Lord: Starting with Summoning the Regular Army of Earth

"Comrade Matthew, you've arrived. The prototype has just been assembled and debugged, and Team Leader Sun is preparing for the first live-fire test," Guo Shulin said to Matthew.

"Comrade Matthew, the crossbow is basically tested. You can test it." Sun Zhengwu handed the repeating crossbow to Matthew.

"You should demonstrate; you're the professional," Matthew said, declining the offer because he was afraid he wouldn't understand.

Sun Zhengwu stopped arguing and picked up a short arrow about thirty centimeters long with an iron bolt embedded in its head. He skillfully pulled the lever on the top of the crossbow, and with a soft "click," the crossbow string was pulled back and placed in the firing position. Then he inserted the short arrow into the opening at the top of the wooden box, and the arrow tail was just right in the slot of the crossbow string.

"This is called cocking and loading," Sun Zhengwu explained simply, then picked up the crossbow and aimed it at the wooden target, which was temporarily erected thirty paces away and covered with thick dry grass.

Carl, Bob, and the other young onlookers held their breath, their eyes glued to the screen. They had seen hunting bows and heavy crossbows used for city defense, but the way this thing operated felt strangely efficient.

Sun Zhengwu pulled the trigger.

With a short, powerful twang, the arrow shot out and "thud"ed deep into the grass target, its fletching still trembling slightly.

"Great aim!" Carl couldn't help but exclaim.

The accuracy looks quite good.

But what happened next made everyone's eyes widen.

Instead of bending over and straining to pull the string like he would with a regular crossbow, Sun Zhengwu quickly pulled the lever again—"Click!" The crossbow string was pulled back to the ready-to-fire position.

Without pausing for a moment, he inserted a second arrow from the top of the wooden box, aimed, and fired.

"Bang!" The second arrow followed closely and struck the first one.

Then came the third, the fourth, the fifth...

"Click—loading—bang! Click—loading—bang!"

The entire movement was fluid and seamless, with almost no pauses.

In less than ten seconds, ten short arrows were evenly distributed on the grass target, forming a small and dense arrow cluster.

The area in front of the woodworking workshop was deathly silent, with only the mechanical sound of the crossbows and the muffled thud of arrows hitting the straw targets.

"My God... this... this rate of fire..." Karl's mouth gaped open, big enough to fit an egg.

"This...this is so much faster than drawing a bow! There's no need to catch your breath at all!" The other young men were also dumbfounded; they had never seen such a "continuous" ranged attack before.

Conrad's pupils contracted sharply. As an experienced old knight, he instantly recognized the weapon's terrifying practical value.

He strode to the target, carefully examined the depth of the arrows' penetration, and then reached out to touch the sturdy wooden crossbow body and the smooth lever mechanism.

"What's the range? How much power does it have?" Conrad's voice carried a barely perceptible hoarseness and urgency.

Matthew immediately relayed the inquiry, and Sun Zhengwu put down the crossbow and explained, "Due to limitations in materials and crossbow arm tension, the current effective range is about fifty paces, and it can penetrate leather armor within thirty paces. Its power is indeed not as great as a strong bow or crossbow, but it excels in its rate of fire and ease of operation. A person with basic training can form a sustained firepower in a short time."

"Ten shots in a row... within fifty paces..." Conrad muttered to himself, already picturing in his mind a small crossbow formation behind the fortifications, unleashing a devastating volley at the charging enemy.

Or, in complex forest terrain, during a squad encounter, use this rapid-fire crossbow to instantly suppress the opponent.

He whirled around, his gaze fixed intently on Matthew, his voice more excited than ever before: "Your Highness, this...this is simply a divine weapon for defending cities and fighting in the forest! If we could mass-produce it and equip a small squad, it would be enough to hold off several times our number of scattered soldiers! And against those poorly armored goblins charging in swarms, it would be an absolute annihilation!"

Matthew felt a sense of accomplishment as he looked at Conrad's eyes, which were practically shining.

This is the power of technology; what we're seeing now is just an appetizer. When gunpowder is successfully developed and we can bring out firearms, Conrad will probably be even more excited.

Old John, Carl, and the others looked at the seemingly simple yet terrifyingly powerful repeating crossbow, and their gazes towards the "Goblin Craftsmen" changed once again.

They were genuinely curious about where these guys came from.

"Masters, thank you for your hard work! This is a huge success. Immediately begin optimizing the design, preparing materials and tooling for small-batch trial production, and prioritizing the equipment for the defense team," Matthew said, looking at Guo Shulin, Sun Zhengwu, and the others.

"Okay, no problem!"

……

Meanwhile, deep within the Misty Mountains.

Lei Hu's reconnaissance squad split into two groups, simultaneously monitoring two goblin tribes. After several days of observation and exploration, they not only figured out the precise location of the two tribes' lair, troop distribution, patrol routes, and shift change times, but also gained a thorough understanding of the different tribes' goblin habits, strengths and weaknesses, and even the subtle relationships between small groups and leaders within the tribes.

Moreover, observations revealed that although there were frequent frictions between the two tribes, they were mostly small-scale conflicts. There seemed to be a tacit balance between them, and neither side was willing to easily launch a full-scale war.

"We need to think of a way to escalate the conflict between them," Lei Hu muttered to himself, hiding in the bushes.

"Tiger Team, what do you mean?" A glint of light flashed in Sun Xiaochuan's eyes.

Lei Hu immediately signaled everyone to retreat to a safer and more secluded place, then whispered, "We need to create more conflicts and bloodshed for them, completely igniting a full-scale war between the two tribes. This will cause them to weaken each other and significantly reduce their strength. When the time is right, we will wipe them out completely."

"Hmm, this method is good. If it succeeds, we'll have done a great job," Wang Xun said with a smile.

"He Rui, Wang Xun, and Xiao Chuan, the three of you go over and share this plan with Xiao Bei and the others. If you find a suitable opportunity, please contact us immediately."

"Yes, Captain." The three responded and immediately ran silently toward the direction of the Gray-skinned Miscellaneous Teeth Tribe.

He Rui, Wang Xun, and Sun Xiaochuan moved swiftly through the dense forest and among the rocks, like nimble lynxes.

They were already quite familiar with the route leading to the "Grey Skin Teeth" tribe's surveillance post.

For the sake of efficiency, they chose to cross a dry riverbed filled with gravel and low thorns.

Sunlight filters through the dense canopy, casting dappled shadows on the riverbed.

The surroundings were unusually quiet, with only the sound of the wind and the occasional chirping of birds.

The excessive silence made He Rui instinctively alert. He gave a "slow down and be on alert" signal, and the three of them immediately slowed down to form a wedge formation. He Rui was in front, Wang Xun was in the middle to provide support, and Sun Xiaochuan brought up the rear to be responsible for the flanks and the safety of the rear.

The three of them held tightly the new equipment that Tang Yuanshan had created.

He Rui's sword is a short sword with a balanced center of gravity, which is conducive to thrusting.

Wang Xun wielded a thick-backed cleaver, suitable for chopping.

In addition to the short sword at his waist, Sun Xiaochuan also carried a short bow on his back, with arrows with specially made arrowheads in his quiver.

"It's a bit too quiet," He Rui whispered a reminder.

"Okay, proceed with caution." Wang Xun gripped the machete tightly, his muscles tense.

Sun Xiaochuan didn't speak, but slowly moved his gaze like a radar, slightly raising his bow, ready to fire at any moment.

As the team's sharpshooter, his intuition also sensed the potential danger.

Just as Wang Xun's foot was about to step onto the edge of what appeared to be solid sand, a sudden change occurred.

……