Lord: Starting with Summoning the Regular Army of Earth

Chapter 107 Coal Mine Attack

Lin Xiao concentrated intently and began to use his consciousness to "copy" the model.

This is much more difficult than perceiving mana.

The model is not a static drawing, but a dynamic, flowing structure.

He had to accurately "draw" each energy path, set the "parameters" of each node, and finally connect them into a complete and self-consistent loop.

He failed three times.

Each time the last few nodes are connected, the entire structure collapses due to uneven "pressure," and the condensed mana instantly disperses.

The fourth time, he changed his approach.

Instead of trying to build the entire model all at once, we first build the main trunk and then add branches, just like writing the main function first and then the sub-functions in programming.

At the same time, he imagined the converging Mana light spots as "currents" and the model as a "circuit," and he needed to guide the "currents" to flow smoothly along the "circuit."

This time, when the last node was connected, the entire model "lit up".

It's not about visual brightness, but rather a feeling of "completion" and "readiness".

He "injected" his last bit of consciousness, triggering the model.

In the simulated darkness, a soft, stable, and pure white light shone "before" him.

It's not big, it's not bright, it's like a distant star.

But it's there.

Authenticity and stability are what he created.

"Zero-ring spell 'Glimmer' successfully constructed. Activation successful. Energy efficiency: 87%. Rating: B+. Time taken: 19 seconds."

21 minutes. Overall rating: Excellent.

The electronic sound paused for an even longer period.

On the observation platform, Su Wanxia and the researchers exchanged shocked glances as they watched the data scrolling on the screen.

The subsequent tests became increasingly difficult: maintaining model stability under disruptive conditions, rapidly switching between different spell models, and combining basic runes to construct simple new effects according to task requirements —

Lin Xiaoyang was completely focused, bringing out the full potential of the theories he had learned in the past sixty hours and the mathematical intuition, spatial imagination and problem-solving abilities he had accumulated over the decades.

He no longer saw the spell models as mysterious patterns, but as code that needed debugging, circuits that needed optimization, and equations that needed solving.

When he finished the last test, the electronic voice finally announced: All tests completed. Overall score: S. Deep Blue Scholar qualification confirmed. Welcome to the team, Dr. Lin Xiaoyang.

The simulated environment fades away.

Lin Xiaoyang took off his helmet, sat up, and found himself drenched in sweat, but his spirits were unusually high.

He looked around, and the other simulation pods opened one after another.

Chen Yu was pale but her eyes were bright, and she gave him a thumbs up.

Liu Jun rubbed his temples, his expression as if he had just finished a tough battle.

Wang Hao, on the other hand, gestured wildly, pointing to something in the air.

The paleography scholar, clutching his helmet, muttered to himself, "So that's how it is—that turning stroke was a safety valve for overflowing energy—"

All twelve people passed.

Su Wanxia walked to the center of the training field, looked at them, and for the first time, a faint smile appeared on her face.

"Congratulations, Deep Blue Scholars. You have just completed a simulated systematic magic casting test in a simulated environment."

Upon hearing this, many people couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief or cheer with excitement.

My efforts finally paid off, and I finally had the chance to travel to another world and experience the wonder of magic firsthand.

But Su Wanxia paused, her voice becoming solemn: "The test is over, and the results have been entered into your files. But this doesn't mean you have to set off immediately. In fact, you still have a lot of preparatory work to do before receiving official mission instructions."

She paused, then looked at everyone: "For the next two weeks, you will enter the second phase of training. The training will not only cover the basic theory of magic and simulated practice, but also the real situation of the world you are about to travel to."

In fact, it wasn't that their group didn't want to send people into the other world as soon as possible to begin their magical training experiments.

However, the goblin summoning units they had previously summoned clearly performed poorly in terms of magic affinity, so they were waiting for Matthew to allow them to enter the other world as human units.

Let's talk about Jinshi Ridge again.

The steady, powerful roar of the steam engine was like the beating of the heart of Jinshi Ridge, ceaseless day and night.

Since the successful operation of the second steam engine, the power source has multiplied, and the simple machining system built around it—lathes, drilling machines, and planers—has begun to transform rough steel blocks into precisely sized gears, shafts, and sliders with astonishing efficiency.

The workshop is now filled with neatly stacked parts, which will soon become the power core of the next machine, and the machine after that.

The snowball effect of industrial production has already begun to emerge.

This has led to increased demand for coal. Currently, the coal consumed by blast furnaces, kilns, and steam engines is transported back from the wind-eroded highlands by horse-drawn carts, which is inefficient and has limited transport capacity, thus restricting further expansion of production capacity.

Therefore, Matthew decided to resolve the transportation issue as soon as possible.

That day, Matthew convened a meeting with experts such as Zhang Hongjian and Cui Hongyuan to discuss laying a track from the coal mine to Jinshiling, using steam locomotives to pull mine cars to transport coal and improve transportation capacity.

However, this was not a simple project. According to several experts, it was not difficult to manufacture simple steam locomotives and mine cars.

The key challenge lies in the track, which requires a large amount of high-quality steel to be rolled into rails, and also requires solving a series of engineering problems such as roadbed laying, turnouts, and switches.

This takes time, and even more so, it requires a huge amount of human and material resources.

"Currently, the water control project has already consumed most of our manpower and productivity, and I'm afraid—"

Upon hearing the suggestions from experts such as Cui Hongyuan and Zhang Hongjian, Matthew fell into a brief silence. Indeed, compared to coal transportation, the water management project was more urgent at present.

It seemed he had acted too hastily. Just as Matthew was about to reply, his brows furrowed and his expression changed slightly. In that instant, he had clearly sensed that more than ten goblin summoning units had suddenly lost their connection.

This feeling was all too familiar to him; it meant that the goblin he had summoned had died.

Upon closer inspection, he determined that the source of the death call was the members of the pioneer squad stationed at the coal mine, along with some of the miners.

"There's been an accident at the coal mine!" Matthew's heart sank.

The meeting was immediately suspended, and Matthew immediately convened a meeting of the core members of the military team. At the same time, he summoned Wang Tianqi, the vice-captain of the Trail Blazers team who had "died" not long ago.

As the light from the magic circle slowly faded, Wang Tianqi's goblin form solidified within the light, drawing all eyes to him.

At this moment, his green face was filled with shock and indignation. Only after seeing Matthew, Sun Zhengwu and the others did he come to his senses and immediately gave a military salute.

"What happened at the coal mine?" Matthew asked immediately.

"Report, Commander! We've been attacked! It's the barbarian cavalry from the Wind-Eroded Highlands!"

"Speak slowly and clearly!" Matthew frowned, his face serious. This answer was exactly what he had expected.

"The Manchu cavalry that attacked us came from the southwest, numbering at least fifty, possibly more. They wore a mix of leather and chainmail, and their weapons included scimitars, spears, and bows and arrows! The horses were very large, not ordinary steppe horses, and their charging power was extremely strong. Even more terrifying, the leader, about a dozen riders, didn't ride horses, but—wolves! Gray, giant wolves, not much smaller than horses! Their eyes were dark red, and they were much faster than horses, able to pounce on our makeshift roadblocks!"

"We fought desperately, using the terrain and pre-set traps to take down several of their cavalry, but we couldn't stop them at all! Those wolf riders were too powerful—their strength, speed, and the ferocity of those beasts—our men were pounced on and torn apart one after another—the last thing I saw was Captain Wu and a few others surrounded by at least three wolf riders—and then I was killed—"

The air inside the sealed room seemed to freeze.

Sun Zhengwu and the other members of the military team looked solemn and exchanged glances. The thing they feared most had happened. Sure enough, the coal mine had been targeted by the barbarian tribes of the wind-eroded highlands.

According to Wang Tianqi's description, their coal mine must have been occupied by the barbarians, and they might even be able to find their way through the daily transport route.

"Did you see their flags or special markings? Which tribe do they probably belong to?" Matthew asked in a deep voice. He had previously learned about the distribution of power in the Wind Erosion Highlands from Conrad.

"The flag—it looked black, with a monster that looked like it had bull horns on it!" Wang Tianqi tried hard to recall.

Matthew thought about it carefully and his heart sank. It was the Giant God Tribe.

One of the two most powerful tribes in the Wind-Eroded Highlands is led by "Bloodclaw" Balu, who is said to have the blood of ancient hill giants, granting him the ability to briefly grow to enormous size, immense strength, and a brutal, warlike nature. They tame a magical beast called the "Dread Wolf" as their mount, and these wolf riders are the elite of their elite!

Matthew's mind raced as he considered a solution.

A head-on confrontation is absolutely not an option right now. The military strength of Jinshi Ridge is still in the accumulation phase. There is still a chance of winning a defensive war. However, if we were to confront the barbarian tribes head-on on the wind-eroded highlands, the chances of winning would be extremely low. Even if we won, it would be a Pyrrhic victory, which would severely slow down our development.

After all, the other side was not a group of goblins or a band of a few dozen people, but a group of tens of thousands, whose leader was an extraordinary person with special bloodline.

Matthew took a few deep breaths, forcibly suppressing the anger and anxiety in his heart.

Impulsive actions won't solve the problem; they must calmly deal with all possible crises.

Fortunately, he wasn't alone in facing this situation.

Sun Zhengwu and his military team quickly made an analysis and decision.

Judging from the other party's actions, it is highly likely that they are only trying to seize control of the coal mine. Although they may also be curious and sneak over along the coal transportation route, they may not necessarily launch an attack on Jinshi Ridge.

However, to prevent any unforeseen circumstances, the territory immediately entered a state of Level 2 alert, with walls and watchtowers being doubled in vigilance and patrols increasing in frequency and scope.

Organize basic arrow defense and evacuation drills for the local population.

In addition, more goblin scouts need to be dispatched to approach the coal mining area under the cover of night, monitor all local movements, and ascertain the specific troop strength, deployment, and camp conditions there.

To provide intelligence support for subsequent operations.

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