Chương 31: The Ballista

Li Qinwu summoned Te-Ouk and described the machine he wanted to build. In his past life, he had watched documentaries and seen a simple Roman ballista—a design where almost everything except the bowstring was made of wood. This device featured two winches on either side. With just two soldiers turning the cranks, the bowstring would be slowly pulled taut. It was a simple yet practical structure for a ballista.

Li Qinwu communicated with Te-Ouk for about half an hour, and they eventually concluded that it was feasible. Li Qinwu sent the goblins to fell trees, while the two of them used knives and axes to meticulously process the relatively precise gear components. With everyone's cooperation, the first ballista was completed four hours later. It was 1. 8 meters long, 1. 3 meters wide, and required eight individuals to carry.

For the bowstring, Li Qinwu used five strands of Horned Crocodile tendon, braiding them together like a decorative rope. Once tightened, it could provide immense kinetic energy. As for the ammunition, they simply carved a wooden pole of the appropriate length and tipped it with an iron spearhead. Li Qinwu dispatched two Hobgoblins to turn the power-storing winches. It took them a full two minutes to complete the draw, which meant that in an encounter with the enemy, they would likely only have one chance to fire.

But it was all worth it. Li Qinwu aimed the cocked ballista at a massive tree that would take four people to encircle and pulled the trigger. SWISH! The thick bolt was unleashed. Amidst flying wood chips, the entire iron spearhead pierced through the tree, losing its momentum only when the middle of the shaft got stuck inside the trunk. The terrifying power left everyone gasping. Li Qinwu curled his lips into a smile. This is solid now.

The kinetic energy released by the ballista at close range was likely greater than that of a small-caliber handgun; it should be enough to handle an Ogre. Li Qinwu immediately ordered everyone to work through the night to produce five such ballistae. By dawn the next day, five units were finished, and all functioned perfectly during test firing. With the heavy weapons ready, Li Qinwu ordered the army to march toward the tribe. Because they had to carry the ballistae, the pace slowed even further.

After two days of marching, Li Qinwu finally arrived at the familiar forest. Here, he smelled a very strong, wild scent—undoubtedly left behind by the Kobolds. These creatures had completely taken over the goblins' hunting grounds and established themselves as the masters of the forest. Li Qinwu snorted coldly. He was going to make these Kobolds pay! Looking at the dense jungle, he felt it necessary to find a suitable battlefield—one with an open view where no trees would block the line of fire.

One-Ear suggested, "Boss, we can go near the cave spiders—the place where I found the potatoes. The ground there is covered in potato vines, and there are no big trees to block the view." Li Qinwu readily agreed and led the troops toward the cave spider area. Upon arrival, he agreed that this vicinity was perfect for a ballista assault. In the distance stood a bare mountain made entirely of dark gray stone. There were many caves on the mountain, and giant spiders could be seen moving around.

Aside from that, the surrounding hills had no large trees, only a vast amount of potato vines. For some reason, the potatoes here grew like crazy. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Li Qinwu chose a small hillside and had the men set up the ballistae, pointing them directly toward the forest. Once the enemy emerged from the woods, they would be about 500 meters from the ballista position, providing a wide field of fire.

Li Qinwu had some potato vines cut and draped over the ballistae, then ordered the other goblins to crawl into the vines to hide. He retreated back toward the forest to look at the position; the camouflage was excellent, with no visible traces. With everything ready, Li Qinwu said to One-Ear, "One-Ear, take your men and attack the Kobolds in the village. See if you can lure them out!" One-Ear's eyes widened, flashing with terror. Before he could speak, Li Qinwu continued, "Don't be afraid.

You're not going there to fight, just to lure them here! The Kobolds must have a great sense of smell; they've surely memorized your scent. You just need to pretend to approach the village, throw a few rocks to provoke them, and let them chase you."

"This..." One-Ear was still afraid. Indeed, Kobolds had a very keen sense of smell. When One-Ear had led the goblins away from the village earlier, there were 200 of them, but the Kobolds had tracked them relentlessly by scent, slaughtering them until fewer than 100 remained. If One-Ear and his group hadn't been tough enough and run far enough until the Kobolds feared entering the territory of powerful monsters, they would have been hunted to the last man. Seeing the guy hesitating, Li Qinwu grew annoyed.

He unsheathed the greatsword from his back and rested it against One-Ear's neck.

"I'm not bargaining with you. Go execute the mission right now, or your head rolls!" One-Ear flinched, suddenly remembering that his Boss wasn't exactly an easy-going master—he was the type to occasionally use "decimation" (killing one out of every three) in the name of "purifying the team." One-Ear hurriedly promised to carry out the task. Li Qinwu put away the greatsword and patted him on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, I won't mistreat you. If you succeed, I'll count it as military merit. I'll give you 100 strips of jerky and even give you two Wood-Rats as wives!" Hearing that he could have his own exclusive Wood-Rats, One-Ear became instantly excited, his fear vanishing.

"Boss! I guarantee the mission will be completed!" One-Ear led his men into the forest. Li Qinwu lay back in the potato vines to wait. Out of boredom, he idly scratched at the soil— why is this dirt so pitch black? Hidden in the back, Te-Ouk was clutching a piece of black rock. Seeing colored spots on the stone, his expression changed drastically. Time passed minute by minute. Li Qinwu had a blade of grass in his mouth, passing the time. After about half an hour, a commotion came from the direction of the forest.

Li Qinwu spat out the grass and shouted, "The enemy is coming! Everyone, stay down!" One-Ear came sprinting out of the forest with his men, looking utterly panicked. He ran into the potato vines and collapsed near where Li Qinwu was lying, completely exhausted.

"Bo... Boss! My mission is done! All the Kobolds in the village have been lured out!" Li Qinwu glanced at the edge of the forest.

"There's nothing there?"

"Boss, those Kobolds are waiting for the Ogre; that big guy walks slow. Oh, and Boss, there's only one Ogre, and the number of Kobolds is much lower too." Li Qinwu was stunned and asked for details. One-Ear said he didn't know why either. Li Qinwu pondered for a moment and figured that perhaps after the main Kobold force took the goblin village, the bulk of the army returned to their original territory, leaving only a small contingent and one Ogre to control this hunting ground.

This was a lucky break that put the situation in his favor. If there were only a few Kobolds and one Ogre, five ballistae could handle it easily. Feeling his chances of victory increase, Li Qinwu immediately ordered One-Ear: "Take your men and walk 50 paces forward. Stand in a single line!"

"Huh?" Li Qinwu gave him a slap.

"Do as you're told!" One-Ear immediately led his men 50 paces forward and stood in a line. Just then, the pursuing Kobolds arrived. Leading them was a 5-meter-tall Ogre, snapping two small trees as he emerged, holding a massive wooden log. This giant creature was like a mountain of flesh. His skin was covered in cracked, earth-like scales that looked incredibly hard. Around him followed about a hundred Kobolds, some completely naked and others draped in animal pelts.

They carried stone weapons and moved in a messy, unorganized swarm. However, they had at least entered the Stone Age, and with the Ogre as a giant unit, it wasn't surprising they could wipe out One-Ear's original forces.