw in a book called “Tiangong Kaiwu” from a later era.

Except for being a bit larger in size, this Repeating Crossbow’s effectiveness was no worse than a pistol.

“Lu Xiu, send someone to inscribe serial numbers on the safety mechanism inside each Repeating Crossbow. Let every Repeating Crossbow have a number.”

Lu Xiu clasped his hands in agreement.

Xiao Ce continued, “Also, the speed needs to be increased! After producing one thousand Repeating Crossbows, switch all production to Compound Bows!”

“Prince, we can only say we’ll do our best. These things may not look complicated, but every part requires very fine polishing. A tiny error leads to a huge mistake… they all need to be polished by hand, so…”

Xiao Ce listened and nodded. His thinking was still modern, and he just remembered that everything here relied on handcrafting.

“Qian Lai, take things like the arrowheads and have them produced outside!”

Qian Lai clasped his hands in agreement.

Da Lei rubbed his hands together and said, “Prince, can these divine weapons be equipped for us, the Twelve Fiends, first?”

Xiao Ce naturally agreed readily. “But, won’t carrying these things affect your mobility?”

Da Lei shook his head. “Prince, under the current circumstances, most of our tasks are defensive. We rarely have stealth missions. Besides, even if we have stealth tasks, it won’t hinder us!”

Seeing him say this, Xiao Ce naturally agreed.

The stronger they were, the safer he was.

After looking around here, everyone was very busy.

Although the efficiency was somewhat slow, according to Xiao Ce’s plan, it was completely sufficient to equip a thousand-strong Cavalry unit.

After leaving the Divine Engine Hall, Xiao Jiu came running over.

“Prince, those three, Kan Zongye, Liu Xuan, and Lin Shou, have already escorted people to the Execution Platform. They are now asking if you wish to go over!”

Xiao Ce was somewhat surprised. “Oh? That was fast!”

Xiao Jiu nodded. “They have already announced Cai Tianming’s crimes. They are just waiting for your order.”

Xiao Ce said after hearing this, “Let them handle it. I won’t go. After they finish the execution, have the heads hung there, and then let them settle down and rest.”

Xiao Jiu clasped his hands and said yes!

“Then, have all those people from the Prominent Families settle here to rest!”

After giving these instructions, Xiao Jiu left.

Qian Lai asked Xiao Ce with some confusion, “Prince, why are you keeping all these people here?”

Xiao Ce smiled and said, “Tomorrow, you will know!”

After Xiao Ce returned, he shut himself in again.

No one knew what he was doing.

However, they knew that whenever Xiao Ce shut himself in, he was definitely brewing some big move.

No need to think, tomorrow those Noble Clans and Prominent Families would have to shed another layer of skin.

…

After the Noble Clan Family Heads executed Cai Tianming, the impact among the Prominent Families was enormous.

Especially those Prominent Families under Cai Tianming’s command were terrified.

After all, if even Cai Tianming was dead, Xiao Ce would care even less about their lives.

Some people began writing their own ‘information’ overnight again, seeking a way to survive.

…

In the Ashina Tribe outside the Four Northern Desert Prefectures.

The various tribes of the Turkic Kingdom had gathered once more. After all, whenever Ashina called them, he never sent them back empty-handed.

During these days, despite their investigations from all sides, they had not obtained any useful information.

In the areas controlled by the Four Great Clans, they didn’t even know Xiao Ce had arrived.

The only useful piece of information was that Lingxiao City was completely sealed off, and it was announced publicly that they were holding a secret meeting.

Ashina sat in the main seat. “Everyone, this is the current situation in the Four Northern Desert Prefectures. We don’t know if Xiao Ce has truly come. Or if it’s Bao An and those Northern Desert Noble Clans putting on a show by themselves, it’s all unknown…”

“Brother Ashina, if they are asking for a beating and itching for it… let’s gather once more. Hitting them once will make them behave!”

“That’s right! As soon as we gather our great army, those cowards from the Xiao Kingdom will be scared into surrendering… This time, since they dared to act against your Eldest Prince, their surrender will require a huge amount of money and grain.”

“Exactly, Brother Ashina, let’s gather once more! No matter who comes, aren’t those Xiao Kingdom Two-Legged Sheep all just trash?”

Seeing everyone’s fervor, Ashina nodded and said, “Very good! However, this time their actions have made us very angry! Even if they want to surrender, This Khan does not wish to give them that chance!”

The group of tribal leaders asked curiously and excitedly, “Brother Ashina, do you mean… this is a formal attack!”

Ashina nodded, a fierce glint in his eyes. “Correct! They dare to provoke us! This shows they still have rebellious hearts! We have rested and recuperated long enough! Moreover, I hear that their Central Plains is in great chaos now, with popular uprisings everywhere! Why don’t we take the opportunity to occupy the Four Northern Desert Prefectures, kill all those Xiao Kingdom Two-Legged Sheep! Then push south, directly striking at their heartland!”