Chapter 348: Chapter 309 Sanctions_1
"Can you win?"
The Goblin Gaga suddenly asked Yan Xing.
Yan Xing pointed to the machinery in the workshop that had yet to be unboxed and the standby alchemical robots, and said to the Goblins, "Do you think I can win?"
With no more hesitation, the Goblins set down their bags and picked up tools to start unwrapping the machines.
Through these machines, one could see just how strong Yan Xing’s backing Alchemist team was.
The Goblins realized that the Alchemy possessed by Thunderous Swamp was but a mere drop in the ocean here. Moreover, all these machines were practical alchemical apparatuses that perfectly matched the Goblins’ nature.
If they left the Eternal Domain this time, no matter how the battle unfolded in the future, the Goblins would likely find it difficult to return.
To miss this opportunity would mean the Goblins could only continue to be lowly vassals for Cloud Tower.
By staying here, the Goblins would gain unprecedented resources to fulfill their mechanical dreams.
Thus, through their actions, the Goblins informed Yan Xing of their final choice.
The Goblins stayed, indicating that all research into alchemical mechanization in the Eternal Domain could continue.
It also meant that Yan Xing had finally been recognized by this technologically gifted race.
As long as they could demonstrate the alchemical prowess of Thunderous Swamp in the confrontation with Cloud Tower, more Goblin Alchemists and engineers would surely be attracted in the future.
These were all technical talents.
During the stage where the Eternal Domain transitioned from barbaric growth to expansionary development, these technical talents were precisely what was needed to address the domain’s shortfalls.
The Eternal Domain had another winter development period approaching.
Yan Xing requested that the truck research institute quickly produce workable steam internal combustion engines to upgrade and modify various types of vehicles.
The engines currently used in the Eternal Domain’s trucks were Magical Energy Engines, which were expensive to build, had low magical energy utilization, and provided low output power.
Therefore, the current Magical Energy Engines could only be mounted on small trucks and did not meet the engine performance requirements for armored vehicles.
The advantages of steam internal combustion engines were obvious.
First, mature steam and internal combustion engine technology and equipment from the real world were available for reference, with only a few parts needing alchemical modifications.
Then, the alchemical part involving magical energy was minimal, with most components coming from the real world.
The cost would decrease, output power utilization would increase, and magical energy consumption would be reduced.
With increased power, it would be possible to power larger vehicles and carry more weight.
Only then could heavy vehicles and large aircraft be manufactured.
The Goblins’ main research project still centered around truck modification.
Chui Chui was in charge of the corresponding alchemical modification techniques and their integration with real-world technology.
Some blueprints related to the steam internal combustion engine were designed, and procurement orders were gradually placed in the real world.
In the military aspect of the Eternal Domain, five Gryphon Armors were manufactured. Five Battle Griffins and Knights were undergoing flight training and, together with ordinary Griffons, conducting patrols and surveillance in the areas controlled by the Wildwind Highlands Legion.
Weapons specifically purchased for the Gryphon Armor had arrived.
The RPK-16 5.45mm machine gun was a light machine gun procured by Renlun Investment Bank for Yan Xing through a third-party friendly unit.
It used a drum magazine, had a capacity of 95 rounds, and weighed 4.5 kilograms.
In addition, rocket ammunition, developed using turbojet technology, had reached the experimental stage.
Once the Gryphon Armor’s power system was upgraded, it could be equipped with rocket pods.
Subsequently, it could be equipped with air-to-air combat missiles and ground-attack missiles.
The equipment specially supplied by Renlun Investment Bank for Yan Xing this time significantly improved the firearms and artillery manufacturing processes in the Eternal Domain.
However, due to limitations in ammunition production speed and quality, Yan Xing, after weighing multiple suggestions from Chui Chui, still chose firearms and artillery of WWII-level technology.
During this period, Yan Xing deeply felt that industrialization’s consumption of steel was just too high. Urban construction and army re-equipment were major consumers. In the future, there would also be a large number of vehicles and aircraft, measured in tons. Currently, the Eternal Domain could not produce steel independently, and the purchase of metal materials had always taken up a large portion of the Eternal Domain’s real-world procurement funds.
Even if an ammunition production line could be assembled, the raw materials were still insufficient to support RAT-A-TAT-TAT levels of consumption.
To solve various problems with developing raw materials, Chui Chui had already assembled an alchemical robot exploration team upon Yan Xing’s orders. They would head to the Eternal Domain’s recently acquired northern territory to see if they could find minable resources.
Another trade convoy departed for Snowland. While establishing a trade route, they would also look for mineral resources in Snowland.
If the Eternal Domain was to develop into a stronger entity, high-end materials could continue to be acquired from the real world, but it was essential to become self-sufficient in basic industrial materials.
「On the silent Wildwind Highlands, the brief warming after heavy snow made the roads lively again.」
The road from the Eternal Domain to Nuta City had become the busiest on the Highlands.
The Eternal Domain’s plastic products, glass products, and the herbs, bones, and fur from Thunderous Swamp flowed southward along this road into the Silvermane Principality.
Some of the Silvermane Principality’s goods replaced the daily necessities Yan Xing transported from the real world, filling the market within the Eternal Domain.
The Grain Tickets issued by the Eternal Grain Bank started circulating along this trade route, and more and more merchants preferred to use this convenient and value-preserving currency. The almost endless supply of grain in the bank’s warehouses gave many people confidence in accepting Grain Tickets.
Among the caravans shuttling along the trade routes, the Eternal Commerce Guild was undoubtedly the most glorious commercial group.
The generous and benevolent Lord Yan Xing preferentially leased the alchemical trucks to the Eternal Commerce Guild. The Guild’s Mercenaries, who had made a name for themselves in the battle for Nuta City, escorted the convoy.
Great carrying capacity, low transportation costs, and strong armed protection gave the Eternal Commerce Guild a dimension-shattering advantage in the industry.
The addition of more merchants quickly swelled the Eternal Commerce Guild, and businessmen from other industries actively sought to join, creating momentum to compete with the Golden Oak Chamber of Commerce.
However, an incident soon interrupted the Eternal Commerce Guild’s expansion.
It also led many to question the creditworthiness of the Grain Tickets in their hands.
Storm City seized a batch of the Eternal Commerce Guild’s trucks.
On the same day, three airships arrived at Storm City. These three airships did not fly Cloud Tower’s flag; instead, they all displayed the banners of the Wildwind Highlands Legion.
At the same time, Marquis Anderson announced a doubling of tax rates on all of the Eternal Domain’s industries within the principality’s borders.
He also invited Lord Yan Xing of the Eternal Domain to Storm City to discuss the Eternal Commerce Guild’s unfair business practices within the principality.
This development once again heightened tensions in the Wildwind Highlands, which had only recently been relieved from war.