Chapter 547: Festival
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Liao San could not help but to return to the base camp with bitter resentment.
Curses! If it was not because I had no other choices…
He whined, expressing his hatred towards the merchant who had just pulled a daylight robbery upon him. Fifty million? Was he out of his mind? Was he aware of how many tons of weapon one could purchase with fifty million? Those thieves at the logistics were as if angels compared to this satanic entity!
If he did become the head of the logistics, hell knows what could happen…
Liao San shuddered at the thought of it.
Well, the story was not as terrifying as Liao San had described. Liao San only enquired Ye Chong regarding those funny toys he had at his lawn, whether Ye Chong could sell to him one of them. Ye Chong did nod to the request promptly, "Only at a cost of fortune," he said. Liao San was overjoyed, it was not going to be a problem as long as the pennies could seal the deal for him. The royal guards had all the money they wanted so no hassle if it only involved money. Yup, not a problem, till Ye Chong made his offer directly, "50 million, per piece." There were 5 of them, so that would be a whooping 250 million for all 5. "Oh, and you only get to make the purchase once. Only once, I would not sell them anymore after this."
Such bargain…
Liao San froze at the offer. This was not a daylight robbery anymore. This was clearly a daylight pillage! The royal guards might be very well-off, that did not mean they would agree on a mindless deal! No way in their pride they would withdraw that large portion of their funds just for a few pieces o- "Well apparently you aren't that interested, I'm sorry…" That was when Ye Chong shrugged, looking regretful. Liao San almost launched his fists on that pretentious thief! But he remembered that this very thief was also the very master who defeated 12 Level 6 shooters single-handedly. His fury then was nowhere to be found.
Eventually he just watched Ye Chong nonchalantly leaving on his moving sprinklers.
In actual fact, he had not recovered from the shock just now. Ye Chong did finish constructing a training ground within two hours. If only such efficiency was found in military construction, the kingdom would be formidable, terrifyingly formidable. Well, if he had those machines in the first place that is.
This became his fantasy at last. Even the military would hesitate at the price of these machines. It was 250 million after all, only to be boomed into nothing by a single missile from the enemy if unlucky.
Unlike Liao San, Ye Chong found his offer rather reasonable. These automated engineering units contained far more precise and advanced design compared to those he sold to Sun Sieha. Well, even the cannons were sold at 20 million. How would these fully automated engineering machines be much cheaper then? It took Ye Chong great effort to craft them too, since most minerals in the recipe were not local. He had to eye those in his inventories, which were limited from the beginning. But he did not, he had to preserve them. So he succumbed to the use of woods at the place, though obviously both the quality and versatility would be very inferior compared to metals. These wood pieces might add up to something but the process was not simple. Moreover, the machines had a built-in processor, low grade, a good stuff still. 50 million was totally fine for the magnificence.
Ye Chong did not feel anything in particular regarding the rejection. He was not in need of filling up his pocket anyway. His pockets were both full in fact, with the 150 million he won from the gamble last time and the monthly income of 40 million from the royalty. He had not maximized these newly crafted machines too. He would not want to sell it away only to go through the tedious process of crafting new ones again.
Currently, Ye Chong's manor was too crude to be called a base so, there will be renovation. An underground base it would be! It would not only be much safer, but a more concealed spot too. Furthermore, he only needed these machines to do all the jobs for him. He did also think of adding more members to the construction team so he could get his base faster.
…(Meanwhile back at Sun Sieha)…
"What?!" The moment when his majesty heard the report from Liao San, the entire palace could hear his raging scream. "Liao San are you from Stone Age or something? Have you never seen this much of money at our royal account before? And you backed away from a mere price like this?" Unlike Liao San, his majesty could well recognize the value behind these machines. He would buy them at any cost, even twice the price Ye Chong offered. He had heard from Master Karu before, Ye Chong did possess a craftsmanship of technology 50 years ahead of them at the very least, thus the high respects towards his every craft as they were rather intrigued to study them.
The only chance to buy probably the greatest invention of the decade had just been swept to the drain under the hasty decision of his own man. How would his majesty not rage at this?
Five forty in the morning, there was an army of people standing before Ye Chong's manor. No one would certainly miss such a great chance of ascending as one of the talented members of the society for they lacked the gift in mastering parapsychic sense. They also thirsted strength, authority, wealth, glory like the shooters but it was that lack of gift which had given them the capital punishment of their life in the first place so Ye Chong's tutorial came like a silver lining in the sky for them.
The crowd cloaked the manor like a cluster of dark clouds, yet there was only silence, concealed in a certain obedience as the royal guards watched with stern solemnity.
It was 6 in the morning as Ye Chong nodded at Liao San.
"Time's up!" Liao San's scream echoed in the midst of silence, brutally like his voice rang, the guards broke into a line of formation, blocking the latecomers after the master's nod.
"Order!" Ye Chong raised his voice. "You have 30 minutes to break them into groups of 50, each with a leader."
Liao San had an eyeroll upon seeing the slothful folks. It was not an easy chore to place these slow rolling eggs into different baskets but Ye Chong was the commander, his order stood and absolute obedience was expected from Liao San. Liao San was still an experienced commander after all, "Yes sir!" Liao San replied on top of his lungs as he turned to the folks with a threatening glare, "The 400 of you punks get over here! Each of you pick a number of 50, by hook or by crook, I want to see groups here!" Well he had 4000 subordinates, so he only needed to that the 1/10 of them to get the lambs into the pens.
The 400 soldiers came out of the team promptly as they sprinted towards the people at a speed of a beast, a brutality of a beast too. If someone decided to not obey them, violence would be served. The soldiers sank into the crowd and dragged a number of ladies, putting them into a team, including the Shu sisters.
In no time 400 teams could be discerned at the field.
Ye Chong was going to hold a class of 20,000. Assuming he did recruit the students by traditional interview and the mundane meet-and-greet, it would take him forever. So these are the things to be discarded for efficiency, especially when these people came from all walks of life, all colors of soul, a military approach would be better, something that was considered bread and butter for him - just like the time he did with the Sangs. The approach would be the most secure, with the least likelihood of seeing rebellion.
The group of people marched into the newly built training ground. No doubt they were fascinated by the magnificence, they had never seen a training field such colossal, a visual impact clearly it was. There were all sorts of strange machines, the ground was polished like mirror yet felt sturdy like rocks. "Such budget…" some people whispered. They could not imagine the potential amount of investment behind this foundation. Moreover, the training ground was situated at the valley between two slopes, making it more mysterious.
As there were the actual military soldiers leading their way, everybody got into their position almost immediately after. Ye Chong was on the stage of rock at the front of the ground.
It was going to be an assembly, with a speech from Ye Chong. Everybody expected that as they lifted their head, including the royal guards who were as curious of what inspiring words would come from the great master.
Ye Chong gave a look around. "I am Ye Chong, and I'll be your teacher today onwards," he spoke slowly, "which means, the entire valley would be off-limits. Nobody would be allowed to leave. Training would be touch but no failure would be allowed, no one would be retreating, no one I repeat."
The folks were shocked but they remained calmed as pressured by the constant glare from the soldiers nearby.
"All of you might have not been exposed to close-combats, but it is totally fine, learn it today onwards but I must warn you, it would have a much higher physique requirement compared to those shooter trainings. So, for starters, there would be physical training to boost your base stamina."
"Move!"
The crowd boiled as they were shouted to jog. Well, that sounded really simple, even the folks felt bewildered, annoyed of the pointless-looking training.
That lasted till the close-50th round of the jogging session, during which most of them almost tripped themselves fainting, that was also when they were informed that food would not be provided to anyone who failed completing the run
Liao San skillfully pressured these folks like his own soldiers and it was quite a sight to see a crowd of twenty grands running in the dusty field. One could hear the roaring gasps along with the frantic splashes of the soldiers' whipping.
These folks were just a bunch of spoiled brats grown up in wealth and their physique was weak to begin with. A number of them just suffered a force shutdown and collapsed during the run. But no unconsciousness could salvage them as a splash of cold water was given by Liao San, "RUN!" The command rang thunderously again.
On the first day, only 1/3 of the crowd could finish the run, which most of them consisted of those from the poverty. They were fed generously, though they were still fatigued. That was when they understood the joy of a hard-earned meal. However, they knew it well enough, that the training was just the beginning. Oh well, it was fine, the bowl of rice turned more sumptuous as they looked at the so-called noblemen lying dead on the ground.
The training course on the second day was again a run of 50 rounds. There were improvements as more people were able to complete the course.
Liao San had loved every second of the training. It was so fun to mess with punks this many, especially when they were the spoiled nobilities who reacted ridiculously towards any form of harsh commands.
Life in the valley was as boring as one could imagine and the folks had been charred by the sun in the past few days. Their lips were cracking, even the lovely girls like Shu sisters. Gui Gui was heartless enough to press them moving. Their fair white skin had been grilled gracelessly.
"I wanna go home!"
"Please, let… let me die!"
"Did I ask you to leave?"
The boys were whipped to forget the incompetent thought, putting them to the ground. And nobody asked to leave after that.
The run of 50 rounds had become something effortless for everyone on the 7th day, and Ye Chong decided to increase it to 80. "Take over everything from here," said Ye Chong, "The next thing I will check on this team would be the result, and that would be only when everybody could run 300 rounds and every hundred rounds should not take more than an hour and half. That would be the passing line. It better be within a month."
Alright, that sounded tedious indeed, even to a trained soldier like Liao San who frowned upon it. Ye Chong had a lot of works to do and that was the entire point he asked Sun Sieha to send his royal guards to the place.
In the next few days, Ye Chong crafted a few more engineering units and they had dug 20 meters into the ground under his manor.
That was one thing off the list and now there would be a festival by Sun Sieha. That posed zero attraction to Ye Chong but Sun Sieha sounded persistent in his words, "Oh well, I'll go and check this festival out…"
On the day, Sun Sieha sent his men to pick Ye Chong up.
Ye Chong got to the palace which had been furnished with bouquets of flowers and a fresh red carpet all the way to the throne. The guards were well-dressed as their chests rose high as their spirits. The conference room was occupied by guests who were clearly from the similar majesty, acting as the noblemen themselves.
Ye Chong had again, attracted everybody's attention the moment he entered the room. He was the cover story of the recent news after all. Nevertheless, he was a person hard to get hold of. He did not bother to have complete interaction with anybody than his majesty. The lord clearly adored this fine young man and the wealthy ladies were intrigued as well.
Ye Chong picked a corner and got himself seated, as he could feel the constant stares from the people. That certainly did not feel good, he rather became the invisible man of the party room.
He closed his eyes as he maintained his breath in relaxation.
The ladies seemed unimpressed by his lack of socialization as they retrieved their passionate stares and resumed their gossips.
"The lord is here!" Announced one guard as Sun Sieha walked into the room. Loud applause was heard as people stood up, the royalties bowed, "Long live the lord! The greatest birth of them all! God's with the lord!"
"It's more important to have all of you to be with me." Waved Sun Sieha politely.
The following schedule was mundane. Technically the royalties led their family to greet Sun Sieha while Sun Sieha would return them some warm compliments. It felt like a reunion during the new year and the repetition bored Ye Chong while the interviews, of those fathers presenting gifts along with their beloved sons or trustworthy military commander, made Ye Chong question the meaning of his existence.
"The Western Frost is here!" Announced the guard, disrupting the friendly atmosphere of the conference room. Western Frost… the country had been Eastern Cloud's nemesis yet they had sent a man there on a festive night of Eastern Cloud's greatest leader. What was the meaning of this?
A moment of hostility was found in Sun Sieha's glimpse, "Oh," he forced a smile, "Such rare guest, let him in."
The messenger was a middle-aged man, with nothing unique discernible in his physical appearance, while a cage in dark cloak followed, about 5 meter tall.
"Mu Chen came under the command of my lord from Western Frost, to greet your majesty a happy birthday."
Sun Sieha grinned stiffly, "Please, get up."
"How was the king of Western Frost? I've been hearing news of his illness." Concerned Sun Sieha, as part of the act of making conversation.
"Our king has been in the pink of health. Your Majesty had our gratitude. I do wonder however, of where Your Majesty had perceived such news."
"In the pink of health eh…" Sun Sieha nodded. "Great. I still would be amused in the next few years then. I must say your king is rather a decent opponent to play with, unlike the fool in Southern Land. I'll certainly be lonely if I would lose such an opponent." The words came sharp.
"Long live King Sun Sieha!" shouted the royalties as impressed by words of his majesty.
Mu Chen's expression changed. He had heard various stories of the new king in Eastern Cloud, though quite a number of them were degrading. He was informed that the new king had charisma and it was totally justifiable while also terrifying as Western Frost would have a hard time dealing with this king.
"Thank you for the compliments, Your Majesty. As ordered by my lord, I have come here to deliver this wonderful gift."
"Oh." Sun Sieha gave a smile, "I must say I'm rather intrigued, of what gift your lord has prepared for me. It must be great, so great…"
"My lord has told me that Eastern Cloud is a land rich of crops, unlike Western Frost which had been blissed by the frigidity… However, our men are the bravest, for our shooters were able to venture deep into Darkniss and capture this mysterious beast, only to be given to Your Majesty as a token of our diplomacy. I heard that only the true brave ones could overcome such beast and I had never seen the strange beast before. I deeply apologize for the abruptness for we were short of time. I was not able to inquire Your Majesty regarding this beast. I believe that Your Majesty is fully aware of such beast, even have witnessed it before, since … Eastern Cloud has also a handful of brave ones? So please, your majesty, enlighten me, a mere nobody as well as the other people from Western Frost, who are also intrigued of your greatness."
"I see." Sun Sieha snorted, "There was such strange beast? Well, show me then, let me see how strange it is."
"Yes, Your Majesty. Immediately." He pulled the cloak away.
Sharp gasps were heard in the crowd, even the ladies dropped their cups and fans.
Ye Chong sprung from his seat, his eyes were glaring.