Lords of Hegemony: Conquer from the Mermaids

Chapter 23: Hydraulic Catapult and the Craftsman's Apprentice
The sky of the Eternal World was covered with gray clouds. With a loud thunder, the first rain belonging to the Eternal World fell at this moment.

This rain did not affect Meng Zheng, who was a hundred meters below. Apart from the light being dimmer than usual, the fluctuation of the water flow had no other impact.

Meng Zheng did not plan to go out for adventure today. The population of the territory was increasing, and the number of huts being built was also increasing. So today, Meng Zheng decided to take a good look around his own territory to see if there were any new discoveries.

The first stop is naturally the hydraulic catapult workshop.

Jiang Bin said yesterday that with the completion of the hydraulic catapult tube workshop and the arrival of apprentice craftsmen, the first hydraulic catapult tube has been produced.

Meng Zheng wanted to get a good feel for this weapon that belonged exclusively to the mermaids and see how it differed from weapons on land.

After passing through three or four mermaid shacks, Meng Zheng arrived at the door of the hydraulic catapult workshop.

Inside, the mermaid craftsman apprentice was already working hard, waving the stone hammer in his hand and constantly hammering the cylindrical object in his hand.

As soon as Meng Zheng entered, the craftsman's apprentice immediately noticed his arrival and saluted him.

"Chief! You're here!" The craftsman's apprentice was a little nervous.

"Here, this is the hydraulic catapult I just made. Chief, take a look!"

As he spoke, he hurriedly took out a blue bamboo tube and gave it to Meng Zheng.

"Okay, let me see!" Meng Zheng took the blue bamboo tube and looked at it carefully.

The hydraulic catapult does not look particularly impressive. It is as thick as a thigh and covered with dense symbols. There is a handle at the tail and a trigger on the handle. Meng Zheng knew at a glance that as long as he pressed this, he could launch a powerful hydraulic bullet.

This hydraulic catapult is about half a meter long and not very heavy. Meng Zheng feels it is light when holding it, very similar to a real-world rocket launcher.

However, this bamboo tube does not need to be loaded with gunpowder. You only need to inject spiritual power into it to fire powerful hydraulic bombs.

According to the information Meng Zheng understood, the principle of the hydraulic catapult is to use high pressure to condense water to a high degree. As long as the mermaid militia pulls the trigger, it can be shot out at a speed like a crossbow, hitting the enemy and causing terrible damage.

Every enemy hit by the water ball will appear fine on the outside, but will instantly rot into a ball on the inside. It has extremely terrifying lethality and is the most powerful combat weapon of the mermaid clan in the early stage.

However, the range of this weapon is relatively short, only more than 50 meters. After all, it is inside, and the resistance in the water is too great. Unless better materials are used and the water pressure is increased, the range will be a fatal flaw.

However, as long as it floats to the surface, the hydraulic catapult can easily launch a missile at a distance of more than 300 meters.

Another disadvantage is that it can only be used around water areas. If you go ashore, the weapon cannot be used because the hydraulic catapult requires a large amount of water to fill. If there is no water, there is no ammunition.

But as long as you are in the water, the only limit is mana. If you have enough mana, the hydraulic catapult will have unlimited bullets, bringing a storm of death to the enemy.

"Has it been tested? How powerful is it? How far can it be fired? How many can be produced every day?" After looking it up and down several times, Meng Zheng was very satisfied with the water arrow tube, but he wanted to know more exact data and information.

You have to know that this hydraulic catapult is made from yellow-grade spirit bamboo, making it far superior to those made from more common materials. "Um, I just finished this last night and haven't tested it yet. Also, my skills aren't good enough, so this hydraulic catapult is only a work-in-progress. If a proper craftsman had made it, it would definitely be more powerful!" The apprentice flushed in response to Meng Zheng's question, feeling nervous and ashamed, fearing he'd leave a bad impression on the clan leader.

"As for production, I can only make one hydraulic catapult a day. The yellow-grade spiritual bamboo material is too good. I don't have enough mana, so it needs a little polishing."

As he spoke, the apprentice craftsman hastily assured him, "However, Chief, I'm just not very skilled at the moment. Once I master all the processes, I will definitely be able to further improve manufacturing efficiency."

"Well! It's okay, let's try it now. It's normal if we can't do it well the first time. Do it well and strive to get better and better. You can even break through and become a formal craftsman." Meng Zheng didn't care. Instead, he comforted the young craftsman apprentice in front of him.

This young man is a recent adult among the mermaids. Although he is a gray-tailed mermaid, there are a few faint blue stripes on his tail, indicating that this young apprentice has good potential and is expected to break through and become a blue-tailed mermaid on his own.

As long as you can successfully break through, then being promoted to a formal craftsman will definitely not be a problem.

Although there is a certain chance that the twelve people of the Canghai tribe who are refreshed every day will produce talents, it is only a chance after all. If you are unlucky, they may all be ordinary mermaids with no skills.

Therefore, there can be no delay in cultivating talents. Meng Zhengke is looking forward to this young apprentice being promoted quickly and contributing to the development of the territory.

"Yes! I will definitely work hard, Patriarch!" The craftsman's apprentice was very excited and quickly made his own promise to Meng Zheng.

"The territory is preparing for a war. In addition to hydraulic catapults, we also need to make a batch of tridents, shields, and armor. Do you have the relevant casting skills?"

Although hydraulic catapults can be produced, they are long-range weapons and their production volume is extremely low. Meng Zheng decided to train a group of melee troops to increase the diversity of the territory's troops.

Currently, there are three types of troops that can be cultivated in the territory. One is Jiang Tao's Raging Waves Guard, one is the hydraulic catapult long-range troops, and the other is the Earth Beast Guard Knight that can be cultivated in the future.

In addition to the three special types of soldiers mentioned above, the territory can also create different weapons to form armed forces such as sword and shield soldiers, spearmen, halberd soldiers, etc.

As an underwater tribe, the killing range of spears and halberds is too low, so Meng Zheng plans to create multi-headed underwater combat weapons such as tridents and three-pronged forks.

Shields have a wide range of uses. Basically, as long as there is an army, there will be shields. In underwater combat, shields will be greatly affected by the underwater environment.

But it is definitely the best defensive weapon. The underwater combat environment is complex, and many monster tribes are large in number, so it is easy to form a situation of having more people against fewer.

Currently, the mermaids of the Canghai tribe can only use their relatively hard scales as a defense. The risk of fighting is too high and it is easy to cause casualties.

However, as long as you can equip your mermaid soldiers with a shield and assist them with certain protective formations, then safety will definitely be greatly improved.

The Earth Beast Guardian Knights have mastered a similar formation, and combined with the Earth Beast's own shield spell, they have formed this powerful guardian legion.

Therefore, the Canghai tribe must build more shields to improve the soldiers' defense.

(End of this chapter)