Chapter 002: Transforming the Stone-Throwing Machine

“This…” Du Fan was stunned speechless. Through this screen, one could see an area of a hundred miles in all directions.
“The magic array of this city has additional functions. I usually use it to pass the time. As you know, I don’t really have much to do, so I just watch these people.”
Du Fan was truly at a loss for words. He knew Ming Wei must realize how tempting this magic array, which allowed a full view of the city of Doha, was to him. No matter how difficult it was to find the materials Ming Wei mentioned, Du Fan would try his best to obtain them! Even if not for the dungeon, it was for everything they could see now!
“You really are something!” Du Fan calmed his breath, which had become chaotic from excitement and tension, then sighed and slowly said, “You’re ruthless. I haven’t heard a single thing about these items. Can you translate them into what I can find now?”
Ming Wei shook his head. “That’s probably not possible. I can only describe what’s special about these items. As you know, these magic materials are beyond the reach of ordinary people. I don’t even know what names they’ve been given now.”
Du Fan gritted his teeth and asked, “Can these items support an underground magic array?”
“If defensive functions aren’t required, then yes.”
Du Fan really wanted to kill Ming Wei. By dropping these bait items one by one, if Ming Wei had told him from the start what those items were needed for, Du Fan might have hesitated. But now, as Ming Wei listed the benefits one by one, facing those unknown items made Du Fan think of dragon crystals. It seemed he had to find those items by any means!
Ming Wei truly was an ancient monster who had lived for tens of thousands of years!
Du Fan thought maliciously. He wasn’t afraid that Ming Wei would sense his thoughts. It could be said that whatever Du Fan thought in his mind showed right on his face. After pretending for so many years, he no longer needed to disguise himself and felt relieved instead.
“Alright, tell me everything else I need. Do you know the writing we use now? Write a list for me. Oh, if possible, teach me your writing too. I see you have quite a few books—lend them to me.”
Ming Wei tilted his head and thought for a moment but didn’t agree to Du Fan’s request. Instead, he asked, “Do you plan to move here and live?”

Du Fan nodded. “Of course. If I don’t dare live here, how can my people dare to? I must set an example. As for this place, I’ll designate it as a restricted area—they won’t disturb us. However, I might go out, and perhaps I can find you some companions.”

Hearing that there might be others here, Ming Wei was naturally delighted. He took out a bunch of items from his space. “These are samples; with them, it will be easy for you to find what you need. These are also my collections, but there aren’t enough—you’ll still need to search on your own.”

Du Fan was already used to Ming Wei’s habit of leaving things unfinished. He only took the samples, counted their quantity, and then asked Ming Wei to put everything away. At the same time, Du Fan asked Ming Wei to store the magic arrays as well.

Using them now would be a waste. Besides, they were being built not for habitation. He decided to wait until the battle with the bandit group started before using those magic arrays. As for Ming Wei, those arrays could last another year. Though a year seemed long, it was still short compared to the long future ahead. Du Fan didn’t want to waste such precious items here.

After organizing the items, Du Fan bid farewell to Ming Wei and returned on his own. Ming Wei didn’t stop him. For someone who had been lonely for so long, having someone to talk to from time to time was already a luxury. If Du Fan became desperate and tried to commit suicide or something, wouldn’t he have to endure loneliness for tens of thousands of years?

More importantly, since those magic arrays could only sustain themselves for a year, they couldn’t be used again. Even if used entirely for observing the outside world, with only minimal magic replenishment, they would only last a hundred years. In a hundred years, it was uncertain whether he would encounter another Du Fan.

Moreover, Du Fan was the lord. If anything happened to him, they would surely lose interest in this place. If it weren’t for his desire to let Elsic and the others enter, he could simply use a little magic to reinforce the entrance, preventing them from breaking through.

In that case, Du Fan wouldn’t appear either. In fact, he just wanted someone to help him set up the magic arrays. He didn’t want to hurt anyone, which was why those three people—and later, Du Fan and his three companions—didn’t die. Still, Ming Wei truly had no intention of harming the people here. Those who have been lonely for too long become afraid of solitude.

Du Fan left the dungeon, having confirmed there was no danger inside. He returned to his room. Although Ming Wei hadn’t said anything, he knew that if a person stayed in endless darkness for too long, they would come to see only darkness forever. So Ming Wei surely wouldn’t harm him. As for what would happen next, Ming Wei knew his identity, and since he couldn’t leave that place, he definitely wouldn’t harm him either. So Du Fan didn’t need to be afraid.

Du Fan rested for another day. The next day, he went to see Elsik. They brought craftsmen and repeatedly tried to modify the design drawings Du Fan had created. When they saw the designer arrive, they all gathered around. Anyway, Du Fan wasn’t arrogant at all, so everyone liked to get close to him.

Du Fan explained his theories. After making modifications and final adjustments, they completed the catapults in three days.

These new, compact catapults made effective use of the elasticity of wood, enabling them to throw stones the size of a human head up to 500 meters away. Their mobility and flexibility far surpassed those of expensive, larger catapults.

The large wheels allowed them to move through most environments, while the detachable bases enabled the wheels to be replaced during use to secure the entire device firmly. Excellent ballistic aiming devices helped operators accurately target enemies at different ranges. A hundred such catapults could inflict heavy losses on an entire army!

Most importantly, this type of wood was only available in their city of Doha! No other wood could achieve such results!

This tree grew quite fast, but its wood was soft and unsuitable for making valuable furniture, making it hard to sell at a good price. The people of Doha used it merely as firewood. Du Fan had turned this waste into treasure.

Elsik understood what these catapults meant to others. It was just the issue of finding buyers… They couldn’t help but think of Lenna, who had returned with Du Fan a few days ago. They really didn’t know what Du Fan was thinking!

After all, Lenna had grown up in a family involved in business, so she naturally had a unique business acumen. She also saw the business potential in these catapults—anything more advanced than what existed before would surely present opportunities, even though she didn’t understand war-related equipment like catapults.

But just by seeing the stones they threw create craters half a meter in diameter on the ground, she could tell how powerful they were. Most importantly, these new catapults were lightweight and very easy to move. If conditions allowed, they might not only be useful for defending cities but also for attacking them.

After Liana expressed her ideas, Du Fan and the others seemed inspired and began new experiments. It turned out that although it was somewhat difficult, it was feasible! The stone could be thrown to a height of about ten meters, and the improved version, though a bit heavier, was designed to be disassembled, making it much easier to transport—useful even for siege warfare. If made smaller, it might even become widely available!

Du Fan’s mind was racing. He decided to create some of each type of catapult for future use!

After arranging these tasks, Du Fan quickly thought about the information Ming Wei had given him. He had found only three items; six more similar items were still missing. As he had expected, some things no longer matched Ming Wei’s era.

Du Fan focused on coming up with ideas, but he never got involved in the actual manufacturing—after all, he had plenty of people to handle that. Instead, he devoted all his energy to magic arrays. He obtained a lot of information from Ming Wei and spent his free time asking him about magical knowledge.

Du Fan noticed that Ming Wei’s theories differed slightly from modern magic theories, but overall, the differences weren’t significant. Knowing he wouldn’t make any breakthroughs in the short term, he learned many more techniques for controlling magic from Ming Wei.

Besides that, Du Fan kept an eye on the sales of the catapults.

Elsik had delivered one of each of the four types of catapults to Desha City. There, they contacted people from the Beba family, explained their requirements, and began reaching out to potential buyers. They also said that Walwei would come to pick up their lady in a few days.

The people who delivered the catapults didn’t say much—they just left after setting them down; they were very busy!

There were only three of them, so they weren’t worried about robbery. It was just four catapults; no one would be stupid enough to steal those bulky items.

So Du Fan wasn’t concerned. He wasn’t in Doha City at the moment but in Desha City. He could leave most matters in Doha City to others. His purpose here was to wait for some news. Five of the items he had asked people to find had already been returned to him, and he had also asked the Beba family to search for the rest.

Du Fan put away the documents in his hands. None of these items were simple, and some of them might be even harder to find. But as long as he got whatever he wanted, he would start acquiring them. Before that, all he had to do was wait to collect the money. There were more than just one company interested in those catapults!

Du Fan looked proudly at the creations he had designed through countless sleepless nights, feeling satisfied that others valued them.

The new type of catapult that had appeared in Desha City recently was known to almost everyone important. Although they might not need it for siege warfare, they were interested in those smaller catapults, which only cost a hundred gold coins each. With ten of them, it would be a nightmare! And for just a thousand gold coins, it was even cheaper than maintaining a squad of knights!

But what they didn’t know was that the actual cost of those catapults was less than ten gold coins, and that was only for labor!