Chapter 51: The Three-Bow Ballista
"I... I'm Hei Nana!"
Li ng grinned, reaching out to pat Hei Nana on her rounded buttocks.
Satisfied, he turned and walked out.
Among the many female Lizardn in the wooden hut, Li ng only knew Bai Ling's na.
As for the reason, it was naturally the language barrier.
But now, Li ng felt there was no need to hide anymore.
That said, he also saw no need to know the nas of the other female Lizardn.
Asking Hei Nana for her na was rely a spur-of-the-mont decision.
Hei Nana shuddered slightly from the slap.
She looked at her departing master with a complex expression.
The Goblin before her was sowhat different from the Goblins she knew.
His eyes lacked the cruelty and madness typical of Goblins.
Instead, he exuded an air of rationality and intelligence.
By afternoon, the main gate of the tribe's throne cave opened with a creak.
Li ng walked out of the wooden hut, looking refreshed.
Seeing Benben snoring loudly outside the door, Li ng chuckled.
Without waking him up, Li ng headed toward the nursery.
"Boss, your bloodline offspring are all over here!"
Under the guidance of a Goblin, Li ng arrived at a relatively large nursery.
Stopping at the entrance, he peered inside without entering.
In the wooden hut, over a hundred young Goblins were frolicking and playing, their chatter creating a cacophony.
Noticing Li ng at the doorway, the noise abruptly ceased.
The young Goblins huddled in a corner, their gazes filled with terror as they looked at him.
Faced with adult Goblins, young Goblins instinctively felt a sense of danger.
After observing for a while, Li ng turned and left.
Goblins lacked any concept of familial affection.
Even the mothers who bore them were seen as re females.
Once they reached adulthood, their mothers were nothing more than breeding tools.
If a female failed to separate from the young Goblins after giving birth, she might even beco their food.
Leaving the nursery, Li ng headed to the carpentry workshop.
Before even reaching it, the sound of wood being carved emanated from the wooden huts.
"Boss, what brings you here?"
Inside the largest workshop, Li ng found Gobuda.
Seeing the busy Goblins in the carpentry workshop, Li ng nodded in satisfaction.
Though Goblins were rather dull, they excelled in obedience and hard work.
While lacking innovation, their ability to mimic was even better than humans'.
"I need to build sothing big. Clear this space for !"
Soon, floating ships would appear in the skies near the Goblin lair.
Knowing this, Li ng had no intention of sitting idle.
The future predicted by his life simulation was valuable intelligence.
For the next few days, Li ng imrsed himself in the workshop, researching large-scale ballistae.
Gobuda and the other Goblins assisted him.
By the afternoon of the seventh day, outside the workshop, a massive ballista was carried into the forest by the Goblins.
The ballista was essentially a scaled-up crossbow, structurally similar to the single-hand crossbows used by the Goblins.
The main difference was the addition of a winch for drawing the bowstring.
"Boss, the bolts are here!"
Three Goblins carried over a 1.5-ter-long bolt made entirely of low-carbon steel.
The bolt's tail was fitted with iron fins to maintain stability and direction during flight.
"Load the string!"
At Li ng's command, the three Goblins hurriedly turned the winch.
With creaking sounds, the bowstring was slowly drawn back.
After over a minute, the bowstring was finally cocked.
The Goblins carrying the bolt placed it in the ballista's firing slot.
"Boss, everything's ready!"
With the preparation complete, it was ti to test the ballista's power.
Li ng adjusted the ballista, aiming at a tree hundreds of ters away.
*Whoosh!*
Pulling the trigger, he heard a sharp snap, followed by the whistling of the bolt as it tore through the air.
In the dim forest, a black streak flashed past, heading deep into the woods.
*Thud!*
About 200 ters away, a massive tree was struck.
The bolt embedded itself deep into the trunk, its tail vibrating violently.
Watching this, Li ng's eyes revealed a trace of disappointnt.
The ballista's power was far below his expectations.
The bolt began to lose altitude after flying just 200 ters.
This level of power was unsatisfactory for Li ng.
"Is it a problem with the materials or the design?"
He murmured as he studied the ballista before him.
The materials were already at their limit.
In the Goblin forest, there was no wood stronger than hard ironwood.
Spider silk ropes were also the best choice for bowstrings, offering the ideal balance of elasticity and toughness.
"It seems I can only make improvents to the design!"
Turning back toward the workshop, Li ng instructed, "Bring the ballista back!"
Hearing this, the Goblins quickly sward the ballista, carrying it back to the workshop.
For the next several days, the sound of carving wood filled the workshop once again.
Occasionally, the rhythmic tapping of hamrs could be heard.
"Boss! Boss!"
One afternoon, Gobuka rushed into the workshop, where Li ng was refining a massive bow fra.
"Boss, bad news! We've found Pign in the eastern forest!"
Hearing this, Li ng's heart tightened.
So the Pign had indeed appeared.
It had been just over a month.
The Black Robes were supposed to appear after the floating ships, so the tiline still aligned.
"Don't provoke the Pign. If you encounter them, avoid them."
The future simulated by the life prediction was valuable intelligence.
To guide events as desired, he needed to proceed cautiously.
"Boss, can't we eat them? Pign at is way better than wild boar!"
Gobuka's face lit up with greed, saliva nearly dripping at the mory of Pign at.
"Now's not the ti to go to war with the Pign. Inform the hunting parties in the eastern forest not to engage with them. Avoid them if encountered. Now go!"
"Alright, boss, I'm on it!"
Though disappointed, Gobuka obeyed his leader's orders and scampered off.
The next morning, the quiet workshop ca alive once more.
This ti, a larger ballista was carried out by more than ten Goblins.
Compared to the previous one, this ballista was nearly twice as large, with a much more complex design.
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